I have been writing this post in my head for a long time but I have been busy.  Now that is is summer here in New Zealand,  I am less motivated to type at the computer but I have been very busy taking pictures and I need to share them with you!  Just outside my door when I go for a jog along the beach is the most beautiful bush of lavender.  I grab a piece and rub it in my fingers and just smell.  Lovely.  Yes, that is a a common kiwi word and I think that as I inhale.  Yes, as I inhale the lavender smell I thought I recall how lavender can be used.

Lavender is very common in aromatherapy and is a very popular oil.  It is used as a sedative, painkiller, antidepressant, calming, balancing and more.  Some use it for culinary purposes as an herb.  Hmm… with Valentine’s Day coming up, I recall a lavender chocolate I had once….I just found a Jamie Oliver lavender creme brulee recipe.  Hmmm.  I might have to try that.  Lavender essential oil can be used on the skin as well.  I watch the bees swarm around the plants outside my door.  Apparently they make very good quality honey.  Honey will be another post in the future….

Ok, and now flax.  I am familiar with flax because of flaxseed and flaxseed oil.  The omega 3 ALA that the body converts to DHA and EPA is used nutritionally as well as the fiber benefits from flaxseed.   I know it is best to buy unground flaxseed and grind them yourself to avoid it going rancid too quickly.  I know our bodies are not necessarily efficient at converting the ALA in flax to the DHA and EPA of omega 3 fatty acids that help our health in so many ways (thus best to also take fish oil).  But flax is good for us and my goodness it grows everywhere here.  And the long leaves are used for so much too.  I think what is best is being in harmony with our environment and using what is around us.

Well, that is all for now.   The sun is setting tonight and I have to give into my new addiction of taking pictures of it and absorbing it’s beauty.  I think on my way outside I’ll grab a piece of lavender, and breathe.

 

Image | Conway family – In New Zealand, where Doctor Julie lived for a year, lavender lines the coast.