Mandala Monday: Week 12

The PDF of this week's mandala is posted for download here.

We are in the home stretch toward the first of September, which means the deadline for submitting your colored mandala for the August earrings raffle is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, August 31.

As always, happy coloring!

Reminder: Noon with the Moon Walk on Tuesday, August 28

Noon with the Moon has its own page, but I thought I'd mention it here, too, just in case. You can sign up there to be reminded a couple of days before the next walk. I hope to see you on Tuesday! And, hopefully, it won't be quite as hot. Please contact me if you have questions or need directions.

Mandala Monday: Week 11

A fresh new mandala ... hot out of the oven for you to enjoy! Download PDF copy here.

As always, happy coloring!

E-Mailishness

It has been brought to my attention that people are receiving error messages that my e-mailbox is full. I've run a test and confirmed that sent messages ARE being received, but I also received the error message as well. The fine folks with Insider Hosting are checking into this problem. It should be remedied very soon.

UPDATE:
Problem solved! Thank you Insider Hosting!

Noon with the Moon

Please click on the link to sign up to be reminded via e-mail of the next Noon with the Moon walk at the New and Full moons.

I hope to see you on August 28th!

Reiki Tails for Visit on August 7, 2007

I'm sooooooooo late on this post. Had some problems getting the widget to work for me, but all is well now. We weren't able to visit this week due to work and school activity commitments, but hope to make it there for a visit early next week before my daughter's first day of school.

The great news from our visit last week was that both Toby and Velveteen were adopted. Toby arrived at the shelter early last winter. His family had to give him up due to a child's allergies. I always feel most sorry for new arrivals in those situations and happiest for them when they find a new home.

Let's see if I can remember what happened our our rounds.

We finally got to visit Room 1, which is usually being cleaned when we visit. Little Stardust was such a cutie. She isn't on the shelter website anymore, so no doubt she has been adopted. We saw Oscar grooming her. And even Diane played mama when Calhoun was trying to play-attack. Diane gave Calhoun a little swat that said, "We'll have none of that in here, young man." Sookie was just hanging around, watching it all.

In Room 2, both Juliette and Argentina came running up to us when we arrived. Very unusual. Maybe they've made a truce. Juliette let me pet her on the kitty condo. She is looking much better and Argentina is certainly being much more personable around us.

In the kitten room, we could have gobbled up the sugary sweetness of Abdul and Amaretta. They won't be there long, I'm sure.

In Room 4, Ava and Scrunchie approached us, but none of the cats seemed particularly interested in receiving much attention.

In Room 6, Sid was scratching at the door for us. And Gretel was very responsive to being petted. She liked sniffing my hair, for some reason. I wish that she didn't flinch before each stroke, but I guess it will take some time for her trust people. At least she is open to being touched. For many months, she wouldn't even let me make contact. Tiki did a lot of leg-rubbing, but wasn't interested in hopping in my lap. There was a sweet kitten in the room ... Wyoming. Kittens, kittens, everywhere!

There are new cats in Room 7. Kayla is a beautiful calico and Smoky is white and gray. This room was getting quite empty, so it is nice to see some new furry faces there to keep Sharley and Tulip company.

In Room 3, there were a couple of new cats too. Linley is a Tortie and Amblin is a black cat. I had to wake up Caroline to say hello and I'm afraid that I startled her when I did. After she realized it was me, she was very animated. I look forward to being able to put her in my lap one day, but taking baby steps for now.

Room 5 was being cleaned, so we didn't get to visit our friends there.

All in all, it appears that I didn't do much, if any, hands-on Reiki, other than through petting ... but, again, I don't have to make physical contact in order to offer it and have it be received. I feel bad missing a visit this week, but that will make next week's visit that much sweeter.

Mandala Monday: Week 10

Running a bit late on this week's mandala ... sorry for the delay.

You can download the PDF copy of this week's mandala here. Happy coloring!

Button for Mandala Mondays

Okay, friends, you asked for it ... you got it! A Mandala Mondays button for your website:


When I get some free time, I'll try to craft something a little niftier or find someone who can. (As with HTML, I am pretty clumsy in Photoshop and know just enough to get by.)

