Secrets of a Butterfly

Forget me knots - remembering we are Loved

I have been so drawn to the tiny forget me knots that have come up randomly around the garden. Some are so small, they are barely noticeable. Thus they have a feeling of being even more, flowers that belong to the world fairies inhabit. I took these photos in the front garden and used camerabag to edit them.

I have often found that if i am particularly drawn to a flower or gem, or if it is turning up in my life then it has an aspect of healing to offer me at that time.

I looked up forget-me-knot in my book of flower essences (essences are vibrational healing remedies, preserved in brandy, and taken orally or sprayed around the body, used in creams etc) and thought i would include the description from the Lightbringer flower essences here as it spoke to me so beautifully....

"Alpine Forget-Me-Not is an essence which reminds us that we are part of a loving universe, that we have always been loved and that we always will be.It is an essence that connects us therefore with Divine or Spiritual love: heightened, infinite, beyond the needs of ego, personality, and what we might term ‘human’ love.

It teaches us how love is present all around us, in every touch and experience of life, in every relationship past, present and yet to come, and in our own heart.
But it is not enough to know on an intellectual level that this is here; Alpine-Forget-Me-Not teaches us to forget not to receive Divine Love and to let it become a reality in our lives.

It encourages us to expand beyond the confines of our present perception and to embrace all the love that we have ever known, have ever been touched by and have yet to meet.It is multi-dimensional, calling us to draw on all sources of love in the universe, connect to them, be nourished by them, and live this love.It particularly helps us to still feel the warm presence in our hearts of loved ones who have died or whom we do not have contact with.

Love never dies — it cannot; the very nature of it is eternal. Opening to this enables us to experience it much more tangibly and have it permeate all we live and be — understanding that it is universal, vast, infinite, unconditionally bestowed and ever-present. "

Maybe we all need a reconnection to a greater sense of Love. By connecting to this we may remember our own eternal nature and that nothing is ever lost, merely hidden from our understanding.

The truth about love is it is eternal and unconditional - maybe that is all any of us ever need to remember to feel the type of peace that passes understanding.

I do love this little blue flower and all it has to give us with its beauty and energy and its teaching of eternal love.

with grace and peacefulness

All words in "quotations" are from Lightbringer essences, created by Rachel Singelton, who works in Cumbria, England, these essences can be purchase from the website,i particularly like using the mists or from Healthlines

A time to just be

image by Shinya*

sunday, a time just to be, take in the world around and within
what can we hear that we have not heard before
what can we feel that we have neglected
and who can we be with that we need to cherish


1. 26A, 2. 初恋＊, 3. My radio, 4. find

Hello my lovelies,

I have loved hearing your thoughts on my last few posts though, especially the summer cabin in our garden. And i have left some replies to your comments there.

Today i have been thinking about balance, and about the regularity of posting on blogs. I have been wondering which i prefer, both as a blogger and as a reader. Do i like to keep up with blogs that post daily? or do i prefer to follow bloggers that share less often, but with whom i feel i can keep up to date with? All in all, i have been pondering the question...."Is less More"?

Sometimes posting a little less often can be good for us can't it, both for blogger and anyone stopping by to read on a regular basis. I know i like to have a sense of keeping up with all the posts my friends share, but mostly that just isnt practical.

Who else feels a little overwhelmed keeping up? i know i have to remember "i shall catch the post i am meant to read and i will always be drawn to what i need to hear". So there is no need to keep up to date with everything shared!

We have to set up our online world so that we recieve inspiration yes, but not so much that we lose sight of our own ideas or start to feel any sense of pressure. That has become more and more a possibility, the greater that blogs, twitter and facebook are used these days.

by Au fil de

Blogs will always have more and more to offer. Its up to us to set boundaries and consciously decide what has our attention. How we arrange our "feeds" and what we subscribe too, is important in this aspect. Maybe there is a truth in 'less is more' as we then take it in and benefit from, or recall it so much more.

Having said that i also like to hear as much as i can from those that inspire me! So i would miss them if they posted too infrequently or if i chose not to visit them as often.
It must be a case of finding a balance that works for you, as applies to so much in life. And for each of us that balance is going to be different.

So i spent a little time this Sunday, tidying up my inbox and adjusting my facebook feed. I've also adjusted some of my sidebar content over recent weeks. I discovered how to make pages pop up when you click on a title on the sidebars. So i now have blog links opening in a seperate page and boutiques listed in that way too. You will find those listed on the left hand column, fairly near the top under Pages.

I know i like having my box links, and many will still remain as mini adverts for places i favourtie, but it had been becoming a little cluttered, with my lists getting ever longer! So my hope is, by removing some, this will make the blog feel more spacious and calm ;)

I wish you a day of peaceful moments, and a time in greater balance.

by chara*coco*

time slips by through our weekly hours
sunday gives us back the lost awareness of what matters

(all words my own, for images -click to go to source)

Blogs i love...Irideeen

Once upon a time

1. Untitled, 2. like a snow, 3. All You Need Is Love, 4. 春天的綠葉, 5. BE LINEN MOVIE on Vimeo by Benoit MILLOT, 6. Untitled, 7. Moment of eternity, 8. Glory-of-the-snow, 9. IMG_1452, 10. woods' ranch, 11. Untitled, 12. watching ducks, 13. Spring Dreams ~

Love and gentle wishes

Our garden cabin

Yesterday was my dad's birthday (happy birthday dad xox) and i thought it would be nice to show you the shed that he built in our back garden over the autumn. I say shed but really it needs a better name, since it is more a small room in the garden than just a shed where things are stored. It's a cabin that he built for us from wood. So i called this post the garden cabin, though i expect we shall always know it affectionately as "the shed"!

