Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and Hope for Uncertain Times (Part 2)

Welcome to my homestead. After writing about Grandma Hulda and sharing our family's recipe for old fashion pinwheel date cookies I thought I would share another great recipe and such a classic; Chocolate Chip cookies!

Oh don't you just love a freshly baked, still warm from the oven, chocolate chip cookie? It takes me back to my teenage years. I know you would think it would take me back to a younger time in my childhood but after my dad died when I was 6, I don't remember my mom doing any baking for years. In fact, I was the one who would bake in our home, so hungry was I for baked goods. When I was around age 9 or 10, I started baking Biscuit dough from a box and I would stuff the center with mincemeat. Whenever we had guests I would make those but I cringe now wondering how good they really were. At the time I thought I was such an amazing cook. Ha!

When I was 12 my mom remarried a man named, Bud (John Ray Finch) who had been a custom's officer in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. My mom met Bud at the Empress Hotel in Chilliwack, where she worked as a front desk clerk. Leaving my sister J behind to finish school, the three of us created a new family and moved to Creston, B.C, in the Kooteneys and started a new chapter in our life.

It was there in our large 100 year old, historic home on the hill that my mom started to bake again. I can remember coming home in the fall, my cheeks flush with cold and the smell of  pinwheel cookies, or chocolate cookies, would rise up to meet me when I opened the back door leading to our homey kitchen.

I'd like to believe that I'm creating those same sorts of memories for our children and this blog is also another legacy to capture some of our family stories and our favourite recipes.

In my recent blog post I wrote about my grandmother's Hulda's life as a way to inspire those of us who live in more modern times but in the last 6 months as there is such political unrest in the States since the recent election of their new president and also power struggles throughout the world, I thought it is very timely that two of my favourite people in the world (Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Deepak Chopra) are providing a free meditation series called, "Hope in Uncertain Times."

I laughed out loud when I saw the title of their new meditation challenge for it is aptly named and something I can totally relate to.

This is the invitation I received from the Chopra Centre in my email, since I have done other meditations challenges in the past.

Uncertainty can be scary, and with fear comes defensiveness, judgment, and “us vs. them" thinking. Fear tempts us to give up our power to others who only appear strong, whether that’s your boss, your partner or other leaders. But true strength lies within.

Starting April 10, you’ll learn to take back your power and discover the inner resources to find love, peace, and connection in even the most difficult situations with Hope in Uncertain Times.

 If you have not participated in one of these events, (it starts on April 10, 2017) I encourage you to pencil this date on your calendar and register as it could change your life. At the very least it will help you align yourself with your true essence and help you create the life that you want. When I have invited a few of my friends in the past, some have said, oh, I don't have even 15 minutes in my day to do something like meditate but that seems so backwards to me.

If we want to be more productive in our lives, we don't just work until we drop. No we have to eat properly, to rest appropriately, which will give us the energy we need to do our jobs. Well, meditation is really the same, although it's our soul's alignment and when we are in harmony with our inner power then we can do ANYTHING....and you know in my small way, that is what Hope's Homestead is really about. Yes, I want to inspire others to live a more sustainable life, to realize that living more simply is really living more fully, but more than anything I want that to come from a place of spirit.

This is the true homestead.

My hope is that it will touch millions and millions of people. If we are all hummming, or rather, ommmming, with a single thread of Hope as we move more deeply into the year 2017, imagine what we can accomplish. Fear will be banished and love replaced and when we live in a state of love, that is where miracles happen.

So please join me now in registering for this series. It's absolutely free, no strings attached and I believe it's a Win/Win for everyone who takes just 15 minutes out of their day to connect.

Here's the link to the 21 day meditation challenge, "Hope In Uncertain Times."

And now for the COOKIES!

Hope's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups margarine or butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla (I play around with this...1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond extract or coconut extract)
3 eggs
4-1/4 cups of all purpose flour (I play with this too, sometimes add some oatmeal, ground flax seed)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of chocolate chips
1 cup of nuts or coconut, or dried cranberries...this is the fun part of the recipe and makes it different each time you make it. Also, the 2 cups of chocolate chips can be played with using white and dark chocolate

Directions

Heat oven to 375 F degrees. In a large bowl beat the margarine or butter until creamy and then slowly add the sugars until light and fluffy.

