Forest Therapy & Oracle Cards

Just realized I haven't posted anything to my blog in over a year! Time to step back and regroup. So much negative energy floating around that has captured my thoughts, my heart and my spirit lately. I look out my window each morning and am so grateful for where I live, the forest, the birds, the other wildlife that lives and visits our property. The Wood Frogs that have been calling for over a week now and the early signs of Spring. So much to be grateful for and I feel way more blessed than many. Starting each morning with gratitude [and coffee] has been really good for me. One of my beautiful friends, Katie, is a "Reiki Master Energy Healer" and I have had a couple of sessions with her. She is amazing and I always feel so grounded when I'm in her presence and, certainly, after our sessions. I've also been doing a weekly Pilates series and working on my balancing and strength. One of the things Katie used in our recent Reiki session was a "Selenite" wand. She placed it across my hips to align my chakras. I actually have one of these wands that I just had sitting around collecting dust and bringing it outside on occasion to be charged by the full Moon. I decided to start using it in my forest therapy sessions and, in particular, my balancing practice. So this photo is of me, laying on the ground, with my legs up one of my favorite trees and balancing the selenite wand on my feet. I have to admit, it was quite the challenge...but certainly invigorating!

I also recently purchased this gorgeous deck of "Forest Power Cards" from Moc Lasu. They are wonderful and the prompts are perfect for anyone wanting to practice Forest Therapy, Forest Bathing [Shinrin Yoku] or just enjoy being in nature and learning/observing. It was no surprise the first card I drew was this one! "A Snail's Pace" ~ the actual way I practice my sessions. If you've been looking for a connection, I highly recommend this deck. 

Of course, my favorite time of year is when the Wood Frogs show up to fill up our little ponds with eggs, which will be hatching tadpoles in a few short weeks. This little female was so full of eggs, she could barely move. I just love seeing them, hearing them and watching their whole life cycle evolve right in our little forest. 

This cute little Male was just taking in some Sunshine and waiting for a Female with a belly full of eggs to show up. I could sit and watch them for hours.

I know some people think I'm crazy...because of my love of nature and all critters, so this little cartoon fit me perfect! I had to share. 

Please comment your favorite thing about Spring! It's on the way!

love and peace always ~ Kathy

Connections...nature, frogs and books!

I truly believe this with all of my being! And it dawned on me today that THIS is why I get in such a funk every Winter! It has nothing to do with Winter, but everything to do with my lost connection with Nature, since I barely leave the comfort of my warm house. Perhaps it's because I was raised in the south and not used to being cold, I just cannot bear to be out in it! Thank goodness it's starting to warm up and Spring is nipping at our heels. I never want to "wish it away", since time goes by fast enough, but, I have to admit, Spring puts "spring" in my steps! Of course, I love Winter, too! If it weren't for Winter, there would be no mating Wood Frogs!

And with no mating frogs, there would be no tadpoles...now that would really put me in a funk! Speaking of frogs, how cute are these little frog poems!

They are in a sweet book called "Little Pictures of Japan"

We are lucky enough to have two large book sales here in Brevard every year! One is at the college and one is at the library [which is in itself super awesome]. On the last day of the sale at the college, all the books are 1/2 price. I always go to check out the children's books, especially, so that I can use them to make paper flowers for my little jewelry boxes:

But, of course, I always seem to find several books that I fall in love with and that I just want to keep for myself [another problem I have that I talked about in my last post]! So, on that note, it's time to go outside! Happy Tuesday!

love and peace always ~ Kathy

"Every journey begins with a single hop." ~ Kermit the Frog

Pollywogs...

 

*sigh*...the little pollywogs are starting to use their legs...exploring the perimeters of the pond and sticking their little heads out to breath the fresh air. They will be hopping away any day now...bitter/sweet ~ I'm going to miss them, but hopefully, they'll be back this winter to mate and start their amazing life cycle all over again ~ Life is good in the forest ~

Have a great weekend everybody!!

love and peace always ~ Kathy

"If we think too small, we think like a frog at the bottom of a well.  He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well.  If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view." ~ Mao Tse-Tung

Frogs, shelves and sticky chicken...

