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Let me introduce you to Maggie May… one of  85  marvellous mooos who have come to visit us here in the Margaret River Wine Region for the 2010 Cow Parade

maggie may - cow parade visitor at moon haven

.Moon Haven is proud to present Maggie May – a beautifully decorated with delicate and intricate artworks painted by world renown and yet local flora and fauna artist Patricia Negus of Swallow’s Welcome.

Maggie May has been lovingly decoupaged with Patricia’s artworks of mushrooms, frogs, butterflies, spiders and beautiful native flowers and plants. Miss MM is truly a sight to behold … she is certainly attracting a lot of attention out the front of Moon Haven.

So when you are next down south do call in to have your photo taken with the Divine Miss Maggie May.

Cymbopogon ambiguus

Native Lemongrass (Cymbopogon ambiguus), a type of grass native to Central Australia, has recently been scientifically proven to be as effective as Aspirin in the treatment of migraines, headaches, muscular pains and inflammation.

Native Lemon Grass is an important medicinal plant for aboriginal groups in central Australia. The leaves are crushed and inhaled for chest complaints. The leaves and roots are crushed and infused in water and drunk in small amounts or rubbed on the body to treat most forms of aches, pains and inflammation.

Now a team of researchers from the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University in New South Wales, Australia, has confirmed that Native Lemongrass is in fact “as potent as aspirin” for treating headaches and inflammations. The team, led by Dr Darren Grice, have just published their findings of a 5 year research project into Native Lemongrass in the academic journal ‘Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. in January 2010.

I hope you don’t mind being diverted to my blog while we upgrade the Moon Haven website.
It’s a big undertaking but we have all our fingers and toes crossed while Webmaster Extraordinaire Ben does his magic.
With luck… the website should be back online by 4.00pm Western Australian Time on Australia Day 26 January!

Fairy Tale Dress Up Day @ Moon Haven

As you know we are all a little madcap here at Moon Haven..none the more so in the lead up to the ‘Big Day’ when Father Christmas wings his merry way around the world.

With a liberal spinkling of Fairy Dust from Marri of the Little Purple Riding Hood fame and copious giggles, not only from the Moon haven crew but from our wonderful visitors to the cottage…we had a fun filled day.
Here are a few more pictures :

Sam the Rainbow Fairy

Kerryn the Good Fairy

Eric the Wizzard

Rag Doll Zombie Chris

Wanda & Marri - Little Purple Riding Hood

great for adults and kids alike

I just love the fresh bag of hops we have just received from Jeremy of the  Cowaramup Brewing Company. The aroma is magnificent and so yeasty.
This wonderful herb is not only great for making superb aromatic beers but is a wonderful addition to many potions and products.

At Moon Haven we use hops in our Sleepy Time Bath Tea - along with chamomile, lavender and majoram…such a soothing combination.  We also make some wodnerful “Hops into Bed”  pulse point potion as well as herbal soap of the same name for the Brewery as well.

We had a wonderful phone call from a lady last week who was looking for more Hops into Bed Soap… apparently she was enjoying great success dealing with her insomnia just by placing the soap under her pillow at night. She had given her soap to a friend to trial and her insomnia very quickly returned.  We suggested to her that if the soap worked well for her then the pulse point potion should be even more effective…and not so uncomfortable!

Eric, Chris, Laura and I are over in Melbourne to set up for the Home and Giving Fair at the Showgrounds.
The stand is looking great… the new Herbal Home range of linen heat bags, eye , dream, lumbar and neck pillows with coordinating table linen is going to be the hit of the show!

These will be available by early October!

Sam turns 30 on Monday

Samantha - Sam to everyone at Moon Haven-  turns 30 on Monday.  Sam, along with Kerryn, Marri and Becca, looks after the front of house in the Moon Haven cottage,   and we would have to say that she is the ultra efficient one of our team - keeping the rest of us on our toes.

Well Sam is celebrating her birthday by taking the week off and going to Perth for a shopping and girly time.  Have fun Sam… Happy Birthday and remember 30 is the new 20!

Colds, Flu and Sinus conditions can be easedwith Breathe Easy

Yesterday a young woman in her mid twenties came into the Moon Haven cottage.  She had dark circles under her eyes and the tell tale nasally voice that indicates blocked sinuses.

When we got talking she told me that she suffered from a chronic sinus condition which was made even worse by the latest flu she had picked up - hence the dark circles under her eyes.

Needless to say her long expected holiday was turning into a battle of endurance and fortitude as she popped painkillers and anti-histamines. Unfortunately the pills only took the edge off her condition and did nothing to help with the cause of the problems.

Of course we directed her to our marvellous Breathe Easy Pulse Point Potion.  We rolled a little onto each temple, under her jawline and at the base of her throat.

At first nothing much happened…then as the essential oils began to do their work.. she started to sniff…and then her sense of smell started to return and finally she was able to breathe freely - all in about 5 minutes.

10 minutes later she came back to the Moon Haven cottage… beaming.

Her headache was gone, sinuses were running clear and she felt significantly better- so she wanted another two bottles of Breathe Easy for her friends.

What is the difference between aroamtherapy essential and fragrance oils?

Do you know the difference?

This week at Moon Haven, I was asked to supply a peach essential oil for an Australian  manufacturer to use in his products. Unfortunately there is no such thing.

Essential oils (aromatherapy oils)  are the volatile oils that are extracted from a plant part.  Most fruits comprise of water and no volatile oils in sufficient quantities suitable for extraction.  Therefore there are no naturally occurring peach essential oils.

There are however Peach (and many other fruit) fragrance oils.  These oils are formulated from synthetic and natural ingredients to emulate a particular fruit ’scent’. They are man made but do not carry any of the therapeutic properties associated with naturally occurring Essential Oils.

The only fruits which we do have an essential oil component are those from the citrus family.  Most of these oils are not derived from the fruit but the rind and sometimes the leaves of the plant.

When you are next peeling and orange - take a closer look at the pores in the rind… these are the essential oil filled sacs…and when you peel the orange these burst and squirt amazing, fresh, essential oils into the air…hence the delicious aroma!

Aromatherapy at its most basic and scrumptious!