Yesterday, I wrote about my afternoon of snow shoveling,
and how Elixicure Pain Relief Roll-On and Cream came to my rescue by taking away the pain of my sore muscles (here).
Today was another action-packed day of exertion. Because last night, it continued to snow lightly for a few more hours, another inch or so of snow accumulated. My house is on the shady side of the street, so even with bright sunshine like today, nothing melts on its own. Plus, we are supposed to get a “wintry mix” tomorrow night, I wanted to get as close to bare surfaces on my front steps, walkway and driveway as possible. So I spent about a half hour this afternoon doing a quick re-shovel in those areas.
It was a beautiful sunny but cold day here north of Boston. Since it’s late February, I figured I’d better take advantage of the weather and snow conditions to go snowshoeing.
At Gordon College – about a mile from my house – there is a wooded area behind it called Gordon Woods that is forested and has several ponds and small lakes.
It’s a great place for walking, jogging, cross country skiing, mountain biking, and snowshoeing. I decided rather than driving over there and having to put my snowshoes on outdoors that is never easy, I’d hope there was enough snow to walk over there. So I snowshoed over to the woods and around one of the ponds in the woods. This was my first snowshoe outing of the winter, and boy, it was tiring. Then, much of the way home was uphill. After an hour and a half of snowshoeing, I was exhausted. But I made it up the hills back home, and took off my wet, snowy gear.
My legs were killing me. They were sooooo tired. I seldom take a bath, but today all I could think about was epsom salts. I still have some Village Naturals Aromatherapy Natural Epsom Bath Soak in the tropical scent, Enchanting Airs Fiji (that I reviewed here) left. I turned on the hot water, poured in about a cup of the fragrant epsom salts and got into the tub. Ah, so much better.
Next I showered with a body wash that I hadn’t used in a while: the Italian brand Santa Maria Novella Bagnoschiuma. I love Santa Maria’s scent Melograno or Pomegranate, and rather strangely, the body wash in that scent has a different name, Alghe Marine (sea algae! but it is the same pomegranate scent). I’ve been using bath, body and fragrance products from Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella a Firenze for decades. I discovered the brand on my first trip to Florence in the late 1980s, and I would buy the products whenever I went to Italy until they were finally sold in New York and LA. The body wash has a strong, perfumed scent that envelops the bathroom and lingers on the skin for a while. I like to follow it up by layering my other Santa Maria Novella Melograno products, especially the very long-lasting Pomegranate Bath Oil and sometimes the Cologne Spray and Pomegranate Talcum Powder. Melograno/Pomegranate is a heady, gently spicy, powdery, slightly floral, and deep scent that’s gender neutral. I’ve loved it for decades.
In the shower, I washed my hair that was very dirty from sweating during all the exercise I’ve gotten over the past few days. When my hair is either really dirty or if I’ve been using a lot of styling products, I like to use EVA NYC Clean It Up Shampoo (reviewed here) because it’s a clarifying shampoo that gets my hair super clean. I followed up with my favorite conditioning treatment JOICO K-PAK Color Therapy Luster Lock. I applied EVA NYC Mane Magic 10-in-1 Primer (reviewed here) and dried and flat ironed my hair.
I felt so much better after the bath and shower, but I decided not to take any chances. I applied some Elixicure Pain Relief Roll-On to my lower back and legs. Although Elixicure initially has a strong smell, it dissipates remarkably fast. All I can smell now is the Santa Maria Novella Melograno Perfume Oil, yay! Nevertheless, my back and legs still feel quite refreshed a couple of hours after applying Elixicure. I may apply some of the Elixicure Pain Relief Cream before I go to bed.
So I feel like I’ve gotten back on track with some good physical exercise. I’ll have to try to keep it going if I can.
Sounds wonderful and helpful. That’s the one thing I miss most since moving us a bathtub. I’m more of a shower person but they make so many relaxing and beneficial bath products now. The pain stick is what I need the most and I’m going to go with your recommendation and get one. That’s awesome th at you got to go boarding, I’ve only gone once this season. Hoping for more snow, the man made just isn’t the same.
I’m more of a shower person also, but my muscles were so sore that I really needed that bath with epsom salts! The Elixicure Pain Relief Roll-On with the cool metal rollerball is also great for relieving headaches. I’m not a snowboarder, just a snowshoer – something I can go right out the door and do, no mountain involved 😉
Oh dear, my insomnia had me slightly loopy this morning. I saw “snow…er” and my mind immediately went to boarding. I’ve always wanted to snowshoe as my grandparents had sets when I was little. Something new to try. I’ll have to look for a decent used pair. Sadly they’ve developed so much of the good land around me. It was so majestic until the last ten years. Ugh, how the coffee has me rambling. I’d live a post on your outdoor activities. We’re avid mountain bikers too. That’s great to hear about headaches as I not only get migraines but pretty bad tension ones too. Thank you for the added information and sorry about the mix up.
No problem, Kim! We all fill words in with our eyes, rightly or wrongly! I never learned to downhill ski or board, so I am envious. I have a terrible sense of balance so it’s too late for me. I’m sorry that you don’t have enough open space nearby for snowshoeing because it’s great exercise, and like my running, I prefer sports that I can head right out the door and do – lazy, I guess I am!
I absolutely LOVE everything about this post, Allison! There is nothing better than a nice bath after a long day of exertion– plus this cold weather makes a long hot bath such a treat for me!
Thank you so much, Helen, for your kind words! Boy, was I and my poor muscles tired yesterday! A bath with epsom salts and a shower with Santa Maria Novella was just the thing!
Wow, Allison, glad you were able to take a bath with such great products. I am sure your body is saying…not doing it today!
I was surprised, Sandy, at how much the epsom salt bath soak really helped. I wish I could fill my tub up higher, but I’m afraid the water will end up on my living room ceiling! You are right, I’m taking today off!!!
It’s so pretty there! Snowshoeing sounds like something that I would like. Downhill skiing is not for me. Sounds like you had the perfect products to recuperate afterwards.
I ache just reading this. You are really in great shape to be able to do this much in one day. I’d have been bedridden after the shoveling. The products you used are perfect for your restoration. I’m glad you had these all on hand too.
This is getting crazy, Marcia! We were only supposed to have a “dusting” last night but we ended up with another 3 or 4″. I had to drive over the snow in my driveway to go to the train to Boston. After spending a fortune at Vidal Sassoon getting my hair colored and cut, I came to have to shovel…again. I did the walkway and 3/4s of the driveway, and I had to stop. It was getting dark, and the snow was soaked and weighed a ton. I am officially pooped. Elixicure and Village Naturals sent their products at just the right time! I’m ready for spring!
I loooove a relaxing soak after a long day. Especially when I’m a bit sore.
Winter never ends in Canada, it seems! A long soak in a topically scented bath sounds divine right about now!