A short visit to the barn

I opened the live with a visualization rather than an explanation. I wanted you to feel The Hummingbird Nest. A long, winding driveway through the forest. An old refurbished barn in a quiet clearing with the mountains behind it. A long table with a linen runner and little vases of wildflowers. A chair pulled out just for you.

That’s the feeling I hope you find every time you come to the Nest. It’s a place for women to come away for stillness, creativity, and connection. Each month I invite a guest creative to join us at the table. If you’d like to take that short visit yourself, the replay is below. It’s at the very beginning.

Why “Wild Wellness”?

Rachel is a holistic wellness treatment therapist and coach for women. Her work brings together nervous system care, faith, creativity, and community. I asked how she came up with the name for her business, and I loved her answer. She believes being truly well means coming back to our original blueprint, the woman we were made to be. And being that well can feel a little wild. Wildly well.

I told her she’s wildly joyful, too. Everything Rachel shares is full of colour and joy, and that’s exactly what drew me to her.

Why is it so hard to care for ourselves?

Our theme this month is comfortable in your own skin, and part of that is learning to care for the woman we’ve become. For years, as a single mom, my self-care routine was a quick shower and, if I was lucky, a blow-dry before getting the kids out the door and myself to work. This winter, my skin is asking for attention, and I’m finally listening.

So I asked Rachel why it’s so hard to give ourselves the care we give others so easily. She said that for her, it often comes down to worth. Time is real, and caring for children, family, or work makes it harder. Still, she suggested putting self-care right into the calendar, even five or ten minutes in the morning or before bed. When we believe we’re worth the investment, we make the time.

That landed for me. As I get older, I’m believing in myself more, and it has a ripple effect. My body feels important now. When it tells me what it needs, I listen.

What we put on our skin matters

Rachel started making her own products after learning how much of what we put on our skin makes its way into our bodies. Our skin is our largest organ. Making her own means she chooses every ingredient, the fragrance, and what she wants it to help with.

I asked her for the smallest act of self-care for skin that’s ageing and getting thinner. Two things:

• A serum at night. After cleansing, pat on a serum, then follow with an oil or balm so it soaks in overnight. She said some oils suit oily skin too, so don’t be scared off.

• A little facial massage at home. Gentle movements, or a heart-shaped gua sha stone, get things moving and help plump the skin naturally.

My mother introduced me to Merle Norman cosmetics, and I never really learned to look after my skin. I might have fewer wrinkles if I’d started sooner. But as Rachel and I agreed, it’s never too late.

Join us next Thursday

On Thursday, November 19 from 10 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. CST, Rachel and I will make a whipped peppermint body butter together in The Creativity Studio. Rachel will lead us in a meditation, and we may try a few of those facial massage practices too. It’s lovely for winter skin and makes a sweet handmade gift. I’m making some for my granddaughters.

You’re welcome to make it along with us or simply come and watch. Registered guests receive the supply list beforehand, and the recording and recipe afterwards.

Register Here

Thank you to everyone who joined us live and filled the chat with such kind comments. I’ll see you at the table.

Warmly,
Kathy

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You’re invited to This Month’s Guest Creative, Josette Diaz, Seasons of the Soul® | The Arriving at the Barn Warming Celebration on Saturday, October 17, 10:30 am - 1:00 pm MT via zoom.

She’ll guide us through The Seeds of Life, a values discovery process Josette created for Seasons of the Soul®. She believes we find what we seek in life by living by what we value most. Each value is a seed, and this process invites you to hold each one in your hands, consider what it would ask of you, and choose the seeds that are truly yours to grow. Josette will show you how your values impact your life and what you can do to simplify decisions, choices, and boundaries.

Register Here!

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Before I said much of anything, we took a moment to arrive. I led listeners through a portion of the Arrival Meditation we listened to. The full version is here if you’d like to listen.

What I’ve been making

I’ve been busy the past little while making, and it truly helped me move through feelings of fear, confusion, and worry. Let me take you on a tour.

