Despite the cold and sensitivity in my feet, walking barefoot feels good. I need contact with the earth right now, because I crave grounding and comfort. I always get this when I'm out in nature, but I'm experimenting with removing the layer of insulation on my feet after reading the book "Earthing: The most important health discovery yet!"
The book is very fascinating and talks about how putting your naked feet (or hands or any other part of your body) on the ground every day can improve your health in dramatic ways, reducing inflammation and helping people sleep better. It has to do with the electric charge of the earth affecting your body. I won't explain it here, but read it if you are intrigued. I've been doing this for a week, even when it's almost freezing, and it feels great.
So after I received some horrible news from my dentist and being terribly upset, I cancelled all my plans and headed west to Bowman Bay, one of my favorite places in our area. Usually visited by many people in nicer weather, this time it was deserted - thankfully, because I didn't want to deal with people staring at the crazy woman walking barefoot in this weather.
Can you see why I love this place so much? Ragged cliffs, sandy beaches, eagles (can you spot the eagle in the picture above?), tide pools, awesome views, salty air, twisted Madrona trees, shells, sea weed... What else does a girl need?
Shifting gears, but still talking of beautiful things: my son and his baking. My 13-year-old boy is on a cake-baking-trip. He does it all himself, without any help from me, except the occasional "Mom, where is the vanilla?", or a panicked "Oh, my god, Mom, we are out of butter and I need one more stick for the frosting. NOW!!!"
So I help him search or call the neighbors to borrow butter, and then I take photos of him. I can't eat the cake because I don't eat refined sugar, but I sure help him admire it and show it off.
Talking of creativity: I'm up to my ears in fiber. Wool fiber, that is, not the dietary kind. My project "From Sheep to Sweater" is moving along at a rapid speed, all the spinning is done, and I started knitting!!!
You guys, you really should go to my membership page and become a patron, so you can watch the movies I made about the process. It's so fun! (And it's worth the $1 a month).
Also, I'm gonna put up a tutorial and recipe on making the awesome lotion bars below (sooooooo easy!!!), so you can make some as Valentine's gifts. It will be on my membership page soon.
I'll leave you with different scenes from our week.
The first one shows Eva, Steve and Yoda relaxing after a long day of doing firewood. Eva's reading is really taking off, so we have her read to us while we spin, knit, cook, or relax.
The second picture shows the sunrise when I pulled into the kids' school parking lot. If you're stuck in school all day, you might as well be in a beautiful location.
The last picture is from Chuckanut Drive, on my way back home from Bellingham. We live in a gorgeous area, don't we?
How are you doing? How are you keeping yourself grounded?
I’m sorry to hear about the dental issues, but it’s good that you took time for yourself to process in such a beautiful place. One of my favorite things to do to ground is go outside with the dog in the middle of the night for a few minutes. The baby inevitably wakes me up once or twice a night, and the dog demands a pee break then, so I walk outside in my jammies and just breath in the cold winter air, look at the stars and give thanks to the moon for watching over us.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t had a chance to check out the videos on the patron site (sick and teething baby, and a husband that just had nose and throat surgery haven’t given me much time to myself). I’m looking forward to them though!
Thank you for sharing your all that is going on with you. I look forward to your posts and your pictures!
Thanks, Tiffany! Sorry to hear that you are dealing with a sick baby and surgery for the hubby. What a beautiful image, though: walking outside in jammies, breathing cold air and looking at the night sky!
DeleteI've been doing that "earthing" since forever. But we didn't have a name for it. I even did it when I was a kid walking in snow (but not for very long!) My husband has something wrong with him (LOL) because he can't take cold. I'm completely normal (LOL) so I frequently walk outside in my bare feet. It does feel good. Oh Yah.
ReplyDeleteI love the Pacific Coast. So gorgeous. The water. The sunrise.
Have you ever heard of arm knitting? I see your (whatever that thick stuff is called) and it reminds me of "arm knitting". Have you ever done that? I wonder how it works. Seems like it would use up a lot of (expensive) material.
Love and Peace, Renee
I've heard of arm knitting, but never tried it. You're right, it seems like it would use up a lot of roving, which is great if you have sheep and lots of wool... I prefer to knit with needles, though!
DeleteWe are on a new 10 acre parcel of land this year, mostly forested, and i have been busy this winter building trails into the back. The summer was too busy to do this, and the undergrowth so thick hard to get back there at all. This is my grounding winter activity. I get sore, and muddy, but i love the activity of working outside and the success of new walking paths. Just got a puppy too, so the trails are sure coming in handy now!
ReplyDeleteA new puppy!!! How fun!!! And yes to "working out" while working in the woods! Who needs a gym if you can build trails?
Delete