 

 Add the vanilla and eggs, blend well. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, again, mixing until well combined.

 

The final step is adding the chocolate chips and the 1 cup of nuts or whatever you have decided to include. Mix all until well combined. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

 

Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

This makes a large batch of cookies. I often make a few dozen big and then a few dozen small for our little people but I probably get 5 to 6 dozen depending on the size of cookie I make
Note: When the dough can also be frozen if you just want to make a dozen at a time...that way you will always have some freshly baked cookies on hand but in my house....yeah, the whole batch go in about 2 days!!! ....and my kids are just hoping and trusting that our cookie jar will ALWAYS be full.

A final tip from my kitchen, I don't know about your part of the world but nuts are extremely expensive in mine, so I always keep a basket of dried nuts in their shells for the kids to crack and for me to use when baking. Yes, it takes a bit of effort to crack a cup of nuts but somehow it feels so much more satisfying and you know it's also meditative cracking nut after nut and watching a mound of nuts form in your measuring jar. Also, this is a good way to have a combination of nuts in your cookies....I'm sorry if you are allergic to nuts like my niece T is....I'm sure you can find some other yummy addition it that is your situation.

 

When I put these cookies on my mom's old Forget Me Not China, it feels like we are having tea together again like our old days in Creston, B.C. (Her friends gave her this china when she left Creston btw)

Well that wraps another blog post. I'm so glad you came to visit and I hope you will be joining me on April 10th meditating on the thoughts of Hope In Uncertain Times

If you are unsure, join me in one of Deepak and Oprah's past meditations from their "Perfect Health," 21 day series...."Meditate it Forward"
 Pass it on.......

Thank you as always, for coming to visit. Wishing you MUCH love, lots of peace...and Hope always!

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Old Fashion Pinwheel Date Cookies ~ Hope in Uncertain Times (Part 1, Grandma Hulda's Story)

My maternal grandmother died 30 years ago in 1987, and yet as I did some research and started to write this piece, it felt like she was across the room, moving rhythmically in her rocking chair and sharing her story in her sing songy, Swedish voice that I loved.

If you want to make a cup of tea and join me, pick a comfy chair and I will tell you a bit of her story, a peek into the past, a glimpse of what women 100 years ago experienced.. While daily, we move through our lives, mostly unconscious of their impact, the hardship they endured are etched in our bones forever more.

Hulda Adeline, was born on September 24, 1892 to Matilda (Koping) and August Snickars, (trade Carpenter) in Malox, Vaasa, Finland. She was their first child. Before she was even born, her father left their home to search for a better life in North America, and 6 years later her mother left her with an Aunt and followed her husband to the new country.

 In 1904, when Hulda was only 12 years old she boarded a ship which took her on a long voyage across the Atlantic ocean and then traveled slowly by train across the United States, until she reached California to join her parent.

I can’t even imagine how determined and brave she must have been to take that trip. How scared and worried she may have been, not knowing for sure if she would be reunited with her family. The fact that my grandmother spoke Swedish and probably not a lot of English must have made that trip even more daunting.

She did find her family in Albion, California and promptly started working in a nearby hotel to help support their growing family.

Hulda Adeline Snickars~ 15 years old in  1907~

 
Her mother and father had 4 more children (Rose, Christine, Franz and another boy,) and then her father died. Her mother remarried a man with the last name of Nygard and they had one more child. A daughter, whom they called Violet but everyone called her Babe. Aunt Babe died a few years ago and was the last of that generation of strong and resourceful women.

Grandma met her husband in Albion, CA. August (Gus) Victor Herrling  was born in 1882 in Canada. His father, Charles August Herrling (b 1826) had emigrated from the state of Hungary/Austria in the mid 1800’s and settled a homestead which is now called, “Herrling’s Island.” If you are ever traveling past Hope B.C. on highway number 1, you will see the sign for Herrling Island, across the Fraser River. 

While on the homestead, his father had married an indigenous woman, Mary Dora, and had two children. Sadly, she died in childbirth with their child, so common during that time. I don’t know if their third child survived. The two children were raised by their grandparents and Charles then remarried another indigenous woman in 1876. With Mary Caroline Ling, great grandpa Herrling had 8 children and my grandfather Gus,was one of these children.

