We here at White Pine hope you have been enjoying the bounty of late summer – long days, prolifically producing gardens, and cooler mornings and evenings that hint of the approaching autumn.

I have lots of news to share with you in this newsletter:

• Online scheduling

• Web site redesign

• Treatment and herb price changes

• Special discount offer

• Seasonal self-care

• Items of beauty

• Haiku

 I. Online scheduling

We’re excited to announce that soon we’ll be able to offer online scheduling. This service is free to you and it eliminates the need for phone tag to schedule an appointment. Instead, you can schedule yourself when it’s convenient for you, and spend more of your appointment time getting acupuncture – not scheduling acupuncture.

You can sign up to receive confirmation email or text messages and appointment reminders. If something comes up and you need to cancel and reschedule your appointment, you can do that, too! The online scheduler we’re using, Full Slate, is HIPAA compliant, so you can be confident that your information is encrypted and private.

Online scheduling is completely optional. If you still prefer to schedule by phone or at the end of your appointment, you’re welcome to do so. When the system is ready for use, you’ll receive an invitation email from us with a link to the scheduling page. Please let us know what you think about it!

II. Web site redesign

whitepineacupunture.com is getting a facelift! The new redesign will feature an online scheduling link, FAQs about acupuncture, practitioner bios, and haiku by yours truly.

III. Price changes

Effective September 1, 2014 treatment prices will increase to $140 for an initial visit and $80 for a follow-up visit. Prices for certain herbs will marginally change in September, and tax will be included in the new prices. The net result of this change is that some prices will go up, and some will go down.

IV. Special discount offer

In the last newsletter I let you know that Mary Beth Huwe (pronounced “Huey”) would be joining White Pine. She’s here on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays and has already begun to do great work. Her care is excellent, focused, and appropriately nourishing.

I’d love for you to get treatment from Mary Beth; to encourage you to do so, we’re offering a special discount offer of 15% off your first appointment with MB in the months of September and October.(That’s an acupuncture treatment for $68, instead of $80.)

V. Seasonal self-care

Each season belongs to a particular element in Chinese medicine, and late summer is the seasonal embodiment of the earth element. It’s also said that any seasonal transition is an earthy time, because earth is about transformation. This makes sense in terms of the body as well; the organs of the earth element are the digestive organs: the spleen and stomach. Taking food and drink and assimilating them into something that the body can use to thrive is the essence of transformation.

This time of year is a sweet and fleeting one, full of the promise of fall. As the light begins to change and the leaves start to show signs of losing their lush green, it’s normal for people to feel twinges of sadness. Autumn belongs to the metal element, whose chief emotion is grief. Autumn is all about letting go – it’s the ultimate seasonal surrender, and it’s achingly beautiful.

One way to take care of yourself in this time of transition is to pay special attention to the way you’re eating. In high summer, our eating habits change. Notice that the weather is changing: the mornings and evenings become cooler; it’s time to seed fall crops. Consider modifying your diet to meet that change by observing what grows naturally at this time, and inviting those foods into your kitchen.

VI. Items of beauty: Green Turtle Quilts

One of the reasons I love to live in this area is for its beauty: not only the natural beauty that surrounds us daily, but also the beautiful, creative people. I’m including this information here because I love to pass along beautiful things.

Many of you have commented over the years on the beautiful mural painted on the White Pine bathroom wall. The talented artist who painted it, Marie Marcella, recently stopped by to show me her beautiful quilted pillowcases. They are exquisite, so I’m sharing the link to her Etsy site here:http://www.etsy.com/shop/greenturtlequilts

If you know of someone local doing or making something beautiful that you’d like us to share in this newsletter, please contact us.

VII. Sally’s haiku

yellow sun sinking,
leaves sing-songing here and there
landing in between

Thank you, as always, for being a patient of White Pine.

Peace and love,

Sally