Garden

Local and Online Resources While Social Distancing

March 31, 2020

We provided a list of some resources in our blog post about COVID-19 but since then we’ve heard a lot more great ideas so our intent is to keep updating this blog post with new resources, both local and online, for ways to stay occupied, to learn new things, to teach the kiddos, and help the local community.

For general news and local updates related to the virus, Keller Williams has a Daily Greenville site with all of that information.

If you want to help local businesses in general

The Chocolate Moose in downtown Greenville has started a website called Kill COVID not Small Biz that lets local restaurants and retail shops provide information about current hours, online shopping and/or gift cards, and other ways that the Upstate community can support each business during this time.

If you want to cook more (or better)

Make some homemade pizza while staying home

Want to learn to make pasta and yummy Italian Food – Check out https://nonnalive.com/ – this is a paid class but seems like it would be super fun.
Christina at Atlantic Institute posts a lot of things going on in the community – The Turkish ladies did an online cooking class last week and I think they’re going to be doing another one soon.
Maybe be creative with your cooking! Use Google or Pinterest and try something different. My friend Angela just did a challenge with her Dave Ramsey group in February to eat everything out of her pantry and freezer without going to the grocery store. She had to get pretty creative and not everything was a huge success but it was a challenge and I thought pretty cool.
Michelin-Star Chef Massimo Bottura is live streaming his family dinners on his Instagram account so those who are stuck at home, just like he is, can also enjoy a delicious meal while improving their cooking skills. He’s called the series “Kitchen Quarantine” and is recording in English to reach as many people as possible.

If you want to eat in

So many restaurants are offering delivery and take out. In addition to the list on the Kill COVID Not Small Biz website, here are a few small places you might not know about:

Kuka Juice – Love these ladies. They have a delivery service, as well as pick up. You can also get a free kids lunch! Go check them out.
Sunbelly Cafe
My neighbors, Palmetto Fine Foods

Really just too many to name, maybe go out of your comfort zone and try something new. We are pretty stocked at home so we are cooking away.

If you want to work out

If you enjoy yoga, check out Greenville Yoga – they are now doing their classes via Live Streaming and you can pay for classes as you go along.
Jaidra with Niad is teaching her bellydance classes online! So if getting to class was hard now you can check it out online fro the comfort of your home. Pricing is on her site.

If you miss nature

You can do virtual tours in the National Parks thanks to Google Earth.
Maybe take a virtual safari in Africa and then check out books online from the library if you can to learn more.
Take a virtual tour at Cincinnati Zoo
Or right down the road at the Georgia Aquarium
Noni Chick – We visited the Real Noni Farm last year and it was so interesting. Every year they have albatrosses that come to give birth and raise their chicks and every year they have a contest on what to name one of the chicks and you can participate and maybe win a free gift!

If you love the arts

Logos Theater in Taylors is offering 2 shows online – I love their plays and look forward to watching this at home since my live version was cancelled.
Shelter at home with streaming episodes of Austin City Limits. The beacon of live music is opening its archives as a gift to music fans during the current live music moratorium.
So now that I have my Hoopla App I can listen to audiobooks (you can also watch movies or TV, listen to music, read comics and Ebooks) from the Library for FREE! Great books I have listened to:
- The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar (based on historical facts about women that flew planes during WWII)
- The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (based on a true story)
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (based on a true story)
- I am starting the Narnia Series now – I needed something lighter after the last 2 books! I loved them but they are on the heavier side. Radium Girls and The Tattooist of Auschwitz were amazing stories about strength, perseverance, survival and happiness. Yes, even happiness was found by many of the Radium Girls and Lalo.

If you have kids to entertain and educate (in addition to above ideas)

My rabbit is enjoying a facial during the Bear Hunt

Dolly Parton has announced a new weekly video called “Goodnight With Dolly” which will feature Dolly reading a series of Imagination Library children’s books.
The author of Pete The Cat goes live at noon on Instagram! I believe it’s every weekday.
These virus test kits are something you have to pay for but I thought it was cool to explain what is going on now.
Go Bear Hunting – This looks super fun and is based on a Children’s Book.
Pull out those old board and card games that may have been collecting dust these last few years as we are always on the run and don’t slow down.

If you want to tackle your home and yard

Do home repair projects that you have been putting off! Grab your paint today or any supplies today, make use of your time.
Time to clean out those closets and drawers! https://konmari.com/ or see a Google search for Konmari tricks.
Get those garden beds ready for planting! Read ideas on the Clemson Home and Garden website.

COVID-19 Resources and What We’re Doing at the Moon

March 17, 2020

Good Afternoon Raspberry Moon Fam,

Before we get into the serious stuff, Sláinte is Táinte (“slawn-che iss toin-che”), meaning “health and wealth” in Gaelic!

This St Patty’s Day is a little different than most, but some downtime never stopped the Irish and on St Patty’s Day everyone has a little Irish in them! So Sláinte is Táinte to you and your family. Stay safe and healthy.

I saw this Guinness commercial and really loved it so thought I would share it with you.

Stay healthy and safe my friends,

Nicole

Check out my article from when my Mom and I went on a pineapple tour in Hawaii! It’s got some fab tips on why you should add pineapple to your diet, and if you decide on fresh pineapple, learn how to pick the right one and how to store it to get the best flavor! I love the frozen Kirkland brand pineapple from Costco. It smells like you have just cut into a fresh pineapple.

My Plans at The Moon

Right now, I am planning to stay open and help create a place to rest and take your mind off things. I will continue to wipe down the room after every client and we are wiping down the handles and shop every day. There are diffusers being used with 4 Thieves in most rooms. There is hand sanitizer in the bathroom and in my room.

Please wash your hands a lot! Sing Happy Birthday twice while washing to really clean your hands well.

It is so hard to do this BUT try to stop touching your face, eyes and nose. You don’t realize how much we do this all day!

Please check your appointment time – you receive reminders via email and some clients received texts based on your preference. If you decide you would like to reschedule please do so as soon as possible.

How Do I Stay Home Yet Stay Sane?

This is going to be a challenge for a lot of people to stay home, keep the kids entertained or not go stir crazy.

This is a great time to take advantage of reading, playing games, being creative, spending time to just regroup and just resting. Getting proper sleep is one of the best and cheapest things you can do to stay healthy. Your body needs time to regenerate so be sure to go to bed at a decent hour and get up after 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

I mean seriously, how often do you get a chance to just take it easy? I know this all can be scary but let’s see what kind of things you can do to increase your well being and how creative you can be!

Here are some ideas for you to sort of keep things business as usual:

If you enjoy yoga, check out Greenville Yoga – they are now doing their classes via Live Streaming and you can pay for classes as you go along.
Do you have a library card? You can download audio books, movies, music, comics, Ebooks, television.
Pull out those old board and card games that may have been collecting dust these last few years as we are always on the run and don’t slow down.
Do home repair projects that you have been putting off! Grab your paint today or any supplies today, make use of your time.
Time to clean out those closets and drawers! https://konmari.com/ or see a Google search for Konmari tricks.
Get those garden beds ready for planting! Read ideas on the Clemson Home and Garden website.
Maybe be creative with your cooking! Use Google or Pinterest and try something different. My friend Angela just did a challenge with her Dave Ramsey group last month to eat everything out of her pantry and freezer without going to the grocery store. She had to get pretty creative and not everything was a huge success but it was a challenge and I thought pretty cool.

We are pretty stocked here for a while but I am planning to get creative with things we have had for a bit we need to use up and I want to get the freezer cleaned out!

Of course the Salvadorian LOVES beans! LOL this is what I came home to the other night.

He said when all we have left is beans I don’t get any since I was picking on him about it! (Ummm this doesn’t include the rice, pasta and beans we already had though we would have needed them at some point any how. LOL)

Some COVID-19 Resources

I know everyone has been inundated with Coronavirus information. I have been listening to this MedCram medical Course that is really in layman’s terms. The doctor does a fabulous job explaining things. I do better with this kind of information. I hope this helps you understand more about the disease and what actions to take.

According to a video I just watched on MedCram here are some things that you can be doing to help keep others in the community safe:

Get a Thermographer – know for sure if you have a fever! A fever is 100.4 F or 38.0 C
If you have a fever – DON’T GO to the hospital UNLESS you need to. Your signs to know if you should go to the hospital include: Shortness of Breath, Severe Cough, Sleepiness.
DON’T HOARD MASKS – Regular surgical masks don’t prevent you from getting Coronavirus! The surgical masks are used in the hospital to help prevent a SICK person from spreading disease! The N95 masks are NEEDED for Hospital workers. If they are not able to get supplies then they are more at risk and we need all of the hospital staff to stay healthy so they can do their job and take care of those who get sick!
CALL BEFORE you go to the hospital! If you show severe signs such as shortness of breath, chest pain or are super sleepy then you should go to the hospital.

There is just tons of good info on the Med C ram site so just go check it out. The course is free and easy to understand, but you might need to create a free account first to view.

10 Things You Can Do to Manage Your Health at Home

if you have possible or confirmed COVID-19

Graphic courtesy of the CDC website.

If you’re not sure what products to use to clean and sanitize, the EPA website has a comprehensive list of cleaning agents that are effective against the virus. (Clorox and other familiar cleaning products are listed starting about page 5.)

