Little Sacred Spaces

      After posting my healing altar in February I planned to be well enough in March to create and post an altar for the Spring Equinox. Perhaps this would have happened if my femur hadn't been broken during surgery. Having to keep both hands on my walker has prevented me from doing much of anything other than read, write, knit and put together jigsaw puzzles for the past six weeks.      While I was not able to create a spring altar, I was blessed by an outpouring of love and support - some in the form of cards, some as floral arrangements, prayers, visits, gifts, meals, and baked goods. This arrangement of get well cards is a testament to all of the family and friends who have helped me through this difficult time. I am grateful for every one of you!

     I am going to have a hip replacement on February 13th. I am not worried, but I've never had major surgery before so I am anticipating it just as I would any major life event. Preparations for this event have included multiple medical and dental appointments, transforming the dining room into a temporary bedroom, and creating this healing altar that I hope will energize my recuperation.      The color green is healing for me, and yellow reminds me of the healing sun. The yellow bird brings joyful energy to my life, and the spiral goddess reminds me that I am a work in progress, both spiritually and physically.      The photograph behind the yellow bird is of me at the top of a flight of stairs in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast of Italy in 2019. Mark and I climbed hundreds of stairs up and down the cliffside town in May of that year. The picture reminds me of what I have been capable of doing and what I will be able to do after my recovery....

    Valentine's Day is celebrated throughout the month of February with red roses, hearts, and chocolates.   Traditionally it is the celebration of romantic love, but children exchange valentines at school, and many people send cards to family and friends. This year I decorated with symbols of every kind of love!     Many years ago, Mark spent ten days in the Dominican Republic as a medical missionary. While he was there he bought the statue of a man and woman kissing. Obviously, that is my symbol of romantic love, but it also represents the love of art.      The angel playing a violin represents divine love as well as the love of music. The heart-shaped earth symbolizes love for the entire world.       On the tree hangs a heart ornament with two deer representing love for the animal world. The snowflake represents water and the uniqueness of all the people and things we love. The cardinal reminds us of our love of birds. ...

     You are probably familiar with the terms, "everyday sacred" and "be here now." That is what the favorite chair is about. Many homes have a favorite chair - where the home dweller sits with a cup of coffee in the morning, to read a devotional and contemplate plans for the day. Then to sit with a cup of tea in the afternoon, to relax and focus on "being in the now." In the evening, with a glass of wine, to share our thoughts with a loved one - who wasn't so fortunate to get the favorite chair for our conversation!      Several years ago we replaced an old wing chair with this much more comfortable polka-dot recliner. I chose this upholstery because I was ready to add some pizazz to our old-fashioned country decor. It immediately became the favorite chair for everyone in the family and every visitor to our home.      Back when the chair was new, our daughter and her family lived with us for a few months while they were in transition. Our gr...

    Long before Friday the 13th became known as a bad luck day, it honored as the Day of the Divine Feminine.   The name,  Friday, is derived from Old English and means "day of Frigg." Both Queen of Asgard and a powerful sky goddess in Norse mythology, Frigg (also known as Frigga) was associated with love, marriage and motherhood in Pagan times.       The number 13 was believed to hold a potent feminine energy because of its  link to the number of lunar and menstrual cycles that occur in a calendar year. Fertility was prized in pagan times, and artwork would often draw connections to menstruation, fertility and the phases of the moon.     The essentialness of the divine feminine to human life was lost during patriarchal times, but the day has come for a re-awakening of the feminine in each an every one of us so that we can regain the balance of yin and yang within humanity.      Today, January, Friday the 13th, 2...

     This fairy house sits outside in the garden during the summer. Outside the ants and squirrels wreak havoc with the fairies' home, so it's nice to have it inside where I can add the crystals and whimsical details that fairies love. The first summer that I had this house outside my granddaughter left Bluebell's sister, Buttercup, inside the house between visits. The next time she came to play we found the house full of ants and dirt. Buttercup was so filthy she could not be rejuvenated.      Instead of tending flowers, house fairies like to get into mischief and tease the human occupants. There is no evidence of fairy activity in our home, but an old friend told me there must have been at least one fairy in a lakeside cabin where Mark and I stayed for a week one summer. I had placed my sparkly green earrings on the nightstand before we went to bed and found one missing in the morning. I looked everywhere and couldn't find it, but later that evening it sh...