A Month of Love: Crystals

As you can see, crystals are one of the things I love. I positioned the seven crystals representing my heroines and took the picture on the right that is the foundation for my current my logo on the left. 

As a small child I loved bling even though I wasn’t (and am still not) into diamonds – well, maybe Herkimer Diamonds. (That’s a fantasy of mine – travel to New York and a Herkimer Diamond mine where I’ll dig for my very own diamond).

Sequins and rhinestones were my touchstones until I became involved with women’s circles in 1993 and learned about crystals. There is something about the sun catching the stone “just right” and throwing ribbons of rainbows around a room. I’m especially drawn to the ones with lots of inclusions that create mesmerizing scenes and landscapes within.

At one point I was going to take pictures of my favorites but that became impossible as each crystal has memories and unique properties that called to me in the beginning.

Here are more pictures of crystals that have captured my imagination. Enjoy!

The women in The Sacred Women’s Circle all have crystals of varying shapes and sizes. Whether they are featured or even mentioned in every scene or not they are there. I can’t imagine living anywhere I can’t have at least one of my crystals with me.

What items in your home or life bring you peace and joy just by looking at them?

When you sign up for my mailing list, you will receive a link to download your free digital copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl.

If you click on this link and leave your first name and email address, I will send you a Free Copy of Staying Sane in a Crazy World as soon as it is ready for publication. It isn’t a long book, under 10K words but it is chock full of information and ideas about how you can create your own personal Staying Sane Plan.

What’s the catch? I’d appreciate your writing a review and even telling your friends about them but other than that, no catch. Be sure to mention in your review that you received the book free in return for an honest review.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley

A Month of Love: Drums

I have fond and not so fond memories surrounding each of my drums. Fond includes the joy I experience when drumming. Not-so-fond includes the process of choosing the hide and in the case of my Buffalo Hide Drum, the stringing.

My first - untreated deer hide - see the picture?

How to make a drum? First you get a hide. My first drum had an untreated deer hide. What that meant was it wasn’t bleached so when wet (which is an essential part of drum making) it smelled. And that would still be true if it got wet.

The night before you want to make your drum, you soak it. Back then I had a bathtub. OMG: the next morning the house smelled like wet deer hide (think wet doggy smell permeating your entire house).

My elk hide drum painted by Heather Jeffris

Since I was making this drum with the other women in my circle, I managed to get my hide into a large plastic bag and out to the car. Wet hides are Heavy! Driving with my windows down (you can guess why), I made it the thirty minute drive to our meeting place.

What followed was the process of making a drum. We each had a wooden frame, marked and cut the hide to fit the frame plus a couple of inches. Next came making the “string” which entailed cutting the hide into a long, narrow strip – yards long!

Buffalo hide drum

After punching the holes in the hide at the prescribed intervals, we began the stringing process. The first time we do anything has its challenges and this was no exception. Finishing the stringing, making the handhold did not mean the drum was complete.

It had to dry. The hide stretch tight across the frame before the true sound of the drum come to life.

Since that first drum, I’ve made several more.

I’ve an elk hide drum and that hide was large enough that my friend and I both have a drum from the same hide.

I’ve a horse hide drum and, again, my friend and I have drums from the same hide. 

Horse - my great granddaughter's favorite

The last drum I made for myself was the Buffalo Hide Drum. My friend and I shared the hide and the drum making process. Our buffalo hide was thick and the holes closed up almost as fast as we made them. By the time we finished our hands were swollen but we were elated (although swore we’d never make another drum from buffalo hide).

My buffalo drum between the elk hide drums of my granddaughters

My granddaughters have drums made from the same deer hide. My best friend in Ohio made a drum from the same elk hide (we got 3 drums out of that one hide) as mine. I’ve had one drum painted by one of my circle sisters. The drum I take to Ceremonies and that gets played the most is my horse drum. It has the deepest tone and is also the biggest.

Sometimes there is no better medicine than picking up a drum and just beating it as hard or soft, as fast or slow as we want until whatever drove me to start in the first place is gone.

For other ideas of how healing drums can be, check out Hunter: The Dancer and The Drum. Hunter has learned that for her movement and the beat of a drum helps her find answers to problems and thus peace of mind.

What instrument or music helps soothe you in times of trouble?

When you sign up for my mailing list, you will receive a link to download your free digital copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl.

