Fun Friday and This 'n' That

Friday at last!! Not too much new here at the old homestead. I found a new place for a sign I bought a couple of years ago. I decided to hang it up on the catio door where Merlin usually hangs out during the day ...

... with the execption of once a week (normally on a Wednesday or Thursday) since we have to check Leo's urinary tract problem (F.U.S.). I prepare a fresh new cat litter box using the clumpy cat litter (I hate that crappy stuff, but it is a must as it is the only way to actually see if he is urinating as he needs to be). I use the litterbox in the catio and change it while I am feeding him in the morning. I flip the sign over in order to let Brett know that Leo has still not used the box yet (did his business) and he can not leave the catio until he does ... 😾

After I got home last Saturday, I tried on the new dress/jumper suit I had just bought and it really hit home how I have gained a terrible amount of weight since I began working second shift two years ago! My own mother commented about it as well as she also noticed my weight gain and is concerned about it. Seriously, it is a real health problem for me and I NEED to figure out how to lose it so that I can feel good and healthy again! ... 😞😢

In other news, my co-worker and friend Rosa surprised me on Wednesday with this very thoughtful gift she personally put together herself for me. It is to aid in destressing and to help relax. It smells AWESOME! ...

It is made with a mixture of lavender and sea salt with amethyst, rose quartz, adventurine, and carnelian gemstones (all of which she charged with the energy of the Strawberry Full Moon) and a pretty votive candle and holder ... 💓💙💛💚💜

And, I am considering putting up my Samhain/Halloween Tree this Sunday (still not sure yet). After all, we are officially in the month of October now. At any rate, here is a pic of the one my sister Aurora Skye and I put up and decorated last year - Sir Leo supervised ... lol

.

And last, but not least, here is Bill's song pic of the week! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Autumn Song

.

Autumn Song

Beautiful bursts of colors bright

Make autumn time such a lovely sight

Falling leaves of orange and red

We gather them all for our leafy bed

Soon comes Mabon

The second harvest is here,

Giving way to Samhain

And our blessed New Year

The joy that it brings

That feeling of cheer

How I wish this season

Could last through the year!

~ Lady Caer Morganna

A Moose update

A huge appreciative "THANK YOU" to both CJ and Jon for their caring, kind words of support for my friend Renee's boy, Moose! She was able to bring him home yesterday; however, she noticed a couple of things that she was told by this particular animal hospital which did not make any sense regarding his insulin dosage. And so she immediately called her regular vet, (since Moose's issue had happened over this past weekend and was not open at that time) she had little choice but to take him somewhere and had to rush him to a local emergency vet.

The white patch-looking object you see on Moose's back is actually a sensor which Renee can scan in order to read his glucose level. It lasts for two weeks.  :)

 Renee and her husband-to-be are leaving on October 3rd to get married. She loves Moose so much and is, as she told me last night, "so distraught without him", I pray everything works out for all! 🙏

They also received this very thoughtful gift in the mail yesterday from a good friend ...

Just an aside: I met Renee and her soon-to-be husband, Jon, two years ago at Brett's cousin's daughter's wedding. Renee is the daughter's best friend and was her Maid of Honor. She is such a lovely gal and we immediately struck up a conversation. When she began telling me all about her kitty "Moose", well, the rest is history ... lol!

What's new?

Welcome all! Here it is Monday already and the start of yet another week. I am asking for prayers and some reiki healing energy to be sent to my friend Renee Nichole's precious fur baby Moose. He had lost A LOT of weight very quickly and was taking in a lot of water so Renee immediately took him to her local Animal Hospital and they diagnosed him with thyroid problems and, of course, diabetes. He had been on insulin for three days when he began vomiting and heaving and screeching in pain. The vet told Renee that Moose was experiencing  diabetic ketoacidosis. He is currently still at the hospital and they told her they will be keeping him and monitoring him until probably Tuesday. 🙏🙏🙏  

In other news, we are still trying to figure out what to do with the stray kitty we have been watching over and trying to take care of since the end of last year, Chester. He trusts my husband but still does not trust me - in fact, he swats at me all the time even though I  feed him twice a day - lol ...

