Sinéad O'connor ~ "Thank you for hearing me" (from the CD, "Universal Mother")

Five~leafed Clover

Ever wonder what a five-leafed clover means? Well, hubby had just found one in our backyard today ...

Pretty cool, right? I, myself, have never actually seen one until now. In superstition, a five-leafed clover is even luckier than a four-leafed one and is said to bring even more abundance, prosperity and wealth.  Hmm, I like that idea ~ LOL!

Have a safe (and prosperous) weekend everyone!!!

Fun Friday ~ So get out there and dance!

In Memory of Robin Gibb ~ "I Started a Joke"

This video of Robin Gibb from the timeless trio, "The Bee Gees" singing the very beautiful song, "I Started a Joke" is in loving memory of, in my opinion anyway, one of the best lyrical artist of our time. Even though I dare say that I still love the music they had written during the Disco era for "Saturday Night Fever,"I  also strongly  feel that it is such a shame that The Bee Gees were,  for the most part, only remembered for being the Kings of Disco music. For long before they were considered that, they wrote and sang some of the best music of the 60's and 70's!

 

"Massachusetts" ~ The Bee Gees

http://youtu.be/AbkbGF27JyY

I must admit, of all of the wonderful artist we have been saying "good-bye" to lately, this one actually did bring a few tears to my eyes. The world has truly lost one of the best!

Getting ready for Canada ... again

Well, it is almost time for hubby and I to travel to Ontario, Canada again with my in-law's. This time; however, we will be driving to New York, then New York to Ontario, and THEN we are going to be jumping on a little cruise ship for a few days. Should be interesting to say the least since I have never taken this sort of trip before.

I wasn't really sure if I was going to go this year as it is getting harder to be away from my parents for any length of time with my dad having such terrible medical issues and getting worse. To be quite honest, I am still not very comfortable leaving the States under these circumstances. Not to mention that we have three cats and a rabbit for whom we have to find someone to take care of while we are away.

"Auntie" Judy giving Midnight some love

My extremely wonderful and caring friend "Auntie Judy" has once again agreed to take care of them for us! Judy is the perferct pet-sitter as she is as crazy about her furr babies as we are about ours and insists on stopping over at our house once a day to feed them, clean their litter boxes and rabbit cage, and she genuinely takes the time to give them the extra love and attention they need. Believe me, this is A LOT to ask of anyone, most especially someone who works full time as I do and has to literally make the time to do this! I am indeed grateful to her for everything she has done and will do again. Judy, you're truly the best!!!

I have promised her that this will be the very last time that, even though she is always such a good egg about it, I will ask her to do this as I feel that it is not fair to count on her every year. And so I have decided that this will be the last time that I will be doing any kind of traveling of this sort ~ atleast for a long, long while.

I also know that I am very blessed to have such loving in-laws who have, in the past three years, given hubby and I the opportunity to go places and see things that we most probably would never be able to afford to experience ~ such as a Hamilton, Bermuda cruise and enjoying a beautiful, relaxing cabin in Ontario, Canada for a week. Perhaps someday, my life will be a bit less complicated with a lot less responsibilities. Hmm, one can only hope! LOL!!

Better late than never ...

Every year for as long as I can remember, my friend Judy-B and I  have exchanged Christmas/Yule gifts. The problem is that we do not get to see each other as often as we used to and so we usually end up giving our gifts to one another long after the holidays are over. Well, this year our gifts were five months late!

I gave her a friendship picture frame which I had bought for her while visiting Canada last year and she graciously gave me some wonderful bath and body products from "Yves Rocher" ...

Orange and Almond Fruits Noel shower gel, Tendre Jasmin perfume, Pur Desir de Lilac shower gel and body lotion

... and an adorable little ceramic kitten playing with a stocking ornament for my Yule tree this year. Thanks, Judy! I love everything!

Like I said, better late than never, eh?  LOL!!

Belated Mother's Day Dinner ...

Well, what can I say? It is getting increasingly harder to be able to get both my parents and my hubby's parents together for even a simple little ole Mother's Day Dinner, but we managed it none~the~less! LOL!

These are some pics we had taken from our "Belated" Mother's Day Dinner tonight at a recently-opened Seafood Shanty in our area...

(L-R) ~ Brett's dad Pete and his mom Dawn, my mom Elrita, my dad Bill and Brett outside of Seafood Shanty

As you all can see, we had a GREAT time getting the families together!!!

Farewell Donna Summer

Sadly, one of my all-time favorite singers whom I especially adored in my teens, passed away earlier this past week at the early age of 63 from lung cancer (although our local news reports originally said that it was breast cancer?) . She will always be a "one-of-a-kind" performer with her catchy hits and unmistakable voice which transcended far beyond the Disco years. Songs such as "MacArthur Park," "Hot Stuff," "On the Radio," "Love to Love You Baby," and "Last Dance" just to name a few were only a mere example of her extradinary talent! I know that she will be greatly missed by so many inlcuding me!

