tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20602163946372379282024-03-06T19:33:41.424-08:00Angel wings and Herb teahenriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-45534653407463100902014-10-28T07:32:00.002-07:002014-10-28T07:32:52.147-07:00Hello I'm not here anymore!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In an idle moment, I thought I'd wander onto the dashboard for this blog and check the stats....you're still visiting!! But I'm not at home! Except just nor of course, to encourage you to follow instead <a href="http://angelwingsandherbtea.wordpress.com/">here</a> at my new blog.<br />
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But there's lots happening...my first exhibition for starters.....you can read about that, about wildness, procrastination oh all sorts....so head over and make a cup of tea, put your feet up...its time to catch up!!<br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-72343861002097593022014-04-23T14:28:00.000-07:002014-04-23T14:28:47.671-07:00Blog giveaway today...!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've really appreciated all your comments, support and presence here, its made every post worth writing, knowing you're there.<br />
As a thank you, I'm offering a little giveaway on my new blog over <a href="http://angelwingsandherbtea.wordpress.com/">here</a>.<br />
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I'd love you to come with me as I journey on, writing, discovering painting, growing, it's amazing to have you on board.<br />
See you there!!henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-35851457609248565942014-04-15T02:24:00.001-07:002014-04-15T02:24:49.302-07:00I'm now somewhere else....blog move....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, and goodbye...no...please don't leave, I've just hopped over to wordpress, come over and follow me <a href="http://angelwingsandherbtea.wordpress.com/">here </a><br />
Just a warning, that as part of the move I've had to manually republish all of my archives, and some have rather strangely republished themselves out of date order. So occasionally an unseasonal winter post from two years ago may pop up, sorry.<br />
If anyone has any remedy to this...let me know..in the meantime...see you over there, I'm having a little giveaway within the next week to celebrate the move.....<br />
See you there!<br />
<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-63205845059359103312014-03-26T13:37:00.000-07:002014-03-26T13:37:38.314-07:00Wednesday gratitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I am grateful for...This joyous little being.....yes just look, pulling himself up already....<br />
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Fresh greens, abundant and life giving<br />
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Green smoothies, new breakfast....<br />
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Openings to sorrow...more healing and life affirming than grey<br />
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Sugar and dairy free hot chocolate, made by blending a banana with rice milk, cocoa powder and maca, whisking in hot rice or soy milk...so delicious!!<br />
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Firewood, we still need it....<br />
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Our pregnant cat....I'm trying to relax into this one...<br />
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White feathers....always..<br />
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henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-46813799737652794332014-03-19T15:04:00.002-07:002014-03-19T15:04:39.262-07:00Wednesday gratitudeThis week I am grateful for....<br />
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Nettle risotto, the first of the year, with fresh nettles and wild garlic...so delicious.<br />
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Planting seeds, basil, lettuce, hyssop, dill, echinacea...... the promise of healing to come.<br />
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Finch in the polytunnels, playing for the first time instead of tucked up in the sling.<br />
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Air drying clay and our coil pots, my first in about thirty years......<br />
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Heart sharing, and listening, being heard...<br />
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Bare feet outside, I'd forgotten.<br />
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Spring flowers and the sunshine.... and hawthorn leaves. Lily used to refuse cabbage and spinach but munch happily on wild greens every Spring.<br />
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The lengthening and brightening days start to awaken connection, feeling, sharing, crying; after the months of hibernation I always feel newly peeled in Spring, slightly raw and exposed, less grey, feeling more intensely, joy and grief in equal measure.<br />
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Starting a new writing project.....an important one....<br />
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What are you grateful for this week?henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-56273238613667339252014-03-12T13:55:00.000-07:002014-03-13T14:58:38.689-07:00Wednesday Gratitude` Yes I know its Thursday, but I couldn't yesterday and that is fine.<br />
So today on Thursday I am grateful for:<br />
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The Spring and all its decadent, delicate finery and frippery, flirting frilly daffodils, primroses, declining snowdrops and the beginnings of pink frothy blossom. So Joyful.<br />
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The City. Tansy and I went to Plymouth to shop.... This is something I never do....away from my hippyville rural existence...it was fun.<br />
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My new pastels. Result of my trip to Plymouth<br />
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Talking with women...they just get it.<br />
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First meeting of the herb group in the community I live in....exciting discussions and planting plans.<br />
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Home ed trip to a beautiful and inspiring art exhibition.....left filled with notes and ideas for me and them!<br />
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Finch's new sleeping pattern ..more evening time.....<br />
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Bed time.....hot water bottles, books, a pen, herb tea ...sleep... bliss...<br />
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What are you grateful for this week?<br />
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henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-43301411000953243372014-03-01T15:01:00.000-08:002014-03-01T15:48:14.550-08:00Pacing restlessly aboutOk, its ten in the evening and I have finally settled to work. The internet is playing up...or rather a combination of old computer and tenuous internet cable; which needs to be delicately wedged into place by a strategic piece of cotton wool/matchstick/slim book. The slightest movement disconnects me immediately, and ten minutes of rejiggling the matchstick/ cottonwool /slim book ensues, before I can carry on. I am supposed to be transferring an article about my blessingway ceremony from paper to laptop, but I'm blogging instead and posting arty pictures of horses on Pinterest<br />
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The problem with starting at ten is that of course I am pretty much ready for bed. Finch at seven months is obviously in the throes of producing some more teeth and our fairly low key nights have ramped up to several unhappy nocturnal awakenings during which I alternately groan, beg, (for sleep) sing, swear and ultimately give him what he wanted all along. ....we all know what that is....<br />
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But I'm tired.<br />
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And as usual I feel as though I am clinging to the rock face of my daily existence by a fingernail.<br />
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The washing up bowl is always overflowing, and the sink unaccountably often full of a sludge resembling rice and carrots. The laundry tumbles into our bedroom in a frivolous and insensitive manner every single day and no matter how many hours I stolidly plod through the monotony, I mean meditative process of folding, sorting and putting away, it never diminishes. The compost bin is always full, ditto the bin, the recycling, the cat tray, my head. Everything is full, and I haven't even got onto the random detritus/belongings which surge into every available space.<br />
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A couple of days ago , Tansy and Leo were in the midst of their Thursday morning tidy up...picking up clothes, sorting toys. Tansy decided to muck out under her bed and I found her, practically weeping, surrounded by a sea of nameless and useless objects which I'm sure you can all imagine. A painted rock given by a well meaning relative..make that five actually, a torn sylvanian rabbit dress, various fragments of paper, a broken doll chair, three notebooks and four discarded purses....etc.<br />
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'But Mum I don't want any of this stuff I can't deal with it', she wailed.<br />
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We now have box containing five painted stones, a torn sylvanian rabbit dress, and many many other delights which await my involvment to sort and categorise and bin/ bag up for charity.<br />
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And mountains of unworn clothes. <br />
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And sometimes I wonder if my life is this, pacing restlessly from room to room, a baby on my hip scanning continuously, noting areas which need my attention...oh yes, Tansy's jodphurs, must mend them before tomorrow...don't forget to return that bag of maternity clothes to Rowena, God that pile of dirty tea towels, must run that to the laundry on my next trip up the stairs, oh the beansprouts haven't been rinsed for two days and I MUST pay the rent and tax the car and do that DBS form for our German student . Jesus the toilet and Finches woollies, and WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO EAT TONIGHT??<br />
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And I keep pacing, swapping Finch from hip to hip, less from a desire to balance my back than from sheer restless frustration at how little I can achieve of these interminable, dull tasks. As if the pacing and swapping can somehow soothe and placate me, until his nap when all I really want to do is paint. And breathlessly I race through the most urgent jobs, tripping over my feet and banging my elbows and hips in my haste to get to my beautiful sunny bedroom all full of delicious, creamy acrylic paints and paper and gesso and charcoal. <br />
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When Finch's head rises up from under his blanket and sends me a bleary little smile, his cheeks all rosy from his nap, I have such a twist of emotions...a sinking that it will be several hours, or more likely a day , until I can paint again, and a rush of love for this dear little thing, so sunny so soft and adorable.<br />
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And the sun shines, the crocuses bloom under the big lime tree on the front lawn and what is important? <br />
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Why am I pacing about and sorting through piles of rubbish when life should be simple?<br />
