Another call asking "Why doesn't my reed diffuser work???"

Ok, first of all - I never get this question about Tamarinda reed diffusers!!! I'm proud to say, it is always about the competition. Top offenders - those found at Hobby Lobby, Walmart, CostCo, Kohl's, Pier One, TJMaxx and other large retailers. So here is the definitive answer on why your reed diffuser doesn't work....

It' all boils down to economics - doesn't everything? The most important component of a reed diffuser is top-quality fragrance and/or essential oils. That's the stuff that smells great, lasts long and makes us happy by surrounding us with scent. It's also the most expensive part!

In addition to fragrance oil, you also need a diffusing oil, that thins out the viscous fragrance oil and allow it to flow through the reeds and evaporate.

So doing the math, if you use less fragrance oil and more diffusing oil, you can make a cheap diffuser that doesn't smell and lasts just a couple of months. These are the diffusers that you'll find at most discount stores.

I was reading one of our industry publications and found some numbers to support this scenario - most cheap imported diffusers are using between 10-15% fragrance oil in their diffusers. The rest is the cheap diffusing oil. They don't 'throw' scent, and they don't last. This makes perfect sense to anyone who has tried a cheapie diffuser!

I have to thank these nameless, far-east manufacturers of these products, because they've sent us alot of great customers. Because we use 50% (yes fifty) fragrance oil in our diffusers, they are as robust as they can be, throw great scent and last a minimum of 9-12 months. I'll admit, some folks are sceptical at first, but after they try us, some even call or write back to let us know how happy they are with them!

So, quality really does have it's price. Tamarinda reed diffusers and refills do cost more than the average discount-store diffuser, but in the long run they are a much better value. And these days, creating real value can be hard to find! Find us at www.tamarinda.com

You can't give a dog chicken bones!!!!

It's the perfect time to write about this subject. as I'm listening to both of my dogs tearing and cracking away at raw chicken drumsticks. If this strikes horror into your hearts after a lifetime of hearing that you dog will choke on chicken bones, listen up. It's all an old wives tale.

When you think about it, wolves in the wild would naturally hunt and feed on all kinds of small animals, including any kind of chicken, turkey or pheasent it could catch. You never hear about wolves dying from chicken bones caught in their throats...

Bringing up the subject of dogs and their diet all stems from the death of my old best friend Peetie, who I wrote about earlier. After that horrible experience, I was determined to raise my dogs in the most natural way possible and a big piece of that is diet. In fact, to become a client of our holistic vet, you have to agree to adhere to a more natural diet. The most natural is of course - the raw diet.

Now I realize that not everyone can afford to feed their St Bernards whole chickens and turkeys every day, but with 2 small dogs (a 12 year old, 7 pound Maltese "Petaluna".... and a 1 year old, 4 pound Yorkie mix "Little Mima" ) I could handle it. So after our initial consult with our vet, I browsed the chicken section of the supermarket and picked up a value pack of chicken wings.

Little Mima got the wing tip - the end of the wing which is mostly cartilage. Petaluna got the 'wingette', with the 2 skinny bones. The 'drumette' was saved for later. Little Mima took one sniff, grabbed it and ran off with it. It was devoured in about 3 seconds. Hmmm.... we might be on to something here.

For Petal, I was a little scared. First of all, my 12 year old gal had never eaten a piece of raw meat, ever! Second, I was wary about those bones getting caught in her throat. Third, I was worried about her poor teeth. (She, like many small dogs had major teeth issues and had to get them scaled by the vet almost annually - loose teeth, red and bleeding gums, lots of brown plaque and bad breath!). So I skeptically held out the wingette for her to inspect. She looked at me, looked at the chicken wing, took a step forward and had a sniff. She then very delicately took it in her mouth and slowly walked away - thank you very much!

I couldn't believe it - she ate that raw chicken like she'd been eating it all her like. Cracking and crunching of bones was heard and that was it. We'd switched to a raw diet.

New Year's Resolution - update

Resolution #1 - post more blog entries - done! I'm noticing that it comes in phases, some days I can't think of a thing that I want to think about (let alone write about) and other days I'm just bursting with (what I think) is facinating information to share!

Resolution #2 - timely email newsletters. Ok, I have one in mind, that counts right?

Resolution #3 - drink more water. Does French Vanilla International Coffee count?

What's the big deal about 'real' soap anyway?

Today I thought I would write a little more about how I got into my own business of making soap. If you've used real soap, you know the answer to this question. But if you are still using your favorite grocery store brand along with moisturizers and creams, you may not know that there is another way to take care of your skin.

All I knew was that starting about 3 years ago, I couldn't find 'my glycerin soap' anymore. I used to buy it by the dozens at Bath & Body Works. Every year, it would go on sale, I'd drive out to the outlet mall in San Marcos Texas and stock up. So I'm there, and I'm thinking, ok, where's my soap....... nothing. I got blank stares from the sales people - "we have liquid body wash now, you should try it!" I took one look at the ingredients label and walked out for good. And the search to find my soap was on!!

