Throwback Thursday - In the Key of Genius

"In the Key of Genius"

I just finished reading, "In the Key of Genius" written by Adam Ockelford. It is the amazing true story about a musical genius who happens to be blind and  an autistic savant.. Derek Paravicini was born prematurely (at 25 weeks) and had to be kept alive for three whole months in an incubator. He technically "died" three times before he was strong enough to go home. He was given oxygen therapy during his time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which affected his developing brain, resulting in his severe learning disability. It helped save his life, but would later cause him to go permanantly blind before he was a year old. At the very young age of 3, he was diagnosed with autism as well, but Derek also had a talent like no other. As a young child, he taught himself to play the piano, he is a musical prodigy with "perfect pitch." He can memorize and play back ANY song which he hears only once. Not only that, but he also has the ability to compose very complex arrangements which he actually writes himself.

Enter Adam Ockelford. Adam Ockelford is Professor of Music at Roehamton University; Secretary of the Society for Education, Music & Psychology Research; Chair of 'Soundabout', an Oxford-based charity that supports children with complex needs; and the founder of AMBER Trust which provides bursaries for blind and partially blind children to have music lessons. Adam took Derek under his wing when he was only 2 years old and has been his teacher and his friend for over twenty years. Adam is perhaps the only person Derek is even remotely bonded to emotionally. With Adam's guidance, he gave his first concert at the age of 7.

Derek is also the nephew of Camilla Parker-Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, and therefore was born into royalty - although all of this is completely lost on Derek as his music is his world and his only way of connecting with others. Unike many people with autism, Derek simply loves people - and they love him.

I first heard about Derek from a news clip on "60 Minutes" about a year ago. His story was so unforgettable that I actually ordered this book from the U.K. which took a month to get in the mail (the book only cost $19.95 in the U.K. whereas it would have cost $75.00 here in the States). No matter, it was well worth the wait!

Derek has been performing live concerts in front of thousands for several years now and even has his own CD titled, "Echoes of the Sounds to Be." In spite of the fact that he almost died after he was born, or perhaps even because of it, God chose to save him and the Goddess chose to bless the rest of us with the gift of Derek's naturally beautiful talent (you should hear this man play). A remarkably inspirational read!

Wordless Wednesday

 

A bit of seasonal fun!

Well, it wasn't exactly the day we had planned, but it ended up being quite enjoyable anyway. My friend Deb had planned to take her grandson and his friend to see Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, PA on Saturday and had invited me as well. I said yes - after all, I had been to Hershey Park dozens of times, but never saw Chocolate World. Turns out that you need reservations and you had to make them online. Problem was, they were booked until 5pm and we would have had three whole hours to kill. So, we decided to take the kids to a nice little local park called, "Derry Cocoa Castle" where there was lots of fun things for kids to do ...

On the way home, we stopped off at a reallly cool place called, "Pumpkin Patchwork Farm" ...

Hayrides ...

Cut-out board ...

J.J., his friend Christian, and Deb having some fun!

Kid's bowling.

Pumpkin Spice whoopie pies.

All in all, a beautiful day!

Fun Friday

 

Happy Friday everyone! I was in the mood for a bit of music with a sixties vibe to it so I posted a live version of the song, "Cold, Cold, Cold" by the group Cage The Elephant. These guys (especially the lead singer) remind me so much of The Animals front man, Eric Burden actually. I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Cage The Elephant lead vocalist Matt Shultz.

The Animals lead singer Eric Burden.

"We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (live 1965)

(click on link to watch this video)

Wordless Wednesday

A song for Sunday

A family affair

 

It's that time of the year once again and time to put out the Samhain and Halloween decorations and tree. This year, my sister Aurora Skye and I thought it would be fun to decorate the Samhain/Halloween tree together ...

Before ...

Adorning the tree with all sorts of seasonal ornaments ...

Sir Leo rather enjoying the fruits of our labor afterward ... lol

 And Ginger as well ...

We then indulged in a couple of handmade pina colada spiked cupcakes baked with love by none other than Chef Jesenia!

A few more pics of my house decorations ...

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!!  💀👻💛💜💚💜

Throwback Thursday: The Use of Sacred Altars

The use of Sacred Altars - by Lady Caer Morganna

As Wiccan and Pagan practitioners who practice our religion/faith and who hail from all walks of life, we understand the importance of utilizing sacred altars. Regardless of whatever pantheon or tradition we follow, we know that altars serve many different purposes in our daily lives.

 A Spring Equinox/Ostara altar.

 A Lughnasadh altar.

We can set them up either indoor or outdoor for various magickal rituals and/or workings such as honoring and celebrating our seasonal Pagan sabbat holidays, esbat rituals, daily sacraments, or meditations, just to name a few. As a practicing Solitary Wiccan Priestess, I have also used altars to perform sacred rites such as handfastings and interfaith wedding ceremonies for many years.

 A Samhain Ancestor altar.

Altars can be as simple or as elaborate as you deem necessary to your specific need or preference; however, I personally believe that depending upon your particular purpose or magical working that the "fancy" is not necessarily of all that importance. Much of the time, it merely serves as a wonderful atmosphere in which to aid us in creating the proper mindset and helps with visualization as well. After all, it is what is in our hearts and our intent which is of the utmost importance. It is for these reasons that perhaps these are also the most essential and powerful tools we have. 

Brother Draco helps prepare our Midsummer/Litha altar.

 Samhain altar.

It is my belief that altars are extremely important both in our practice and our daily lives.They help us to get closer to the Divine. 

(To visit the Wicca Web site, please click on this link:)

https://wiccaweb.com/the-use-of-sacred-altars/