Seasons Greetings!

Seasons Greetings to you all. It is finally here, our time for our winter solstice celebrations, whatever you call them. Many different people, many different celebrations, but they all celebrate the love and togetherness that this season brings to our hearts! Fill your hearts with joy and carry that with you throughout the new year!
This past year has been a very full one and fortunately for us at The Nest, a more abundant year in many ways. We have enjoyed some lovely new friends as well as welcoming back some of our friends from previous visits. Thank you all for gracing us with your presence and we look forward to your return in the coming years.
This year we have had some scrap booking groups in and I must admit that these ladies are certainly dedicated to the craft. They are turning out some amazing creations for their families to cherish for generations to come. Well done gals!!
We have cut down our tree from our good friends place last weekend and yesterday we finally put on the decorations. This year I have cleared out the boxes and said goodbye to those decorations that are no longer together enough to put on the tree or no longer able to be pieced back together. It was a sad goodbye but the time had come. (sniff)

I have most of my shopping completed, yeah, without too much thinking this year. How are you making out with your list? Stumped by anyone for this year? Why not give a Robins' Nest Gift Certificate for a retreat or a day spa? Give me a call at 705-639-2284 or email me for rates and availability!


Hint of the Month:


Here is a recipe for cooking carrots that you might want to try this holiday season.

Carrot Ribbons with Cashews
1 1/2 lbs. carrots
1/2 c. unsalted whole cashews
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 c. finely chopped onion
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon plus 1 stick
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamon plus 4 pods

Cut carrot ribbons using a peeler down the length of the carrot.
Toast the cashews in a 2 quart sauce pan over medium heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the butter, onion, ginger and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots and remaining spices and 1 tbsp water. Cook, covered for 5 minutes then remove the whole spices, toss in the cashews and serve hot.

There are no upcoming events this month. January and February are booking up so if you are interested in a Winter Wonderland Get Away,drop me a line to find out availability.

November Musings

This morning, Brian and I were having our coffee by the dining room window, watching the dozen or so blue jays attacking the feeder along with the woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees when a flock of about 2 dozen evening gross beaks landed everywhere. Brian went to get some more seed to toss on the ground for the gross beaks but they flew off when he opened the door. We hoped that they would come back in a bit, but they didn't. Perhaps tomorrow they will return. You never know who or what will show up outside the window. Last month we spied a bear on the property next door and there have been elk sightings in the area as well.

This month has a lot of family birthdays for me. The birthdays though are of family that have left this plane but they are always in my thoughts. My dad, mom and my Nan all have birthdays in November as well as my parents wedding anniversary. I have been thinking of my dad alot lately. I was thinking of how he would have enjoyed our quiet piece of paradise. My dad was a country boy at heart and he would have spent all his time in the woods if he could. He never got to see what we have accomplished here with the house and grounds as well as the business, but I am sure that his spirit walks the woods with Brian and me quite often.

People

I don't think that I will ever cease to be amazed at the wonderful guests that grace our retreat center. It seems that there is a common thread that runs between myself and the guests almost every time.
For example: We had a group of guests come for a scrap booking retreat and through chatting, I discovered that some of the gals had children that dance at a studio that I used to do costuming for in my life before The Robins' Nest Retreat. Another time, again with a scrap booking group, one of the ladies works with my son-in-law's mother. Other times it is what we are interested in that is the thread. Some of the guests and myself almost seem to converse without words, if you know what I mean. It is very surreal at times.
It is very fulfilling as well!

Sleepless in Norwood

Most times I can fall asleep with no trouble. I just lay in my bed, pick up my book and read till my eyes slam shut. That is most days. Lately, I find that if I have caffeine, well, the eyes don't slam shut. They stay wide open no matter how tired I feel.
I never used to have this problem. I could have a cup of tea or coffee and go to bed and sleep like a log. Does age have anything to do with it? Don't know but in the last few months, even having regular coffee in the morning sets me up for a sleepless night! Ahhhhhhh.
This morning I had to go into the city to drop off some books at the library and decided to treat myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. I forgot to ask for decaff and now I am paying for it. Here I sit writing and wishing that I could be fast asleep in my bed. And that was after only one coffee!
I am going to try some Cal-Mag and my vitamin D and some deep breathing and see if that will help me shut down the mind so I can get my rest for the work that needs to be done tomorrow.
Hope that you all have a good nights sleep.
Will post soon.
Good night!

Ain't Life Grand!

