DIY

Well, my right knee is starting to feel better. It has been 5 days...whatta bummer.

I've been wanting to make so many things. So I made a list of the items that I was going to make today. The hardest part is making a label for my products. I know what I want, but I can't draw and I don't know a thing about computer graphics. Where do I start, Who do I even ask? I've been spending so much time on the idea of not having a label that I haven't made anything. Soooo, I decided that I am doing things backwards. Make...Make...Make & the universe will bring, bring,bring. I will have a beautiful label for my beautiful products.


Universe! Thank You! for sending me the label/graphic fairies...

Set Back! errrr

Last Sunday I did a little too much. I decided to go thrifting for several hours( I should have stopped there) and then went to Target for a few items. By the time I got home my right knee (the good one) was sore & painful to the touch. I woke up the next morning in pain. I could hardly walk to the bathroom & was crying in agony. It has now been 4 days & still using the walker and now my left hip is killing me for taking the weight off my good knee. I had to use the wheelchair to get around for my Dr's appt. yesterday.

What a bummer...

Point being, slowing, slowing move forward. You can set yourself back & it sucks to start all over, again. I read this over & over again on other blogs. I guess we all do it at some point. Sheesh!


Happy Healing to me!

Green friends on the walk

Mugwort-Artemisia is my totem herb. She is such a good friend...slowly she is waking from her winter slumber and feeling the shift of spring deep beneath the earth.Being a March baby I, too, feel this spring energy under my feet. I will soon be able to enjoy her pungent leaves in my homemade dream pillows and cramp oil.

Artemisia has so many wonderful uses.

Medicinal Uses: nervine,digestion, liver cleansing,pre-menstrual issues & Moxa sticks to name a few.

Magical Uses: to encourage... psychic dreams, clairvoyance, astral projections, provide safe travels & strength.

Miner's Lettuce: the bottom picture.

The Gold Miners -49ers didn't have much in the way of fresh produce & used the surrounding plants. Hence, the name Miner's Lettuce. I love the history of this gold mining area in the Sierra Foothills and feel very blessed to be part of it.

You can add this lovely succulent plant to your salads & taste of bit of spring in every bite.

pets on the walk

I always feel like the Pied Piper when going for a walk...I love how all the animals want to come along.

Gone for a walk

I'm 10wks post LTHR & finally able to walk my 5 1/2 acres. My leg is really weak & really got a work out walking all the hills & uneven ground. It felt good to be among the green plants & fresh mountain air.

Natural Healing

I've been so fortunate to work at the Co-ophttp://www.sacfoodcoop.com as the Wellness Manager for over a decade. I've been able to travel the country and learn from world renowned herbalist,naturopathic Dr's, listen to other teachers, friends & co-workers on some of the subjects that I find important...the environment, DSHEA,CODEX, Organic Farming, supporting our community, raw foods, other dietary avenues, just to name a few. And one that I find close to my heart ♥ Alternative Healing modalities.

Moving to Santa Cruz from Ventura (where I grew up) in my early 20's for 4 yrs was one of the best adventures and learning experiences of my life. There I learned to become Vegan. It was so easy with all the delicious restaurants & like minded people. I learned about gardening, herbs, communal living, singing in praise, radical self-expression- I would go to body modification parties. Nothing like seeing someone get branded.sizzle...sizzle...(how do you deal with pain, but with pain) how hemp could save the planet, cooking,enjoying life, living it up with nature & alternative natural healing.

My first herbal book was Michael Tierra-The Way of Herbs. Being that he was a Naturopathic Doctor in the area I guess it made since ,but I didn't know it at the time. I had insomnia a lot during my early 20's and one of the things I would do was bake for my roommates. I would get on my bicycle at 2:00 am with The Way of Herbs, a canvas tote & some clippers. I would look for those plants around the beach, neighbors yards & empty fields. Pick them and bring them home. I would examine them, read about them and give thanks to them for sharing their knowledge & beauty to me. I would put them in vases all over the kitchen and living room with bake goodies on the kitchen table and a lovely note for all to enjoy my insomnia laded night of picking plants and baking. It was always a lovely sight to behold for my roomies... and that was a blessing.