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Does anyone else struggle to keep things in balance?<br />
I'm sure its not just me.....<br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-54435985665927866772014-02-26T13:42:00.001-08:002014-02-26T13:42:30.466-08:00Wednesday gratitudeI know I didn't do this last week apart from in my head, I was in a bus all day, and ...well its plainly not the day for complaining....so that story will have to keep.!!<br />
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This week I am grateful for ....<br />
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The sun. It was nearly warm today....<br />
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The community I live in.. as Spring rolls closer, I am coming out of my winter hibernation....planting trees, chasing chickens, dropping by for cups of tea. We live in such beautiful land and<br />
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New painting and printing techniques...so exciting<br />
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Snowdrops and crocuses...Tansy, Leo, Finch and I spent an hour sitting among them this morning and making felt flower fairies in the sun.<br />
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My crawling baby.....<br />
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More beautiful photographs from my talented son.....<br />
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Being tired.....well there's got to be something positive about it!....it makes me whittle down to the basics.....and yes go to bed a bit earlier!<br />
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That's now..night night!!<br />
<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-70795115703923559212014-02-12T14:37:00.001-08:002014-02-12T14:37:21.398-08:00Wednesday GratitudeThis week, I am grateful for,<br />
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Doing my back in...(really) and spending a day and a half in bed with Finch. Although in severe discomfort it helped me gain perspective on my harried, goal orientated life...and remember how it is to sit...or lie still. I have felt calmer and more focussed since my time in bed and can manage to walk now and actually be in the moment of walking....rather than planning next weeks menu or the next article or painting in my head.<br />
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Having my article <a href="http://www.upliftingstories.co.uk/life-changing-experiences/white-feathers-by-henrietta-job/">White Feathers</a> published on my friend Kate's website..do take a look.<br />
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A lovely home ed morning in bed, painting and making animal finger puppets for learning French.<br />
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Bread made with Khorosan.kamut flour....hot from the oven with dripping butter its irresistable....!<br />
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My very wonderful mother's group which I mentioned in my previous post. We met and cried and laughed and connected in a beautiful hand built round house. Supportive and nurturing.<br />
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My first painting out in the world..in a lovely brand new online magazine.... <a href="http://www.raisingloveliness.com/live-true/">here</a><br />
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My partner Hugh for bringing me breakfast in bed when I was ill..the ultimate luxury...and taking Finch away so I could eat alone....and giving me a much needed back massage..<br />
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And you? What are you grateful for this week?henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-90848151814616341272014-02-08T14:17:00.003-08:002014-02-08T14:17:59.396-08:00Two swans between the housesSpace.<br />
Spaciousness.<br />
Room to breathe and connect.<br />
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That's what I need.<br />
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Each day seems a breathless scuttling of doing, rushing, half doing, kicking things under the sofa just so I don't have to deal with them in that moment, squeezing things in squeezing things out. I have developed a strange, scurrying scuffle, brought on in part by the slightly too big faded lilac slippers I wear around the house, partly by the gasping need to be beyond my next destination, five minutes ago. Too many gaping loads of laundry to process, too many loaves of bread to cook, vats of soup to produce, and tantalising sticks of charcoal waiting on the side, tubes of delicious paint luring my gaze from the latest batch of flapjack in progress.<br />
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This afternoon I drove home in the cold shivering rain from a particularly nurturing mother's group I belong to. Our children are cared for in a creche for two hours, and and we sit in circle, in silence and in deep listening, and our tears and heartfelt connection and support are like a true balm, for us harried struggling 21st century mothers living in our isolation and overwhelm. <br />
<br />I felt particularly soothed and connected to the women in the group today, and usually as I drive home after my group I feel resourced to cope with another week.<br />
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But as I drove today I realised I was progressing more and more slowly, I DIDN'T WANT TO GO HOME.<br />
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I was dreading walking into mess and disorder, jobs shouting at me from every corner...Me Me Me, and poor little Finch dragged around trying to half complete them all, never ending. Stuff, detritus, things to sort, things to clean, things to make. I wanted none of it. I wanted still, peace, calm, silence solitude.<br />
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And then I saw them. Maybe for ten seconds, on the river, a glimpse between to houses. In the rain against the unappealing mud brown of the river Dart in flood.<br />
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Two swans.<br />
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Nothing special, just two swans, stretching their necks and doing their thing in the rain, in the cold, in the mud. And I wanted to be there, with them, heck I even wanted to be them.<br />
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Simple calm beautiful wild and free.<br />
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I felt as if I was in chains.<br />
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But who has the key to the padlock?<br />
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I could have got out of the car and walked through the mud and rain and sat with them, the wind beating in my ears like a wild thing playing its mournful song.<br />
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But I had three children in the car and I didn't. I came home and got a bit frustrated, tried to paint. Got cross with everyone. Tried to remember the swans. Forgot them.<br />
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But now, late at night I remember them.<br />
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Remember their grace and simplicity.<br />
How they must feel, down there on the mud, not thinking, stressing and flustering around in baggy lilac slippers. <br />
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I want to be a swan.<br />
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I don't really want to be swan, but I want to learn from them.<br />
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Learn to use my thoughts less, my head less, listen from my heart, my belly, sniff the air, sharpen my ears, soften my gaze. Sit by the waters edge with nothing to do but BE.<br />
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Just Be.<br />
Be like a swan.<br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-50447906628711022182014-02-05T14:20:00.000-08:002014-02-05T14:20:16.657-08:00Wednesday gratitudeToday I am grateful for,<br />
<br />
My lovely vintage typewriter, so many cool things I can do with this!<br />
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<br />
Fresh salad still in the polytunnel, to eat with our Bavarian meal tonight....(brought by our German students dad yesterday..)<br />
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Art journalling, a new found pleasure and potential exploration into a healing tool to share with others.....<br />
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A good homeschool day, coming in the wake of one where I was ready to give up. Yoga, weaving, reading, cooking, a pleasure....<br />
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Another painting getting there....<br />
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Celebrating Imbolc with Tansy and Leo, and watching their beautiful focus making Bridie dolls to honour the goddess Bridget and carry our germinating seeds of inspiration......<br />
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Those minute shards of time when I can lift a paintbrush, place two words to sing on the page together, sit and take a solitary breath....they are precious indeed.</div>
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And you?</div>
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What are you grateful for this week? </div>
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-75771091044236861592014-02-02T14:17:00.000-08:002014-02-02T14:17:38.843-08:00Gathering tools and baby steps I'm on the edge of a precipice, leaning out against the wind, which beats against my face with its torrent of breath. Even at the edge, still with my feet on the ground. I am nearly at the vortex, a spinning cyclone of images, phrases, ideas possibilities, openings, outlets; reaching at me, grabbing me.The wind's fervour excites me, inspires me, scares me rigid. <br />
Should I go should I jump, should I stay tiptoed at the edge or retreat to the balmy flower meadow and a rather dull picnic. Or even quite a good picnic, sugar free of course, with quinoa and sprouted seeds and raw chocolate delights with a helathy sprinkling of gogi berries?<br />
<br />
That's the problem. I often stand at this edge...although never quite so near, and always end up returning to the picnic. Literally. An idea will come to me, one of those running for your notepad and grabbing the only writing implement available .(usually a pale yellow beeswax block crayon) type of ideas, and having noted it down...(as far as am able with yellow crayon in the margins of my bank statement); I might limply retire to the kitchen and bake some muffins, or fetch the laundry, and then the baby is awake and oops, oh well can't do it now. Hmm<br />
<br />
The precipice is churning with colours, and possibilities, it is a tumult of unknown, a shiver of fear, a dazzle of brightness. And yet I turn away.<br />
<br />
But NO....I WILL NOT. And here, publicly, with you to hear me....<br />
<br />
At the moment I am caring for five kids four of my own plus our German student, with their myriad needs demands and issues, from constant breast milk, to spelling to gym membership and lifts back from paintballing, more printer paper and a white gel pen NOW and my coloured pencils again, and patiently reflecting back the needs of a furious six year old and deflecting angry fists,while holding a baby, trying to cook and tidy up the tornado that is the kids room and......anyway you get the idea...did I mention the laundry?/.<br />
<br />
