Hearthstone

Hearthstone now has a twitter account, find us at http://twitter.com/hearth_stone

I have recently been travelling a lot and found being away from home very difficult.

Finding somewhere to practice my Tai Chi even when settled into a place can take some time. I like to practice outside as much as I can so I need a secluded place where the ground is fairly level and firm. Trees and a reasonable view are of course welcomed extras.

So moving about results in no where to practice my form. Indoor practice is OK so I often settle for this however as soon as I get home I look forward to my early morning session in a lovely spot I have found about half a mile from the house.

New post added to hearthstone

At last I can feel my fingers again. Most of the time I practice my form outside in all weathers, well the rain is the hard one to deal with. This week I have began to notice that my fingers are less frozen at the end of my twenty minute session.

I tried wearing gloves but the chi did not flow, I tried wearing fingerless gloves but the chi stopped where the covering stopped, perhaps it does not like the cold?

The ground is less frozen now so getting to the park is a bit more messy, I have cut down a pair of wellies, just leaving the foot part and they seem to be working. My feet are kept clean, I leave them outside so the house is cleaner and they do not restrict my ankles.

The importance of doing the form every day cannot be stressed enough, daily practice brings all the benefits.

A Tribute to Alan Peck

My friend and long time teacher Alan Peck died on Wednesday evening, 3rd March 2010.

Alan was an inspiration to thousands of students, he taught tai chi for over thirty years and provided support and encouragement to many to open schools of their own.

Everyone who studied with Alan will have been touched by his gentleness and sensitive awareness. He opened the door and pointed the way to a genuine style of tai chi that can be traced back through the ages.

Anyone privileged enough to have practised with him had no doubt of the depth of his teaching, his practice and his understanding of tai chi.

Website: Natural WayT’ai Chi School

We are back in Wales for a bit, well a while, probably.

We are both writing, painting, photographing and generally recharging our creative batteries.

Celyn is about to launch a new website selling her work, Scott is submitting photos to stock libraries and writing for his blogs.

Just added a new section to our site. We have posted two wonderful poems written by a good friend of ours who lives in Wales

Poems

We launched our other site today The Ting Is

This site is concerned with attitudes and lifestyles of people all over the world, we hope it will inspire people to live a simple life.

Hail damage to our roof!

The artisan that will repair our roof has supplied us with a ‘Devis’ or estimate for repairing the damage to the roof on our house and on our barn, we have sent the estimate and photos off to the insurance company it is in their hands now.

Apparently the hail storms that do this kind of damage are rare in France, and like lightening unlikely to strike in the same place  twice.

The hail storms move in very specific bands often one half of a crop in a field will be totally destroyed the other half remaining undamaged.

Repairs on some roofs are under way already. Only one house in our village escaped with no damage.

Apple cider vinegar is wonderful stuff, we are using it to wash our hair, as a daily tonic and to help with my hay fever.

Check out the article on Hearthstone, Apple Cider Vinegar

This year I found the supermarket cider vinegar better than the health food stores for helping with my hay fever, I have no idea why?