Monthly Archives: September 2014

Upgrade to the art studio, a fancy backed, padded swivel stool

Immediate upgrade! I wanted a padded swivel barstool with a back and got one

Immediate upgrade! I wanted a padded swivel barstool with a back and got one

A huge shout out of gratitude to Ed Mondazzi and Chris Wilson of Book And Bead Outlet for not only the coolest psychic fair ever yesterday, but for gifting me this awesome swivel barstool for my art studio. I last week told the bf I needed a padded swivel stool, so the Universe and Chris and Ed conspired to drop it in my lap. Ok, plus I asked for it. Always ask for what you want. Plus live your life happily enough to vibe in a good place to attract generous, loving peeps like Ed and Chris.

A fun day doing readings at Book and Bead Outlet’s Psychic Fair

The future is crystal clear

The future is crystal clear

It was another awesome psychic fair at Book And Bead Outlet today.  I got to see old friends and new, thanks to everyone stopping by and saying hi in person The next fair is November 9th.  Today’s hits included several real estate transactions, a cruise, an extended vacation, a home remodeling, an overseas trip, a mate who stopped paying support, a childhood friend coming back into the life (x2), cinematography as a profession, in school for design and fashion, hip surgery, knee surgery,  new business partnership with friends (x2), home size of 3500 sq.ft., son moving out, son moving in, tax matters, issues in new biz with licensing requirements, moving and switching schools. I’m sometimes surprised at how much info comes in during a scattered 10 minute mini reading, especially if they are not asking a question.  I always suggest asking a question so I can spend 10 minutes giving them a complete answer on the topic they care most about.  Today, only 3 had a question. Tough crowd.

Creating more space around me

spirit treeI spent a few hours today cutting palmettos and grapevines as I opened up another area of the yard. Since the tree cutters came and changed the landscape here, I’ve taken the opportunity to make some changes of my own.  I usually let the natural trails in my woods grow over during the summer and starting cutting them as the weather cools.  I like a winding path to the firepit, and I re-route grapevines to create walls for privacy. The neighbor behind me used to have a real attitude about my yard being so wild.  He didn’t like the wildlife that came out of the woods, nor the mulberry and loquat trees that they fed from. He was rude and vocal. I let my yard grow wild so I didn’t have to see his house or garage. The past few years he’s been quiet, so I’ve slowly been opening the yard back up, cutting back the palmettos that border the property and run all through it.  I like to keep it wild so it’s a nature corridor for the wildlife. We’ve got all kinds here.  They lived here before I did, so it’s only fair. I feel I’ve got twice as much property as I had last week. I’m already planning where to place the tent and chiminea for those cool autumn nights when I want to pretend I’m in the deep woods.

Benny and I find an early sunrise and a slice of the Spirit Tree

I can see the sunrise an hour earlier now

I can see the sunrise an hour earlier now

I went outside predawn yesterday to water in the back garden area, newly cleared by the power company tree cutters. It was my first sunrise in the new space. Usually I don’t see the sun until it rises over the treeline to the east, which is generally a couple of hours after sunrise. Yesterday I got to see it while it was still low on the horizon, something I’ve never done before in this house I’ve lived in for 30 years. Not only that, I felt the breeze from the east, something else I seldom feel in this yard.  I’ve got three lots of woods each to my east and west, so a breeze has to break through some dense oaks and pines to get to me.  With the area cut open under the power lines for as far as the eye can see, I stood watching the sunrise and feeling the wind blow through me and it felt like a glorious new day.  Continue reading

The new garden area gets a blessing

In the meantime, something pretty to look at

In the meantime, something pretty to look at

This morning I got to work a few hours in the new garden area, cleared under the power line by the tree cutters. I did it as a form of blessing the new space.  I pulled miles of potato vine, greenbrier and Virginia creeper that got exposed in the cut.  I took my pruners and went over every cut they made to the smaller trees, bushes and vines, with a prayer of thank you, and leaving them with a kinder cut.  Experience has taught me to honor my place as a steward of the earth by embracing change when it happens. I transplanted a dozen loquat saplings, plus 20+ cuttings from my arbicola and turk’s cap, clipped two days before the tree cutters came in.   I gave thanks to Mother Earth, to the Great Spirit, for leaving me with such a big beautiful new garden space.  I smudged with sage and sweetgrass, cedar and tobacco, to carry my prayers on smoke and wind.  I haven’t decided yet what I’ll plant. It’s the perfect place (and planting time!) for an herb garden, winter squash, celery, greens, beets, brussels sprouts, carrots, onions.  We’ll see.  I’m entertaining different ideas.

The universe gifts me with a brand new garden space I never had before!

The spirit oak cut back

The spirit oak cut back

Here’s my giant spirit oak after the power company contractors cut it away from the power line — The Universe sends me tree cutters.  I’ve got a great open space now and sunshine for my turk’s cap and arbicola along the privacy fence beneath it to grow. It’s the only spot in the back of the property that has sunshine and it’s got lots now. There’s also a perfect cut branch for me to mount a platform for a tree house. It’ll look right down into the grouchy neighbor’s enclosed pool area and living room. Better than tv!   Continue reading

The Universe sends me tree cutters and saves me a bundle of $

The spirit oak cut back

The spirit oak cut back

Today Asplundh is cutting trees underneath the power lines for Florida Power and Light Co. My giant oak in the back hasn’t been cut for several years, so they need to bring in the machine to do it. My property is very overgrown and wooded but the property next to it has a clearing they can come in through.  My mulberry tree branches on the north side are all gone, as well as a few choice loquat branches from the largest tree out back. They actually made some good choices of where to make the cuts, and today is a good day for pruning according to the moon. They are now assessing the giant pines to the west. I asked if they managed to cut any of the smaller bamboo to the east, don’t put them in the chipper but leave for me to pick up so I can use them.  They left me a bunch!  I figured this was about a $400 job they saved me from.  Thank You Syncronicity of the Universe!  Bonus: I just noticed that the tree cutters left me a clear view of the north sky out the back sliders. It’s pretty cool being able to sit and see the sky from inside the house, I’ve never been able to do that before.

RELATED:  The universe gifts me with a brand new garden space I never had before!
The new garden area gets a blessing

As the weather cools, time for camping at the firepit

We’re loving the cooler weather in Florida! 72 degree nights mean sitting out at the firepit and camping in my own woods.  I love having woods on three sides of me. I can feel completely isolated away from civilization yet the neighborhood is right on the other side of a few lots of oaks and pines. It becomes enchanted here at nightfall, so I enjoy the outdoors when the air turns cool.  I began cutting the trails through the woods last night and spent time watching the woodland creatures that I share the property with.  Their nightly parade up and down the trails is a never ending source of entertainment and contemplation.   Sometimes they get a whiff of the corn and potatoes roasting in the firepit and stop to see if they’ll get a handout.  I do not feed them, there are plenty of woods here for them to forage in and their fatness is evidence.  Continue reading

Why do you look so different than I do?

It used to miff Sherrae when someone asked what her heritage was so they could figure out why she is the color she is and has the features she has. “We’re American” was never sufficient. Sometimes she’d say she was adopted and ask them to guess.  “Look at my eyes, ” she’d say, “and the shape of my nose, my cheekbones.  Look at my hair, my body.   What does the cover tell you about the book?”

My experience is that we’re all a mix.  I may not be able to tell by their features if a friend is Polynesian or Peruvian or African or English or Scottish.  I might guess if someone doesn’t “look like me” then perhaps they have a different cultural background and learning about different cultures is fascinating for me.  What they are really curious about is “why do you look so different than I do?”

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