• A backdrop that replicates a barn wall for my virtual retreat center

• An embroidered wildflower garden that will become a pocket for an apron my sister made me, which I hang on the barn wall.

• Pressed Flower Coasters - samples for a crafternoon I’m hosting at my home this coming week.

  

• A Story Bowl I just finished, made especially for our Kitchen Table gatherings. Story Bowl time is one of the favorites at The Kitchen Table. It’s how we connect and learn about one another through prompts that invite the most interesting stories. The Story Bowl idea isn’t mine. The practice of pulling a question from a bowl and going around the table belongs to Andrea Scher. I borrowed it and made it part of how we gather here, but the heart of it is hers. I’ll be sharing a creative invitation and tutorial soon so you can make your own bowl(s).

How Making Helps

The theme at last night’s Kitchen Table was Make Something, It Helps. I asked the room some questions, and what came back was so much wiser than anything I could have planned. On my live, I read you the stories just as they were told.

Making helps in more ways than we usually give it credit for. It slows a busy mind and lets the body settle. It carries us through grief and hard seasons, one stitch or one fold at a time. It connects us to the people we make for, sometimes more honestly than words could. It can even show us something about ourselves we couldn't see on our own, whether that's discovering you're creative after years of believing otherwise, or realizing a handmade card is really just proof that you were paying attention to someone. However it shows up, making rarely asks to be finished or perfect. It just asks for our hands, and in return, it helps.

Something to sit with

I want to leave you with a few questions. Not to answer right away, but to sit with in your own journal, whenever you get a quiet minute.

• When has making helped you through a difficult time?

• What do you notice happens inside you when your hands are busy?

• Is there something handmade that you treasure because of who made it?

• Is there something you used to make that you’d love to return to?

You don’t need all four. Pick the one that catches on something.

If you make something this week, however small, I’d love to hear about it.

Thank you for being here, with your hands and your attention.

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video and to everyone who paused to listen to this replay! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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Warmly,
Kathy

At first it was ok. Then after many changes, I was starting to feel bad about myself, and that I may have been letting you down.

In need a little bit of self-compassion, I spotted a beautiful little book, Lil Grace, sitting on the corner of my desk, waiting to be read.

On the spur of the moment, I decided to go live and read it, not only to you, but to me as well.

Lil Grace was written by my friend Shannon Speaks and illustrated by Terry Stefanko. It’s a book for helpers and caregivers, for anyone who spends their days showing up for other people and quietly puts their own needs last. I was part of the group that helped shape the book before it was published, so reading it out loud this morning felt like it landed twice as close to home.

What if something kinder could be true? That question followed me through the whole reading.

But the line that stayed with me most was simpler: self-compassion isn’t selfish. It’s essential.

If you’ve had a summer like mine, canceling more than you’d like, feeling the guilt pile up around it, I hope this reading gives you what it gave me. A little grace.

You can watch the replay above. I didn’t read the neuroscience section of the book during the live, that part is there waiting for you when you get your own copy. And if this resonates, Lil Grace is available on Amazon, worth having on your own desk or gifting to someone in your life who never stops giving to others.

Warmly,
Kathy

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“The Hummingbird Nest has never been about being perfect. And that includes me and you.”

“I’ve stopped waiting for it to be polished and to still invite you in.”

“I’d like to invite you to consider this journey as permission to begin before you’re ready.”

We ended with a short garden visualization - picturing a flower that opened in its own time, petal by petal, and letting ourselves do the same.

I promised to share the full flower pounding tutorial, which I did in a newsletter that day. If you missed it, you can view it below.

The Hummingbird Nest

Flower Pounding Art

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3 months ago · 4 likes · 2 comments · Kathy Barlow

Thank you , & Nikki for joining me live. Join me for my next live video in the app.

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One small note: the recording picks up just after our arrival practice, which seems to have wandered off somewhere. Mercury retrograde in action, perhaps. Everything else is there.

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Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video!

Hope you’re having a great Sunday and looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.

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