Journey on a Train

Life is like a journey on a train. With its stations, with changes of routes...and with accidents!

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and we believed they would always travel on our side.

However, at some station our parents step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone.

As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. our siblings, friends. children, and even the love of our life.

Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum.

Others will go so unnoticed that we don't realize that they have vacated their seats!

This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells.

Success consists of having a good relationship with all passengers...requiring that we give the best of ourselves.

The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down.

So, we must live in the best way - love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty -- we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

I wish you a joyful journey for the coming year on the train of life.

Reap success and give lots of love.

More importantly, be thankful for the journey!

Lastly, I thank you for being one of the passengers on my train!

-author unknown

Hallie and Bob Cargnoni

In the Spirit of Adventure

Silence isn't really our style, but I promise it has only been quiet around here because Corinne is off on another one of her Suitcase Summer Travels...all in the spirit of adventure. The Cargnoni family has been road-tripping their way through the country, with their final destination being Staunton, Illinois. Of course, the bracelet making in the car is a must.

Healing Knots Hits the Road

Golden Oreos (we call them "The Whites") are a staple in the Healing Knots diet

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Also in the spirit of adventure, Lindsey and Nancy sent us these gorgeous photos of their knots in Aruba. Love the pics and take us with you next trip!

Weekend in The Big Easy!!

Last weekend was one of those sweet surprises. All of the stars lined up and Bob and I got to hop in the car and meet a dear friend in New Orleans.

Sissy and I have been fast friends since 9^th grade. WOW, don’t stop and count the years but that is up there with a couple of 3 decades or more.

Well, the two of us not only suffered through driver’s education together…we also ended up at Florida State for a couple of years so our chapters go on and on. 

Weddings, children, and all of those life chapters have unfolded and now we find ourselves with a lot of really funny memories and stories that could fill a novel.  I am certain Oprah would put it on her list of “favorite summer reads!”

Sissy and Steve

So Sissy has started dating this new guy…and I reported to her that none of this can continue unless I meet him and give him my long list of questions to see if he passes the test of actually being her “boyfriend.” So we have been working on meeting in the middle of Alabama and Texas since last spring.

Sometimes it takes these small and crazy comments to actually put the ball in motion. Ironically, my son’s girlfriend’s mother (did you follow that…it gets worse) works with someone whose mother owns an apartment in New Orleans. The best part of that confusing line of connections is that both of the women are also named Nancy…so the magical Nancy connection lands us an apartment in the French Quarter for the weekend.

If you know me, you know I will pack a suitcase and hit the road in a moments notice...and Sissy is the same!!! So last Thursday Bob and I hit the road. The best part of this story is that when I finished getting the details from Nancy (the generous apartment owner) I happened to include that I have this company…we make bracelets ..and I want to make you a bracelet to thank you for sharing your special place in New Orleans. Now I send these little notes to people often when I feel that they are extending a gift to me and I want to repay them…and I am always a tiny bit nervous. I know that everyone is not into the “healing knots” mission. So, I send the note and know that sometimes it is met with silence and sometimes it is met with a new friend that has a place in her heart for what we are doing here with Healing Knots. Nancy happen to be one of those people that fell in love with what Healing Knots stands for. She sent me a note back that gave me chills. She wanted to order bracelets for her friends that were going through tough times, friends that had lost a dear family member and friends at work that were facing loss. It was so beautiful. This tiny moment that two hearts came together not…knot!!!...knowing that we had kindred spirits. The Healing Knots circle just keeps growing. Simple wooden beads with knots on elastic that can touch your heart and tell your story. It will forever make me smile. 

A rare moment where the mouths were closed and the constant gabbing took a rest

We love New Orleans and we both love sharing Healing Knots. So not only have I had a chance to see an “old” friend, meet her new love…I have also made a new friend.

Oh, this is a summer of travel, bracelets and amazing memories.

Thank you Nancy for an amazing stay in your “Lily Pad.”

I hope your bracelet makes you as happy as my weekend in New Orleans made me.

Corinne, Sissy and Steve

AND…..Sissy we love your new beau.  Steve is amazing and rocks his “knots!”

Happy summer, pack your suitcase and go find new friends.  They are out there!

Treasure Necklaces: 4th of July

The 4th of July treasure necklaces are completed and waiting for you at Sanctuary in Austin. Get these limited edition Healing Knots necklaces just in time for hot dogs, fireworks, and lake celebrations.

Happy Friday!

Grant Avenue Run

I captured the following memory as I sat on the back porch of Barbara's cabin.

When I was in Boulder last week, I went for an early morning run. Laced up my shoes and put on a jacket, for a Texas girl to wear a jacket in June is a strange occurrence and you know you are not in Texas!!

As I left the cozy neighborhood of cabins I headed down Grant Avenue. This name reminded me of my good college friend Cheryl Grant.

