Rose Cottage

 It's a wrap! We had a lovely time in our Reiki 1 class this weekend, with my granddaughter Emily and her mom joining the other students yesterday. (Emily is a college student, and they could only stay half the day.  We three will get together later, to complete the teachings) Robin, Seana and Nadya after Reiki class The class was so sweet, and the Time Angels assisted us each day! The space was great for our class, with a cozy seating area for talking story, hot tea, a session room that's perfect for practicing the treatments, and we created the cards in the conference room! Making small cards or prayer flags for inspiration, affirmation, setting intention is one of my favorite quick projects, and is a perfect way to connect with the Reiki Precepts or Principles!  Collage card on brown paper In many traditions, flags of paper or cloth are hung to send prayers, praise and blessings on the wind. Cards can be placed on a shelf, or tucked into a journal pocket. (A pretty en...

 Turnip carving -  This was fun! I was intrigued, reading about the tradition of carving jack-o'-lanterns in the British isles, using turnips!   (In her post on the 17th, Vedya mentioned this old practice!) Carving turnips goes back hundreds of years, long before new world crops (including pumpkins, tomatoes, potatoes and other plants) were introduced. In Switzerland, they hold a turnip lantern festival, called Räebelichtli Umzug . Turnip hollowed with a spoon   So - I got the largest turnip in the bin, heated it  about 10 minutes in my Air Fryer (to soften it a bit), then used a knife and spoon to scoop out the interior, and then to incise designs.  Carved and lit from within Since they are smaller than the new world pumpkins used these days, a battery tealight is suggested for lighting; I used a real candle for the pics - and made the handle from twine. Another side My friend Kathleen Schulte sent me this Pic of a carved turnip they spotted at...

  This morning I'm beginning the process for turning rose petals into precious beads, which will retain their fragrance and last for decades! Dried rose petals rose petals (I'll strip all the petals off the stems rose geranium and lavendar tea electric coffee mill  small crock pot cinnamon, 5 spice powder or garam Masala, lavender and nutmeg Rose petals and supplies The activity for March in the Seasons of Wonder Devotional, which our church is using this year, is to craft simple rosaries. Did you know that rose petals have been used for prayer beads for hundreds of years? Rosary - from the Latin Rosarium- rose garden. 'In the east, rose-beads are Atul made.  Dried roses are crushed to powder, moistened with rose water and formed into pellets, which are strung, dried and polished, ready for use.' (The rose by Ann Mayhew, illustrated by Michael Pollard - p75) My grandmother Mary used the fragrant petals of our heritage rose to craft rose beads, and I began making the...