After using glycerin soap for 20 years, I was then on a mission to find a new source. When I couldn't find one, I started reading books about soapmaking and was fascinated by what I learned.

I really never thought of soap as a natural product. I didn't really know what soap was, but in general I put soap in the 'bad - but necessary stuff' category. I could never use the cheap, grocery store stuff - it burned my eyes and my skin, I hated it! The only soap I could tolerate was the pretty, translucent glycerin soap. And after reading about soap history, I understood that soap is an amazing 'natural' product that is actually beneficial, not an unpleasant necessity. That was it for me, I wanted to make my own glycerin soap!

Just for fun, I want to share some how soap hisotry with you - what follows is a brief accounting of our favorite, seemingly-simple, yet extraordinarily complex natural product known as soap.....

Once upon a time....Some say the history or soap started with the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Egyptian. Records show that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly. The Ebers Papyrus, a medical document from about 1500 B.C., describes combining animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like material used for treating skin diseases, as well as for washing.

Soap got its name, according to an ancient Roman legend, from Mount Sapo, where animals were sacrificed. Rain washed a mixture of melted animal fat, or tallow, and wood ashes down into the clay soil along the Tiber River. Women, washing their clothes downriver, found that this clay mixture made their wash cleaner with much less effort. They noticed that when this soapy mix of animal fat and wood ashes came into contact with their clothes, the dirt on them seemed to magically wash away. After this discovery, soap was made deliberately and proved most popular!

As Roman civilization advanced, so did bathing. The first of the famous Roman baths, supplied with water from their aqueducts, was built about 312 B.C. The baths were luxurious, and bathing became very popular. By the second century A.D., the Greek physician, Galen, recommended soap for both medicinal and cleansing purposes.

Yes, it was simply amazing that the combination of these 2 very unlikely ingredients - fats and wood ash - transformed into one of natures greatest gifts. Real soap nourishes the skin, cleans and protects it. It also made it easier to stay clean and germ free, contributing greatly to a more hygenic and healthy way of life.

And so the wonders of real soap began to spread....

(next chapter - soap takes Europe by storm....)

Glycerin Soap - write a product review!

We're kicking off the blog by asking for your soap review! Give us your thoughts on tamarinda soap and you have a chance to win 4 bath bars - post by 1/31 and we'll announce a winner!

Pesticide poisoning????

It's been about a year since my 12-year old dog Peetie died of pesticide poisoning and has opened my eyes up to the wild world of holistic veterinary medicine. After $3000+ in high-tech vet bills that did nothing to help my brave little dog, kidney failure is simply kidney failure and no amount of forcing modern medicine techniques onto him was going to save him.

At that point, I vowed never to put another of my best 4-legged friend, or myself through that torture. I went looking for a vet that would help me and my dogs live our lives together in better health. AND let-me-let-them part this world with dignity and as painlessly as possible.

I can't tell you how many customers I've talked to about raising our pets as naturally as possible. Everytime we are out we selling our products, I will always have at least one deep, super-intense conversation with a pet owner who has experienced the sadness of losing a pet and what can sometimes be a horrible veterinary experience. We bond immediately.

Luckily, I live in Austin, where "natural" and "holistic" trends are pretty well understood. With the support of my new holistic veterinarian, we have completely changed the way we care for our dogs. There is simply too much to write about on this subject in one post, but some of the changes I've made as a pet owner are :

1) no more vaccines and pharmaceuticals

2) all raw diet (this one has been an incredible experience!)

3) no detergents or chemicals on their skin or in the house

4) supplements to ensure they are getting all the immune defense they need

5) handling the first puppy year without a typical vet

Im memory of my sweet little Peetie-boy, I've become a fanatic about spreading the word! You'll see more about what I've learned on these topics in separate posts, but feel free to share your pet-tails with me - I love to hear them!

Kawasaki syndrome?!!

I don't know about you, but I was really shocked and saddened to hear that John Travolta's 16 year old son died suddenly. It was also the first I have heard about Kawasaki Syndrome, a disorder caused by chemical poisoning.

In his case, I heard the Kelly Preston interview saying that is was the chemical off-gassing of new carpeting that got her then-2 year old son sick. Unbelievable. It feels like we've been enjoying our modern conveniences for the last 30 years and not realizing that we're actually poisoning ourselves.

Yes, I'm a true believer in real soap, (preferably glycerin soap), vs. the chemical soap concoctions sold in the grocery store. But, that is because I suffered a direct effect from bad soap - what about all of the invisible damage we may be suffering but not aware of? Bad air quality, pesticide and herbicide exposure from our food, florinated drinking water... the list goes on and on....

Things I've changed out of fear I will get sick:
1) Being super clean after preparing any kind of raw poultry - salmonella paranoia
2) Stop fertilizing the grass - can bring on a migraine and joint pain for me!
3) Stop having my home treated by the exterminator - my beloved dog Peetie died from complications of pesticide poisoning
4) Use real sea salt - replenishes your electrolytes vs. white table salt
5) No antibiotics unless absolutely necessary - I've watched how overprescribing these drugs have wiped out my mom's immune system

Okay that's 5 (I have more) but I want to see your list!