This week I applied to a new beginning, which is really a continuation for me of a decade of visioning and work toward a goal of serving people in ways most natural to me. I receive nourishment from the natural world daily and have long wanted to find a way to guide others to do the same. 

I have been accepted into the guide program of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, which is a global guide certifying body that lists their mission as: To nurture heart-centered relationships between all peoples and the more-than-human world of nature. If you click on the book image above, you can see a directory of guides, many of whom offer virtual walks during shelter in place times for reasonable cost.  ​

I can't imagine a better job description for what is in my heart. My goal with this certification which includes completing basic Wilderness First Aid and immersion experience is to be able to completely revamp my former vision for HealingOutdoors.org into a project separate from the context of hospital caregiving and medical trauma and instead focus on guiding small groups from any background to direct experiences in the natural world. 

Lack of funds and confidence in my leadership abilities have been obstacles (one external, one internal) in my way to applying to ANFT since it began nearly a decade ago. In this moment, I have decided if I don't try now to obtain further support and training to do the work of my heart, the purpose my life path has trended toward, I will only get older and stiffer resigning myself to full-time desk work. I replace keyboards every few months, but even then I type so much, I wear off the letters on the keyboard! This month marks my 26th year of transcribing human voice full-time at a computer when everything in my being wishes to be serving others more directly and connected to the outdoors in some way. My hope is to eventually spend weekends guiding walks, therapy for myself and others. 

I intend to hand make items over the next few months to offer via my Etsy shop in order to fund my dream to enter the November 2021 cohort. I am not using copyrighted patterns and every item will be made with love. 

PHOTOS: Many of my well-loved items have been gifted without remembering to take photos, so I will update better quality item pics as I make a variety.

READY TO SHIP: If you want one of the 3 hats of my own designs pictured above the PayPal button made from one-off skeins of wool that cannot be identically ​duplicated, simply go to the More tab at the top of this website and choose from Wearable Items. If you would like me to make a slight divergence from the images of one of those three hat designs using what wool I have on hand, please specify which one: Fiddlehead, Gulls & Waves, or Fir. If the checkout process gives you any trouble on this site and you would rather use the contact form with your shipping info and want to Venmo or PayPal me the request, I can email you a link. 

WAIT TIME: Since my making time is evenings only, I anticipate making 2-3 items per week, so I will ship in order received slowly. Thank you for your patience in advance. If you receive in the summer months, you can have it for the Fall. : ) 

P.S. Once my funding needs are met for ANFT, I will resume my standard donating 10% of proceeds to three nonprofits involved with healing earth. 

In honor of National Women's History Month, I started reflecting upon all the women I've admired and learned from since my arrival on Earth. Here is a partial list, only because I can't possibly recall every single one. If you want to try this list to inspire yourself, you can bring it to a higher level by writing character traits and qualities of each of the women you list. Then read over those qualities, put a hand over your heart, and know that you contain a bit of each of them or you would not be drawn to them. 

• My sisters, mother, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, niece, daughter
• Leslie Marmon Silko
• Joy Harjo
• Naomi Shihab Nye
• Gwendolyn Brooks
• Harriet Tubman
• Sojourner Truth
• Ida B. Wells
• Michelle Obama
• Wangari Maathai
• Rachel Carson
• Friends Ingrid, Regina, Tana, Kathleen, three Leslies
• Sherry Richert Belul
• Pema Chodron
• Molly Hahn, aka Mollycules
• Transcription colleagues
• Fifth grade teacher, Barb Trujillo
• Epidemiology, Genetics, Botany, Microbiology high school teachers Ms. Russell and Ms. Cotton
• Any fellow single mom I've ever met
• Any mom of a child with a life-threatening illness
• Any woman who enjoys her own company 
• Any Tree Sister
• Countless fiber artists and knitwear designers whose work I admire, too many to name
• Cary and Mully, two foundational women in my community's social safety net
• Three piano teachers who brought me from beginning at age 7 to a music conservatory at 17
• Women volunteers and staff at Ronald McDonald House, food bank, domestic violence office, hospitals
• Peace Pilgrim

Striving toward feeling safe is my biggest lifelong achievement. I wonder how many men seek safety most of their lives? Probably quite a few, but feeling truly safe in my own body, my mind, and in the world has been the longest journey, and I've often wondered if that is primarily a woman's underlying condition or a human one. Times when I've felt safe, I find it hard to sink into that fully and trust it, so I am super grateful to be in a place where I am surrounded by natural environments during the pandemic. Not sure how long I can cling to remaining financially, but there goes the mind spinning off into the catastrophic future ... breathe, and I'm back here and now. 

A free retreat anyone may enjoy is Global Sisterhood from March 6-8. I'll be dipping in as obligations allow. 

The moment I saw Francoise Danoy of Aroha Knits' design called Te_Whenua, Maori te reo for "The Land," I knew I wanted to knit this up to support an incredible ecovillage project in Senegal focused on revitalizing and reclaiming indigenous ecosystems called REDES. Francoise graciously gave me permission to use her design in this manner.  
 
This shawl was a joy to knit, is soft and light as a feather, made from a Merino wool and black alpaca blend for the main color, and a few hand-dyed Merino wool samples I had in my stash. You can own this as an art piece for a wall or wear it draped around the neck for warmth on cool days. Wingspan: 80 in/203 cm, top to bottom 37 in/94 cm.
 
To enter drawing: 
Step 1) Go to Context.org to make a minimum $10 donation. 
 
Step 2) Email a copy of your receipt on behalf of REDES to waterwomanknits@gmail.com.  
 
Step 3) For every multiple of $10 you donate, I will enter you that many times into a drawing for the shawl, so one entry for $10, two entries for $20, etc. 
 
Step 4) On February 28th, last day of the month, I will randomly select a winner, contact you by email to request your mailing address, and pop it in the mail anywhere to your door!