But.... I'm also taking two online art courses (more about these in another post when I have dived into them more deeply) in the wake of the amazingly transformative Flora Bowley course <a href="http://uc112.infusionsoft.com/go/BT/Angelwings">Bloom True</a> which I have talked about at length already <a href="http://angelwingsandherbtea.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/blooming-true.html">here</a> which has already started me to the edge of the precipice.<br />
By sheer fluke I have also just won a free place on a funky Instagram based pithy, quick fire writing course, which is exciting but also overwhelming as my phone has just given up doing Instagram and it starts on Monday. I'm also not sure how I can possibly squeeze even one more thing into my already overflowing day but I will try. Everyone can have dirty sheets and baked beans on toast for a month.<br />
<br />
And then two days ago my signed copy of <a href="http://therainbowway.weebly.com/">The Rainbow Way</a> arrived, the fourth book of the inspiring Lucy Pearce. I plan to do a review of it when I have read it but in short it is about the burning need some of us feel to create and mother simultaneously without causing harm to either. A treasure of a book which I am reading in tiny snatches and I am now part of an online forum of women.... (some places still left I believe open to those who purchase the book direct from Lucy) support and opportunities in bucketloads.<br />
<br />
From this forum, one of my paintings has found a place in an inspiring new online magazine, to be found <a href="http://www.raisingloveliness.com/">here at Raising Loveliness</a> which is also really exciting.<br />
<br />
In my nearest town my favourite cafe has a chalk board outside calling for artists to put their work on their walls. I need to finish two more paintings to have enough to approach them for my first ever public showing....<br />
<br />
I have finally finished a written piece on loss and recovery for a friends website, which I will link to as soon as it goes live....<br />
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<br />
Are you getting a theme here....it's exciting; things are moving, shifting, progressing, tiny steps maybe, but in a life as full as overflowing as mine it feels big, it feels like the tip of the wave. The tip of a huge powerful swell which I can ride...if I dare. If I have the time...but will I ever have the time?<br />
<br />
Have I the the ability to work in minute snatches and snitches of time, but without hating the person who interrupts me or curtails my flow? Because they will and they do.<br />
<br />
I currently write and paint at the kitchen table, as our bedroom is so icy its hard to do anything there apart from sleep surrounded by hot water bottles. There are seven of us in the house...everyone likes to hang out in the kitchen/sitting room which is very small. And I have a 6 month old baby....I have to keep remembering that.<br />
<br />
So will I sink or swim if I jump? I can only try....<br />
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I keep adjusting the blog, ...as you've probably noticed...but <br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-956911109942178472014-01-29T14:53:00.000-08:002014-01-29T14:53:28.577-08:00Wednesday gratitudeThis week I am grateful for....<br />
<br />
A little boy who is suddenly very firmly on his hands and knees..<br />
<br />
Charcoal...forgotten how fun it is.....thanks <a href="http://mistymawn.typepad.com/">Misty Mawn</a> and <a href="http://www.seedbedstudio.net/blog-2/ecourse/">Pauline Agnew</a><br />
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Incorporating my online art coursework with home ed mornings, so fun and beautiful to create together and have fun.<br />
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My weekly organic veg order, delivered to my door in boxes and bags, a cheap and convenient way to feed seven hungry people three (and more) times a day. (I nearly missed the deadline this morning which is why I'm particularly grateful!1)<br />
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A path. My darling made this to replace the mud and carpet which have been excusing themselves as a path since we opened up a blocked door as our new entrance. We turned our old entrance into a bedroom for our German student.<br />
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Living in a dilapidated mansion where there are such things as blocked up doors and tudor dining halls and a myriad of old staircases, corridors, cellars and crumbling wonders.<br />
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The sun<br />
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My son's passion for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/97202369@N02/?fb_action_ids=342335012571283&fb_action_types=flickr_photos%3Ashare&fb_ref=w&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582">photography</a> which is his guiding light right now henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-87550130435063301182014-01-22T13:42:00.001-08:002014-01-22T13:42:05.983-08:00Wednesday Gratitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I think the universe is challenging this new gratitude space of mine. My first Wednesday...and one of those days which is so eye poppingly full of tiny challenges, huge challenges and enormous tests of patience.<br />
In my regular way I could chronicle this quite entertaining catalogue of domestic tribulations (I must just mention cat vomit as the grand finale..)<br />
<br />
BUT.<br />
<br />
I won't.<br />
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Instead.....<br />
I sigh, and breathe out and thank, thank...myself first for remembering to use my skills of listening to divert and soothe a major melt down at a home education group<br />
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I am grateful....... for this space here which reminds me to practice being grateful.<br />
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........... for the beautiful gardens around me, and the food they produce. <br />
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...........for our chickens, the girls have started their spring egg laying with a great fervour, such a treat to hold warm eggs on a frosty morning <br />
<br />
<br />
...........for the chance to paint and create again, this time with <a href="http://mistymawn.typepad.com/">Misty Mawn</a> and her Full Circle online course, <br />
<br />
..........for getting to make a handmade art journal for my course with the kids, and its also home ed.<br />
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..........For the new climbing club they attend tomorrow which they love and means I get to hang out and drink coffee with some cool mamas and discuss inspiring stuff while Finch naps.<br />
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.........For sugar free apricot and carob bars, a tasty new recipe which Tansy can eat.....and everyone likes.<br />
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.......for having a nursing baby which makes me sit down in the middle of the day.....a big exhale several times a day.<br />
<br />
....<a href="http://www.seventhwavemusic.co.uk/biography.html">this music</a> which I bought at our table top sale today at the home ed group, and which dramatically improved the atmosphere at our homecoming....cat vomit notwithstanding<br />
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<br />
Well I already feel better .......it would have been easy to slip into a moany evening.....<br />
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And I'm grateful for you reading this! Of course!<br />
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What are you grateful for?<br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-61261934320314653102014-01-18T13:32:00.000-08:002014-01-18T13:32:48.328-08:00Blooming True <img alt="static_330x120" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-90" src="http://affiliates.braveintuitiveyou.com/wp-content/uploads/static_330x120.jpg" height="120" width="330" /><br />
<br />
This is what I have been doing...in between . In the little moments. The tiny hours where a baby<br />
might sleep for a moment, the hour where a child might play, a teen might be at school, when I am between jobs, between needs, slipping between the marching daily hours to feed myself...more nourishing than food...<br />
<br />
Twenty five years ago, I was told not to pursue
art at school because, 'only thick kids do art'. Really. My dear physics
teacher, thanks Mr. W, uttered these fateful words, backed up
by....well everyone apart from my Art teacher and me actually. We were
both pretty keen. But my keenness, my love, the light which sparked in
my belly every time I stood in front of a row of pencils, pastels,
paints in an art supply shop; the way in which everything else faded
away when I was immersed in drawing or creating, well it wasn't tough
enough to fight. I wasn't tough.<br />
I let myself be pulled away 'don't waste your brains you could do anything...languages, sciences...that's what you need'<br />
'Keep a little sketch book if you like......you have to be really up there to do anything in art...'.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3cJq27CWLd1UPrmtz6WUxA5XD6Nc9TRr7etreNcWg_tI8iHB_Fvo6B26mpbKauiTitIW4gmkFDwnzpRIWa4x9d1-G-DC1bXkWEpVezlQ30V4Af-sW04d2WEYeWwpDgsx9ctLJCafl2A/s1600/Ebay+jan+2013+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3cJq27CWLd1UPrmtz6WUxA5XD6Nc9TRr7etreNcWg_tI8iHB_Fvo6B26mpbKauiTitIW4gmkFDwnzpRIWa4x9d1-G-DC1bXkWEpVezlQ30V4Af-sW04d2WEYeWwpDgsx9ctLJCafl2A/s1600/Ebay+jan+2013+031.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Birds..' nearly finished!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And
so I was 'good' sailing (academically) through the rest of school with
an ache every time I stood at the door of the Art room and saw my
friends printing painting, sculpting and sketching... <br />
Since then, I've drawn..a little bit, painted, a little bit...made birthday cards, and then......<br />
<br />
Well I discovered, via the inspiring Lucy Pearce at <a href="http://www.dreamingaloud.net/">Dreaming Aloud</a>
, someone who could help. Someone who could help release the good girl
syndrome which held me back, stifled my creativity, made me think I
couldn't, shouldn't, perhaps just wasn't meant to. Someone inspiring,
joyful and life affirming and full of joyous colour and soulfu,l beautiful art.<br />
<br />
I enrolled on a <a href="http://uc112.infusionsoft.com/go/BT/Angelwings">Bloom True course </a>with Flora Bowley. A brave move for someone with a two month old baby...but a blessed move, an inspired move, the right move.<br />
<br />
I hesitated before enrolling...should I spend the money, could I commit the time.....Flora posts six in depth posts every week for five weeks....<br />
The answer was YES!!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt=""Light Trio" 48" x 60", acrylic on canvas" class="attachment-thumbnail" src="http://braveintuitiveyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/FB_lighttrio_48x60_11-150x150.jpg" height="150" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="150" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flora Bowley 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
For the first time in my life I felt free when I painted, free from self doubt, self criticism, free from 'shoulds' and free to paint from a place of intuition and playfulness.<br />
<br />
Sneaking up to my bedroom with Finch every moment I could, to my makeshift studio by the window I layered glorious colour upon colour, inspired by Flora's daily lessons which encouraged me to let go, be brave and let my intuition be my guide.<br />
