I saw the monks!

Happy Saturday friends!

Yesterday was a good day, I got to see the monks as they walked toward Apex! A once in a lifetime experience and I got to see them with some of the Women's Circle girls too which made it even more special 💜

The thing that I've noticed in the month I've been watching their walk for peace is how it's changing people. While there will always be some ugly comments, the responses to those comments have been, well, peaceful. I haven't seen this on the internet since the early days. Back before the huge swaths of rock dwellers crawled out from under those rocks and started slicing down everyone who wanted to have hopes and dreams. They are being silenced by...kindness. By peace. It's incredible.

I see them in the Walk for Peace Facebook page, trolling, trolling, picking it apart and more times than not the kind responses leave them with nothing to fight. Nothing to grasp onto and turn into nastiness. I myself, have experienced this phenomena. I've talked about the Walk for Peace a few times on Nextdoor and all but two comments have been positive. Each one I responded with some version of: "I see you and here is what I'm experiencing" and absolutely zero response. What a gift to use what the monks are teaching and see the results in real time! 

Waiting, waiting:

Pretty sky:

Here they come!

Everyone was very respectful and the one guy who has been showing up around the state to yell and carry on, wasn't there, yay! We even saw Aloka the Peace Dog looking out the window of their RV! It was so funny to hear everyone quietly talking after they walked by and then a minute later break into loud excited chatter, "OMG! It's Aloka! Did you see him? Aloka! Aloka!" The monks were amazing but Aloka was above and beyond :-) So happy he is with them again.

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I have a funny—the night before I was going to go see the monks, I was falling asleep thinking about them. Wondering if I'd get to see them and where I should go to see them. So, I was asking them about that. I was in that liminal space, not awake, not asleep. I could see a monk and he said something to me. I didn't understand. He said it again, still didn't get it. He repeated it once more, and again I said, "What?" He leaned in so his mouth was right next to me ear and said clear as a bell, "What's up."

Haaaaaaaa!!! I woke up laughing! That still tickles me!

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Earlier this week I was reading Jill Badonsky over on Substack, she makes the most playful art, a ton of ridiculous chickens and of course writes. I love her. She had said: Pick one worry and draw it as a creature with ridiculous hair. Ask it, “Okay, what do you actually need?” and write its answer without judgment. Here is what came to me, introducing Bawky Chicken:

I spent years learning to draw and paint and make things look "real" and "professional."

I spent years creating realistic pieces. 

Then slowly switched to being more illustrative and found line and wash, which might just be my true love. It's definitely something I always come back to, between learning new mediums.

Then tried realistic portraits but with wild color. Super fun and a new challenge.

But I'm always wanting looser. Less perfection. My intuition really wants fun and playful. My brain is learning to let my intuition lead more often. I'm thrilled that I'm allowing myself to play more :-)

THE RANCH:

Tonight and all day Sunday we are expecting a storm here in North Carolina. The south doesn't do winter well. We rarely get "winter" so there aren't many plows, and most of the power lines are above ground, you know, up there with the millions of trees. Those soft wood pines that also don't do winter well. All of that mixes together with ice and snow and you get snapped branches, fallen lines, and massive power outages. 

We started off with a forecast of 18" of snow. Argh. That slowly got lower and lower but sadly, the forecast is now for "wintry mix" instead. Not just a little glaze but an inch of rain, sleet, and snow. Fingers crossed it's not the inch they are predicting because with the cold temps forecasted, it will turn us into an ice rink.

When I lived in NC before, back when I was married to my practice husband, we got a couple inches of ice. Craziest thing to see 2 inches of solid ice on every surface, including the road. Everyone just stayed home of course, no one can drive on ice. We were in our 20s and not worried about our bodies of course so we went for a "walk" and just ice skated in our shoes. It was loads of fun!

It feels a lot different in your 50s with a bunch of animals relying on you! 

Prayers for the winter storm to miraculously clear up!

Typically this is what we have once or twice in the winter, just a heavy frost:

And I'd like to keep it that way! We have a generator so we will have minimal lights, fridge, internet, but not enough to heat the house. And while these temps aren't the end of the world for a lot of you, this is preeeety cold for NC, and will not be fun with no heat in the house:

SEND GOOD JUJU!