Hey!!!  So yesterday I attended a free class on "frogs" at the "Cradle of Forestry".  It was very interesting and I learned about the various frog species in our area and their habitats. I also "won" a frog sounds CD.  You can listen to the "Gray's Tree Frog" here ~ one of my favorite Summer sounds.  

  Maybe the saying should be "a frog in hand is better than two in the bog" ~ I need to get better at drawing frogs.

 So this week's theme for the "2013 Project 52" Flickr group was "on the shelf".  I decided to showcase my little shelves of collectibles over my sink.  Click on the link and you can read all about each item and where it came from.  My little shelves of love!

Everyone is wanting the "Sticky Chicken" recipe, so here goes:
Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken thighs, trimmed well [I don't like chicken fat at all, so I cut off just about all of the fat.  If you don't mind the fat, feel free to leave some of it on]
Cavender's  All Purpose Greek Seasoning
Bragg Liquid Aminos
Garlic Power

 1 Red Bell Pepper, 1 Yellow Bell Pepper and 1 Green Bell Pepper [diced]

1 Medium/large Purple Onion [diced]

Olive Oil [this olive oil is really really good]

2 cups Chicken Broth [maybe more, see below]
2 tablespoons All purpose Flour

 *Note* ~ the beer is not an ingredient for the recipe, just part of my Friday Night cooking school regimen :)
Directions:
In a bowl, combine trimmed chicken thighs with Cavender's, Garlic Power & Bragg Liquid Amino.  Coat well - use your judgement as to how much to use.  I use a pretty good amount of Cavender's [probably about 2 teaspoons] and slightly less Garlic Powder [about 1 teaspoon] and just enough Bragg's to get it nice and coated and have the spices stick good.  Set aside:

 Heat Olive Oil [about a tablespoon...enough to coat bottom of pan good] in a fairly large skillet for a couple of minutes and then toss in the peppers and onion to saute'

Cook the veggies until tender [really, as long as you like.  I like my veggies to start getting a little browned and caramelized, which can be achieved by covering while cooking, but leaving a small opening for ventilation]...stir often to keep from sticking.  After the veggies are done to your liking, wisk together 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of flour and pour over veggies

stir until heated well and gravy starts to thicken, then toss in the chicken

cook until chicken is done [about 15/20 minutes], stirring occasionally.  If your gravy seems to thick, you can always add a little more chicken broth to thin it.  That's it!  I cooked up a big mess of Kale to go with it

  and seved it over steamed rice.  

 So yummy!  And, it's even better the next day!  If you cook it up, let me know how much you love it ~ enjoy!!! 

love and peace always ~ Kathy

"I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly.  Tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock." ~ Barbara Harrison

Made my heart sing...

  I was so excited when I went to check on the "frog eggs"...seems as though they are not frog eggs after all.  Looks like they are tiny salamanders!!  I think I squealed when I saw this cute little fellow still tucked inside the comfort of his jelly egg:

I'm heading back there today to check on their progress.  At least now I know why it has been taking so long.  Here I was all worried about the fate of the tiny frogs, since their gestation period is only about 21 days and I had not seen any of the eggs with tiny tadpoles inside.  Come to find out, the gestation period for salamanders can be between 40 and 50 days, so "yay" ~ I might actually be able to witness a live birth!  I can be a salamander life coach!  Wouldn't that be a hoot!

On my way home from checking on the eggs, I stopped at a cemetery that I've been wanting to checkout.  It's a beautiful old cemetery, with some rather interesting headstones and history:

And don't you know, right on the ground [apparently had fallen from the tree] was this beautiful little nest:

the bottom of it has a big hole in it, so it was most likely robbed by a black snake and then knocked out of the tree.  Now it's resting on my bookshelf.

 The sky is starting to clear!!  Looks like it's going to be a great day to see some little baby salamanders!  Life is good!!

love & peace always ~ Kathy

"I'm Nobody!  Who are you?

Are you -- Nobody --Too?

Then there's a pair of us!

Don't tell!  they'd advertise -- you know!

How dreary -- to be -- Somebody!

How public -- like a Frog --

To tell one's name -- the livelong June --

To an admiring Bog!" ~ Emily Dickinson

Snakes & Snails & Puppy Dog Tales....