The latest pic of Miss Ginger taken this past weekend. She is such a snuggle bug and cuddles on my lap every chance she gets ...

Have a blessed day everyone!

Our Anniversary trip to New Hope

Happy Sunday, everyone! We have had a GORGEOUS two-day weekend here in PA and so my husband and I decided to take a day trip to New Hope. It has been a couple of years since we last had the chance to get away and we have been making trips there since we began dating many years back. 

We always stop off lunch at a cool place called, "Fran's Pub" where we shared a pepperoni pizza and had a drink. One of the reasons I love going to New Hope, most especially at this time of the year, is because the entire strip is decorated for autumn and Halloween! ...

Then we frequented some of our favorite shoppes and enjoyed the beautiful weather and relaxing scenery. I was happy to see that the stores, "Mystickal Tymes" and "Gypsy Heaven" were still open.

However, it saddens me how many places had been forced to close down thanks to our moron of a Governor (*sigh*) - I spoke to the owner of "Mystickal Tymes" and he said it has been rough. When I told him I was glad to see he was still in business, he said to me, "I'm trying." I remember when he had his pretty white cat named Morganna who greeted all of his customers. Here are a couple of old pics I took a few years ago of her with Brett ...  

.

While there, I found of a couple of Fall Leaf votive candles and a Yule candle holder ...

Of course, I had to have a few of these delicious treats from Sciascia Confections ...

Raspberry, Blueberry, and Blackberry macaroons.

And I could not resist this cool outfit (it is a versatile dress/pants jumper) at the shoppe, "House of India" ...

The bridge directly off of Main Street heading into New Jersey ...

On the way home we decided to just "wing it" and figure out where we were going for dinner. We ended up at "Cracker Barrel" and the food was delicious. I had the marinated chicken breast with steak fries and kernel corn. YUMMY! 

They were very busy and we had a 30 minute wait. No problem, that is what their fabulous gift shop is for! Brett picked up these awesome unique sodas to go ...

... and I found a pretty blue crochet top and a new Christmas Doe statue for Yule ...

This morning, I ran to the local grocery store for fresh eggs, bacon and bread and made us breakfast. As for the rest of the weekend, I will be doing some much-needed laundry. 

Our 20th Year Anniversary!

Today marks the 20th year Anniversary of our wedding ceremony. I met my husband back in the summer of 1994. Although we lived together for 7 years before, we didn't actually "tie the knot" until September of 2001 in a legal Handfasting ceremony with a Renaissance theme which also happened to fall on Mabon/The Autumn Equinox.

We had a beautiful ritual and reception set in the back yard of our home complete with homemade decorations, three bridesmaidens, three groomsmen, ritual programs, U.L.C. Minister, friends, family, and one gorgeous Saturday!

Our Officiant was my very dear friend and fellow U.L.C. Minister Rev. Frances Moise/H.P.S. Lady Sabrina Rhiannon. Our ceremony had all of the usual elements of a Pagan Handfasting - first drink as husband and wife, first food (my mother-in-law baked the loaf of bread which we used),  symbolic The Great Rite (ritual charging of the ceremonial wine), the pledge - along with the traditional parts such as our own vows, the exchange of rings and lighting of the Unity candle. My husband made lovely Handfasting programs as all of our family members were Christian (many of whom did not understand exactly what they were witnessing). Not only that, he also handmade our wedding arch which he decorated himself. We wanted everything to have our own personal touch.

Then ...

A 10-year anniversary pic ...

And now ...

I can't believe that it has been 20 years. Wow! Time sure does fly!

We are going to go away somewhere (not sure exactly where) this coming weekend. I did; however, receive these beautiful autumn flowers tonight after I got home from work ... 💓💗💓

💙💚💛💙💚💛💙💚💛💙💚💛💙💚💛

 

Our basket of scrolls with a Handfasting Blessing and our program.