Thursday, February 23, 2017

a simple sewing project




A new member of our plant family is the lovely maidenhair fern. For some reason these ferns take a magic act to keep them alive for any length of time...they are ultra-sensitive to drying out and once that happens, it's over. I have been unsuccessful many times but hope springs eternal.

The simplest of sewing projects was to stitch layers of frayed cloth strips over the printing on a drawstring bag. The bag is generously-sized and nicely made, plus I have a weakness for cream and red together -- so definitely worth it.

The pattern for the knitted Sampler Shawl is here. It is a project where each row has its own directions. One row will have lots of yarn overs that are wound 'round the needle three times each and the next line will direct you to drop all the yarn overs. It's pretty wild.

Today's moon is a waning crescent, a dark moon. Now until the new moon on Sunday is when to clear things out, to breathe it out, wash it out, dry it out or sweat it out. I'm doing some clearing in the area of electronics -- to be on the inner-net rather than the internet. The last two nights I've gone to bed with a book instead of YouTube on my phone. Tiny house tours, vegan weight loss while living in a tiny house, weather phenomena, vision boarding, homesteading in Sweden...there is a YouTube video for everything and one leads to another and then another. I watched someone clean their house and then fold their laundry in fast motion while my own house and laundry and more lay in wait. I believe I have reached the saturation point.

Thanks for visiting and happy weekending to you. xx

Often the path that will bring us the most joy will need some clearing (source unknown).



Monday, February 13, 2017

knew it all along


The heart cloth is long and skinny with a 10" section of blank space left on the bottom (the photo is sideways so you can't see it). I wonder what will happen there. As I work on this piece, I keep thinking hearts of space like the NPR music program that used to be on Sunday nights that I loved so much. I always tried to get the kids in bed before 9 so I could listen to it.


Our family had a little birthday party here yesterday for Jan. We gathered at our house for drinks/visiting/playing in the late afternoon -- then all 14 of us piled into three cars to drive to a favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. Afterwards we came back here again for Mexican coffee, hot cocoa and his favorite pistachio dessert that I make every single year for his birthday. We almost made caffeinated coffee instead of decaf, I pulled out the wrong package. One daughter's boyfriend caught it, otherwise it would have been disastrous. I guess you could say the boyfriend saved the night. Mine, anyway.


Wings. Another page in my art journal. 


Moon water infused by the full moon.


The heart cloth photo with a black/white filter.

I'm exercising my intuition lately. Recalling things I knew all along...events intuited from and by my heart before they became reality. How often was I right about something. And what might lie ahead, what do I know deep down right now that I should trust.

Here is the Mexican coffee recipe link, it was good. xx



Friday, February 3, 2017

enchanting yourself


Brigid's Day 2017 is much different from other years. But then many things are different from other years.


I started my Brigid's Day devotion this morning, two days late, by taking a morning bath with strained oatstraw infusion added to the water. It felt silky, so nice -- I reminded myself to do this more often. One little candle burned down completely.


After getting dressed I collected three cauldrons filled with objects and symbols of the past, the completed, the unnecessary.


The fire took off quickly and burned well, these things needed to go. I chanted "light of Brigid, shine on me, growing brighter, now I see". After you chant something for a while, you find yourself going into a state -- you start making up music to sing the chant to or you'll pick out a word or two to repeat over and over, and you will almost always catch yourself getting softer, then louder, then softer again. Chanting is a way of enchanting yourself.


The candle on the left was lit from the fire in the cauldron and it will burn until the end. A friend and I had made Brigid's crosses earlier in the week -- we used straw that had been soaked in warm water for a few hours. The beauty and simplicity of these sacred Nature items comfort and encourage. More chanting.


This is a tarot spread for guidance to connect with the Goddess Brigid or St. Brigid (or God or Source or whoever/whatever you want to invoke). I spent a few hours reflecting on these cards and then writing about them in my journal -- and that completed this year's very simple Brigid's Day.


Our new Earth flag is freshly hung. The old one is quite torn from getting whipped around by the wind/catching on the house gutters, but I have some mending ideas in mind. Mending the Earth, that's it.


The ashes of transformation will go back to the Earth to continue the cycle of death and rebirth. I hope we can all return to the garden soon and start planting. All of us together. Maybe even chanting.