April Snow Showers...

After having some wonderful, gently warm and sunny weather, I woke this morning to a beautiful dusting of snow: not enough to stick on the ground, but powder the roofs and some plants. Indiana, our 2-year-young mix pup, loves the white stuff and gets very excited whenever he can run in it. He's a hoot! Be that as it may, I had a nice, meditative walk around the yard taking pictures of the spring snow. So I thought I'd share them.

The camellias have outdone themselves this year! I think "Multitudes!" every time I walk by them. They reach above the rooftop of the garage, and every branch has numerous buds and blooms on them... it is a font of lipstick color! With the delicate veins on each petal, it looks as though Mother Nature has left her fingerprint there. They help me remember to breathe. Deeply. And they tickle my heart with joy.

The forsythia is looking a bit tired. I've been noticing the forsythias on my rounds of Henderson County, and by far I love it when gardeners let the forsythia bloom and branch like fireworks. The ones that are trimmed to "fit" a regular shape look so restricted and stunted and unhappy. Those that are left to grow explode with yellow joy! Independence Day for Forsythias!

Our rosemary (my favorite herb and scent... well, next to Patchouli) is vying with its neighboring camellias to show who can produce the most blossoms. And while the camellias are certainly more showy, the rosemary is beautiful and smells wonderfully! My favorite color is green (what a surprise, eh?) and I love the combination of green and purple (as well as green and pink). And when it smells great, what more could one ask for?

I hope your day is full of heady delights.

Peace,

Kate

Phases and Cycles

It's still grey and rainy here. Yesterday afternoon we had a brief reprieve with sunny skies. It's not that I don't love the rain; I do. It just makes me feel like curling up with a good book (or a honey who's read one!). And I don't feel like I have time to do that.

Hmmm... is that a hidden "should" in there? Does that translate into "I SHOULD be doing something else"? Probably. Yes, I'm sure it is. I found myself "shoulding" about my teens yesterday. Next to myself, I'm probably most judgemental of them. Heavy burden for all of us!

So today is Day 6 in the 37Day challenge to change just one thing in your life. I thought I was doing well... (I'm not going to say I should be doing well...). But we sure have a lot of ways to disguise a word and the sentiment behind it.

A few times, I've wrestled with "should" and had to stop and wonder why I couldn't say, "I want to do this" or "I don't want to do this" instead of "I should...". This is usually when I need to run errands, run kids to appointments, etc. "Should" is really easy with kids: I should be a better mother, I should have more fun with my kids, I should be more patient with my kids. I've been reading Christiane Northrup's "Wisdom of Menopause", which is a great resource for both scientific and intuitive insights into "the change"... and change it is! Northrup states that when a woman enters menopause (I'm 55 and still -- occasionally -- having my cycle), her brain literally rewires itself from primarily nurturing others (the Mother mode) to focusing on herself and her desires. So even though I still have teens at home (I was 40 when we adopted our kids), my rewiring has shifted already.

Most of my artwork is about the Feminine. Mother Nature. The three stages of Woman (Maiden, Mother, Crone). The Goddess. The Moon.

From a cycle standpoint, I know I am on the cusp between Mother and Crone. If I look at the Moon Phases as a symbol, I am at the gibbous waning moon phase. Gibbous means convex on both sides. Full, but not completely full. The Full moon represents the Mother in all her pregnant and nurturing glory. This is typically during the 2os and 30s and 40s. And while we have many more women choosing to begin motherhood in their 40s, I have learned that when you have a daughter at 40, then she and you end up going through hormonal changes at the same time: her going into her menses, the mother finishing it. That can make for some intense times (especially when you're both Fire signs)!

I treasure the Feminine. I have learned how strong the Feminine is. I feel outraged whenever I hear anyone put down the strength of women. I read a great quote the other day: "We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong." (Laura Stavoe Harm). Whether it is observing women of courage, whether it's canning tomatoes, whether it's reading about women in history, I am a full-fledged fan of the Feminine.

And sometimes I want to celebrate the Feminine all by myself.

