Healing List 4/25/13

Brightest Blessings and welcome back to the Healing List.

Please send, prayers, love, and healing light to those on the list this week. To add yourself or a loved one to the list, just leave the info in the comments!

The victims and families of the Boston Marathon bombing

WhiteMoonLily and her father who is battling illness

The victims and families of the Waco, TX explosion

My Dad, who is losing his battle with Alzheimer's

ScarletSaint

I don't wear a lot of jewelry Most days, it's just my wedding band, the silver Russian wedding ring that I bought myself at 14 and have worn on my middle right finger ever since, and my necklace

My necklace is something that has evolved over time, and I'm sure will continue to do so. It's something my Mom does, and something that has become meaningful to both of us. We each have a long, silver chain, 24-28 inches, and we fill it up with pendants. Like a charm necklace, instead of a bracelet. My Mom's is heavy with charms and pendants, and she can tell you a story about each and every one. The latest edition is a piece of Bisbee turquoise someone gave her out of the blue, which she asked me to wire wrap for her. She has little crosses, charms, and pendants in  jumbled nest, dripping with memories

Mine is not so cool, yet. I have an amethyst, tanzenite, and diamond dragonfly the Hubs got me, and a ladybug and bee for the girls. I am on the lookout for a frog charm for my stepdaughter. I have a silver pendant made from an antique spoon Mom got me at an art fair, and finally, my pentacle. I take it off at night and hang it close to the bed, and every morning when I slip it over my head, I say a prayer or blessing for my day. 

It's a simple act, but very profound to me lately. If nothing else, I started my day in a place of mindful gratitude and blessing, and I am reminded of this when I take it off at night. That's two solid moments of Magick each and every day. If nothing else, it lets me be reminded that I walk with Goddesses.

The Great Hippie Road Trip!

Things have been rough around the Vardo so far this year. Things are starting to turn around, and I want to keep this trend going with a super awesome vacay! We need something to look forward to, and we need a grand adventure.

I have been thinking that the Witchlings and I should start off the summer with an adventure! My stepdaughter is coming out for the summer again, and I thought that Bug, Mojo, my dog Mal, and I could pack up the car and take a camping adventure across the country, pick up LaLa, and continue our trek back. 

I have this Route in mind so far, which will take us through Santa Rosa NM to see the Blue Hole the first day, Keystone State Park in Tulsa OK to camp the second night,then on to Terre Haute, IN to see friends the third day. We will then spend a few days with family and friends in Indiana and to pick up LaLa. 

On our way home, we plan to stop in Memphis TN, second day we will see Crater of Diamonds in Oaklahoma, then the third night somewhere in the area of Midland, TX. I am open to suggestion here, I picked Midland because of driving time, not coolness.

 I would LOVE to get input from all of you for tips and tricks for road trips with 3 kids (3, 8, and 13) and a dog, places to see, and even any neat gear or camping trips. 

I have also started a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise some funding for this trip! Donate if you can, share if you could, and if nothing else, leave me a comment to let me know if I'm nuts, or to cheer me on.

H.W.

Prayers for Elwood, IN

I know there is a lot of crazy going around out country this week, but I would like to make a personal request. My sister and many good friends still live in Elwood and are reliving a nightmare that has, unfortunately, happened before.

Please pray for my hometown of Elwood, Indiana which is flooded. The area received 5+ inches of rain in 24 hrs and then the weather turned cold and windy, making rescue efforts even harder.

This shot is looking down at my old neighborhood, and the house I grew up in. My sister lives there now and had to turn off the furnace despite the cold last night when the water reached the duct work under the house.

This is the front yard,a big difference from the pic of it I posted when we lived there!

And she took a video of the back yard, here is the before from 2011

The rest of town isn't doing so hot either

So I thank you for taking a moment to give a thought to my tiny little hometown!

Healing list for 4/18/13

Brightest Blessings and welcome back to the Healing List.