In 1915 Gus and Hulda married in Elk, California. While in California they had 6 children, Henry (1916), Charles (1918), Stanley (1920) and then they had two more children but I don’t’ know in what order. Harold died at age 2 from an infection and Patricia Anne only lived to 3 months and I think there was talk of her having heart issues.

 Then in 1926 my mother, Ethel May was born in Oakland, California. I now understand why she was raised a bit like a princess with three older brothers watching over her and parents who hovered, probably scared that she too would die. She was followed by two more siblings. Richard (Dick) in 1929 and finally after emigrating to Canada from the States their last child, Rose Marie was born in 1932. Grandma was 40 when her last baby was born.

Hulda's first husband and my grandfather, August Victor Herrling (Gus)

Gus and Hulda bought a farm in the Abbotsford area but during the depression years they moved to Campbell River where Gus and the older boys worked in the logging camp to earn a living and keep food on the table. The Herrling's were a kind and generous family and even though times were tough, they always made a place for others at their table. In the late 30’s they returned to the Abbotsford area. Sadly, Gus was kicked by a horse and died of his injuries in 1946.

 In those days it was hard for women to survive without a husband as being a single working woman/mom was not the norm, nor were there jobs to provide a decent living for women on their own and so in 1948, Hulda remarried Carl Brosch. They moved to Coquitlam and then finally together they bought another piece of land in the Abbotsford area. There is now a large mall complex on their land.

My grandmother Hulda and her second husband Carl.

Grandma Hulda lived at this location with Carl for many years. I can remember visiting them on their property and recognizing the value of growing your own food, having a compost pile, right in the garden. She taught me the gift of simplicity and using what you have. She would give me an old Sears Robuck Catalogue and a pair of scissors and I would make whole families and play with them for hours.

  

I loved when she would tell stories and act them out using animated expressions and actions. At the end of our visit, as the day darkened and the dinner had been cleared away, I would fall into a deep sleep with my head resting against her heart, listening to the vibration of her voice as she continues to visit with my mom in the kitchen.She didn't have much money in her lifetime but when she came to visit us in Hope, I can remember her bringing little treats; orange crush pop and candies. Although I have decluttered a lot of my childhood memorabilia, even my precious Suzy and Cindy dolls are long gone,  I kept one of the last birthday cards she gave me with a kitten and her written words, "love gram!"

When grandma was in her early 80's she and Carl had a car accident and after that she started to age rapidly. In her last 10 years she deteriorated suffering from dementia and was in the Riverview Extended care home/hospital in Coquitlam, B.C.. In the last couple of years of her life she was in the Mission Hospital. The nurses apparently loved her and even though she was unresponsive, she still touched souls with her sweet nature.

Why did I tell you that story?

 Well, for one, I don't want the memory of this incredible woman, my grandmother Hulda to be lost. But another reason is to lift you up. If she could have lived almost 100 years, endured living through two world wars, one great depression, survived the loss of her first husband and two babies, and still retain her faith and hope, then we can do anything. We have more resources as women now. We live in a time when education and careers are possible. We live in a time when we are not pressured to marry or have children.There is a social safety net in Canada and government funded health care. We have come a long way since Grandma was born.

It's true that the current state of the world is unstable with certain world leaders and ideologies in power but we women now have the right to vote. We are strong and powerful and most important of all, in most families, we still rock the cradle and can impact the next generation.We can teach our children to follow their hearts, listen from within and trust in goodness prevailing.By example, we can teach our children to be honest, live with integrity, take ownership for their choices, be respectful of others, work hard, have faith, but probably the biggest legacy  is to be accepting and loving to all of our fellow humans, no matter their station, race, gender, religion, or colour.

But we still have far to go for not all women in the world are living in peace and freedom.

People, like Grandma Hulda endured so much so their children and grandchildren could have a better life and now it's our turn to hold that space of respect and pass on the lessons of strength to the next generation on this earth. In 100 years from now, I'm holding the vision that there is peace on earth, (everywhere) that no one goes hungry and everyone is contributing to the world by using their own unique talents and gifts for the betterment of our earth. When you look back at everything Hulda experienced and how the world has changed, I don't think my vision for the world is too grand. It's possible....with Hope, anything is possible.

