The Hummingbird Nest: Nestled in the Pause

Nestled in the Pause #15

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:11:41 GMT

As I write this newsletter, we’re having a Spring snowstorm. The wind is blowing, the snow is whirling, and even Cora, our granddog, stepped just a few feet away from the front door to relieve herself quickly.

Early next week, the temperatures will rise, the snow will melt, and the little green shoots, just beginning to emerge, will find the sunlight once more.

I won’t be going anywhere today, other than to suit up, as they say - winter boots, coat, gloves, and toque, and play in the snow with the dog. I might even pull out a counted cross-stitch piece to work on. I started it at least 10 years ago, and would love to complete it.

!!! STOP THE PRESSES !!!

As I’m writing this newsletter, Cora saunters over. I lean over to pet her and discover a lump on her neck. Further examination reveals what appears to be a tick. I’m totally freaked out. Not wanting to deal with removing a tick, we decided to brave the snow (remember, just a paragraph above, I said we’re not going anywhere today because of the snow, and we just had our snow tires removed, which makes it even worse to head out in the middle of a snowstorm.

As I was walking to our closet, I almost wiped out in water left on the floor from my boots when I took Cora out first thing in the morning.

Off to the vet we go.

They examine her and discover an abscess - likely just a hair follicle. Nothing serious. And, happily not a tick!

And somehow, we leave without paying a thing. They never charged me! I must have had that desperate grandma energy written all over me.

Recently, I’ve come across a few videos on YouTube that made me pause. I’d love to share them with you.

These videos remind me of what it feels like to bring something into the world.

You may notice on my Substack that a few things are shifting. I’ll share more as the month unfolds, but I wanted to mention it now, in case you feel it too.

There’s an energy moving through - Spring, perhaps. Or maybe the forward-moving power of the Fire Horse year.

I hope you’re having a great week!

If you feel moved, I’d be grateful if you like this post with a ❤️, share a thought in the comments, buy me a coffee, or pass it along to someone who might enjoy a pause. Each small gesture helps this quiet space reach others who may need it.

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Nestled in the Pause #14

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:15:22 GMT

I forgot to send my Nestled in the Pause newsletter last week. Here’s why…

Let me tell you, it was a week full of activity.

My 15-year-old granddaughter was on her Spring break. She asked if I’d help her quilt the sleeves of her new hoodie. I thought it might just be strips of fabric. No, she wanted triangles and strips. OK, challenge accepted.

We visited a quilting store, she chose three coordinating fabrics, and we got down to business. I helped with the cutting, and she did the sewing and ironing. It was a lot of fun to work alongside her, to witness her creative spirit and see the result.

Do you like it?

My childhood friend visited. We attended an evening with Dr. Gabor Mate, along with 8,000 others. It was so good. He’s an amazing storyteller. The knowledge he shared left me with much to think about.

One of the questions he suggested we ask ourselves the next day, I’d love to share with you.

Is there someone or something you need to say NO to?

Great question, and it permitted me to ask myself and practice saying no for the rest of the week.

His parting words, I’ll share in a little while.

We’re pet-sitting our granddog, Cora. It’s been fun, but we are growing weary. We’ve had her for one month. Her dad will be home this week.

What was especially challenging were the coyotes we encountered twice. Connection is one of my top values, yet this connection, I wasn’t too thrilled about. Mostly, they are afraid of humans, yet it’s mating season and they can be unpredictable. And, after all, they are wild animals.

A border terrier cross that is bred to hunt does not take this predator lightly. Let’s just say there was a lot of barking, restraint and calming required of me, and anxiety by her afterwards.

I did some research and learned a lot about her behaviors. I found it very interesting and will share a few facts.

They tend to have:

High prey drive → strong urge to chase or confront movement
Quick arousal → they go from calm to “on alert” very fast
Fearless temperament → even when the other animal is bigger

I wondered - how do dogs detect coyotes before we do, and how do they know it’s a predator and not just another dog? Here’s what I found out.

1. Scent (the biggest one)

Dogs have up to 300 million scent receptors (humans ~5 million). A coyote can leave scent trails on:

grass
wind currents
even where it passed hours earlier

A dog can detect a coyote long before it’s visible. That explains her growling before we were even outside.

