Dreaming of Hummingbirds. Plus Baby Hummingbird Video.

Posted by Barbara Techel

Dreaming of Hummingbirds. Plus Baby Hummingbird Video.

I can’t quite put out my hummingbird feeders and house yet. But hopefully in the next two weeks. According to a search on Google, the Ruby-throat hummingbird typically arrives in Wisconsin by May 1st.

The darling little hand carved hummingbird house in the photo is one I bought in Asheville, NC when we visited there last fall. When John spotted it, I squealed louder than I realized causing the checkout clerks to glance my way.

Every spring when I get to put out my feeders, and now this little house new this year, I can’t help but think if my sweet dog, Frankie. It’s hard to believe it will be five years June 21st, since her passing. And it was ten years ago tomorrow (Easter Sunday) that she became paralyzed…and as many of you know, changed her life, and mine profoundly…and for the better!

A nickname I had for Frankie, of which which she had many, was that I called her my little hummingbird. And so it really was no surprise that two weeks after she passed away that she’d visit me as a hummingbird, fluttering back and forth in front of my face for a few moments while a song that reminded me of her played on the radio as I sat on the deck.

It’s a memory that I cherish so deeply in my heart. And why I love when hummingbird season comes around again. For it’s in those hummingbirds that return for the season that my heart dances with joy for the spirit that Frankie brought to my life.

And maybe, just maybe, a mama hummingbird will feel safe and build a home in the tiny house I bought just like the little ones in this video. I really enjoyed watching this and I thought you might like it, too.

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No Longer a Thrift Store Snob

Posted by Barbara Techel
No Longer a Thrift Store Snob
Me and G – Happy Spring!

I posted this picture as my profile photo and within minutes I had several likes and comments – guess it is a hit – and it prompted me to write about my hat and where I got it.

I almost didn’t buy the hat. I was at the check-out counter at St. Vincent De Paul’s the other day where I saw it as I went to buy my some other items. I picked it up once. Then put it back. I love hats, but sometimes feel funny wearing one.

But that hat was determined to go home with me…I swore I heard it calling out to me. Just as the clerk rang in the last item I bought, I quickly grabbed the hat and put it on the counter. 

I’m glad I did. If I wear it once it certainly didn’t break the bank at $4.49. But I have a feeling I’ll be wearing it often. I adore it!

And to think I used to be a thrift store snob. I wouldn’t have been caught dead in one when I was in my 20s and 30s. But then in my late 30s, feeling like something was missing in my life, I began to think about what a meaningful and creative life would look like for me.

I no longer wanted to be in the corporate world. I wanted more freedom. I wanted to explore what it was that would make me happy and bring me more joy.

This meant making different choices because my income was no longer what it was. I admit that I do love clothes and I like to look nice. So now instead of purchasing three items that would cost on average of $75 or higher at a department store I normally walk out of a thrift store with a bagful for about $30.  In fact, I bought three cute tops, a pair of shoes, and this hat for $27 and some odd change.

My taste in clothes have changed too. Oh, how I used to love all the designer brands. But these days there are just so many others things in life that are important and mean more to me. 

So I’m glad I bought the hat…and I’m really glad I’m no longer a thrift store snob.

As for Miss Gidget, I don’t believe she has quite the fondness for hats as I do, but lucky for me she humors me and puts up with it.

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Women Need Other Women – Shifting the Perspective

Posted by Barbara Techel

Women Need Other Women - Shifting the Perspective

I wish every day could be like it is the 3rd Wednesday of every month. 

I was part of helping form a Women’s Mastermind Circle, which began meeting in February. There are five of us – all visionary women, most of us in mid-life with one that is in her early 30s. We all have in common that we want to live each day from a place of intuitive intention and live from a place within that is at peace with who she is.

While we all ebb and flow with this to some degree, our gatherings help to remind those of us that may need reassurance. We also all have in common that we each live from a place of awareness of how we strive to live a life that is fulfilling and meaningful.

It’s so refreshing to be among a group of ladies who aren’t in competition with each other. We value each others thoughts, we practice deep listening, we offer what we can in support, and have compassion for where we are on each of our life’s path.

It has really had me  thinking of how we, as women, must begin to shift our perspective of each other. Where the competitiveness began among women can certainly be debated and there are so many things that have contributed to it, no doubt. But we have to begin with ourselves and how we treat each other in order for that shift to begin. Women can, and have been, so hard on each other.

All I know is that to be among these five ladies in this monthly circle has enriched my heart and spirit that I can hardly wait for the next month’s time together to come around again. And I know that being a part of this circle helps me as I move about in my world outside the circle to try even more to have compassion for other’s. Not that this is always easy in such a diverse and troubled world – it can certainly prove to be challenging.

But I believe that if more can find support among their own small tribe of women the shift can gain ground for more personal healing and ultimately on a global level, too.

Every month as I drive home from being in this circle of amazing women, I feel a fire of aliveness ignited once again of how important it is to have kindred spirits like this in my life. While I needed to move away from the corporate world over twelve years ago and needed much time alone, I’m now realizing how important it is for me to be around other women like the circle I’m part of.

Time alone feeds my soul in one way, while time with this dear tribe of ladies I have the honor of getting to know better, is feeding my soul in another with the result of feeling more whole and alive in a new way.

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