The Iconoclastic Domina

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Rain, Rain, Come Again! Edition

2012-02-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

The weather has been… too dry. We need it to rain every night for a few months just so we can catch up with the average rain fall for this time of year. Down the road people's wells are already going dry (although that might have more to do with the county tapping into the water table in a residential area). There's already worry about what this Summer will have in store for us water-wise. The well can only be lowered an extra 40-50 ft. before we hit our limit. *sigh*. I'm ready to move.

On a good note, it's about to rain as I type this! Yay! Yes, people in Central and Southern CA get excited about the rain. When I was in high school I had a teacher who had moved from Seattle the year before. She talked about her first Winter in SoCal and how strange it was to see kids (teens) spending entire days out in the rain, going to class soaked to the bone and grinning like fools. Then she went through our Spring, Summer, and Fall. By the time the Winter rains came back she fully understood our need to be in the rain, to soak it up in our clothes, skin, and being. It was a celebration.
Heck, my friends and I used to dance the Polka in the rain. People think we are Sun worshippers out here, but in truth, we are Rain worshippers.

This week I’ve been working on Nurture by… drooling over modest clotheswith flair, connecting with head-covered Sisters, and being inspired by a Green-Clean Jersey Girl.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … Angel Season 5. It's one of my "go-to" shows on DVD that I watch when I sick. Last Tuesday I came down with a stomach bug that left me in bed all of Wednesday with a fever. Angel and Spike kept me company for some of that day, keeping my mind off of a queasy stomach and freezing feet.

My guilty pleasure this week was… The Vegas Vampire series. Basically it's Harlequin Romance with vampires. Sometimes a girl just needs chick-flick reading.

A highlight of the week … My smarty-pants Thadd was given an award at school for maintaining a 3.0-3.49 gpa for the semester! His goal is to make a 4.0 at least once this school year.

What I made that was the shizzle … last night I made homemade tortilla soup that even Thadd ate. That's got to be a first.

Covered in Light

2012-01-30T16:51:00.000-08:00

I've created a new group on Facebook called Covered in Light for Pagan/Polytheist women who head cover as part of their religious observant dress. Hence the "Covered". "In Light" is in reference to the phenomenon that many women devoted to Hestia are called to head cover.

Interested in joining? Let me know on FB!

Happy Two Years, Blog!

2012-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday this little blog of mine turned two years old. I cannot believe two years has already passed by so fast!

In the past two years, I graduated, changed the name of the blog, found the Religious Society of Friends, began head covering, and have made some pretty good Internet friends.

Thanks to all of my Dear Readers for following, reading, commenting, and being over all plain awesome.

Naming Names: Calling a Spade a Spade

2012-01-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

Thursday January 19, 2012 has come and gone without even the slightest whisper of my name being learned from the self proclaimed One and Only.

Am I surprised? Nope, not in the slightest.

When a person makes grandiose claims about the enormity of their specialness with the Gods they had better be able to back up those claims. I was emailed incredibly detailed instructions for a ritual/meditation to preform (down to what I was to read before hand, to what I was to where, to how I was to bathe) as a message from "Hermes" along with demands in regards to this blog from said Deity:

Also please post about any experiences you have on your blog, visions, dreams, comments you hear, chances occurrences, interference, (also think about what happened before these things occurred and notice any connections.) Also post how you feel on your blog about getting these messages from me, and also how you feel about Dorothy's validity. Also post your feelings on receiving messages from your ancestors and what actions you will take regarding my instructions. Also when you are going through the ritual prep and my instructions you are to chronicle your progress on your blog as a devotion to Me. Also when you do the ritual, you will post on your blog every single detail. (Be sure to write this all down as it occurs so you don't forget anything. GET A NOTEBOOK THAT IS HUGE. YOU WILL NEED IT.) I believe in you Cora. Don't let me down. Do not post this message on your blog. This is between Me (Hermes), Dorothy, and Yourself.

I underlined my name, Cora, to make a point. Why would "Hermes", in a private message, still address me as Cora and not by my birth name? How could a woman, claiming to be an Oracle and the One and Only Wife of Hermes NOT know my name? Why could Hermes not divulge that little scrap of information to prove that this is all legit?

Why? Oh, that's right...because she's possessed and cannot access that sort of information. But she wants me, and everyone else, to follow her blindly and do what she says without even the slightest bit of validation. She's perfectly capable of receiving incredibly detailed messages from "Hermes" and yet due to her possession, real information alludes her.

Which is why I am writing this. I want to address the devotees of Hermes, especially those that have made vows to Him..

If you made vows to a God you will NEVER be dismissed simply because He has a new gal pal. To make that sort of claim is basically saying that Hermes (or any other God) is nothing better than Kelsey Grammer who ended his 20+ marriage by telling his wife over the phone to "get over it". The Gods are better than that.

It would be like a young woman becoming a novice nun and then making the claim that she alone is the bride of Christ and all of the other women have been dismissed. They just don't know it yet and need to take her word for it. Just don't ask her to give solid proof for her claims because she's possessed.

The pain of betrayal created due to this blasphemy has a few of Them spitting nails, including Hermes. Imagine how angry you would be if someone began telling your significant other that you've left them for the other? Times that by a few 100. They will NEVER callously throw away the relationships we have built with Them, especially the ones that have made vows.

You know where you stand with your Deity. Don't fall for false prophets.

Keep in mind, this "Oracle" and "One and Only Wife" cannot even figure out if what she is being told is the truth or not. She told me that she went on a vision quest where Hermes and Bast preformed an exorcism on her only to email again saying that she was tricked. She wrote on her blog (which has now been deleted) that Thoth Himself appeared to her telling her that He isn't Hermes but she can devote herself to Him as well. Later she wrote that Merlin came to her said that it was all a lie.

Don't listen to a person who cannot even figure out if her own "visions" are true. Keep in mind, this is the same "prophet" who claims that Krishna (just in the past week) taught the Olympians how to chant.

Stop and really think about that and think about just exactly how old the Gods really are.

Hold fast, stay the course, stay calm and carry on.

Speaking of names (as per my challenge) I've been thinking about the importance of names and why we choose to use the ones that we do on line.

According to Behind the Name Cora means:

GENDER: Feminine

USAGE: English, German

PRONOUNCED: KAWR-ə (English)

Meaning & History

Created by James Fenimore Cooper for his novel 'The Last of the Mohicans' (1826). He may have based it on KORË or CORINNA.

Related Names

VARIANTS: Corie, Corrie (English), Kora (German)

DIMINUTIVES: Coretta, Corrie, Corie (English)

I picked Cora because I've loved the name ever since I read The Last of the Mohicans in high school. I had no idea what the name meant, I just loved it. The fact that it might have been created by James Fenimore Cooper for that character is just cool, the fact that it might have been based off of Kore is double cool.

I've also loved the name Beth since reading Little Women as a kid and have been toying around with changing my name to Corabeth..for some reason, it seems so perfect.

Why did pick your online name? What does it mean to you?

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Links You'll Thank Me For Edition

2012-01-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

The weather has been… unseasonably warm and dry. It's January and we are worried about already being in a draught. If the skies don't open up with rain soon, this Summer will be horrible.

I’ve been working on Nurture by… drooling over the heirloom seeds from Baker Creek, reading gardening books, and planning this year's garden. I think I'm going to go with containers this time to make watering more economical and perhaps keep the ants at bay.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … The Golden Globes.

I'm reading... I'm FINALLY done with the Game of Throne series so it's off to reading fluffy, no thinking, chick flick books. At the moment I'm reading HighStakes by Erin McCarthy. It's not too bad, expect the vampire love interest, Alexis, reverts to violence a bit too much for my tastes.

My guilty pleasure is… reading said chick flick books after reading such heavy books for so long.

A highlight … we've been spending lots of quality family time lately which has been really nice.

Two of my favourite blog authors are back! Hippy Jersey Devil and The Mennobrarian. What a great treat to find out about this morning.

What I made that was the shizzle … nothing to report just yet. I did get two cookbooks that I'm excited to try out: breads and slow cooker recipes.

Gods' Talk

2012-01-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

I love learning about the relationships between devotees and their God(s), so today I'm opening up the comments section to the readers.

Who are you devoted to?

How do They appear to you (do you get a particular hair colour, eye colour, clothes, etc?)

Do you have any other associations with Them (smells, colours, objects, etc)

What is Their personality like with you?

How do you talk to Them? Are you completely comfortable, being able to say whatever you like without worry of offending Them or do you have to pick your words carefully, or something in between?

Beyond the God(s) you are devoted to, can you approach Others if you needed to/wanted to?

Peace Testimony

2012-01-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

Common folk, not statesmen, nor generals, nor great men of affairs, but just simple men and women, if they devote themselves...can do something to build a better peaceful world. ~Henry Cadbury~

Peace. It's what the world (for the most part) wants. A world without strife, war, violence, anger. A world with acceptance, abundance, and love.

From the Friends' perspective, the Peace Testimony is the most important testimony to live by. Friends are pacifists believing in no violence of any kind for any reason. I read one Friend's Testimony (and I cannot remember who it was) on peace in which she stated that given the choice of saving herself in an attack or killing her attacker, she would opt for sacrificing herself to giver the attack a chance to repent his sins before he died.

That's a strong Testimony.

In the mythos, Ares is the embodiment of war, strife, pain, death. He sweeps into a battle field slaughtering foes left and right. But He is more than that: what if He was utilized in positive way to fight injustice and live in peace? What would that look like?

"Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-helmed, doughty in heart, shield-bearer, Saviour of cities, harnessed in bronze, strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defender of Olympos, father of warlike Nike (Victory), ally of Themis, stern governor of the rebellious, leader of the righteous men, sceptred King of manliness, who whirl your fiery sphere [the star Mars] among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the aither wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O blessed one, give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death." ~Homeric Hymn 8 to Ares (trans. Evelyn-White) ~

We can call upon the Warrior to help fight the war on injustice, intolerance, and hatred. He can call upon Him to help bring peace, love and harmony. Ares, bad ass Warrior that He is, has an ally to bring about peace and conquer strife. Aphrodite. Love can conquer War, regardless if it's a war between nations or a war within ourselves.

Photo found here.

Personally, I could never lay down my life nor the life of my children to give an attacker the chance to repent their sins. I'm the type to make sure that I'm the one waking up alive the next morning and the attacker can give my regards to Hades.

Not very passive of me, I know.

I have to admit, the Peace Testimony (as understood by Friends) is the hardest one for me to fully accept. While I abhor war and violence I think self defense is perfectly okay. I'm pro-troop/police/etc. We own a gun.

Peace can be obtained if we remember that Love can conqueor all.

http://youtu.be/24ZbzzIhS-w

I Think It's Time...

2012-01-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

George Fox

Normally I try not to get onto the Internet on Sundays, but I just had to share.

Today was the first day we've been to Meeting in a month due to the kiddies being sick. As soon as we got there and I settled down into Silence I thought, "I'm ready. It's time."

I'm ready to become a Friend. It's time to request a Clearness Committee.

As if I needed any affirmations, after Meeting the Clerk asked if I would be willing to join the Education Committee.

Hell to the yes I would be willing.

Stayed tuned...

Tichel Talk

2012-01-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

Let's talk tichels and hair.

I have four tichels right now (three of which are pictured below) and I'm planning to buy -- and possibly make -- more.

Head covering has been a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it just feels right. I feel focused, put together, pretty. A curse because (believe it or not) you can have "bad scarf days" much like bad hair days rolled up with "I have nothing to wear in my closet" days.

There are days that I sigh in complete frustration, wanting nothing more than to bunch up the square piece of fabric, throw it on the bathroom counter while shouting "I cannot do this!" and storm off in a grand teenage fit. Yes, 30+ year old women can still have that impulse, it's just that most of us know how to keep it under wraps (get it? Wraps. Any whooo....).

Then there are the days that everything goes smoothly and I cannot help but thinking "I look gooood". Yes, I have those moments too.

So, how do I wear the tichel? First, I have bangs to soften up my look. I found that having all of my hair covered was too severe and not as feminine as I wanted.

Second, I have insecurities about my ears (weird, right?). I want them covered, and most ways to wear the tichel doesn't give that as an option, so it's been a bit of trial and error to figure out how to keep them under wraps (I'm on a roll, people!) while keeping the scarf in place.

Which is a huge issue: making sure that square piece of fabric stays on my head. It doesn't always work (thus my desire to have a grand fit) but like I said, it's all trial and error.

In the beginning, I wore the tichel in the bun and it works great. Not too much slippage, comfy, and works with most outfits. As time went on, the desire to have a more loose, flowing look came about so I experimented with the Butterfly and the Classic Tie. Both work, but there is the threat of it coming undone if not careful (which doesn't always work for me because I need something that sticks). A great tutorial on different tying styles can be found here.

Lately I've been researching how to wear my tichel more like a hijab (oh, the irony of that!) just because it covers my ears and stays in place. However, it wouldn't be a true hijab because I do have my bangs showing and I'm not as concerned with having my chest covered (clothes do that for me). I think using a cap underneath the scarf (or perhaps even a snood) would be a good anchor and help reduce the fear of the scarf coming off so that is my next experiment.

Another thing to keep in mind when buying your tichels is to also purchase some good bobby pins and hijab pins. Those babies make a huge difference, let me tell you!

Now, let's talk about the benefits of head covering in relation to your hair. When you head cover, you no longer need to worry about colouring it, putting products in it, or overly styling it. Your hair will thank you. Mine hasn't been this healthy is a long time (and I normally have healthy hair). Even my hairstylist makes comments every time I go in for a trim about how healthy it is. Another benefit is that since the hair is neatly bundled up, there is less tangles and knots leading to less breakage. There isn't the threat of sun or wind damage too.