Fifteen Days to Slow the Spread

These are new guidelines put out by the White House and CDC yesterday (3/16/2020):

Listen to and follow the directions of your state and local authorities.
If you feel sick, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider.
If your children are sick, keep them at home. Contact your medical provider.
If someone in your household has tested positive for the Coronavirus, keep the entire household at home.
If you are an older American, stay home and away from other people.
If you are a person with a serious underlying health condition—such as a significant heart or lung problem—stay home and away from other people.

These guidelines build on the CDC’s general recommendations to help prevent spread of the virus. Americans should continue practicing strict personal hygiene, including washing hands regularly for at least 20 seconds at a time and wiping down surfaces in the home often.

Even if you are young and otherwise healthy, you are at risk—and your activities can increase the risk of contracting the Coronavirus for others. Everyone can do their part.

Please stay safe and healthy out there!

Honey Inside and Out

May 31, 2019

Honey has many advantages both topically and internally. But before we talk about that, here’s a little video about where honey comes from:

Why is honey used in skincare?

As a moisturizer, honey helps to draw moisture from the air. It works as a lovely exfoliator especially for acne and sensitive skin. It works as an antioxidant just as the flowers would that the bees ate the nectar from, so it helps to fight free radicals. The darker the honey, the more antioxidant power it has!

Honey is also great at calming irritation and has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is wonderful to use as a mask. I keep honey from The Carolina Honey Bee in the shop to use as a mask.

Honey in cooking

Honey contains trace amounts of B-Complex Vitamins and Vitamin C, minerals, protein amino acids and enzymes. Since it is a slow absorbing sugar, it has a lower glycemic level. Raw honey is great for your digestive system. Since it is 40% fructose (that is almost two times sweeter than sugar – hmm I had no idea) you actually need less for the same level of sweetness.

It is fabulous to cook with – just use it in marinades, dressings and beverages.

Be sure to stop in to the Carolina Honey Bee for some tasty honey. Hot honey is trendy now, and I LOVE their chili infused honey. I’ve actually bought their plain honey and just dumped my chilies from my empty jar into the new one. Within a few days it was spicy!

Honey is very easy to infuse so buy a big jar and infuse smaller containers with different herbs if you like. Also, Susan does a Honey Tasting so gather some friends and sign up for one of her tastings. It was super fun.

Resources for Bees and Honey

There are several great Local Bee Companies so be sure to Buy Local! Local honey is also known to help with your allergies.

The Carolina Honey Bee – https://carolinabeeco.com/

Miss Bee Haven – https://www.missbeehoney.com/

Bee Well Honey Farm – https://beewellhoneyfarm.com/

I read an interesting article from Susan at The Carolina Honey Bee in Traveler’s Rest. She was talking about Goldenrod and its importance to the thriving of the hive. Although it might terrorize those of us with allergies, the bees need it for several reasons – the Queen is stimulated to make more brood and it is what the bees will live off of in the fall and going into winter months. For the complete article, check out https://carolinabeeco.com/bee-blog/f/the-buzz-about-goldenrod

Want to know what flowers and herbs to plant for your bees? Check out https://www.missbeehoney.com/pages/flowers-for-bees for more info.

New Beauty Article from Summer 2013 – The Multitasking Power of Honey

Great ways to help the bees – https://www.beegirl.org/helpourbees

Great Bee and Butterfly Source – https://xerces.org/pollinators-southeast-region/

All About the Bees

April 10, 2016

Our last Ladies Lunch and Learn was all about the Bees, Monarchs and Honey in your Skincare. Susan from The Carolina Honey Bee graciously talked about bees and all the goodness that they do for us. Bees are the best of the pollinators and are such busy little guys.

Bees have been on the decline for several reason:

Pesticides like Neonicotinoids
Varroa Mites – is a type of tick that compresses the immune system of the bee.
Long Travel pollinating only 1 crop at any given time.

Poor bees have a hard job pollinating on commercial farms. Every year thousands of bees are transported by the tractor trailer loads to pollinate almonds in California. Can you imagine eating the same food for days and weeks at a time? Well that’s what happens to bees on the journey. All they have for acres and acres are almonds. It would greatly help if the almond growers planted wildflowers or something else so that the bees have some variety.

After the almonds they will travel to Washington State to pollinate the apples and will eventually go to Maine to pollinate the blueberries. This is very hard on the bees but is a very lucrative business for the bee keepers. They receive about $200/ hive and there are about 400 hives/tractor trailer load.

What are some things that we can do to help support bees:

Leave those dandelions, clover and golden rod in your yard.
Avoid Pesticides like neonicotinoid and even Seven Dust

Neonics are systemic pesticides. Unlike contact pesticides, which remain on the surface of the treated foliage, systemics are taken up by the plant and transported to all the tissues (leaves, flowers, roots and stems, as well as pollen and nectar).

