Update on Leo ...

Just a quick update on Leo's condition, but first off I would like to sincerely thank my dear friend Jan for her very caring comments on my last post about Leo - I very much appreciate her kind words of concern for my little guy.

Now for the update from our vet. We took Leo in yesterday afternoon and they took some urine from him via catheter which allowed them to detect blood in it that was not visible to the naked eye normally. They are keeping him under observation and performing some more tests and we are allowed to pick him up sometime tomorrow night. They said that they found crystals in his urine and therefore have diagnosed him with Crystalluria.

He will most likely be on special prescription wet food (WD for cats) for the rest of his life and, just like F.U.S., we will have to keep constant watch to make sure that the blockage does not come back again. 

Poor Leo ...

Poor Leo, he is not well. He has been having trouble urinating. We had him to the vet and the vet ruled out F.U.S. (Feline Urological Syndrome) so is it a kidney problem or perhaps a urinary tract infection?? He kept me up the last two nights and this morning he threw up twice in his cage after eating. And to make matters worse, add to the fact that he does not particularly like me for whatever reason and so it is hard to get near him.

As is usually the case ("Murphy's Law"?) this had to happen over a holiday weekend and so there are no vets open until at least Tuesday! The emergency vets here are far too expensive and usually do not do much for the animal anyhow because they are only supposed to be a "quick fix" until you can get back to your family vet. And all you are left with is a rip-off vet bill for a few hundred dollars and your pet is most likely no better off than they were before you took them. At least, that has been my experience. Personally speaking, I would rather my OWN vet handle any expensive tests and/or procedures. We will try to get him checked out ASAP this week when our vet is open and available. Keeping our fingers crossed he will be okay and that it is nothing very serious. Truthfully, I have had quite ENOUGH sickness and death so far this year to last me a lifetime! 

Memorial Day: Honoring the sacrifices made and Remembering Those Left Behind ...

The Cat Cottage: Who needs a vacuum cleaner?

Just wanted to share an old video of my beloved Midnight from my other blog, "The Cat Cottage." Until just recently, I had forgotten that I had taken it! 

The Cat Cottage: Who needs a vacuum cleaner?: This is a little video clip of Midnight doing his "burying" thing I spoke about. I have never seen a cat do this before and I hav...

This and That & a Throwback Thursday ...

Happy Thursday my dear friends! Hope all is well with all of you. First of all, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of you for your kind and thoughtful prayers and condolences in regards to my beloved cousin's passing. Your words meant more to me than you could ever know. You are all truly special to me!

Just another little update from Dark Elf. He has been spending some enjoyable time with the very good friends who he recently moved in with a couple of weeks ago. Last week they took a nice trip to Neah Makrie, a beautiful beach area right outside of Athens ...

Dark Elf kicking back and relaxing on the beach

Through Skyping with Dark Elf, I have had the much fortunate pleasure to get to know his friends better as well. One of our friends allowed Dark Elf to borrow a favorite book of his called, "Nocturnal Witchcraft" written by renowned Pagan author Konstantinos. It sounded so interesting that I also decided to order it through Amazon books. I received it in the mail this past Monday and I plan to begin reading it this weekend.

)o(     )o(     )o(     )o(     )o(     )o(     )o(     )o(     )o(

An old pic of my sister, Rhiannon (on left) singing live with the band, "Second Effort" (Jeremy's dad and I are accompanying her on backing vocals).

)o(  Until next time, Brightest Blessings! )o(

In memory of Jeremy ...

I would truly have loved to make my own video using this song which was one of my cousin Jeremy's favorite songs that he used to perform many years back. It would have been awesome to add all my many, many album pics for this song, but unfortunately I am extremely "technologically impaired" and do not know how to make a video for YouTube. So, Jeremy, this one is for YOU! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. 

(Jeremy & wife Chris)

A sad goodbye and a celebration of life

Sadly, I lost my cousin, dear friend, and musical companion, Jeremy, in a terrible truck accident early Thursday morning while driving his rig making a work delivery. It was extremely unexpected and untimely as he was only 43 years old. 

Jeremy was my cousin through marriage but it made little difference as I could not have adored him more. His father was married for 10 years to one of my blood relatives and I never had the chance to actually get to know Jeremy until I began singing publicly via karaoke where he helped run shows. Later on, I ended up singing with his father's band at gigs and open mic nights. On rare occasions, I had the wonderful opportunity to sing and play with him during live gigs. Jeremy was a sweet, loyal, good person who would do anything to help his family and friends. We saw each other through a great deal of situations and I will be forever grateful to have had him my life! 

He was brought up into a very musical family (his brother is a professional tap dancer and dance instructor who currently lives in New York) and he learned at a very young age how to dance, sing, and play guitar and drums. The thing that always amazed me about him was that he was born with amusia ("tone deaf") and seemed to overcome it so easily (although I am sure in reality that it was not). Jeremy was also very involved in singing and dancing in local musicals and he also was experienced at assisting behind the scenes.

Jeremy & I singing a duet at Karaoke Nite in 1996 ("Don't Go Breaking My Heart")

Jeremy singing and playing live with his dad's band 

Jeremy (on left) and I performing together at a local pub in 1999

Singing with his dad in more recent years

Willow, Jeremy and I posing pretty for a pic together

Although I will deeply miss him, I know that a dear and strong spirit such as his will forever live on in the hearts of each and every life he touched. Love you always, Jer! 