All very good things in my book.

Photo and tichel found here. I bought this tichel thinking the fringes would add some glamour to my bun. However, I learned the hard way that if you wash this scarf in the washing machine the fringes just make a tangled mess that is nearly impossible to fix. I ended up cutting off the fringes. The tichel is a good size for long hair, love the colour, and the fabric is super soft against the skin.

Photo and tichel found here. Perhaps my favourite one if for any other reason the colours go with so many more outfits. It's a good size for long hair, but I don't recommend wearing it around your face (like a hijab) because the silver threads are itchy. The fringes are short enough not to cause any problems when washing.

Photo and tichel found here. The pink is actually a prettier colour in real life. It's a deeper dusty rose. I really like this tichel once I figured out how I want to wear it. It's smaller than the square tichels so covering longer hair takes more experimenting. It's very soft, light weight, and put together well.

Disclaimer: I'm giving these reviews just to pass information along. My Tichels.com doesn't even know that I'm doing it.

So, there you go... my two cents on head covering. If you have stores to recommend, leave them in the comments and I'll pass them along in another post. After all, we need to share our sources and not keep them under wraps (thank you and good night!).

Weather Talk

2012-01-13T12:33:00.000-08:00

I think Mother Nature has forgotten this is supposed to be the dead of Winter and not smack dab in the middle of Spring. I'm not complaining about the bright blue sky, glorious sunshine, and big puffy clouds...just a bit worried how hot will the Summer be if this continues.

In the meantime, I'm getting twitchy for our plants to blossom and we are assaulted with a riot of colours. Right now we have full blown Garden Fever: listing the veggies and fruits we want to try this year in containers.

Rain would be lovely to have, though.

How's the weather where you are?

My Challenge to D.L.Wood of "Oracle of Hermes" : Last Time

2012-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

The feeling I get right now, although I cannot hear Hermes (very well) is that you should talk to Hermes and ask Him yourself if I am His wife, and also ask Him if I am an Oracle, ask Him if I am possessed and if this is affecting my communication Also ask if He has divorced His other wives. I don’t feel He has abandoned everyone. I feel that He is by my side and listening, and also trying to help me in the way He can at the moment, through other people and fate.

If you do this please post it on your blog, as I would like to know too. I do feel that He will answer you and will back me up if this is done. I would really like to hear what He has to say regarding this from someone else as I have been so confused. It would help me a great deal to hear these answers from you. D.L. Wood

I want to be very careful that when answering you that Ego is not in the way. This shouldn't be in any way construed as a pissing contest between two humans over Hermes because that is just a ridiculous thing to do. This is simply the needed response in regards to the claims made:

No, dear, you are not a Goddess, an Oracle, nor the Wife of Hermes. He has not "divorced" His other Wives for you. He did not lose you over the years because of Odin and now have "found" you once again. The Gods are not fighting amongst Themselves, nor did Aphrodite make Them fall in love with you.

There is no question of your devotion and true feelings for Hermes..however, what you call "Hermes" isn't Him. You have never met Him for He (and the rest of the Gods) are not the malignant entities that you have described. You have been fooled and it's time you pull the wool off your eyes.

You were born human, you will die human, and you will spend this wonderful gift called Life as a human...that is GOOD. Being human is wonderful, a blessing. It should be enough to fill your heart with joy. There is no need to want to be more; there is no need to seek out specialness, for we all are special and enough in the eyes of the Gods as humans.

Yes, we belong to the Gods. I belong to Them and I'm sure you do too. They never can lose us during a reincarnation. I was born Christian, I was raised Christian but I belong to the Olympians. It wasn't Them that found me again, but it was I who found Them again in this Life. Odin didn't hide, steal, nor take you from Hermes for no matter where you go, no matter what God you devote your life to, They know where you are.

Human concepts of relationships are so frail. To call a devotee a "wife" is strictly a human term as well as the idea that she is the Only One...every woman involved with a man wants, needs, to be the Only One. He is not a human man. It is blasphemy to say that He would abandon the others that call themselves "wife", both Divine and human. Hermes' counterpart is Thoth who is married to the Universal Order named Ma'at. Do you truly believe in your heart of hearts that He has "divorced" the beautiful and Holy Ma'at for you? No, dear, He has not nor will He ever.

I'm sorry that you are going through this difficult time in your life. It seems to me that there are many factors that have attributed to this situation, the root of which is strictly human in creation. My very humble advice to you is to stop with the channeling of these malignant entities that call themselves Gods for you are too dependant on their words and addicted to their reassurances of specialness.

Embrace this beautiful Life, embrace being a human, embrace the quiet solitude that comes from being whole and healthy.

I wish you luck and blessings. May you find the simple joy in just being.

I'm not devoting anymore of my blog to this. I've done what I feel is my duty.

Response from D.L.Wood

2012-01-12T13:19:00.000-08:00

Message from D.L.Wood in regards to my challenge:

it does work like that dear. honestly i dont usually get names. i may be wrong about the messages that have been occuring lately about the Gods and the vision. I am possessed. I am going to stop posting until I clear this up.
'honestly, i dont have to prove anything to you.

My response back:

Yes, you do have something to prove. If you want anyone to accept you as a Goddess and the true wife of Hermes (of whom I've been devoted to for coming on 30 years) you best be able to back your claims.

Here's my conviction: You are playing a very dangerous game by making these claims. Either Hermes has truly abandoned His other devotees for just you and He can prove this through you...or what you are saying is blasphemy. It don't matter that you normally don't get names: you are a Goddess and the wife of Hermes, a name should be easy for you now.

If it's still too hard, I'll even settle for the meaning of my name. Hermes knows my name...why wouldn't He share such easy information with His only wife if it would prove to His devotees that what you say is true? Surely that is a reasonable request on my part after so many years of faithful devotion.

This isn't just a test for the public, but a test for yourself. If Hermes is truly with you on this then this should be very easy.

And FYI: this is public record on my FB and blog. I will hide nothing.

Sorry, Dear Readers, if it seems that I have bought a one-way First Class ticket on the CrAzY TrAiN in regards to this issue...I know that the Gods are all Big Boys and Girls who can take care of Themselves, but I cannot abide having someone accuse MY Hermes of spiritual rape, manipulation, lies, deceit, etc. I cannot allow someone to claim they are now a Deity and the One True Wife of a God... it's just too dangerous to ignore.

My Challenge to D.L.Wood of "Oracle of Hermes"

2012-01-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

Photo by me. Stuttgart, Germany

I am normally a pretty easy going person when it comes to people's personal beliefs, embracing the "live and let live" philosophy. Unverified Personal Gnosis is something that I think is valid, heck, I think it's a crucial ingredient in worship (I think that comes from my Quaker side).

With that being said, there are times that I cannot be accepting and open minded. Like when a human claims to be Divine (I DO NOT recognize the Imperial Cultus for this very reason).

There is a woman who claims to be an Oracle, now a Goddess, and the true wife of Hermes (mind blowing, no?). Yes, she is not stable and many say that she is not right in the head. I agree.

But, to give her a fair chance, I am issuing this public challenge. Public to put this (blasphemous) claim of hers into the glaring Light of Truth so that there is no way she can hide in the shadows of excuses:

You want me to believe that a human is now a Goddess, that you are on the true wife of Hermes, that you are a bona fide Oracle...fine. Then you will prove it to me. You and "Hermes".

Very simple: What is my name?

If you are not able to "divine" that simple answer, you are nothing but a very confuse, delusional young woman who needs to stop this nonsense.

If, however, you are able to "divine" my true name then I'm willing to listen to what you have to say.

You (and "Hermes") have one week (Thursday January 19, 2012) to prove your claims.

If she is able to tell me my real name by the weeks end, I will be honest about it. If she cannot (or refuses) then I hope this stands as a testament against her for those that may feel swayed by her words and claims.

In the Light of Truth,

Cora

Sticking To My Guns

2012-01-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Gaius surprised me by coming home a couple of hours early from work and wanted to take me out to dinner and the shooting range (yeah...). As I got ready for the impromptu date, I decided to try tying my head scarf a little differently to mix it up a bit because, well, I only have a few scarfs right now (4 to be exact) and things get pretty boring. So I tried something similar to this:

Photo found here

Except mine own scarfs aren't quite this lovely. Instead of the deep blue and sparkly green, I wore a light tan underneath with a forest green. As we were getting ready to leave Gaius said, "Ummm...would you mind not wearing the scarf when we get to the Range?"

Me, giving him the Raised Eyebrow, "Why?"

"Well, most of the guys working there are cops and they might not like scarfs..."

Me, still giving the Raised Eyebrow, "No, I'm not taking my scarf off. They will just have to grow up and deal with it. This is my religious observant dress. If they don't like it, then tough."

In the past I might have said "Fine, I'll take it off" but not anymore. If people have a problem with not seeing my hair...if they seriously have a problem with a 3 foot square piece of fabric on my head...they have some problems beyond anything I can help them with.

Why do I need to go out of my way, and against my personal beliefs, to make them happy? If they want to get into a pissing contest over who is "more American" I'll win every time. My family tree alone trumps most. Just sayin'.

Dinner was yummy (coconut shrimp! and not one hairy eye my way that I saw...). When we got to the Range I didn't get one Narrow Eyed Stare nor one rude comment. The guys were polite and one (after having to help with a jammed bullet in the gun I was shooting) thanked me for sweeping up all of the discharged shells lying on the floor (hey, that's a safety thing and I'm a mom...it's in the job description).

As we were walking out to our car, I pointed all of this out to Gaius. I know he's just looking out for me, but I'm not going to let the possibility of some idiots make me cow down to their ideas of how I should do my hair.

As a side note, people are going to stare no matter what. Normally they are staring because I'm mistaken for being a young mom with two kids. One of which is quickly getting as tall as I am and the strangers are trying to do quick math in their head coming to the wrong conclusion about how old I was when he was born. Wearing a headscarf just gives them something else to stare at while eating dinner, buying their groceries, or shooting their guns.

Fun in the Sun: Photos

2012-01-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Gaius, Finn, and Thadd braving the cold Pacific water on our first day/night at the beach.

I'm not sure if the seaweed naturally formed a circle or if someone did it, but I thought it was really neat.

Thousands and thousands of Monarch butterflies created these huge clusters in the tops of trees during their migration.

Thadd took this photo. He's my Mini-Me shutterbug.

In one little coastal town, this HUGE rock dominates the skyline. This is one of the places that we plan on exploring more on our next family beach trip.

People enjoying the small bay that is dominated by the huge rock.

Boats in the marina of the same bay.

Fun in the Sun

2012-01-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's the beginning of January, the skies are white with low hanging clouds and the temperature hovers around a cool 50 F. What do you do if you want to see blue skies and have a bit of warmer weather? Well, if you live in this wonderful State, you just drive a few hours to the coast and play in the Ocean.

This past week we did exactly that on Gaius' days off. There's a coastal area that is quickly becoming a favourite haunt of ours: small coastal towns that have both college (you know by the number of bars that line the sidewalks) and family friendly neighborhoods with old Victorian and Craftsman style homes. We love just driving around, looking at the shops, homes, and ocean views.

Our latest adventures had us spending the night in a resort style motel (only reason it's a motel is because the doors opened to the outside, not because it was creepy) right on the beach. In fact, that night we went to sleep with the sliding glass door cracked open listening to sound of the surf below.

On the day we got there, after unpacking the car, we headed down to the beach to play in the water. Well, the boys played in the water while I tried to keep my feet warm and dry opting to take pictures of them instead. I don't like my feet freezing, thank you very much. Yes, the temperature was in the 70sF, but the Pacific Ocean is cold water. You would never had known that with how Thadd and Finn acted, however. They braved the coldness for over an hour, emerging from the shallow waves soaked.

After a hot shower, dinner in our stomachs, and dry jammies on, Thadd and I played on the Wii (told you, resort style!) until my arm got sore.

The next day we took a little trip to see the Monarch butterflies migrating and then back to the beach (another one) for some more water fun. Since the day was warming up I braved the cold water along with the boys: we ended up with a head to toe soaked, but thoroughly ecstatic, toddler and a soaked dress.

It was while watching Thadd and Finn in the Ocean that I realized Poseidon has a strong pull on our family. I remember loving to play in the Ocean as a child, asking for bigger and bigger waves to jump into. Just like my two boys were doing on that cool January day. Finn was actually getting angry because the waves weren't coming in as much as he wanted (we tried to stay in the shallow part since he's not very tall) actually yelling "waves, come here!".

By the time we left, Finn was shivering (adamantly insisting he wasn't cold) and we were all wet with salt water. After changing into dry clothes, we got into the car to explore more of the surrounding area only to have Finn crash out before we even left the parking lot.

Gaius and I have mapped out the next beach community we would like to visit next time. It seems the love of the beach and Ocean will be passed along to the boys. What a wonderful way to honour Poseidon.

Three New Things

2012-01-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

New Blogs I'm Reading:
Divine on a Dime: Mrs. Brown, the frugal goddess, will show how to live frugally while still being Divine. In these trying times for many families, I think this blog will be an inspiration to many of us who want to save money whilst not scrimping on style.

Exploring Our Matrix: Science Fiction and Religion! What can get better than that? How about a refreshingly liberal Christian perspective (he's certainly not a Creationist) by an actual biblical scholar. Good reading.

The Great Faith Experiment: Rachel explores, researches, and lives 13 faiths in 13 months. December was The Religious Society of Friends which brought thoughtful, insightful posts about not just Friends, but about her own beliefs past and present. January is the exploration of Hinduism.

