Sunday, January 30, 2022

Monday this and that ...

 

Yesterday, it was a fairly nice day out, albeit a COLD one.  After all, it is only halfway between winter and spring, so I decided to venture out and do a little bit of shopping. I stopped off down the road to "The Mint Leaf" and found a few nice items ...  

.
A neat t-shirt that reads, "My words are empty vessels if I do nothing in this place." 

They also had a whole assortment of Demeter fragrance spray. I bought the Blueberry and Transfixed. They smell heavenly!

And, while out and about, I picked up a little treat for hubby and I ...

And, last but not least, I have been considering replacing my cat blog, "The Cat Cottage" which was hacked into by some a-hole (who apparently had nothing better to do than to mess with my blog). My techie hubby had tried to help me recover it, but so far to no avail and since it has been two years now since I have been able to DO anything at all with it, I would have to start all over again! I would actually have to have my husband copy and paste my blog posts one by one from it and email them to me so that I can clean them up and post them again because for some reason he can see them on his PC but I can NOT on ANY of my three laptops regardless of search engines or internet protection ... 

I can not even figure out how to get my blog posts to post at the actual correct time in which I post them. Example, right now it is 1:41am and I am publishing this post even though it will show up on my blog a couple of hours earlier according to Blogger time. 

Wishing everyone a great week! ✌

The Moose Chronicles


Anyone who has actually been following my blog for a little while is certainly familiar with my friend Renee's fur baby "Moose." Renee and her hubby, Jon,  adopted Moose from a local shelter just before his 8th birthday. Since then, he has had his share of health issues, but he has a wonderful, loving cat mommy and daddy who take excellent care of him every day!


This week was Renee's birthday and so I thought I would publish a post dedicated to her and Moose. And so here goes ...

A week in the life of a cat who has, according to Renee, changed her life. She told me that she used to be terrified of cats and admits that the first couple of weeks after she brought him home they kept their distance from one another. I remember her telling me that she believes that he knew that she was afraid of him (cats) and waited for her to come to him. The rest is history ...

"The great hunter proudly displays his (toy) fish." ~ Renee

"It was either him or a ghost. Either is possible but the ghost doesn't usually lick the fancy feast can clean." ~ Renee

"I'm in jail because I stole a buttered sweet potato off someone's dinner plate. Please post bail."- Moose

Moose apparently thought that the pine needles which had fallen all over the floor resembled cat litter. LOL!

"Moose is learning to skateboard."

Playing with the empty clam shells that Renee sprinkled with a little kitty nip: "
Happy as a clam. Jon has made us clam chowder for dinner and Moose is hoarding a pile of shells after batting them around the kitchen. (Yes, they're cooked. Yes, he got a clam. Yes, he was supervised during his antics.)" ~ Renee

"FEED ME, SEYMOUR!"

and ... DONE!
"
I just caught Jon cooking a single shrimp just for Moose
🤣🤣🤣. I love these two so much." ~ Renee


A special Christmas present for Renee handmade by an artist friend. The rune on the right is Freya (whose chariot was pulled by a team of cats) and the rune symbol on the right is a vegvisr, the Norse compass. A talisman to always help you find your way. The flip side of the one on the right is the rune for Thor and the flip side of the one on the left is another vegvisr. And, of course, the middle piece was taken from a photo of Moose.

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAY'S, RENEE!!
Jon: "Birthday brownies for the birthday girl! Moose is unimpressed....as always 😂."

"The best $50 I've ever spent was his adoption fee!"


Moose's happy newlywed cat guardians - Jon and Renee.

Sunday, January 23, 2022

A holiday by any other name: Imbolg!



Our next holiday celebration will be the cross-quarter and greater sabbat of Imbolg. Imbolg, as we all know, is also known as Imbolc, Candlemas/The Feast of Flames, Festival of Lights, and Groundhog Day among others.  It falls on February 2nd of every year and it is a time for purification and cleansing ~ the “sweeping out of the old and bringing in of the new” as it were. It marks the first fetal stirrings of Spring in the womb of our Earth Mother and seeds are prepared for sewing.
  