Wordless Wednesday ... well almost

Davelis cave in Penteli, Greece

(http://tripfreakz.com/offthebeatenpath/the-davelis-cave-in-greece-near-athens)

(Dark Elf at Davelis cave)

 

New books ...

The Charm of Making

In old Irish: Anl nathrach, orth bhis bethad, do chl dnmha.

In modern Irish: Anil nathrach, ortha bhis is beatha, do chal danaimh.

PHONETIC: Anal nathrah, uthas bethud, do-ol di-enve.

In English: Serpents breath, charm of death and life, thy omen of making.

Happy Friday everyone, I hope all is well! It has been a while since I have posted any books or book reviews so I thought that I would write one today for the blog. The first book I picked up was one I had bought at Barnes & Noble book store while shopping with Aurora Skye on Beltane weekend. It is called "Dancing With Dragons" written by D. J. Conway. I have several other books written by her and so when I saw this one I could not resist. I only began reading it this past week and so far I truly do love it! It has plenty of historical and mythological information about dragons and dragon lore in it as well as some very good rituals and such. As soon as I am finished reading it I plan on writing a full book review.

Now, the second book I ordered on Amazon.com this past Tuesday. It is book that my dear friend Kiki-girl recommended and it is not so much intended to be a "lose weight" diet book than a "recondition your body in your eating habits" type diet. First, just let me say that Kiki looked great and it turns out that the weight she lost was merely an additional benefit to this diet plan.

This book is called, "Whole30" written by Melissa & Dallas Hartwig. The book arrived yesterday and as I began reading it, I was not exactly encouraged to say the least about a few things involving the authors 30-Day "diet plan." To start with, it eliminates ALL whole foods groups including milk and milk products such as any types of cheese, rice (unless it is cauliflower rice), all grains and wheat, no potatoes unless they are sweet potatoes (not a fan of them personally), NO sugar unless it is natural (that one is not so bad I suppose), NO alcohol (not even using it to cook with), no peas, corn or foods with skin on them, no yogurt, peanuts, soy. This list of "do's and don'ts" goes on and on. 

Also, you have to eat a lot of MEATS (steaks, hamburgers, chicken, etc.) and you also have to make your own mayonnaise and ketchup and the like. You must substitute just about EVERYTHING you normally would eat (if it happens to be on the approved food list that is). AND, you must follow this plan to the letter for the 30 days straight! If you mess up, you must start completely all over again. 

Now, in my opinion, this diet plan is far too extreme for me and I personally do not think it is completely healthy because you are depriving your body of  some things it may need. Granted, this plan supposedly works for some people but let's face it: everyone's body chemistry is different and not all the same types of diets will work for everyone. This diet plan is expensive (you must use ONLY fresh meat and vegetables every day - NO processed food what-so-ever) , very time consuming, must be planned out ahead of time even if you go out to dine somewhere, and, worst of all it is extremely restrictive. Which, in my opinion anyhow, makes it unrealistic for many of us.

On the bright side; however, this book includes lots and lots of delicious looking recipes which I plan to try out soon. As for the diet plan itself? Not at all interested ... I lost weight before and I know what I need to do. I lost a lot of weight by walking/exercising at least four times a week for 45 minutes straight and I cut out high sugar and fat foods and drinks such as iced tea, soda, candy, etc.

Have a Blessed weekend ALL!!!

A little update ...

Greetings all! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Just a little update for those of you who have been wondering where Dark Elf (aka Perry) has been as he has not posted here for a couple of weeks. He asked me to let all of you know that as of last week he has moved to Athens and is staying with some wonderful friends. For the time being, he is currently using his tablet until he can order a new PC, but he will be back to blogging as soon as he can. I have been keeping in contact with him on a regular basis and I can honestly say that I have never seen him happier!

Dark Elf and friend Morgan out for an enjoyable walk with friends. 

 Big SMILE! :)

(Nice candid shot)

Well, that is about all the news there is for now. Until next time, my friends, Brightest Blessings! 

What's new ...

Greetings everyone! I hope you all had a very Blessed Beltane. Every year, I try to add a little something new and perhaps different to my sabbat rituals and this year I found a wonderful little book called, "Beltane: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for May Day" published by Llewellyn Sabbat Essentials. I actually found this book the same day that Aurora Skye and I went shopping at one of our favorite books stores. I came across a prayer/invocation to Green Man and added it just before our ritual celebration.

As you all know, I have been seeking help through a Spiritual Adviser named Erica whom I have also been getting regular chakra sessions through. She special ordered me a chakra pyramid which she has personally created for her clients to use as a helpful tool in their work with their chakras and meditations. This is what mine looks like ...

The pyramid uses all of the seven chakra colors and opens up on one side. Inside, there is a mirror on the bottom. This mirror is rather unique. The way you use it is you write a positive wish or spell on a piece of paper and lay it face down on the mirror then close the pyramid back up again. Meditate and pray on your wish for as long as you feel the need to.  

I have never used this type of tool before though I am planning to use it for the first time this weekend. Not exactly sure how effective this will be, but I must say that I really love this beautiful piece.

Along with the pyramid, she also sent home a basket filled with rose petals, a bag of sea salt and a pink-colored rose floating candle to use in a relaxing bath.

Have a great weekend all and Blessed Be!