A cool evening 'Out'!

Greetings, friends! Last night was the "Get The Led Out" concert held at The Santander Arena in downtown Reading, PA. Along with my friend Deb and her hubby Dave, we were joined by their good friends of many years, Jan and Mike. We decided to make reservations for dinner before the show at a local Chinese restaurant just across the street from the concert venue called, "Lang's." Deb and I ate snack a little earlier in the day so we chose to split the dinner - we ordered chicken lo mein ... 💜

The show began at 8PM and it was so AWESOME!! 

We met up with our buddy, Kyle in the lobby just before the start of the show. Kyle is the the friend who has a Led Zeppelin tattoo on his arm. He was there with his parents who got him into Zep's music as a kid! WAY TO GO!!

These guys played everything from "Bring It On Home" to "Going to California" to "In My Time f Dying" and "Dazed and Confused," "All of My Love" to "Kashmir," "Living Loving Maid," "Heartbreaker" and "Whole Lotta Love" PLUS much, much more! I would DEFINITELY go see them again given the chance!!

As I said, we had a snack earlier for lunch so we went to Chili's and had some salsa and chips ...

We had a couple of hours to play with so we attended the Valentine's Day event right down the road from my house at a neat little place called, "The Mint Leaf."  They have all sorts of cool little items - gourmet food and desserts and a lot of nice gift shops that remind me a bit of "The Cracker Barrel" (clothing, hand crafted jewelry, etc.)

One of the vendors there was "The Rebel Hive Meadery" where we found some delicious specialty wines such as "Chocolate Cherry Lee Lewis" and "Respect Your Elders." They also had some great snacks such as these little goodies...

And last, but not least, Deb knew what an extremely stress-filled week I happened to have this week at work, and surprised me with this sweet and thoughtful little early Valentine's Day gift. It was from a pic she took from her last company Christmas Party a couple of weeks or so ago. She ordered a 5 x 7 print of it and added a personal message for me on the back of it (it even rhymes - lol) ... 💗

We also had a nice little surprise to help make my day - while out and about, Deb and I ran into my sister Aurora Skye and her good friend Kathy at our local Ulta Store. 😍

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

(Gratuitous kitty pic of Mr. Jack - Dave and Deb's fur baby)

Wishing everyone a great week!!

Blessed Imbolg and Happy Groundhog Day to all!!!

Greetings friends on this Blessed Sunday of celebrations! First thing is first (after all, it is no secret how much I love watching Punxsutawney Phil make his annual Groundhog Day weather prediction), I awoke this morning at 7AM sharp and turned on my television just to watch the Groundhog Day celebration at Gobbler's Knob - Phil predicts an early Spring - YAY! LOL!!

More importantly: however, it is also Imbolg/Imbolc! In honor of this special Wiccan holiday, I have decided to share a previous post or two from our past celebrations of  this Blessed sabbat!

Imbolg/Candlemas - Feast of Lights

Our next holiday celebration is 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 2^nd 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 2^nd. 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.

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

Imbolg: Honoring the Goddess Brigit

Imbolg, also known as Imbolc, Festival of Lights, Lady Day and Oimelc, is a fire festival which celebrates the on-coming of Spring. The word Imbolg literally means, “in the belly” (of the Goddess) and it honors the Celtic Goddess Brigit. She was the Goddess of fire, wisdom, poetry and sacred wells. She was also a deity associated with prophecy, divination and healing. Because the Goddess is in her maiden aspect as Brigit, the word "bride" was derived from her name. To symbolize her, we craft corn and grain dollies and make a "Brigit's bed" in which to place her in as a way to encourage her return and the return of the sun.

This sabbat represents new beginnings and spiritual growth.  The “sweeping out of the old and bringing in the new” is symbolized by the sweeping out of the circle with a besom (or broom) which is traditionally done by the High Priestess of the coven who wears a brilliant crown of 13 candles on top of her head. Also, Brigit’s Cross, one of the archetypal symbols of Ireland, while it is considered Christian, has its’ roots in Paganism and the Goddess Brigit. It was traditionally hung on the kitchen wall to protect the house from fire and evil.   It is usually made from straw, but can also be made with various colors of pipe cleaner sticks. It is woven counter-clockwise into a center square and four radials tied at the ends. These are easy to make and are a lot of fun for kids as well!

In  ancient Europe, Candlemas was celebrated as a torchlight procession to purify and fertilize the fields before the seed-planting season and to honor and give thanks to the various associated deities and spirits. Even the Christians adopted this sabbat celebration, giving honor to the Virgin Mary.