And since I know you're wondering, all the equines have blankets and will be wearing them tonight. The Polar Bear will be in the barn with the goats with lots of shavings down for warmth. Her coat is so heavy that back in Colorado she and her friend Duke would lay out in the snow at night even though they had a barn to go into. So, don't worry about her! We've put up some blankets in areas of the goat barn to block icy stuff and wind from getting to the goats as well. They have super heavy fur coats this year (telling, no?) and are just great big puff balls right now. 

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I swapped out my duvet for something that I didn't know I had anymore:

Hellllloooo 1990s! And a sweet hello from my Grandma Hall as well. I was in my first house and had no money but I found this sheet I loved and my Grandma (who knew how to sew) and I turned it into a duvet. Brings back happy memories. I was moving a memory trunk of mine the other day and thought I'd peek inside. Totally forgot I had kept it! 

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This week I posted this pic and question out onto the socials:

I’m noticing something and wanted to put out some feelers. I’ve been spending time lately with a neurodivergent preteen girl and quite a few moms of the same ilk, and I keep hearing the same story. It can be really hard for curious, quirky girls to find social spaces that feel safe, especially when bullying or exclusion shows up in places that are supposed to be supportive. I’m not offering a group yet. I’m just listening and wondering. But I’m curious whether other parents are also wishing for something small and gentle for girls around ages 9–11, before things get even more tough socially. What I’m imagining, just as a thought, would not be therapy, coaching, or social skills training. It would be a space that values curiosity, questions, creativity, and kindness. I’m especially thinking of girls who are often highly verbal, highly sensitive, and enjoy conversation and shared wondering. A place where girls do not have to perform or be fixed, and where asking off the wall questions is welcome. If this sounds like something you have been wishing existed for your child, I’d love to hear from you, either in the comments or through a private message. I’m just gathering information and listening right now…

I was this girl myself but no one knew anything about ND girls back then, so I was just “quirky.”

So, I'm asking the same question of you here as well. Yes, please respond if you have kids of whatever age, because I'm just in the info gathering phase.

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And finally because Sweetness asked to be here:

THE MEMES:

👆🏽Makes me think of Brad, 100%

"I think we should get a ___ (fill in the blank with pony/mini donkey/flock of sheep/herd of goats/guineas/chickens/livestock guardian dogs/Border Collies/etc👆🏽

While we were searching for a house here in NC, we once saw a 15 acre farm where I was like, "Ooooo, we could have Highland Cows here!" and Brad was like, "YEAH!" 😍

When I was visiting Tori to see if I wanted to buy her and she introduced me to her best friend Blu, who was available for free (haaaaaaa, as if horses are ever free), I went home to tell Brad about how awesome Tori was and how she had introduced me to her friend, who I would, of course, NOT be getting.

He just looked at me and said, "So we're getting two ponies then? He has to come with her, you can't leave him there without her!" 😍😍

That last sentence was a bit harsh! Mine cared, it was just such a different time! We were allowed within a 3 block radius because it was southern California and my mom was worried. And that different time included no cell phones, no internet which means it was soooo boring in the house. It also meant the adults went outside too and you know, got to know each other. Which meant that our neighborhood was exactly that, neighborly. Everyone watched out for each other and made sure our big gang of kids were all okay, had a bandaid, or a popsicle, a few apple slices, or a hose to drink out of. It was pretty darn awesome.

Thanks to Jenn O for this image and now I desperately want one too:

HOW TO WORK WITH ME:

For the month of January, I'm offering $25 off hourly coaching, so just $100! With horses, without horses, in-person, or online, your choice.

Neurofeedback This is a great time of year to treat yourself to a tune up and train your brain to calm and ease. The most common response I hear about neurofeedback is, "I'm so much less reactive!" It really does smooth out the sharp spikes. Super helpful if the world feels harsh and spiky to you too right now. $70/hr

Reiki Another way to facilitate relaxation, calm, healing. In the summer an option is outside in the herd. This time of year, it's always in my office where it's warm :-) $90/hr

And of course Women's Circles! The Wednesday circle has a waiting list, I will add you to it if you'd like.

And art classes! Hmmm...I need yet another website redo. I don't think I have a specific page for this. Online or in-person, group or individual. Send me an email and let's talk!

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This is an AI-free newsletter! While I love to use AI to help me figure out a piece of software I don't understand, my intention is to use it to help me with the drudgery, never with writing, art, creation. All em dashes are intentional and mine, I was using them way before ChatGPT was a twinkle in Sam Altman's eye :-)

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Thank you for reading :-)

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