2. Sound

Dogs hear higher frequencies and at greater distances. They can pick up:

movement in brush
distant footsteps
subtle vocalizations

3. Body Language + Energy

Even before close contact, dogs can sense:

predator movement patterns
tension or alertness in another animal

Coyotes move very differently from domestic dogs - more stealthy, more direct.

She knows it’s not “Just Another Dog” because it gives off very different signals than a pet dog. The key differences a dog picks up are:

Scent signature → wild, unfamiliar, predator-based
Movement style → quiet, stalking, purposeful
Eye contact → more intense, less social
Posture → not playful or relaxed

Fingers crossed we won’t have another encounter.

On Friday evening, I hosted my monthly Kitchen Table Gathering. Our theme was Reservation for One.

This idea of a “reservation for one” is inspired by a phrase connected to Matthew McConaughey and his journaling companion to the book Greenlights. It’s really a gentle metaphor - an invitation to intentionally spend time in your own company, to reconnect with yourself.

For some, that might look like a quiet cup of coffee in the morning, a solo walk or an hour softly set aside just for you.

And for others, it might be something a little more spacious. A day away. An overnight. Even a retreat that’s been quietly calling your name.

What matters isn’t how big or small it is. It’s the intention behind it. A moment, or a space, where you choose to be with yourself and notice what’s been waiting there.

I invite you this week to experience a taste of our gathering.

1. Find a quiet corner, light a candle and spend some time with yourself.
2. Gently arrive by listening to this Table for One meditation.

Complete this Reservation for One Worksheet.

Reservation For One Worksheet

118KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Read this Closing Blessing:

My Reservation for One Today

I chuckled to myself today as I sat in Tim Horton’s - waiting for my snow tires to be changed. Not a glamorous reservation for one, yet one just the same.

Sitting next to me were three women engaged in conversation. One was telling a story about how her 50-year-old son was planning to sell everything he owns and move to Spain. Sounded like quite an adventure to me! She explained how she’d suggested he was doing the wrong thing, etc., etc. What I chuckled about was that this conversation reminded me of Dr. Gabor Mate’s parting words, which I promised to share with you.

Have a great week!

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Nestled in the Pause #13

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:00:53 GMT

The Thrifted Treasure Walk (or a Gathering at Home)

This is an invitation to pause
to experience stillness, creativity, and connection.

on a small solo outing,
with a hint of curiosity woven in.

Not just browsing,
but noticing… choosing… gathering.

Set aside a little pocket of time—an hour, perhaps.

Go on your own to a thrift store, yard sale, or secondhand space.

Before you go, you might carry a few ideas with you-
not a list to complete,
just a few possibilities to notice along the way.

Two Ways to Enter

If you’re heading out:

Visit the place you’ve chosen.
Let yourself wander without a plan.

If you’re staying home:

Move through your own space
as if you’ve never seen it before.

Open a drawer.
Look at a shelf.
Revisit a box tucked away.

There are things here
that have been waiting to be noticed again.

Stillness

This is where the practice begins.

Whether you step into a shop
or stay within your own home,
begin by choosing to move differently.

More slowly than usual.
With no destination in mind.

Pause at each shelf…
or each corner of a room.

Let your eyes rest.

Let your hands linger.

This is not about finding.

It’s about allowing something
to gently come into your awareness.

A Gathering List

Wherever you are, look for:

something made of fabric
something that holds a memory
something small and beautiful
something with texture
something that simply calls to you

You can gather all of the items, or just two or three - whatever feels right.

Connection

Connection can be very small.

If you’re out, it might look like:

a shared smile
a brief exchange
a quiet moment beside someone

If you’re at home, connection might be:

remembering who something belonged to
recalling a moment or season of your life
holding an object and letting a story return

You might even send a message to someone:

Creativity

When you return (or gather your pieces), use your imagination and create something simple.

Here are a few ideas:

A Letter to Yourself (with Objects)

Create a small bundle and include:

your gathered items
a short handwritten note
tied together with string or ribbon

Tuck it somewhere to find later.

Let it remain a little open, if you like.

Not finished.
Just… gathered.

A Small Collection Jar

Place a few items into a jar or small container.

Not as clutter, but as a way of saying:

this mattered enough to keep.