He had been wanting to build one for a few years but come retirement from work last year, he then had the time to dedicate to it. These are a few photos i took as he began putting up the framework. He designed the plans and ordered the wood he would need to fit the space. The windows on the side and the doors on the front are recycled.

It was a lot of work and took quite a few months, especially when progress halted for all the snow over the winter. But i am so proud of what he has achieved and so enjoy using it. We have some comfy seating inside, and two tables which you can see here.

And this is a pic of me just outside the entrance. I like to walk a few yards in the garden when i can. Maybe a couple of times a week, depending on my strength and other things that affect me within the chronic fatigue condition, i am getting better from. So recovery wise, its good to have this area to go to, as though our garden is small, its still quite a walk for me and i need to sit down. I hope to use it more even over the colder months, as long as the sun is out it gets pretty warm inside (20 degrees average) as the walls have some insulation.

If i'm feeling well enough i like to take whisper up there and sit and have a hug with her. I've done it a couple of times and hope to more over the summer. She likes exploring in there and it's good company for me.

Love from us both

Sunlight, sunlight

image by Ashley of the lovely blog Decor.Amor

I heard a song called Make it Better, on the tv advert for Mars bars, and loved the singer's voice. And that is how i found Gary Nock and downloaded this beautiful song Sunlight from itunes last night. The words spoke to me and have helped my delicate heart this weekend. I thought i would share the you tube clip of him singing and also put the lyrics here, maybe you'll find the song touches something in your heart too.

Sunlight
Will you follow me now
From this old town I'll carry you home, carry you home
In your life, there's something I can't show
We all love, love you so

When you're lost, you can take my hand
We can find your promised land

Free like summer kisses, waterfalls and wishes
Beauty all around me, sunlight, sunlight
Free like summer kisses, waterfalls and wishes
Beauty all around me, sunlight, sunlight

Now you're miles away, hey, hey
And this whole place is dragging me down, dragging me down
In your light, there's nothing I can't show
You know I love, I love you so

When you're lost, you can take my hand
We can find our promised land

Free like summer kisses, waterfalls and wishes
Beauty all around me, sunlight, sunlight
Free like summer kisses, waterfalls and wishes
Beauty all around me, sunlight, sunlight

This heartache you're feeling, it's only love can heal it
You want it, you got it, sunlight sunlight
Free like summer kisses, waterfalls and wishes
Beauty all around me, sunlight, sunlight

There's beauty all around me, sunlight, sunlight

- Gary Nock

Don't you love his voice, and the way he sings the 'summer kisses, waterfalls and wishes' line. I also like 'the beauty all around me', as well as 'this heartache youre feeling only love can heal it'.

image by Natalee May

Waterfall wishes :)
& butterfly kisses

Lilac moments

Seeing these lilac photos that i took last month, brings back their magnificient scent. The plant is in my neighbour's garden. I have always loved the colour of lilacs, and wisteria too.

I have changed round a few prints in my room. Adding my friend Shanon's lilac blooms photograph to the collection - the others being from Gingerlillytea. Whom i have blogged about before here here and here

I have blogged about Shanon's photography before too, and you can see a mosaic i made up of my favourites of hers, in a post called "Into the Garden", which i did back in August 2009. (gosh that means its almost 2 years since we got in touch!)
Shanon lives in Minneapolis, US, many many miles away from me here in England, and has an etsy shop here: Slg designs.

I really like the little squares of her prints and have a few from her shop. She says - "I'm drawn to cotton candy colors. I love light, things that grow, and living near water. My photography is like playing dress up. Sweet, imperfect sophistication. I hope to bring back memories and make you feel at home." - i like that, everything in those sentences sounds pretty & beautiful to me.

love and light

Angel watching over me

I thought today, i would share the cards i have on my bedroom wall. Do you like to display things you recieve in the mail and from friends? Its something i have always liked to do in my home. I have tried various ways - a wire heart, a fabric covered board with ribbons to slot images behind, and a magnetic board. I like those, but i also like the string of cards idea here. Where i use heart pegs, to clip things to a cotton tape/ribbon. I got the peg set a while ago it was from the wonderful range East of India.

I keep the cards there to inspire or uplift me, and i havent changed them for quite awhile. As you can see they include some of my favourite things...birds, butterflies, angels, roses, and in all the colours that i love too. The ivory butterflies are made of felt and have fairy lights within, they were from Laura ashley some seasons ago.

there is an angel watching over me

The origami butterfly was beautifully made by Keri-anne, she has a new blog that you can find here: Sweet Days with Elle and Mia. Her recent post on her Bluebell fairy is a delight.
The bird cards are by the talented designer Elena Deshmukh. Elena has a lovely blog too and i really liked her post on beautiful bluebells lately as well,

love and blessings

Giveaway winners!

Time to announce my anniversary giveaway winners....
Set 1 belle & boo badges - Mirsini's creations
Set 2 belle & boo badges - Keri Anne at Sweet days with Elle and Mia
Set 3 belle & boo badges - Anna at Evie George
Set 4 Light garden goodies - Iris at Irideeen
set 5 Whimsy whimsical goodies - Naomi

Congratulations and I shall be in touch for your address details. Big thanks to everyone who entered and left a comment with well wishes for Secrets turning 4, i really appreciate your support. I have plans for another giveaway in the near future too,
Love

Perfectly pink reads

Got the latest Vogue, with Alexa Chung, as i wanted to read the feature on her and it didn't disappoint.
Made me think about my other favourite Vogue covers, and i remembered i took this photo last year. Gemma, Kate, Daria, and Sienna...

They all turned out to be pink! funny that ;)
Special thanks to Mariela & her sister Natalia for the lovely comment at Secrets recently. Will be back in a day or two to announce the giveaway winners,


xxx