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt=""Unfolding Light" 48" x 48", acrylic on canvas" class="attachment-thumbnail" src="http://braveintuitiveyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/FB_unfoldinglight_48x48_12-150x150.jpg" height="150" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="150" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Flora Bowley 2012 </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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More than just a painting course, Bloom True encourages the participants to find their own voice, their true, and authentic intuitive and courageous voice, in art and in life.<br />
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Through professionally shot videos we were led through the progression of two large paintings from start to finish, interspersed with studio exercises, instagram prompts, and daily encouragement and tips on painting and life.<br />
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For me the course was worth every penny....the magic happened on the canvas as I built up layer upon layer of paint, not planning, or thinking too much just doing what felt right in the moment and trusting that was right.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joy</td></tr>
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There is a Facebook group to share work and thoughts, and now, months after the course has finished, many of us are still posting and supporting each other in the group. It has become a very special forum for sharing artwork and advice about not only painting but how our lives have been affected by this adventure in colour.<br />
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We all have our journeys...our damaged, joyous, painful and beautiful lives. A vibrant, loving and graceful spirit sings and paints among us; and healing and magic is happening even now as we continue to paint and create and share in our group. Art helps me heal. It helps me grow in confidence when people actually talk of buying my work.<br />
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When I started the course, one of the first exercises was to do some journaling and set intentions for the five week program. My first instinctive thought was to create something of what Lily has left me. Her love and joy and the feeling that I must not waste my life. It seems wrong to shy away from my longings, it seems wrong to be fearful of trying things which I burn to do...not wrong but somehow a waste. We are all designed to shine, we were not created to hide and apologise.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angel</td></tr>
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Lily's seven short beautiful years mean so much, and I have learnt so much since her death that I realise that I must start shining, with her light and with mine.<br />
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Being brave was the theme for the fourth week of painting with Flora and probably the hardest for me. Always the 'good' girl, doing what I think is expected...it felt so liberating to do what I wanted and to find ways to know what it is I want.<br />
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Flora Bowley's e course has changed the way I paint and helped me take a giant step forward on my path in life, and I wholeheartedly recommend <a href="http://uc112.infusionsoft.com/go/BT/Angelwings">Bloom True </a>course, the next one starts on Feb 10th....sign up you won't regret it!<br />
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This post contains affiliate links as I support Flora's work and want to share it with you.....<br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-76040694176605405992014-01-15T04:34:00.000-08:002014-01-15T04:34:36.981-08:00Life Loss and GratitudeI don't quite know why I've abandoned this space for so long. Its grey windswept corridors blown about with tumbleweed and debris . Life comes and life goes, blown by the wind, warmed by the sun watered by the (near continual )rain. People are born, people die, days are passed and tempers are lost. Love is found and divided out in slices, the Christmas tree is down. Its the end its the beginning. I have no time.<br />
I have little shards of time, tiny splinters which glitter like hard won jewels dug from a deep mine far away on a lost continent. I have to be as creative, flexible and bending with my time as a serpent. So flexible. So creative<br />
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A week ago an enormous church in our town was filled with people: remembering the life of a creative, generous, gentle man who spread singing across the world, a member of the community I live in. A ceremony of singing, sighing laughing, remembering. Sometimes, I barely managed to coordinate the keeping -everyone- occupied activities of finger knitting, French knitting and nursing nursing a teething, wildly possetting baby, child fights and demands, ...all in a whisper; sometimes I was engulfed in a wave of tears with the vast singing community of people who will miss him;<br />
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The songs we learned. Dance between the practicalities of caring for children in a reverent space, and moments of immersion when they disappeared to play upstairs.When someone dies it is as if everyone who has died is present too, a shimmering haze, amongst us and beyond us. Joyful and sorrowful, entwined, woven into the same cloth. There were certainly angels there.<br />
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And life on either side is full, a blurred juggle of endless food preparation..(We have gained another teenager for twelve weeks, taking the head count to seven, a German exchange student) converting our entrance hall into his bedroom; Christmas quilts hurriedly finished, New Year clear outs and purging. My bedroom especially, a growling lair of unsorted papers, half finished weaving, sewing and knitting projects, bags and bags of children's clothes which need rationalizing reducing cleaning...throwing out.<br />
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Did I mention the rain?<br />
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You see I can be a moaner, a grumbling whinging oh its not fair kind of gal....ask my partner if you don't believe me....he gets the worst of it....<br />
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So my intention is to be simply grateful. Hmm its becoming a bit of a trend isn't it? Gratitude Fridays, Thankful Thursdays........ no blog complete without one.<br />
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Well maybe it works.<br />
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Finding just one teeny tiny thing each day to be grateful for, in between all the challenges, demands and whines of life can become a habit, and even grow. Stopping to notice the watery sun appearing outside as I complete the fifth round of washing up today, or the delicate tracery of Jack Frost's fern magic on the windows as I shiver to the bathroom. Pausing to watch just how Finch can now pursue a favourite rattle with his eye, and make attempts to retrieve it, and how Tansy appeared unasked with a full basket of clean laundry hauled up from the cellar wash room 'because I knew you needed it Mum, and were busy.'<br />
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Little things.<br />
Important things.<br />
Things that make me smile relax and BREATHE.<br />
Slow down.<br />
Feel a moment of love, a moment of Connection...With the sun. With Jack Frost. With Finch. With Tansy. It spreads...its contagious....before I know it I've noticed something else, someone else. A hug a look a smile, ahh it all seems better for a moment.<br />
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Gratitude. The only question remains...which day will I post? Today!! <br />
So, every Wednesday, its gratitude day, and I will post my daily gratitudes from the week<br />
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What are you grateful for? Do feel post a link to your blog if you feel moved to join inhenriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-67788529804466680412013-09-05T04:01:00.000-07:002013-09-05T04:01:03.130-07:00Herbal inspiration After my last post I was asked what herbal books I'd recommend, and as there are quite a few I thought I'd feature them in their own post. If you are just beginning to learn about herbs, its also really worth learning the plants if you can, although obviously the herb shop is useful too!! Getting to know your herbal allies so you can greet them as you pass them, on the street, in the overgrown garden border, in the hedgerows and woods. Get a good wild flower guide, and make sure you can identify them well....there are a few plants which people commonly confuse which could be dangerous.<br />
Also, if you are starting to treat yourself at home with herbs, I find it good to cross reference at least two or three sources. Its amazing what differences there can be and especially if you are ill, or pregnant or treating a child, its good to be sure and safe!<br />
So these are just a few of my best loved books, but there are many many more excellent resources out there. Happy hunting!<br />
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<li><u>'Herbal for women',</u> and <u>'Herbal for Mother and Child</u>' by <a href="http://annemcintyre.com/">Anne Mcintyre</a>, are two that I referred to constantly during pregnancy and for childhood illnesses. Really useful advice about specific ailments and life stages and some nice herb profiles too. Anne has written more books since these I know, but I haven't yet had a chance to check them out, I'm sure they'd be worth a look, she has become more influenced by Ayuerdevic principles now so</li>
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<li><u>Herbal Healing for Women </u>by <a href="http://www.sagemountain.com/rosemary-gladstar.html"> Rosemary Gladstar</a> This was one of the first herb books I bought when I lived in Canada nearly twenty years ago so I have a special fondness for it. Lovely anecdotes, advice and formula for all life stages and ailments.</li>
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<li><u>The Childbearing Year </u> and <u>Healing Wise </u>by <a href="http://www.susunweed.com/SusunWeed.htm">Susun Weed</a> These books.are lovely.Susun Weed is great, and the first of these books has been my bible through all my pregnancies. The second is a really unique quirky focus on 6 weeds which takes the reader on a walk to gather the herb and then back to the kitchen for recipes, and pharmacy for tinctures, teas and tonics...a lovely book which honours the humble nettle and dandelion. </li>
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<li><u>Self Heal</u> by <a href="http://www.herbs-hands-healing.co.uk/">Jill Davies</a> I did some seminars with Jill when Lily was tiny, and her long experience, understanding and love of herbs and healing shone through. Chapters on detoxing, diet, and a section of very detailed herbal and naturopathic advice on specific ailments make this one of my most highly thumbed herb books.</li>
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<li><u>Encyclopedia of medicinal plants</u> by <a href="http://www.andrewchevallier.co.uk/booksandherbwalks.html">Andrew Chevalier</a> This is really good if you are new to the world of herbs, and also useful for the more experienced person, as a comprehensive overview of many many herbs. All with excellent photos of the plant and parts used. Very useful reference to quickly check out a herb.</li>
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<li> <u>A Modern Herbal</u> Maude Grieve Not really modern, as it was written nearly a hundred years ago, but densely packed wih medicinal and anecdotal information. Did you know for example that bluebell bulbs were not only used as bookbinders gum but also to starch collars? Fascinating book.</li>