The road kept going and going.  Gorgeous homes, tiny little sweet houses – great front porches with flowerpots and chairs. Porches that are used and that people live on to enjoy their breathtaking scenery and perfect weather in the summer. 

The yards are small but the trees are so large and the flowers so bright that you get lost in each one and they feel large and magical.  Everyone is out walking.  Men, women, young and old.

Getting outside is required because who could miss another glorious day in a place that feels this special. The mountains hold you in this safe blanket of wonder and respect. I get to the end of the street and there is a cemetery. An old, gorgeous cemetery. I find the gate and step in –

It is actually inviting. The headstones date back to the 1800’s. Names, dates, families, prayers, blank stones, big trees. You know that every person that is there had a story. Something that only they did in their lifetime. And that they left other loved ones behind that love them, remember them and miss them.

And for this moment – I am comfortable with death.

Because at some point we must accept this and embrace that it will happen and be okay with all of what comes with it. I can read these names and conjure up pictures of “Mother,” “Daughter,” “Father.”

What will be placed on that stone?

What does it hold for the living?

Will we ever know? Will we ever be able to say?

“At Rest” is on one of the stones.  That is all.

Let that sit in a place that brings you comfort. 

Oh, I want it to be true. Maybe – the “at rest” is for our hearts. Maybe our heart will be at rest with the pain, longing and sadness that still comes crashing down on us at times. The tears that are gone and then one day you are reminded by a song, a memory, a smell, an old story. Oh, I guess this is the price we pay for love and loving another.

This is the price we pay for living. And those of us that are left behind, while some are “at rest.”

We are left to face these days, the “rest” of our lives without them. At times it can be done and other times it feels impossible.

We are frozen in the reality of missing them. And we must keep moving on without them. Good days, sad days and sometimes, just days. Today, I felt at peace with death.

I think it is a tiny step of healing.

Adventure Girl

If I could be a Super Hero….I would be “Adventure Girl.”

Always on the search for a new adventure…to see a new place, meet a new friend, find a new way to live life.

Well, “adventure” knocked on my door last week…and I answered, “Yes!”

My neighbor across the street needed someone to drive her car and her dog to her family’s cabin in Boulder, Colorado. She had just had knee surgery 6 weeks earlier and her doctor was not a fan of her making the trek. The two of us were brainstorming what her options could be, who did I know that could brave the two days on the road to get her dog and car to her safely?

And Barbara, my neighbor, got a big smile on her face and said….“YOU… Corinne, how about an all-expense paid trip to Boulder???”

OH MY! I have always wanted to visit her in Colorado and kids, work, plane tickets had always gotten in the way. But, this felt like a great way to help her and also have my very favorite thing….an Adventure!

So last Wednesday morning I packed my bags and beads in her car, loaded Laurie (her dog!!) in the backseat and we were off.

The two of us flying solo down the road.  No schedule, no worries, just wide-open road and blue skies.

The weather was perfect and we were two free spirits. 

It is a special time in your life when an invitation to drive alone with a dog for 2 solid days feels like a gift. The timing was perfect and this opportunity felt like a dream come true.

The hours passed, the road names changed, Laurie slept and I just enjoyed the peace and quiet.

I just drove.

It was so peaceful, quiet and calm.

An 18-wheeler with "Keith" on the back of it

We made it to Amarillo for the first night, checked into our hotel, had dinner and went to sleep.  Laurie wandered around the hotel room most of the night realizing that I was not her “mother” and we were not at home. Not great sleep for either of us, so we crawled back into the car really early and got back to business...driving.

Watching the sunrise on the barren west Texas landscape was breathtaking and magical.  It was a new day and we were on adventure again!

Laurie was now going to sleep another day until we pulled into a familiar driveway – food, water and bathroom breaks were being ignored. She was on strike. I was on Adventure.

I drove and drove – the landscape was empty, dry and stark. It felt safe and still. Nothing living out there it was just rocks, dirt, tumbleweed and road ahead of us.

Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and we kept going.

The mountains appeared about the 7^th hour of our drive that day. It began to feel like we were entering a painting. So gorgeous, so tall, amazing art that was framing us.

Making us feel so small.

We pulled into Barbara’s driveway around 6:00pm. Laurie magically comes back to life – all organs functioning and ready for food.

Barbara and Laurie reunited in Boulder, CO

I step out of the car onto the lush green grass and feel the power and beauty of the mountains welcoming us home. So tall, so strong, all around us.

Adventure complete.

2 days of solitude.

Dog, bracelets, and a long road ahead of us. Time to just daydream and be still. I hope you get some time alone this summer and an invitation for adventure.  There are no words – just space and time with yourself.

It is so refreshing.

Thank you Barbara for my magical adventure of 2 days of driving to the mountains. I am refreshed.