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Filling Your Cup – Monday Oracle 16 December 2019
‘In case of emergency, oxygen masks may drop from the ceiling. Please fit and secure your own mask before attempting to assist others. Breathe normally. Oxygen is flowing even if bag does not inflate.’ ~ Every airline safety announcement in the world Hello, Lovelies! December is a month for rest, reconnection and nurture. It asks […]
A Very Hygge Holiday
Be kind to yourself this week while these energies make all of us empaths more sensitive than usual.
I’m Not Ashamed
When I was first diagnosed with neurological incontinence (which comes and goes in me – I last had an attack a few years ago!) I looked everywhere for information and found almost none. It’s something no-one talks about.
Book and Course Creation Boot Camp – NOW OPEN!
“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” ~ Albert Einstein Do you want to write a book*, create a course, build an author or brand platform and generate content or blog posts? (*Non-fiction books will work well, you could even be working on a fiction project and author platform but this is NOT […]
This Blog Post Is Very Short
“There are days when I lose track of time, of place, of everything else, because I’ve been transported to another universe.” ~ Susan Isaacs I sat down to write my blog post, and then, just for a moment, I opened up the document where I am editing my memoir instead. Three hours later I […]
How To Ask For A Sign
“The Universe sets out little signposts for us along the way, to confirm that we’re on the right path.” ~ Michelle Maisto This week’s energies are supportive of connection, communication, signs, breakthroughs and synchronicities (you can read more about that here). But how do you ask for a sign? I recommend that you ask […]
We Got 3 Million Views!!!!
“Use the wings of the flying Universe, Dream with open eyes; See in darkness.” ~ Dejan Stojanovic Goodness! Somehow in the past few days we have reached a new magical number. Three million views. It’s a long way from when I started this blog, thinking no-one would ever read it, and being ecstatic when my […]
I’m on a Plane!
“An airplane crossed the sky, and she imagined its interior-people packed in rows like eggs in a carton, the chemical smell of the toilets, pretzels in foil pouches, cans hiss-popping open, black oval of night sky embedded in the rattling walls. How strange that something so drab, so confined, so stifling with sour exhalations and […]
What to pack?
“Travel brings power and love back into your life.” ~ Rumi Just one more sleep and we’ll be on our way. Our first proper holiday in four years! A friend is staying home at our farm, looking after Nurse Bert and Cafe Dog. Our bags are almost packed, and this time tomorrow we’ll be enjoying […]
We’re nearly at magical 2 Million!
“Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn’t mean to take.” ~ Angela N. Blount, Once Upon an Ever After When I first started blogging, on December 11, 2011, I didn’t expect that anyone would read what I might post. Cauldrons and Cupcakes was an experiment. An online journal in […]
The Winner of the Chlorite Phantom Quartz
“Home is not where you live but where they understand you.” ~ Christian Morgenstern I’m so happy to announce that the winner of this beautiful little Chlorite Phantom Quartz Crystal is: Pauline Longdon Congratulations, Pauline! I know you’ll take good care of her, and I look forward to hearing all about your adventures together. […]
Blog Hijack!
“All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.” ~ Charles M. Schulz This is Bert. Me and my brother Harry have taken over this blog. Writing is dumb. Especially on a very lovely morning of rain and […]
Listening to the Universe…
“Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle, Swiftly Tilting Planet I came home to our little farm tonight. As we drove down the dirt road that leads to our front gate a great weight fell from my shoulders, and I realised that I […]
OMG! One Million Views!!!
“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” ~ Maya Angelou A little over two years ago I began this blog with a humble post about my recipe for Ice-Cream Plum Pudding. (If you never tried it I do urge you to – it’s delicious!) I truly had no idea that […]
Update from Nurse Bert
“Wounding and healing are not opposites. They’re part of the same thing. It is our wounds that enable us to be compassionate with the wounds of others. It is our limitations that make us kind to the limitations of other people. It is our loneliness that helps us to find other people or to even […]
The ‘No Blog’ Blog…
“Sometimes even the mind’s greatest resolve is not enough to conquer the body’s own particular requirements. ~ Nicole Cody Sorry, Lovelies. No blog today. Can’t get out of bed, nor lift my head and everything hurts. Agonisingly so. Thank goodness for my iPad. Still, I am steadfast in walking this path and in my mind […]
Who’s your Support Crew in 2014?
“Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends” ~ John Lennon and Paul McCartney Few of us get there on our own. The journey is always made easier when we have […]
2013 – My Blog in Review
“And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing — writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.” ~ Simon Dumenco It’s hard to believe that two years ago I started my blog with a humble post […]
Living my Sacred Promise
“You protect your being when you love yourself better. That’s the secret.” ~ Isabelle Adjani It’s the final day of Retreat, and I’m profoundly grateful that my body has held up for the duration. Just at dinner last night my Lymey eye began to pulse and pain, and I ended up running our after-dinner channelling session […]
Thank you! We’re Two!!
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” ~ Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul Cauldrons and Cupcakes turns two today. Two years since my first uncertain foray into the world of blogging, with the auspicious post Ice-Cream Plum […]
Life -Disconnected!
“We are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction where we are increasingly disconnected from the people and events around us, and increasingly unable to engage in long-form thinking. People now feel anxious when their brains are unstimulated.” ~ Joe Kraus There was a huge storm here at the farm on Saturday afternoon. The Black Cockatoos […]
Sorry, I didn’t Blog!
“My head aches, my eyes burn, my arms and legs have given up, and my face in the mirror has a grayish cast. The bed, across the room, calls in its unmistakable lover’s croon, Come to me, come, only I can make you truly happy, oh, how happy I’ll make you, don’t resist, remember how […]
World’s Shortest Blog Post
Cuddles with loved ones beats blogging! See you tomorrow 🙂 xoxo
BLoGGing is HArd!
“A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.” ~ Ray Davis Blogging ish hard when: Your eyes don’t work Your brain is on vacation you need tozoom the page to stupid percent magnification to see anything the keyboard for your compuzer seems like a monster swapped it for a foreign langwage. But I’m […]
She’ll be Apples…
“Bean finds the best apple in our tree and hands it up to me. “You know what this tastes like when you first bite into it?” she asks. “No, what?” “Blue sky.” “You’re zoomed.” “You ever eat blue sky?” “No,” I admit. “Try it sometime,” she says. “It’s apple-flavored.” ~ Rodman Philbrick, The Last Book in the […]
Excuses for not blogging…
“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” ~ George Washington There’s a reason why I am not blogging today. Honest! Aliens visited my farm and I needed to make them scones and tea… A giant spider invaded my home town via the disused railway line… I got a bit caught up… […]
My Lazy Sunday
“A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content.” ~ Proverb I had intended to come up with something fabulous for today’s blog. But the truth is all I can think about is making a pot of tea, cracking my knuckles, and sitting down to work on my pirates and fairies story. It’s one of my favourite things […]
Writing Advice that works for Life too!
“Don’t throw it all away, our love, our love. Don’t throw it all away, our love.” ~ The Bee Gees The wonderful thing about good advice is that it’s usually applicable to more than one thing. Yesterday I was reading a great post called 23 Tips from Famous Writers for New and Aspiring Authors. […]
Don’t Let Anyone Sink Your Ship!
“Dreams are difficult to build and easy to destroy.” ~ Seth Godin There is much truth in that quote. No matter how thick-skinned or emotionally resilient we think we are, our dreams – especially when new and tender – are fragile things. Today I want to remind you how important it is to protect those […]
Life without my computer…
At first I wondered how I would cope, but then this happened… Beautiful book. Cup of tea. Sleep. Visits with friends. Hand-written notes for my cookbook project as I snuggled under a doona on a cold, rainy night. And suddenly Sunday was over… Today I see my Lyme Doctor, obtain a raft of new […]
Blogging is redundant
This is what blogging looks like on a rainy cold morning when the dog ate your computer. Hint: Somewhere under the dog and the blanket is me…. (This post proudly brought to you by i-phone.)
Unforseen Technical Issues
This blog is temporarily out of service due to unforseen technical issues. Live updates are being brought to you via i-phone. A certain dog is in deep, deep trouble…. Again. Normal blogging will resume when new power pack has been sourced. Thank you for your understanding at this difficult time.
The Patient should be Sleeping
“It is an awful thing to be betrayed by your body. And it’s lonely, because you feel you can’t talk about it. You feel it’s something between you and the body. You feel it’s a battle you will never win . . . and yet you fight it day after day, and it wears you […]
‘Mum’s sleeping!’ by Guest Bloggers Bert & Harry
“Sleep is the best meditation.” ~ Dalai Lama Mum’s sleeping. But she hates to miss posting her blog, so we are writing one for her. We’ve had enough of napping! There is a pesky lizard that keeps swimming in our water bowl. This is a picture of him. A naughty bird keeps stealing our biscuits. Here […]
This post brought to you by Randall…
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” ~ Roald Dahl Hi. I’m Randall. I live in Nicole’s garden, and I keep an eye on things for her. I’ve given […]
Please Vote for Me and My Blog!