New Religious Observances:
With the New Year here I've decided to create a calendar within our family calendar that hangs by the kitchen phone: a calendar that labels each month in Latin and notes the Kalends, Nones, Ides, and Aters. Additionally, I'll add certain festival and holy days for observance through out the year in order to nurture the calling of becoming more observant Domina and family. We cannot do every one, nor do I have an interest, but maybe I'll be able to pick one or two a month that speaks my mind.

New Perspective:
Lykeion of Beloved in Light wrote a compelling piece on the importance of honouring all of the Olympians and not just focusing worship/devotion to just one or two. I've always been the one to focus my attention on just a few at a time as it seems easier to do then trying to juggle 12+ Deities, but I think she makes a good point. So, this year, I'm going to try expanding my observances to incorporate other Deities to have a fuller and more meaningful definition of being Polytheist.

That's it for now, m'dears. There's plenty to keep me busy mentally, physically, and spiritually. I hope 2012 brings us all new observances, perspectives, and meaning to our lives.

One Little Word 2012

2012-01-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

With the turning of the Wheel, it's time yet again to find what our new One Little Word will be. Last year I had a difficult time pinning down the exact word that encompassed all that I wanted to accomplish.

This time, however, the word came to me back around September and no matter how many other words I thought of, NURTURE seemed to be the one.

nur·ture (nûrchr)

1. Something that nourishes; sustenance.

2. The act of bringing up.

3. Biology The sum of environmental influences and conditions acting on an organism.

tr.v. nur·tured, nur·tur·ing, nur·tures

1. To nourish; feed.

2. To educate; train.

3. To help grow or develop; cultivate: nurture a student's talent.

nurtur·er n.

Synonyms: nurture, cultivate, foster, nurse
These verbs mean to promote and sustain the growth and development of: nurturing hopes; cultivating tolerance; foster friendly relations; nursed the fledgling business.

NURTURE is a natural continuation of CULTIVATION allowing me to continue to walk the path that the Gods have laid before me to live a happy, pious, harmonious life.

For 2012 I want to NURTURE my faith even more by being a more observant Domina, I want to continue learning how to sew, cook, tend to my little family. I want to NURTURE their growth and interests and bring us even closer together for the coming year. I want to NURTURE myself so that I will be my fullest potential.

What is your One Little Word?

Blessed Winter Solstice/ Happy Yule!

2011-12-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

May the season be bright for you and yours.

Happy Hanukkah!

2011-12-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

To all of those that celebrate the Festival of Lights, Happy Hanukkah!

P.S. Be sure to eat a few chocolate coins for me!

Please Excuse The Mess

2011-12-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

With the New Year approaching, I am changing up the blog a bit to make it as clean-looking as possible. One thing I've already changed is the creation of the Blogs I Read page instead of having a long list of the blogs on the sidebars.

So if things look a bit wonky for the next week or so, you know why.

Hodge-Podge Post

2011-12-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

I didn't want to add more to the already long From the Desk of... post, so here is the continuation that is really just a hodge-podge of thoughts bouncing in my head.

One Little Word
The New Year is slowly creeping up on us which means that it's almost time to choose your next One Little Word. Have you been thinking about yours? I've had a few possibilities floating through my brain and yet, I keep coming back to the same one.

Pregnant Women Everywhere!
'K. I need some help with this one. I know that you need to pay attention to messages from the Universe, and if you don't, the Universe will just get louder and louder until you get it. Well, I'm not picking up what they are putting down.

I've been over-ran with pregnant images for a few months now.. I see pregnant women everywhere I go, I've been asked TWICE if I'm pregnant, I get ads on my FB page featuring baby bumps, I see pregger mannequins in shop windows, I even had a dream that I was in labour.

The dream went something like this: I'm in labour in a bathtub where my "plug" comes out and I start bleeding in the tub (there's no water in the tub). I freaked out but the woman who is acting like a birthing coach (and also ready to pop herself) calmly says "Oh, that's perfectly normal here." Did I mention that I was pregnant in another dimension? Yeah...

Thoughts, ideas?

Before you even suggest it...I am NOT pregnant. If I am, then it would be a true holiday conception miracle. Seriously, I cannot have anymore kids.

Dress and Scarves
I got my Drawstring Regency dress the other day and I'm in love. Seriously, I've been a tad obsessed with wanting to make my own since I got it. I'm going to take pictures of it to show you all.
I've also been wearing my headscarves every time I go out in public and have been loving it. I'm even thinking about trying my hand at making my own. Should be simple enough: it's just a big square.

To add to the above pregnant invasion I keep thinking "Wow,this sort of dress would be awesome to use as a maternity dress!" Ack. Again, NOT preggers.

The Mantle
I've been reading through The Gospel of our Mother God. Even though I am by no means a montheist, I do find great comfront in working with the All Mother. I think every woman needs it.

So far, one of the most powerful passages I've read is called The Mantle:

1. You that are weary of the world, you that are lonely; you that have suffered hardship, that have suffered hurt: come, gather about Me and be you enfolded in My mantle.

2. In the inner silence you shall hear Me, and in the inner darkness shall you see Me.

3. And the future shall be better than the past.

4. Come, seek protection beneath My mantle, for I have turned no creature from Me, be you sheltered in the folds of My garment.

5. For the ills of the world shall pass away, even as the terrors of the night.

6. And the dawn shall be bright with splendour and sweet with the singing of the blessed soul.

7. And I shall be your comfort in the darkness.

Beautiful. Line #2 is especially interesting to me because every time I ground myself during Meeting the little phrase "Thy word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a Light unto my path" runs gently and yet loudly through my mind. Yes, it's a verse from the Bible and in my mind it's sang by Amy Grant...still, it's rather a powerful thing.

When I think of the phrase, I see the Light from the Hearth that Hestia keeps and the Love that Hermes has for me as lighting my way.

That's it! Told you it is a hodge-podge of a post. As always, I love hearing from you.

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Catch Up Edition

2011-12-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't done a From the Desk Of.. in a while I thought it was about time for another one! There's more that I want to write about, but felt that the post would be too long.

The weather has been…Typical Central California Fall/Winter weather, meaning, skies white with low lying clouds and sometimes fog. Thadd and I were talking today about the fog and how it's just like it would be walking through a cloud. We both agree that people can keep their "Heaven is living in the clouds" version of the Afterlife because that actually sounds rather dreary to us mere mortals who deal with fog that would put The Others to shame.
I’m reading … Ye, Gods! Book 5 of the Game of Thrones. I swear it normally doesn't take me this long to read...it's just the books are LONG and after a while I need a break from all of the killin'.
This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… Let's use today as example: Baking orange/cranberry Friendship bread, need to finish putting together a blanket for Thadd's Christmas/Solstice pressie, need to begin making matching Christmas PJs for the boys and also make matching PJ bottoms for their Build-A-Bears. Probably won't finish all of it today, but I'll give it the old college try.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … I'm really enjoying Grimm, Once Upon A Time, and All-American Muslim.
My guilty pleasure this week was… drooling over the different dresses found here.
I cracked up this week over… Over Finn's changing table there is a poster of animals that live rain forests. One of the animals is an orangutan. Finn kept pointing to it and saying "Monkey!" and I would correct him, "No, that's an ape". He would laugh and say "No, monkey!". Later that night he was running, jumping, climbing on everything and everyone and someone said, "Finn, you're a little monkey!" and he said, pointing to himself," No, ape!".
I got pissed off about… Meh. Nothing to hash over.
A highlight of the week … Putting up the Christmas tree and our stockings!
What I made that was the shizzle … I made Chicken Tikka for the first time and I rocked the heck out of it! It's been requested for future meals.

Photo of one thing from the week…

Not from this week, but from last month when our maple tree started turning a brilliant (and very short lived) red.

Why Polytheism Is True

2011-12-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

Lately there seems to be an influx of "Polytheism is false" propaganda finding its way into my sphere of awareness from those who practice Monotheism.

It started awhile back when I was reading a religious questionnaire on one of my favourite blogs. The statement was made that if one is Polytheist then they are "going to Hell". When I responded how offensive it was, I got a few interesting responses. Basically, it seems that the Gods cannot exist because they would fight amongst themselves for dominance and therefor it would create chaos.

I let it go. There was no reason to get into a huge war of words over The Truth.

Then, this past week, I began reading The Gospel of Our Mother God (more on this in a future post). I was reading The Filianic Creed when I read this lovely little statement:

"..the thing which certain patriarchal religions like to term "polytheist", or the belief that there can be more than one God, is a metaphysical absurdity that no authentic religious tradition has ever believed." Underlined by me to show emphasis.

My religious tradition isn't authentic according to this Monotheist tradition because I believe in multiple Gods? I have to admit, that got me fuming.

Enough is enough, people. The hard cold fact is, Monotheism makes absolutely NO SENSE.

For arguments sake, and to keep this simple, I am going to go with mainstream dogma and give this Being masculinity.

According to popular thinking, this MALE gave birth to all creation and then created humans in His image. If there aren't any other Beings with this MALE why were females created?

No, seriously, stop and think about this: If you are the Supreme-Get-All and you are one specific gender and have no other Supreme Being with you, you wouldn't create a completely different gender to create Life. That one-gendered human would have the ability to create Life on its own if it truly was created in your image.

But that's not what happened. Two genders were created. It takes a male and a female to create Life. If we are created in the image of our Creator, then logically, our Creator is actually Creators.

I know the argument raised with this: "But God really doesn't have a gender, He's both Male and Female." If that's the case, how come humans were not created as hermaphrodites? Why do you refer to the God as He, Him, Father? If the God truly is gender neutral then it is perfectly acceptable to refer to the God as She, Her, and Mother.

Right?

Go ahead, do it.

Here's The Truth: if we are created in the image of God, there are two. Life is Created by male and female, unless you are arguing that your God is like a single celled organism that just splices itself and creates an exact replica...which will still begs the question "how come we don't do that?". We don't because there are two genders for the Divine and so we have two genders as humans.

As above, so below.

The idea that the Gods will fight amongst Themselves over petty things like "I want to be in charge of Fire!" is blasphemous. Do you have such a low opinion of your own Deity that you think He, She hasn't learned what we all learned in kindergarten? You know, that little word called "sharing".

To say that if there are multiple Gods all They would do is fight amongst Themselves shows your very limited human thinking: YOU would fight amongst your family for power ,but the Gods are Divine. Bigger, Better, more Bad-Assed then we can ever imagine. They have the Universe humming along in Perfect Order and Harmony. Do you honestly think they get Their undies in a bunch over Fire?

We were created out of Pure Love by our Creators: The First Mother and Father. It is time for all of us to accept this simple fact and acknowledge the Male and Female Divinity.

Transitions: A Convo With My Two Patrons

2011-11-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

It seems I'm going through one of those transitions we find ourselves once in a while on our spiritual journey. Actually, I'm going through two transitions that parallel each other and yet, they share a common origin.

The common origin is my relationship with my two Patron Deities-- Hestia and Hermes-- and how disconnected I've been feeling lately to Them.

A few nights ago I was doing a little bit of meditation before bed...you know, spending quality time basically bitching about how I'm not feeling that connection to either one that I think I should have.

From Hestia I got a heavy sigh that you get from a Mother when you complain about a problem of which she's already given you the solution to and yet you've not taken the advice. Instead, you spend more energy complaining and no energy solving. Basically, the conversation went like this:

Her: Well, what do you expect?! I give you one little task to do, one little step toward a deeper spirituality, and you've stopped. If you are not progressing then you are stagnant and therefor regressing...at which point you feel the disconnect because you are no longer connecting to Me. Ball is in your court, girly.

{This is in reference to head covering and my back and forth of how gun-ho I want to be about it.}

Me: {sulking a bit} Fiiiine. I get it. But since I've been doing the head covering, I've really not been feeling Him at all {meaning Hermes}. I don't think He's too happy about it and doesn't like it. {still sulking a bit}.

Hermes: What's that now? {very much like a person who just walked into the middle of a conversation and heard their name being said} The head covering is your thing between Hestia...totally out of my realm of interest {in other words...that's a woman thing and I've been around long enough to know better not to even go there}.

Me: Yes, but you are all about youth, adventure, excitement! How is me being a head covered Domina going keep me near You? Seems like I'm too "grown up" now.

Hermes: Harrumph. That is just the limitations of human thought. Do you actually think that all I am is basically the frat. kid who plays tricks and goes too fast on winged sandals? I'm actually all grown up too, you know...

Sure, most humans see me as this beardless kid who plays tricks, helps out thieves, and likes to zoom around really fast... but I'm MORE than that...

I'm also the Thrice Greatest, sage and magician extraordinaire.

Not to mention my other "roles" of Guide of the Dead, Guardian of Cross Roads and Boundaries. Also, I can grow a rockin' beard...

So you see..the disconnect you are feeling is not from Me, but from you. You are transitioning from seeing Me as the youthful God that you've known your entire life to a bona fide Grown Up. That takes time...but just keep in mind, I'm always here...you just have to find the new connect in your head.

Of course, They are both right. When I wear my scarf I feel, well, more grown up. Responsible. Respectful. Pious. You know, a bona fide Domina. And I don't need Hermes to be the God of my childhood but a God of my Adulthood. There is a difference between what you need at the age of 8 in a God and what you need in your 30s in your Main Man God. You know?

So yeah..transitions.

Simple Homemade Cranberry Sauce

2011-11-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you in the USA are preparing dishes for our Thanksgiving feasts tomorrow just like we are in our home. This morning I made a very easy and simple cranberry sauce that is a favourite side dish on our table. In case you want to make some for your dinner, here's how:

Combine one cup of orange juice and one cup of white sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

Add 12oz of fresh cranberries into the orange juice...

cover and simmer until the berries begin to pop.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. The sauce will thicken as it cools. I like to make it a day ahead so the flavours develop.

