Here is the last set of photos from the SF Conservatory of Flowers. Most of these plants were found in the Aquatic room with a lily pond.

These were in bloom. The Plumeria or , or in Lao called Dok Champa.

Aquatic pond provides a view of the bottom part of the pond.

There were lots of interesting looking orchids. I’m not sure what are the official names, but these look like pitchers. Note: They are pitcher plants! The ‘Nepenthes’

Another exotic looking orchid. They almost look like seahorse.

An orchids with long petals.

More orchids.

Another interesting plant with curly leaves.   Sometimes I peel my oranges like this just so the skin would curl.

Some kind of plant that resembles a turtle!

Aquatic pond.

And these must be taro plants.

If you love plants and plan on being in SF, please check out the conservatory. It’s well worth it!

It’s been a while since I’ve been back to the Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park. Not much has changed but it was still a nice visit.

The Conservatory of Flowers is a greenhouse and botanical garden that contains a collection of rare plants. Design influence of Victorian architecture and built in 1878, it is the oldest wood and glass conservatory in North America.

On this particular summer day, the weather in S.F. was very chilly. The fog was hanging and the ocean breeze was strong. So imagine coming from the cold outside air into the humid and hot greenhouse.

Upon entering the potted plants room you are welcomed by this decorative statue. Reminds me of French gardens.

I have to mention it felt really small and cramp in the Conservatory. Especially on days when there are many visitors too. And this fruiting banana tree was very popular with everyone wanting a photo of it or with it.

Rare flowering plants such as this desert rose are potted in a simple terracotta pot. Other orchids and flowers were also planted in decorative urns and containers.

These would make great houseplants.

As noted by the Conservatory, “These containers include a historic urn from San Francisco’s 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, an assortment of beautiful copper containers with parrot-shaped handles from Karnataka, India, tall and slender Javanese palm pots, hand-incised ceramic pots from Burkina Faso and many, many more.”

Flowering potted tropical plant.

Fancy flowers!

If you enter from the side you’ll be greeted by colorful garden of Dahlias.

My favorite part of the Conservatory is always the aquatic plants, which I will post the photos later.

Lately I haven’t had time to make new soaps. But if I do make more, it will be the Goat milk Himalayan salt bar. I always feel more energized after using it.

There’s something about these salt since they come from ancient rocks. For example, the salt lamp is believe to to emit negative ions, which help improve the feeling of a room.

So when I came upon this salt bar, I wanted to give it a try. It’s suppose to be used as a deodorant bar, but I found that it stings and scraps too much (for sensitive underarm skin).

This one size bar is very heavy and will probably last me all year!

Instead I used it to help exfoliate my skin about once a week. More often for those stubborn parts like elbows and knees. And it works great! Even when I had a cut on my knee it actually help the healing process.

But I would not recommend using this on the face. For that purpose I would stick with the more gentle goat milk soap.

Ever since mineral make-up was introduced, I’ve become a big fan. What’s nice about mineral make-up is that it offers natural sun protection without use of chemicals. So there’s no strange smell, no sticky residue.

The one I am reviewing is bareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen. It’s a mineral powder sunscreen for the face and body. I’ve been using this product for years now and really like it.

It retails at Bare Essentuals and Sephora for $28. Contains 4 g/0.14 oz of mineral powder.

It comes in a portable, leak-proof container with twist up brush. They have 3 different shades of light, medium and tan.   I am using the tan one and it blends well for my summer skin.

Trying to apply this in the beginning was difficult because it was a bit messy. And the amount that came out in the beginning was not consistent. But after several applications I finally got the hang of it.

I also like that the bottom section for the powder has a twist off lid.  So when I ran out of powder, I just refilled it with another mineral powder and it works fine.  I give them credit for making a reusable container.

From the makers of bareMinerals:

” Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen has a weightless, breathable formula that won’t clog pores or cause breakouts.

The Micronized Titanium Dioxide mineral physically shields against UVA/UVB rays to help prevent premature skin aging and sun damage.

Plus, it’s infused with healthy vitamins, Aloe Vera Extract, and antioxidants to nourish and soothe sun-exposed skin.”

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrance
- Synthetic Dye
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates

Side Note: I especially love Costco’s Kirkland Signatureâ„¢ by Borghese sheer liquid mineral based foundation. But they are longer selling them. Yet it seem someone is selling them on Amazon for almost $60. So I hope Costco brings it back soon at $19.99.

I’ve always suffered from back pain on and off. A few years ago I was doing some major cleaning and moving around lots of boxes. Then days later I woke up to a horrible back pain.

It took a month to fully recover from it. But what lingered was this unusual pain that radiated from my calves to my back.

I later found out it was something like a “pinched nerve” or sciatica. Then 6 months later I came upon a book by Dr. John Sarno “Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection”.

It was an interesting book and I finished it in a day. And the next day I woke up and the pitched nerve was gone. It turns out you can break the connection between your mind and your physical pain. And thus be cured. How amazing is that?

Dr. Sarno believes that the more we understand about how pain can be caused by stress and strong emotions, the better we will be able to understand ourselves and become free of chronic pain and other symptoms. The term he uses is TMS (Tension Mytosis Syndrome) and also referred to as the Mind Body Syndrome.

At that chapter of my life, I was going through some stressful and emotional stuff. One I am glad to be over with now. Once I realized that it was all in my mind, the nerve pain was gone.

What’s interesting about Dr. Sarno’s approach is that it doesn’t involve drugs or therapy. Just acknowledge the stress and your body will be free of it. And it doesn’t just work for back pain, it also works with allergies, headache, and even skin disease.

Dr. Sarno’s idea has been around for nearly 40 years yet is not accepted by mainstream medicine. I personally thought his idea made sense because I knew that if you don’t feel well inside that it’s always going to affect your outside.

Emotional problems are just as draining. Dr. Sarno’s books described two follow-up surveys of his TMS patients. The first in 1982 interviewed 177 patients selected randomly from those Dr. Sarno treated in the preceding three years. 76% stated that they were leading normal and effectively pain-free lives.

A second follow-up study in 1987 restricted the population surveyed to those with herniated discs identified on CT-scans, and 88% of the 109 randomly selected patients stated that they were free of pain one to three years after TMS treatment.

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Red pandas are one of the cutest animals in the world. Just like giant pandas, red pandas feed almost exclusively on bamboo. Red Pandas are found high in the mountains of Nepal and extend as far as eastern India, Bhutan, China, Laos and Burma. At the moment their numbers in the wild continue to decline.

There is a new community conservation center in Nepal being organized to help the red pandas. The Red Panda Network Community Conservation Resource Center is a community initiative located on the route to Pathivara shrine, an important Hindu pilgrimage site on the peak of a mountain, in Taplejung district of northeastern Nepal.

Other zoos in the U.S. also have programs to breed them. Just last June the Wisconsin zoo announced the birth of a red panda cub to the proud parents, Tae Bo and Leafa Panda.

The Sacramento Zoo has a pair of red pandas along with two young additions. I actually just found out they were there and plan on visiting them soon. Maybe when the heatwave ends as Sacramento is currently at 105 degrees!

In the meantime check out these cute red pandas playing in the snow. With the heatwave we’ve been having, seeing all this ice is such a relief.

The Sacramento Zoo has 14.5 acres with over 600 animals comprised of over 140 different species at the Zoo. They specialize in rare and endangered animals.

Red pandas typically live up to 13 years in captivity. In 2007, Harold the red panda with a mellow personality, living at the Sacramento Zoo died of natural causes. One week shy of his 17th birthday, Harold was the oldest male red panda in captivity. That’s 95 in human years! He had been living at the zoo since 2003.

If anyone is in the area, Red Panda Day will be held in September. Much cooler weather, plus proceeds benefit The Red Panda Network, a conservation group working directly with community-based organizations in Nepal.

Red Panda Day
September 15, 2012, 10 am to 4 pm
At the Sacramento Zoo
Join us for an interactive and educational event developed to raise awareness about Red Panda conservation. Kids (and adults too!) can become “Red Panda Rangers” after stopping at the various Red Panda Stations and completing the Panda activities.