Please send, prayers, love, and healing light to those on the list this week. To add yourself or a loved one to the list, just leave the info in the comments!

The victims and families of the Boston Marathon bombing

WhiteMoonLily and her father who is battling illness

The victims and families of the Waco, TX explosion

My Dad, who is losing his battle with Alzheimer's

Pampered Chicken Salad

A little Kitchen Witchery today. I have been making an effort to get myself back on track, in every area of my life. My Path has suffered from our time in The Vardo, simply because I like to have altars everywhere, and I don't really have one here at all. So, I have been working on prayers and blessings to use and keep my mind in a spiritual place.

I was thinking of this as I made lunch today, and realized that I was not utilizing my best tool for Everyday Magick. I need to get back into Kitchen Witchery. I feed my family, and I should use that opportunity to feed our souls.

So, I took a moment and thought Magickally about how I wanted to make the dish. What do I need right now, in this moment, and how can I use this food to put that intention into the Universe?

Here is the end result. I skewed this toward loving and pampering myself and my family. I am not one for measuring, I just tend to throw things in the mix, so adjust your amounts as you see fit

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (or about 2-3 cups of chicken) 

3 small avacado, diced (Avacado represents luxury, beauty, and love)

1 green onion, diced (onion for protection and healing)

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (to center and bring love into your heart)

1/2-3/4 cup mayo or plain yogurt

1/4 cup mustard (for protection and to help love be fertile)

salt and pepper to taste. (The chicken I used was seasoned, so I did not add any)

Mix together (I took it a step further here and used a blue spoon, and then served it on blue dishes for peace and calm)

Let sit in the fridge for an hour to let the mixture meld, then serve.

It was super yummy, and made me feel awesome that I took the first steps back toward one of my favorite Magickal practices!

On the hook

I'm over the crochet burn-out I was feeling, and found a great little yarn shop. I got 3 balls of this lovely Merino wool. Making an Infinity scarf. I think I am in love with it and might keep it for myself!

Anticipation

I am not a patient woman. I never have been. It is a virtue that I am trying to cultivate, though I sometimes feel it is a futile endeavor.

This is the reason that our current course of action is hard for me. I don't mind the tight quarters here in the Vardo on the whole. There are times it drives me nuts, but they pass. On the whole, I feel very positive and in control of our situation.

Until yesterday.

We have been working with a small, local company to repair our credit and buy a home. We have a 6 month plan at the moment. Our credit is very near where it needs to be to get a loan, and we have both a home and a few undeveloped properties on the wish list.

The home we want we looked at back in January. We actually spent about an hour and a half touring the home and property, as well as just having a lovely visit with the home owners. 

So, when we began to get our ducks in a row and were asked if there was a house we were interested in, we put that place at the top of the list. The gentlemen we are working with even went to look at it to buy it so we could rent it until we could buy it from them when we get to that step. (That is how the program works. We don't pay them anything, but sign an agreement that we will buy a home from them of our choosing at the end of the program)

All was well. Then the home owner called us. They remembered how nice we were and how much we loved the house and wanted to give us one last shot. They offered to sell it to us owner carry. They offered to work with us. One way or the other, the place feels close enough to touch.

This makes me impatient. I don't want to wait 6 months. Veruca wants it now, Daddy, NOW! It's my Hippie dream home and it is a fucking solid possibility. This makes me insane with wanting...and it also makes me scared.

I have had the rug, hell the whole floor, pulled out from under me so many times. I am terrified by the invigorating hope that is bubbling in me, in us. It's heady, and amazing,  and it makes my heart race with both anticipation and terror.

I want to be positive. I want to just think that even if this one gets away, there is an equally delicious fish waiting to be hooked, but I am fragile and my hopes have been crushed so many times they don't go together smooth anymore. 

And so now I'm trying to be patient, trying to keep hope afloat, and trying not to be afraid of possibility. 

FREE entry into National Parks!

I Stumbled across this on my FB feed this morning and got super excited! We live near some pretty awesome places here in Eastern Arizona that we have yet to visit. Where will you go?