“Friends… they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams.” ~ Henry David Thoreau Hello Lovelies! I have a favour to ask of you. You see, I have entered my little blog, Cauldrons and Cupcakes, in the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competition. One of the categories allows people to […]
What my day looks like…
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…….. Normal blogging interrupted due to uncontrollable napping.
How a Garden Can Teach You To Be More Creative
“Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes.” ~ Author Unknown Gardening is a seasonal thing. There are tasks to do in every season, but Summer tasks can’t be easily undertaken in Winter and Winter tasks aren’t so suited to the Spring. What does this have to do with creativity you may ask? Why, […]
We All Have Days Like That…
“I don’t understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little – if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that’s the day she has a date with destiny. And it’s best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.” ~ Coco Chanel Ah, it’s inevitable, isn’t […]
Everyday Blessings
“Sometimes it happens that you become one, in some rare moment. Watch the ocean, the tremendous wildness of it–and suddenly you forget your split, your schizophrenia; you relax. Or, moving in the Himalayas, seeing the virgin snow on the Himalayan peaks, suddenly a coolness surrounds you and you need not be false because there is […]
I could have been blogging…
but my brain doesn’t work right. So instead of blogging I’ve been meditating… napping… eating my own body weight in greenery… consuming medicinal concoctions that taste, let’s just say, questionable… talking to Upstairs… napping some more… and generally just lazing about. Thanks for your kind thoughts and healing energies. They mean so much to me. […]
The Terrible Dream
I’m not usually one for bad dreams. Weird dreams? Sure. And I’ve had more than my fair share of prophetic dreams. But outright scary and disturbing dreams are usually thin on the ground at my house. So what form did last night’s dream take? Well, no-one I loved died, the world didn’t end, aliens didn’t […]
The Needs Of The Few
A revered philosopher (Spock in Startreck II – Wrath of Khan) once said that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one, as Captain Kirk so handily pointed out. So what does this have to do with today’s blog? As I sat down to write this morning’s post, I […]
Cups of Tea and Connection – A Challenge!
“A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.” ~ Douglas Pagels Today I have a small challenge for you. It will only take five minutes, although you’re welcome to spend longer. My challenge goes like this: Take 5 minutes out of your […]
2012 in review – Thanks WordPress!
So much can happen in a year. I feel humbled and honoured to have shared my journey with you over the last twelve months, and I look forward to many more shared adventures together in 2013. Thanks for your friendship and support. Wishing you all things fabulous for the year ahead. Bless ♥ Nicole xx The […]
Come sit with me
Come sit with me. There’s nothing to be done about this blog. The power’s out since last night’s storm, and all I have is my iphone. Who can be bothered writing an epic on an iphone? So come sit. You can play with the puppy, watch the cows, listen to the rustle of the early […]
I’m a Star! Blog of the Year Award 2012
I’ve been honoured today with another blogging gong. The lovely Lorna of Lorna’s Tearoom Delights has bestowed upon me the Blog of the Year Award 2012. I do hope you go visit Lorna’s blog – it’s full of deliciousness, and she’s a dear Soul with lots of everyday wisdom and crackingly good photography on her […]
We’re One! My Blog’s First Anniversary ♥
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss Wow. That came around fast. Today marks the first birthday of my blogging career – a whole year of sharing words, images and my crazy life. Who ever knew it could […]
The Excitement of Going Home
“Home is where the heart is.” ~ JOSEPH C. NEAL I’m going home today – home to my own little farm. After too much time in the big city, with bags barely unpacked from my Thailand adventure, I am finally going home. Somehow, when I wasn’t paying attention, Summer arrived. Somehow Christmas snuck up. I’ve been […]
And the Winner is…
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ~ Melody Beattie As my final November gesture to celebrate all […]
Animal Messengers – Your Sunday Psychic Oracle
“Lots of people talk to animals…. Not very many listen, though…. That’s the problem.” ~ Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh The Animal Kingdom contains a wealth of wisdom, and today we are going to tap into that wisdom, to find a message relevant to us in our daily lives right now. I was inspired […]
Win a Healing Necklace, Made Especially For You!
