Rose Cottage

  Several years ago,  my   feed   over on Instagram delivered a wonderful post featuring a continuing saga of the artist's adventures ...  In her post,  Hannah  wrote about a taking much anticipated camping trip, which turned into a sodden disaster! She wrote that they hung their 'cloutie flags' upon setting up their campsite in Cornwall.  Clootie flags on my porch I guessed she meant small cloth prayer flags or banners, and  found this  article when I looked it up: The Scots word ‘clootie’ means ‘cloth’ - the term can also be found in use in the Scottish dessert, the ‘ clootie dumpling ’. (A Scotts pudding , with dried fruit - currents, raisins and the like) which is boiled in a cloth (the clootie).   Clootie flags  are scraps of cloth, hung from trees surrounding a sacred well or spring. These sources of fresh water have been considered places of healing for millennia, and the flags hold prayers for healing.  Tra...

 Over the last 27 years, my daughter Mary and I've passed the Breitenbush Cookbook back and forth several times.  Breitenbush cookbook With a snowy week and lots of time at home, she's been cleaning out her cookbook shelf, so it's come back to me! Mary asked about favorite recipes contained therein - what a treat to revisit them, and see our notes on GF modifications and other tips!  One of them is compiler Sara Joy's Calazones. Growing up in NY, she and her twin sis loved their family tradition of pizza on Saturday nights. Calazones make nice personal pizza, and were always popular at the Bush!  I was on Healing Arts and lived at Breitenbush in the early 90s, and have enjoyed many meals from the BB kitchen - this post has several pics of the land and river.  Winter Calazones Root veggies, mushrooms and greens are nice options in winter - for this batch, I used cilariac, parsnip, onion, chard, garlic, acorn squash and endive. Calzone • veggies • meltable mozare...

 Happy 2024!  Though January 1 is 'simply a date on the calendar,' winter is a good time to take stock of how our habits and routines fit our current needs and lifestyle! Health and fitness are often at the top of the list.  Winter waves - high tide at Depoe Bay   When I lived at Breitenbush Hot Springs retreat center 30 years ago, we suspended our educational workshops during the winter holidays, and invited guests to join us for personal retreats. As had abundant free time, we added more in-house 'Daily Well Being' offerings, which along with with meals and 24 hour use of the hot springs, were included in their stay.  I was invited to lead a couple of Tai Chi/Qigong classes during my first winter on staff. I'd had a personal Chi practice for 8 years, and while several staff members taught yoga, I missed the flow of movement of Dance and Tai Chi! (I attended another 'guest teacher's' Chi class, before offering my own!) I loved teaching the classes, and...

  "Not all of us have an Ascended Master living in our neighborhood, but we all have access to flowers. The flowers have never forgotten they are One with the Creator! "Flower essences are problem solving tools for whenever we feel out of balance. They are like  road maps for our electrical systems. " - Molly Sheehan,  Green Hope Farm Essence  Guide. Fascinated by and in love with flowers all my life, I began formulating essences in 1991 after reading about them, & realizing how simple they are to make! The timing was perfect, as I had just moved to work at Breitenbush Hot Springs, and been initiated as a Reiki Master.  While I enjoy making and having single essences, it can be a special treat to 'bottle' the energy of a season of the garden into a bouquet. These essence bouquets can form a sturdy foundation for embracing one's next steps! Some folks wonder about the number that can be combined - in our current age, our energy systems are under constant...

 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?  Buddha's Play House - cobb construction  Photo - John Holley 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 wee...