Rose Cottage

  As January comes to a close, we are finishing our first blog challenge for 2025. It's been fun visiting each other's blogs, giving us a kaleidoscopic view of each other's worlds. New recipes, creations projects and inspires abound!  As this challenge ends, new opportunities beckon. One SiStar blogger has even set up a Pinterest board, inviting us to post favorite articles!  Emily, Mary, Josh n me Yesterday my son and granddaughter Emily came to town and we had a quick and sweet visit! Emily turns 21 tomorrow, so i passed on her gift. We stopped by Mary's work for 'a hug' (in facilities, at our nearby Uni)  In February I'm looking forward to our next space Reset (my Atelier/ Library and closets are next on the list!) and delving back into my  ᏣᎳᎩ Studies. I'll be blogging about that journey again - stay tuned! Connected I am taking a couple of my friend Cindy's creative workshops, combining Soul Collage ™  Mixed Media, and Intentional Creativity ™!...

  恭喜发财 - gong xi fa cai   Blessings in the year of the Wood Snake! May you be blessed as we move forward, shedding old skins and finding new opportunities! Blessing tree The year of the dragon (just ended) asked us to evolve, grow up and let go of old patterns. Three next several days (through February 3) seat the new energies.  In the year of the Snake, we enter young adulthood and can thrive with the strength to accomplish our goals.  Snake medicine invites us to explore and exemplify : Wisdom and intelligence. This is a time to seek knowledge and understanding Caution and prudence - plan your actions and reevaluate.  Mystery and intuition - pay attention! Resourcefulness and adaptability. Tenacious and diligent Transformation and renewal.  The Snake's ability to shed its outgrown skin is a wonderful example of letting go of that which no longer serves! And let what's underneath some! Protection and healing.   Gong xi fa cai   In Asian As...

  I recently wrote about some of the benefits of practicing gratuitude - and this week our women's spiritual bookgroup, Sister Circle begins reading and discussing the Gratuitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan. (I'm Grateful to have found a lovely used hardback copy - and used bonus points for it's purchase!) My creative community often convinced words and image in our journals, plus process oriented painting. We often pour a cup of tea, and sip with our creative muses.  Cup of Creativi-tea I got a lovely journal from 'the other Grands' for Christmas, and it seems perfect for the practice. The John Templeton foundation supported Kaplan's work on the book - and a survey they funded over a decade ago showed 94% of Americans "thought people who are grateful are also more fulfilled and lead richer lives.  But less than half the people surveyed said they expressed Gratitude on any regular basis."  That's a big disconnect!  Gratitude Diaries As I mentioned ea...

   This winter has been lovely for my Bo Jo Hua Chrysanthemum tea plants!  I first saw them several years back, at my friend Melissa's Van Hevlingen Herb booth at the Farmers Market. She had two varieties, which bloom in the late fall like other Mums.  Bo Ju Hua (Chrysanthemum morifolium) doesn't set reliable seed, so is only available as plants - and I got one to try in my garden! When I moved across town, I brought it with me.  Bo Jo Hua and ginkgo on the drying rack Married to a botanist for 20 years, I've enjoyed herbal tea or tissues since the 70s, and growing up,  drank green and black tea with my mama. I grow many culinary herbs, and have tended a small Edible Landscaping  tea garden  for two years.   I found several blog posts about tea chrysanthemum, which support the liver, eye health, and are good for the heart, type 2 diabetes and easing headaches!  (Sage Garden Theory)  on a Growing Tradition, Thomas recounted his ...

  A helpful tip for any home care journey is to 'carry a clipboard' and tour your space regularly!  Clipboard & note pad In 'One Thing At a Time,' Cindy Glovinsky writes, 'face your possessions with a clipboard in your hands, and there's no way they're going to run over you. A clipboard puts you squarely in charge of the Things in your life.' (P 15)  Cindy suggests using a legal pad - but I have a sweet vintage half-size board, that my mom made many notes on (often on pads she made her self from 'scratch paper,' stapled together!) It's perfect for the 4x6" sticky note pads which were in my Christmas stocking! Our family loves this size note pad - and i love  the practice of checking off what's done! You can also use digital systems - and remember to check them periodically!  From the bookshelf In 'Finding Yourself at Home,' Emily also suggests using a clipboard or notebook, as you tour your home with fresh eyes!  Choose ...