I just sneaked a peek at Patti's 37Day blog, and today is Day 7 (which day did I miss?!? What else am I missing?) and she writes about being selfish, doing things for ourselves. Interesting that I just flipped to that as I was going on about "shoulding" myself about the kids.

So now, I am going to curl up and read a good book. Maybe even take a nap. After I pick up Paige from school. Because I really want to.

I hope you indulge in some "self" time today of celebrating the Feminine!

Peace,

Kate

Stop "Should"-ing on Myself

I subscribe to a blog I've mentioned here before: 37Days. All I can say is "Do it." Patti Digh (who lives and mothers and writes in Asheville) created this blog to honor many things, not the least of which are the stories we all hold and love to hear and tell. Patti is constantly telling her story... and asking her readers to tell theirs.

I'm Southern. We are born storytellers. I learned it from the best: my mother.

Today is Day 4 of Patti's 37 Day Challenge: What one thing can you change in your life for 37 days? Just one thing. Your choice. And stick with it. She offers a contract to make with yourself. She even offers a Bingo scorecard to keep for yourself (created by a reader. Other reasons I so appreciate what Patti does is because she is always encouraging art from the heart and she creates community wherever she is).

I have chosen to stop "should"-ing on myself for 37 days. You know "should"-ing: "I should do this" or "I should not do that" or "he shouldn't think that way" or "she shouldn't wear that sweater" or "I ought to be more forgiving" or "I ought not to eat that chocolate"... "should"-ing on ourselves. I have chosen, instead, to say "I want to..." or "I don't want to...". It's much more honest and less guilt-filled (another thing my beloved mom taught me... how to be a martyr.)

I started this on Day 1 and today is Day 4. I'm pleased to say that it's going well.

This past weekend, I participated in a "Festival of Healing and Awareness" in Greenville, SC, my first art show in over a year and my first time at this one. And while the traffic was low, I am very pleased with the reception my jewelry received! I not only sold many pieces of my jewelry but also received a lot of very positive feedback from folks who didn't purchase (I understand that we can't buy everything we love, although we want to... notice I didn't say "should"!). The timing of this is perfect (as always): I had begun to let my focus be distracted from my artwork and wander to other things such as volunteering, etc. So, instead of saying "I should stay on as a volunteer there", I have chosen to say, "I don't want to dilute my focus on my art" and have resigned from some of these responsibilities. Right now, my time and energy is better spent focusing on my artwork, on what I love... and on what I have had so much affirmation over the past couple of days.

My art has shifted since my pilgrimage to England last summer. Not surprisingly, the pieces that people most liked were my newest pieces (and higher priced because more time and costly materials went into them). I didn't expect these to sell as well as they did because of our economic times. So I was proven wrong by a number of people (and I appreciate the correction!). It reinforces "if you do what you love, the rest will follow". The Universe proves true again!

Thanks to Jan Posey (CEO of A Class Act! which has produced these festivals for 11 years!) who brings all these gifted and interesting people together. She pointed out that 5 is the number for freedom, so I am including crop circles in this post with 5 main parts.

We vendors also were assisted by Daniella, a feng shui practitioner, who positioned each of us according to our birthdates in the most advantageous locations and directions for "wealth". Additionally, Daniella helped me better arrange my table display and my seating so that I would have more "wealth" flow. Boy, did that help! Thank you, Daniella (who did this out of the generosity of her heart without knowing many of the vendors there) for helping encourage this flow abundance.

It was a great group of people, folks offering items for sale as well as services (energy work, massage, reiki, readings, etc.). There are two such festivals in Greenville annually and two in Columbia, SC, each year. I am applying for the Columbia show (in July).

Much of my newest jewelry has photos of crop circles or the Chalice Well in Glastonbury on the back of the pendants that add a little "secret" for the wearer. It was such a joy to talk with folks who have visited crop circles or Glastonbury or Stonehenge, etc. or who knew what special places those sacred sites are and plan to visit them some day.

So I'm going to close now, not because I should, but because I want to start working on another necklace.

I hope you fill your day with your own choices!

Peace,

Kate