No Potpourri Please!

from Lexi Eddings

One of my frustrations with having a chronic lung condition is that I've become hyper-sensitive to smells.  Last summer we visited my nephew and his scented oil machine threatened to send me into spasms. Bless his heart, he immediately unplugged it, but the chemicals were still wafting throughout his apartment, coating my lungs with every breath. I could taste them in the back of my throat and couldn't breathe easy until we left.

Not the way I wanted the visit to go.

The members of my church and community choir know about my problem and have been so good to stop wearing perfumes or after shaves. But sometimes, someone forgets and uses hairspray or an aerosol deodorant or liberally coats themselves with baby powder. It's easy to do. Why shouldn't they? They have no problem with those scents.

But when they do, my throat constricts, my singing voice gets ragged, and I start coughing almost uncontrollably. Don't get me wrong. I love being the center of attention, but I really don't want to get it this way!

I hate this. And what I hate most of all is that I have to ask for help in dealing with it. And then my friends feel bad if they forget.

I've had to make changes at home too. I cook with olive oil instead of spraying Pam on my skillet. Anything that's aerosolized is super bad for me. It's ok. We're probably healthier for using olive oil.

On my doc's orders, I have a cleaning service come in every couple of weeks because I can't chance inhaling the chemical smells of the cleaners used. I spend the morning visiting my folks while someone else is dusting, scubbing and swiffering. (I've tried to feel sad about that, but I just can't. Billie & the rest of the ladies from Dust till Dawn do such a lovely job!)

This year, when we brought the artificial Christmas tree down from the attic and started unwrapping all the love-laden handmade ornaments, the dust clogged me up almost immediately.

Next year, we'll have to think about getting living Norfolk pine in a pot and decorate it sparsely. I'll divvy up the other ornaments between our kids and then donate what's left to the charity that benefits our local hospital.

The strawberry in the situation is that I'm totally ok with natural smells. Walking through a pine forest is wonderful. Inhaling a pine scented air freshener not so much.

There may be someone in your life who, like me, is dibilitated by chemical smells. Sooo....here's a thought if you'd like to give your house a Christmas-y smell without any danger to someone who has problems with scents. Make some wassail!

Here's my recipe:

Lexi's Surefire Heavenly Fragrant Wassail

Ingredients:

Apple Cider (64 oz.)

Cranberry Juice (32 oz.)

Orange, 1 

Whole cloves (lots of them!)

Ground Nutmeg 1/4 tsp

Ground Ginger 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon sticks, 4

Directions:

Pour cider & juice into a stock pot or slow cooker. Add nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon sticks. Poke whole cloves into the orange and float it in the liquid. Bring the pot to a boil, then set it to simmer and enjoy the wonderful aroma that will fill your home with Christmas cheer! 

Oh! And it'll taste great too!

Have a wonderful holiday season!