The healing porch

[Lingurine]

Oh, this sounds just wonderful wife#2... Imagine rocking in a hammock, staring at the stars at night... drinking an ice tea while watching the dogs and cats playing and dozing off. Can I please take my cat and the neighbour cats and all the cats I've ever knew? It will be a zoo of great animals. Love to imagine a pink blanket wrapped around my feet and singing some beautiful songs. Dance a bit too, African dance moves, barefeet, the sounds of the ocean and after that, swimming at night with the dolphins...

Heaven

Lingurine

[Elphanigh]

That sounds so amazing Lingurine. Definitely bring the cats, and your dance moves. Barefeet is always the best, especially on the beach with dolphins

[Blueberry]

i'll be joining you a bit Elphanigh because today hasn't been the easiest work day for me. Setting limits and making demands in more cases than just Troublesome Client. So I need to stock up on some energy and be in a safe, beautiful, calming place for a while. Especially where there are people to cheer me on, like Lingurine on the topic of Troublesome Client.

[Elphanigh]

Sorry your work day has been rough. I have read through that thread a few times, and am glad for all the support you receive. I hope the porch is the perfect place for you today

[Blueberry]

Thank you Elphanigh

[Elphanigh]

Anytime Blueberry 

I think I am going to spend my day metaphorically reading in the sun

[Lingurine]

Blueberry, you need the hammock more than I do, I'll rock you softly...

Lingurine

[Wife#2]

I'll be stopping by, but just for a short visit today. It's a busy day early, then off early when the work is complete.

I need the slightly sun/dryer warmed blanket of assurance. But, that can wait until after San, Lingurine and I finish with our dance.

I love the barefoot dancing. I may look awkward, but the smile gives away that I don't care how I look, I am enjoying the friendship, companionship and movement of my body. The record player is just inside the door and to the right. We can set the speakers in the window, so that we can catch that breeze while we listen and dance! It'll be fun watching the kitties weave between our feet sometimes.

Elphanigh, I'll join you after the dancing, with a tall, cold ice tea. We will continue to surround you with caring support.

Blueberry, may the sight of a middle-aged, overweight woman dancing to a wonderful African musician soundtrack with cats wandering between her and the other dancers' feet make you smile. It's not easy being in charge and having to defend your rights, but you've been doing just that! Overcoming our fears to do what is right is ALWAYS worth celebrating. Is there any champagne left? It may be time for a Continental Breakfast! I'll go check the stock of cold melons in the fridge. Let me know if you'll join in or if another form of support can help you remain calm today.

TO all the porch dwellers, here and off doing their thing. Thank you all for making this more wonderful each day!

[Elphanigh]

Thank you Wife2, after my night last night I am going to need all the support I can get (see my other post if you are curious). This porch will be a place of peace for me today.

Your dance looks beautiful in my head today. Good luck with your busy day of work!

[sanmagic7]

here's a hug, elphanigh    .  i'll be on the porch after all the doc stuff today. 

just wanted to let you all know that this place has become the pusher-outer of all those horrid ruminations that would keep me from falling asleep, all the tension that those neg. thoughts about the past people in my life and what they did that would strangle what should otherwise be a peaceful journey into the land of nod. 

i now bring the porch to mind when i lay my head on the pillow, and i can see all of you doing whatever it is you are doing from my rocker, covered in a blanket of just the right temperature, color, and softness to induce a lovely sleep.   this image is only a heartbeat away for me now, and i absolutely love all of it.  see you later.

[Elphanigh]

Thank you for the hug  Good luck with doctor stuff. I will "see" you when you return

[Blueberry]

Blueberry, may the sight of a middle-aged, overweight woman dancing to a wonderful African musician soundtrack with cats wandering between her and the other dancers' feet make you smile. It's not easy being in charge and having to defend your rights, but you've been doing just that! Overcoming our fears to do what is right is ALWAYS worth celebrating. Is there any champagne left? It may be time for a Continental Breakfast! I'll go check the stock of cold melons in the fridge. Let me know if you'll join in or if another form of support can help you remain calm today.

Wife#2, this getting on for middle-aged, overweight woman will come and join you on the dance-floor and forget all about her own weight, as well as the stresses of the day and feeling of anxiety about the magpie 'break-in' (see my latest post Three Good Things A Day)! I'll be allowing my body to express the celebration and release some tension. Afterwards I'll be happy to have some of that cold melon! I recently discovered that watermelon tastes good with mint leaves, so I'll look forward to that after lots of dancing / freestyle body movement / expressive body moves. I'm dancing IRL in my seat while I write and it's helping already.

Thank you too Lingurine for the offer of rocking me gently in the hammock. I'll gladly take that too.

And once again thank you to everybody including myself  for working on this image of The Healing Porch and making it seem like a real place we can all access when we need it. It is a wonderful tool, getting more wonderful by the day!  to us all

[sanmagic7]

funny you should bring up mint leaves, blueberry.  a couple days ago i thought of growing some mint in pots and placing them at the corners of the porch.  spearmint in one, peppermint in another.  lovely pots of everyone's favorite color.  for me, one will be a rusty red with a pale creamy yellow abstract design, while the other is a pale, creamy yellow with rusty slashes making a belt around its middle.

help yourselves. 

[Wife#2]

Oh, fresh mint! I haven't had that since my brother shared my house.

I will bring planters and plant some herbs for healing, cooking, refreshment. I love the dirt under my fingernails and the smell of healthy soil wet with rain. Knowing that what I planted is soaking up that rain and the sunshine that later bakes the watered Earth. Knowing that the wonders of life are happening inside those seeds, soon to be sprouting fragile yet powerful tendrils of life through the soil to the sun.

Watching those young sprouts grow, strengthen and eventually produce the leaves we will use. Knowing that we can harvest the leaves and keep the plant healthy. There is little as rewarding as watching an herb garden grow. Especially since it gives quick rewards for our efforts! Just a few weeks and viola!

We'll have fresh Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, San's Mint variety. There will be others, I've forgotten some of the names. I see the leaves and know the properties, but the names escape me.

I need this time in the soil. I thank you all for reminding me how much. Weeding in real life is not nearly as enjoyable, though it did get me on my knees, digging in the rich, dark Earth. I think I'll enjoy planting this garden and perhaps starting one at home as well.

Cooking is fun and a delight to all the senses when using fresh spices and herbs. That we planted and nurtured and maintain so they'll last a long time.

Thank you all again! I needed this today. I really did.

[Elphanigh]

The mint leaves and other herbs sound like such a beautiful idea! Thank you both for growing them. I need this place today as well. To be able to visit it when the stress gets to be too much as my day goes. I think I will allow myself to come and go as I need today. Bringing treats or other good things with me.

I think I will work on the plum tree that I wanted to plant earlier in this thread. The plums should be delicious at this point. I could also just use the time to climb a tree this morning. Life is stressful, and I can feel it trying to get at me. I need to ground, and this place helps me do that