I am sooo excited for our new Saturday Simplicity series:
Log Cabin Living
Log Cabin Living
In my heart of hearts, pre-Ruby, I longed to move to a remote area
{with the desert weather!} where we could enjoy Log Cabin Living
{like the one pictured above}
as a sweet family.
It would be nestled in an area “a hundred miles” from civilization…
{see, I really am an introvert}.
I am so grateful that I had the privilege of living in our little log home
before we lost it in a fire.
No doubt, with Ruby’s fragile health, there is not even an albeit brief
possibility of entertaining such a wild and crazy idea
{unless God totally heals her – which is, of course, totally possible!}.
In the meantime, we embrace our beautiful home in the city of Phoenix,
with close proximity to Phoenix Children’s Hospital while
we enjoy to the fullest the spectacularly gorgeous Phoenix weather
and all the perks of big city living!!
The series will be an on-going and I will share our version of
large family living, on a very limited budget while practicing Simplicity.
We invite to share this journey with us.
As always, there are plenty of ways to do life.
We humbly welcome you into our home.
Please be nice.
******
My plan is to share simple things our large family does.
In keeping with the whole simple plan,
it will be a rather short, simple post.
Here’s the three simple questions I ask about the things we use:
1. Does it contain chemicals of any sort?
2. Is it simple and relatively cheap to get?
3. Does it have multiple purposes?
If we can use the same item in many ways,
I consider that a major
win/win.
We live in the desert, my sweet African babies lean toward
dry skin, and I have Sjogren’s Syndrome.
We definitely need to moisturize our skin every day.
One day, a couple of years ago I thought I would look to see
what the daily moisturizer that I had bought for years contained.
Here’s what it said:
Ever research what “proplyparaben” or “ethylparaben” does to a body?
So we started using 100% Organic Coconut Oil.
I love the smell.
I actually think I could drink a bottle of it, no problem.
However, after using it for a couple of years ,
I began to notice that I was itchy.
I would crawl into bed at night and want to itch my skin
right off.
I asked the Lord what was causing the itching?
He whispered, “The coconut oil.”
So then I started researching and found that
as yummy as Coconut oil smells, it is the ‘driest’ of all the oils.
I thought, ‘If I were to go back to ancient times,
what did they use to moisturize their skin?’
And I found the answer:
Olive Oil
The Egyptians were onto something!
I keep our Olive Oil in a pretty dispenser and it works beautifully
for every one’s moisturizing needs.
Yes, I use it on my face, too.
Relatively cheap compared to all the
moisturizers filled with chemicals and
we buy it to cook with as well.
I am so glad to know why I was “itchy” after a time of using my homemade coconut oil! So glad to know this.
So I'm not the only one, huh? It was driving me batty! The very first day using Olive oil my entire being said, "aaaaahhhhh"!
Great idea for the dispenser! I use olive oil as a carrier for lavender oil when I am having problems with my neck (which brings on bad headaches). Olive oil is also recommended by the nurse at our doctor's surgery for ear drops when you have wax build up…it softens the wax.
And besides, a medicine of the Good Shepherd! PS 23 Keeps the bugs off the sheep's eyes and ears. Just think of the spiritual connections for that!
Hugs,
Sandy in the UK
Olive Oil is amazing! So thankful that God made it!!
You may wanna consider if you have a palm/coconut allergy, too! My best friend's littlest one gets dermatitis from ingestion coconut oil, and is itchy when it's applied topically.
Hmmm. I hadn't thought of that. Interesting! I seem to be able to use it to eat, no problem. If I smell it, I crave it. {And no, I haven't drank a bottle of it – yet!} =)
thanks, Linny, we have an adopted daughter with severe ADHD. we have kept her on the feingold diet, which eliminates preservatives and food coloring~ any thing artificial. I love the olive oil. God's been convicting me also about the foods we eat etc. I'm interested in oils but don't know where to start!? Thinking of my ADHD daughter…
Laura, Why don't you email me your phone number and I'll call you. I''m having a "Oils 101" Skypinar soon. And if you can't make that, I can still talk. They have radically {literally} changed our lives! So thankful the Lord made them. EMail me your number: APlaceCalledSimplicity@yahoo.com
I love the idea of olive oil as a moisture but isn't it greasy?
It actually is NOT greasy. For instance, when I am bathing Ruby, i put the olive oil on her wet legs. It spreads nicely and then I pat her dry when I'm getting her out. I do the same for myself and the rest have learned to do the same. It seems to just soak in to our skin so nicely. Sometimes I actually do my hair {not much to do to it} and pick out what I'm wearing etc, and get dressed last. It seems to be best to let it "dry". Does that make sense? Try it with old clothes.
I use this as well and coconut oil. Only problem is my sweet dog follows us around and licks us to death. Haha!
haha. That's a new one. Apparently your puppy loves Coconut like I do. Yummm.
Hi Linny, I'm glad your research led you to olive oil as a natural moisturizer. With it having so many uses, it's like liquid gold! 🙂 Coconut oil is a good natural moisturizer for some people, but for others it exacerbates skin conditions and leaves hair feeling dry and brittle to the touch (I'm in the latter group). As an African-American woman who wears her hair in its natural state, I find that olive oil, vitamin E oil, avocado oil, and jojoba oil (which is the oil that's closet to the sebum secreted from the scalp) are the best oils for my hair and skin. These oils would be great to use on Elizabeth, Elijah, and Ruby's afro-textured hair to seal in moisture. Also, shea butter and mango butter are superb moisturizers/sealants for skin and hair. Hope this info is helpful! 🙂
Yes, I use Olive Oil on their hair. It is the best of all that we have found.
Coconut oil is my go to in the winter. Also fairly inexpensive and completely safe. I use it on my dog too when she gets dry skin. I find it to rub in better and be less oily than olive oil. I find the best prices on Amazon actually. Do you ever buy grocery items from Amazon? If not, you should check it out. When they have sales on things it's awesome. Plus…free shipping to my door…love!
KK
I have only bought GF flour on Amazon and it was cheaper than the store by quite a bit. I love Amazon!
Also so interesting that coconut oil made you itch. I agree it might be an allergy. The only I get, the more I realize how connect my body is to foods I eat. I was GF for the longest time and am still mostly gf. But I have found that personally, dairy is a bigger issue for me. I lived in the allergists office getting shots twice weekly as a kid and never once was a connection brought up regarding food I ate. I have to wonder if perhaps testing doesn't pick up on all levels of sensitivities…
KK
Somehow Dairy is not something I struggle with {at least I haven't been able to tell}. I don't eat much of it…and never have. We buy very little. It just works for us.
Thanks so much for sharing your secrets! Can't wait to hear more, and yeah…I'd totally live in a log cabin away from civilization too. 🙂
Esther – a kindred spirit!! We could be neighbors with a few miles between us! hahah!