It's been 20yrs and I've learned so much since those times in Santa Cruz & wanted to share with whomever wishes to learn more about Herbalism, Essential Oils, Alternative Healing, Spirituality, Organic Gardening, Raw & Vegan cooking and enjoying life.

I plan on doing a haul soon of Natural items that I've used before,during & after my recovery from my THR.

~Green Blessings,
Ina

bURNeR Bay--Bee

Dreaming of going home...I was thinking of the 10 principles of Burning Man and wanting to be a regional for my new area.

You can apply the 10 principles to your life, right now.

all principles shorten ...check out the website for more detailed info. http://www.burningman.com

• Radical Inclusion-anyone can be part of, strangers are welcomed & respected.

• Gifting-devoted to giving, giving is unconditional,does not contemplate a return or exchange of something of equal value.

• Decommodification-to preserve the spirit of gifting...create a social environment that are unmediated by commerical sponsorships.

• *Radial Self-reliance-encourages the individual to discover,exercise & rely on your inner sources.

• Radical Self- expression-arises from the unique gifts of the individual.

• Communal Effort-values creative cooperation and collaboration.

• Civic Responsibility-value civil society.

• *Leaving No Trace-respects the environment, committed to leaving no physical trace of our activity wherever we gather.

• *Participation- committed to a radical participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in a society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. ...Make the world real through actions that open the heart.

• Immediacy-...seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers.

~See you on the dust filled Playa,

Ladyfoxgluv

~Wrap it in a Bow~

o.k. o.k o.k I have to get these shoes! Not only are they John Fleuvog's, one of my Favorite designers that I fell in love with in the 80's, they are the perfect pink, with a bow and heel. These to me, represents, more then a shoe...

Whimsy is a must in my life, it makes for a FUN adventure. Pinkalicious! A heel, even a 3" heel for me is a big deal. I can walk with a heel or at least I am hoping. Most importantly it has a Bow. I don't nor have I owned a pair of shoes that had laces. You know why? I could never bend at the hip to tie my shoe or lift my hip/leg upwards.

I CAN NOW!!! And, it feels Freakin' A-Maz-ing! I deserve these shoes!!!

FiRE iN tHE bELLy

It's been a hard journey...This Hip Shit really does Suck! I've been learning a lot about myself and knowing what I want and need from life. You have plenty of time to go deep inside your dark mind when you are recouping from a major surgery. A place that can be too dark at times...



... places that felt foreign to me, places I knew that if I didn't get out of, I had the potential to do something to myself that I wasn't going to return from. I've given all that I can and it's not enough.



I've been slowly crawly out and dusting off the cobwebs. 9wks & now starting to feel *Life* again. It's in our hands, it always was.



I began slowly stretching, bending, feeling what my hip would allow me to accomplish. Feeling my body slowly becoming one with my mind. Connecting the dots, connecting the thoughts, letting go and feeling what my mind & body needed to tell me.


While sitting at the edge of my bed listening to the beats I slowly started going through the motions of spinning my Poi. I know I want to be part of the Fire Conclave at Burning Man and spin fire at the base of the "Man". That is one goal that I will attain even if it takes a year.


Spinning Poi is a very healing, therapeutic & spiritual experience for my soul. I had to stop months before my surgery because it caused too much pain. I need this outlet & I can't wait to get started, again. I know it will be months done the road but it gives me something to look forward to.

~JUST ADD GLITTER & STIR~

I remember as a child being in the hospital and watching "Alice In Wonderland". I have always been intrigued with Alice and her many adventures. She is my escape even today at 40yrs old. I love the Magick, the mystery, the MaDNneSS of it all. I'm a huge kid at heart & never want to grow up. To me life is to short not to have as many adventures as possible.

Nothing is better then walking into an Aspen Grove & being greeted with an applause from the quaking leaves. Feeling the trees beat in rhyme with my heart. Seeing their vital energy force,their 8 etheric bodies flowing with mine.

Being telepathic to the 10th degree, knowing what my best friend, lover & partner is thinking without speaking. Having conversations in our heads...

Making LOvE and seeing the brightest light of LOvE coming from within our bodies, connecting, spinning, swirling,twirling and emanating as one.

