Bliss Beyond Naptime

Vloggin' ~ Birth of an Art Yarn Part II

Here I contine forth with my three step breakdown of spinning up some yarn while I blow virtual kisses to my friend Jill of Ellie Moon. Jill's planning on getting all Sustainable Styley on Wednesdays and was inquiring about what's happening with that use to be weekly feature. I might not be SS-y every Wednesday but we'll see what I can do. Anyone else want to play along with sporting mostly what you either a) made b) someone made for you c) scored second hand d) was gifted or e) found hanging from a tree branch at your local swimming hole? You can leave a link to your post if you're inspired to SS it up

Okay, let us continue spinning our tale about art yarn creating. Grab some snacks; the technical difficulties are, at some points, borderline painful to watch! Painful in a fun way of course ~ kind of like childbirth :)

 

 

 

 

Back with a Splash

 

Oooooo... I feel goooood. Just what the inner feel good doctor ordered. This yoga retreat is definately going to have to be an annual event. Why don't you join me next time? It can be a secret Backwoods Mama expedition. That would be so sneaky! In this glorious setting I picked up a few life skills for my journey, got back in touch with my authentic self, fell in deeper love with her and came home to a beautiful, healthy and thriving family that, who I'm sure missed me in their own special way, grew so apparently much from my absence. Yes, we are all still glowing from this adventure.

Oh what a glorious rhythm we had going on there. At 6:15 there was a designated wake up fairy that frolicked through the forest dinging a bell to gently wake us from slumber. From 7 to 8 we had private practice together before breakfast. At 8:50 I got to gong the bell for the guided meditation followed by a yoga class before lunch. Yes, this routine did make me pretty sleepy after the first day (especially since my dear friend Kimberly was there too and we ended up gabbing until the wee hours each night). But luckily they happen to still have the espresso maker I left behind four years ago. Phew! That was a close call.

We had free time after lunch and going for a swim in the bath water temperature lake was a no brainer. There were canoes available to hop onto but I chose the walking distance spots to avoid the embarassement of paddling around in circles. Up there is the designated Lizard Goddess spot with more boobies than you can shake a weaning two and half year old at. It was glorious to splay out on the flat rock and then simply roll into the lake to cool off and then roll back up on to the rocks. Yes, a fancy trick only a yogini can pull off. All in the mula bandha, my friend.

Usually though, I would venture out on my own for a little more solitude and relief from the sun that was basking down on us the whole time. This beach had the most beautiful pebbles you can imagine (I collected many for Miss Edie for she loves pretty rocks) and was only a magical ten minute hike away. I hung out here usually in the afternoons before hiking back, plopping out on the hammock and knitting until snacktime. Snacktime deserves a smiley face if ever there was a word that does. Then more practice from four to six, supper and a sharing circle. Beautiful forever bonds were created in this short sweet time.

And here our my beloved gurus. Karuna led the yoga while her husband Paul led the meditations. True masters; both of them shining inspirations to me to foster a consistant, solid practice and shining out and sharing the joy and love that overflows my cup. I'll be back next year and hopefully, with my intention to practice each morning before milking Miss Daisy, I'll be back everyday.

This Moment ~ Spying On Them

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

 

Goddess Green Smoothie

 Right before I had to get up to milk Miss Daisy I had a dream that I totally forgot to pack for Tipi Camp and so I was running around the house in a frenzy trying to stuff my bag with anything that belonged to me. Such a feeling of panic like one of those having an exam and realizing you forgot to attend class all semester long, or waitressing in a giant gymnasium filled with angry patrons waiting for some attention, or those nasty giving birth to puppies doozies (you get those too, right? Right?).

