ur happy place for 12/22

welcome to ur happy place: a refuge for body, mind and soul for 12/22. happy yule and winter solstice AND full moon AND full lunar eclipse, hold onto ur hats!

may you find a few "stollen" moments to reflect, breathe, look up and inward.



somehow this song seems to speak of faith, long dark times and the memory of the mysteries that lie within us this time of year...



i will post again in the new year..till then may the blessings of the season be many and may peace and joy be yours in the days of the light returned...xx

ur happy place for 12/15!

welcome to ur happy place for 12/15! i hope that if ur are bloody sick and tired of hearing xmas music by now...that you will indulge me here and consider listening with new ears and seeing with soul eyes....! this is such a
tranquil piece...

until next time...xx

ur happy place 12/8!

welcome to ur happy place for the week 12/8!

ur little nook of serenity for the week:



and here are ken's thoughts for the week:

Stress has described by Hans Selve as essentially the rate of wear and tear in the body. In itself, it is neither good nor bad, it is the response of the body to any demand. To live means demands are made on our bodies, so how we respond and adapt to these ongoing demands will determine how we stand up to stress.

Self-responsibility and our ability to adapt to the demands of life will help you deal with stress.

The "use it or lose it" motto will be very helpful. Stress builds because we move away from use it or lose it. If our bones are not used to bear weight they become soft. If our muscles are not used regularly in challenging and skilled activity they become weak and less responsive. If our brain cells are not involved in a wide variety of voluntary activities they deteriorate.

This softening, weakening, and deterioration of our resources take place gradually and insidiously, stress increases this process without us even knowing it.

So, find something that helps restore a more natural way of being. Focus on your breathing, move your body slowly, and without pain. Be persistent, patient and positive. Keep using your brain, keep learning, keep being creative. Stress will not go away, but how you deal and adapt to it can change. You be that change.

bright blessings to you until next time..xx

ur happy place for 12/1!

welcome to the week of 12/1 ur happy place!

with so much going on for so many this month in honor of the various holidays celebrated, i'm feeling like just offering a very simple post of peace these next weeks. i hope this will be a place for u to breathe and center thru all the craziness this time of year breeds. so do come visit for a bit and remember what these times are all about: stillness, quiet, warmth, wonder.

here's a bit of loreena mckennitt magic.

until next time...xx

Ur Happy Place for 11/24!

welcome to ur happy place for 11/24! feeling so incredibly blessed for so many simple and ordinary reasons: just to be human in this perfectly imperfect world; with all it's pain and injustice and hardship... that the light still shines..the full moon casts her glow thru the misty clouds, the candles offer beacons of hope on the window sill, neighbors smile and wave, our lives circle round. in all things may we find reason to move with Life wherever is takes us. wishing u the blessings of the thanksgiving holiday. and thanking u for the blessing that u are in this tender world. here are my beloved knitter sisters who braved learning a european technique taught by elizabeth perez, jewelry designer, knitter and all around creative dynamo..my open house this past saturday..cory and nancy sorting it out... elizabeth and dee casting on.. chris and nanc forging into scarf wilderness...
sparkly embellishments.... on sunday i spent a spectacular day with guests and friends doing readings on the cape: this is the loft i spent the day in offering psychic/spiritual consult....lucky, lucky me! chez, always the peace faerie did reiki and spread her personal brand of magic.. one of our hostess, jen's altars ur happy day haiku:


times of wonder come

sunlight dancing on the waves

raven wings spread wide




ken now with his sharing:

Fear, Love and Truth.

Fear is the frightened child.

Love is the flame of holy remembering.

At any moment truth can enter.

Whether it can be spirit, a human being,

the laugh of a child, or the song of a bird,

there will be something

that awakens in you the memory

of who you are.

That is why we all come,

birds, flowers, dolphins,

children, animals, and You.

Emmanuel

Food for Thought

In light of Deb's words last week in keeping it simple, Ken is going to leave you a question. And while the answer may not be simple at this extra busy time of year he encourages you to ponder the question.

Do you ever notice that you keep bumping up against the same problems and situations in life?

I did, and still do. That's why I practice Yoga, Meditation, and use Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy.

What do you do?

until next time...xx

featured guest

so i'm not a rocket scientist... and i just sorted out how to forward this to u from mindy's site.. i was fortunate enough to be featured as a guest blogger on the marvelous mindy's wish studio!

enjoy and happy tuesday!

wish studio

sneak peek and brand new soul essence portraits!

for some time now, years really, i've wanted what i can only call another kind of art to emerge. i remember finding sabriana ward harrison's book, spilling open and how i fell in love with her chaotic, brilliant, wise and stunning soul and style. she put mixed media on my soul radar and her work gave me permission to stretch and be bolder in how i approached my own art. i didn't fully see where that would lead but i knew she was a muse for my own spilling open. twelve years later i still feel her creative influence in my own unfolding.

in her company were other contemporary artists who over the years kept me steeped in this creative stew; karen michel, lynn whipple, kelly rae roberts, and too many others to name also anything medieval, byzantine, gothic, baroque. so the critical mass must have been reached this week because the doorway to this new art opened in such an unexpected way and i love that it was all about play: i prepped a few canvas boards to "just see what happens" and in that spirit i took up pencil, paint, and scraps of paper and bit of this and that and allowed.

three women emerged and they became more than unknown figures, they became representations of soul essence. i felt like angels were guiding my hand and whispering "hers needs purple and paint a heart over here." it was a beautiful, timeless and divine art session and over the course of a 24hr. period i had psychically channeled 3 soul essence portraits of me, and heather and jenn (see below). it was only thru this process that it became clear who i was creating. these are the truly magical times. when we allow ourselves to be led and opened to the way that our longings can come into being. that we welcome deeper alliances with soul and the spirit world and begin new partnerships. that we grow bold enough to say yes to something new and long wanted. to realize this is it! and now is the time! and smile and say thank you.

