Category Archives: Inspiration

A Wonderful Surprise

Last Friday afternoon I visited a dear friend who, as I arrived at her house, revealed that she was taking me somewhere special and that it was a surprise. Oooo, I love surprises so we got in the car and drove to the next town. The surprise was a hidden gem of a store called “Second Look Books”, located in Plainville, MA. They sell second hand books but what captivated me as I walked through the front door was the abundance of crystals and gemstones on display in every nook and cranny of the place. Laura took one look at my face and said, “I knew you’d really like it here!”

Tumbled and rough stones were placed all around the room on windowsills, on tabletops, in overflowing baskets and hidden inside small spice drawer cabinets. When we arrived, the proprietor Sue, was busily making little stone cairns by gluing small stones, one on top of another. She was very helpful in sharing information about the metaphysical properties of the various stones as we delighted in one treasure after another. Above is my little cache of carefully chosen objects.

The goddess and polar bear are both carved of bone. The rectangular cabochon in the middle is a septarian nodule containing yellow calcite crystals. I was very drawn to its unusual formation and color combination. The jade piece on the right is called the Knot of Eternity or endless knot, being described as “representing the interweaving of the Spiritual Path.” I have always loved this symbol and thought it would go well with my faux jade bracelet just completed.

I decided to put a magnetic clasp on my bracelet with a couple of brass Chinese coins on either side. Originally, I imagined making a toggle clasp with one of the coins but the inner square is too small for a toggle. Has anyone had any experience with magnetic clasps coming undone? I thought a safety chain might be a good idea but then there will be a fair amount of chain hanging from the clasp area because it would have to be long enough to get the bracelet over someone’s hand. I’ve worn the bracelet several times to test it out and it has stayed firmly clasped. The other idea I had was to place a hook and eye on either side of the magnet clasp so one could hook it after the bracelet was clasped. I was also thinking about dipping the clasp into some liver of sulfur to darken it a bit.

Yesterday was a wild weather day with severe thunderstorms moving through the area most of the afternoon. We even lost power for a couple of hours. Our black lab Jack, was glued to my side while I sat and started the beadwork around one of my mokume gane polymer clay cabochons.

Saturday Morning Tea

The air is completely still this morning with hardly a whisper of a breeze. Temperatures are supposed to soar well into the 90s this weekend with the humidity level just as high. It’s a good day to be inside with the AC or next to a fan, relaxing with a good book and a cup of tea.

This morning’s tea is a unique white Assam from the Mothola estate. Usually when one thinks of an Assam tea, it is of a hearty, rich black tea. That is what most Assam teas are. This tea, however, is a unique production, entirely handcrafted which shows in the gorgeous full leaf covered in tiny white hairs.

The tea plant is called camellia sinensis, named by the father of modern taxonomy, Carl Linneaus, a Swedish botanist from the 1700s. There are several different variations of the tea plant. Assam teas, grown in the lowland district of Assam in northeastern India, are harvested from the Camellia Sinensis assamica variation. I have read that this particular variation has a higher caffeine level than the Camellia Sinensis sinensis or Chinese varietal. Perhaps this is why many folks enjoy Assams for breakfast . The name Sinensis actually means Chinese in Latin.

I know that it is such an artist cliche to say “I love color” but I truly, truly do, ever since I was very young. In fact, my favorite childhood book called “The Color Kittens” by Margaret Wise Brown, was all about colors and mixing them to create other colors. The words and images of this book filled my little person world well before I learned to read. From that time on, color spoke directly to my soul on a very deep level. I talk about that here. Anyway, I was captivated by the color of the liquor of this tea. A gorgeous dark honey, its aroma is sweet and malty. The flavor is also sweet and light but full of flavor that fills your mouth with a hint of nuttiness.

This is definitely one of my favorite teas!

More Musings on Jersey Shore 2008

I wish I lived near the beach. It’s interesting because years ago I had my natal chart read. I found an astrologer and sent her the date and time of my birth and she in turn sent me a map of the alignments of the planets and stars at the exact moment of my birth. Fascinating. One of the things my chart told me was that I am deficient in Water, of the four elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Air. It advised that I should either live near water or drink a lot of water everyday. Even before this information was shared with me, I have always felt very drawn to the sea. So, someday, I would like to live by the beach so I could walk at the water’s edge every morning as I did when I was on vacation. It is at the top of my list of “well fillers”.

As long as I’ve been visiting the beach, I’ve listened to my Dad’s stories about his passion for fishing. Fishing is one of his well fillers, I think, and it really doesn’t have all that much to do with the fish or actually catching them, if that makes any sense. It is the whole experience of being at the water’s edge or out on the sea in a boat and interacting with it. My Dad’s passion, even though it is much different from my own, has inspired my passions for nature and art and photography.

As we look to our parents and those venerable elders who have influenced our lives, it is there that we can learn more about ourselves. I am grateful for so much my Dad has taught me about life.

I was sad to leave this wonderful place and week of Being but have come home with its wisdom of connecting, with myself, with my family and with Nature.

I am looking forward to my return next year…

Jersey Shore 2008

A week ago last Sunday, I let go of my regular day-to-day life and journeyed down to the shore again. Once I exited the Garden State Parkway, I opened my car windows wide to welcome the ocean breeze that greeted me as I got closer to the sea. As I turned down the road that would lead me to the beach, I felt all of the tension melt away as I inhaled the cool salty air. Once again, I was taken back to my origins and my inner self as I experienced a week of just “Being”.

Even though I had the perfect opportunity to sleep in, I rose every morning around 6am and had my tea out on the balcony. I listened to the songbirds greet the day and watched the terns and gulls as they wheeled across the sky. Constant was the gentle roar of the surf, a sound that spoke to the deepest parts of me as I watched the waves rise and fall.

I walked the beach every morning for about an hour before the beachgoers started to stake their claim on the sand. I passed fishermen sitting patiently next to their rows of poles and wide-eyed small children splash and dart at the water’s edge. I felt such a sense of calm envelop me as I placed one foot in front of the other and moved along the beach. As Eckhardt Tolle suggests in his books “A New Earth” and “The Power of Now”, I emptied my mind as best I could and immersed myself completely in that moment. It was challenging at first because my mind wanted to think about all of the issues in my life and what was going on. I pushed past those thoughts and kept bringing myself back to the feel of my feet against the sand and the rhythm of my breathing. I came to understand what Thich Nhat Hanh refers to when he suggests “walking meditation” as a good way to connect with yourself. Not only was I able to connect with myself but I also felt connected to everything else. This gave me such a great comfort.

I’m fascinated by waves and always have been since I was very young. There is something magical about the way they are created , how they rise and peak and then crash onto the shore. Studying the movement of waves has taught me of life cycles – gestation and birth: the rising up and creation of the wave, the period of a life: the wave at its full height and crest, and death: the falling down to earth and dissolution. The wave is absorbed back into the water to create another wave and this cycle keeps repeating itself. Just like our lives.

More shore pictures and musings to come…


April Beaded Journal Page

My April Beaded Journal Page is complete. It is entitled “Home is where my Heart Grows”, representing the move to my new home at the end of April. As I have unpacked and settled in to my new home, my heart grows in layers of joy and love and experiences. My heart is sprouting some roots and from those roots, my garden is starting to bloom. The sun and moon watch over all, marking the passage of my journey.

There are some who move often and are able to do so with ease. I am not one of those people. After moving 8 times (5 states) as a child and teenager, loss became a part of my life as I connected and let go many times. So, there are issues there. As an adult, I did settle down and live 18 years in one house where I had my family and raised my kids. A divorce 4 years ago brought about a period of traumatic changes and another move for me and a lot of those issues returned. So, as I beaded this page, I concentrated on all the wonderful things I was gaining and welcoming into my life with this new move – living with someone I love, creating space for a garden and studio, bringing more creativity and color into my life, a space to welcome family and friends for tea and conversation. I read somewhere that the challenging times and losses in your life carve out crevices in your heart that leave plenty of room to be filled with love and positive joyful things. I had contemplated on whether I wanted to fill in the space in the middle of the heart in my piece. I decided to leave it open to symbolize my own crevice that is now welcoming and filling up with all of the joyful moments of my life.