Enjoy!

Next up for our food preparations are pumpkin pie and orange and cranberry cookies. Yummy.

Happy Thanksgiving cooking!

Adventures in Head Covering

2011-11-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Covering one's hair for religious purposes can be down right scary. I have no idea why that is, but it is. The first time you put on some sort of hair covering that is not just a jaunty fashion statement and you hit the streets it feels like suddenly there's some sort of spotlight on top of your head with blinking neon lights that say "Devoutly Religious Freak! Feel free to stare, gawk, whisper things while she walks by you."

I say feels, because in reality none of that happens. At least to me it never did. People smile and go on about their business. Not a single person stoned me, threw rotten vegetables, or tried to put me in stocks. It's still scary, particularly if you happen to be a Polytheist woman who is making the choice to head cover. It's easier for the Monotheist women who come from a culture of acceptance for covering (such as Muslimahs, Orthodox Jews, and Anabaptists), but we don't have that culture just yet in our Community. Hell, our Community still hisses at the thought that a woman should want to be modest, never mind covering her hair all the time.

But the Polytheist culture wasn't always like this. If we can look beyond the emergence of the New Age/Neo-Pagan movement of the '60s and '70s and go back to the time when our Gods were part of everyday life for entire Nations and Empires, the concepts of modesty and head covering are vastly different. It is my personal belief that Hestia/Vesta is calling Her daughters back to the practice of modesty.

I started my little experiment of 100% public head covering in October and lasted until the end of the first week of November. I started off excited, loving the feel of my kapp while I went to the grocery store, taking Thadd to school, meeting up with friends. Slowly, however, the kapp became a nuisance losing all enchantment I previously held for it. Mainly it was having to tie the darn thing under my chin to keep it in place which annoyed my skin, then it became the shape of the kapp I didn't like...it became to feel like I had a bright white bag sitting on my head that didn't exactly go with everything in my closet.

Not my vision of head covering loveliness.

So I stopped wearing it with a mixture of feeling relieved and dissatisfaction all rolled up with my ponytail coiled into a bun to keep my hair out of my way. On Sunday I had enough of being in hair limbo and grabbed my tichel that I bought last year and decided to give it another shot.

When I first bought the tichel and wore it, Gaius gave me weird looks and said that it looked it I was a Cancer patient so I stopped wearing it. This time, I tweaked the scarf a bit and voila! A confection of scarf loveliness was born. I showed my new creation to Gaius and to my best friend, V, and they both agree that it looks good. V says that it looks less constricting than the kapp and loves the many style options that it offers.

On Monday (yesterday) I wore the tichel to the grocery store and observed a very interesting shift in people's reactions. With my kapp I would get shy smiles; with my tichel I got (what seemed to me) a few narrowed eyed looks along with a few over-the-shoulder double takes. Not sure what it's all about, but I'm intrigued if anything.

I'm going to continue wearing the tichel to see how it feels...might even buy a few more so I'm not wearing the same light tan one everyday. After wearing a bright white kapp for so long, I'm in need of some color!

I've been knocking around the idea of posting pictures of me in my head covered hotness, but haven't reached a verdict just yet.

So, that's it for now on my head covering journey. As always, I love hearing from you all!

I'm Still Alive

2011-11-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hello, my Dear Readers!

Well, it seems I screwed the pooch on the last week of Oct and didn't post a darn thing besides wishing all a Happy Halloween. But, hey, life happens.

Right now, life has sent me two sick babies to care for: one of the fur variety (had an infected cut that needed to get drained) and of the human variety (Finn has bronchitis). Needless to say, I'm tired and two cups of coffee just isn't cutting it right now.

While having so much "down time" from blogging, I've been thinking about what to post about. My next installment of Friends' Testimonies will be about Peace with possibly even a song to go with it and references to Greek mythology...oh yes, it'll be fancy.

Also, November is Plain dressing month (whoda thunk?!) and it was a year ago this month that I seriously started thinking about taking this journey. So, for the month I'm going to make every effort to wear my kapp in public and will be blogging about that and clothes. You know, girl stuff. It's important.

I hope you all had a great Halloween/Samhain...let me know what you did! Finn was an Ewok and Thadd was Obie Won Kanobi. They were so darn cute! Thadd got tons of candy but Finn only went to three houses preferring to ride in the wagon the whole time.

Now I'm ready to go take a nap... instead I have to get Thadd from the bus stop, think about dinner and possibly do the dishes. Sigh.

2011-10-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween, Blessed Samahain...and to those that apply: Happy New Year!

Stay safe and get lots of goodies ;-)

Julian the Apostate, Against the Galileans

2011-10-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

There are a few subtitles I wanted to add to the title of this post, like:

Or Why It Is Still Logical To Be A Polytheist
Or Why This Domina Is a Greco-Roman Polytheist
An Ancient Rebuttal to the Modern Ultra-Right Wing Against Pagans/Polytheists

Take your pick or add your own...

But that from the beginning God cared only for the Jews and that He chose them out as his portion, has been clearly asserted not only by Moses and Jesus but by Paul as well; though in Paul's case this is strange. For according to circumstances he keeps changing his views about God, as the polypus changes its colours to match the rocks, and now he insists that the Jews alone are God's portion, and then again, when he is trying to persuade the Hellenes to take sides with him, he says : "Do not think that he is the God of Jews only, but also of Gentiles : yea of Gentiles also." Therefore it is fair to ask of Paul why God, if he was not the God of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles, sent the blessed gift of prophecy to the Jews in abundance and gave them Moses and the oil of anointing, and the prophets and the law and the incredible and monstrous elements in their myths? For you hear them crying aloud: "Man did eat angels' food." And finally God sent unto them Jesus also, but unto us no prophet, no oil of anointing, no teacher, no herald to announce his love for man which should one day, though late, reach even unto us also. Nay he even looked on for myriads, or if you prefer, for thousands of years, while men in extreme ignorance served idols, as you call them, from where the sun rises to where he sets, yes and from North to South, save only that little tribe which less than two thousand years before had settled in one part of Palestine. For if he is the God of all of us alike, and the creator of all, why did he neglect us? Wherefore it is natural to think that the God of the Hebrews was not the begetter of the whole universe with lordship over the Avhole, but rather, as I said before, that he is confined within limits, and that since his empire has bounds we must conceive of him as only one of the crowd of other gods. Then are we to pay further heed to you because you or one of your stock imagined the God of the universe, though in any case you attained only to a bare conception of Him? Is not all this partiality? God, you say, is a jealous God. But why is he so jealous, even avenging the sins of the fathers on the children?

..... why do we vainly trouble ourselves about and worship one who takes no thought for us? For is it fitting that he who cared nothing for our lives, our characters, our manners, our good government, our political constitution, should still claim to receive honour at our hands? Certainly not. You see to what an absurdity your doctrine comes. For of all the blessings that we behold in the life of man, those that relate to the soul come first, and those that relate to the body are secondary. If, therefore, he paid no heed to our spiritual blessings, neither took thought for our physical conditions, and moreover, did not send to us teachers or lawgivers as he did for the Hebrews, such as Moses and the prophets who followed him, for what shall we properly feel gratitude to him?

Camping in the Civil War

2011-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

This whole writing everyday thing just isn't easy. As you can see, I missed two days in a row and I'll be missing a few more days this weekend.

Why?

'Cause Thadd and I are going to a Civil War reenactment and camping there for two nights! I set up our tent in the back yard and gave it a good scrub since it smelled a bit stale. The last time I used it was my last field season, a year before I got pregnant with Finn.

Have a great weekend!

Question of the Day: what are your weekend plans?

Oh, AppleSauce!

2011-10-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

When Finn was a baby, I made all of his baby food. One of his favourites was applesauce that was just steamed chunks of apple that was pureed. It didn't taste like what we buy in the store, but I figured it was because there wasn't any additives and preserves. It wasn't anything that the rest of us were interested in eating so once he began eating "bigger" food I stopped making the applesauce.

Thadd has a little apple tree that he's had since it was a little sapling. We had no idea what kind of apple tree it is or it would ever give us harvest. This year, the tree became the Little Tree That Can by producing so much fruit the top of the tree broke off. Sadly, the ants took most of the apples, but I was able to harvest 6 good sized apples. Turns out, it's a Gala apple tree.

I was contemplating what to make out of the apples when Gaius' grandma suggested that I make applesauce the way that her mother-in-law made it, so I gave it a whirl.

I cored, cut into wedges, and peeled the 6 apples, put them in a sauce pan with about 1 1/2 cups of apple juice, a dash of cinnamon and a sprinkle of sugar and let it simmer for a few hours, stirring on occasion.

Once the apples were soft and the liquid had absorbed, I pureed them to make The. Best. Applesauce. EVER.

Thadd had some last night and declared it was better than store bought. I think this is how we are going to eat applesauce from now on.

G's grandma said that you can freeze it (it'll stay good indefinitely) or can it (it'll stay good for 3 years). I don't think I'll have it last long enough to do either.

Question of the Day: What is your favourite fruit recipe?

We Now Live On a Dirt Road

2011-10-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

Stewardship Testimony

2011-10-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

From the indwelling Seed of God, we discover our particular gifts and discern the service to which we are called. In making choices about occupation or education, consider the way that offers the fullest opportunity to develop your individual abilities and contribute to the world community while providing for yourself and your family. In daily work, manifest a spirit of justice and understanding, and thus give a living witness to the truth.

Be ready to limit engagements, to withdraw for a time, or even to retire from an activity that inhibits your ability to follow a higher call. Try to discern the right moment to accept new responsibilities as well as to relinquish responsibility that can pass to others. Be open to your calling in different stages of life.

From Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice

This is one of my favourite passages out of the Faith and Practice as it reaffirms my belief in (1) keeping things as simple as possible and (2) our daily work can be done as an act of worship and faith.

Stewardship, for me, is the verb of the Testimonies: it's what you do.

Becoming a steward of the land by participating in eco-friendly practices, limiting the daily schedule to allow for more family time, returning to a more simple way of life that incorporates skills like sewing, home cooking, etc are ways that we express the Stewardship Testimony.

It is by following this Testimony that I am able to recognize "Be open to your calling in different stages of life" to accept the stage in my life right now is not to be the braniac
Museum Studies graduate or Archaeologist like I had thought this stage in my life would be; rather, Hestia has called me to serve Her in the most sacred of roles...to raise my two boys to become smart, kind, caring men. By keeping Stewardship in mind, I am able to assess what is important for our family and what are the distractions.

In making choices about occupation or education, consider the way that offers the fullest opportunity to develop your individual abilities and contribute to the world community while providing for yourself and your family.

My formal education does help contribute to the world community and my family..I mean, c'mon...Anthropology is how we learn about the human family. It has helped me teach Thadd about science and history.

My informal education (I think) will have an even greater impact on the family and the world because by providing the boys with the best home life and childhood I can, I am providing better lives for the upcoming generations. Hopefully the boys grow up, marry, and raise their families within some of the same values they are being raised with.

It is not easy, but keeping in mind "In daily work, manifest a spirit of justice and understanding, and thus give a living witness to the truth" makes the hard work worth it.

Question of the day: What does Stewardship mean to you?

Things to ask yourself (Advices and Queries):

How have I been faithful to the leadings of the Spirit in choosing work or vocation?

What am I doing with my talents, time, money, and possessions? Am I sharing them according to the Light I am given?

Is my conduct at the workplace consistent with my life as a Friend?

How does my daily work enhance my spiritual life?

What Passes For Entertainment Out Here In The Country

2011-10-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

Just in case you've ever wondered what is considered an "exciting" day out here in the California country, it's a day that your road gets paved for the first time since the 60s (I'm assuming it's been that long...)

Out here, the potholes can get so large that you could easily hold a whole litter of designer dogs and every year the rains make the holes just a tad bit bigger.

I live on a corner. The road straight ahead goes out to the "main" road. Those trees in the far distance? That's a nut tree orchard...pistachio or almond...I cannot remember which since we have both plus walnut just in the mile drive to Thadd's school. When I say "country" I mean country.

For the past week, the great people of Cal-Trans has been out here turning our potholed asphalt into smooth, hard packed dirt roads. It's a sad thing I have to say: the dirt roads are superior to the asphalt we had.

See all of the puddles? Yep, those are potholes and in the next photo they will be gone! This afternoon the road in front of my house was turned into dirt right before our eyes. (oh, and see the line of trees way way way in the far distance? That's an orange orchard.)

Guy #1 came within centimeters of our driveway, churning up the road and spitting out dirt. I must say, I am impressed with his driving skillz.

This is what Guy #1 left in his wake. Amazing how powerful that piece of machinery is!

Guy #2 Came next, turning the middle of the road into dirt.

I was impressed how smooth it came out. Yes, I impress easily...

Guy #1 came back to do the other side of the road and then...

the water truck came!

Curious what is chomping the asphalt into bits? Guy #1 let me take a picture of underneath. Those are very sharp spikes going really fast.

I cannot help but wish we could 'borrow' the guys to come do this to our back yard when it's planting season...imagine all of that dirt tilled up and mixed with compost!

They are not done. In fact, I hear them outside still, driving up and down the road. I hope they get is flattened down tonight so my car wont' get stuck when I take Thadd to school in the morning. I'll post more pictures as this story unfolds.

Question of the day: What easily impresses you?

I Think I Need Another Glass of Wine

2011-10-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

It seems that having to write a post a day I have tons to say and yet nothing to say. I have visions of long lists of topics and yet here I am, 5:45PM and I've got nothing.

But I did clean our three bathrooms today which involved bleaching the counter tops. Small trivia, I love the smell of a freshly bleached room...it's so clean, orderly, sanitized.

I also picked off the stems and washed a bunch of raisins V gave me (home-grown raisins...oh yum!). Tomorrow I'll make some raisin cinnamon bread alongside homemade apple sauce from the 6 apples from Thadd's little apple tree.

The kitchen is clean of dinner's preparation, the dishes are washing, and I've already had my small glass of wine (sparkling muscato)... the boys are outside playing with the styrofoam rocket launcher Finn got for his birthday...so I think I'll take myself and book out there to breathe in some fresh (cooler) air.

Hope you all have/had a great day.

Question of the day: What is your favourite unwinding activity?

My Sewing Project in Pictures

2011-10-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today's post will be a pictorial tour of one of my sewing projects: the jean skirt.

I started off by ripping out the inseams of an old pair of jeans. Simple really.

I then assessed the damage of wearing said jeans for a number of years while they were way too long on me. Notice the gaping holes in the bottom hems.

I cut off the old hem to start over with a 'clean' slate and then dyed the jeans a darker blue. You cannot tell in the next photo (pre-dye job) but the jeans were not a flattering faded denim.

I am not able to sew the leg panels together because it would create a tight fit which is not what I am going for, so I'm putting in this green checked fabric in the front and back.

This is a project I've been working on for roughly a month off and on. There have been a few hiccups along the way: getting the rear-end to lay down correctly, getting the hem of the fabric and the denim to play nicely, and now I'm thinking there's too much fabric in the front so that's gotta get taken in.

Yesterday I actually ripped out the hem (again), re-cut it, and re-pinned it for a better flow. I also stretched the fabric and re-pinned it on the seam to see if that looks better.

Whenever I get it done, I'll post more pictures. If it turns out okay in the end, I want to do a similar treatment to my remaining jeans (I'm so over them!).

What do you think?

Question of the Day: if you could make anything your imagination could dream up, what would it be?

War and Peace

2011-10-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Oh what a busy four days! From Fair, to school Festival, to family reunion, and then Meeting...I'm so happy that today is a lazy day.

I didn't wear the kapp to the reunion. I wasn't too sure if I was "ready" just yet and Gaius said "wear your hair down...it's pretty" so that's what I did. The reunion was actually a lot of fun. The boys spent most of their time in the bounce house, we fed a horse and goats carrots, watched Marines do a flag ceremony (complete with a 21 gun salute and Taps), and G got arrested.

Huh?

Yeah...Thadd had him arrested...in a fake jail that cost two dollars to bail him out. Good times.

Yesterday I did wear my kapp to Meeting and was met with a lot of positive reactions and questions. I am seriously thinking about turning in my request to become an official Friend...but.... there are some aspects of the Society that I don't agree with at all. Mainly the social justice aspect of the Peace Testimony that manifests itself into anti-military sentiments.

I'm anti-war, not anti-military... so how do I reconcile that to become a Friend? Cat Chapin-Bishop wrote a great piece on this very thing for Fourth of July:

And it makes me angry over those whose idea of a "peace testimony" is to heap scorn on soldiers who have been confronted with choices we've safely managed to avoid.

People enlist in the military for all kinds of reasons. But almost never without an ambition to serve, to be selfless, to be honorable.

George Fox and James Nayler, the guys who created Quakers, with our so-precious peace testimony, were veterans of war--of a bloody and terrible civil war. I find that well worth remembering.
I wish I saw more Friends with this Testimony.

Another part of the Peace Testimony that I cannot support is inmate rights. Personally, I think they have too many rights and when their rights begin trumping the rights of the victims and the victims' families, something ain't right.

I understand where the prison reform-social justice aspect comes from in Quaker history and I totally agree that in the 1600s to the first half of the 20th century we needed prison reform and basic human rights enforced in prison. I get it, I agree with it. But c'mon! It's gotten out of control.

I'm also pro- capital punishment. So very un-Friend of me, I know.

These are stances I took time to think about and really discern for myself what I feel is right. These were not embraced by a flight of fancy or on a whim. I spent years really thinking about the issues. I don't fit neatly into the Peace Testimony...I'm rather the square peg in the round hole.

Is there room in the Society for a square peg? Or would it be best for me to stay an Attender? I honestly don't know.

Returning to the subject of my kapp and Modest/Plain dressing: I really think the kapp is the way I'm going to go. It just feels right and I've been told by E and V that it looks natural on me (is that correct, E?). My Regency drawstring dress should be done soon and I'm so excited to get it!

Well, that's it for this hodge-podge of a post for the day. It's taken me what it seems like forever to finish it and now it's time to do dishes and all of that fun stuff.

Question of the day: what's your favourite lazy day activity?

To Be or Not to Be... Covered, That Is

2011-10-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note for today will have to suffice for my daily post. We are going to G's family reunion of the far reaches of the extended family that promises to have well over 300 cousins. Eeep!

Coming from a rather small WASPish family, these gatherings are a bit much for me so I'm glad it's only every 4 years. Thadd is very excited to see all of his cousins and Finn doesn't have a clue what it is going on.

I'm contemplating if I should wear my kapp today or not. I've worn it on every public outing since Thursday (I wore it last night to Thadd's school Fall Festival...got a few stares, but nothing big) so do I continue my bravery streak or forgo for the day?

I'll let you know tomorrow.

Question of the day: What is your favourite Halloween treat?

Fair, Fried Food, and Kapps

2011-10-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Fair was a lot of fun. The boys rode rides until it began to get dark and chilly at which point we decided that it was time for some fried-food goodness. Now, I'm a Southern-bred gal through and through... we are talking generations heaped upon generations of Southerns that make up my DNA so fried food is comfort food. I try not to eat too much of it because along with my DNA programed for fried food, tea so sweet it'll put you in a sugar coma, and the pull on the heart strings when I see Spanish moss hanging from an old oak (making myself homesick...) it also is programmed for heart disease and high cholesterol.

But I digress...I was talking about the fried-food goodness from the Fair. Fried ice-cream has got nothing on fried Kool-Aide. Never thought you would ever read that sentence in your life, huh? Seriously, if you ever get the chance, try the fried Kool-Aide. I wanted seconds.

While we were on our family trip, I did something brave. Nope, I didn't ride any crazy rides, didn't try the fried frog legs (though I do wonder what they taste like...bet it's like chicken). Yesterday, for the first time ever I wore my kapp out in public.

And you know what? No weird stares. No jeers. No rotten cabbages thrown. So what gives? What makes me (or any woman for that matter) twitchy about it? I'm not sure, really.

Next month is Plain month and I think I'll try wearing my kapp during that month to see how it goes.

So, there you go: the Fair gave me fried Kool-Aide and the bravery to wear my kapp in public. The boys found the bravery to ride "bigger" rides and to mix Icee flavours.

Question the day: If you could step out of your comfort zone and find the bravery to do one thing, what would it be?

Holiday Aprons for the Domestic Divas

2011-10-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

In preparing for the Halloween/Samhain holiday my mom's Etsy store now has aprons available to help you get in the mood while cooking up all of those goodies.

Family Time

2011-10-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Good Morning, Dear Readers! It is 8:25am, the sun is shining in a recently cleaned sky while the temperature maintains a proper Fallish 60s.

I'm Not Hannah, on the NaBoWriMo Blog, posted this prompt last night: What is your favorite way to spend time with your family? which is very fitting because I was already going to share a small glimpse into our family time.

First, family time around here runs pretty much 24/7. We teach the kids that nothing trumps family and try to spend as much time together as possible. Hey, I'm realistic that once Thadd hits his teens and begins driving that he will rather hang with friends than family so I'm taking full advantage while I can.

Last night we were going to have grilled cheese and chicken pot pie soup (which still sounds really good and I'll probably make a batch today). While the bread was baking for the grilled cheese, my friend V invited the family over to her house for dinner to celebrate her sister's birthday and her nephew receiving the Aaronic Priesthood.

Imagine 9 children ranging in ages from 12 to 3 plus 7 adults and you have last night's dinner. That's family time for me. A group of people coming together, who love each other, eating, talking, playing. The 8 (!) boys ran amok through out the house while the adults tried to keep tabs on where the little ones were. We got home a full hour after Thadd's bedtime and it was worth every minute.

Today we are taking Thadd and Finn along with V's two older boys (Thadd's best friends) to the Fair. We've been excited for a week and I think the boys have been planning what games and rides they want to try out. I've been thinking about all the fried-food goodness awaiting me. That, and the livestock... I gots to see the Jersey cows and rabbits. I'm simple that way.

I love getting to take the boys on these outings and see their expressions of delight over new experiences..but my favourite family time are the ones that happen in the hushed moments in between our busy lives. It's the weekend afternoons (when Gaius is at work) when Thadd, Finn, and I will pop in a Disney movie, make a bowl of popcorn and veg. It's the nightly ritual of Thadd and I reading a chapter before he goes to bed, it's Finn's bedtime ritual that requires the correct blankets, book, water with ice, and "pretty lights" (he has a strand of LED multi-coloured lights in his room that he loooves).

It's watching G wrestle with the boys, me baking with the boys, the four of us just having a lazy PJ day.

Family time is all the time.

Halloween/Samhain question of the day: How do you honour family on the 31st?

Tut, Tut! It Looks Like Rain!

2011-10-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, if you are keeping track, you will have noticed that I missed a post yesterday. So much for perfect attendance. But Tuesdays are busy days as I actually have a bit of a social life on those days.

This morning I'm writing to you in the semi-darkness of my living room, drinking my first cup of Java, waiting the 3 minutes before I wake up Thadd to tell you all....

IT'S RAINING!!

We are easily impressed out here in the Golden State, and RAIN in October...and the very beginning of October no less... is reason enough to be impressed. I mean, Thadd will have to wear jeans and a long sleeved shirt today, with a coat.

The mind boggles.

***

Woke up Thadd, got his clothes laid out, breakfast on the table. I think either today or tomorrow I will begin decorating the house for Halloween. In the future, I would love to make our house a chic creepy "haunted" house with furniture draped in sheets, sheer, flouncy black curtains, etc. This year I'm going to be a pirate, using things I already have on hand.

With the weather behaving like proper Autumn, soup and grilled cheese is in order for dinner. I'll have to get the bread baking and go to the store to get the ingredients for the soup.... hmmmm....

Halloween/Samhain question of the day: what is your favourite ingredient to use during the season?

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina

2011-10-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

If you've gotten this post numerous times on your reader feed, I apologize. Right now I could throw Blogger into the river in frustration. I'll try to get a proper post up....

You Get Me For a Whole Month!

2011-10-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

Don't you feel special? October is National Blog Writing for a Month (NaBloWriMo). The challenge is to write one blog post a day for the entire month.

Not sure what all I'll write about. I do need to continue with the Testimony series and show off my sewing skillz with pictures of the PJ bottoms, skirt, head covering, and blanket I've made so far. Maybe share a few recipes, have a few Deep Thoughts, link a few music videos, start up again with the From the Desk... series. Yeah, those are great ideas! Let's see if I actually do any of it!

Halloween/Samhain question of the day: Have you decorated your house yet?

Many Thanks

2011-10-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Dear Readers, for your words left in response to my last two posts. They have been a great comfort and a soothing balm.

Here's an update:

J is out of the hospital. He has had a blood transfusion and the doctors are talking about a bone marrow transplant in the future. My family is going to his home today to clean it up so that his mom can stay there while taking care of him. The boys and I live too far away to just go down for the day so I'll have to plan a visit once everyone is settled in.

Since the entirety of my family has already been baptized, confirmed, initiated, endowed, and sealed by the LDS I've decided to allow my great-grandparents and siblings to have it done too so that it's done.

Baptizing the Dead

2011-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

As Halloween (Samhain to some) is approaching, most of our thoughts move toward the direction of our ancestors and acknowledging/honouring their presence.

With this in mind, I pose this little question: how would you feel/what would you do if you found out that your ancestors had been baptized by the Mormon Church (who do preform Baptisms of the Dead and all other Temple work including marriages) without your family's consent?

Would it matter how closely related you are to the deceased (your 2x great grandparents vs. your 10x great grandparents)? What if it had been done for/to your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents? Is the practice harmless since the people in question are already dead or do you see it as a religious/personal violation?

I ask because I've recently found out that my great grandparents on my maternal and paternal sides have had "work" done on them... even though in both cases they still had/have living children. I am rather shocked and taken back by it.

Thoughts?

Just Sayin'

2011-09-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Writing an anonymous blog does have its perks. One of them is that I can vent my ire without having to worry about family backlash for sharing too much.

Last week I had a close family member admitted to the hospital to be tested for leukemia as it runs in our family (actually, Cancer in general is almost a sure thing for all of us...). I found out yesterday that J doesn't have leukemia but rather a rare blood cancer that gives J the max of 5 years. This very same cancer has killed one aunt and is slowly killing two uncles as I write this. So much for being "rare"...I don't think our DNA knows what that word means.

While growing up, I've watched family members get Cancer and I've lost a few to it: Lung, Lymphoma, Stomach, Mylemo. I've had family survive Stomach, Breast, Leukemia, and Ovarian... but except for the Breast Cancer the family members have been extended family which gave me the false hope that the Cancer gene would some how bypass by my direct family. But that is not so.

Simplicity

2011-09-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

Right before I took my month long hiatus, I asked my followers on Twitterfor topic suggestions. My Soul Sister, E, in her ever clear wisdom requestedthat I spend some time discussing the Friends' Testimonies and what they meanto me.

The Testimonies are the backbone of Quaker life: Simplicity, Stewardship,Integrity, Peace, Equality, Community. It was the Testimonies that cemented my interest inattending Meeting because they were everything that I've been trying toarticulate for so many years and yet never came close to expressing them so eloquently.

And so, I humbly offer you my thoughts on each of these Testimonies as aPolytheist Friend ('though not an official Friend just yet) starting withSimplicity.

Simplicity is the right ordering of our lives, placing God* at thecenter. When we shed possessions, activities, and behavior that distract usfrom that center, we can focus on what is important. Simplicity does not meandenying life’s pleasures, but being open to the promptings of the Spirit. Pacific YearlyMeeting Faith and Practice

We live in a fast paced world where instant gratification is quicklybecoming the norm. Our lives pass us in a blur of activity, especially those ofus who have to keep up with our childrens' activities as well.

But is it healthy for us? Do we need to have our daily schedule packed fullof errands that we have to schedule down time? Is this blur of movement keepingus mindful of our spiritual selves?

I am reminded of a happy birthday message I read in the local newspaperyears ago to a little boy. The parents were waxing on about how accomplished hewas in karate, t-ball, soccer, music and thrilled that he just startedkindergarten. Reading the list of activities the child was involved in at suchan early age I couldn't help but shake my head in dismay wondering when he wasallowed to just be a little boy.

Children grow up way too fast. Why are parents in such a rush to endchildhood? I believe that children should grow slowly, being allowed to enjoytheir childhood as fully as possible. There will be plenty of time in thecoming years for complicated scheduling. Why does a 5 year need it?

I try to live a life of simplicity. Some might call it down right boring.There aren't rushed mornings, afternoons, and evenings. The days follow arather predictable pattern from the time we wake-up to the time we go to bed.The only night that is busier than the rest is Cub Scout night, but even thatis routine.

Family life is the main focus in our household. We are trying to instill thevalue of "be happy with what you have" into the boys, explaining thefolly of those who need to clutter their lives with junk in order to be happy.

It isn't perfect: there's plenty of junk I need to purge in the house, theboys have more toys than a Toys R Us store, I have two closets of clothes thatneed to be weeded out. But we are trying.

I think by decluttering our lives, allowing the beauty of simplicity to fillit up, we begin to live a more spiritually centered life that is satisfying.

With Thadd getting older, I've worried about how he perceives his family.Does he wish we had a bit more chaos (excitement)? Does he wish that we wereinvolved in more activities? The answer came to me one day while he was fillingout his religious emblem packet for Cub Scouts. One of the questions asked ofhim was "What do you like about your family?" to which he replied"We are not a hectic family!".

It goes beyond scheduling, however. Simplicity is about not needing the latesttrendy item, the new electronic gadget, the 50 pairs of designer jeans. It's internalizing the belief that less is more.

Life is meant to be lived from a Center, a divine Center… a life of unhurried peace and power. It is simple. It is serene. It takes no time, but it occupies all our time. Thomas R. Kelly, Testament of Devotion, 1941

Things to ask yourself:

Do I center my life in an awareness of God’s* presence so that all things take their rightful place?

Do I live simply, and promote the right sharing of the world’s bounty?

Do I keep my life uncluttered with things and activities, avoiding commitments beyond my strength and light?

How do I maintain simplicity, moderation, and honesty in my speech, my manner of living, and my daily work?

Do I recognize when I have enough?

Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice

* For my fellow Polytheists/Pagans this can be read as the Gods /Gods'.

I would love to know your thoughts on Simplicity.

Sometimes there are two rainbows after a storm...

2011-09-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Taken yesterday: 9-11-11

Read this (make sure you read the comments too). Thoughts?

In Memory...

2011-09-11T07:46:00.001-07:00

This Time for Reals

2011-09-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

I came back to the blog'hood, left an "I'm baaack!" post only to disappear again. How very rude.

But at least I have a fairly good excuse: Finn and I got head colds about a week ago and we are just getting over it. Finally my head doesn't feel like it's stuffed with cotton and it doesn't hurt my brain when I try to think an acutely clear thought.

But now I'm back, for reals. And to kick things off, let's take a look at some of the things we did while at Vegas:

This is New York, New York and yes, that's a roller coaster. I took this picture while walking from our hotel (the Luxor) to Excalibur and some other hotel that I cannot think of right now. It was so freakin' HOT! I'm used to dry heat, but Vegas is it's own hellish climate. Next time we'll go in the cooler months.

This is a view from the window from our floor's hallway. Yes, that's an obelisk and right behind it is a "Temple" on one of the "main" levels.

We did gamble, but didn't have too much luck. Next time I'll just stick to Keno and save my money for shopping and shows.

They were freakin' awesome! Seriously, how did they do it?!

We also had two really great meals. The first was at an Irish pub where Gaius had bangers and mash for the first time and I "met" a new favourite drink called a Black and Ginger. It's got black currant (I LOVE black currant but sadly we just don't have it here in the States) and spiced Ginger ale. The second meal was at a very posh restaurant that simply was the best meal I've ever had.

Gaius did surprise me with a present while there. We had gone into a Dooney and Bourke store so I could drool over their purses. I had found one that I really liked and the next thing I know G's buying it for me. Yep, I am spoiled.

All and all, we had a fantastic time and plan on going back in a year. This time, we think we might go with G's sister and husband that way the boys can go play poker and the gals can go have a spa day.

And We're Back....

2011-09-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

Happy September, Dear Readers!

We've had a busy August: new school year, a trip to Vegas, some harvests from the garden, and sewing. While I've been gone, it seems this humble blog has reached 50 followers....Welcome!

Be Back Soon

2011-08-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

I am going on hiatus.

Thadd's summer vacation is coming to a close and it's going to be a very busy August. I'll see you all at the end of August / beginning of September with a week long series about the Friends' Testimonies and what they mean to me.

In the meantime, I'll ~~continue to stalk~~ keep up with reading other blogs and answering emails. If you feel especially hard withdrawls, you can always find me on Twitter (@CoraPost) and Facebook ( Cora Post) although I'll not be so very active on them for a while.

Have a very happy August!

Tweet Tweet

2011-07-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

By TwitterButtons.com

I'm Learning How to Sew

2011-07-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Image found here.

I took up a new "hobby" yesterday. So far I've accomplished learning how to thread the machine and sew a straight seam and even did a fancy stitch. That's a big deal for me because in the past the sound of the machine would make me anxious (as does a vacuum cleaner..weird, I know).

The goal is to be able to make the boys' PJs, pillowcases, and my skirts. If you sew and have any tips that you want to share, I'd love to hear from you!

To My Witchy Readers: May the Force be with You

2011-07-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this. Yes, it's all a bunch of crap and this woman was never a Witch...BUT, apparently Witches are like Jedis because they use the Force.

Damn...maybe I should have stayed Wiccan ;-)

Spreading the Love...

2011-07-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

When wrote about my little dilemma over feeling guilty about spending my birthday money on me instead of the family, I never imagined the outpouring of love and encouragement that I received! Really, truly, I am thankful and grateful for every comment.

And so, I'm sharing the love. Instead of commenting back in the little box, I'm responding to each of you here in your very own post linking each name to the owner's blog. If you haven't "met" each other yet, I highly encourage you to check out each lady's blog...everyone one of you is a gem <3 For those of you with two blogs, I linked to the "main" blog.

Dark Mother wrote:

I'm still getting over the whole kidless week with the hubby. Ahhh, do I dare dream. Problem is I'm a control freak and just last year allowed my Littleman to even sleep over at grammas. I know, I know.

As for the money issue. Birthday money is off the table as far as bills go (unless someone is in jeopardy of losing their house or can't put food on the table). I say spend it and enjoy spending it. You've earned it by being a stay at home mom and taking care of your family.

Feed yourself in everyway girl.

The kid thing came out of necessity years ago when G was in the Army. He was in one of the very first units deployed after the Iraq War started. It wasn't even close to our first separation (unlike most of the wives in the unit whose husbands had never been deployed, G and I spent the first year of our marriage on opposite sides of the world) but this was a first for war.

So, there I am, talking on the phone with my mom and she's asking me to let her come get Thadd (who was roughly 18 months old at the time) to give me a break and allow me to process everything. At about that time I look in the kitchen and see that he's dumped my newly opened bag of sugar into a huge mountain in the middle of the floor and has his truck rolling up and down the sides. Normally I would laugh...but not that time. I just stood there, numb... and I knew that my stress was too much to handle. "Come get him" I said to my mom. She had him for a couple of weeks and it was a godsend.

When he was 3 he began staying with my parents for about 3 weeks while I was in field school...again, out of necessity.

Was it hard? You bet your sweet ass it was. I cried every time. But in the long run, it was what needed to be done. You'll get there. Being a Mom is hard work emotionally.

Which is why, I suppose, even Moms need to be a tad selfish at times and do something strictly for themselves...like birthday money. That last line...yeah.... a new favourite =)

E wrote:

Forget Alaska! Sweden's cooler too! ;) Probably cost about the same (yeah right?!) to fly here as there...! ;D

Yay for alone time with yourself and hubby! Yay for treating yourself and HELL YEAH you should get yourself started on your new wardrobe!

Suuure, I get the money guilt thing too *bleh!* but...! Sweetie... you need to get going where you've been heading! <3 Gooo...! :) Do it! No guilt.

*hugs*

LOL! Sweden is on the list to visit, don't you worry! I'm still in shock over the airline prices..they are insane!

Thanks for your words...I got all misty-eyed. I know you are right: it's time, it's been time. No guilt! *hugs*

Meganne wrote:

I'm also of the "birthday money is for personal use" school of thought. It's not the easiest, but I think it's good to do that for yourself every once in a while.

Secondly, Shukr is really great quality from everything I've heard and read, and I can tell just by looking at the tailoring and treatment of the seams in the pictures. If you get yourself a long skirt or two, they will last you forever. So it might seem like more of an investment now, but if you wear it for many years once or twice a week it's also modest on your pocketbook. I say go for it, and if you go with Shukr, let me know what you think- I'm thinking about buying a skirt or two for my birthday, too. :)

You have an excellent point about the investment and high quality of the work. If I wear the skirts a couple of times a week (which I more than likely will) then really the price isn't that bad! I'll just have to be wise about which ones to pick: maybe a denim and khaki vs. the deep purple...more things I can match the first two with. ;-) If I get one (or two) I'll for sure let you know my thoughts on it!
Debra wrote:

Happy Birthday to you! If someone gave your husband a nice big checkipoo for his birthday, would you expect him to spend it on you and the boys? Would he expect to do so too? Or would it be regarded as his money to be used for a nice gift for himself? Do likewise with your birthday money. That's what I think.

Thank you for the birthday wishes!

Here's the thing, if G gets money for birthday or Christmas I tell him that it's HIS money and go buy something he really wants. However, he usually ends up spending some of it on "family needs" because for a long time we struggled to keep above water and that was the only way we survived. I guess it's hard to break old habits and instead of keeping only a small portion for myself this time I'm able to keep the majority (minus helping with two medical bills). I must say, I like your thinking =)Gumbo Soul (Gypsy) wrote:

I concur with all of the previous comments! Birthday money is for fun unless circumstances are desperate.

I made it through 1 1/2 of the Game of Thrones series and that's all. After the first book I remember the second one being really "war-tactic-ery" which I had a hard time getting excited about until I gave up altogether. My husband has really enjoyed the series though, so I guess it's just me. *L*

LOL... I didn't read the second book for several days and finally picked it up and began reading again. There's so much war stuff going on that I'm having a hard time keeping tract of who the hell he's talking about. However, I do have my favourite characters so I have to find out what happens to them! I do think after getting through book 5 I'm gonna have to find a fantastic love story just to balance out all of the fighting.Wizardess wrote:

How was Bad Teacher? It looked funny in the trailer, but then, trailers can be much better than the actual product.

I'm learning to think of money as energy. It helps to take the emotion out of it. Maybe take your $70 to a thrift store, spend some time & see what you can find? Most likely a lot more than 1 skirt.

Really, I think you should spend the $ in a way that makes you satisfied.

Bad Teacher was awesome! You know how sometimes the trailers actually show you all of the funny parts and there's nothing good left in the movie? Not this time... there's things they cannot show you in the trailers (like Cameron and Justin "dry humping"... oh gods).

I like the Thrift Store idea and have thought about that. It's a great way to stretch a dollar.Elena wrote: Thank you! You've made an excellent point.. I wouldn't have felt guilty if they had bought me either (which it turns out that G was looking at one of them for me!) so why should I feel guilty?

So, this is the plan: I think sometime in the very near future I'm going to have a dress made. Either a high waisted "empire" dress or a Plain dress. I've come to the conclusion that I'm thinking things into the ground and just need to do one thing at a time. So I'll get a dress made that will be my "house dress" so I can try out the different styles and see what fits. I'm also going to see about skirts. Ideally, down the road, I'll be able to make my own which is my ultimate goal.

Thank you all so very very much for your words of wisdom. Every one of you has helped me greatly.

Much hugs.

Happy birthday!!!!

As for the birthday money, I think it´s fair for you to spend it in yourself, so go ahead and start your wardrobe!

Thank you!! I think I just might =)
Jen Rue wrote (on FB):

Happy Birthday!! I hate when you feel guilty for treating yourself. You wouldn't have felt guilty if people had bought you the Rosetta Stone and the skirt. So you shouldn't feel guilty about buying those things with your birthday money.

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Some People Shouldn't Be Parents Edition

2011-07-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

The weather has been… still going through some sort of menopausal “change”. Right now it is rather nippy and windy outside which is unheard of in the middle of July. Not that I’m complaining! With the weird cool weather this year, I’ve come to the realization that I so want to move to permanently cooler weather!

I’m reading … A Clash of Kings (still.)

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… I made homemade pasta! Also, I’m borrowing G’s grandma’s sewing machine…it’s time I learned how to sew, people!

What was learned this week was… don’t make two pounds of pasta dough. One pound is plenty.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … I’m not watching too much TV.

My guilty pleasure this week was… not having to make too many dinners.

I cracked up this week over… we bought Finn a frog potty, but instead of using it as a potty, he takes the bowl , puts it on his head and calls it his “hat”.

I got pissed off about… When I met my parents’ half way to bring the boys home we had lunch at a McDonald’s with an indoor play area. The boys were having fun going down a big twisty slide when I noticed that neither had emerged from the bottom. About the time I was starting to wonder what was going on , I heard Finn yell out in panic. I climbed up the slide to see if he had gotten stuck. The problem was that about 5 kids had walked up the slide while just as many were coming down and they got stuck near one of the bends.

The boys ate their lunch and then wanted to play more, so my mom and I stood near the mouth of the slide to make sure that kids didn’t walk up it while others were coming down. Easy enough…and reasonable, right? Well, this one boy began climbing up and we told him not to because kids were coming down when his asshat of a father (texting, of all things) tells him “You don’t have to listen to them…you can do whatever you want.”

Both of our head whipped around , “Excuse me?!” we said. “What? He can go up if he wants.” He said.

The “shit hit the fan” moment came when four kids came down and were almost at the very end (so we can see them) when said boy began climbing up…and not just climbing up, but climbing OVER Thadd.

So there’s Thadd in front with this kid literally draped over his shoulder like a sack of flour, heading straight into little Finn (sitting right behind his brother). Thadd grabs the kid around the waist and starts trying to throw him off while yelling “get off of me!” The boy’s response? “I can do whatever I want.”

The asshat of a dad’s response? “I don’t hear any kids crying so he can do whatever he wants.”

I’m not a violent person, but at that moment I wished G was there to kick this asshat’s ass.

Ever wanted to know the very best way to raise the next generation of self-absorbed asshats? Just take a page out of this guy’s parenting book.

A quote that got me thinking this week … not a quote, but a song that my Soul Sister left on my FB. Love it!

A highlight of the week … last week I wrote about my mini crisis of what to do with the extra birthday money and the comments so many of you left had me all misty eyed. Thank you all so much for your kind words. They really mean a lot.

I’ll write more about it in my next post =)

What I made that was the shizzle … homemade fettuccine with garlic chicken and sautéed bell peppers.

Photo of one thing from the week…

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Happy Birthday to Me Edition 7.08.11

2011-07-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

The weather has been… hotter than the Seven Hells. Average has been hovering around 105F (that's 40.5C) …by 8am the house is closed up and the AC is kicking on. I’ve come to the conclusion that living in this clime is overrated exponentially and I’m dreaming of cooler areas. I've heard Alaska is nice.

I’m reading …

Book Two in the Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones series). For those in the know: I love Tyrion Lannister and Arya Stark is one badass little chicka.

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… spending much needed time with the hubs and enjoying some alone time. The boys have been gone for a week (thus my silence on this blog) so I’ve been pottering around the house, trying to clean a room a day (didn’t get past two rooms so far) while watching MY TV (it’s not until having the boys that I realized how “grown up” Friends can be), reading…and if I want, napping. When The Man is home, we’ve been having dinners out of the house and seeing a few movies (Bad Teacher, Hangover II, Bridesmaids, and Transformers).

And, oh, yes! It was my birthday too.

What was learned this week was… I’m in a bit of a mini personal crisis… no, not anything super important… just… well… Okay. I got a bit of birthday money. With it I’ve helped pay a few medical bills, bought Rosetta Stone in Latin (the first set) and the National Geographic Genographic Kit. Honestly, I had an extremely hard time buying those two things (even though I’ve been wanting both of them for years) because I cannot remember the last time I’ve spent that kind of money on just me. It felt nice (it is my money after all) and yet I felt guilty because maybe more of it should have gone to bills (?).

So here’s the “problem”: I still have some money left over. When day dreaming I’ve thought that when the opportunity presented itself I would use that amount to start my Modest Pagan wardrobe…but the moment is here and I am hesitant. Not because of my convictions, but because there are so many damn choices out there, and I’m frugal and don’t want to spend $70 on a damn skirt even though I love them so.

I feel that nudge, tug, pull, calling from Hestia saying “Okay, girly… it’s time…” but I don’t want to blow the rest of the money without really taking my sweet ass time about finding the best deals… it’s that whole slow going Quaker side of me I suppose.

On the flipside, I still feel guilty for spending even more money on just me when I could spend the money for the family and/or the house: maybe some nicer, more colourful pillows for the family room. Maybe a new and prettier shower curtain for the guest bathroom. Maybe a new Wii game for the family to play. Maybe new school clothes and shoes for Thadd. Maybe new clothes for Finn (since he’s growing so fast).

So what I’ve learned this week is: money makes me feel guilty.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … my Friends DVDs. Although I must say: it’s strange watching non-HDTV.

My guilty pleasure this week was… drinking a glass of Muscato wine and eating shortbread cookies for dinner.

I cracked up this week over… My mom told me that Finn is walking around the house declaring “I love bread!”

I got pissed off about… nothing really.

A quote that got me thinking this week … heavy thinking has been turned off for the week.

A highlight of the week … having the house to myself! Oh yes, I miss my boys terribly…but it’s so nice to be only responsible for myself.

What I made that was the shizzle … my fried chicken bites and sweet corn.

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina 6.30.11

2011-06-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

The weather has been… as one of my friends on FB so eloquently stated, “Mother Nature needs to go see Her GYN to talk about Hormonal Replacement Therapy!” Seriously… the other night it rained (not a normal thing around here at the end of June) and was rather cool all the next day. This weekend it’s supposed to be in the triple digits. Can we say mood swings?

I’m reading …

I just finished Book One of the series and all I have to say is "Oh my gods!". I highly recommend it to anyone who like historical fiction/ fantasy. I'm starting Book Two today.

If you are a genealogy buff like I am, you will love this book. It's about one woman who delves into the history of her family to solve a present day mystery: who is her father? Only thing I didn't like about it was the Quaker inaccuracies: 1. the Plain speech was incorrect. Plain Quakers don't use "thou" only "thee" and "thy" 2) Quakers in the 1700s owned slaves...it wasn't until the 1800s that they banned it from the Society.

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… tending to the garden.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … Last week Bruno Mars preformed on the Today Show. That boy gots soul…

My guilty pleasure this week was… I went to the Whole Foods store and picked up some coconut milk yogurt and ice cream. Dairy and soy free, just the way I need it… what bliss!

I cracked up this week over… when Thadd attended day camp one of the volunteer Moms told me “yeah, yesterday he was giving a lecture to the other kids about nuclear fusion.” Last year it was dark energy.

I got pissed off about… Lord have mercy… I think these “men” could give the Taliban a run for their money in misogyny. DM posted about this blog and the ass began spamming her. Report the blog to Blogger (for hate and spam) to get it shut down. It’s fine they don’t like American women (white American women to be exact) but the way the blog is set up, it violates Blogger’s terms of service by attacking people for their race, gender, and ethnicity (technically nationality…but whatever… we cannot all use proper social science terms, eh)

Personally, I think it's one 40-year old virgin sitting in his parents' basement with only his blow up doll (made in China) for company that's writing all of these "letters". I mean, common. If you look, the "men" writing from the South cannot spell sounding like hicks (total stereotype...don't get me started on that), while one Marine is referred to as a "soldier". Never happening, compadre. Also, one "French man" complains how American women smoke too much... that got me laughing. A French man complaining about a woman smoking.

What cracks me up about this whole thing is that white American women are being accused of being nothing more than gold diggers that only care about money... and YET in almost every "letter" the "man" talks about either how much money he has or how no rich man wants a WAW. Whose obsessed with money? It sure isn't myself.

And this is the kicker: according to this "man", the "proof" of how undesirable a WAW is to "foreign" men is that there aren't any dating sites set up to match WAW with foreign men. You want to know why? Because the sites set up to match forgein women to American men is to appeal to lonely men who cannot get a date any other way. American women (and really women everywhere) are not hard wired that way. In the history of the world how successful has a "mail order husband" been? It just doesn't happen. Nothing to do with nationality, all to do with gender. So sorry to pop your little bubble of ego. But then again, I'm just a "bitch, whore, and slut" because I refuse to bow down to your great stupidity. Hope your made-in-China blowup doll keeps you warm at night. That as close to a real woman as you're ever going to get.

A highlight of the week … rain! We don’t get a whole lot of rain in the Summer months but this year we’re still getting some.

What I made that was the shizzle … strawberry/banana smoothie with orange, strawberry, pineapple juice and vanilla coconut milk yogurt. So freakin’ yummy!!

Photo of one thing from the week… hello, yummy grapes!

Summer Is Here!

2011-06-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

A late very happy Summer Solstice!

Around here, Summer came with a kaboom of temperatures soaring to 109F! Thadd asked me "What God is in charge of the heat?" After thinking about it for a moment I said, "Well, Demeter I suppose. She's in charge of the Seasons..." to which Thadd said in his outdoor voice, "Demeter! Make it cooler! This is too hot!!"

Funny enough, the next day the temperature went down by 10 degrees to a "comfortable" 100F. The great thing about having such a mild Summer is that I've only turned on my AC for maybe 3 days (not ALL day either) which has been fantastic.

It was during that insane heat spell that Thadd had his Cub Scout day camp. He loves going every year and getting to do all of the fun activities with other boys. He told him that when he grows up and becomes a Boy Scout that he's going back to camp to be a Camp Counselor. I think it's wonderful that my rather introverted son (sooo his Mama's boy) has found a social network that he loves so much. I have a feeling that we will be a Scout Family for a very long time (Finn will join the ranks in a few years too).

We planted the garden a while back in raised beds this year: strawberries, watermelon, tomatoes, carrots, and peas. The peas came up first, the watermelon is now shooting up, the tomatoes have little green fruit on them, and we have "rogue" pumpkins and possible carrots from last year that have popped up outside of the beds. Thadd's apple tree is doing splendid and so is the Asian pear tree. Grapes have gone crazy and I'm really hoping that the bunches mature this year...we will be buried in grapes!

My roses already had one bloom. Yesterday I cut off the dead heads in the hope of a second bloom since roses love the heat (and we got that in spades).

Now that day camp is over I will have a little bit more time for the blog =) Hope you all are having a great Summer! How was your Solstice?

Introducing A New Etsy Shop

2011-06-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

See that adorable polka dot apron? My very own mom made it and it's for sale! Over the past couple of days I've been busy getting an Etsy shop and Facebook page set up for her homemade apron business: Arvilla Ruby

This one is her original design with no commercial pattern used. It's made out of cotton, is 100% reversible (the other side is a solid yellow), there's no metal anywhere on the apron. It's very durable and practical for everyday use and is completely machine washable.

There are other styles of aprons that she can make. My favourite is one that crosses in the back while wrapping around my entire torso to give even more coverage. All her aprons offer full coverage for a real woman's body (we all are not twigs like my little sister, the model in the photos).

This endeavor has been a labour of love and a true family effort: my mom designs and makes the aprons, my little sister is the model, and I take the photos and manage the Etsy shop and the FB page.

Words to Live By: Freedom Friends Church

2011-06-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Reading Quaker Pagan Reflections this fantastic quote was a topic of a recent post:

We renounce the intolerance of religious fundamentalism in all its forms. Free Christians need only to live according to Gospel Order and hold up Christ, in order to fulfill The Great Commission. We believe that God calls human souls in more ways than we can imagine, and that God abides with anyone who seeks God in spirit and in truth, regardless of how they name God. We can and will make clear the truth and power that has been given to us, our Gospel path, but in no way do we think that we possess the whole, or only, truth. We prefer to live in relationship to the Truth. We believe it to be blasphemous for a human, or human group, to claim to hold the whole truth.

In our experience, Fundamentalism, which we define as asserting the absolute truth and completeness of one's own beliefs and practices to the deliberate exclusion of possible truth in other beliefs and practices, often leads to pride, judgmentalism, strife, rancor, and in the extreme, to hatred and violence. We believe that religious fundamentalism is incompatible with holy living and grace, and we renounce it as sin.

Found in the Freedom Friends Church's Faith and Practice.

Sun Worshipping

2011-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

VII. TO THE SUN [HELIOS]

The Fumigation from Frankinsence and Manna.

Hear golden Titan, whose eternal eye with broad survey, illumines all the sky.

Self-born, unwearied in diffusing light, and to all eyes the mirrour of delight:

Lord of the seasons, with thy fiery car and leaping coursers, beaming light from far:

With thy right hand the source of morning light, and with thy left the father of the night.

Agile and vig'rous, venerable Sun, fiery and bright around the heav'ns you run.

Foe to the wicked, but the good man's guide, o'er all his steps propitious you preside:

With various founding, golden lyre, 'tis mine to fill the world with harmony divine.

Father of ages, guide of prosp'rous deeds, the world's commander, borne by lucid steeds,

Immortal Jove [Zeus], all-searching, bearing light, source of existence, pure and fiery bright

Bearer of fruit, almighty lord of years, agil and warm, whom ev'ry pow'r reveres.

Great eye of Nature and the starry skies, doom'd with immortal flames to set and rise

Dispensing justice, lover of the stream, the world's great despot, and o'er all supreme.

Faithful defender, and the eye of right, of steeds the ruler, and of life the light:

With founding whip four fiery steeds you guide, when in the car of day you glorious ride.

Propitious on these mystic labours shine, and bless thy suppliants with a life divine.