It is also a time when we honor the Triple Goddess in Her maiden aspect of Brigid (pronounced “Breed”) who is the goddess of fire, inspiration, healing, craftsmanship, and midwifery. She is also the patroness of the hearth, poets, smiths, craftspeople, healers, and priests/priestesses. The God who was born of the Goddess at Yule stirs in His slumber and awaits the Spring Equinox. It is also said that Groundhog Day (later known as Candlemas), which had its’ beginnings in German Paganism and is celebrated in both the United States and Canada, symbolizes the manifestation of the God Himself. In regard to six more weeks of winter: “If Candlemas day be sunny and bright, Winter again will show its’ might. If Candlemas day be cloudy and grey, Winter soon will pass away.” Of course, in reality, either way we must still endure six more weeks of winter before the start of Spring. Personally, I just adore Groundhog Day here in the States. It is such a fun festivity whether celebrated locally or abroad. We always enjoy watching "Punxsutawney Phil" awake from his hibernation to make a brief appearance to predict our winter's future on early morning of February 2nd. For more on Phil, please read my post, “Can't get enough of that Phil!” Just an aside, last year when we took our 5-day cruise on Ontario, Canada's Rideau Canal, the Captain and family business owner's sister, who happened to be the Cruise Director named Ann, told us a story of how she made a special trip to Punxsutawney, PA here in the States for the express purpose of actually meeting "Phil" and joining in on the town's festivities! Such a delightful woman!

Imbolg is a good time to get organized ~ spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. It is also the traditional time for dedications, rededications, and initiations if you are associated with a coven or group. It is an ideal time to cleanse your sacred space, altar, and tools. Activities may include making Brigid’s Crosses, Sun Wheels, a crown of candles, creating a grain or wicker dolly to represent Brigid, making a Brigid’s Bed using the corn or wheat from the previous Lughnasadh, and hanging a scarf outside on the eve of Imbolg so that Brigid will bless it with healing powers. Other activities include hanging three ears of corn on your door until Ostara to honor the Triple Goddess and making Dream Pillows for every member of the family. I always like to cleanse and bless our home on Imbolg.

"Brigid's Bed"
Displaying our Bridal/wedding photos during ritual celebrations.


Also, on Imbolg eve, it is customary to leave food and drink out for Brigid such as buttered bread, milk, grains, or seeds.



IMBOLG CANDLES

We light the candles on Imbolg
Weave our crosses end to end
We light the candles on Imbolg
To urge the Sun to come again,
We light the candles on Imbolg
To honor the Goddess Brigit,
We light the candles on Imbolg
To plow the field and sow the seed

Lady Caer Morganna

The Mission of a Cat


THE MISSION OF A CAT

Most people think that cats do nothing, are lazy and do nothing but eat and sleep...
It is not so!
Do you know what a cat's mission is?
All cats have the power, every day, to remove the negative energy accumulated in our body... as soon as we fall asleep, they absorb that energy. If there is more than one person in the family, and only one cat, it can accumulate an excessive amount of negativity by absorbing energy from so many people...
When they sleep, the cat's body releases the negativity it takes away from us. If we are too stressed, they may not have enough time to release all that negative energy, and so, as a result, it accumulates as fat, until they can release it. So, they get fat and you think it was the food you were feeding them... or because they don't move enough... and the truth is, they don't. It is nice to have more than one cat in the house, so that the weight is divided between them.
They also protect us during the night, so that no unwanted spirits enter our house or our room while we sleep... That's why they like to sleep in our bed. And if they think we're fine, they won't sleep with us. If there was something strange around us, they jump into our bed and protect us... If a person comes to our house, and the cats feel that that person is there to harm us or that he is bad, the cats surround us to "protect" us...
If you don't have cats, and a stray cat comes into your house and adopts it as a home, it's because you need a cat at that particular time... So the stray cat volunteered to help you. Thank the cat for choosing your home for that job. If you have other cats and can't keep the stray cat, find a place for him. The cat came for a reason unknown to us on a physical level, and in dreams you can see the reason for the appearance of the cat at that moment. There may be a debt, some karma he has to pay... "So don't freak out or frighten the cat." Well, "he" will have to come back, one way or another, to fulfill this obligation...
Cats heal us.

Cats are adorable creatures, and they love their owners above all else, but they have a different way of loving...

Their love is true, so don't doubt it. They are our great and true friends and above all good companions.
(Author unknown; Image unknown)

Saturday, January 22, 2022

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Dad

Since today would have been my beloved Dad's 89th birthday, I thought I would post one of his favorite songs. In fact, I sang it for him live one night while out at a local open mic night. Beautiful song, for the most beautiful dad (and human being) I have ever known and ever will know. I miss you each and every day, Dad ... I love you! 
A pic taken of my dad and me at his retirement party in 1994.
My dad as a child. He is the little boy wearing the cute bib overalls.
His graduation picture.

Dad when he was stationed in Germany while serving in the Army during the Korean War.  

Me and dad at my cousin's wedding reception in 1984.
Dad, Brett, me, and my mom taken at my wedding in 2001.

2012
Me and dad on Christmas Day ~ 2015.



One of my favorite pics of my dad.

"It felt like springtime on this February morning. In the courtyard birds were singing your praise. I'm still recalling things you said to make me feel alright. I carry them with me today now."
 ~ Sophie B. Hawkins ('As I Lay Me Down')