six senses sunday

the flower garden at spikenard bee sanctuary

see

• the beauty and vision of spikenard bee sanctuary in floyd, virginia
• i've been documenting wildflowers on walks and hikes for the past few weeks.  it's incredible how many more you see when you are tuned in to their existence.

hear

• rain, rain, and more rain.
• my luca dog has gone mostly deaf so he barks all the time now to make sure he covers all his bases.  

smell

• that shot of ozone scent after all the rain.
• everything smells positively mossy.  
• lavender leaves crushed between my fingers.
• gardenia blooms and the last of the honeysuckle, so strong and sweet it makes me swoon a bit.

touch

• weaving plant material on the garden loom.
• hands in so much dirt.

taste

• homemade honeysuckle ice cream 
• a good old-fashioned moon pie while taking a roadtrip break in fancy gap, virginia

know

• a soft sense of moving in the right direction.
• the grace of easing up.
• a sense of safety, knowing folks care.

* * * * *

sunday grace: a new practice

when i started this blog seven years ago its primary purpose was to serve as a spot to ground me in the beauty and living of ordinary life.  the first few years i posted like a crazy person and i've noticed the posts have become fewer and fewer in the past years.   i want to reintroduce the practice of using this space as a reflection of my days, checking in with life practices i've chosen (to make sure i am doing them, not just thinking about them), and serving as a weekly benchmark to move me forward.

so i thought i would use this sunday post as a reintroduction of this practice, organized by some of the things that are important to me.  i want to reflect how i am doing with actively including them into my day to day life.

f l o w e r s

s k y  g a z i n g

n o u r i s h m e n t

cantaloupe with urfa biber chile.  and all of a sudden, tomatoes everywhere.

a r t

this is a little doodle i did while participating on a 16-person conference call.  when you are an introverted intuitive, the purpose and effectiveness of a conference call tend to escape you (so much of the context and nuances are missing), so you engage your brain however you can while you listen.

this is a new piece i'm working on in its early stages.  i like to capture the layers of the work as they move and change.

we had a bit of rain this week.  i took the piece outside and let some showers inform the direction of the work.

i experimented with some chemical movement on the same piece as well (drops of alcohol).

in a future layer, a full moon is going to be central to the piece.  just layering some understory here.


c o m m u n i t y

we spent part of saturday at an art fair held in a barn.  several of my favorite local artists and farmers were there.  it was so delightful to see them.  i especially love seeing their children play and work alongside them.

is there anything more quintessentially summer than a children's lemonade stand?

m e a n i n g f u l  w o r k

i put a few pieces of my work up on redbubble and am so grateful for the response.  stuff like this...putting work out there...is challenging for me.  i ordered one of the phone cases and am very pleased with the quality.  i also love the sweet doodled box it arrived in.  (there is a link on the sidebar if you are interested.)

i also taught a class this week filled with new child abuse workers.  they were eager, energetic and soaked it all up like sponges.  this makes me happy.

also, painting.  lots of painting.

y o g a

i did two group classes this week and one practice at home.  i also took a group meditation class and meditated at home five days this week.

s t o r y

i am reading turning the mind into an ally for an upcoming training.  it is a wonderful book about meditation and i highly recommend it.

we watched still alice last night.  this movie is haunting me.  my grandmother descended into alzheimer's quite quickly, so i've always been aware of its presence in the world.  but this story about a woman experiencing early-onset alzheimer's really hit home.  see it.

h o m e

did i mention the rain this week?  this is a view from my kitchen at twilight.  the forest outside is wet and lit.  inside it is dark and cozy.  i will never ever get tired of this view.

and while i am loving my new practice of moving out into the world a bit more frequently, i always love coming home the most of all.

thank you grace.

autumn in yogaville

when we get a bit overwhelmed with all the fear/blame/hate swirling around us in the "real world", we head to yogaville to clear our heads and hearts.  you can hike, meditate, yoga, contemplate, love and just be in the beauty and serenity of this remarkable space.

yogaville celebrates the world's religions and spiritual practices:  "truth is one, paths are many."

this is the stuff of yogaville:

 ask.

sit.

wander.

breathe.

dance.

gather.

listen.

belong.

receive.

offer.

we carry all these things with us but sometimes they feel buried too far beneath the world's imprint to access.  yogaville pulls them to the surface and reminds us to work to keep them there.  this often happens when we practice them every day no matter the view.

more yogaville love here and here and here.

a week in color {№14}

autumn is in full freaking swing in virginia loves.  i just had to sketchbook it.  (page one)

(page two)

apple and cheese would be on my if-i-could-only-eat-ten-things-for-the-rest-of-my-life list.

our midcentury california pottery collection is growing.  this girl is a bit worn, but she is gorgeous and a really good size for casseroles-for-two.  because there will be casseroles.  i'm declaring this the year of the casserole in the soul kitchen.

on a walk with luca early tuesday morning.

loving the little handwritten notes and quotes on these apple bags.

not quite boot weather.

working in warrenton, virginia this week.  i always snap a photo of the red truck at red truck bakery. not shown:  straight-out-of-the-oven apple handpies.

on the way to warrenton, i drove a bit of skyline drive through shenandoah national park.

as i continued north, i got closer to autumn.

roadside diner owned by a greek family.  the vegetarian moussaka is incredible.

peace flags in beautiful little sperryville, virginia.

this incredible morning sky.

taking another wonderful weekend workshop with cyndi lee.  we are so lucky to have her here!

as the farm market season slows down, the sweet farmers at sandyfoot farm never stop with the amazing organic produce.  this weekend, it was all about the immunity:  baby ginger and turmeric.

it's no wonder why october is my favorite month.

sunday grace: forest story

the forests of the blue ridge mountains are beyond beautiful in any season.

but there is something about that first crisp autumn weekend, when the leaves are just barely beginning to turn and still mostly clinging on to the tree, that lures us into the woods in search of the magic and healing that only nature can give.

the green is greener here.

a few steps off the path the forest's understory is soft and deep.

that light, delivered in radiant beams or feathery dapples, is otherwordly.

shedding our real world armor and reflecting the space, we are kind, quiet, open, lush.

we are small.

and marvel at the smaller.

we are happy and content in the forest's inherent balance of risk and play, folly and groundedness.

or to just be still and stare in wonder and delight without rush or pressure.

absolved and restored.

with permission to be easy and vibrant and tender in a hard grey world.

gratitude.  offering.  commitment, to each other and our magnificent world.

"the clearest way into the universe is through the forest wilderness."

{john muir}