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<li><u> </u></li>
<li><u>Herbs of Grace</u> by <a href="http://www.purehealth.com/farida.html">Farida Sharan </a>A book to read for a transformative journey to heal yourself with details of detoxification, herbal formula, naturopathy treatments such as enemas, castor oil packs etc. And the story of the authors own journey to healing.</li>
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As always these days my time is very limited and precious, between family demands.... so this post could and would like to be much longer!<br />
Other herbalists whose books are definitely worth checking out are John Christopher, Jeannine Parvati Baker, Juliette de Bairacli Levy, Micheal Tierra and David Hoffman. Its also worth looking in charity and thrift shops as lovely old tomes often turn up..such as the Maude Grieve one above...and recently I found Maurice Messegue's 'Way to Natural Health and Beauty' which was a treat.<br />
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I would always recommend books written by real herbalists, I know it sounds obvious but it really makes a difference!<br />
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I would love to show you pictures of all my books, to give you a better impression of each one, but alas all my faves are now ash, and I haven't been able to bring myself to go and buy them all over again.<br />
But so much of them is in my head and heart.....and of course all the knowledge is in us anyway and in the plants.....we just need to relearn how to ask.<br />
Herbal Blessings!!<br />
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henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-68912427975569182982013-08-25T13:54:00.003-07:002013-08-25T13:54:57.764-07:00Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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.......Or Borage, Meadowsweet, Calendula and Yarrow, Or Dandelion, Chickweed, Nettle and Plantain,...or?<br />
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The gardens and lanes are singing with flowers and my collecting basket is busy. When the morning dew has gone, I gather baby and children and set off to pick my winter medicine cabinet. Some ancient voice calls me from the hedgerows, from the herb beds in these beautiful gardens around us. I feel an irrepressible urge to gather armfuls of fragrant herbs and weeds to blend and infuse and extract their distilled energy from the sun; bottle the summer to sustain us through the coldness ahead.<br />
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We discover purple loosetrife growing in purple drifts by the river weir, and pink Yarrow and blue butterflies in a sun drenched meadow, dancing quietly. It seems as though we are very close to how we were meant to be, at moments like this. The bone dry, warmed grass, alive with insects, the flickering blue wings on the pink flowers. Aah, time to sigh down into the earth and melt into it. No separation.<br />
Picking herbs feels sacred....<br />
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Sometimes it is more everyday..spotting the St John's wort on the way to collect eggs or pick some salad,<br />
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plucking a few sprigs of lavender as I go out to call the children in for lunch. More absentminded.<br />
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Making medicine seems to run deep in my bones. Even as a small child I found an old book of country folk remedies in my parents bookshelves, and spent many hours mixing herbal pastes and potions in the back garden. <br />
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In between Finch, the other children, writing, and all the other voices calling me each day, I dry teas, laying the herbs out on cloths in my warm airy bedroom; I make tinctures with brandy and vodka, infusing the petals and leaves to extract the medicines for fevers, earaches, coughs, colds, insomnia. It's fun, its compulsive, it feels like magic.<br />
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The kids have been busy too, sometimes Tansy quietly goes off to the gardens to pick potions, and later, I see neat little rows of drying herbs in my bedroom and newly washed jam jars waiting ready to receive them.<br />
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We made a delicious fermented flower elixir, infusing Meadowsweet, Yarrow, Roses, Lavender and Mugwort in honey water for four days. Slightly alcoholic, the resulting brew was earthily sweet and delicious with a myriad of mystical floral undertones. I have no bottle to show you, as it was all drunk at our last community pizza evening! <br />
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When it rains I can't harvest, as the damp leaves do not store well, especially in infused oils which go mouldy so quickly. <br />
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But I can sit and nurse, and drink the herbs I've collected, and feel glad to know my weeds....<br />
<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-85454566524153034832013-08-13T00:10:00.000-07:002013-08-14T02:44:41.304-07:00It's complicated<!-- START TOP CODE -->
<b>Welcome to the August 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Sibling Revelry</b><br />
<i>This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by <a href="http://codenamemama.com/2013/07/09/learning-about-diversity-while-traveling" target="_blank">Code Name: Mama</a> and <a href="http://www.hobomama.com/2013/07/childrens-black-and-white-views.html" target="_blank">Hobo Mama</a>. This month our participants have written about siblings - their own, their hopes for their kids, and more. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.</i><br />
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.How many siblings have my kids got? Let's start with my eldest. He has four from me and four from his dad's subsequent relationship.. If you count Lily. And why wouldn't you count her? Well if you're fourteen and someone asks how many brothers and sisters you have, you might not want to bring up your dead sister right away, or maybe not even the ones that you don't live with....I don't know. But I can guess he doesn't say eight very often. Eight. Hmm. Split families, bereaved families, families with multiple children, how did it all happen?<br />
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I'm one of one so this is all new territory to me, brothers and sisters; like an exotic fruit; tantalising, juicy and apparently delicious but just out of reach.Unskilled in fighting, sharing and manilpulating parental favour;<br />
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<span id="goog_1825881998">I was dropped into the tumult of sibling jealousy and love that are so exquisitely intermingled they hardly seemed to know which they were or when. </span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">'I won't throw Lily into the nettles down by the river, she's too beautiful, ' for example. From a three year old contemplating his newborn sister....</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">The ferocity of feelings between the kids can unsettle me and send me hurtling to the apex of the whirlwind, shouting, 'No! no!' like a banshee, or, 'Its fine, it's fine, let's go do some baking', in high pitched, strung out, </span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">Lets- Placate-Everyone-Right-Now tones.</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">My partner meanwhile, eldest of five, hasn't even looked up. 'Just leave them, they'll sort it out', he might murmur.</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">'But they're killing each other!'</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">'It'll pass!'</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">When I was a child, everything was sedate, ordered, quiet...ok pretty dull if the truth be known!!! Predictable and unchanging; and I read alot of books. Mainly about big, noisy rambunctious families charging around doing exotic, alien things like stealing each others toys and fighting over the last slice of cake. It sounded so exciting, so unreachable, so desirable.</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">So I decided to have my own big noisy rambunctious family. Four, always four. But complicated things like relationship break-ups happen, and before I knew it I had my four kids but by two dads, although </span><span id="goog_1825881998">the spacing between broods was close enough to make a cohesive family. </span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">Each permutation of child pairings had a different dynamics. And these dynamics flowed and changed with time. And just as I find the fighting almost unbearable to watch, so I find the moments of tenderness and true affection almost unbelievable too. 'But they really love each other!!'</span></div>
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And then Lily died and everyone has an angel for a sister. No one quite knows how to do without her but they have no choice.</div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">But it doesn't mean their relationship with her has died. All her siblings still love her, even the ones who have never met her on earth. Since little Finch was born three weeks ago, we often say that Lily probably played a part in him deciding to join our family. And although it breaks my heart that I will never see Finch and Lily together on earth, I know they had a great time together before he was born.....</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">A white feather always connects the kids to their big sister, floating to the ground in front of them, 'Lily is preening her wings,' they say. </span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">We talk about her, remember things she said, notice traits in the younger ones which remind us of Lily. And all the children have times when they just sigh and wish she was here again.</span></div>
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<span id="goog_1825881998">Truthfully, Tansy and Leo probably have no real memory of her, they were so young, but the presence of their lost sibling is so powerful and graceful that they can never forget her. </span></div>
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A sister is always a sister, wherever they are.</div>
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And five kids are five kids, wherever they are, I didn't plan to have part of my family in heaven, but the relationship between them all will flow and change and grow as they change and grow.</div>
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This is their life, and death is part of it, as it is for everyone. </div>
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Freddie, Lily, Tansy, Leo and Finch.</div>
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Who love each other.</div>
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<a href="http://codenamemama.com/carnival-of-natural-parenting/#carnatpar" target="_blank" title="Carnival of Natural Parenting"><img align="right" alt="Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama" border="0" class="alignright" src="http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee159/lintpicker/CNPnaturalparent.jpg" /></a>Visit <a href="http://codenamemama.com/carnival-of-natural-parenting/#carnatpar" target="_blank"> <b>Code Name: Mama</b></a> and <a href="http://www.hobomama.com/p/carnival-of-natural-parenting.html" target="_blank"><b>Hobo Mama</b></a> to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!<br />
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:<br />
