5 Reasons to Learn Ukulele

     1.  It's easy:  Compared to other instruments there is almost instant gratification. There are only 4 strings and so it’s much easier to play than a guitar.  You don't need any musical background and it's an ideal instrument for busy people to learn because you don't have to practise that much.

2.   Its fun:  They say that ukulele players are the happiest people in the world! A lot of people think  ukuleles are toy guitars.  It's hard to take yourself too seriously when you are playing ukulele and it really is a lot of fun.

     3.  It's social: Playing ukulele is a great way of making new friends. During the summer I was out for a cycle with my ukulele and I met a lovely young french couple who were hitching a lift with a pink ukulele.  I stopped and we had fun chatting and  jamming at the side of the road.

4.  It's affordable:  You can buy a ukulele from around 20 euro which is grand for learning on.  For less than €100 you can get one that sounds really nice too!

      5.  It's small & light:  It fits in your handbag (or your manbag)so you can take it anywhere. Handy for a quick practise outside the  school while you're waiting to collect the kids,  to play at work on your lunchbreak, perfect for beach parties, on your bike, no bother in your handbag when you're flying or if you are getting a lift somewhere great to play in the car.  Endless possibilities...

So what’s stopping you? Find a class near you or go on you tube. Learn ukulele and amaze your friends and family with your new skills!

I'm looking forward to starting my new beginner's class next week in Clonakilty.  I only have a few spaces left so don't delay if you feel a calling as this is my last class for 2017.

What some of my students have said about my classes:

'I loved Claire's classes-she emphasised building your skills one bit at a time but within a 'group' focus-so not about  'getting it right' but playing to enjoy playing with the class. This made it a relaxed & fun way to learn something new.  Each week built on the last on so liked that had some songs by the end.'  Angela

'Thoroughly enjoyed the class. Learnt a lot of chords & different strums.  Had fun!'  Lynn Barry

'Really enjoyed the social aspect that went along with learning a new instrument.  Small group was great & really supportive'  Paul Dooley

'Very relaxed environment for me to learn as a real beginner.  Music recordings on dropbox helped me to learn the tune & strum timing.'  Brid O'Mahony

'Claire is a brilliant teacher and the pace is perfect and sending the recordings on dropbox is a great way of practising'.  June Fairhead

What do mother’s need to know about self-care for their highest good?

This month I will be posting every Monday on the topic of 'self-care for mums' on the Solace Holistic Centre facebook parenting page  https://www.facebook.com/groups/312365269119987/

I did an oracle reading using Steven Farmer's 'Earth Magic' deck asking the question
'What do mother's need to know about self-care for their highest good?'

I picked 3 cards
#1 to represent the current situation
#2 obstacles to self-care
#3 steps to take

#1  Volcano-Volatility

Mothers today are under enormous pressure and are at breaking point.  The different strands of fire inside the volcano show all the different directions they are being pulled in.  Mums can only take so much before they expode.  Then there is fall out- rocks are hurled.  It goes almost without saying, that there is a lack of self-care going on!

#2 Lake-Stillness

So what are the obstacles?  There isn’t enough time for stillness- to reflect on our lives, to process what’s going on for us, to have time just to be, to go within, to connect with our core.  To do no-thing.  We are constantly busy…

#3 Green Man-Synergy

So what can we do?  This card is full of greenery.  The green man is associated with trees.  This card is an invitation to spend time in nature.  You don’t have to head off into the wilds- you just need to get outside into the fresh air and head to the nearest patch of greenery. This can be your garden, local park, woods, beach- whatever you have time for.  Frequent short walks can be very nourishing and have a synergist effect i.e. you will feel much better for doing it than you would expect.  When you spend time outside in nature (without being on your phone ;-) ) you can experience stillness and then you will be able to move through your life with greater ease.

It’s important to prioritise this time on your own even if it’s only for 10 or 20 minutes.  If you have no-one to cover for you or you just can’t get out of the house, open the door or window and take 3 deep breaths while looking at a plant or tree.

Let me know how you get on!  Talk to you next week!  

Love and blessings

Claire 

Alan's 12th Birthday Anniversary-Tuesday 10 January 2017

Jamie helps me make the muffins.  His speciality, is checking that the chocolate chips are okay before we add them to the mixture.  Jamie and Cillian, both do extensive tests of the final mixture while I put dollops into the paper cases. 

Gardening tools, flask of hot chocolate and warm muffins and it's off to the graveyard. 

It’s nice being there, the four of us, weeding between the cobbles, pulling out the dandelions and tufts of grass. We leave the moss which fills the spaces with dark green velvet.  As we stand in silent prayer, Jamie digs in his pockets and carefully places a couple of crystals from his collection on the grave.

As we leave the graveyard the light is fading…

Soft pink rustles the top of the polytunnel.  A small airplane drones like a boat engine in the night steaming to the fishing grounds.  Darkness will soon descend on the land.  Purple black clouds clear a space of pink-streaked baby blue.  In the distance through a slit of orange, I see sky mountains maybe an island too, twinning High Island to the north.  The sea is a spectrum of aqua-navy through jade to white.  The sea is loud, crashing the shore.  In the garden, I tuck out of the wind in a dip which subsided where we buried the remains of our shed. I watch a late raven heading to roost.  As I catalogue the sensations of sound and sights and feel the breeze comfort my face, I have this feeling in my heart that I’m not sure what to do with.  I’m slightly beside myself.  Also a questioning; Am I sad enough?  What to do?  Where to put myself?  Part of me wants to lie down on the ground and zone out.  Not be here.  Part of me wants to write something profound.  And in the midst of the inner turmoil of unknowing there is still that slit of light in the sky lighting a white wispy cloud over High Island. It is beautiful and I wouldn’t have seen any of this on a normal day at this time as darkness unfolds and I enter my kitchenly world of artificial light.  And so l lie down on the grass wrapped in a blanket and take the time just to be with what is.

                          Letting Go a Mother's Healing Journey through diaries, poetry and song