This is the final week of my blog supporter love-up, and I’ve saved the best ’til last. So far the beautiful Anita has won the every.day.presence book by Simone De Haas. This week Tammy of onelittlestranger wins a crystal just for her, chosen and channelled by me. Congratulations, Tammy! I shall be delving through my […]
Win a Crystal, Chosen Just for You!
Last week I announced that in honour of the unexpected success of Cauldrons and Cupcakes, and my wonderful readers, I would give away three prizes. The first was this beautiful little book by Simone de Haas, titled every.day.presence – and the winner is Anita! Congratulations, Anita. This week I am giving you an opportunity to win […]
Book Giveaway and a Big Thank You!
“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” ~ Hermann Hesse Life brings so many unexpected surprises. My blog, and how it has been received in the world is one of them for me. This month I shall reach 250 000 hits for […]
Loving my dinged up life-battered Self – Part 1
We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~ Joseph Campbell Don’t you love how Life gives you those aha moments? I’m in the middle of one right now. It’s going to be that kind of week, I think. For […]
Will you do something for me today?
Will you do something for me today? Hug the ones you love. Tell them you love them. If they aren’t close enough to hug, pick up the phone and let them know you care. Take a minute, stop, and just appreciate this gift of life. Smell the roses. That’s why they’re there. Look after yourself. […]
Ghostly Messages and Weird Confirmations…
Most of you probably know that I’m a bit of a writing bender right now. I hadn’t expected to embark on a new project; I have two finished manuscripts to edit, workshop notes to write, and some courses to finish. And of course I’ve started on my second novel with my husband. This bender came […]
Public Service Announcement
Ah-hem… Am I on camera? “Hello.” “This is a Public Service Announcement.” Authorised by me. Bert. Nicole’s Personal Assistant. “Nicole is writing. Not blog writing. Other writing. So we apologise for this interruption to the blogging process. Normal blogging will resume tomorrow.” “We thank you for your co-operation and understanding.” Sigh. Did I do that […]
Please excuse me…
Some of you might have read recently about my use of affirmations (My embarrassing affirmation confession), so you’ll know that one of my favourites is ‘Something wonderful will happen to me today…’ So that was exactly what I was affirming to myself this morning, from the comfort of my nice warm bed, around 4 am, […]
Asking for a Sign
Have you ever wondered if there’s anyone listening? To your prayers, your meditations, your calls for help or inspiration… Did you know that you can ask for a sign? This is not a technique to be misused, but rather something to be done with serious intent – an action that calls for a response, an […]
My ‘One Lovely Blog’ Award
One of the things I’ve come to love about the blogging community is their generosity of spirit, their ability to connect us, one to another, and the crazy amount of awards that are out there for us to show our gratitude and appreciation to one another. I’ve recently been nominated for the One Lovely Blog […]
Bert says sorry…
Hello, I’m Bert, Nicole’s trusty secretary… And I’d like to say sorry. You see Nicole wouldn’t play with me this morning. I tried my best to look fetching, but she kept ignoring me. I even tried emotional manipulation… But she was still ignoring me! When she went to do her yoga stretches that was […]
What does Happiness look like to you?
In our age of overwork, stress, social isolation, time pressure and exhaustion, it is increasingly important to know what fills you back up again, what makes you smile, what brings joy and happiness into your life. What does happiness look like to you? If you don’t know, make it your mission to find out, and […]
Knowing When to Walk Away
“Sometimes walking away has nothing to do with weakness, and everything to do with strength. We walk away not because we want others to realise our worth and value, but because we finally realise our own.” ~ Robert Tew You know the old saying I am sure. The definition of madness (some actually say stupidity) […]
My third Blog Award – The Sunshine Award
I’ve been nominated for the Sunshine Award by a lovely blogger! The rules of this Blog Award are: Include the Award’s logo in a post or on your blog . Answer 10 questions about yourself. Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have […]
My second blogging gong – The Very Inspiring Blogger Award
The lovely danLrene from Work the Dream has nominated me for The Very Inspiring Blogger award. Thanks Deb! You’re a wonderful inspiration. I’m honoured, and truth be told, a little mystified that in the 89 days since I’ve started this blog I’ve had more than 23 000 hits already. Thank you, everyone, for supporting me, and […]
My first Blog Award – ‘The Versatile Blogger’
I received a nomination for my first ever blog award. A bit of a shock considering I’ve only been blogging for a fortnight, but what a wonderful way to start 2012. I was nominated by the writer of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars, a blog that celebrates two things dear to my heart; the […]