I told Craig of my dream this morning and he told me that it was probably a safe bet that it was a true premonition. So I hope to prove him wrong. I did get caught up with some work to forward to my web designer to accomodate new Sew Camp offerings and official new life purpose annoucements before I go. I have three dishes to cook up to keep family fed and nourish while I'm gone: spaghetti sauce, sheppard's pie and chocolate zuchini cake. Anyone else swimming in zucchini these days? And mountains of mountains of laundry to contend with. I had something else on my list that didn't make the cut (Craig is insanely busy with work today so I didn't dare ask him to help me out with this when he joined us at lunch with his hairs standing on end); I was going to video a part two to my Birth of an Art Yarn series. I promise when I get back from Tipi camp next week I'll show you how the contractions are going. Probably best if I wait. I kind of have the crazy harried look in my eyes that probably would frighten small children looking over your shoulder.

So instead, I decided to show you one of my favourite ladies in all of blog land. Goddess Leonie reminds me very much of someone I know in real life yet she is completely different from her. And has an Australian accent. I kind of have a bloggy crush on her. So much so I signed up for her Goddess circle and have decided to join in on the affiliate program that I'm now privy to. Which translates to I get a share to any sign ups that happen to originate from my blog. I have the same deal for my Sew Campers. Just saying.

 The Goddess circle is pretty sweet because Goddessess get full access to all the ecourses she offers and they're all seriously unique and astounding. I've only had a chance to really sink my teeth into the Business Goddess one but I've dabbled in a few others and all have her warm personal touch to them with concrete yet etheral advice. Here's a little snippet of her making a smoothie with her sweet little girl (I'm pounding these lately too by the way ~ only way I can get some kind of breakfast in me after the latte squashes any morning hunger). Enjoy and I'll see you when I get back from the yoga retreat - stronger, bendier, green smoothie-er!

 

 

Operation: Recharge!

The countdown is on! In three days I'll be off to Tipi camp ~ all by my lonesome self! We use to go to Tipi camp for a yoga retreat as a family but this time Mama's on her own. I have been planning my 'weaning weekend' getaway for a while. Now that Kale's been pretty much nightweaned for a while now, this getaway will serve mainly as a mommy battery recharge as I swan dive into a fall full of exciting projects and back to school nerdy keener leanings that I've always been known for. 

Things that will charge me up over at (boat access only!) Tipi Camp:

• completely catered organic vegetarian meals that are yummmmm-my!
• meals and snacks that seem continuous and overlap each other which is important for us constantly hungry types
• uninterrupted adult conversation with like-minded folk
• many yoga classes to help me get intimate again with my inner yogini
• once in a while massage from one of my best friends who will be the official masseuse there
• canoeing to private beaches and letting 'the ladies' hang out undisturbed ;)
• swimming out to a remote dock first thing in the morning instead of swimming out to the the cow shed for morning milking
• knitting on a beach and making actual headway on my baby sweater for a friend before baby's not so baby anymore
• getting a whiff of pre-kid Kathy

And things to look forward to when I get back from Tipi Camp:

• mommy batteries all charged up, of course
• two children well intact
• house not burned down
• husband recharged from spending four glorious days filled with one on one time with his offspring (if not we'll let him have his couple of climbing days)
• homeschooling preparation (which involves fun tasks like seeking out someone ready to shear their sheep this fall and picking out school supplies from Mercurius and paying for them with our pre-loaded homeschooling visa card!)
• preparing to dive into my studies for my Simple Parenting Leader training
• launching Indian Summer Sew Camp!

Yes, there's been a minor change in sew camping plans. Due to my super plate full this September I decided to downsize my Fall Sew Camp offerings. I didn't want to bail on the camp offering all together but also knew that realistically I couldn't afford the time or energy to go super gung ho like I wanted to. So I came up with a compromise; instead of four projects two really cute and simple ones will be offered at a fraction of the price. These two backwoods mama style wardrobe staples will complement sweetly the eventual Fall Camp 2012 offerings. I just want to do a real fine job for my backwoods ladies, know what I'm saying?

Ai yi yi. Lots to do this week to prepare for my absence. Primarily, I need to cook up a storm to leave the family with a bunch of simply throw into the oven meals (otherwise it may be nachos for four days straight) and get some fall gardening chores done. How about you? How are you celebrating and recharging your batteries at this exciting, deep in breath taking, time of year?