here's a peek of the soul essences:

and a bit more on the portraits themselves:

A Soul Essence Portrait is one of a kind mixed media likeness of the subject’s

Soul Essence. While it may in some ways resemble the human self, perhaps

with similar hair or eye color, a Soul Essence portrait is a psychically

channeled work of art and will incorporate colors, images , symbols and soul

message most fitting for the person at the time of the piece’s making. Because

of this you may opt to have pieces created over time to create a collection as a

way to celebrate the Soul’s journey over time, or have one commissioned for a

special event or passage in life: a birth, graduation, marriage, anniversary etc.

The pieces are not planned in detail but rather created in a more spontaneous

fashion. And while I can bring in elements such as a date or name I do ask the

the actual soul’s essence be allowed to guide direction of the art.

this is heather above, me. heather, jenn and me. and here are a few shots from our general goods girl's nite out private party, last nite. heather, owner kharma couture and marketing guru for general goods and jenn, owner of the goods and....the subjects of two of the soul essence portraits! here they are premiered and on display. orders for your own holiday gift portraits are open until december 1st! life is never dull around here! below are a a few shots of new art for the handmade holiday open house tomorrow (from 10-1). the elves are having a great time fussing :) until next time...xx

ur happy place 11/17

welcome to ur happy place for 11/17! sometimes the universe makes u aware of a better, more simple plan than the one u had in mind..like this am when i was finishing off my post for you..and i was preparing to embed this video and then puff! the whole post disappeared!

well....i will not be rewriting the whole enchilada again..and i think the message for this week is keep it simple and don't buck the mysteries at hand.

so for this week i am sharing this video. a bit different for some, interesting to others...and maybe just what u needed..i know it was very timely for me

blessings to u this day.

until next time...xx

ur happy place for 11/10

welcome to ur happy place for the week of 11/10! today i'm feeling the fog of a bug creeping in around the edges and so i'm going to honor the need to care for myself but didn't want to miss a chance to visit with you... so in a shorter version of our usual post let's go! pics today are from my dear friend chezzie's home..and today let's continue steeping in gratitude ....can u claim five things ur grateful for today?
mine in no particular order:
1. inspiring friends
2. our pellet stove
3. logan the boston terrier and sophia (the 4- legged little visitors) at general goods monday
4. the quote"this too shall pass"
5. the capacity to love

what are ur five....?

ur happy place haiku:

the wonder of life
the good the bad the ugly
a deep breath, then gone

another reason i have to be grateful is ken's yoga post every other week ....

YOGA

One meaning of the word yoga is "to unite, or union." Another is attain what was "previously unattainable."

When we find a way to bend or strengthen the body, learn something new, create something, gain more understanding of ourselves, or to reach a point where we have never been before, then this is yoga.

Yoga also means acting in such a way that all of our attention is directed towards the activity in which we are currently engaged. Yoga attempts to create a state in which we are always present, really present.

Another classic definition is "to be one with the divine." It does not matter what name you use as long as it brings you closer to the love and truth of the divine.

The actual practice of yoga takes each person in a different direction. The practice only requires us to act and be attentive to our choices. What this leads to is a completely personal matter. Practicing, and having a commitment to a practice will lead to one becoming curious about the many ways to practice, and the many benefits to be had.

The physical way is just but one, meditation is another, along with chanting and selfless service. There are many ways up and down the mountain, what is important is that you are participating as part of your journey. There are no requirements to start a practice other than: can you breathe. You begin where you are and how you are, and whatever happens, will happen.

Yoga is about incorporating a practice that includes all aspects of human life, including our relationships with others, our behaviour, our health, our breathing, and our view of our path. Yoga is not just a physical exercise practice, that helps you relax. It is that and so much more. To be more complete human beings we must include all of our selves in the process one step at a time. I urge you to practice going inwards however you choose that to be, and then practice some more.

On a completely different note, the next time you feel some despair, take heed in these words.

om shanti

Ken Lidden

and here's one for the road so to speak..i absolutely love this new book i scooped on samhain in salem, ma

celtic folklore cooking by joanne asala..now thru the new year i'll share some goodies....

with how i'm feeling right now, i'm going to follow in the footsteps of the author with this little gem!

hot whiskey

"a few centuries ago, it was common to flavor whiskey with such items as pepper, fennel seeds, raisins, fruit, cloves, or liquorice. people even laced their spirits with bits of spiced toast. although the celts no longer put bread into their whiskey, the term "toast" has survived to refer to any special words expressed before imbibing. it was not until the 1600's when the great distilleries opened, that whiskey became a standardized product made only from barley, yeast and water.

when suffering from a cold, i always like to take a glass of hot whiskey to bed along with a good book.

boiling water
2 tsp. of sugar to taste
irish whiskey
cloves, slices of lemon to taste

heat a stemmed whiskey glass by running under hot water and pour in fresh boiling water till 1/2 full. dissolve sugar into glass, add whiskey, cloves, lemon. stir with a silver spoon and drink at once."

and a poem from this book to send u off:


celtic prayer


every day i pray to brigit that
no fire, no flames shall burn me
no lake, no sea shall drown me
no sword, no spear shall wound me
no king, no chief shall insult me
all the birds shall sing for me
all the cattle shall low for me
all the insects shall buzz for me
god's angels shall protect me.

until next time...xx