After much debate and talking with Ben, both of us have decided that I need a sun-lamp, because my SAD is just awful. Each winter I turn into this pitiful, miserable, pain filled lump…clearly I am actually a plant, though not a coniferous, alas. I used to think I had SAD during the summer as well as winter and I would just deal with it, but thinking things through I tend to just feel grumpy and uncomfortable in summer because I loathe the heat, it is just me being a big baby, but in winter I just get kinda catatonic, one step away from hibernating. Next step is to research a good sun lamp, any SAD people out there with suggestions?
It is time to delve into the pile of notebooks from long ago, filled with tea notes of yore! Today we are looking at Monk’s Mead by SerendipiTea, a blend of Apple, Apple Flavor, Chamomile, Mango, Mango Flavor, and Rosehips, all organic and natural! This tea is supposed to evoke the taste of mead, and I have never had mead, the closest I have had is Oenomel, or Grecian Honeyed Wine, so I cannot say how close this tea gets to its goal. The aroma is pretty great, blending dried apples, honey, and the straw and vaguely fresh apple aroma of chamomile. At the very finish is a slightly citrus sour note from the rosehips, though that fades really quickly.
You know one of the things I kinda hate about chamomile? It gets sooooo stuck into the fine mesh of the steeping basket, meaning it is a real pain to clean, other than that I love the stuff. The aroma is primarily chamomile, blending straw, pollen, strawflowers, and a touch of apples. I pick up a gentle note of mango at the finish, but mostly this is all chamomile all the time. The liquid is a blend of mango and apple with a slightly sour note and a finish of pollen and strawflowers.
The first thing I noticed about this tea is the utter lack of anything but chamomile, the front taste is all chamomile all the time, with strong notes of pollen and wildflowers fading to apples. That apple note builds from a distant apple memory to a full on baked apple, with extra sweetness from the mango. At the finish there is a note of honey, with a slightly sour citrus note, it lingers for a while, making me salivate from the sourness. This is not a bad tea, it did not wow me overly much, but I found it pleasant, I think I would have liked it a lot more if it lacked the rosehips, since for me this tea shined most when it was very sweet.
For blog and (crappy old) photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/01/serenditpitea-monks-mead-tbt-tea-review.html
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Yep, mine broke when I moved, and now I need one too. It really helped me with energy during the winter.
Anyway, I don’t know whether or not they will, but I’m currently trying to convince my health insurance to cover it.
That is actually a really good point, I should check with them to see if they will cover it since supposedly my insurance is really good (cough cough it is selective with how good it actually is)
Yeah, I think this differs a lot between insurance companies and states. I’m thinking mine was covered when I got it in a different state, but it seems to be more complicated where I live now. Basically, my family doctor hadn’t ever heard of one being prescribed here, so I had to find a psychiatrist who is willing to prescribe it and blah blah blah… It’s been a big pain.
But I think I got it pretty easily when I lived in Pennsylvania.
Ugh, that sounds immensely frustrating. It is always ‘fun’ getting doctors to work with you, especially when you have a previous setup going with a different doctor. Good luck!
More reason for me to move back home to Pennsylvania!
Thanks. I hope it works out for you too! The funny thing is, I currently have better healthcare than I did then. But my healthcare plan was designed for graduate students, who apparently tended to get depressed in the winter on a regular basis. So they were very used to approving these things.
I got one at Costco. And it’s actually pretty nice! I don’t use it every day, because the day after a sunny day I don’t need it so much… but I do use it. http://www.amazon.com/Verilux-VT15WW1-HappyLight-Liberty-Energy/dp/B00EUF67DU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1452224749&sr=8-3&keywords=verilux+happylight
Wow, that’’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen for one of those. Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely do this if I can’t get it covered (I finally got an avatar).
I, uhh, got mine at Costco for $40CAD. hides So you see I couldn’t really pass it up even though it’s not a necessity for me.
Oh very awesome! I shall have to check my local Costco, I need an excuse to get an industrial size jar of kalamata olives again
I haven’t had one in a few years myself, but for the past 7 years I lived in the South and didn’t really need it. It gets dark much earlier where I live now, and I’ve seen a lot less of the sun. I’m checking the American Costco — it’s still a good price for these even if it’s a better price in Canada.
This is the one I had, and it was about this price before. Or at least it’s a newer version of the one I had:
It was fine while I had it but I would not get it again… The only thing that broke was the lightbulb, which would have cost $78 to replace so I just got rid of it. And I think I can find something that works just as well for less than $78 in total.
Yep, mine broke when I moved, and now I need one too. It really helped me with energy during the winter.
Anyway, I don’t know whether or not they will, but I’m currently trying to convince my health insurance to cover it.
That is actually a really good point, I should check with them to see if they will cover it since supposedly my insurance is really good (cough cough it is selective with how good it actually is)
Yeah, I think this differs a lot between insurance companies and states. I’m thinking mine was covered when I got it in a different state, but it seems to be more complicated where I live now. Basically, my family doctor hadn’t ever heard of one being prescribed here, so I had to find a psychiatrist who is willing to prescribe it and blah blah blah… It’s been a big pain.
But I think I got it pretty easily when I lived in Pennsylvania.
Ugh, that sounds immensely frustrating. It is always ‘fun’ getting doctors to work with you, especially when you have a previous setup going with a different doctor. Good luck!
More reason for me to move back home to Pennsylvania!
Thanks. I hope it works out for you too! The funny thing is, I currently have better healthcare than I did then. But my healthcare plan was designed for graduate students, who apparently tended to get depressed in the winter on a regular basis. So they were very used to approving these things.
I got one at Costco. And it’s actually pretty nice! I don’t use it every day, because the day after a sunny day I don’t need it so much… but I do use it. http://www.amazon.com/Verilux-VT15WW1-HappyLight-Liberty-Energy/dp/B00EUF67DU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1452224749&sr=8-3&keywords=verilux+happylight
Wow, that’’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen for one of those. Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely do this if I can’t get it covered (I finally got an avatar).
I, uhh, got mine at Costco for $40CAD. hides So you see I couldn’t really pass it up even though it’s not a necessity for me.
Oh very awesome! I shall have to check my local Costco, I need an excuse to get an industrial size jar of kalamata olives again
I haven’t had one in a few years myself, but for the past 7 years I lived in the South and didn’t really need it. It gets dark much earlier where I live now, and I’ve seen a lot less of the sun. I’m checking the American Costco — it’s still a good price for these even if it’s a better price in Canada.
This is the one I had, and it was about this price before. Or at least it’s a newer version of the one I had:
http://www.amazon.com/Sunlight-Jr-Therapeutic-Light-Therapy/dp/B00172X49Y/ref=sr_1_41?ie=UTF8&qid=1452225349&sr=8-41&keywords=SAD+lamp
It was fine while I had it but I would not get it again… The only thing that broke was the lightbulb, which would have cost $78 to replace so I just got rid of it. And I think I can find something that works just as well for less than $78 in total.