Fun Friday ~ Have some Heart

"Dog and Butterfly"

"Dreamboat Annie"

http://youtu.be/dOyNcTvZgDU

Still singing their timeless hits with their still amazing voices are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. Love them!!! And if you enjoy the music of "Heart," I think their CD "The Road Home" is a wonderful attestment to their brilliant talent <3

"Alone" (live)

http://youtu.be/W52PP3lYlUs

HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND ALL!!!!

The Sea

The Sea

She moves through the night

With beauty and grace

Her movements take flight

'Tis a wondrous place

Her waves so blue

She suddenly stirs

And befriending you

Are the neroids and "mers"

She feeds the soul

And soothes the heart

Seas' ancient lull

Though tides apart

~ Lady Caer Morganna

(image credit: Brett Witycyak, my hubby took this pic from Hamilton, Bermuda)

Hindsight ...

Recently I have come to the realization that the older I am getting, the more I tend to look back on my past.  You know, thinking a lot about the things that I would change if I could ~ and also the things in which I wouldn't.

But you know what they say about hindsight being twenty-twenty, right? Please don't get me wrong, I am not dwelling on the things I can never change about my life, just reflecting a lot lately. I don't know what it is about growing older that seems to force us to look at oursleves differently ~ atleast it has for me.  Perhaps it is because we seem to become a bit more sensitive or "mellowed out" with age, or even more likely it is just part of our natural life cycle in our Crone stage (or the Sage stage for men) which makes us  grow much more older and wiser through our personal experiences?

In any case, thinking that I should have turned left instead of right or taken the long way about instead of the short cut doesn't make much sense to me. In fact, all it does is make us go backward in our life rather than forward. All we can do is be the absolute best person we can be and make the best decisions we possibly can knowing what we know NOW. The rest is history and learning from it is the most important thing we can hope for ourslves and for others.

Blessed be to all ~

Kim
)O(


(image credit: Brett Witycyak from Ontario, Canada)

Breast Cancer Benefit & Happy Mother's Day!

Last night was a great success! My friend Jerry raised over $2,000 for Laurie's unpaid medical expenses. One-hundred of our friends showed up in support and my friend Judy-B and I had gotten to see so many of our old friends whom we have not seen in ages! GREAT JOB, Jerry! We are all so very proud of you!

 There was a buffet of hot and cold food, live music with two awesome bands, and free fun for all. Here are some pics from last night ...

"The Gang" ~Judy-B, me & Laurie

Judy 'n' our friend Jerry

with Kiki-girl

Friends Judy-B, Chris, and Ed

Hubby won a prize gift certificate for a free large pizza at Tony's Pizza

The AWESOME band "HY-Jynx"!!!

 

Also, I would like to say "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY" to all the mommies out there, whether they be "mommy" mommies or "furr baby" mommies!!!! LOL!

Fun Friday ~ Love that Lenny!!!

"Are You Gonna Go My Way?"

I was born long ago
I am the chosen,
 I'm the one
I have come to save the day
And I won't leave until I'm done
So, that's why
you've got to try
You got to breathe and have some fun
Though I'm not paid,
 I play this game
And I won't stop until I'm done
But what I really want to know is
Are you gonna go my way?
And I got to, Got to know
I don't know why
We always cry
This we must leave and get undone
We must engage
and rearrange
And turn this planet back to one
So, tell me why
We got to die
And kill each other one by one
We've got to hug
 and rub a dub
We've got to dance and be in love
But what I really want to know is
Are you gonna go my way ?
And I got to, Got to know

"It Ain't Over Till It's Over"

http://youtu.be/TmENMZFUU_0

Have an awesome weekend all!!!!

My sister, the Zen Witch

Allow me, if you will please, to tell you all a little bit about my sister, Bliss (although some of you may know her by her Wiccan name, Willow from previous posts).  You see, Bliss is a Zen Witch. Now first of all, I certainly don't pretend to know everything about Buddhism (or Wicca for that matter), but for the purposes of this post I shall try to explain to you exactly what a Zen Witch is. A Zen Witch, quite simply, is someone who practices Buddhism while also embracing certain aspects of Paganism/Wicca by incorporating both into their spiritual path. 

Going back quite a few years ago, I first met Bliss while working together for the same company. Neither one of us were following any path in particular at that time, but we soon realized that we were searching for something for years that we could never put our finger on or a name to.  Finally, we both discovered Wicca and began studying and practicing every single day. Although we considered ourselves Solitary practitioners by definition, we very much enjoyed celebrating the Wiccan sabbats together. After all, we already had a very close friendship between us and Wicca was something that we shared passionately.

She later moved away from PA with her now hubby of many years and eventually felt a strong connection to Buddhism along the way. A couple of years ago, she finished her Wiccan studies and found that the combination of her Buddhist beliefs and her Wiccan background were a wonderful combination.

Personally speaking, I can understand why. Although I admittedly have very limited knowledge of the Buddhist way, Bliss had explained to me some of the "basics" of the Buddhist life after which I could also see many similarities between the two belief systems.

Even though she has never cared much for "titles", she does very much indeed consider herself a Zen Witch at heart. "Zen Witch" ~ I really do love that name, and she wears it well!

A little PA Dutch for you ...

As some of you may already know, I am the daughter of a Pennsylvania Dutch family and; therefore, grew up hearing quite a few different words and phrases as a child. For better or for worse, I have heard these words so many times over the years that I could never forget them or their meanings even if I tried! LOL!!!

Here are just a few words and their meanings (as best I could define them in English, that is) that I still remember to this day ...

Wilkum (vill-come) - welcome (pretty obvious, right)
Katz (kaatz) - cat
Hount (huunt) - dog
Furschtain (fersh-stane) - understand
"Du bischt?" (doo bish-t) - "How are you?" or "How be you?"
Kum esse (coom-essa) - come eat!
"Cumst du here" (comest do here) - "come you here"
Dunna wetter (doon-ah-wetter) - bad weather
Dopick (dopp-ic) - clumsy
Schuslik (shuss-lick) - this describes someone who is carelessly rushing and not taking their time.
Wunanosik (woon-ah-nosick) - nosey
Umlikelick (umm-like-lic) - stubborn or bull-headed
"Du Gut in himmel" (do gutt in himmel) - "Dear God in heaven"
Schlek (sh-leck) - junk ( as in "junk food")
Die musik (dee musick) - the music
Peensik (pean-sick) - fussy or picky person
Daresent (dare-sent) - better not or "dare not"

And, of course, perhaps the strangest phrase of all and one that every PA Dutch child has heard growing up:

"Kanst du mikka funga?" ("Caan-st do micka fung-ah")
("Can you catch flies?")

"Ya, wusse hukabliba!" ("Yaa, vussie huck-a-blibe-ah!")
("Yes, when they sit still!")

Yes, I suppose you could say that my childhood was a tad "different" to say the least? LOL!!!

Into the Mystic ~ Just Beautiful

Friends with Benefits ...

The other day, my long-time, dearest friend Judy-B contacted me on Facebook about a good friend of ours named Laurie whom we have both known for many years now. She told me about an up-coming benefit that one our friends, Jerry, will be having for Laurie. Laurie was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Since her insurance does not cover all of her medical expenses, Jerry decided to host a "Poker Run & Benefit Party" next Saturday for her.

Count us in!!! My mother battled breast cancer a few years back and, fortunately, her doctor caught it early enough that she only lost a portion of her breast and gained (thank the Devine Goddess) many more years of her life so far.

One of my favorite pics of Judy-B, my sister and twin soul Judy (Rhiannon), and me circa 2002 

It's been quite a few years since Judy-B and I have seen Laurie and I am only too happy to be able to be there for her in one way or another. We are currently trying to round up all of our friends and family to join us as well.

Fun Friday ~ Flower Power

Happy Friday everyone!!! Even though I was born in the 60's and the music I listened to growing up was pretty much from the 70's era, I always considered myself a bit of a Flower Child at heart. I thought I would share these two really cool vid's from the movie soundtrack to "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."  I love the Madonna song, "Beautiful Stranger" and the other song is R.E.M.'s version of the song, "Draggin' the Line" which is an excellent remake actually!!!

"Draggin' the Line"

http://youtu.be/CsV0V5YHQXc

Here's wishing everyone a fabulous weekend, Baby!!!

Huge Hugs, Stacy and more "Thank You's!"

Be still, my heart! After I had gotten home from work today, I received the most special surprise gift from my friend Stacy of MagicLoveCrow!!!  A gorgeous Zen Lady original piece of art from the very talented Simona Cordara of her site Timeless Rituals, compliments of sweet Stacy of course, and a card with an adorable owl on it!! This could not have come at a better time as I have been feeling a bit melancholy as of late. Thank you so very much, Stacy! I LOVE my mermaid and can't wait to frame her!!!

And do you remember my friend and reiki client, Britnee and her awesome daughter Kylie? Kylie is the owner of Neicy, the cutie pie kitty cat that I sat for about a month ago.  Well, today she e-mailed me some very cool pics of Neicy and the girls ...

Neicy 'n' Kaley (Kylie's baby sister) enjoying the view from the front door

My Kylie-girl posing as a little diva! LOL!

I love this one!!

I feel so very blessed to have such wonderful, caring, loving people surrounding me! It is times such as these that make me realize that life is good!!

Love and Blessings to all ~

Kim