There have been so many times this past while when I have to pinch myself, figuratively of course, because I feel so blessed!
Some of people don't like to celebrate birthdays. They think of them of reminders of how old they are. Well, they do mark the passing of our years here on earth, in the physical sense, there is no way around that but they also mark our challenges, our victories, our laughter, our tears. They hold our scrapbook of the events that we have celebrated, the events that we have endured. Those years that were lean, those years that were abundant and all of those years in between.
I celebrated my 60th year this past month! I consider it a milestone and I am so looking forward to the next 60. Yes, the next 60. There is nothing that says I can't make it!
I have witnessed so much in my short 60 years and I look forward to the advances in the next.
As I have said before, I am trying to live more in the present moment. In doing this I have realized that I can not multitask any longer. This for me has become very frustrating as I lose something if I try to do more than one thing at a time. I was listening to a CD lecture while cleaning. Something that should be very simple, but as the time went on, I realized that my focus was on the cleaning and not on the CD. I had to wait and listen to it when I had the time to sit and focus on the CD. It was a lesson for me. An important one for my life.
I realized that I need to make what I am doing at the time, the most important thing and give it my all, whether I am preparing a meal for our guests at The Robins' Nest or dusting, making beds whatever.
When I focus and live in the moment, things happen! Bookings come in, people are interested in what I have to offer. I have had bookings made for next year already! I am more calm, relaxed and I get so much more accomplished. I don't rush anymore, no anxiety.
I am so blessed to be doing what I am, to be living where I am, to have the husband, child, son-in-law, and grandson that I have. Well, you get the gist.
My family threw me a 2 day celebration for my birthday. I got to wear a crown and everything. Queen for 2 days, but you know, I feel like a queen everyday.
How 'bout you?

Spring Plantings

March Break is at it's end and for those who had the option of taking the time off from the "norm", I hope that you had a very enjoyable time! The weather has been wonderful, snow has almost gone from the woods, new green is shooting up all over the place and soon we will be experiencing the sight of Trilliums, and the scent of wild leeks! Ah, spring! One of my favourite months after Autumn.
Seems funny that I like the time of harvest before the time of planting but that is me. Wonder if it means that I enjoy the benefits more than the planning? Hmmmm. Something to think about as I do the planting.
I am looking forward to the planting of a new garden in the courtyard this year and getting that all finished up. It has been sitting idle for the past 2 years as I decide what I want to do with it. Now that the snow guards are working and keeping the avalanches of snow on the roof, I can plant some bushes and such that won't be crushed under the onslaught of tons of snow sliding down on them during the winter and obliterating them under the weight! Now to deciding what to plant there!
It will be fun to wander through the garden center and take in the sights and smells of their offerings.
I am thinking of some rose bushes, or perhaps a snow ball bush, or maybe some small shrubbery. Maybe I will go for the overgrown English Garden with its' clumps of tall, medium and short bushy plants. So many choices, but for now, I think that I will curl up with my gardening books and dream!

Sights and Sounds

Wow, the weather has been so great, snow melting, birds chirping, squirrels going crazy and I saw my first chipmunk the other day. Guess that is a sure sign that spring is on the way. As a matter of fact, Brian and I saw 2 bats flying around, low to the ground earlier in the week. Guess they came out early as they looked disoriented. Saw them again clinging to the house in the sun. I know it is a bit early and don't know what they will feed on. I hope that they survive.
With the warmer sun, and the great sunshine, I am looking forward to it being warm enough to open windows and give the place an airing after the winter. Something about the spring air that is invigorating! Natural aromatherapy, ya gotta love it!
Yesterday was my spring General Contractor workshop for people wanting to build their own straw bale home. It was well attended and like always, they were all interesting people. I love doing these workshops to help people on their Bale journey. It is so nice to hear peoples stories about their dream home and see how enthusiastic about it. Reminds me of our Bale beginnings! The next workshop is in October for anyone interested.
Enjoy the day!

