Weekend Happenings

                                                 "The Mystic Mind"

It was a nice day out yesterday so my sister and I decided to get out and do a bit of shopping. The first place we ventured into was a cool shop called, "The Mystic Mind" ...

They sell an assortment of really unique items including these awesome scented soy candles!
 

Totem animals.

Jewelry such as these tarot card earrings and matching necklace. These are "The Star" and I also bought "The Moon" earrings as well.

These cute black cats!

A Pink Opal Mermaid and Rose Quartz Apple!

And a beautiful Mermaid Tarot Deck on sale!

Astrology earrings (studs) - My sign (Pisces) and my husbands sign of Sagittarius.

Another spot which we like to frequent is "The Mint Leaf" where I found these items ...

We stopped off at our local "Barnes & Noble Bookstore" and I could not resist this black cat cell phone holder! ... 

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While going through some old pics of my mom and dad this past week, I found these two and placed them in one of my mermaid lockets ...

We had lunch at "Applebees" ...

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And last, but not least, Punxsutawney Phil's winter prediction. The drum roll, please! ...

Fun Friday (a little holiday history)

The week 'as it were' ...

Greetings everyone! Well, this was my week in a nutshell - a holiday, an appliance headache, and a groundhog ... yup, the about sums it all up! After our washing machine broke down on us the week before, we ordered a new one from Home Depot and The Geek Squad delivered it on Friday. ONLY to find out that not only could they not take away the old one but they could not even install and set up the new one because the old one still had water inside of it that we could not see AND we were told that our water lines needed to be replaced due to some corrosion. Ergo, they refused to do anything but take the new machine downstairs and sit it at the bottom of the basement steps. We will have to take care of this crap and then set up another date for them to do the rest. UGH, what a big mess!

The new "uninstalled" washing machine.

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Moving on, this week we celebrated Imbolg/Imbolc/Candlemas respectively ... (shared from "Tamed Wild" website)

And ...... HERE'S PHIL! ...

I got up early on February 2nd for the express purpose of watching our very own Punxsutawney Phil give his annual weather "prediction" - it will be SIX more weeks of winter which is no surprise since we would have to endure six more week regardless because February 2nd lands right smack in the middle of winter ...

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In other news, with the prices of eggs being as crazy as they are, my mom's neighbor has a friend who owns a farm and was selling fresh farm eggs for only $3.00/dozen.. So, I bought two dozen ($6.00) and began putting them to good use today ... 

Egg and cheese omelets for breakfast.

And, French Toast. Both made in the air fryer oven.

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My husband found this interesting wine yesterday ... "Scrapple"? (Spiced Cranberry Apple flavored)  lol

And last, but certainly not least, a few new kitty pics taken this weekend ...

Teddy is getting very comfortable being a house cat these days.

Butterscotch lounging around on the sofa.

Miss Ginger.

Have a great week all!

TBT: Did you know that ...?

It may well have been the movie, "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray which made Punxsutawney Phil a public figure in the first place, but it is Phil himself who keeps the fans coming back to Gobbler's Knob every year for more! Not just for a day, but for an entire week-long array of fun and activities for everyone.

The top-hat wearing Inner Circle members feed and take care of Phil and also travel with the prognosticating groundhog throughout Pennsylvania for various engagements. "He's been on television shows in New York City before, but we sometimes have problems with bringing him across state lines. Some states don't want Phil's type brought into their state, we have learned." Says Phil's co-handler John Griffiths, "I always say we're the men behind the hog."

Phil and his 'Inner Circle' member friends keep very busy, not only for annual Groundhog Day festivities, but throughout the year as well ... 

Groundhog Club Inner Circle member, Ron Ploucha, pets Punxsutawney Phil while visiting him inside his burrow at the Punxsutawney Library. "Phil's diet consists of various types of lettuce, iron-rich kale, celery and rabbit feed," explained Ploucha. "A special treat for Phil is a honey & oat granola bar. They are hard and crunchy which helps him keep his teeth healthy, sometimes we will even throw in a piece of wood for him to chew on."

Phil's co-handler, John Griffiths has been a member of the Inner Circle since 1999.

There's no manual for becoming a handler for the Seer of Seers. "We go through a very extensive training for this," said Ploucha jokingly. " It's a learn-as-you-go thing, and it takes time to get to know each other and develop trust (with Phil). Everybody smells and sounds different."

Groundhog Club Inner Circle member Ron Ploucha, with co-handler John Griffiths, transports Punxsutawney Phil from a "Meet Phil" event at Punxsutawney High School. 

Kids visit with Punxsutawney Phil in the halls of Punxsutawney High School during a youth wrestling match on in Punxsutawney, Pa. "They really see that Phil's not actually a puppet, or just something they saw on television," said Inner Circle member Ron Ploucha. "I get to see the looks on their faces with eyes as big as 50-cent pieces, it's my favorite part about being Phil's handler." While Ploucha appreciates watching kids enjoy Phil, he sometimes gets a little apprehensive when Phil is around large groups of people. "I'm worried that somebody — even though I tell them not to — will come up and put their hands near Phil's face. Sometimes those fingers of theirs looks like carrots to him. It's never happened fortunately, but there can always be a first time, so I am very careful with having him out in the open around people."

So, where did Punxsutawney Phil get his name from? This name is actually the shortened version of his official title which is "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary." The groundhog got his name from the editor of the The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper.

(source/photos): Punxsutawney Phil, the Other 364 Days of the Year

Blessed Imbolg & Happy Groundhog Day ~ 2022

And, just in from Punxsutawney Phil at Gobbler's Knob ...

No real surprise here, Phil!

Happy Imbolg and Groundhog Day, friends! Well, it snowed ALL DAY yesterday and through the night ...

My husband spent hours last night shoveling out a path in our driveway and digging out both of our cars ...

What do you think of the snow sculpture of my husband's car? The artist? Mother Nature, of course. 

We also lost power THREE times, but fortunately it came back up again. My employer closed yesterday but not today so I had to use up one of my few PTO days as we were snowed in and plowed in by the Borough trucks who had nowhere else to go with all the messy snow. Anyway, I plan on returning to work tomorrow as the roads should be a bit better by then hopefully.

Hope everyone is doing fine and staying safe and warm!