Well, that's my blog story for today but before I go I wanted to share my family's recipe for Pinwheel Date Cookies. I think it's timely as this is a recipe passed down from my mother and I'd like to think it came from Hulda, although I will never know.

The appearance of this cookie has a yummy circle of dates going around and around. Just like a meditative medicine wheel. With each step around the wheel we become more grounded,---perhaps as we munch on our cookies, with each bite we will lay down strength and hope from generations passed. The swirling path of dates reminds us that life is sweet and history doesn't have to repeat itself.

With conscious thought, we can choose a different path for a healthier world where the strongest vibration is love. Let that be my grandma Hulda's legacy....and now mine.

Old Fashion Pinwheel Date Cookie Recipe 

Ingredients

Filling

3/4 cup finely chopped dates
1/4 sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp finely chopped nuts (we use walnuts)

Cookies

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter--softened
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions 

In a small saucepan, combine dates, sugar and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until thick. Stir in nuts. Cool.

In large bowl, beat brown sugar, margarine and egg until light and fluffy.Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt; mix at low speed until dough forms. Cover with tea towel or parchment paper, refrigerate 1 hour for easier handling.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 16x8 inch rectangle; carefully spread with date filling. Starting with 16 inch side, roll up jelly-roll fashion; cut in half to form two 8 inch rolls. Wrap each roll in a tea towel; refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degree F. Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on lightly sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on cookie racks.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies
(We love these cookies so I double the recipe and freeze a container full of them)

(Note, if you like the taste of orange, you can replace the water with orange juice and use some zest....also add a bit of cinnamon to the dry ingredients for a lovely addition)

I like to dust some icing sugar over the tops of the cookies when they are still warm from the oven

 Thanks for visiting today. I hope something you read lifts you up and helps you on your journey and at the very least, you have added a new cookie recipe to your recipe box. As you know, I think life is more bearable with a jar full of cookies.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Creating a Sacred Space to Manifest Dreams

My dear blogging friends and family, are you getting tired of winter yet?

I sure am!

To me this time of year always feels like my 8th month of pregnancy, when I just wanted to meet my baby and have my body back. Although a part of me wanted to enjoy the last days of my precious pregnancy, I was getting tired of getting up several times a night to use the bathroom and of course, overall I felt uncomfortable.

People don't like being in a state of uncomfortable.

Just like pregnancy, winter is starting to feel too long. I'm tired of bundling myself and our little people up every time we go outside and dealing with slush and mud is getting unbearable.

Yuck!

I just want winter to be over and to get on with life; start my garden, hang out with our chickens, plant some flowers, grow some food and feel the warmth of the sun on my face.  But these transition times are really important in our lives and I GUESS that is why I am thankful that I live in a part of the world where there are distinct seasons.

Four seasons in a year, teach us a lot. Each season is an opportunity to look at our life and how we are walking our path. How we feel about life when it's uncomfortable.

 “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”                                        ~Albert Camus~

It's in those uncomfortable moments and in between season, when we come into our own, build the energy we need so that when the next season starts or stage of our life begins, we are transformed and ready to fly.

While I'm waiting for the last of the snow to melt, I remind myself that, "this too shall pass," and I start moving energy because.....

This is the season for space clearing!

If you have wondered why I haven't posted much lately, it's because I have been upending drawers and emptying closets to rid myself of what is no longer useful or appreciated in our home. After I have cleared out a room of clutter and cleaned it really well, my body literally vibrates with a higher energy.

And that propels me forward to the next space.

And you know, it's in that place, when we are humming with joy  that we are able to create ANYTHING we desire. I think that when Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you," he was referring to our potential to be ultimate creators. We just need to be believe the power to do so is inside of ourselves.

And so with that I wanted to share a story I wrote about my own experience a few years ago. No matter what you are desiring to create in your life, a new job, tickets to travel, a love partner, or a baby, like I was dreaming of a few years ago, it can be yours. I hope you find the following story inspiring.

And join me in moving the clutter, clearing your space and creating the life you always dreamed of.

Here's my story.....

Stepping on My Own Feet

Each spring I do the same dance, although the tune is always different. This year, as I sweep through the house, going room by room, clearing out the insidious accumulation of stuff which stealthy, creeps into our home, I’m singing the tune, “less stuff, more life.”