The Scent of Spring

There is a certain smell in the air that tells me that spring is truly on its way. I am waiting patiently for that smell expecially after the snowfalls of last week.
I have decided that I am not going to complain about what I can't control, the weather being a great example. Last week, I had spend about 2 hours or so with the snow blower and then a couple of days later, I needed to go at it again, and then yet again. Something like housework, it looks great once it is done but then, low and behold, it needs doing again.
When I got up on Saturday morning and saw the new snowfall blanketing the trees with a bleached whiteness, my first instinct was to groan No-o-o-o-o! Then I took a moment and allowed myself to be carried into how beautiful it all looked. That changed the tone for me for the day. Of course it didn't hurt that Brian was home and would be handling the snow blower instead of me!
But, back to smell. I love it when the spring smells start to grab hold of my nostrils. Subtly at first, then gradually that luscious scent of damp earth, new growth mixed with the warmer sun on my skin set me spiraling upwards filled with euphoric thoughts of what is to come!
Smell, scent, that aroma of springtime brings memories of taking off galoshes to take a turn at double dutch, or skipping to the alphabet, hop scotch on the school grounds at recess and a time of youth!
Scent takes us back to places of warmth and love, sometimes bringing physical as well as emotional memories. Aromatherapy can play a part in this journey as well as healing the physical, mental and emotional parts as well.
I was first drawn to aromatherapy because of the scent of the oils. Lavender reminded me of my grandmother and to me it was a soothing memory. Rosemary brings me a great feeling of peace. Geranium brings the warmth of summer to my body and Patchouli grounds me to the earth and that feeling of being at one with the universe!
Essential Oils bring so much power to our lives in the form of healing the physical hurts as much as it does the emotional. Blue Cypress helps with muscle and joint pain, Eucalyptus helps with the respiratory system, Lavender heals burns very quickly as well as cuts.
As with all things natural though, just because it is natural, it can be harmful if not used properly. If one is going to use the beneficial oils, then one should study up on them. It is not enough to know the benefits, you also need to know the harmful effects, how to mix them properly, and that they are not safe to take internally because of their concentration.
If you are interested in learning more about Essential Oils, I do teach an introductory class when I have enough interested people. You can email me for more information through the website.

What is Dowsing?

Dowsing has been around for ages and I feel that everyone is a dowser. What is a dowser, you ask? Simply put, a dowser is someone who is able to find water for a well, lost items, energy grids, mineral deposits, influence the negative energy and redirect it to become positive and much more.
Dowsing is an ancient practice that has been lost to most people over time. We aren't as "in tune" with the universe as we once were. We have become disconnected with the natural rhythms of the earth and all that is on it. Dowsing brings us back to be able to feel and connect with that energy.
With dowsing we use pendulums, L-rods and Y sticks. These are tools so that we can have something concrete that we can see show us the yes and no answers, or point us in a direction, because we alot of people can't connect with that in born sense that guides us or simply because we have been raised not to believe our "gut" instincts.
When we get comfortable with the dowsing tools, a whole world opens up to us. We learn how to use these tools to gain information, to change energies and energy patterns. All this is accomplished on our own and we don't step on anyone's toes.
We can use the pendulum to check to see if the supplements we are taking are necessary, if we are taking the correct dose and taking them at the correct time of day. We can use the pendulum to find where we left our car keys, if we should take that trip now or wait, if the produce that we have in our grocery cart has any nutrition, plus much more.
We can use the Y stick to locate underground water to drill a well and we can even determine how deep to drill. The Y stick can also locate veins of minerals.
We can use the L rods to get pointed in the correct direction when looking for a way to walk to locate the well or minerals, to indicate the beginning of someone's aura, to find "holes or tears" in the aura so that they may be repaired plus much more.
This June, I am having a weekend of dowsing to teach the ABC's of dowsing so that people will have a greater understanding of this much misunderstood tool that is available to us.
Interested? For more information go to the web site.

Straw Bale Homes

I thought that I would take some time and talk about straw bale construction. There are some people out there that think that building with straw bales is cheaper that regular stick construction. While that is true about the cost of the materials for the wall systems, it is more labour intensive and can therefore be just as costly.
We love our straw bale home. We feel comfortable with the contours of the walls, the thickness of them and the comfort of heating with wood (although it is quite messy!)We didn't want to have a basement, as is the norm I find, so we chose a slab on grade. The only thing that I regret is that we didn't put in radiant heat. In hindsight, we should have at least put in the tubes so that if we wanted to, we could hook them up at a later date.
Straw bale homes have a R rating of 35 to 50, are 4 times more fire resistant than stick construction, hurricane resistant and now with testing done in Nevada, (I think that is where it was done) the only wall system that has not failed in the earthquake testing! Now isn't that something!I don't know why everyone doesn't build a straw bale home. The benefits are so great!Easy to heat, easy to cool, and comfy to live in!
There is a great deal of thought that should go into the design of the bale home as it is not always easy to change things once the cement or earthen plaster is put on to cover the bales. Many people don't realize this when they decide to build and go headlong into the process without proper planning.
When we built our home in 2000, we were virgins in the straw bale area of expertise but we did persevere and managed to move into the shell after 27 days. We opened our retreat one year almost to the day after we stacked the first bale. It was a long process, but a very satisfying one!
We joined forces with Chris Magwood, Julie Bowen, Hank and Anita Carr, John Weiss, Tina Therrien and a few others to form the fledgling Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition in 2001. The organization has grown immensely over time and is one of the leaders of information for anyone wanting to build a straw bale home. You can access the OSBBC by going to www.osbbc.ca
I was encouraged to develop and teach a workshop on being your own General Contractor as our build went so quickly and problems were overcome with either no or little loss of time.
I now teach this workshop twice a year, once in the spring (or close to it) the other in the fall, for anyone wanting to be their own general contractor, or to see if they have what it takes to be a GC as the job is very demanding and can become stressful.
If you would like to take this course, check www.robinsnestretreat.com/s_22.asp for more information or call me, Gail at 705-639-2284. Registration must be pre-paid to ensure your spot and spaces are limited.