FREE ENTRANCE DAYS FOR NATIONAL PARKS!

Thanks, but no thanks.

I love whoever said this and want it printed out on cards to hand out!

If you know who is the owner of this quote, let me know so I can give them credit.

Update on the Allegro

We have now been living in the Allegro for a little over 2 months. I still love it more than I dislike it, but when  the weather is bad or my Dad is having a bad day as far as Dementia, it gets pretty small. Even though we are making plans to move Dad into a Memory Care facility (This is the result of MUCH convincing of me by the nursing service that I have done all I can do and it is in his and our best interest. More on that later.) in the near future, we are still crowded, but determined to see this plan through

I have begun to call it The Vardo. This is the Roma name for the Gypsy wagons the Roma used to live and travel in. Because we are looking to potentially be here for six months while we go through the process of cleaning up our credit and get a loan to buy land and/or a home, my Mom came down two weeks ago and helped me spruce things up.

If you did not see my earlier post about it, here is what it looked like before.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate paneling? Yeah, it's a deep-seated hatred. So with it's nickname of The Vardo in mind, I set my plan in motion. Both my Mom and The Hubs thought I was nuts when I showed them my paint choices. They are bright and gaudy and awesome. If I'm gonna do a thing, I'm gonna DO IT! Their doubts were assuaged by the 2nd day when what I was seeing in my head began to take shape. A modern twist on the decadently garish Gypsy style. Love it or hate it, I present The Vardo

Not much altar space, but a Mason jar terrarium and my Buddah fit in the corner.

We put up a curtain as a "door" to separate our bed and the bathroom area to give the illusion of privacy.

I added more plants since. I put up coat hooks and hung the plastic buckets by one handle

Kind of hard to see, but I covered the mauve upholstery on the seat cushions with blue twin sheets. I secured them with sheet straps, crossed over, underneath. They stay put when going up and down between table and bed. 

This wall is right at the entrance. I used stencils.

Obligatory Instagram shot. I plan to hang two more curtains, one on each side, across the front to hide the "cabin". I really hate the mauve curtains, but the front faces more or less South and they are blackout curtains. They keep out a lot of heat and blinding light from the Arizona sun. 

What you cannot see is that we organized each overhead cabinet and it was amazing how much stuff The Vardo can hold and still be relatively neat and organized. I say "relatively" because I have 2 kids and 2 dogs...something is always messy.

I still have to finish the bed/bath area, but it is such an improvement! I love it even more now. 

When we get somewhere more permanent, The Vardo will become either an actual camper for trips, or a guest house, depending on how expensive making it road worthy will be. Until then, it's our little Home Sweet Home.Gypsy Junkies Axel Caplet Boxy Long Sleeve Tee at Free People - Black (Google Affiliate Ad)Cotton Tale Gypsy 3-Pc. Wall Art Set (Google Affiliate Ad)Gypsy Junkies Mimi Tunic (Google Affiliate Ad)Gypsy Junkies Mimi Tunic (Google Affiliate Ad) 

Karate Bug

So, about a month ago we signed our Jilly-Bug up for karate. She had gone with a friend to Buddy Day at the studio in town and fallen in love with it. Keep in mind, she has been telling us for years that she has "karate skills". This proclamation is always followed by a volley of kicks and flailing of arms that is reminiscent of someone who has just walked into a spider web.
A few days later, we received a postcard from the studio offering half off a 3 class trial and a free uniform. We signed up for the 3 classes, and she really did well. You could see her enthusiasm, as well as her rapt attention to the instructors. We signed her up as a full student.
In the last month, she had worked her tiny butt off and earned her 1st tip. I have learned that she needs 2 tips before she can test for her yellow belt, which should be in July.
So this makes me hope we can put Mojo in the "Little Dragons" class when she turns four. If I knew I had a babysitter to take them too, I would take the adult classes. Until then, three cheers for Jilly!

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