Plant native plants that attract pollinators – here is a list of plants recommended by the Master Gardener Program. To purchase plants, check out their Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, April 30, 2016.
Learn how to attract native pollinators at Xerces.
Plant a Bee Garden. Honeybee Conservancy has some great info!

3 Generations of Bee Keepers! Courtesy of The Carolina Honey Bee.

Become a Hobby Bee Keeper. If you want to learn more about bee keeping be sure to check out Susan with Carolina Honeybee.
And most importantly BUY LOCAL HONEY! Local honey is raw and still has good stuff in it. Grocery store honey has been pasteurized to make it shelf stable.

Be sure to check out the blog post about the Monarchs and Honey in Your Skincare.

Monarch Butterflies and All Their Glory

April 8, 2016

I love butterflies and was so excited when Polly, a graduate from The Clemson Master Garden Program came to speak to my February Ladies Lunch at Learn about Monarchs, their plight and what we can do to help.

Monarch Butterflies have such an interesting life cycle. As we were having our Lunch and Learn in February, the Monarchs were already starting the journey North from the oyamel fir forest in Michoacan, Mexico. This is the only place that the Monarchs wait over the winter and after they reproduce, they will be begin a 3,000+ mile trek North.

They will lay their eggs on their way North in the Midwest and then will die 2 to 6 weeks later. The only plant the female will lay her eggs are in milk weed plants! A butterfly can lay up to 400 eggs or more in 1 day. There is a severe shortage of milkweed plants and once the larvae hatch if they don’t have enough milkweed they will die. The larvae will then form a chrysalis and will emerge as a butterfly less than 1 month from the time their mom laid her eggs. The moms may live between 2-6 weeks longer before they die. In 30 days these eggs will have turned into butterflies and will begin the next leg of their journey North. There will be 3 generations born and the 4th generation will be the butterflies that make their way ALL the way back to Mexico! How crazy is that? They have a wicked GPS system!

The life span of the Monarch depends on when it is born and if they will be the migratory butterfly that will eventually fly back to Mexico. The Monarchs will end up back in Mexico right around the time of Dia de los Muertos. “According to local legend, the Monarch butterflies arriving in Mexico at this time of the year are believed to be the souls of the deceased returning to earth.”

Threats to the Monarchs:

Not enough milkweed to lay their eggs on. There are 2 kinds of milkweed: Common Milkweed which is very invasive and Swap Milkweed which is easier to maintain. There is a push to turn America’s Roadsides into pollinator heaven! I think this is a fabulous idea! It would cut down on mowing and it will allow our pollinators and other a natures beautiful species to flourish. There are approximately 17 MILLION ACRES of roadsides in the US. Why not take do something productive with it!?
Pesticides
Extreme Weather
Crop Monocultures – the planting of the same species for acres. (Same issue that our bees have)
Illegal Logging in Mexico – Thankfully illegal logging is on the decline. According to SciDev.Net, due to “decade-long financial support from Mexican and international philanthropists and businesses to create local alternative income generation and employment”, it says. Schemes such as community tree nurseries, the growing ecotourism sector and community surveillance of illegal logging have generated new sources of income for local people.

Thankfully there has been a rise in the number of monarchs but we still have a ways to go:

2012 to 2013 there were only about 1.4 acres of Monarch!
2014 there were 2.8 acres
2015 10 acres!

What can you do to help? Glad you asked! ;)

Plant Milkweed – The Fish and Wildlife entered into a partnership with two private conservation groups, the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to grow milkweed like crazy across the country in the hopes of saving as many monarchs as possible. The plan is to make the plant widely available at nurseries. Here is a great link about how individuals can help by receiving free milkweed plants as well as a grant that can be earned for larger spaces! There is also a program for schools and nonprofits. Don’t have a yard? No problem, here are some great container ideas. There are several types of milkweed, check out Joyful Butterfly for some great ideas.

Create a Wildlife Habitat in your own yard – this doesn’t have to be complicated nor does it have to be a large space. Just be mindful of what you are doing. Plant flowers for all stages of Monarch (and other pollinator) life span. Some great options are Lantana, Mexican Sunflowers, Zinna, Coneflowers, Phlox, and Butterfly Bush just to name a few.
Stop using pesticides
Encourage your friends, neighbors, schools, NGOs and parks to get on board

Great Websites to check out:

Monarch Watch

Monarch Butterfly Gardening

Learn About Monarchs

Eco-Exchange

South Carolina Wildlife Federation

Great resources for Teachers:

Monarch Butterfly Journey North

Forest Service

MonarchLive

University of Minnesota

MonarchWatch

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864.271.2710

1211D Laurens Road Greenville, SC 29607