An Imbolg Poem

In the bitter cold of winter

Spring seems so far away

How long  ’til the Imbolg candles

Urge the sun to come to stay?

To help you count the nights so long

Are these little candles of white

Ignite one each eve at dream time

And it will soon be Imbolg night!

(Poem taken from Edain McCoy’s book, “The Sabbats"; image credit)

Fun Friday

Throwback Thursday

Yesterday would have been my beloved dad's 87th birthday so in his honor, I decided to share one of my Throwback Thursday posts featuring one of his favorite tunes, "More Than I Can Say" by an artist we both enjoyed so very much  - Leo Sayer! Enjoy!! I love you to the moon and back, Dad and I miss you "every single day." 💔

(originally posted in August 2011):

I was reading the latest post from one of my favorite blogs called, "Cottage Tails." In it, Leanne posts a video clip of one of my (at least) top 5 male artists ever, Leo Sayer.

Now, I realize that some of you may be too young to actually remember him as he was very popular in the 70's and 80's. He is a British singer/song writer (he now lives in Australia) who had number one hits with such songs as, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," "When I Need You," "Long Tall Glasses" and "More Than I Can Say." He has also written hit songs for other artists such as my absolute favorite song performed by him called, "The Show Must Go On" for Three Dog Night (By the way, his wife made his costume and did his make up for this performance) and "One Man Band" for The Who.

I remember the first time I saw him perform. I was no more than perhaps 10 years old and my father woke me up out of bed. He had just gotten home from working second shift at the time and the show "The Midnight Special" happened to be on TV. He said to me, "Kimmy, you have to see this guy. He is really, really good! You'll love this!" (And he was right). Lo and behold, there was this rather short little charismatic guy on stage dressed up in a clown costume singing, ""The Show Must Go On." He blew me away!  (I have always been awed by how perfect he could harmonize with himself when recording.) Good memories.

I also remember thinking to myself, "What a performer ~ and sooo cute!" (and yes, Leanne, I agree with you ~ he has aged extremely well! LOL). To this day, I still adore Leo Sayer and his beautifully versatile voice.

"More Than I Can Say" by Leo Sayer

https://youtu.be/a14U9_FqU0w

Monday montage

Happy Monday everyone. Last Monday at this time, I was sitting in an auditorium at The Berks County Courthouse along with 60-some other residents of Berks County filling out a questionnaire and watching a video of one of the judges explaining the law as we were all called in for jury duty regarding a first- degree murder case from 2018.

Then we were all directed to a court room and were assigned juror seat numbers - mine was number 4. The judge asked us all a series of questions which were already asked on the questionnaire we filled out when we arrived at the courthouse, then she called each and every one of us into her chambers one at a time, once again asked the same questions and then went over our answers. One of the questions we were all asked was "Would you more than likely tend to take a Police Detective or Police Officer's testimony as true over the defendant's?" We were told to answer honestly and of course I did. My answer was "yes" as it is my personal opinion that (especially in a murder case such as this was) if you are there sitting in that court room, then you are not "completely" innocent and must have apparently committed "some" type of crime serious enough to put you there in the first place. Mind you, I am generally speaking what you might call "middle of the road" when it comes to people and life and I do not tend to judge anyone without giving them the chance to explain themselves. The judge then proceeded to ask me "Let's put it this way, if you were the defendant in this case, would you want you on the jury?" Again, I answered honestly and replied a definite "No, I would not - not in a trial case of this particular nature." She kindly thanked me and told me that I was excused. Now, please understand that I am not at all naive and believe that ALL law enforcement officers and the like never lie on the stand (I am quite sure that some do), but I would more than likely tend to give them the benefit of the doubt in most cases none-the-less. It is just my personal conviction and I stand by it whether anyone agrees with me or not. Like I said, I am honest. Strange thing is, I had this same discussion with potential juror number 2. The reason I use the word "potential juror" is because we were only in the process of possibly being picked for the final jury. Number 2 was a former Police Officer for the City of Reading and spent six years in the courthouse as an officer for the Reading District. One thing is for sure, whether you are selected for the final jury or not, you most definitely get to meet a lot of interesting people while there - even if it is just for one day. Another strange happening that day was that I found out that my co-worker (our Human Resources employee) was also called in for that same trial case as I also saw her in the court room, but (thankfully) she was picked over me and I truthfully could not wait to go back to work the next day. She; however, could not as the case was expected to last for at least the next three days or so. 

