Clearing the Air

My darling Posse!   I was going to write about… I dunno,,,, but it’s been a really wacky week (or two.  or three … or … you get the idea).  In the midst of the insane bathroom renovation… my water heater took a deep dive  – and apparently it’s right on the Planned Obsolescence Schedule; one of my neighbors saw at least TEN water heaters on the curb in town – and they’re all at 9 yrs old.  (begin Toothless Granny Mode:  remember, back in the day, when refrigerators, water heaters, etc were built to last?  yah.  those days have come and gone.  Alas.

Anyway – so.  Atop all the folks in my house working on the bathroom I then had MORE folks in my house working on the water heater and then the grunting and groaning of yet OTHER PEOPLE in my house removing the old water heater from the basement, along with the detritus of the old furnace (these are friends, now retired, who scrap metal).  So the last few days have been beautifully testoterone-laden (I say beautifully because a) it would require a female Hulk to get that damb heater and furnace out of the basement and b) Stuffs iz Getting Done!  Plus, I like testosterone – Mens are lovely! (when they’re Getting Stuffs Done)

But after all the lovely mens have left I’m left with a very jangly feeling, as if the veil of calm civility I have carefully draped around my home life has been brutally ripped apart!  And because these are (mostly) friends I am not expecting them to clean up after themselves – so the place is a mess, with piping, wiring, dust, etc… ev.er.y.where.   Sweeping up helps – but I dunno… it wasn’t quite doing it, y’know?  So I started damp mopping the floors.  I started with sudsy water but quickly realized that I needed sonething… scented… to reset the balance.  Florals, my first choice, were unsuccessful.  A ‘beachy’ floor wash, though pretty, didn’t do it either.

Not Hinoki.  Alas.  But still fabulous!

Then I remembered my time at spas – the ones I love the most are the ones who embrace a more Eastern/Japanese aesthetic – and the best of the best is Ten Thousand Waves in Santa Fe.  Nestled in the mountains it is one of the most tranquil spas I’ve ever been to – and I’m a spa-ho – I’ve been to a LOT!  Besides the setting, it’s the smell of the place.  Hinoki.  They use the scent everywhere (and it’s probable that most of the wood is Hinoki, which is a superstar! *.  A Japanese Cypress, Hinoki is one of the calmest of cypress scents – and it permeates the wood and air of TTW.  I love pretty much all alpines and cypress… but Hinoki is my favorite, embodying a nearly floral softness in its makeup while still being fully in the Cypress Moment.

*Features: lemon-scent, highly rot-resistant, easy to manage with machinery, good dimentional stability after drying, absorbs toxic substances, Automates its own moisture levels, high durability etc. build temples and shrines. The durability of hinoki continues to increase for about 200 years, even after it is cut.  See?  Superstar! (if you’re curious as to the hows and whys of Hinoki, this article is fascinating!

I can imagine building my new bathroom out of Hinoki – but then I would never leave it.  But since I can’t, I’m going for the Next Best Thing: aromatherapy with Hinoki at the center.  I spent a LONG time looking online at various Hinoki room sprays and wax melts – I think I ordered some wax melts (it’s been a rough week, so who knows?) but after looking at the ingredients of the room sprays I realized I could easily do it myself, and do it persackly the way I wanted it!

So I did.

I combined Cedarwood Atlas, Hinoki & Lavender (just a drop or two) in some distilled water/witch hazel – and it was perfect!  Took a bit of tweaking but… to be fair (h/t March) the tweaking was the fun part!  I could tell you what the drop percentages are… if I could remember.. but I can’t.  I mostly just played around until I got the scent right where I wanted it.  The lavender is a nice, subtle touch, amping up the calm, spa-like aura, and the Cedarwood gives it a bit of grounding warmth.  Hinoki alone was almost too subtle – the additional EOs got together to make the point, if that makes sense.

For the floor wash I just use Cedarwood and Lavender – Hinoki EO is a bit spendy.   Once all the mens are gone I just wash and spritz, put on some yoga music and get myself back in order.  I hope I don’t sound ungrateful – indeed I am beyond grateful – but omg!  they do tend to suck up ALL the air in the space, with the power tools and the music – I insist that they play their music because it makes them happy and happy mensmeans Stuff Gets Done right. But at the end of the day I’m exhausted (and coming from a T-Rex like myself that’s saying something!)

We’re entering the home stretch on actual construction – I’m actually holding up the process because I’m the one who is doing the insulation and… I dunno…. I just needed a few days’ break.  But I got some of it foamed-in and tomorrow will suit up to push batting into the ceiling crevices.

And even though it’s Just Me… you can bet that when I’m done I will be washing and spraying like a lima bean!

What are your favorite calming/re-set scents?  Do you make your own ?  If not, what are your favorite brands?  I see that Mrs Meyers keeps popping up in my search – and it’s at my Kroger – hmmm

And Avon (AVON!) has a Hinoki room spray!  Y’all just KNOW I have to investigate that!