Staying Balanced

This weekend was of course the Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, or the first day of fall. It also marked our 23rd wedding anniversary on Sunday. The old wives’ tale says that an egg can be balanced on its end on the equinoxes. Even though I guess I’m officially an old wife now I’ve never tried this particular trick. I can tell you from personal experience this weekend that staying balanced in yoga poses seems easier during the equinox than other times. But that may just be coincidence or the fact that I’ve been doing my daily practice almost daily for about a month and I’m just getting stronger and more grounded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just a sneak peak of the projects and things we did around here this weekend. Can you tell that my creative energy has returned? I hope to write posts/tutorials for all of these activities in the near future. Well, except for the beautiful teenage daughter who likes to walk in the woods and create things with her parents. I’m not sure I can write a tutorial on how to make one of your own. We may have just gotten lucky! Also I personally know next to nothing about making wine but I’m trying to convince Steve to write a guest post on that for us soon. Emma also made a hand-bound journal on Sunday and I’m trying to get her to share that with my readers as well. Maybe I’ll just have her teach me and then I can share what I learned from her for a change.

What I do know how to do or am in the process of learning is making candles and hot process soap. I’ve made candles in the past and Emma wanted me to show her how it is done. These are really simple soy container candles. We’ve been saving the jars from old candles and cleaning the wax out of them to reuse for our own candles. I also had these small metal tins with lids from the store that we used for bath salts. They make perfect little travel candles. This batch of candles are Lilac scented. Kind of a weird choice for fall but we were just experimenting and I had just enough lilac fragrance oil to use up on this batch. The house smelled like a May morning! I did just receive a shipment of supplies including some new scents that we’ll be using for fall and winter scented candles soon.

Bottom left is a photo of my first batch of finished soap. This is something that I’ve wanted to try forever and finally gathered the supplies, knowledge and courage to give it a go. There are so many resources and online tutorials out there now to help take the fear out of making soap. This is a really simple Coconut oil, lard and olive oil soap with lavender & sage fragrance and a bit of blue colorant swirled in. I used a Pringle’s can as my mold to make round soap. I know I made some mistakes but I learned a lot and am excited to try some new ideas already to make more. It really isn’t as scary as I had feared. My next batch is going to be Earl Grey (bergamot) and honey soap made with actual Earl Grey tea.

Mabon is the “Witches Thanksgiving” and while I’m not a practicing Wiccan, I do follow some of their traditions and incorporate them into my eclectic spiritual practice. Obviously the tradition of being thankful for the earth’s bounty in the fall isn’t exclusive to pagans. Regardless, this is the time of year to be grateful for our many blessings. I’m so full of gratitude for so much right now that I can’t even begin to list it all.

The biggest thing I’m thankful for right now is the feeling of home and family that we are experiencing right now. Emma and I are spending a lot of time together walking, talking, creating and learning to drive. It is comfortable and just nice. I don’t know how else to describe it. Even though Sarah doesn’t live at home right now, we’re still very connected. We talk, text or message regularly. As I’ve said before, I’m so grateful that she is finding her niche in the world. Steve and I are also getting back into a good place. He’s traveling more again for his job but we’re making a real effort to stay connected while he’s on the road and to be welcoming and engaging with each other when he gets home. It is also nice. We’re also doing stuff together and nurturing each other’s creative spirits. When you consider that we met 26 years ago, there is very little to discover that is new, so it is important to foster a spirit of growth both as individuals and as a couple. I am thankful that I have a partner that is willing to grow along with me.

Blessed be.