Welcome In
The front door welcomes guests and opportunities, while our other entrances favor less direct opportunities - all need to be in good working order, clean and able to open fully.
Is there clutter on the other side? Are the path and steps clear and safe? Is the address clearly visible? If you use another door most of the time (garage), do you use the front door daily?
In Feng Shui, the front door and the kitchen are two of the most important centers - the Mouth of Chi, and the heart of the home. In the mid 90s, I lived in a shared home at a mountain retreat center, and love the way our home welcomed all who came!
Our front entrance faced the path through the staff cabins, but we generally entered through a little mud room on the side. This was especially important during the wet and snowy months! There's a row of coat hooks, and a built in bench with cubbies under for shoes, and a quick tidy was on our weekly cleaning schedule.
Working at a retreat and conference center, our days off were midweek, and my two housemates and I did our blessing hour on the first morning. (Kitchen and compost/ recycling and trash; dining and living room; bathroom and entrance/mud room)
Our home stayed cozy and welcoming, with little tidies each day! There is a laundry cabin for the camp, with 3 washers and dryers (the latter are only used for work) and clotheslines both inside and outside. I thought of my folks hanging out clothes on wash days, and love the fragrance of line dried linens!
Our daily commute to the guest side was across a wooden foot bridge, with this view upstream. Emily (office) and I (healing Arts) enjoyed that Ray, who worked in the kitchen, often cooked for us and made chai from scratch, using whole herbs!
Living at my daughter's while my home is under construction, we rotate main chores daily, which helps keep it tidier.
With 6 of us, the Sunday chores are writen in Dry Erase, and rotate weekly.
In a little over a month, I'll begin setting up house in Rose Cottage, designing my front entrance, and creating a warm, welcoming space. I look forward to the opportunities unfolding.
What opportunities and energy will you welcome in 2023?
How exciting to be close to moving into your renovated cottage! I love your term "blessing hour" for morning chores! Just remembering that routine will help me look at my morning routine differently!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Angie - yes - I love thinking of it as a blessing hour!
DeleteThis will be my first brand new home! When I was 5, we moved into a 3 year old house, and my 3rd house at Breitenbush was an octagon, built just the year before!
It was one of a pod of 4 octagonal homes, circling a 5th, which houses a shared kitchen, family room and bathroom!
(The shared home was built in the 30s, like much of the housing and public buildings)
Nadya, you sound very organized, peaceful and calm. I've read through some of your other posts. You seemed to have embraced and celebrated Chinese New Year more than I have. Do you have some Chinese blood by chance. Just curious.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lily! As an artist and creative, I tend to accumulate so much stuff - and am working on being tidier when I get into my new space!
DeleteI'm mostly Celtic (ancestors from the British isles) and a little Cherokee ...
In the 80s, my massage mentor suggested we new therapists take Tai Chi to learn body mechanics and as a practice for all ages, and my teacher was from mainland China....
While many of my friends really like yoga, I find Tai Chi and Qigong more my style (I also love dance) I learned and began teachingReiki in the late 80s.... and was intrigued with Feng Shui when I first heard of it! I have several friends who are practioners - and living in Oregon, am delighted to have access to both Japanese and Chinese gardens, and to some of the traditions and teachings. As a gardener and herbalist, I also enjoy growing plants like the Asian mugwort and tea camellia.
Nice knowing a little about you Nadya and that you are embracing some of our traditions. I think you have imparted some of your calmness to me today. I was able to go through and sort through my art supplies. I'm taking a drawing class and getting my supply tote organized every week is driving me a bit batty.
DeleteNadya, I am excited for you, being so close to moving in! All blessings on your new space.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much - I'm excited, too!
DeleteHow exciting to read about your mountain retreat living, it sounds so welcoming. Now I'm excited to see your next chapter of the Rose Cottage!
ReplyDeleteThank you - yes, the retreat is a lovely place! They were badly affected by the wildfire in 2020 - most of the staff houses and main buildings were OK but the rows of cabins for guests burned, and are being flaxseed!
DeleteAn exciting time indeed and based on your post here, I know that Rose Cottage is going to be a wonderful, loving, and welcoming space indeed. Can't wait to see more of it!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteWatching it emerge is a beautiful process!