Watching the billowy clouds whisper my name. Connecting with Nature is vital, it's the best adventure to have. Feeling the warmth of the sun kissing my cheeks. Wrapping me up in the
"Oh So Tangerine" soaked skies.

Laughing until your sides hurt & you can't stop crying. Your makeup is a mess and you look like you just had been beaten up by your man. You try & pull it together and get your Urban Decay Lip Plumper on and feel the tingle of the chemicals burning the shit* outta your lips. Yay! This is beauty.

Eating a messy piece of fruit and looking like a 2 yr old with mashed up fruit on your face & hands. "Why have kids, When you can be one".

Seeing through glitter, sparkling eyes...like being a child and seeing the wonderment in life.
"Simple like a flower, and that's a complicated thing".

One of my favorite places on earth is where my birthday, Christmas, Halloween, New Years & Serendipity are one...I'm coming home, I'm coming home, I'm coming home.


A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July~
Children three nestle near.
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear~
Long had paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frost have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear.
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a WONDERLAND they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream~
Lingering in the golden gleam~
Life, what is it but a dream?

~July 4th, 1862

Moving Forward ~literally

I really can't get over the strange & surreal feeling of being able to move my hip/my body in ways that I haven't been able to in 30yrs. I've compensated for so many years and now I have to tell my mind, my body to move a different way. It's really very exciting. I was starting to feel stuck in my movements because of my hip restrictions, but at my 8wk post-op appt. on Thursday I received the o.k. to start doing things, slowly. I wonder now why I didn't get this surgery sooner. It's o.k. I did now & I know it's going to be a freakin' trip getting used to this new Bionic Body. I really can't express in words how I feel and it's very emotional at times.

So many people take their bodies for granted... they waste their lives not doing, not enjoying, appreciating or being envious of others. I've had other people envious of me, but would they really give up the simple pleasure, the simple thing as being able to touch their toes while sitting, doing a leg lift without thought, crossing their legs, sitting Indian style, bending at the hip, going for long walks/hikes. I don't think so... I say this not as a "poor me" attitude, but as a reminder to yourself to be happy, to "think" happy about yourself & your body, appreciate what you can do. Life has so much to offer all of us and so little time to do it.

X-RAY-post op THR 8wks

My left side is underdeveloped and very small. I knew I was screwed...LOL! Titanium screws, I hope those babies don't come loose. You can also see how my pelvis is twisted. I'm still getting used to my new self. It's all so very weird, and only those that have experienced it know what i'm talking about. It can be so emotional at times.

All in all, I am very happy with my new hip.

Here is to all you Hippies out there! You brave souls! You are beautiful ! You are not forgotten!

The toughest part is almost over. I wish you many new "Hip" adventures.

Remember you are "Hipstastic"!!!

Luv ya, Ina, One Hip Chick.

Honoring My Bejeweled Moon

Ancient Mother I hear you calling...

I always want to go within during my moon and connect with my Sisterhood.

Over the years, I've been so grateful to be able to be enriched with the teachings, stories & ceremonies with other women of what it really means to Menstruate, what it means to be a We'Moon on her period...

The cycle of the moon runs through our veins, the power of the ocean, the pull of the tides are a strong current within us, too.

We become more psychic during our cycle & our dreams have much to tell us. Listen to all the wisdom they have to teach us. Your intuition will never lie.

My cycle is always on the Full Moon or the New Moon.
Luna is a strong force for all of us. Feel her Magick! Embrace the Power Surge!

I say: rejoice in your Self, honour your cycle. Give yourself permission to Nap. Nurture yourself, be a Wise and Wild Women!

I call upon a couple of songs when I need the power of my Womenhood to be with me.

~
Women Am I
Spirit Am I
I am the infinite within my soul
I have no beginning and
I have no end
All this I am.

~
We are Sisters on a journey
Shining in the sun,
Shining through the darkest night,
the healing has begun, begun,
the healing has begun.
We are Sisters on a journey,
singing now as one,
remembering the ancient ones,
the women and the wisdom,
the women and the wisdom.



~REClaiM your FLoW~