This is a dance I know well and a song I have sung before. As a daughter of a depression era mother, I was raised, suffocated by stuff. Oh, sure it was organized chaos, but each drawer and closet was brimming full with things we may need someday. I wasn’t choked so much by our possessions but by the fear that someday, 

THERE MAY BE A LACK.

As an adult, I threw down the gauntlet in the face of such fear and challenged life, dancing surefooted and believing whatever I desired would appear. Somewhere along life’s path, perhaps when my husband and I were trying to have our last child, I faltered. It was also during this time, that I allowed material possessions to move surreptitiously into our home.

It was an easy thing with a household full of children. First there were the discarded baby items, and then once school started, our children arrived home, proudly carrying precious pieces of art stuffed in their backpacks. Rock collections were discovered in jean pockets and buckets of stinky shells, and drift wood returned home with us after our summer holidays at the sea.

Oh and one can’t forget the countless boxes of pricey Gap and Gymboree clothing our children had grown out of, or the mountains of toys, too numerous for our little ones to play with each day. Over the years, everything was relegated to our Hobbit’s hallow crawl space or spread innocently, stuffed into closets and drawers.

One day, while surfing the web for fertility inspiration, I stumbled across an article on Feng Shui. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art that teaches how to balance energies in any given space to increase good fortune and improve the flow of desired manifestation. Did I ever need to read this! Somewhere along my path I had become my mother’s daughter.  I was drowning in a sea of household crap and it felt like I was moving through mud to reach my dreams.

Suddenly, my latest obsession shifted from trying to conceive, to studying the art of Feng shui. The first step was clearing clutter. Starting with our bottom heavy crawl space and moving upward, each day I chose a new room to methodically clear and clean. 

That spring, 9 years ago we had the mother of all garage sales and who knew it would feel so good to let others happily take what was clogging up my life.  After that, I systematically went room by room, balancing the elements of wood, fire, water and metal.

 Finally, one blue skyed Saturday afternoon my husband took the kids to the park and I did a space clearing ceremony. I know it sounds new agey and thinking back I’m glad no one came to the door that day as I was dressed all in white and wearing flowers in my hair. What would they have thought!  With a Balinese bell in one hand and a stick of smoldering sage and a large feather in the other hand, I swayed around our house in a circular fashion, while softly chanting, “May our home be filled with peace, love, joy and abundant blessings flow with ease.” 

 When the kids came home with flushed cheeks from playing at the park they asked, “what smells so funny?” As I write this, don’t think the irony is lost on me but since this is the pivotal part of my story, I must continue.

I didn’t wait long to share my latest foray into moving energy with my Tradition Chinese Doctor.  Dr. B had been treating me weekly with acupuncture sessions in the pursuit of building my chi energy and boosting my fertility.  At the end of our session, Dr. B. looked intently at me with her calm, deep brown eyes and gently said, “Lee, you have to let go.” As tears filled my eyes, the spoken truth of her words hit my gut with a thud and reverberated around my brain until it felt swollen with emotional punches. I wanted to yell, ”not yet,” but I knew, if I didn’t surrender the dream of another baby that I had been holding tightly since my last miscarriage two years earlier, I would drown in dark quick sand, taking my family with me.

When I got home, I went to sit on our front step in one of the brown wicker chairs. Spring was turning to summer. An earthly, scent of freshly mown grass was in the air and my newly planted flower pots at the front of our house were starting to bloom in brilliant pinks, deep purples and bright yellows. We would be eating luscious sweet strawberries from the garden soon and best of all, my delightful children would be all mine for 2 glorious months. With a sigh, I stood and reached up, allowing my hands to flow through the wind chimes at our front door. A heavenly sound of tinkling angel laughter filled the air.

Today, I’m in the midst of unearthing our kitchen desk drawer and I’m thinking about that time in my life when I got off track and was focusing on the lack in my life and not the abundance. I’m always surrounded by enough. In fact, right now I’m sitting on our wood floor covered by pens, papers, orphaned keys and multiple staplers. Our vacu-flo hose is lying nearby, like a snake, ready to suck up the dust and debris lying heavily at the bottom of the drawer. 