Moving on, I took a PTO day the Friday before to attend my friend Deb's belated work Christmas Party. It was very nice and it was held at the same venue as last year. We also had a delicious buffet dinner as well. But before we went, we had lunch a bit earlier with her hubby who met us at a quaint little Pub and Restaurant called, "The Liberty House" ...

On the home front, Ginger had her spay surgery at our vet Monday two weeks ago. Dr. Mike said it went well but he is concerned about the fact that she is very underweight for her age so we are to give her as much food as she will eat - and she does eat! The next day or two after her spay surgery, we noticed this ...

She had a large, soft lump surrounding her stitches. We were a bit worried about it as it was a fairly large amount of swelling even though it did not look infected at all. Luckily, it turned out that it was merely scar tissue and over the next few days it began to go down a lot. So far, she is doing fine.

Today I am off work for the observance of Martin Luther King Day. I am planning on spending the afternoon with my friend Deb and then having a nice dinner with my sister Aurora Skye later on. 

From all of us cool cats at The Wiccan Life, have a great day all and stay warm - (oh yes, and another tid bit from my movie review for you). Brightest Blessings!!

https://youtu.be/YoVwFrsU-hQ

"That's Life" by Frank Sinatra

Joker - A movie review

Greetings, my friends! Well, I have been dying to see the movie, "Joker" starring Joaquin Phoenix for quite some time now and was finally able to after my friend Deb bought it for me as a gift last week. So we had a girls movie night last Saturday night at her house to watch it. 

Now, I saw it the week that Phoenix won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of the Joker and let me tell you that in my opinion, he most definitely deserved all of the accolades! Being a huge fan of Heath Ledgers' Joker ("Why so serious?"), I was very curious as to how Phoenix would pull it off. After all, it is a role that many an a steamed actor has played from Cesaer Romero to Jack Nicholason and so on. BUT, I have to tell you how absolutely blown away I was by this movie! It concentrates on Batman's arch villain The Joker's origins. Without giving away any major spoilers for those of you who have actually not seen it yet, I will just comment on why I think that this movie is so Oscar-worthy.

First of all, you get many an "easter egg" throughout this film and any fan of the DC comics Batman and The Joker will immediately pick up on them - or at least I certainly did. This movie was so intense and so very well done, I actually watched it five times since I took it home last weekend. They throw a lot at you in terms of the character development and his tragic life that you do not know what is actually real and what is not right up until the very end of the movie - and even then you are still left wondering and speculating. The movie does a great job of giving you the back story of how a societal loner and mentally troubled man named Arthur Fleck a.k.a ."The Joker" is born. Yes, it is very dark but, trust me, it is also an extremely good story and well worth watching!

There are times during the course of this movie that you can not help but to feel sympathy for this character (director Todd Phillips does a great job of communicating this to the audience) and you are able to get a sense of what is going on in Arthur's mind and can better understand how and why he sees the world the way in which he does. The film takes you through the transformation of a born loser into the deranged psycho killer he eventually becomes.

No, this film does not touch on the story of The Joker and his former psychiatrist turned lover then villain Harley Quinn ("Birds of Prey"). but that is merely a continuation of the series anyhow and has nothing to do with this particular adaption. I would love to get into this review a lot further, but as I said I do not wish to ruin it for anyone who has not yet seen it. Even if you are not really a fan of DC comics or the whole Batman-Joker story line, this movie is mesmerizing from beginning to end. 

Friday this and that

Greetings, friends. I hope everyone had a good New Year's. We spent New Year's day having dinner with family. Well, Thursday I had to go back to work so it is now officially the end of my holiday mandatory shut down. I decided to stay home on New Year' Eve and use the time to clean up the house and take down the Yule tree. To be completely honest, New Year's Eve has never been my forte - in fact, it always been very depressing to me anyhow. I mean, let's face it, the song "Alud Lang Syne" is not exactly the most "uplifting" tune in the world or anything. 😕

Moving on, it appears as though we did not get Ginger spay in time and she has now gone into heat. She is scheduled for spay next Tuesday so we called up the vet and he said he will still spay her for us. We are having some financial issues because with my job's two week mandatory shut down over the holidays my paychecks are horrible! I was told that we were supposed to get paid for the week of Christmas but I am short A LOT of money from that paycheck and have to speak to the HR person as to why? Hopefully, we will have enough money to get Ginger spay. We were also told that sometime this summer there will be yet another mandatory shut down that we will NOT get paid for - if this keeps up, I will have no choice but to look for another job part-time somewhere if possible. Having to work a second shift job; however, limits my options to work any part-time job as I would have to work in the morning hours and then when would I have time to sleep?

Keeping fingers crossed and praying it all works out. Have a good weekend everyone.