 Feng Shui has been an interest of mine for decades. Literally meaning 'wind and water,' Feng Shui invites us to tune into our natural environment, and appreciate our place in it.    Practioner  Amanda Gibby Peters   reminds us that our homes are always talking to us - are we listening? Here's her podcast on loving up your   front door .  A great practice - stand in front of your house and observe, as of it were your first visit - is the number clear, and the front door obvious? Does the path invite you forward? Do you feel like you'll be welcomed in? If there are steps, do they look safe? Is their a rail? Jot down your ideas on what needs improvement, invite assistance where you need to delegate. Think of what you wish to invite in, and what needs to stay away!  Welcome in... As the Lunar New Year approaches, (January 29th), there are  several things we can do in preparation to welcome the year of the Snake. The first - spruce up the entranc...

 A key practice in Reiki is to recite the Go-kai - the precepts , daily. The 4th precept is Kansha shite - be thankful/ grateful - for our life, energy,  our companions, and this amazing universe.  Daily Circle ᏔᎵ (Ta-li - two) If we wish to have a more harmonious world, and to foster a healthy environment, teachers from many paths invite us to set our intention for this, and engage with gratuitude.  Express gratitude daily: get up and give thanks to the elements: earth, air, fire and water.  A Hindu practice: touch the floor with your hand, greeting the earth before stepping out of bed.  Give thanks for food and drink Appreciate little moments of beauty and joy. Shine your light - as we see ourselves as radiant beings, we become them! Do your personal practices, and release the outcome - Tai chi, yoga, meditation, Reiki, kindness... Pay-it forward. When someone offers help, or does something kind, follow suit when you notice an opportunity.  Connect w...

  ᎤᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ  ᎢᏤ  ᎠᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ   U-li-he-lis-di  i-tse  a-de-ti-yi-s-gv-i (happy New Year!) We've crossed the Threshold into 2025, and near the end of the month, will greet the Asian Year of the Snake (January 29). This is a great time to create 'physical  and metaphorical space for fresh Chi / energy and fortune' by clearing out old, stressed and stagnant energy from the year past.  I'm participating in the January Ultimate Blog Challenge  - always inspiring!  Buddha's Playhouse In Karen Kingston's book " Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui ," she suggests asking yourself these questions as you're clearing: Does (an object) lift my energy when I look at or think about it? Do I absolutely LOVE it? Is it generally useful? When the answer to any of these is, 'No,' it's time to move it out of our space! In her 18 day guide to making way for the new year, my friend Gwynne Warner writes, "It's absolutely fine to delegate this, it just needs...

 ᎤᎵᎮᎵᏍᏗ  ᎢᏤ  ᎠᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ   U-li-he-lis-di  i-tse  a-de-ti-yi-s-gv-i / happy new year! What's on your creative table in 2025? For 2024, our pastor Erika Marksbury got a grant to use  Bonnie Smith Whitehouse 's lovely book, Seasons of Wonder, for inspiration and focus. The grant covered copies of the book for the congregation, plus supplies for our monthly Makers Meetings and funds for field trips; and we met in small groups for monthly discussion.  I really enjoy Bonnie's approach of interweaving gathering as a circle (!!), sharing creativity, connecting with nature, each other and the Divine.  I've ordered her  Kickstart Creativity   cards for more inspiration. In her introduction to Seasons ofWonder, Bonnie quotes  Steven Charleston ,  ' It is all a circle, the ancestors said -- an endless circle within a circle. The drum is a circle.  The dance ground is a circle. The earth is a circle.  There is no us or them...