Happiness is an inside job. One way to be happier is to be the best person you can be and horses give us this opportunity. Horses help us enmesh our societal lives with our spiritual lives; our persona with our authentic self. They help us to understand what it is to trust and depend on another living being without becoming over-dependent. Horses are a powerful method of bringing these facets of personal growth into our lives.

I’m often asked why I consider stone carving to be soul work. My response is that I believe that the soul is shy. We have learned to hide behind defensive walls and specific behaviors that protect us from being hurt. We have had to create roles designed to please others. I also believe that at some point in our lives, the soul desperately wishes to fully emerge and be free. My work in this world is to explore what the soul is and how it can be coaxed back from where it hides. I have found that for many of us, all it takes is a chisel, hammer and a stone.

Stone carving is a metaphor for transformation; as we put chisel to stone, we chip away the layers of protection, illusions and beliefs that keep the soul hidden and safe. It is a deeply spiritual and relational engagement with Creation: what we create, creates us, or as I would say, what we do to the stone, we do to ourselves.

Summer is over, fall is just around the corner and it is time to start looking inward. A day at the spa is a perfect gift you can give yourself, a friend or family member. If you are anything like me, a day at the spa sounds so very decadent and a bit intimidating. Though I know a many women who have included the experience into their monthly routine, there are just as many if not more women who haven’t experienced the pleasure or are overwhelmed by the choices. The South Sound has a wide variety of spas just waiting to help us renew our bodies, minds and spirits. A day of pampering is a wonderful way to remove ourselves from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The word "spa" conjures up images of a long day filled with mud baths, sitting in a lounger under the warm sun drinking a cool drink and, of course, eating a healthy diet. But lately, spas seem to be popping up everywhere. Now, salons with one tiny massage table are day spas. Even nail places call themselves spa pedicures. How can they all be spas?

Summertime in the Northwest is full of sunshine, outdoor activity, and flower filled container gardens. When summer is over, we throw away the annuals and put the containers in storage until next year. But hold on a minute! DON’T pack up your containers because they can be useful and fantastic 365 days a year! Where and why should they be used? Let me count the ways:

Remember greeting cards? You know—those inspiring, heartfelt messages we forget to send until it’s too late, forcing us to spend an entire Saturday selecting a card that acknowledges the fact that we forgot? Or worse, forgetting until it’s really too late, because the person who turned 40 is now receiving senior discounts at Denny’s, or that special grad is suddenly getting married…for the second time?