...and little boys ~ My little boy is coming to see me today!!! He'll be flying in from Baton Rouge @ 5:30 this afternoon! I'm soooo excited! He'll be here for a whole week! He's never been to the mountains before, and boy is he going to love it! Especially right now with all of the gorgeous fall colors ~ it's beautiful out there today! Of course, I have to make all of his favorite dishes while he's here ~ his most favorite of ALL being "hamburger packages"! This has been his favorite thing as long as I can remember. You should try it for your kids ~ they'll love it too! Plus, there's no pots and pans to wash! How easy is that! Here's what you do:

Pre-heat oven to 400
Make a hamburger patty ~ you can season it some if you want, I usually don't.
Cut up some potatoes in wedges {like steak fries}
Cut up some carrots in strips, or you can use the peeled baby carrots.
Slice an onion in thin circles.
Take a piece of aluminum foil ~ about 12x12 or so
Put the hamburger patty on the bottom & then top it with a few onion slices
Pile on the carrots & potato wedges
Season to your liking ~ I just use sea salt & cracked black pepper
wrap it up good, so the juices & steam don't escape
put the package right on the oven rack and bake for about 30/45 minutes ~ depending on how thick you made your hamburger patty & how many carrots & potatoes you put in each. You can also check it after 30 minutes to see if it's done enough.
Then ~ enjoy!!!!Several years ago ~ for Mother's day, Broc gave me a "White's Tree Frog". I named him "Skippy" and he lived for about 5 years. When he died, we buried him in a cigar box in the back yard and put this little angel statue on his grave. The statue is a little boy angel, sitting on top of a huge frog {I'll have to post a picture later of the whole statue}. It's really cute! Now I have it sitting in my yard ~ a reminder of little boys and frogs ~ two of my most favorite things ~ besides puppy dogs! Speaking of which, Ozzy got his latest check-up Tuesday and he has lost a total of 21 lbs. on his thyroid meds! He's like a little puppy again ~ running and playing with Lita. His fur is all fluffed out & he looks like a little bear cub ~So the winner of these awesome earrings was lucky #1 ~ Anita!! Congratulations!! I hope you enjoy them ~ check back soon for another awesome "freebie" ~ thanks for reading, everybody! Gotta run for now and pick up a little bit, before I head out to the airport. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"How beautifully everything is arranged by nature: as soon as a child enters the world, it finds a mother ready to take care of it." ~ Jules Michelet

Puppy Love, Ponds, Pilates & Mermaid Tails...

Lita always looks so sweet in pictures ~ of course, she's very sweet to everyone except Ozzy:But just how can anybody me mean to this sweet little face...mmmmmwah, Ozzy ;)

So one of my new friends, here in Brevard, started making these awesome Raku Clay Pendants. She also makes wonderful soaps from the Waterfall water around here. Please do check out her shop when you get a chance. She's getting ready to start selling her Raku pieces on Etsy, so I'll certainly let you know when that happens! This little necklace is just sooooo sweet ~ the little paw print is just perfect ~ I love it! And, you guessed it, I named it "Puppy Love" ~ of course, it's for Sale in the shop, if you want to grab it up ~:)
This is another one of her pendants ~ it reminds me of a "Mermaid Tail" ~ Isn't it just gorgeous! I love it, too. In fact, I hope it sells pretty quick, or I may end up keeping it for myself. I bought several pendants from her {21 to be exact}, so be on the lookout for the new necklaces.
But necklaces aren't the only things I've been making lately ~ this awesome little bracelet is just so sweet & delicate ~ it incoporates things you would find in a Pond, like frogs, fish & turtles. And the Czech Glass Catherdral beads are just beautiful, so I named this "Magical Pond" ~ and, of course, it's for sale in the shop, too :)
And then, yesterday I started my exercise routine & my Pilates again. I got everything all set up in the basement and it looks like a gym down there! I have a treadmill, a stationary bike, a rowing machine, an ab lounger & a host of DVD's! Oh, and a step, for step aerobics. I decided that I just had to do something, especially after seeing this:

And once I "master" all of my Pilates & Aerobic DVD's, I'll move on to Morrighan's Pole Dancing DVD's ~ she's really quite amazing & wearing my jewelry :) She's another person I miss terribly ~ hopefully, she'll come visit with Charlie!!! {hint, hint}

Happy Sunday! xxoo & peace always ~ Kathy

And a quote that was sent to me from Jen "If evolution is outlawed, only outlaws would evolve"