sunrise

I spoke with a healer and intuitive last week who was beyond profound.  Incredible, really; she offered me incredible insights and understanding with very little information provided by me.  It may seem a little out there, but I assure you, she understood my situation and the ways that I need to heal more clearly than anyone.  She suggested that I find my color each day and work with it to keep my energy positive.  I wasn't sure exactly how that was going to work, but Monday morning it became very clear to me.  I walked into our kitchen/dining room, and wow - what a sunrise.  Full of the most intense pink-orange that was definitely my positive energy color of the day, resounding fully inside me.  Clarity.

sanctuary

It became clear to me that I need a sanctuary - a place to go in my own home where I can feel safe and calm.  Things can get a bit crazy and chaotic and cluttered around these parts, and I wanted a place that was serene.  But where to find such a place in a home where bedrooms are playrooms, and rope ladders and art supplies and keyboards abound.  It just so happened (always the synchronicity) that my daughter chose to sleep in her own bedroom rather than in the nook off our bedroom THE night after I spoke to a friend about my need for a sanctuary, and about my thought that maybe that nook might just be the place.  We discussed the idea, though perhaps in a little too much haste, for the next day two friends (angels, really) arrived to help me clear my bedroom, AND to help create my sanctuary.  It was an amazing day, and a wonderful way to make space for myself.  I am so happy in my restful, calm, contemplative sanctuary.  Yesterday I spent time there listening to a guided meditation by Belleruth Naparstek (wonderful btw), and found myself in a new state of clarity and calm. 

back to the farm

Tom and I got married at an Apple Farm in the Anderson Valley - the Philo Apple Farm to be precise - over 17 years ago.  We had a wonderful weekend up there, filled with so many beautiful moments and places.  The farm has grown to include sheep, pigs, goats and chickens, in addition to the apple orchards.  We even saw a great blue heron crossing the road.  Karen and Tim have done an amazing job at keeping the place real, functional, and beautiful, all at the same time.  There is some funkiness here and there (I think if Christopher Alexander and his description of "roughness"), which I love and which makes the gems shine even more.

We have had great times exchanging ideas over the years, and I realize how much inspiration their farm has provided me in finding and making joy and beauty in cooking, creating, and making places.  So nice to go back to the fountain and drink it in.

biking

Henry and I had a great mountain bike ride up in Joaquin Miller and Roberts Parks this afternoon. Initially he kept urging me to go faster, which resulted in a good workout. And it was such a beautiful fall day.  My favorite was going fast down the single track - where I urged Henry to go ahead of me. He said I was going plenty fast enough - one false move and down the hill you would fall.  We managed to keep upright and cycle through it all. 

quilting

Emily has been extremely interested in making a quilt for her dolls.  She chose fabrics, cut the squares, and decided for a little applique for the center square.  I wasn't so sure about the latter, but we put the sewing machine and its many interesting stitches to work, and it turned out well.  I was imagining the quilt might have a border or be more symmetrical or..... But I let Emily the designer have full artistic license, and it was very freeing, I must say.

I have been interested in making a full size quilt one of these days.  I even pulled out my old Amish Quilt book - one that includes a quilt by my great grandmother from Holmes County, Ohio.  I think my daughter taught me some great lessons in the last few days - about just starting, rather than taking too much time to plan and plan and revise and perfect; and about losing my perfectionist tendencies, and just starting to sew, even if all those squares don't line up.  After all, the quilts I am most drawn to are typically the crazy quilt varieties, that are far from geometrically perfect patterns. So we finished up the little quilt, and I am ready to at least ponder how I might start to think of beginning a full-size quilt.  Babysteps forward.  And meanwhile, Emily's dolls have a wonderful quilt to use.