If you click on this link and leave your first name and email address, I will send you a Free Copy of Staying Sane in a Crazy World as soon as it is ready for publication. It isn’t a long book, under 10K words but it is chock full of information and ideas about how you can create your own personal Staying Sane Plan.

What’s the catch? I’d appreciate your writing a review and even telling your friends about these books but other than that, no catch. Be sure to mention in your review that you received the book free in return for an honest review.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley

A Month of Love: Flowers

Black/Blue Salvia

Armisted salvia

We’ve have some very warm temperatures recently and I see the signs of spring. My violets are profusely blooming as is my rosemary. The distinctive aroma of Daphne fills the air when I step out on my porch.

New growth from the mint along the fence is visible. It won’t be long before I’m loading geraniums and fuchsias into the trunk of my car. And I’ll be looking for my Armistad and Black & Blue Salvia to sprout.

Fuchsias and Geraniums

Clematis

I will also be looking for one or maybe two new clematis plants. There was a mix-up and some “kill it dead” spray meant for my neighbor’s laurel hedge that didn’t quite get taken all the way out (at least not on my side of the fence she put up) drifted on to at least one if not both of my prized clematis.

Why prized? Because while I love this plant I’ve not been particularly successful in growing them.

Sitting at my computer, looking into my yard with the hummingbirds flitting around the plants is inspiring. I love the color against the carport storage area and fence.

In summer our days have gotten so hot, I do not spend time on my back decks enjoying the yard up close and personal but through my windows I have a panorama of visual delight.

When you read my books you’ll see I include flowers and gardens.

In Lily, she looks out over the view from Eleanor’s windows at the winter garden and the tall Douglas fir beyond. While the garden itself is a figment of my imagination, from my office windows I see the Douglas firs a couple blocks away.

Fuchsias are featured in Elizabeth. One of my fondest memories of driving around Ireland were the plethora of one of my favorite flowers growing wild along the roads.

I’ve included pictures from my garden.

Enjoy!!!

And, to get you started

Your free copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl is waiting for you.

Go to JudithAshleyRomance.com and sign up for my occasional newsletter“Connections.”

Follow the prompts to download your own digital copy of the first book in The Sacred Women’s Circle series.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley

A month of love: Writing

February: month of love.

A core theme in my stories is

When in Doubt, Choose Love and Light

I love writing stories where the characters find their way past challenges of their own making as well as those that pop up in their path. At some point both the hero and the heroine must make a choice and both have risks and possible heart-ache.

But as much as I love writing romance stories I also love teaching people about Dr. William Glasser's Choice Theory and how to use it and the concepts inReality Therapy to create the life they want for themselves.

Because of that desire, I’ve melded my two loves and have branched out into non-fiction. Staying Sane in a Crazy World is the first of three non-fiction books I plan on publishing this year along additional fiction books.

Every Monday during the month of February I’ll be sharing something I love about my life. In case you haven't figured it out, I love to write and teach!

What do I love about writing?

A large segment of the population who sees me for the first time sees me as “old” and while I don’t feel particularly older than say 35 – 40, the calendar would add several decades to those numbers. What that means is I’ve lived a rich and varied life. I’ve experienced tragedy and born witness to man’s inhumanity to man in my decades in social service work.

Because of my own experiences and my witnessing of others, I’ve a treasure trove of information I can share through my stories. It is my time to speak up, speak out and through my books share the lessons I’ve personally learned as well as the one’s I’ve seen other people learn.

Here are two opportunities for you to experience what I mean when I write about sharing life lessons through my writing.

When you sign up for my mailing list, you will receive a link to download your free digital copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl.

Go to JudithAshleyRomance.com and sign up for my occasional newsletter“Connections.”

Follow the prompts to download your own digital copy of the first book in The Sacred Women’s Circle series.

And if you want to check out my non-fiction? Click on this link and leave your first name and email address, I will send you a Free Copy of Staying Sane in a Crazy World as soon as it is ready for publication. It isn’t a long book, under 10K words but it is chock full of information and ideas about how you can create your own personal Staying Sane Plan.

What’s the catch? I’d appreciate your writing a review and even telling your friends about it but other than that, no catch.

Here’s the link again.

While you will be signing up twice, you will not get duplicate emails from me because I use ConvertKit. But be sure to use the same email address.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley