The Netherlands and "Wicked Game"

Greetings, Netherlands!

I had to mention this....I get so many hits from people in the Netherlands looking at my "Wicked Game" post that I decided to say "hello" and ask you to comment and to click the "follow" link since you're here so much!

So I ask you, what is the big attraction to "Wicked Game" besides the obvious, that IL DIVO is amazing and their music and voices send people to another zone? I am curious.

I haven't looked at their tour schedule lately, so maybe you're looking for information if they are coming to your country on tour. I have my tickets, as you know, as I have them displayed with two photos from their CD. I will see them in June in my area and am more than looking forward to it. I saw them two years ago and it was a dream come true!

So, good people of the Netherlands, make yourself known and let me know what brings you to my blog? I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

"The Heart Sees..."

"What cannot be seen with the eye, can be felt with the heart, for the heart sees deep into the being of another."

~ Mystery Guru

Merry Christmas!

Still Waiting For Christmas

"Still waiting for Christmas....it's coming....it's coming!"

"Joy To The World"

Animals of YouTube sing "Deck the Halls"

My Journey

44 Years Together ~ WOW!

WOW! Today at 4PM we will have been married 44 years!

Celebrating today with gifts and Chinese take-out :) Have to open the shop today so we'll celebrate tomorrow by taking a ride to Foxwoods...haven't been in awhile so it should be fun...win or lose!

"Wind Songs" Book Display

A few months ago I learned that an old friend of mine, Jack Goodman, who I knew when I lived in Jerome, Idaho, had published a book of poetry..."Wind Songs From Turtle's Back." We reconnected via email and Facebook and now my Three Lights Sanctuary has been blessed with a display of Jack's beautiful "Wind Songs!"

I am thrilled! "Wind Songs" completes my shop as the display is on the top shelf of my rack of books next to the "Velvet Throne" - another new addition to Three Lights Sanctuary - a red velvet couch offered to me by a customer a few weeks ago! Now customers, browsers, and friends have a special place to sit, relax, pick up a book, chat, or play with the Magic 8 Ball on the small table in front of the couch!

Many thanks to Jack Goodman for allowing me to offer "Wind Songs" in my shop. It's a gorgeous book of fabulous poems about nature and animals, domestic and wild. I learned that a second book is in progress and I can't wait to read it when it becomes available.

Victorian Holiday

Victorian Holiday Celebration

Today Santa arrives in Pascoag! Shops are open from 3-7 for Christmas Treats and Shopping galore...Vendors at the fire station, Christmas Caroling, Storytelling, and more!

Three Lights Sanctuary is participating...a Fun and hopefully Prosperous event!

Let the Christmas Celebrations begin!

The Day After

Sometimes the "Thanksgiving" doesn't end with the dawn of the new day after...

Happy Thanksgiving

"Wicked Game"

My tickets for IL DIVO's June concert arrived yesterday! After listening to "Wicked Game," I am confident that I am in for the night of my life! There are a few "tear jerkers" in the mix..."Don't Cry For Me Argentina" for one, and "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge ~ It doesn't get better than this!
There's nothing quite like listening to IL DIVO at 6:00am ~ Voices of angels bouncing off the walls around me! Heaven...It's not "out there"...it's where I am now ~

Changes

Here I go again - when will I know the truth from the world within?

When will I learn not to stay in low energy places among low energy faces?

Hey - when will you teach me where I belong?

When will you tell me where I go wrong?

Lessons are learned from within, not above - this I know. Michael is gone...everyone on that riverbank is gone - where did they all go? The city is obscured now. Why did everything change? The path has become overgrown...no one walks here but me. Tell me where the old way has gone so I can once again see my teacher and friend and home. Is there another place where I am to have a new home other than by the river? Or am I to be alone there ...no I think not. I know someone will guide me to my new paradise. It's just not here anymore. Begin again or change completely. Maybe I am to start new but really new without the "old" in the way. Think...what is it I am supposed to do? I know what isn't working yet I stay in the boat that hardly stays afloat. The waterfall inspires me to write. Its loud rushing water sings to my soul. Maybe I have found my new river right outside my window...maybe I am in my new home away from home. So am I to spend time reflecting there and learning life's lessons? Something isn't right there. But what is it that I can change to make it right for me...and my purpose there? That is the question I am posing to you, Dear Ones. Talk to me. Teach me to know my soul's purpose.

Now Turkeys and Deer!

I feed the birds and squirrels and chipmunks on the table on our back deck and some spills through the cracks in the floor onto the ground below. One day months ago I saw that wild turkeys were in the field behind our fence in the back yard eating bugs...grazing. Well, it wasn't long before they came into the yard and started eating the seeds that were on the ground below the deck. I decided to start throwing cracked corn over the deck for them, and the small critters, and now they are here at least 5 days a week eating their corn! Once in a while I'll see one on the table, but when it leaves it ends up in one of the old dog's fenced yards and doesn't know how to get out, so 3 times I have had to start down the deck stairs to scare it away and it's only then that they fly out to freedom!

Recently we have had deer come close to the deck, too...they see the other wildlife here eating and want in on the action, so one photo is of a deer walking away from the deck after seeing me in the window.

Feeding animals is something I love doing - it warms my heart and soul...and their tummies!

HAPPY AUTUMN

HARRY CONNICK JR. You Don't Know Me

John Denver - Country Roads (with lyrics)

Dear Diary ~ Hurricane Irene...

Saturday, Aug. 27th I closed Three Lights Sanctuary because we and everybody else in the coastal states were making the last preparations for Hurricane Irene that had just made landfall in North Carolina. Everyone was doing last minute grocery shopping so we took my sign and welcome mat in and took the air conditioner out of the window and closed the blinds. So one weekend lost due to the storm.

We continued to watch Irene's progress and knew we were in her sights with gusty winds overnight and heaviest winds and rain between 8am and 6pm on Sunday. Irene was forecast to make another landfall around NYC as a CAT 1 hurricane. What we didn't know was that shortly after 7:30am on Sunday the power went out! We pretty much expected to lose our electricity due to downed trees here and there, but no one around here expected to be without it for days! See, it's now Tuesday morning, Aug. 30th and we have not had power restored as of yet.

We have a weather radio and were aware that we could listen to our local news station so we would know what conditions were around the state. It was comforting to hear the voices of our news team that are with us via TV daily at noon and from 5:00-6:30pm. We knew what damage was being caused and what to expect in rainfall amounts and winds. We had tropical force sustained winds all day and night on Sunday. They diminished around 10pm. Rainfall was only a maximum of 4" in our area.

I have a police scanner and received a lot of information about what was going on in our town, and it was then that we knew Irene was doing a lot of damage with trees and limbs falling across power lines and snapping utility poles! Almost every street in town was reported to have trees down and blocking them to traffic, which even though no one should have been out driving, but there are always people who do. It was much worse than we had anticipated.

No one could tell us how long it would take to have power restored to the over 300,000 customers state-wide. Workers from around the country are here working 24 hours a day fixing wires so we can resume our normal activities and people can reopen their businesses and go back to work.

Today, Aug. 30th - School was supposed to start today for most kids in the state but no electricity - no school. Nothing is open in our town except a Lil General store and the pharmacy. My husband didn't have his first cup of coffee until Monday afternoon when he decided to try Lil General because we heard it was open. The bar in George's Restaurant was open down the street in town, so some were gathering for a "hurricane party" to pass the time! I made a few phone calls to see what was open in MA so we could get our lottery tickets for the week as we have to buy them on Mondays. We found a supermarket in Uxbridge, MA that was open, so Tom made a trip with an empty cooler and he brought back 3 bags of ice (that's all they would allow) and a few more items that I could keep cool overnight like soy milk and juice so I could have cereal when I wanted to.

Some good news is that our telephone works. Tom was able to go to work this morning as they never lost power in northern MA, so he's back to his normal routine and can have his coffee all day and hot soup for lunch! I have my canned fruit, pumpkin nut bread that I made Saturday and I have peanut butter and crackers, pickles and beets, and my sliced cheese that I have in the cooler, so I'll have a cheese sandwich and beets for supper with a can of V8 juice! Yum. It could be worse. This is a good lesson for all of us who live in southern New England - even a minimal tropical storm can cause power outages for days and up to a week. We were on the east and windiest side of Irene and were feeling the effects. The only damage to our property was several dead branches downed and many smaller ones and a shingle blew off one of our sheds.

At 7:15 this morning I was outside in the wet grass picking up branches and I must say I did a good job. I made a pile next to the house and shrubs near the maple trees they came from and am still waiting to hear from a tree service I called so they could do the cleanup for us. That was yesterday and he hasn't come by to assess the job yet. They never come when they say they will, so I started the job myself.

I've been feeding the 3 cats in our half-basement using a flashlight because even with the windows it's dark where I fill their food dishes. It gets dark after 6:30pm and we sit in the living room and listen to music and our local news - wow...I really miss my TV! I know there are many in the world with less, but we're not used to being without electricity and lack of water usage - can't shower, lost our last "flush" this morning so have to dump water down the "john" every once in a while as needed. So we're "roughing it." Not that bad...just an inconvenience. Rumor has it that we may have our power back on Thursday. I will look forward to my first shower. The key is to have the grocery stores open and restocked with fresh food so what we buy can be heated and cooked. If the food isn't fresh it'll just be canned soup and beans and maybe pasta for a while, but that will seem like "heaven" to me. :) Tonight we should be able to listen to the baseball game on the radio - the Yankees are in town if they could get here - I assume the airport is letting flights in now but I don't know for a fact. We'll find out.

The days are long because I can't run errands. The post office, bank, and grocery stores are all closed. I could read but I'm too preoccupied with the situation to read. I prefer to write and think. I miss my computer and my Facebook friends - can't wait to get back to posting on my and their walls. :) My last post was that I'd be back as soon as possible in case we lost power, but I had no idea at the time it would be several days. I'm thinking I'll be able to open Three Lights Sanctuary on Saturday - it's Labor Day weekend besides. Next Monday Tom will have the holiday off and I was thinking about going to Foxwoods, so we'll wait and see when things get back to normal and then decide to take a ride to play the slots or stay home.

It's 12:10pm on Tuesday and I am listening to our local news on the radio. An optimistic report: they found the trouble in the feed from National Grid that supplies Pascoag Electric in our town and they think Pascoag and Harrisville will have their (our) power back TODAY!! Yay!!! That would be a lot of prayers answered. :) And so I will wait - if this happens and we get our power back today I will only have a few more words to add to this post. Waiting eagerly!

Tuesday, Aug. 30th, 3:55pm. Yes - miraculously, our power came back on. Hallelujah!

I Sink I'm In Zeee Wrong Place!

I think and think and think about why certain people do not come into my Three Lights Sanctuary. I'm in a new location, three doors away from a country store and 2 antique shops. I'm near a liquor store, and across the street from an insurance office and Auto Audio. I look out my windows at the mega traffic go by and stopped at the light very close by, thinking that they must see my sign while they're stopped, anyway. Maybe they'll come in one day? And what about the people who live in the house my Sanctuary is in? They sit on the porch smoking with their dog barking...for hours...while I'm open...they don't come in, and I have only met and spoken to one, yet he won't come in he says, "because I don't have any money." I told him he doesn't have to buy anything, that I'd just like to show my shop to him. No soap. He sat on the porch with his barking black lab...and I wonder if that's going to contribute to keeping people away. Someone else was on the porch and his dog was loose...trotted up to me when I opened yesterday. I love animals and hold nothing against them. But, "am I in zeee right place?"

Why are people so unfriendly? While I was at Pinewood Park the last year and a half no one came in because I was out of the way, off the beaten path, and know from experience that few people will drive out of their way to come to my shop. They have to want something I have that they can't get anywhere else. What I don't understand is why didn't the women in the offices next to me come in in a year and a half? Not even out of curiosity! I am so different than the people I'm surrounded by. If someone moved a shop nearby I'd go in, introduce myself and be excited to look around to see what they were offering. What's so hard about that? Not a thing. I want a professional opinion why people are the way they are. Is it the area? I can be next door to people and they won't come in..."I must be in zeee wrong place!"

What about the waitress down the street where I get pizza and veggie pockets and have been for 22 years? She went out of her way to show me a stone she bought in the next state, so when I bought my new stones I gave her flyers of all my stones and their meanings. She told me where she gets her stones and thanked me for thinking of her. I have more stones and am much closer...will she come in? Probably not. Why not? This is what I don't understand. People who know me in my own town treat me like I have a contagious disease. They stay away. They show no support whatsoever.

If I knew someone and they opened a new shop I'd be one of the first to check it out. What is wrong with people? So I thought about the people who DO come in. Strangers. People from out of town. And they give me compliments and they're friendly, and they buy, most of them, and they have something in common with me. So that's why I took out another full page ad that will be in this weeks papers, two of them, in Connecticut, as I'm only 7 miles away.

I had an interesting thought recently. "What if I am in zeee wrong place?" What if I don't belong here. My mother told me I was conceived in New York City when my parents were on a Thanksgiving vacation! I write and paint, and I used to sing and dance and love music and the theater. I used to be a star-struck teenager and wrote to every movie star I liked and have an album of autographed photos, post cards and even a letter from singer, Dee Dee from the old Dick and Dee Dee. I have seen many musicals and still attend a concert here and there if someone very special is performing in the area, like Josh Groban - I have tickets to see him in November. The arts are "in my blood." What if we are meant to live where we were conceived and not where we were born? Think about that for a moment. Think about you as a little soul around the people who made you...and there you go, into the mother's body where she was...in New York!!! Not in RI!!! Geeeze...this is why what I do isn't working for me. "I Sink I'm In Zeee Wrong Place!" (...and yes, that's a French accent I threw in because I think it's funny. It's a phrase Sebastien used when David Miller came out from auditioning for IL DIVO!...by the way, they are both members of IL DIVO...and yes...I saw them in concert at Mohegan Sun...beautiful voices and handsome faces and soooo talented!)

So, what if? I would have been in zeee RIGHT place in NYC. Surrounded by the arts. By musicians and artists and theater and dance. Did I miss the bus? Will I have to wait for the next lifetime for the right bus? So my parents played a dirty trick on me. They made me in New York and moved me to North Smithfield, RI. Thanks folks. Hope you're having a good laugh in heaven or wherever you may be. So here I am, wondering what's wrong, why aren't people coming in and why do I have to keep moving my shop from place to place? Now I know that it could be as simple as, "I Sink I'm In Zeee Wrong Place!

Beatles and Julian Lennon - 'When I'm 64'

Celebrating Being a LEO!

Celebrating "My Day!"

Article in The Glocester Advocate

An article about me and my Three Lights Sanctuary is in this month's issue of The Glocester Advocate and can be seen online, page 11, at:

www.theglocesteradvocate.com.

Full Page Ad for Sanctuary Opening

Larger Room at the Sanctuary

My table of tumbled gemstones in the center of the larger room off the front room at Three Lights Sanctuary. Ready for opening day, next Saturday August 6th.

Photo by Sandy Bell - The Glocester Advocate

This photo and others are part of an article she wrote about Three Lights Sanctuary and myself in her August paper due out this Saturday!

I also composed a full page ad for next week's Bargain Buyer with photos to ensure any words or mental images about me and my shop in the Glocester Advocate aren't entirely taken to heart. I believe that no one understands me or my Spirit Art and Stones of Galilee writings better than I do...hence I decided to be proactive and let the public read about what I offer from THIS horse's mouth!

Custom "Spiral Energy" Paintings

"Snail Spiral"

"The spiral is an archetypal symbol that represents cosmic force"

~ Carl Jung

I am now offering Custom "Spiral Energy" Paintings as an addition to my "Spirit Art."

Please go to my web site for details.

Click on the Spirit Art and/or Art-Stones-Gifts links for details.

http://www.threelightssanctuary.com/

Lunamont Signs ~ Trego, Montana

My sign has been shipped for Three Lights Sanctuary! Lunamont Signs has photos posted at the top of page 3 of their samples pages. I love it and love the colors...I think it's so cool to see a photo of my sign hanging in Montana! :) One photo is of Steve, the owner, hand painting the lettering. They are going to keep the photos right there at the top of page 3...how nice of them. In exchange I'm going to put their business cards out in my shop! They are so kind and have been wonderful to work with! View photos on their site:

http://www.lunamontsigns.com/

Click on page 3 of the Sample Pages

New Sign

This is the mockup for my new sign for Three Lights Sanctuary. I love it!

After running into a snag with a local business, I had the idea to seek a sign company on the internet that could do everything, and I was fortunate to find the perfect one. They are in the sign making business only and create beautifully painted wood signs and are the easiest and nicest people to work with. So simple. They are already building it and I will have it for installation outside my new location early August!

I recommend this wonderful company & people for anyone looking for a wood & paint sign.

Lunamont Signs ~ Trego, MT

http://www.lunamontsigns.com/

Home

"Home is the most popular and will be the most enduring of all earthly establishments."

~ Channing Pollock

It's Independence Day!

New Hours & Business Cards

After a lot of thought, I decided to change my hours at Three Lights Sanctuary. All the business is on the weekends, and being free during weekdays to run the house is a better option. I left the door open stating "Weekdays By Chance" in case I have nothing keeping me at home and want to open. I already feel less pressure.

I went through several more pages of business card options and found one that may be better, not to mention the ones I ordered have the wrong hours now. The 3 candles reflect Three Lights, so I think it's a better fit, although I do like the other card. I can always use a red marker and cover up the Thursday and Friday hours.

I packed everything up at my old space and all the cabinets are ready to move over the weekend. After the furniture is in place at the new location I'll be able to empty the tubs I filled today and will then be able to use them to pack my paintings.

All is going well.

Wings of Light

"Life is so delicate..., is like a candle in the wind..."

Moving Three Lights Sanctuary

Due to zero business at Pinewood Park and my landlord wanting my unit for his friends who want to downsize, calling me twice to tell me he wanted a year commitment if I wanted to stay, I decided I wouldn't be happy there any longer. Tom and I drove to N. Scituate Village to see if there were any places for rent but there were none. On the way home Tom noticed a For Rent sign smack in the middle of Chepachet Village in a duplex 3 doors away from Brown and Hopkins Country Store! There has been a sign out front for a year that was for a gutter company, so we, and I'm sure everyone else, thought that side was occupied. I called immediately to find that the unit he wanted to rent was for an apartment on the other side. But since he asked what I wanted to rent, he was interested. We met the next day, and I am now moving out of Pinewood Park and back onto the Main St. where all the walk-in traffic, and traffic period, is.

It's small but perfect for me. A small room and good size second room. The floors are beautiful large wood planks, walls are half wainscoting and half freshly painted sheet rock in off-white. All window & door casings are beautiful wood, carved w/medallions in the corners. The front door is dark red, house is grey w/white trim, and a covered porch. The door has square panes and sidelights w/square panes. There is a sink and counter with glass door china cabinet in the second room w/small refrigerator, which I need for water and anything else I want to keep cold. A small bathroom off the front room, but it serves the purpose. Built-in shelves in the front room and a variety of closets and cubbyholes! It's going to be fun getting set up! I plan to open Aug. 4th. I put signs in the windows at both places this morning to get people used to what's coming in! The Ancient & Horribles Parade the 4th of July in Chepachet Village will bring hundreds to town, so hopefully they'll see my sign. Now working on getting a sign made to hang near the road from an existing post.

I ordered new business cards yesterday with a couple of tee-shirts with new logo...think that's a good idea...wearing shirts with my logo...then all I have to get ready are my jeans of different colors.

Things are looking positive right now...Happy Days!

One Of Those Days

It's one of those days. A dreary, misty morning, cool with showers on and off. One of those days that makes you feel like staying in your pj's, get done what has to get done, then think. I have had days like this recently where I want to ponder my life asking myself, "what do I really want to do?" I have accepted that I may be living in the wrong place for what I want to do...what excites me...this area is dead! People don't have $$$ to spend on much more than the necessities. Who is going to buy my paintings? Retail is bad, period.

I keep writing pros and cons and really get in touch with my feelings, not just using the logical mind. Maybe what I want I cannot have, so I have to make the best of my life as it is or think of something that I can do that makes me happy and that works for me, even if that something is being alone during the day and forgetting about the outside world and stop trying to fit in a place that doesn't exist.

I'm going to pull out of the antique store in CT the end of the month. I'm in the hole and wouldn't stay there through another winter, not to mention it's a hassle having to find a parking space to carry tubs in there just to lose $$$ and merchandise. Just another thing that doesn't make sense to keep doing, unless it was fun and made me happy...doesn't.

So, what do I do with my space at Pinewood Park? I keep asking myself this question. Losing $$$ and am too far in the hole to ever make a profit, yet I keep it as an outlet...a place that's all mine away from home in a place that I like. I just have no support from the community no matter how much I advertise. A stray customer once in a great while...no one coming around that warrants keeping regular hours. So it's "by chance or appointment." It's not working...yet. So I'm not there for the money. I'm there hoping things will change. Waiting for someone to rent the old stove shop in the front that would bring in some "bodies!" The restaurant next to the stove shop doesn't open till 4PM...that was a huge surprise as they used to be open for lunch all week...now not! That changed everything. No one is there on Saturday - I'm in the middle of offices. So no one around me helps bring the public around nor do the people in those offices come in to even say, "hi." What is wrong with people, anyway? I am not like them...if there was a shop that opened near me I would at least be curious to see what they were offering and introduce myself. And the people who know me have never stopped by...no one is that friendly...no one will go out of their way to be "nice." They're friendly when they see me in town...then shun me where my shop is concerned. No wonder that I am depressed with life...sometimes I feel staying away from society is to be my true self...or is my calling. Maybe I need to forget about people, period, and stay home and write. Play on Facebook, write my blogs, and maybe put something together to submit to someone in the Writer's Market Book. I don't know. Cleaning the house and only cleaning the house is so not what I want to do with the rest of my life. The clutter will always be there. There has to be more.

That's why I like days like this. Days where I am not obligated to be anywhere at a certain time. Don't have anyone to please but myself. My animals are all set for the morning...they'll sleep all day...I'm free to do as I please, but what is that? Seems I have always needed outside motivation to light a fire under myself to do something special...something I can get excited about. It's my job to learn what excites me and just do it...if it's within what I am able to do. Oh well, one of these days I will have that "ah-ha moment" and will act on my newly found idea or thought. One that will satisfy what has been missing, then I will discover something I have ignored until that time.

Time to stop writing...but a very good day to do more thinking.

Silk Sunset

Just Because They're Beautiful

"Happy Birthday" to my Fabulous Four

Six years ago today at 5PM I heard Toby let out a cry! I knew she was due to have her kittens soon, and she picked the hottest day of the year to have her 4 beautiful babies! She had given birth to 2 when I walked into the room and although she had a box with newspapers for the occasion, she took them out of the box and tried hiding them under a chair. I put them back in the box and didn't leave Toby's side. I got a bowl of water and held it for her as she did her busy work! She was grateful.

Six years later it is the hottest day of the year once again.

Toby gave birth to 4 beautiful kittens, all white, but soon showing traces of color on their tails and ears/face. It was a beautiful experience, one that I have witnessed before with our old cat family gone by.

I didn't know if they were boys or girls but learned how to tell a little too late. I had learned from my Chloe and Dolly and Toby a bit too late how to tell girls from boys, so I got it right this time. They are Ewan, Gabriel, Olivia, and Little Joe who left us and went into Spirit after 7 weeks of life. He had "floating ribs" and they weren't where they were supposed to be, so he was taken from us prematurely. :(

Sadly, Toby, their mother, died last year from fluid in her lungs. She suffered badly at the vet before she was put to sleep, so I have doubts whether I will ever bring another pet to the vet to be tortured and then put to sleep. Dying at home may be the best choice...it depends on the circumstances.

But today, I celebrate their life...my beauties with paws! :) You make me happy and I appreciate the time we spend together. I love you and hope to post another birthday greeting the same time next year!

Fantasy Piano

I have been looking for and downloading pictures to use on Facebook and seeking quotes to match with them and came across this one which I fell in love with. It is me...me...me...me...me! I want Spirit to take over my fingers now and see what this image invokes. And so...

FANTASY PIANO

Oh, that's not my piano nor am I fond of playing. But the flowers are wonderful and I already had a drink of the wine that is no longer in my glass. Honey, pure honey is dripping from my mouth after my beloved and I are together in the next world. He is holding me now and you are wanting a message from us? Okay then...you shall receive one. Listen closely.

You are fortunate to be the one writing my words and not the one whose reflection you are witnessing in the photo of my piano and my lace neath the candelabra. Oh I said it wasn't my piano, but yes, I didn't speak the truth for reasons this piano is a haunted memory. You, however, are listening to this beautiful pianist with voice of strength and love and beauty. You also sang and played the piano...I see your black piano...in better shape then mine. So let us all rejoice in the spirit of music today while we are together in our respective worlds. There is not much preventing us from laughing and singing together...we can all smell the roses at the same time...we can raise our glass at the same time and give memories a chance to bring themselves to us all in unison.

Hold on to your specialness. Music is a gift to your world and it lingers also in this after world. I have one idea that will make this image remain alive for us...it is that you create something from this process you are using to gather communication from the other side of the lace cloth. I can see your face and light. I can tell that you love everything about this image before you. You reflect this image. This image reflects who you are in Spirit...musical, and live for beauty in life. Now you must depart from your message and continue writing other messages from other images that create emotion necessary to put in the written word.

Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed needs from me something, but I am not at all sure what. He came to me when dad was dying and I went to the phone at the hospital to call an aunt because I heard that he was doing better and was full of hope. As I picked up the phone to place the call, I heard my mother's voice say the words, "Johnny Appleseed." It was her voice and she was deceased. She was giving me notice that she was aware what was happening. And my dad did pass away the next morning.

I will always remember that moment...there had been mention of "Johnny Appleseed" between my mother and I, and was also related to my father. Now what am I to do with this information that, in a joyful unfinished business sort of way, I feel it necessary to pursue, but what am I pursuing?

I should do some research. "Johnny Appleseed" lived where my husband works, in Leominster, MA. (or so the tale goes) They have "Johnny Appleseed" this 'n that up there. Maybe it's time to take a ride and see the area for myself.

It's too late to plant apple trees. Should I sell apple seeds? I remember loving the tale about him when I was a kid...but there is something hidden in this matter and I want to seek the answer out. I see a picture in my mind of him walking away from me wearing that pot on his head as if it were a ball cap! Good old "Johnny Appleseed." :) What do you want from me?

The White Path and Eyes of Gold

There once was a time when animals and humans spoke to each other. Now they kill each other. How does that fit in with creation? How does that work for each animal and human? There is a shame in both animals and humans when evil overcomes both. That is how the world turned from a home for all to live in harmony, to a world of love and hate. A world of places and things, and a world where secrets are kept to protect the innocence that is the truth. The sacred truth of Earth, the planet of love gone awry.

Today I see that beauty in truth of times passed. Gone are the times when the beast and the beauty of life are lived with respect. So weep, you know inside your heart that love isn't real, and that people don't really love one another but lie to protect the human order of life and death. The truth is that life is eternal. But we are all dying because this is the lie we were told when our elders programmed our hearts and minds. Death is only for the dead. Eternal life is for the angels and innocents who have traveled to Earth to one day gather the ones encoded by the Creator's gift of eternal life. They have the secrets in their souls, yes, animals, too. They have come to Earth to live in harmony with the ones encoded with true love in their hearts. They do not die. They are like those who are living for all eternity with special ones.

Gather your thoughts and go back to the time you incarnated into this life. Remember what you were to do here. When your life turns ugly, turn around and seek another route because you have taken a wrong step without realizing it. You will find the path you chose...the path you were intended to travel.

Listen to the light within. It speaks of truth and beauty. Among all the ugliness that you encounter, bring your eyes back to your soul because your soul knows and remembers who you truly are when you forget. This keeps you away from evil ones. If you must encounter those who dislike you because your light shines so bright that they must slaughter you to douse the glare from their eyes, wear a mask and hide your truth until they have gone. They cannot see your light shine brightly or you will bestow grief. Hide if you must. You are special and they see it and hate you for being who you are. So they beat you any way they can. Banish them from your space. Protect your secrets and your light by invoking your angels of protection and keepers of your light. Spend time every night thanking the Creator for His secrets and His love. Ask for strength to keep His truth safe. The time of endurance is nearing. Before the shadows of evil cast down on the place where you dwell on Earth, hold your heart and your light, to His light, and you will be free and you will be connected by the white path, the path of light and love. You are pure where your heart dwells. When people surround you with the shade of hate and jealousy, know that they are of the group of souls who will die. They are evil because the light did not shine on their soul at birth. When you look into the eyes of an animal who will never die, will be your soul showing you truth and light and love...eternity. When you greet a person and see they have eyes of gold, know that they will not die. They have love and light and truth and hold the same secrets as you. Eyes of gold. Angels select those with eyes of gold to protect.

Keep your hiding place forever safe and open your heart and love to those with eyes of gold and then you will be home. You will have tread upon the path of white light and this path is your way home.

(once in awhile I let Spirit take over, like this post. This is what I call "free-flowing" writing. No thoughts or thinking, just Spirit taking over the keyboard. This is one of those times)

IL VOLO-IL MONDO-SELECTION CD-VIVO PER LEI-GIANLUCA GINOBLE-GIULIANA DANZÉ

It Began With An Email

Why does everything have to be so difficult?

It all began with an email I received 2 days ago from, Jack Goodman. In the subject read: Jack Goodman would like you to visit Winning Writers.com

It was sent: refsvr@referralblast.com. Sure it was. Everyone has a snoop dog watching everything you do and buy. I bought Jack Goodman's book on Amazon.com. That's all it took for some bot to take my information regarding that purchase and in 2 weeks I received the email that opened up yet another difficult situation. At least it's been difficult since yesterday!

I checked out Winning Writers and found that jack Goodman had written a poem that was critiqued. I read his poem and the critique and then joined Winning Writers to begin receiving their newsletter where Jack's poem was selected for the Feb. 2011 issue. So I thought, it must be a good thing if Jack joined, so I joined. This site is all about contests. I am signed up for their newsletter. I looked at the contests with no entry fees, and there are 150 available. The first was simple for me...a 5-7-5 poetry contest...Haiku yet not exactly. All contests were run by FanStory.com. So I composed the following immediately because there was only 1 day to post it. I thought about what image I wanted to create and thought of Rufus Wainwright in his Lulu outfit as I had received his book a few days ago, "A Day In the Life of Rufus Wainwright." All photos and little text. So this is what I came up with for my contest entry.

Touching piano keys

he creates instant alchemy

turning sound into gold.

Well, I posted that only to find there were so many other things I had to do...like setting up a page on Twitter or on a Ning Network! Choosing background and text colors, which I did, but the process wasn't easy, as to promote it I had to gain possession of "certificates!" I also had to name the poem, choose a photo, which I tried to do but I had to be a more advanced subscriber to do that! (and that cost $$$) This was the end for me. When I am made to jump through hoops to enter a simple contest, forget it! I was told that I had not posted anything, so I signed off and decided this was not for me!

This morning I had 4 emails from Fan Story, one telling me I had received feedback for my contest poem which I titled, "Rufus Becomes Merlin." I clicked on the link that was supposed to take me to the feedback, which I was anxious to read, but it took me to my profile and looked everywhere for "comments" but missed it, so I was frustrated to say the least! After going back and starting over, I found feedback by 2 members and my poem was listed as "excellent!" :) How nice that was. I thanked the 2 people for their feedback. I finally found my poem! It's only going to be posted for 2 more days and I'd better hurry and buy "certificates" so I can collect 30 reviews or it will not be considered for the contest. Wonderful. To receive points/cents? I either have to write reviews on others' work, or purchase outright! Aha!! There it is. That's how they make money....jerks. Nothing is simple...everyone is out for money...no one does anything except for the almighty dollar, and I am soooo tired of it.

Although I filled out a bit of information on my profile, I don't think I'll go back to Fan Story, and probably not back to Winning Writers because it's all going to be the same. If I want to write and share, I will do so on my blogs and web sites and through my art studio. If I want to have something published, I'll do what everyone else is doing and self-publish, period. It's way too late to promote myself by making a name, which is what people spend ten+ years doing. So, I have come back down to Earth and am content sharing my writings and my paintings via my blogs, web sites, and studio as I am doing now and have been doing for several years. There's too much competition and the economy is bad. Share what I have to offer in the way that is comfortable for me, and "come what may."

Tom's 3-Day Birthday Weekend

Hubby had a Happy 3-Day Birthday this weekend! Born May 7th, we celebrated Friday at Foxwoods playing some favorite slots. :) Tom wasn't lucky, but I had more success. We wanted to hit both casinos and visiting both in one afternoon is too much, so he took Friday off as a vacation day. Celebrated early with a Black Forest cake!

Saturday (birthday) morning he opened his gifts. I took pictures with my new digital camera but still haven't been to CVS to have anything processed...one of these days! He was happy with his new light jackets, shoes, and cords and jeans...card with scratch tickets - he won $10. We decided to go to Mohegan Sun Sunday and stay home Saturday because storms, possibly severe, were to develop in the afternoon, so we had a sports Saturday watching a baseball game, golf, and NASCAR at night.

Sunday we had breakfast and were on our way to Mohegan Sun. We stopped for muffins and coffee an Dunkin Donuts on the way to have a bit more on the tummy so we wouldn't get too hungry during the afternoon. Boy, it was slow and early there where we play. Had the whole row of machines to ourselves for awhile. I finally found 2 machines that started to pay and stuck with them the rest of the afternoon. Because the closest restrooms were closed for renovations and the next closest one was way to far away to keep walking to, we made our way to the high stakes room on the way out. That was fun...it kept us playing for quite awhile, but we left so we'd get home in time for Tom to get Chinese take-out. His favorite boneless chicken...and I had my favorite Buddha's Delight! Our Red Sox played both weekend afternoons and won! We watched a movie last night but I was tired....had a good night's sleep...overslept this morning but feel good and am glad all is back to normal, grocery shopping, errands, making supper, and TV at night...also having some new people powerwashing the house the end of the week getting it ready to paint.

It was a Happy and fun Birthday for Tom! :)

Getting Caught Up ~ On Vacation

Now...what's been going on? Since Easter...the Royal Wedding was beautiful! There were some tears...choking up at moments...remembering Diana's wedding...then her funeral in the same place...her sons walking the same footsteps where her casket rested. The wedding was perfect, her gown was perfect, his uniform was gorgeous, and they made a beautiful couple. Unlike his father, he is in love with his bride, the way marriage should be.

Moving on...Terrorist #1 has been killed by our troops...Special Ops...Navy Seals...the best in the world...got the job done and rid the world of a large rat. Let's continue to rid the world of more rats that are looming in the wings for more opportunities to kill innocent people.

I am taking a vacation from Facebook. Just disabled my "wall" and left a message for friends there. I need some space...can't please everyone and I'm tired of dealing with so many personalities and don't want to have to worry about stepping on toes because people are sensitive to my words. So it's time to please just myself now. I'm going to stay in my pj's all day today and go about my business at home...won't answer the phone if it rings...I am tired of people right now.

I have already been through Hell trying to find a house painter! We need to have the front of the house painted, the back was done last fall and we didn't hear back from the painter about doing the front, so we called another painter. He didn't show up the 1st day he was to powerwash, I shut the house up so the cats wouldn't be frightened, and he was a "no show." He showed up the next day. Then I waited for him to finish powerwashing the following day and he didn't show up! I blew my top and had a conversation...I fired him! These contractors are so independent and inconsiderate that I thought about Tom and I painting the house ourselves, but there's too much work and heights we can't reach, so I called in answer to an ad in the Bargain Buyer and am meeting with a couple tomorrow about finishing the house. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will get the job done. Maybe dealing with a woman is the key. Ha...the kicker is that we got a late-night phone call from yet another painter that was to check out the job Monday who never called, so he thinks he's dropping by this afternoon...in the rain...because it's convenient for HIM! Think again...Tom is calling him today to tell him I am NOT available. We'll call him if we need him. So this and dealing with Facebook personalities (Europeans) is getting to me! So I disabled my wall and want some alone time...me and my keyboard...me and my paper and pen...me and my home and animals...and I will have my house painted by the right person. I will not be a doormat for anyone...anymore.

On the positive side...well, making the decision to be alone is a positive...and I had my hair trimmed yesterday and it looks great! Finally...got my hair on the right track again! :) And tomorrow I will wrap Tom's birthday presents for Saturday...and he's taking Friday off to take me to an appointment, then we're buying our flowers for the season. Saturday we're celebrating at Mohegan Sun...should be busy because the Kentucky Derby is on that afternoon! That means lots of play and jackpots!!! Looking forward to a good end of the week.

I am already enjoying my alone time. No one to please...no one to leave the house for...no one I have to talk to...until tomorrow, but after the house is painted, the new awnings up in a month, I can enjoy the rest of the summer cutting grass and watering flowers, and feeding birds and squirrels...and writing. I'm in the mood to write. I am also going to read...have several new books...and rearranged my Three Lights Sanctuary to suit myself. I have no signs in the windows...I am not opening to the public because they are not there. I'll be using my space for my paintings...and a place to write and paint or watch TV and have lunch...until I decide there's a reason to open to a public that may come around due to whatever may open in the old stove shop...it's still empty and for rent. It's a dead zone and has been for a year. And as for the case I'm renting in CT...I'm losing money there, too. There is little business so every one's suffering. I think May will be my last month there. If I want to lose money I'd rather lose it having fun at the casinos playing the slots!! This economy is crazy...I think it's time to let go of any idea of retail.

I think that is enough for now...I need to open up the basement and start feeding the cats. I may start a new blog...I'm thinking of doing some rhyming...maybe just some simple rhyming verse...whatever...who knows? We'll see.

Happy Easter ~ Happy Spring

Twitter

Since yesterday, when I tried to get onto my Twitter page, I saw that they had switched to their new format which I had already been using for months. However, there's a problem...no surprise with Twitter! They won't let me sign in. I have used the correct username and password and I cannot get onto my profile page for use. I am able to see it but I can't perform any actions. Can't post, or send DM's...nothing because the action links don't show until I sign in which they won't let me do. I just get another set of boxes to fill out my username and password and then fill out the word jumbles! They are accepting nothing! What a joke. This is the third Twitter page I am locked out of. One was for my husband and one was hacked into and stolen from me and I was suspended. Now I simply cannot sign in, so I'm posting this into the ethers for anyone who may come across my post here.

If anyone wants to contact me, my email address is: 22cats-crossing@cox.net

If Twitter should fix itself, then I will begin to post again.

Remembering Jack Goodman

"Jack & Myself"

Good Times in Idaho - 5 miles South & 1/4 West

( walking around the old homestead )

Once in a while I get the urge to Google someone from my past, as I Google myself sometimes to see what comes up. So I Googled an old friend from the time we lived in Idaho, Jack Goodman. After so many years have passed, we have been out of touch for most of them. Just wondering how he and his family were I found a link that mentioned him as a poet and his book of poetry published in 2009, "Wind Songs from Turtle's Back." I was not that surprised as Jack was always a deep person who was always quiet and in deep thought, an inward person, so it didn't surprise me at all that he was writing. I read that he was also now a cattleman and had moved from our old farm house 5 miles south of Jerome...they rented it from us so we could buy a house in town. We became close friends after that.

I later went to amazon.com to search for his book and was thrilled that they had 2 left! I ordered it right away and it arrived in the mail yesterday. :) I didn't read cover to cover, but read the first few pages and back cover, then flipped through it stopping and reading poems that caught my eye or soul, as his poems were about his experiences and life with wild and domestic animals of the great northwest. Since I knew Jack and I lived in Idaho for 5 years, each word I read was very special as I visualized him writing and felt close to him once again as a friend, being there as he watched his failing dog, felt the hot steam from his cup of green tea, felt the wind blowing snow in his face as he fed his cattle, and in the canoe down the Snake River witnessing the birds flying over.