A Framed Arrangement

Place a small arrangement inside a frame:

fabric
paper
a photo
a found object

It can remain simple and unfinished.

This is what a reservation for one can be-
a small pocket of time
spent gently
with yourself.

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Nestled in the Pause #12

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 01:32:35 GMT

It’s hard to believe how quickly March has passed.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been gently feathering our nests.

Before we open the final six squares,
pause and notice what is already resting in your nest.

Here are the final six squares.

A Shared Table

I shared my table recently with two friends for conversation, connection, cupcakes, and crafts. It was a lot of fun.

A Bloom

Oh, how I miss the early blooms when I lived on the west coast of Canada, on Vancouver Island. This bloom is from the floral section at the local grocery store. Here in Calgary, we start to see grass again, and then it snows. Rinse & repeat. I hope soon these Spring storms wave goodbye, and we’ll see some blooms.

An Heirloom

The yellow tea cup in the photo belonged to my great-grandmother. I will forever cherish it. I know my daughter will cherish it when I am gone, and I hope my granddaughters will, too. It must be at least 120 years old.

A Sign of Spring

Last week, I pet-sat 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 guinea pigs, and a teenager, in the midst of a Spring snowstorm. My daughter and her husband were holidaying on the West Coast of Canada. She shared this photo, the view from her suite, and shared that daffodils lined the ditches. These are my hopeful signs of Spring.

In Calgary, our ground was once again blanketed with snow. A Spring storm moved in from the mountains, and the police advised against travel. By afternoon, the sun shone, and the roads were almost dry. That’s Calgary weather for you.

Two Things Together

The focus during week four was creativity. Let me explain how these photos work with this theme.

These two are looking for treats. They stick together, each trying in his/her own creative way to convince Grandma to cave and give them one. They try all day long.

Charlie follows me around. When that doesn’t work, he stares at me. Cora turns in circles, thinking that might work, then she talks to me, which really is whining. They play this game for hours. They have been successful - each has had a few treats today, or what my husband and I call biscuits - that’s an unrecognizable code name for treat.

An Open Door

Welcome! The door to the Nest Retreat Center is always open. Take your time here. When you’re ready, I’ll show you around. And, as the days unfold, you’ll find more opportunities inside to experience stillness, creativity, and connection - on your own or with others.

Thank you for playing along this month. I hope you enjoyed the bingo-card format and the pauses it provided.

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Nestled in the Pause #11

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 14:37:00 GMT

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been gently feathering our nests.

Noticing stillness, tending what holds us, and watching creativity begin to take shape.

Below are the creative sparks I gathered this past week.

Something Handmade

My home is full of handmade items, so it was a challenge to choose. I landed on a sweet bowl I made from fabric, then stiffened with Mod Podge. It holds a variety of things - right now, some old slides waiting to be turned into photos.

I’d love to see something you’ve made with your own hands?

Color You Love

I bet you’ll figure out in one guess what my answer is. I LOVE teal, and its neighbour - robin egg blue. My sister made me the wall quilt for my 50th birthday. I absolutely love it, and its ocean touches, reminding me of the many years I called Vancouver Island home.

What’s a color you love?

Work in Progress

Counted cross-stitch used to be my favorite form of meditation. I spent hours and hours stitching during a very difficult time in my life. This one is almost complete. I’m going to finish it - it really is beautiful.

Do you have any projects to complete? This is your time to get one out of your closet, or that box, or drawer, and finish it along with me.

Tools of Making

I’ve been working on something special - a birthday card.

My mom passed away in late 2024, just four months before her 100th birthday. In a few weeks, one of her few remaining friends will turn 100, and I’ll be there to celebrate with her.

What makes this card especially meaningful is that it carries pieces of my mother within it. The blue wool background came from one of her favorite blazers. The floral trim was made from a cloth napkin that once lined her makeup basket. The intertwined hearts are a small symbol of the love and friendship they shared over so many years.

The flower at the center is one of the birthday girl’s favorites. I made it last summer by pounding pansies onto fabric, and I love that it found its way into this piece.

And then there are the tools of making scattered across the table - scissors, pins, thread, needle, rotary cutter, ruler - the ordinary things that help turn memory into something I can hold in my hands.

You might gather your own tools - whatever you have nearby - and let your hands create something simple. Not to make something perfect, just something that holds a bit of meaning.

This is what I love about creative work. Sometimes it becomes more than making. Sometimes it becomes remembering. Sometimes it becomes a way of carrying love forward.

Something Becoming

Tomorrow, I’m hosting a small friend gathering. We’ll be creating Easter decor. What could be better than conversation, coffee, cupcakes, and crafts?

Are you making something special for Easter this year? Can you guess what we’re making?

A Creative Mess

I’m notorious for not reorganizing my creative spaces after I’ve completed a project. A friend used to say to me when we painted together, “Clean your paintbrush!” She’d always find it sitting in water, waiting to be cleaned.

It’s no different with embroidery and my slow-stitch projects, as witnessed by this creative mess - a pile of half-used lengths of embroidery floss.

Are you like this, too? Surely it’s not only me!

What I’m noticing now is a quiet shift.

What we’ve been tending inside
begins to open outward.

Toward light, others, and the small signs of spring.

This Week’s Six Squares

• A Shared Table
• Two Things Together
• An Heirloom
• An Open Door
• A Bloom
• A Sign of Spring

This week, we turn our attention to connection and the ways it appears in our everyday lives.

Pause with whatever draws you in this week.

You might take a photo, simply notice, write a line in your journal, sit quietly with the prompt, or, if you’re playing along on the bingo card, grab your dabber and mark the square.

You can download your bingo card here.

Feather Your Nest Bingo Week 4

1.13MB ∙ PDF file

Download

As this month draws to a close, take a quiet moment with your card.

Notice what you’ve marked.
Notice what you’ve simply held.

There was never a right way to fill these squares, only an invitation to see what was already here.

And perhaps, in small and quiet ways, you did.

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Nestled in the Pause #10

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 07:11:30 GMT

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been practicing the simple act of noticing.

Stillness.
Soft corners of home.
Textures and objects that hold our everyday lives.

I’ve included my six moments from last week below - small things that might have gone unnoticed if I hadn’t been paying attention.

Texture - I’ve always loved old chippy doors and window frames. They reveal so many layers of time and texture. I have several in my home. A favorite, a door, sits quietly making a statement in the corner of my living room. Oh, if this door could tell us her stories.

A Folded Blanket - I have a whole shelf in my linen closet filled with folded quilts - made by me, my sister, and my mom. Sometimes I hang one on the wall for a time. The truth is, my home doesn’t have a lot of wall space. So mostly they sit quietly in the closet - resting in stillness, waiting for their turn again.

Layers - a small slow-stitch piece I made - scraps of fabric and thread placed one over another until something whole begins to appear.

An Open Book - Sometimes the most vulnerable thing we can do is let someone see a page from our story. This page comes from an art journal I created during a course I once took - layers of color, words, and thoughts that were meant only for that moment in time.

Something Worn - There is something special about a recipe written by hand. The curves of the letters. Splatters of food. Maybe a note added in the margin. I’m sharing a recipe from my mom, written in her own handwriting. The recipe itself is worn from years of use. But that’s part of its beauty.

It’s more than instructions for making something in the kitchen. It’s a small piece of her story, passed quietly from one generation to the next. And, something so special is that I remember her making these and serving them as appetizers at family gatherings.

Something That Feels Warm - At Christmas this year, we found ourselves gathered around the fireplace at my daughter’s home. The fire crackled softly, casting that golden glow that only a real fire seems to create.

Sometimes warmth isn’t just the fire itself. It’s the atmosphere it creates. The feeling of being held in a space where everyone can slow down for a while.

That fireplace gave us exactly the kind of warmth we were craving that evening.

What I’m discovering is that when we slow down enough to notice our spaces, creativity often begins to stir on its own.

Not the kind of creativity that needs to be perfect or finished.

Just the gentle signs that something is becoming.

A thread left on the table.
A half-finished idea.
A color that catches your eye.

This week, we turn our attention toward those small creative sparks.

This Week’s Six Squares

• Something Handmade
• A Work in Progress
• Color You Love
• Tools of Making
• A Creative Mess
• Something Becoming

You might photograph something you’re working on.

Or you might simply notice the creative energy already moving through your day.

A sketch. A recipe. A garden bed being planned.

Creativity appears in more places than we expect.

Pause with one square that draws you in.

And when you’ve given it your attention, gently mark the space on your card.

That’s enough.

A Small Reminder

This isn’t about filling the card.

It’s about noticing what is already here.

Little by little, we’re feathering the nest.

You can download your bingo card here.

Feather Your Nest Bingo Week 3

1.14MB ∙ PDF file

Download

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Nestled in the Pause #9

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 07:11:36 GMT

Last week, we practiced noticing stillness.

I’ve included my moments below - small things I might have missed if I hadn’t been looking.

My favorite chair that holds memories of time spent visiting my mom in long-term care. I sat in that chair almost every day visiting, telling her stories, and listening to hers. It now sits in my living room, a quiet reminder of the time we shared.

My hands at rest while filming a video. Resting them helped keep me grounded.

I chose to share how steam can wake and feed a nest of baby birds! Seems so appropriate as Spring approaches.

A moment of shadow and soft light from my wall - a reminder that beauty often arrives without announcing itself.

My granddaughter’s cat Clover, found the very best quiet corner.

I noticed something surprising.

Looking for stillness
actually slowed me down.

Stillness isn’t empty.
It’s full.

This week, we begin tending what holds us.

The nest isn’t just branches.
It’s warmth.
Layers.
Care.

This Week’s Six Squares

• Texture
• Something Worn
• Layers
• A Folded Blanket
• An Open Book
• Something That Feels Warm

Let one draw you in.

Notice how the surfaces of your life hold memory.
Notice what you reach for without thinking.
Notice what has softened with time.

You may photograph it.
Or simply sit with it.

Mark the square when you’ve paused.

Nothing more is required.

You can download your bingo card here.

Feather Your Nest Bingo Week 2

1.16MB ∙ PDF file

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Nestled in the Pause #8

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:11:16 GMT

March doesn’t need more goals. It may simply need more noticing.

This month inside Nestled in the Pause, we’re beginning something playful - a slow, unfolding invitation rooted in our three pillars: stillness, creativity, and connection.

Each week, I’ll offer a handful of prompts, small invitations to pause and see what is already here.

To hold them, we’ll be using a simple bingo-style card.

But you won’t see the whole card at once.

Each week, six new squares will appear.

Like early spring.
Like small green shoots.

There is no pressure to complete them all.
Follow what your heart is drawn to.

You don’t need special tools.
Only a willingness to pause
and notice.

This week’s six squares arrive today.

Let’s begin softly.

How This Invitation Works

Each day, choose a square that calls to you.

You might:

Take a photo
Simply notice
Write a line in your journal
Sit quietly with the prompt

After you’ve paused with it, gently mark the square.

That’s it.

Completion isn’t the goal.
Attention is.

There is no prize for finishing.
The gift is in seeing differently.

What to Expect This Month

We begin with noticing the Stillness already present in your space.

As the weeks unfold, we’ll gently expand into creativity and connection.

And at the end of the month, if you’d like, you’ll be invited to show us your nest. More about that later.

You can download your bingo card here.

Feather Your Nest Bingo Week 1

1.16MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Have fun!

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Nestled in the Pause #7

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 20:11:14 GMT

This week’s pauses are simple and a little scattered - on purpose.

Not a lesson, not a theme to follow,
Just a few places to soften your attention.

We’ll notice tenderness in the world,
notice what’s here in this moment,
and choose one small thing to carry with us.

Take them as they meet you.
Skip one if you need to.
Return later if you want to.

There’s no falling behind here.

VIEW THE VIDEO

You paused.
You noticed.
You carried something with you into your days.

Nothing dramatic may have changed.
Small shifts rarely announce themselves.

Let whatever stayed with you continue.
I’ll meet you again soon, right here in the pause.

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Nestled in the Pause #6

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 22:46:03 GMT

On Friday evening, five beautiful souls joined me around the Kitchen Table.
This week, the creativity they carried, shapes the pauses I invite you into.

The theme for our creative invitation was Love Set Free.
I opened our practice with these words.

We gathered with simple materials - most found right in their homes.
With open hearts and busy hands, each woman spent time creating her own unique message.

One woman wrote to a dear friend she lost a few years ago.
She sealed her message in a bottle to place on the memorial bench where she still feels close to her.

She also folded a paper heart around her words, a small envelope to keep in her own memory box.

What she made was born from memories and grief,
but the act itself isn’t only for loss.

These small containers can hold apologies, gratitude, hope, forgiveness-
anything the heart needs to say but doesn’t quite know how to deliver.

Another woman filled a bottle with rose quartz and rose petals.
On the outside she wrote: This message is meant for you.
Inside, a reminder for whoever finds it -
that they are enough, and always worthy of love.

One woman wrote a letter she’ll never send-
I would like you to be in my world more.
She called it a reverse message and plans to burn it.

Some messages aren’t meant to be delivered.
They’re meant to be acknowledged.

This wasn’t gratitude or kindness.
It was a quiet admission of longing - words that needed to exist even without a response.

By folding the paper and burning it, she isn’t sending it away.
She’s allowing herself to tell the truth safely.

Sometimes we don’t need the conversation.
We need the honesty.

The release becomes the relief.

Another woman cut out paper hearts that will become cards -
one for a family member going through chemotherapy,
another for a friend waiting on test results.

A simple shape, a few caring words,
something held in the hand that quietly says I’m with you.

Another woman shared she had recorded a podcast about Valentine’s Day.
About love in a wider sense.
She never shared it.
It felt preachy, she said.
Like telling instead of sharing.

She wrote a love note at our gathering.
It inspired her.
She suddenly knew exactly where those words belonged.
She released them into the world the next day on her podcast.

LISTEN TO HER PODCAST HERE

I’m still nestled in the softness of Friday night.

And I think that’s the real gift.

Love doesn’t end when the gathering ends.
Or when Valentine’s Day comes to a close.
It simply changes hands.

Friday evening nothing was solved.
Grief didn’t disappear.
No distance closed.

But something softened.

Sometimes healing isn’t resolution -
it’s expression.

If your heart needs somewhere to place its words this week,
may these creative offerings help you pause.

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Nestled in the Pause #5

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 14:43:01 GMT

Five Gentle Ways to Turn Love Inward

Valentine’s Week often turns our attention outward.

This year, let it also be an invitation to turn toward yourself-
through the senses, through small moments of care, through noticing what feels nourishing.

Here are five gentle pauses.
Let yourself receive only what feels kind.

This pause begins with taste, and opens into memory.

I’m sharing a small poem I wrote many years ago, inspired by my grandmother’s and the ritual of afternoon tea. It reminds me that care, calm, and connection are often passed down in the simplest ways.

Some people find that certain musical frequencies, often called Solfeggio frequencies, create a sense of calm, ease, or emotional softening. If you’re curious, this pause offers a simple way to explore that for yourself.

LISTEN HERE

You can read more about the benefits of Solfeggio frequencies at Well-being Apothecary, where I was first introduced to them through the work of Nance Scott.

This week, I’m also sharing a special creativity invitation from Rachel Joy who I follow on Substack - one that felt too aligned to leave out.

Valentine’s Day can bring up many different feelings. For some, it’s joyful and celebratory; for others, it can stir longing, tenderness, or sadness. You might be partnered or single, in between chapters, or feeling deeply content just as you are. However you experience this season, there’s often a quiet place within us that wants to know - without question - that we are loved, deeply and enough.

This invitation meets that place with creativity, care, and connection with yourself.

WRITE YOURSELF A LOVE LETTER

Love doesn’t always arrive in grand gestures.

Sometimes it comes through the senses-
in warmth, in breath, in a moment of noticing that you are here and worthy of care.

May you meet yourself with tenderness this week, in ways that are small, real, and enough.

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Nestled in the Pause #4

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 11:32:32 GMT

Happy February 1st 🎉

And a special, quiet happy birthday to my son. He would cringe to know I’m sharing that here, so let’s chat about the other important occasion - Imbolc.

In a December newsletter, I began to honour my Celtic roots, so it only makes sense that Imbolc would be wildly curious to me today.

What is Imbolc?
Imbolc is an ancient Celtic seasonal festival marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s not full spring yet, it’s the promise of spring. A subtle shift. The first whisper of light returning.

Traditionally, it’s associated with Saint Brigid (and the older goddess Brigid before her) - a figure connected to
✨ light
🔥 the hearth
🌱 fertility and new life
🎨 creativity and inspiration

So this day isn’t about bold beginnings.
It’s about small stirrings. Quiet readiness. The sense that something beneath the surface is waking up.

The Energy of This Season

Imbolc lives in that tender in-between space:

The days are getting lighter - even if winter still has a grip
Ideas feel like seeds, not plans
We feel a soft urge to clear, refresh, and make space
Hope returns, not loudly, but steadily

It’s the season of:

This is exactly how I feel.

There’s a quiet sense of something beginning again. I’ve been resting more, moving slowly, letting things be still, and yet beneath that stillness, I notice small stirrings. A gentle readiness. A soft sense that something is waking up.

This week’s pauses are inspired by that gentle turning. Take what feels right from this week’s pauses. Leave the rest.

If you’d like to explore a lovely story and seasonal recipe connected to Imbolc, here’s a beautiful piece from Danielle at Gather Victoria, someone I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with on events in Victoria:
https://gathervictoria.com/2019/01/17/imbolc-lavender-rosemary-seed-cake

May this week meet you gently, and may you trust the quiet beginnings unfolding in their own time.

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Nestled in the Pause #3

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 14:02:31 GMT

This Week’s Pauses

As I walked the dog this morning, the world had softened.
Snow fell in that quiet way that hushes sound and slows the day.

Winter has a way of drawing us inward - toward warmth, toward comfort, toward the small rituals that help us feel cared for.

This week’s pauses are inspired by that feeling: the warmth of a bowl in your hands, the glow of a fire, and the simple comfort of remembering we don’t have to rush.

Let this be a week of cozy returning.

WATCH HERE

RECIPE

May you find warmth where you need it this week -
in a bowl, in a flame, in a memory, in a moment of quiet.

And may you remember: tending to yourself
is never time wasted.

An Invitation to the Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table is a monthly virtual gathering where we come together to talk, create, and reflect. Each gathering includes a soft arrival, guided conversation, and a simple creative practice - all held with care to invite honest connection and shared presence.

In February, we gather around the theme Love Is in the Air.
Join us Friday, February 13, from 6:00–7:30 pm MST at The Kitchen Table.

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Nestled in the Pause #2

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:11:20 GMT

This Week’s Pauses

Here are three gentle pauses for the week ahead.

As always, you’re welcome to step into any one of them - or simply read and move on.
Follow your own rhythm.

LISTEN HERE

READ THE POEM

Wishing you a week with space to breathe and soften where you can.

An Invitation to the Kitchen Table

In February, we gather around the theme Love Is in the Air.
Join us Friday, February 13, from 6:00–7:30 pm MST at The Kitchen Table.

If you feel moved, I’d be grateful if you like this post with a ❤️, share a thought in the comments, or pass it along to someone who might enjoy a pause. Each small gesture helps this quiet space reach others who may need it.

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Nestled in the Pause #1

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 20:45:32 GMT

Hello,

I’ve been quietly tending something new here - a gentle way to weave small pauses into the week.

It’s called Nestled in the Pause.

This offering is made up of small, intentional moments - designed to help you slow down, reconnect, and return to what matters, without adding more to your plate.

Each week, I’ll share three gentle pauses, guided by the three pillars at the heart of this space:

You’ll notice these symbols used throughout - they’re simply a visual way to signal the type of each pause.

They’re not instructions or assignments - just gentle cues to help you choose what feels right.

You’ll receive these pauses on Sunday afternoon, and you’re welcome to visit them on whichever day feels right for you.

There’s no need to follow a schedule or engage with every invitation.

Weekends are intentionally left open -
for your own pauses, unplanned moments, or rest that doesn’t need a name.

Even one pause can be enough.

This Week’s Pauses

Below you’ll find the first three pauses for the week ahead.
You can step into any one of them - or simply read and move on.
Follow your own rhythm.

WATCH A BARRED OWL

SIMMER POT RECIPE

HUGGING MEDITATION

Nestled in the Pause is a place to arrive gently - to breathe, to create, and to connect in ways that feel true to you.

I’m so glad you’re here.

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