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<li><b><a href="http://www.jananas.com/the-damage-of-comparing-siblings%E2%80%8E" target="_blank">The Damage of Comparing Siblings</a></b> — Comparing siblings can lead to hurt feelings and poor relationships. What <b>Jana Falls</b> has learned and why she hopes for more for her son.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://theyareallofme.blogspot.com/2013/07/connecting-through-sibling-rivalry.html" target="_blank">Connecting Through Sibling Rivalry</a></b> — With four children who are spaced so that each child grows up in a pair, Destany at <b>They are All of Me</b> shares her method for minimizing the competition so her children can focus on bonding, rather than besting each other.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.dreamingaloud.net/2013/07/sibling-revelry.html" target="_blank">Sibling Revelry</a></b> — Lucy at <b>Dreaming Aloud</b> shares the two-week transition that happens every summer as her kids transform from bickering to learning how to play.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://abbyjaramillo.com/2013/08/13/baby-brother-ocean/" target="_blank">Baby Brother born from an Ocean</a></b> — <b>Abby Jaramillo</b> describes how her toddler connects in a possibly mystical way with her new baby brother and his birth at home, and Abby draws parallels with her own sister's new baby.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://wp.me/pDcm9-1of" target="_blank">Hard, But Worth It</a></b> — Claire at <b>The Adventures of Lactating Girl</b> discusses how difficult having two children can be, but how it's definitely worth it. </li>
<li><b><a href="http://livingpeacefullywithchildren.com/2013/08/13/raising-attached-siblings/" target="_blank">Raising Attached Siblings</a></b> — At <b>Living Peacefully with Children</b>, Mandy and her husband are making conscious choices about how they raise their children to foster sibling connection and attachment.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://angelwingsandherbtea.blogspot.com/2013/08/its-complicated.html" target="_blank">It's Complicated</a></b> — Henrietta at <b>Angel Wings and Herb Tea</b> reflects on how life's twists and turns have taken her from a childhood with no siblings to a constantly changing family life with five children, including one in spirit.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2013/08/support.html" target="_blank">Support</a></b> — <b>sustainablemum</b> reflects on how the differences between her relationship with her siblings and her husband's have affected their family and at a time of need.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://ourmindfullife.blogspot.com/2013/08/peas-in-pod.html" target="_blank">Peas in a Pod</a></b> — Kellie at <b>Our Mindful Life</b> enjoys the special relationship her oldest two children share.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://squishablebaby.com/cooperation-not-competition" target="_blank">Lessening the competitive enviornment in the home</a></b> — <b>Lisa at The Squishable Baby</b> discusses how downplaying competition in the home has led to cooperation, not competition.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.hobomama.com/2013/08/complex-and-wonderful-world-of-siblings.html" target="_blank">The complex and wonderful world of siblings</a></b> — Lauren at <b>Hobo Mama</b>reflects on her choices to have not too many children, spaced far apart — and how that's maybe limited how close their sibling relationship can be.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.ithoughtiknewmama.com/2013/08/8-ways-to-help-young-siblings-have-a-loving-relationship/" target="_blank">5 Ways to Help Young Siblings Have a Loving Relationship</a></b> — Charise <b>I Thought I Knew Mama</b> shares the strategies that help her three year old and 14 month old have a somewhat beautiful relationship and aid in keeping peace in their home.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.sheilapai.com/4-steps-to-encourage-sibling-revelry-even-in-hot-moments-of-rivalry" target="_blank">4 Steps to Encourage Sibling Revelry, even in Hot Moments of Rivalry</a></b> — Sheila Pai of <b>A Living Family</b> share 4 Steps she uses to shift hot moments of sibling rivalry towards connected moments of sibling revelry and human compassion.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://projectprocrastinot.blogspot.com/2013/08/twins-are-fun.html" target="_blank">Twins Are Fun</a></b> — Mercedes at <b>Project Procrastinot</b> witnesses the development of her twins' sibling bond. </li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.amywilla.com/2013/08/growing-up-together-sibling-revelry-in-our-house" target="_blank">Growing Up Together- Sibling Revelry in Our House</a></b> — Amy at <b>Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work</b> realizes that there is great utility in raising siblings that are close in age, and is grateful to have been blessed with healthy siblings that both love and challenge one another every day. </li>
<li><b><a href="http://livingmontessorinow.com/2013/08/13/top-5-ways-to-reduce-sibling-rivalry/" target="_blank">Top 5 Ways to Reduce Sibling Rivalry</a></b> — Deb Chitwood at <b>Living Montessori Now</b> shares ideas that helped her two children be best friends along with Montessori resources for peace education and conflict resolution.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://cinnamonandsassafras.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/sibling-uncertainty/" target="_blank">Sibling Uncertainty</a></b> — Alisha at <b>Cinnamon and Sassafras</b> wonders how her children's relationship will change now that the baby is mobile.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.thevariegatedlife.com/living-with-the-longing/" target="_blank">Living with the Longing</a></b> — Rachael at <b>The Variegated Life</b> sees that she can live with her longing for another — without changing her plans.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://playingforpeace.tumblr.com/post/58137824269/august-carnivalofnaturalparenting" target="_blank">For My One and Only Daughter</a></b> — <b>Playing for Peace</b> mommy reflects on her choice to not have more children in order to focus on other dreams.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://codenamemama.com/2013/08/13/siblings-a-crash-course-in-relationship-training/" target="_blank">Siblings: A Crash Course in Relationship Training</a></b> — How have your siblings prepared you for later relationships? One of Dionna at <b>Code Name: Mama's</b> top priorities as mama of siblings is to help them learn how to navigate relationships. </li>
<li><b><a href="http://pandamoly.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-joys-of-siblings-inside-joke.html" target="_blank">The Joys of Siblings: An Inside Joke</a></b> — Ana at <b>Panda & Ananaso</b> shares the a glimpse into the joys of having siblings through sharing a perplexing yet hilarious inside joke betwixt her and her own. </li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.puginthekitchen.com/?p=1018" target="_blank">Sibling Support, even in the potty!</a></b> — Even though Laura at <b>Pug in the Kitchen</b>'s children didn't start out best friends, they are joined at the hip these days, including cheering each other on with potty successes!</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.authenticparenting.info/2013/08/sibling-jealousy.html" target="_blank">Don't Seek What Isn't There - On Sibling Jealousy</a></b> — Laura from <b>Authentic Parenting</b> analyzes the seeming desire people harbor for seeking out hints of sibling jealousy. </li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.mommajorje.com/2013/08/sibling-love-sibling-hate.html" target="_blank">Sibling Love / Sibling Hate?</a></b> — <b>Momma Jorje</b> speculates whether her children will have a different sibling experience than her own. Did she make the right choices based on her own history?</li>
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henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-6982107672572964582013-08-10T05:30:00.001-07:002013-08-10T05:30:22.877-07:00EmergingToday, Finch is 4 weeks old.<br />
Day by day uncurling, stretching, opening just a tiny bit more; emerging from his dreamy otherwordly newborn realm into our world. Each day his eyes open a little bit more, dark, wide and bottomless as they gaze up at me when he nurses...and nurses...and nurses! And then they shift, imperceptibly to a point just beside my head....what are they seeing? What does he know?<br />
Newborns are so fascinating; fresh and pure, like tiny nuzzling animals, uttering little sighs and moans, like ancient laments from a time before time. His soft silken head nestles so beauifully on all our chests, dreaming, drooling, sucking, shuddering. Doing newborn things. He's arriving.<br />
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Despite the fact that we decided, perhaps foolishly, perhaps wisely, to take Finch (and everyone else) to the wonderful <a href="http://www.buddhafield.com/index.php?festival=about">Buddhafield Festival</a> when he was a week old.....neither me or my new born baby had really emerged. Emerged from the quiet dreamy world of home and bed and milk. We winced in the bright sun; loud music made our ears curl, and somehow walking to the toilets seemed like quite a bit of exercise. We did manage two gentle workshops on womb wisdom and conscious communication but the best places semed to be cushioned shady locations with plenty of chai on offer. No shamanic trance dance this year!<br />
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I need time to arrive back in the world. And living in a community makes it very easy to not go out. There are people, there's space, gardens, children; folks have made me a few meals and even done my washing up a few times!! Why would I want to go out?<br />
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But of course I have to....sit in a major shoe chain nursing while Freddie buys trainers, dash into convenient cafes to quickly feed on a grocery shopping trip,when there are other children to care for, life has to expand beyond the babymoon quite quickly!<br />
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And yet, and yet, there was something missing, something narrowed, constrained, that I hardly realised until I took the kids to a firelit storyelling evening with <a href="http://coyopa.wordpress.com/">Tom Hirons</a> and <a href="http://intothehermitage.blogspot.co.uk/">Rima Staines</a>. Before the spellbinding rendition of 'The Sun Princess and the 40th door', a Lithuanian folk tale; we wandered down a little green lane on the edge of Darmoor, full of piskies and fairies, and tripped across stepping stones to gather honey scented lime blossom.<br />
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As we trod the little winding track among moss covered boulders, and trees that whispered old forgotten stories and half finished tales for our times; I suddenly felt something expand inside me, soar to the tree tops, sink down among the soil and twisting roots, fly away on the wings of the mewing buzzard beyond the green. I felt fully emerged from the confines of domesticity and nappy buckets, inspired excited and nourished all at the same time.<br />
I hadn't been on a walk for weeks.<br />
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Somehow I felt more able to sink into the present moment and be fully aware with all my senses, away from home distractions. even away from the very beautiful and productive gardens which always seem to want me to harvest or weed them!<br />
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There is something about being out in the wild world that makes me feel free and happy...is it the same for you? <br />
I guess with practice I can bring the mindfulness and freedom into daily life too.<br />
Has anyone managed to mindfully and joyfully tidy clutter or empty the washing machine?<br />
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It's so effortless in a sun dappled Dartmmor lane..... <br />
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Ps I haven't yet managed to pack both camera and nappies for outings....that will come...so its a dearth of pics for now! Nappies take priority......henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-77389838869413816712013-07-30T13:32:00.000-07:002013-07-30T13:32:06.011-07:00Working things outYes I keep fiddling around, trying to get things right on this blog, I'm not quite there yet, so be prepared for more changes! It's not my strong point, the techie side, but I'm trying! <br />
When I started this blog I had a very clear vision of what this space was about. There were three elements which were held here;<br />
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The Woodland folk... <br />
For four years I lived with my family in the middle of a wood in Devon. The first three in a mobile home, the last in our self build cabin. This blog was about living in small spaces with minimal possessions and no electricity, it was about hand washing by candlelight and writing in notebooks by the fire, and stepping out into beautiful woodland by night to the ghostly owl shadows gliding down the valley.<br />
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Wild medicine<br />
I also wrote about the oils, tinctures and balms I made for my family from wild harvested herbs, and the hedgerow food and medicine around our land. Connection and healing through plants and trees.<br />
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Lily <br />
Finally, this blog has been space for my daughter Lily, who died four years ago; time and space for me to think about her, share how life is, and was, and could be without my daughter, and what she means for our family.<br />
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Some things have changed. And so the blog will change .<br />
We now live in the wing of a mansion, as part of a community of people who sing, and garden together; share space, food and land.<br />
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We have an indoor bathroom, access to a washing machine and mains electricity, which to begin with felt odd and wrong after our deep connection with a simpler life on the land. When our cabin burnt down, we had to live somewhere, and after much searching and deliberation, this felt right. And it is. Somehow it is.<br />
We are no longer the family in the woods, we no longer straddle two centuries, bathing in a tin bath, then dashing off to school in a car, but for me in particular, the departure from this way of life has been hard. Not just the loss of the beautiful cabin that we, (well Hugh) worked so hard to build, but it felt like a failure that we were creeping back to mainstream society with our tail between our legs. I missed the closeness to nature and cooking dinner on the campfire, stepping out of the door into wildness.....<br />
'When's the rebuild?' so many people asked in the early days after the fire, and truely neither Hugh or I really ever wanted to.<br />
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To return to the blackened scene of such devastation, to a piece of land which, if the truth be known, we had never chosen because it was the most beautiful woodland.<br />
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And then I was pregnant. We were exhausted, and our kids needed stability and safety, normality. We have lost so much, our home, our possessions, the chicks, the cat, the rats (Holly and Sophie since you ask) the goats (Goats?.Why yes...Lauren, Lauretta, Abby and Dolly.....they're's a whole blog post just waiting to happen, can't believe they've escaped being featured!)<br />
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but we have also gained so much. Wisdom for a start, to have learnt from big mistakes and misguided ways of approaching projects. We have received so much love and unfailing support from friends an strangers, and a realisation that community is more important than independance. I have learnt that receiving is as beautiful (and a lot harder) than giving, and the web of connecion and interdependance between us is the magic and the fabric of our lives and makes us human. (Yes its basic stuff, but I'm a slow learner, these big jolts in my life accelerate my schooling in the bits I'm falling behind in) We've also gained a new baby, little Finch.<br />
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And so things are different. We've been forced to reevaluate our lives, one day I was drawing up business plans for our smallholding, herb products; projecting milk yields and planning my first batch of goats milk soap (with investment of specialised oils, and equipment all at the ready), costing out yurts for our planned retreat centre for bereaved families and disadvantaged kids......the next....its all gone. <br />
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And so we move on, and change, and there are other things in our lives, and other paths which, who knows may wind in the same direction one day.<br />
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I still gather herbs and bottle nature's medicines for the winter chills, Lily is still my daughter and a luminous presence in our family, I'm still homeschooling Tansy and Leo and writing and creating, but now things are moving.<br />
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Life is bigger than I have let myself believe. I'm exploring what this means. Bringing together the things that make me sing and smile and weaving them together to make a blanket of healing. Healing for me, healing for many. The colour and weave is yet unknown although patterns and hues swirl around me, notebooks are filling with lists, threads of projects, ideas....consolidating, envisioning.<br />
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I'm just working my way through Leonie Dawson's <a href="http://leoniedawson.com/shop/kits/incredible-year-workbook-calendar/"> Incredible yearbook and planner 2013</a> , yes in July, should have done it in January, and it's just what I need. Check it out....well at least in readiness for 2014, but July is better than not at all eh? Newborn baby and all!<br />
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Little Finch is already a healer in our lives in so many ways, he's brought so much love with him..........and that newborn ageless wisdom, and a soft, silky head to nuzzle.<br />
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So this blog will change. Reflecting life's twists and unexpected turns. I hope you'll come too, it's amazing to have you along.<br />
I remember hitting 'publish' the very first time I wrote on here and it felt so strange....who on earth would want to read it anyway? But you have, and people have, and sharing is uplifting and healing and really joyful and fun.....Thankyou.....henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-33047847271266350682013-07-13T09:12:00.001-07:002013-07-13T09:12:05.195-07:00Just before Dawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was in the middle of writing a post about my Blessingway ceremony, but he beat me to it, coming a week early...dear little boy, born to a family who love him so much.......<br />
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Born just before dawn on Wednesday morning.......<br />
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and a surprise for every child who came into he bedroom the next morning....<br />
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from eldest to youngest.......<br />
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Well I guess the Blessingway ceremony will keep for next time, for now we all feel very, very blessed. <br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-72536182262843524912013-06-11T15:54:00.001-07:002013-06-11T15:54:07.437-07:00Lily and the mobile phone guy<br />
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What do you do on the anniversary of your daughter's death? It's not the sort of question I imagined I'd have to deal with when I held my 4 newborns in my arms. But it is something I have to think about every year now.<br />
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June approaches with stealthy feet, all blossomy with foaming elder trees and blowsy roses, tangled hedgerows of campion and stitchwort and budding honeysuckle, and I get the same feeling of strange dread and an opening heart.<br />
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The weeks before have been tumultuous emotionally, flare ups and misunderstandings, journalling and outpourings, private tears and heart connections, jagged, raw poems that can never be seen...realisations and illuminations.<br />
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But today, the anniversary of the day 4 years ago that they did the brain stem test in Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, to see if they should turn the life support machine off, well it seemed strangely normal and so so hard to feel any connection with deeper emotions.<br />
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Its hard to feel and connect when I'm busy. Doing not being.<br />
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We were up early to rush back from a mini break in time for Hugh to go to work, so sweeping caravans and packing at seven instead of a quiet reflective time.<br />
Shopping with the kids for groceries....trying to have a moment of thought over pancakes in a cafe .....jarring with children who were slightly hysterical and tired....<br />
And then for God's sake, meeting the mobile phone repair guy in the supermarket carpark at 4.30. My date with normality. Drawing me into its web with its dulled ravening claws....rushing away from a painting hour where we created angels and doves for Lily's grave...to meet the mobile phone guy, and buy loo roll.<br />
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But maybe that's ok. Maybe I don't have to create a perfect hallowed day on June 11th and feel like I've let Lily down if I don't. I did need my phone, we did need loo roll. We did connect over the painting and we did visit Lily's grave.....and we do have spontaneous moments where we feel.<br />
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Curled up in a little grassy place we go to sometimes where the younger kids feel safe and relaxed, and say how they miss her.<br />
A moment alone to pick flowers for her table where each blossom seem to glow with the essence of her love for it. Where the world swelled and condensed to a tiny distilled fragment holding Lily and me in its tender embrace.<br />
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A chance conversation sitting in the car in the rain with all of my children, remembering, crying, little forgotten details recalled, healing tears.....soothing our struggles alone.<br />
Messages from friends, a kind word which helps grief to flow.<br />
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And that is the challenge. To create the space to let the grief move how it will, without dams or blockages or avoidance tactics, or just the practical demands of daily life. To let Lily into everything. To allow the joy and grief to weave and flow around our lives, the tears sparkling among the breakfast dishes as the laughter ripples into a walk to the garden. No separation. No compartmentalisation.<br />
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It is a challenge. <br />
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When I meditate, or spend a moment seeking a connection with nature or myself, the tears and emotions are very close to the surface, waiting for a chance to escape the rigid confines of my busy hours where I rush without feeling. I know that the more I do this, the more emotion can flow naturally in my life and become more balanced and help me and my family to heal. I've made a commitment to do this more.<br />
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Spending time in nature, in this beauiful place that is our home now, sitting with a flower, a tree, being quiet and receptive to the spirit that is in everything and in us, makes my heart much bigger and makes me feel that anything is possible. Spending time connecting with friends old and new, in deeper ways, more nurturing ways, makes me not feel alone. Makes me feel the beauty of life, the endless possibilities that are always there.<br />
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I guess Lily would just laugh about meeting the mobile phone guy, she just needs us to love her, remember her, connect wih her, just like always. It's another day, like yesterday, like tomorrow.<br />
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A day for us all to connect with something more than our mind driven rushing, to open our hearts to a deeper level. Its a huge tapestry of glowing, luminous threads we're part of, all interwoven with the practical homespun browns and greys, the vibrant reds and pinks of daily activity, the soft iridescent violets of our connection to the spirit which is in everything, the subtle greens of nature unfolding....we never stop weaving...<br />
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Do you manage to hold all the threads of the loom together.....is it easy for you?henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-81010773272770982013-05-28T14:07:00.000-07:002013-05-28T14:07:41.591-07:00Growing bigger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've always been tall, often the tallest woman in a gathering, the tallest kid in class, not really, really tall but above average......my weight has slightly fluctuated over the years but I've never been fat or super super thin, just kind of ok.<br />
But you know I've always been small. Kept myself small, squashed myself into small insignificance, self sabotaged, assumed I can't do it, shouldn't do it, would be better if someone else did it. Write the book, illustrate it, raise the child, bake the cake, run the stall, make the speech. Hazy memories of shrinking down behind my desk at school cowering from praise from my English teacher, wishing my navy knee highs were long enough to cover my blushes. Starting amazing projects, business ideas, courses, books......and abandoning them for fear of what? Fear of failure? Or fear of something else?<br />
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I recently went to see a kinesiologist and what came out of it.....I have.a misguided, inherited pattern to see other people's jewels as more important than my own.<br />
And it wasn't so much of a shock to hear it.<br />
Resentfully bottom of the pile..oh its only me I'll just sit on the floor over there..yes I know I'm 7 months pregnant but its ok really. <br />
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The other day I read a post from Lucy over at Dreaming Aloud <a href="http://www.dreamingaloud.net/2013/05/what-stands-between-us-and-greatness-of.html">What stands between us and thegreatness of our potential</a><br />
Read it.<br />
To summarise in a phrase;<br />
What we are afraid of is not how inadequate we are but how powerful we are.<br />
I read it and reread it and began to watch myself....<br />
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Recently I've been writing short stories, quite a few, to enter competitions. (note to self..I really wanted to add "not that I've any chance of winning"....grrr) . I notice that just when I get into the flow, just when I reach that luminous moment when the story seems to twist itself out of my grasp and capture the essence of what I knew was there, without any particular effort from me, just at that moment when my pen is jumping around in my hand from excitement and I'm smiling from that Yes Yes Yes feeling. Guess what? I head off to do the washing up, or sort the laundry, or make sure Freddie is doing his homework, or do a bit of general tidying in the lobby.<br />
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Strange isn't it. But familiar?<br />
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Its ridiculous that's what.<br />
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Ok I don't wear navy knee highs any more...(only in certain situations...just kidding) and I don't blush when someone appreciates something I've done, but I do have to fight hard not to disagree with them. Or I might do one of those little self deprecating put downs...oh yes but you should have seen me when I was .....insert some mildly humourous incident where I seem ridiculous or wrong.<br />
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This is where it gets serious.<br />
I am 40, no kidding, my birthday was in December. I say no kidding because it's still a little surprising to me.<br />
I'm pregnant with my fifth child, and pregnant for the eighth time.<br />
I am an adult<br />
I have lost my eldest daughter in a traumatic accident.<br />
My house has burnt down.<br />
I'm really an adult.<br />
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I think the universe is trying to tell me something.<br />
I'm not saying that traumatic events happen just to send me some sort of cosmic message. But they have happened and although I am changed, I'm also still the same, the same little me.<br />
And I'm not ok with that. <br />
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Doing great things sure, daily hum drum things, little special things, hugging my kids, making up stories planting out squash and beans, smelling the apple blossom, coming up with another sugar free recipe, navigating the turbulent waters of adolescence, pregnancy, children.........but still feeling as though my life is only part lived. As though I'm a water nymph, swimming in circles at the bottom of the pond, catching a glimpse of the sparkling sun above the surface of the water, the azure summer sky, the rustle and dip of the soaring birds and dragonflies, just out of reach. Feeling ok, but knowing that something luminous and magical is there, just waiting for the gauzy translucent wings to sprout from my back to launch me into a vast shining universe that I hardly dare admit I can inhabit.<br />
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Because I can inhabit it...so can you, so can everyone. We were all born to live in the true joy of a full existence and potential, and we're not supposed to live small mean cramped lives. You don't see an apple tree apologising in the corner of the orchard, limiting its blossom output and thinking well maybe I shouldn't this year. Or a robin at dawn thinking it ought to just tone it down a bit today, and sit quietly behind a leaf instead.<br />
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The more I think about this, the more I am aware of and drawn to the many shining souls there are, glowing with the energy and beauty of their creativity, enthusiasm, passion.<br />
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BUT...<br />
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I have to fight the thought that they are different somehow from me, more able, more passionate, more creative......more more more than little me. Its hard to think this. Especially as its just my head that does this. My heart knows the truth, and when I have a moment's stillness; a moment of connection; a moment where my busy busy censoring judgemental pattern ridden brain stops its goddam thinking.....then I know. Then I catch a brief golden glimpse of the simplicity of how things could be, how they are, how I could be.<br />
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And I owe it to my daughter Lily to become this person, yes I owe it to myself, and my family, and the little tumbling babe still dark and warm inside me, but especially to Lily. I can't waste my life, I know I have bigger things to do, I can feel Lily, in those quiet golden moments of connection. She knows with the whole of her; unencumbered by a mind and a thinking brain, she is free to really see, and she helps me.<br />
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So I've decided to make some changes..ways to grow bigger. (And not just my tummy which is by the day!)I might share them here, I might not, but sharing helps, connecting with others helps, knowing that we all, to a lesser or greater degree go through similar doubts, restrictions realisations, moments of illumination.<br />
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I'd love to hear yours..please?! <br />
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henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2060216394637237928.post-34510036068394879792013-05-07T14:00:00.001-07:002013-05-07T14:00:41.345-07:00Still Here!This feels like forgotten space, strange unfamiliar fruit tasted long ago, yet recognised, missed......Lack of habit, distraction, busy days, inertia, who knows..I haven't written here in a regular way for such a long time I almost don't know how to. It feels awkward, like that first uncertain hug after an argument. <br />
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Meanwhile my belly grows rounder, and Spring grows greener and warmer and more abundant with just a whisper of north wind to remind us of the weeks of chill which kept us shivering by the fire knitting reluctantly while the sap rose in our veins just the same.<br />
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Now, the windflowers dance like stars in the woods, the lawns are embroidered with Primroses, Lady's smock, Speedwell, Daisies; the promise of Bluebells, the memory of Snowdrops. In the walled garden herbs are hurrying to break from their long enforced slumber, Mints and Balms, Angelica, Tansy, Rue in a frenzy of life and hope. The polytunnels are bursting with verdant abundance. There is so much bursting energy, buds swelling, coy pigeons flirting, (downright violent duck mating!) my baby swirling and swimming in its own warm, secret haven. It's hard not to get exhausted by it all! Its suddenly become almost impossible to go to bed early, and the sun peeps around the shutters so early now...<br />
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We have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes Hugh and I look at each other, and marvel, 'how did we get this lucky?' Our house burnt down but somehow, in an easy flowing synchronisity of events, we have ended up in a beautiful vibrant place full of love life and community. We garden together and share Thursday soup and bread, we sing together, meet together, borrow, lend and share; the children spend hours and hours playing in the trees and gardens, learning, accomodating..being children.<br />
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Now that the Spring warmth is here and I no longer dread undressing to go to bed in the glacial heights of our enormous bedroom, I am relaxing into the final couple of months of the pregnancy...the final months! July seems close. Friends are starting to talk about nappies they have put by for me, I am thinking about a king sized mattress, I am still not really believing I'm pretty close to having another baby. It's exciting!<br />
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<br />henriettahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09074892292635873711noreply@blogger.com5