The other day I talked about Alternative treatments and focused more on Reiki. When describing Reiki, I talked about the Universal Energy. This is a term that many people have trouble with as sometimes if you can't see it you might not understand or believe it.
Everything in the world is made up of energy. Einstein theorized that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy is. The reason things look different is that energy is put together in different ways. Think of it as Lego. You can build many houses out of Lego but if you use the colours in different places, the house looks different. This is a very simplistic description, but it illustrates what I am trying to say.
In order to understand a little better and perhaps feel what I am saying, take a minute and rub your hands together, palms touching. Rub them together quickly for about a minute or two. Now, slowly move them about 2 inches apart. Now bring them back together. Move them about 6 inches apart, then bring them back together. Do this a few times, each time moving them a little farther apart. Remember to do this s-l-o-w-l-y. Can you feel any resistance between your palms? Something like a squishy feeling? Rubbery almost? If you feel this than you are feeling your body's energy. This is what you are made up of. This is what surrounds your body. Besides the energy that you acquire through eating and drinking, this provides your body with the fuel to live. They say that some of the most proficient yogis of the world can even subsist on this energy during their prolonged periods of meditation.
This energy is available to all of us to use for our healing. Our bodies strive to be well. We have built in armies to fight off infection and disease. Unfortunately, we don't do all that we can to help our bodies. In face we sometimes hurt our bodies by eating too much processed food, too much sugar, too much of many things that cause our bodies to break down as they become overwhelmed by our indulgences!
By taping into the energy around us and letting it move through us to help us heal, we are doing our bodies a great service. Each individual needs to become aware of what works for them. Some people can't digest wheat, dairy or grains. Some people have trouble with raw vegetables, some people are allergic to nuts, some fruits and some vegetables. Everyone is unique and only by paying attention to our bodies and what they are telling us, and then caring about ourselves enough to DO something, are we allowing the natural healing energy around us to help.
We can do even more by utilizing, or asking for the healing energy to wash over us and to help us heal and then ALLOWING it to happen.
Try having an energy healing treatment sometime and allow it to carry you on a wondrous healing journey!

The term "Alternative" as relating to treatments seems to be disappearing from the vocabulary of many these days. Many years ago, a person was considered to be strange if they went to a chiropractor, now it is an everyday occurrence. Homeopathy and Naturopathy were once in the same category as crones, witches and wizards. Now, many people avail themselves of their knowledge along with that of their MD's.
Energy medicine is gaining in popularity as well. People are not as skeptical when it comes to using Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, or Reconnection as a tool to attain health and well being.
I have taken introductory courses in Therapeutic and Healing Touch and have read about Reconnection but chose to become a Reiki Master. To me, they are all using the energy of the Universe. The difference is in how they are used. They all involve channeling the healing energy through the body of the practitioner and directing it to the client. Hand positions are involved and minimum touching (if any). The client usually lies on a treatment table fully clothed and covered to keep warm as the body temperature usually drops during energy treatments. The treatments usually last 1/2 hr. to 1 hr. and the client usually feels very rested and sometimes even falls asleep on the table. I have had some clients feel very energized after a treatment while others want to go to sleep for awhile. This depends upon the client and what needs to be cleansed or healed.
When guests come to The Robins' Nest they have a choice of treatments if they so wish. More and more they are trying Reiki and they are quite surprised by the insights they receive while having the treatment and also by the way they feel after it is over.
Next time you are considering treating yourself, why not try Reiki!

Events at the Nest

We are well into 2010 and things have been hopping here at The Robins' Nest Retreat! We have had a couple of Scrap Booking groups in for weekend get aways and it has been a positive experience for us all! It was truly amazing to see these ladies truck in copious amounts of scrap booking essentials and weave beautiful pages to document their events. Kudos to them and the time that they invest to keep their memories for future generation.
We are now offering an affordable Scrap Booking Special for any groups that are interested in a get away close to the GTA. Details can be viewed at www.robinsnestretrea.com/s_45.asp

We are also hosting a relaxing weekend of Yoga with Caroline Owen of Wavelengths Yoga in Norwood. This is taking place on February 26-28. Caroline will lead the group through a weekend of meditative yoga that will engage you in body, mind and spirit.

What are you interested in? What would you like to do if you had a weekend away? I will be teaching some classes in Dowsing, Aromatherapy, and Reiki in the future and will be writing about them in future blogs.
You can reach me at info@robinsnestretreat.com