His poems touched my soul, and old memories came flooding back to that old farmhouse we both lived in and picturing his new farmhouse as they have moved away where he raises his cattle. Thinking of Jack sitting on his porch looking at the canyon walls makes me very lonesome for Idaho again. It owns a piece of my heart. The 5 years I lived in Jerome were probably the best years of my life. I can't be there except in my mind, and I can be there in my dreams and thoughts, and love the land and friends that meant so much to me.

"Wind Songs from Turtle's Back" has now become one of my sacred books, and Jack, you will remain a good friend in my heart forever.

Happy Spring!

Sporting my new Spring bonnet

Field of pink tulips

White Peacock

No one can disbelieve in the divine beauty of nature

when their eyes fall upon this angelic creature!

The weaver could never create a design so perfect.

FAWN with quote

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,

it sings because it has a song."

~Maya Angelou

Time To Close...or not

I woke up this morning thinking about how I would feel if I closed Three Lights Sanctuary and just stayed home. I felt more at ease. Like a weight was lifting. I have been going back and forth about whether to stay or close for a long time. There is absolutely no reason to sit there waiting for people to come in. They don't.

Now that I've rented a 4-shelf case in Putnam, CT in Jeremiaha's Antique Shoppe and have sold only one item in March, my first month, and knowing he is busy on the weekends, I am now doubtful that retail of any kind anywhere in this local area is successful. Driving around from town to town and looking at the main streets and retail shops like mine, not super stores, I don't see any activity to speak of anywhere. The only place close by that is showing signs of success are the second hand stores on our main street in town. I believe now that the only thing people can afford or will pay for are things marked at very low prices. And so these junk sellers clean out homes and attics and pay a tiny amount of cash so they can resell these used items.

I'm not nor was I ever in the junk business. I have my own junk and mother's leftovers from her antique shopping days. These things that will fit on shelves I'll save for Jeremiaha's. Next month I'll try antiques and old stuff and bring my Spring and Easter things home. My case is in the last row of cases in the shoppe. I wonder if everybody goes down that row...some do, but is that part of the problem? Because I have been successful selling in antique stores before, but that ship has sailed, where I sold before...no more info about that. Back to Jeremiaha's, he says all but one person makes their rent each month, and now it's 2 adding myself! I don't know if I believe it, though, because there has to be a whole lot of merchandise going out his door for 50 dealers to make $50 a month, and to make it worth while, you have to make at least twice that much every month or your merchandise goes out the door for nothing. You can not break even. And for me, losing money every month by keeping Three Lights Sanctuary, and now my case in Putnam, I think it's time to make some reasonable decisions.

I ask and keep asking myself the appropriate questions hoping I'll see the light and either close or think of another way to get people in to stay open, but just thinking about sitting in the middle of "contractor ally" depresses me! I am surrounded by offices as that's who my landlord has rented to since I have been there, and he has 2 more rental units yet to rent. The restaurant in the front brings no one around because he doesn't open for lunch. So I think it's time to stay home. Bring everything home and be out by the end of May as I already paid for April, and the landlord has my last month's payment already.

I was thinking of having a "party" but it's just more money on advertising and refreshments and in my past experiences, people don't show up for such things. I once had an Open House when I was a pet photographer and had the works! Prizes, clown with balloons, food, and ads. I was donating a portion of the proceeds to an animal shelter and had one of their volunteers helping me with things. What a joke that was!! No one showed up, not even any of the people who worked at the animal shelter! That was a huge slap in the face!! So, do I want more people ignoring my efforts, low prices, and refreshments taking the chance that they'll show up this time? Or should I save my blood pressure and just forget about breaking my back and wallet trying to get the public into my studio/shop. I think it's time to leave and give up being in the retail business, which for me is only a hobby anyway. And if I'm going to just lose money at the antique shoppe, too, I may as well keep everything or donate some things to charity, like I did before Christmas, donating racks of old and some new merchandise to a local church. I never heard from that person about how their bazaar went, but I got rid of a lot of stuff I'd been carrying around from location to location.

Sigh...sometimes you have to keep talking like this to come to the right decision. The only other option which I MAY try, is to keep my unit at Pinewood Park and do something behind closed doors so I'm not obligated to let people in. With no activity near me, I don't like letting men into my shop. And being a studio with my paintings, they could rightfully stay as long as they wanted looking at paintings and everything else, and there would be nothing I could do about it but be uncomfortable or lie and say I had to close. I have looked at many scenarios and so I think I either give up the space, or keep it for myself only. Now what would I do there? I guess, paint! But only until winter. The heat (electric) is too expensive and the driving is difficult. Seems that painting at home during the cold weather and painting there in the warm weather is what would work as it's too hot in my loft at home to paint.

So speaking of closing, that's what I am about to do at this time.

Good day!

Saturday April 2,2011

Yesterday I came to a conclusion to my indecision about whether to close my art studio or not. This will solve my concerns.

I am going to keep my space at Pinewood Park, bring all gift merchandise home except for what I create: my paintings, Stones of Galilee, poetry, and greeting cards. I will bring home all small cabinets I'm now using for excess gift items. I can always put this merchandise out in my case at Jeremiaha's. I will close to the public weekdays and use my studio to paint, write Stones of Galilee, eat lunch...it'll serve as my workshop, and the door will remain locked. On Saturdays I will open to the public by appointment and have a sign in my window with phone number.

This should solve all problems. I'll get my supplies out of the loft at home and fix up my studio to actually paint in it, yet I won't close the door for people who want to see what I offer when my husband can open with me on Saturdays.

I'm comfortable with this. If a retail store should open in the old Stove Shop, maybe I'll feel comfortable opening during the week. For now, this is a good change.