Find me at home anytime here.

Welcome friends. My homepage is a blog so look around. You can see some of the things I do and love. You may follow the crochet patterns or use the nature mandalas freely for educational purposes. As a favor for using the photos, how about clean up trash on a favorite trail or place that you walk? That seems like a fair deal to me.


May you be happy
May you be healthy
May you live with ease
May you always remember your True Self
May you own your power in the world with graciousness
and May you have fun on your journey. Namaste

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Yarn Bomb mandala pattern

Upcycle your old CD’s with this yarn bomb project.
The pattern is not exact because you can add your own creative stitches, beads, bobbles or designs, but this is the basic idea:
Size H hook
leftover or stash yarn
2 CD’s so that the mandala is reversible.
First make the sleeve for the CD’s:
Leave a tail at the beginning of 8 inches or so in case you need extra to attach the mandalas together.
Chain 35 and join with a slip stitch
Chain 4 (this counts as the DC and ch 1)
skip 1 st
(DC in next st, ch 1, sk 1 st) Do this all the way around
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sl st to the top of the first ch 4.
Also add another sl st in this area so it can feel more secure.
There should be 18 “ladder rungs.”

If you want more design, add another row of stitches to one side of the ladder or other.20171204_092825

Leave a tail of about 50-55 inches, finish off and cut yarn.

Put the sleeve around the 2 CD’s then using a tapestry needle, start catching a stitch on the sleeve and thread thru the center, then catch the same stitch on the other side of the CD.
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You could have 3 or 6 threads going thru the center.
Connect in a single line, or whatever design you like.
Attach with yarn or paper clips.

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Fall Equinox, Kali, and birth

A new project I want to explore this year is to enjoy the procession of the sun, moon and stars and find the stories, myths and symbolism behind them. I will preference the stories from the Bible and Hindu mythology since those interest me most.

Today is the Fall equinox and that means the sun is entering a time of increasing darkness. This one day is the day of equal balance and then for the next 3 months, the darkness increases a little bit each day.
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Indra’s net

The story and some links about Indra’s net.
A traditional Buddhist and Hindu story.

Far, far away, in the abode of the great god Indra, king of heaven, hangs a wondrous vast net, much like a spider’s web in intricacy and loveliness. It stretches out indefinitely in all directions. At each node, or crossing point, of the net hangs a single glittering jewel.

M Orlov Dreamstime Photos
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Taj Mahal 3D Puzzle 1077 pieces

I found the 3D Taj Mahal puzzle at a thrift store. I love puzzles so I purchased. I looked for a tutorial to make this puzzle easier, and there wasn’t one. So here it is for someone else.
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Filling the hole in your life

I found a quote that I want to remember. From Goethe:

It is the nature of grace always to fill spaces that have been empty.

I heard it in the context of grief and loss. We must be with the empty feeling of loss and grief without trying to fill it with food, shopping, drinking, drugs, talking, traveling, or other distractions. If we leave the space, then grace or God will fill that space with something that nourishes our soul.

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Welcome all thoughts and feelings

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

— Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks

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Metaphor – Economics and spiritual practice

Earthly economics are very efficient. A baby only takes up enough space in mom’s womb to grow properly and not much extra. When one mails a package, one uses only the size of box needed to ship the item and not much extra, for that would be a waste of space and money. A growing seed only displaces the amount of dirt needed to push thru the soil. There are many examples of this good economy but yes sometimes man’s conscious choices are wasteful.


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Metaphor – wrong number

Last Sunday the phone rang as we were getting ready for church. It turned out to be a wrong number. The woman on the other end waited long enough to get the information on how she had misdialed before she hung up.


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Metaphor: tennis ball in the dryer

I bought a used coat that is a really high quality brand, and the coat was in great condition. I felt blessed to have found it. I wanted to wash it before I wore it. The instructions were to wash it with similar colors and the dry it in an electric dryer and put a tennis ball in with it.

I guess the tennis ball helps to keep the fiber filling evenly spaced inside the coat as it dries. The tennis ball made so much racket. We wondered if there was something wrong with the dryer. It sounded like someone beating on the wall, and this went on for the whole cycle. But the coat came out beautifully.

This is a metaphor that is important right now because there are events happening all around me and in my own home where it seems like something is broken and the sound is like someone beating on the wall constantly and its fearful at times the intense emotions that are coming forward. So it helps me to enjoy the day when I remember that I am following the instructions on the label and the end result will be fabulous. Just stay centered and don’t get caught up or put myself in the middle of the dryer!

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