The Weblog

The local foods movement is alive and well in Champaign County! Here are some updates on other projects while we finalize our virtual market:

Local Producers Map:
Our local producers map is ready for publication and you will soon be able to find it on gochampaign.com. Copies will be distributed around the community, in the local telephone book, and other “hangouts”. The guide lists the location and contact information for nearly 50 local producers within our county. The map was a project of the Local Food Council and printed with the help of some local sponsors including the Monument Square District, Champaign Bank, the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and others. It is a great start to finding a local source for Champaign County’s finest!



 
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English Rose


I’ve been to ancient worlds
I’ve scoured the whole universe
And caught the first train home
To be at her side.
No matter where I go
I will return to my English Rose…
(English Rose-The Jam)

Hailing back to my mod/new wave days with The Jam, for this lovely, slow, beautiful song.

Rose, Geranium, essential oils, are what’s happening in my life as your market manager.

I’ve loved oils before they became mainstream. I was the young little hippie girl using patchouli oils, musk oils, and rose oils.

My grandmother loved the scent of roses. She and my grandfather had the most beautiful rose garden. Beautiful roses that she would snip, and keep around her house. My grandfather would always send me off on my bicycle with one rose attached to it, to make happy.

My grandmother also kept rose oils, and rose sachets in her huge vanity/make up table where she would let me play dress up, and apply the brightest of the Avon red lipsticks.

Eventually, they would give up their home, and gardens, and porch swing, to move to a more manageable, smaller place. I remember the sadness of knowing that it was time for them to move, but also the sadness that my childhood memories, the place where I knew comfort and love, was leaving me.

I had just moved here from having been gone since 1982, when I left for college, and just kept running. Rambling around. I loved my travels, my adventures, all the people and experiences that I collected. But, I think the one thing that always kept me going, made me know that things would always be okay, was the thought of their house, their rose gardens.

When I returned, for good, to help them pack, help get furniture ready to be sold, or given to family members, I remember just sitting at the beautiful dressing table that my grandfather had so lovingly build for my grandmother. She had asked me to begin packing up her jewelry, her handkerchiefs, her lipsticks, her rose oils.

When I sat down, I opened the main drawer, to find two wrapped packages. One large one, with my name written in her handwriting. And, a smaller one, with my daughter’s name. Her only request was that I take them, put them away, and not open until sometime in the future. She also gave me her most beloved fur jackets and capes. (I know, I know, but she had worked, and saved her money, in the 1940’s, 1950s, and bought them, and I treasure them). I put the boxes and the treasures all in my dressing closet. My grandfather had also given me the beautiful dollhouse that he had built for my mother, which had been passed down to me, and so into that closet, I stored it all.

A few years ago, on a sad kind of day, I decided to open the package with my name. Inside were pieces of her costume jewelry collection that I had played with as a child. There were also her pearls, and a ring that I adored, and then, among the baubles, was a very old rose sachet and oil…all those years ago, and the memories came flooding back, and I felt so close to the woman who helped shape me. And, in turn, helped to shape my daughter.

All of this to say that recently, one of my new favorite oils to diffuse is geranium oil. You can get this, and many other oils, here, at our little local market of love.

Think about diffusing…ask Charlene for advice on the oils that she offers on our market. Since I have diffusing the geranium rose oil, I have felt a calm, the floral scent sends me back to my childhood, and I feel a happiness at the center of my self…

Anyway, I have included information about this particular oil. It’s not from Swisher Hill Herbs but it’s information that I found while researching this oil and it’s effects from diffusing…

Go ahead, while you are ordering all of the amazing products that we offer, order an oil…maybe there is one that will bring back the same memory for you…

Geranium oil (Pelargonium graveolens) is a beautiful, floral essential oil often referred to as “the poor man’s rose oil” for its similar properties and uses.

It’s sweet, rose-like aroma is long-lasting and potent. You need only a small amount or you’ll smell it for days.

It’s traditionally used for healthy skin (repair or rejuvenation), as well as widely known for its emotional support. It commonly promotes peace and a decrease in stress, especially in regards to releasing negativity, and is great for tension and overall well-being.

Primary Benefits:

Promotes clear, healthy skin.
Helps calm nerves, and lessen stress.
Promotes healthy hair,

Emotional Benefits:
Energetically, it’s said to help a person regain their trust in the world and in others.

This heart-center oil helps us to heal, tear down barriers, release anger, and manage overwhelming emotions. It might be good for a person who has been deeply hurt in the past and/or who struggles to open up or express their emotions.

Complimentary Oils
Geranium essential oil blends well with all essential oils. Depending on your uses for this oil, substitutes may include: Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, Lavender, Rose, or Bergamot essential oils.

How to Use Geranium Essential Oil:

Traditionally, geranium oil uses these application guidelines. Click the banner to understand what each symbol means and to learn how each is used safely and effectively: