A Perfect Sunday in June.

Celtic Totem Animals by John Matthews
Oracle of Mystical Moments by Katrin Welz-Stein
Photo by © Karen Wiederhold

A relaxing day in progress with pottering about in the garden, reading and learning about Celtic Totem Animals, colouring, writing, exploring a new deck - Oracle of Mystical Moments (thanks Steven Bright, you were right about it). A perfect day at home accompanied with yummy lunch, frothy coffee and delicious Droste Dutch chocolate gifted by a friend 😊. 

Time for Tea

Hibiscus and Rosehip Tea
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

A delicious cup of Hibiscus and Rosehip tea enjoyed with friends earlier this week. Isn't that colour amazing?  

One of my favourite places to enjoy a cup of tea or mug of coffee is The Painswick Pooch in Painswick.  If you're out walking in the Cotswolds and are looking for somewhere to replenish your energy and which also welcomes dogs, then this is the place to visit.  😋

Beautiful day in the Forest of Dean, boating on the River Wye at Symonds Yat and walking in the woods after a picnic lunch. So lucky that this is a short drive from home. 

Symonds Yat - River Cruise
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

Symonds Yat - River Cruise
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

Symonds Yat - River Cruise
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

Symonds Yat - View from the Rock
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

Symonds Yat - View from the Rock
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

Symonds Yat - View from the Rock
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

Weaving

Woven Wall Hanging on a frame loom.
Photo by Karen Wiederhold

I completely forgot to share my finished piece of weaving - a wall hanging, first one made on a weaving frame. 

It was essentially a lot of fun and experimenting with different yarns and combinations and a lot of "I wonder what this would look like". 

I'm pleased with it and learned plenty in the process. Now to invest in some chunky and textured yarns and make another one. I'll post a pick of it hanging up as soon as I locate an appropriate branch.

Afternoon Rain

Beauties in the garden after this afternoon's rain.

Woodland Walk on Crickley Hill

Quiet time, special space.

This is my view while I sit quietly reading, my special sacred space, this evening.  Hoping you are having a restful evening too.

Meditative, Magical Colouring

Following on from Monday's thought for the week, which got me thinking further about being creative and what it brings in terms of relaxation, mindfulness and joy, I thought i'd share something that i've enjoyed for a number of years.

Like most people when children, drawing and colouring-in was very pleasurable and came effortlessly.    However as I got older my colouring in was replaced with things like cross stitch, paper crafting and decoupage to name a few because i'm quite active craft wise, always busy making or doing something.

A few years ago my friend gifted me with a fairy colouring book.  She thought i'd enjoy the book and it really was such a brilliant gift because it reminded me about the enjoyment of the process and the happiness of getting my hands on pencils and crayons in a rainbow of colours.  I'm a magpie when it comes to pens, pencils, crayons, paints, beads............the list goes on. On investigation I was amazed at how many colouring books for adults there were out there, i'd had no idea!

One of the things that i'd like to focus on in talking about colouring is the aspect of mindfulness or meditation.  When working with Tarot, meditation is important for developing your intuitive abilities and allowing yourself to be in tune with and aligning your mind, body and spirit. Having moments to be mindfull is important for wellbeing, to come down from the day, for taking time to bring yourself back to centre if it's been a busy day of readings and thinking about others.

Of late my mind has been turning to the imagery of Tarot being miniature pieces of colourful, magical art which practitioners, collectors or enthusiasts love and are drawn to.  It make sense that the same could be said when it comes to colouring in, that this form of colourful expression and creativity would also bring joy and magical benefit to this same group of people.

A huge bonus in colouring is that it doesn't need a person to be able to draw, you can forget about all that and just enjoy working with the colours and freeing yourself to be creative and have fun.  Being free is the best thing for relaxing and allowing the mind to wander off.

So why not give it a go. It's cheap, easy and portable with loads of books available to buy online and newsagents and supermarkets are now also stocking an assortment in their magazine section.

Please share your colouring experiences or books that you love to colour using the comments bit below, i'd love to hear about them.

PS:  The coloured mandalas are from the book Mystical Mandala by Alberta Hutchinson.

Connecting with the earth.

The past week and a bit has found me completely engrossed in our garden and more specifically our veggie patches and allotment.  Time like this is always something that happens and isn't planned, and when it does happen it can result in me losing whole days without realising it - a good thing really and I love it.  As I said to some friends yesterday, even when setting aside a day of no gardening I find myself wandering outside to have a look at something and then before you know it i've been out there and hour, am covered in dirt and have planted, pruned or watered.

As a consequence on the slightly negative side is that the house becomes a bit messy in places, my cooking tends to be quick and easy heat up and eat type of food and my hands, oh my poor hands, they look very well worn.  On the very positive side is the excersise which is much needed, fresh air, connecting with nature, relaxation and of course, in the end, great fresh fruit and veggies.

I've not spent much time during this period studying and reading the cards, however that hasn't meant while pottering about, that i've not been thinking about, coming to realisations or having ideas to play about with.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Meditations while stitching.

It's been a bit of a blurry last few weeks what with being ill with tonsillitis and then hubby succumbing as well, however i'm pleased to report all is well again and things are getting back to normal including the ironing pile and dusting.

With all this down time i've caught up on a lot of tarot related reading and such, as well as having a good tidy up of my bookshelf and finishing off The Green Goddess Cross Stitch i'd been working on.

Here she is, ready for framing and ready for spring and summer.

The design is by Joan Elliott who creates the most wonderful designs.

I find working on Cross Stitch quite a meditative process.

What do you find meditative when you aren't consciously sitting in meditation?