This Moment ~ We Heart Barney The Barnyard Cat

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

Birth of an Art Yarn Part One - Labour Intensive

My yarn shop's shelves are getting pretty bare as of late, I can smell the whiff of knitting season in the air these mornings and I just plain miss spinning on the deck with my morning latte. I thought it would be fun to show you the three major parts of what it takes to bring a brand new baby yarn into the world. Edie has graciously taken on the role as yarn doula. Enjoy!

 

Spins A Yarn, Any Size

 As a gesture of my Deep Love for Craig I strapped on the 'ol climbing harness this weekend. I hope to lube Craig up with enough mocha mud pie to get him retell, via vlog entry, the story of our meeting and how he kinda proposed to me a year later on top of a Spanish mountain after a day of climbing. This is back in the day when we had rock star lifestyles; aka Pre-Edie days.

Speaking of rockstars, here's my hot climbing partner Margo. I gushed about her recent book release here a while back. And yes, I'm wearing my Beach Blanket Bingo swimsuit - we were on our way to the beach for some bingo action. I was trying to figure out a way to somehow attach my fascinator to my helmet just to glam up the local climbing scene some.

We'll wait for mud pie to get into the painful details of the Craig and my hook up story but long story short he was dressed up as a climber at the Halloween party we met at. I, ironically, was totally turned off of climbers after embarassingly trying to impress a gaggle of them in the mid nineties (not all at the same time of course ~ that would not have been lady like). But, because he was so darn cute, and I envisioned my future Craiglettes dancing around his head, I decided to give the sport another chance.

It took me a year to have a climbing day without having a good solid cry halfway up but I perservered and ended up even loving climbing some. But not enough to continue once said Craiglettes arrived. My morning breve provides me with enough palps to keep my heart on its toes thank you very much.

 It has been four years since I been up on the wall and it did feel good and empowering. That is until half way up and then I heard Kale squawk.  "LOWER!" I yelled down to Margo. I wanted to come back to Earth. I missed my little ones, was questioning the mechanics of rope knots in my abstract random noggin, and imagining stepmoms.

But it sure felt good to be moving upward again and trusting in the stickiness of my climbing shoes and the bionic-like strength of my fingers. This, of course, thanks to milking and knitting. I think Mama's going to stick to those pastimes for now. Have fun Craig! Deep Love you :)

Simple Pleasures

Sweet relief! Summer's finally here :) And now I have some grand news to share. I've been doing much soul searching lately, tapping into this deep ache to want to shift my crafting venture energies and funnel them instead to something that will make a meaningful and positive difference in the world in alignment with my passions.

With help from Michelle Ward the When I Grow Up Coach I have been on an amazing two month journey that has seen me come out of it incredibly excited and invigorated for what I'm about to declare:

I'm going to get some training here in September to become a Simplicity Parenting Leader!

I have mentioned the book, Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, more than a few times here.  The first time I read it was during an intimate book club of two consisting of my best friend and I when our boys were simply buns in our ovens. It is very profound yet practicle read and neatly sums up the world I want to introduce my children to. A life that is just a tinch slower, less cluttered, and as much as possible, filled to the brim with the comfort of rhythm, beauty and peace. This approach I feel will provide them with the solid  foundation needed to go forth and navigate through a world that is becoming increasingly trickier to do so.

I'm hoping to offer the seven week long workshops which leads parents through the four realms of simplifiying; environment, rhythm, scheduling, and filtering, first live in person in my surrounding community, and later, making this a online offering, group workshops and individual coaching - probably sometime in Spring 2012.

I'm not sure exactly how all this is going to unfold yet but going by my happiness gauge these days since arriving to this epiphany and decision I have great faith in this direction I'm heading.

Ack! I'm so happy to finally be sharing this with you! The training starts in mid-September and I hope to be sharing with you here some of the insights I glean from the course as I cruise along. And I thank you so much for being a part of this incredible journey!

This Moment ~ Let Down Your Hair

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule