When Billy and I first moved into our house 4 years ago I realized that neither one of us had much stuff. He'd given away lots of his furniture and stuff when Sunny, his late wife died.

And, of course, when I left Jimmy I left with nothing except a really nice piece of furniture my mother had given me. My daddy bought it at an auction back in the 40's. It had 8 coats of paint on it, but my mother knew it had to be something special if my father had paid good money for it. I remember her working on it. Paint remover, steel wool, scraper, over and over she'd say, "I just know there's something under all this paint, C.L. wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't valuable."

She eventually uncovered a walnut burl(I gotta check the spelling). A burl is that pretty part of walnut that's black and brown intertwined and very rich looking. It is a fine piece and it's in my living room.

So in order to replenish our stock of stuff we started going to estate sales. That's where I got this Santa. I think it was probably made in the 40's or 50's when ceramic Santa's were all the rage. I paid $20.00 for it and it has been worth every single penny. 

Well, I got the Santa out yesterday when I was doing a "photo shoot" for my new bread company. I did one for Thanksgiving with a cinnamon roll. But yesterday when I got the camera out and started taking pictures everything was wrong. 

I couldn't get the lighting right. I couldn't find a way to capture the soft aromatic goodness of hot cinnamon rolls coming right from the oven. 

I was trying to get a really good picture in order to make cards for my business. I want post card size business cards, something that will give people a visual idea of what my business is all about and hopefully lure them to the web site which, thank you for asking, is www.melindshoaf.com

I just couldn't pull things together. For one thing, a friend of mine, Karen Roberts, who owns Somanest over on Highland, invited a man named David Crow, to come to her store and give a seminar. She is very persuasive. When she gave me his information she said, "You have to come, he's amazing, you can't miss this. It's important."

Well, the two day seminar cost $125.00 and I didn't really know what the heck it was about, but something told me I needed to make the effort. Something is stirring in me that's been dormant for several years. I'm going to follow it.

Karen and I made an arrangement. I'd cater the lunches so I could make a little money and promote my business. 

This meant that I was to be at her shop listening to lectures about plants and healing from 10 o'clock in the morning until 6 o'clock at night. Ughh. Nothing in me wanted to do this. I was busy with other things. I needed rest. I had other commitments. I had to miss my singing group that meets on Sunday afternoons. 

Not only that, but I have an aversion to sitting still and listening to someone else lecture. 

But I made myself go. I don't know exactly why, but I knew there was something for me there, something important.

I'm still processing it. I'm still trying to let it all soak in. I'm still trying to find out how this information relates to me and how it will affect my life. 

I hardly know where to start, except to say that this was a crash coarse on the history of essential oils. I didn't really know what essential oils were until I went to this seminar. Briefly, about 10 percent of all plants create essential oils. Within these oils, it has long been known, are microbial anitbodies that fight diseases, pests and toxins from the atmosphere. In other words, a spruce tree that lives to be 100 years old, must develop adaptive ways to survive against diseases and pests, to bolster their immune system. When we take this tree and distill these oils, we inhale or ingest microbes that also help us to bolster our own immune system. 

I don't know if this makes sense or not as I'm writing it, but it made me want to get back, to go back, to learn more of ancient ways of healing. 

I've hit a brick wall. I don't ever want to hurt the way I hurt the week before Thanksgiving when I woke up one morning and couldn't move my neck without excruciating, excruciating pain. I don't want that ever again. I don't want to be on modern medicines and steroids for the rest of my life. I don't a debilitating disease that keeps me from doing the things I enjoy. So I'm rethinking. I'm hoping. I'm going to try to control my arthritis with natural medicines, with acupuncture and massages, with exercise and herbal medicines. I'm getting back to the garden and it's where I belong. The website for this vast amount of information is www.floracopeia.com

It's one of the most beautiful websites I've ever seen. The whole purpose of this entire concept and undertaking is to make farming sustainable throughout the world. These essential oils are very very valuable cash crops, second only to drug crops. The oils are extremely valuable and their byproducts are all natural and are used to improve the soil as compost etc. Sustainable agriculture, community gardens, natural healing, education, purpose, just check it out. I'm going outside to rake leaves so I can compose my herb garden that I'm putting in next spring!