In the meantime, thank you for your interest in supporting and promoting my mandala mission! As always, happy coloring!

Mandala Monday: Week 9

Let me begin this week's Mandala Monday post with a virtual hug to all of my yoga friends, with whom I spent a wonderful weekend on retreat. Thank you, Julie, for planning this time of renewal for us. I feel like I took a week-long vacation in just 24 hours! And another big thank you to Julie's very special guest, Calesta Ana Harrison, author of the book, Earth Mother Yoga. Such an inspiration!

This week's mandala is available to download here. Please don't forget to submit your colored mandala (scanned or photographed) via e-mail ... or even by regular mail, if you prefer. See the contact page for more information. I look forward to entering you into the August raffle for a pair of Magic Beans earrings.

As always, happy coloring!

Mandala Mania is Contagious ... in a Good Way

I'd like congratulate Carla, the July winner of the Monday Mandalas raffle. You can view her lovely mandala here.

I would also like to share a lovely message that I received from my friend, Julie Lusk:

"Your mandalas made nice company on my plane ride - and the same goes for the young girl who was in my row (about 12 years old). We both had fun coloring and she asked me if I was an artist. I replied, "No, just someone who likes to color." By the time we were getting luggage her mom heard all about our coloring (her mom sat in another row) and they were all smiles. Your energy and good will radiates all over the place."

Ahhh, mission accomplished!

Speaking of energy and good will, you really should visit Julie's website ... it is positively brimming with helpful information and resources. I am so fortunate to be able to attend her yoga classes each week here in Cincinnati.

Reiki Tails for Visit on July 31, 2007

It was a beautiful day when we visited, which gave us the opportunity to spend some time outside with the cats.

In Room 7, my new favorite orange cat, Ozark, came running in from outside when we arrived. He has never done that before and his enthusiasm made us laugh. He wasn't interested in getting in my lap but enjoyed being petted for awhile before going back outside. Tulip stayed in her nest, but I'm glad to have a good picture of her. We still feel bad for taking her sister away from her, but hope that she will find her forever home soon. Or else we'll need to make room for a third cat at our house.

In Room 6, of course our friend Sid is always dependable with his happy greeting. I am so surprised that he has not been adopted, but I do realize that his age may be working against him. Gretel was our big surprise in this room. She typically will not even tolerate petting and we know not to expect any kind of acknowledgment from her when we arrive. This visit she came up to us to be petted. She winces with each stroke, but she stays. I'd call that progress. If she keeps warming up like this, I would expect her to be adopted in no time at all. There was a new arrival in this room, Figi, and it wanted nothing to do with anyone. It hissed at us just for opening the door. There seemed to be no love for its fellow felines either, so it might be awhile before we get to know Figi better.

Room 5 had Carmen and Spring jockeying for Reiki time. Carmen hopped up first. If I'm not mistaken, she received it last week. That may be the case for Spring, as well. They both seem to be very healthy and doing well. But when it comes to Reiki, I never question why anyone or anything needs it ... it's just my job to offer it. My daughter spent time with Meme. Georgie came in from outside and sat near us, probably soaking in all of the love, but he wasn't particularly interested in much petting. Just being close was enough for him this week.

None of the cats in Room 4 seemed particularly interested in our visit. Most of them were lounging in their enclosed area outside. We didn't stay there long.

In Room 3, Caroline was so happy to see us and just loved being petted. This is the same cat that surprised me last week. She is really coming around. Maybe she'll climb in my lap before long. If any cat at the shelter has (understandable) trust issues, it's little Caroline.

I don't know who looks worse in Room 2, Juliette or Argentina. Evidently, they are bullying each other or another cat is picking on them both. Juliette welcomes being petted, although she still won't get in my lap. Argentina is still wary of all contact, although warming up enough to greet us at the door. There are older kittens in this room now and I think they cause a lot of unwanted commotion for the older cats. Hopefully, there will be some peace in this room very soon.

I think we need to start with Room 1 next time. We usually start with Room 7 and by the time we work our way down to Room 1, it's getting cleaned and we can't get in to see those cats. At least that's how it is been the last two weeks.

The kitten room is still booming. I took a little video clip. I'm not sure how to post it, but if I figure out how, I will.