This is a dance I do each spring but this year the tune is different. This year I move to the rhythm of MLS listings. I’m looking for acreage in the county. A place our family can grow more vegetables, build our chicken flock, maybe even get a rooster and certainly a big dog. I’m dreaming of my white farmhouse kitchen with a big butcher block island when the garage door suddenly opens and my blonde, curly haired, 7 year old son William pops his head in the door and pleads, “MOOOOM, are you coming out to play?” 

I look at the stuff strewn around me and know it’s not going anywhere. Hey, and maybe Will and his 5 year old twin sisters will help me organize the drawer when we come in. For some reason, my younger kids love to help me de-clutter.

                                                                            The End

 Although it's not the end...after I got off my own feet, look what manifested in my life....

When I got off my own feet, these beautiful babies danced into my life

Victoria Hope on the left and Kathryn Mira is on the right..early days while still in the hospital

Our little girls LOVE to read, Kathryn is on the left, Victoria is on the right

Here is Princess Kate

Our beautiful Victoria (Tori)

It was a long first year with twins but it's all smiles in the end

Out to explore and have an adventure...isn't that what life is all about?

 

From left to right, Victoria, William and Kathryn

There was a time when having these last three was a dream outside my reach...the power is within each of us to create the life of our dreams.

That's a story I wrote recently for my writing group. The theme was a time in our life when we were stuck. Now looking back, I was never stuck. Only my perception was stuck. I was abundantly wealthy with children at the time and our next children, although waiting patiently on the other side, were within my reach all along. So ironic.  All I had to do was let go, trust, breathe, and be JOY filled.

This reminds me of Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ, when she clicked the heels of her ruby red slippers and said, "there's no place like home." We have the ability to create whatever we want and we are ALWAYS, always home!

But when you want something so bad, it's just not a human experience to relax, to trust, to enjoy. We click our ruby red slippers so hard that the glitter wears off.  Oh for most of us, we need to push and worry, and live in a state of angst and unrest, (speaking personally here and in general) until we give up saying, "it probably wasn't meant to be anyway! And the secret all along is to put our dreams down and let the Universe bring them to us. You may be surprised to see how fast they show up when you are vibrating in a state of appreciation and joy. AND TRUST...that's the biggie.

Years ago, I thought I had started my blog to stay in touch with our daughter who had moved to London for 2 years. Now she is back in Canada, but still away and now teaching in Victoria but lately I have been thinking, yes, I like her to hear what's going on in my head and at home but ya know, it's more for me. If you are a writer, or an artist, or a cook, or a parent, you know this about creating something....the keys to living our best life are constantly flowing through our creative medium of choice and when we stop typing, or put down the paintbrush, this aha, realization floods through us.

As I write this post, yes I realize that I'm doing the whole dance again but this time looking for acreages on MLS, are dance steps I know well. All I have to do is get off my own feet and allow the music to take me...and the Universe will do all the rest. 

Isn't life endlessly fascinating and magical?

Hey...but space clearing is valuable; you get rid of things that you are no longer needing and sharing them with others, well that's HUGE. They may even be thinking of the very thing that you are letting go this very moment! WOW! When you are conscious of the river flowing that is when you see the wonder of it all.

Now before I close, if you are new to this whole space clearing idea, I'm not going to just share my story and then not give you some road maps to follow...we love manuals and road maps in life don't we? So here are the books that inspired me, but remember, just like what the good witch Glinda who told Dorothy, "you had the power all along my dear."

 The books that inspired me to move my energy are:

Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui  by Karen Kingston, was the first book I read that inspired me to rid our house of useless crap....and create a space where harmony flowed.

And the other book by Karen Kingston that took everything to another level and gave me ideas for the space clearing ceremony where I was wearing white, and had flowers in my hair...it is;

Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston

So if you are stuck, or even thinking you are okay but wanting a bit more energy and want the things you desire to flow to you with ease, think about clearing the clutter and creating a beautiful space where you can manifest your best life.

The power is inside of you!

Well, I'm off to do some more de-cluttering and also have a cup of green tea with ginger. I find that when I space clear and things start to flow, it also inspires me to cleanse my body as well. I hope to write more about that in the next little while and also share some pics of some of my projects.

 

Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope (aka Lee)