Orphic Hymn to Helios

How to Compliment a Woman According to Solomon

2011-06-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

That smooth talking Solomon sure could woo the ladies in his Songs (from Chapter 6):

1.Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

2.My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

3.I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

4.Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

5.Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

6.Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.

Hmm... I'm not sure if I want my hair to be compared to a flock of goats.

What I'm getting from the description of her teeth is that "woot! baby, you got yourself a full set of teeth!" That must have been a real turn on back then.

The rest of Song of Songs is actually really nice but I starting laughing (hard) when I read those two sentences.

Sneak Peak Into My Special Space

2011-06-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

I created a "special space" about a week ago in my room. I wouldn't call it in "altar" but it is taking on that sacred space feeling.

There are two hurricane lamps to symbolize the hearth fire tended by Hestia.

L-R: 1)A picture frame that I've had for ages and never put a real photo in it. I think I might put a picture of Hestia in this one. 2) Perhaps my all time favourite offering bowl. If it looks familiar, it should. It's the same one pictured in the Charting the Course series. 3) Inside the leaf bowl is a green glass elephant that I've had so long that I don't remember where I got it. I love elephants: intelligent, protective, gentle Mamas. 4) a brass lamp that my dad brought back from Turkey. 4) One of two matching wooden elephants that Gaius brought back from Kuwait.

Detail of the leaf bowl and green glass elephant.

Detail of the pillar candle that sits next to the wooden elephants. Keeping watch is my teeny tinny Bastet.

Detail of one of the wooden elephants.

I filled this glass bowl with water and two drops of blue and one drop of green food colouring. The poppies were tiny floating suns on the surface but by the time I took this picture they had broken apart. I read Mrs. B's Hestia post and got inspired.

L-R: You can just make out the arms of a star shaped photo frame. I think I'll put Hermes in this one. 2) My statue of Athena that I've had for years. She's been moved all over the place. 3) In front of Her is a small incense holder that I've used off and on. 4) My desert rose. 5) The prayer that I recite to Hestia in the morning.

This is an "extra" space. I've had this statue forever it seems. I think it's suppose to be Eros and Psyche (one of my all time favourite stories) but for some reason I always think that it's Hermes. The pillows in the back ground are what I use to kneel on when I do the morning prayer to Hestia.

Sun Worshipping

2011-06-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Amaterasu: a primary Shinto deity, Goddess of the Sun.

My Review

2011-06-09T12:03:00.001-07:00

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

Perfect French Press

By Cora Post from United States on 6/9/2011

The perfect everday french press for the serious coffee drinker: large enough for several morning cups, shatter proof, and dishwasher safe.

(legalese)

My Review of Automatic Burr Coffee Grinder in Brushed Stainless

2011-06-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

Discover the extra rich flavor of coffee made from freshly ground beans! The elegant brushed stainless Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill consistently grinds coffee beans to preserve delicate natural oils, maximizing both flavor and aroma. It's as simple as selecting the d...

Great Grinder

By Cora Post from United States on 6/9/2011

Excellent grinder! It has plenty of settings to produce the coffee ground of your choice. Easy to use and clean.

(legalese)

Sun Worshipping

2011-06-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

They Might Be Giants: Here Comes Science

Thadd loves this CD/DVD! For all of you Science nerds or raising Science nerds...get it!

What Happens at Temple...

2011-06-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

As I stated earlier, I went to the LDS Temple over the weekend to celebrate the Sealing of one of my very best friends. I have to admit, as I was walking up to the main doors I got a little butterfly in my stomach and the "oh my goodness...I'm going to the Temple!" feeling...but that quickly went away once I got in to the waiting room.

Now, I know that for the LDS , the waiting room is part of the Temple and therefor the "special feeling" should be felt there. But honestly, it just felt like a waiting room to me. I had a far stronger spiritual feeling in Hawaii.

I did have one missionary who spent sometime talking to me but I wasn't really giving him any ground to stand on so to speak. I think I frustrate a lot of them because I'm so familiar with the Church and yet I won't join...it's hard for many to understand the why. My simple answer is that I don't believe Joseph Smith is a prophet as I've studied early human migration into the Americas and his story just doesn't add up and there's no evidence in the material remains.

Hey, I'm (by education) a "junior" Archaeologist (have to have a MA to be a proper one) and if a person is talking about migration of humans you better have the material remains to back up your claim. The fact that there is no evidence of these huge cities or of the animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon before European settlers leads me to believe that Smith wasn't a prophet. That, and he totally screwed the pooch on the "Book of Moses". But I digress...

The Temple is lovely and the people are lovely. No, really! I know it's hard for us who are advocates of Gay Rights to see anyone against these basic human rights as "lovely" but talking to them one-on-one you soon realize just how nice (most) are. And please keep in mind when talking to the missionaries: these are young kids (roughly 19 years old) that are far from home (many from other countries) that are simply doing what they feel is right. Cut them some slack: invite them in for some milk and cookies, ask questions, treat them kindly.

Now on to the "main event". Please keep in mind that everything that I'm going to share is stuff that you can get from the Internet. I'm not breaking any promises or saying more than I should. Also keep in mind that I didn't get a chance to have a discussion with the Temple Matron like I had hoped: it was super busy!

Temple:

The Temple is believed to be the actual house of God where the LDS go to receive greater understanding of their Scriptures and God’s eternal plan which largely revolves around the family. The ordinances (which we would call “rituals” or “ceremonies”) include: Baptism of the Dead, Initiatory, Endowment, and Sealing. What I find interesting is that the lessons being taught during the Endowment is seen as symbolic. In fact, just about everything about the Temple (both the exterior and interior) is heavy in symbolism. They feel that the best way to teach difficult or complicated ideas is to use symbolism as a way of explaining things. Will there really be secret handshakes and passwords that one must use in order to enter the Celestial Kingdom? Or is it symbolic of possible questions one must answer or trials one must win?

Within the Temple proper everyone wears white to symbolize that when they enter the house of God they are all equal and leave their worldly/ social rankings outside. I’m totally on board with that and would like to see more of that thinking in everyday life. Not the dressed in all white, all the time part, but the “we are all equal” part..without it becoming yet another dismal display of Communism.

I have to admit that I am envious over their Temples. How I wish that Pagans/Polytheists/ etc. could get our acts together and build our own, but I fear that it will never happen. I admire the LDS’ ability to organize as well as they do; I don’t think the adage that organizing Pagans is like “herding cats” is exactly a good thing.

Creation/ Endowment:

The Endowment is the ordinance that an LDS does (takes? Is given?) before a mission, before they get married, or one year after they are Baptized (if they converted as an adult). This ordinance focuses on the Creation of the World according to Church teaching and is very heavy in symbolism.

The Earth (and apparently many other life sustaining Worlds) was created on the instructions of Elohim to Jehovah ( our “oldest brother”/Jesus) and Michael (Arch-Angel himself) (who were the ones actually responsible for all of Earth’s creation). Michael became Adam (his spirit entering the mortal body) and consequently forgot all of his prior knowledge. Lucifer (another one of our “older brothers”) tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge to regain what they had lost. Eve didn’t tempt Adam with her feminine ways, just stated the simple fact that she already ate the fruit and Adam had a choice: 1) don’t eat it and stay in Eden, alone… or 2) eat the fruit, get kicked out of Eden, but will have Eve as his consolation prize (okay…that’s my wording on the last part…but you know how guys think).

When Elohim found out what Lucifer did, Lucifer responded that he had done this on all of the other worlds too… and so he was punished for being a naughty boy.

During the Endowment (from what I’ve read) there are signs, passwords, names, and handshakes that correspond to certain teachings. You can watch parts of the Endowment from Big Love.

I’ve heard part this version of events before, many years ago, but I wasn’t aware of it having LDS ties. The part that was new for me was the 3 entities participating in the Creation; I was familiar with the Jesus and Lucifer being brothers concept and actually makes since that the whole thing began with sibling rivalry. I mean, doesn’t the “children” of this said God still fight among themselves over who “Father” loves the mostest and bestest in the whole land? Also, in the version I’ve heard (apparently one of the “original” versions of the story) there were 3 Eves...and of course there was Lilith. (But I don’t think this version is LDS approved.)

As for Creation myths go, it’s not a bad story… personally I would prefer to stick with facts. You know, Big Bang and Evolution.

My Questions:

1. Did Michael know that he was going to be Adam?

2. What happened to Adam/Michael when he died in his mortal body? Did he revert back to Michael but with the memories of being Adam? Did he cease to exist? Did he become Something Else?

3. What Spirit was Eve?

4. How come, if Elohim is all knowing, Lucifer’s deeds were a surprise? If Elohim knew already what Lucifer had been up to, why the sudden change?

Sealing:

So what happens during a Sealing? As I wasn’t there, I can only tell you what I was told: there is an altar that is between two mirrors so that if you look into one of the mirrors it’s like looking into Eternity. The man and woman kneel at the altar, holding hands (one person told me outside of the Temple that it’s a special handshake/handholding that has a meaning behind it. I don’t have any other information on that part..) while looking into that vastness of Eternity with their Beloved. There of vows/covenants made. In this case, there were also children Sealed to their parents. So after the parents made their covenants to one another, the children place their right hand on top of their parents’ and are Sealed to them for Eternity.

I think the concept is really romantic and very powerful. I mean, just imagine that your wedding vows aren’t ‘till death do us part’ but more like ‘death is just the beginning’… whoa. As I started thinking about it, the more I like the idea and the more I can see it working. Maybe, just maybe, the Souls that make this commitment were ready to in the Spirit world and so decided to join together and make the promise in this Life. Hey, it could happen.

But I got a question: so say that a widow and a widower (both Sealed to their late spouses and so their children were too) get married and have kids. What happens if the new couple gets Sealed? What happens to the spouses that have already died?

Garments:

If you’ve been around any LDS for long you’ll learn about what some non-LDS refer to as their “secret underwear”: a type of long camisole with capped sleeves top and biker shorts style bottoms (but not nearly so tight!). The fabric is soft and extremely light weight making it possible to wear even in the hot Californian weather. V says that wearing her Garments makes her feel even more feminine since the fabric is so silky and she has a bit of lace trim.

The reason for the Garments is to act as a reminder to the wearer when faced with temptations and to remember the covenants they made while in the Temple. I know, I know…at first glance/ thought it all sounds a little hokey, right? But I think there’s a bit of beauty to the idea.

Okay, so let’s say that you are beginning a new chapter of your life and you want to make some good, solid, positive changes to yourself and life (things like: less gossip, more recycling, more positive thinking, less scarfing down a box of Oreos, etc). You make a covenant with the Deity of your choice striking a deal, making a pact, swearing, affirming, promising, whatever you want to call it that you are going to make this change. Wouldn’t it be nice (and maybe a bit easier?) to have some kind of physical reminder of that commitment so that the next time you want to gossip, eat that box of Oreos, dump that cereal box in the trash can instead of the recycle can, or you begin berating yourself for something dumb you might think twice before acting on bad habits? I could be down with that.

Now for the myths about Garments: Yes, they take them off to use the loo, have sex, and to sleep. Once upon a time this wasn’t the case (can we say “ick!!”) but the LDS have chilled out a lot over the years.

Food for thought: If you were to pick an item to wear everyday to symbolize your commitment to your Deity, what would it be? What would your pledge be?

Want to learn more?

Mormon Think a must read for LDS and non-LDS alike. I'm not kidding!

The Skeptic's Annotated Book of Mormon second only the Mormon Think site.

The Trumpet Stone: Architectural and other insights about temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints If you are curious just how symbolic the Temples are, this is the blog to read.

Salt Lake Mormon Temple blog post on Endowment might fill in my missing gaps.

The LDS Endowment gives both historical and current wording for the ordiances preformed in the Temple.

The LDS-Mormon website shows the evoultion of the Endowment ceremony.

The LDS Temples official site

The LDS Church official site

Sun Worshipping

2011-06-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

...To the Sun Goddess of Arinna, my lady, the mistress of the Hatti lands, the queen of earth and heaven.

O Sun Goddess of Arinna: but in the land which you made the Cedar land you bear the name Hepat. I, Puduhepa, am a servant of you from of old, a heifer from your stable, a foundation stone (upon which) you (can rest).

You, my lady, reared me and Hattusili, your servant, to whom you espoused me, was closely associated with the Storm God of Nerik, your beloved son... The festivals of you, the gods, which they had stopped, the old festivals, the yearly ones and the monthly ones, they shall celebrate for you, the gods. Your festivals, O gods, my lords, shall never be stopped again! For all our days will we, your servant and your handmaid, worship you.

This is what I, Puduhepa, your handmaid, lay in prayer before the Sun Goddess of Arinna, my lady, the lady of Hatti lands, the queen of heaven and earth. Sun Goddess of Arinna, my lady, yield to me, hearken to me! Among men there is a saying: ‘To a woman in travail the god yields her wish.’ Since I, Puduhepa, am a woman in travail and since I have devoted myself to your son, yield to me, Sun Goddess of Arinna, my lady! Grant to me what I ask! Grant life to Hattusili, your servant! Through the good women and the mother goddesses long and enduring years and days shall be given to him.

Image of the Goddess of Arinna was found here.
The prayer by the Hittite Queen to the Sun Goddess is found here.

Deep Thoughts

2011-06-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Truly, without Deceit, certainly and absolutely —

That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, in the accomplishment of the Miracle of One Thing. And just as all things have come from One, through the Mediation of One, so all things follow from this One Thing in the same way.

Its Father is the Sun. Its Mother is the Moon. The Wind has carried it in his Belly. Its Nourishment is the Earth. It is the Father of every completed Thing in the whole World. Its Strength is intact if it is turned towards the Earth. Separate the Earth by Fire: the fine from the gross, gently, and with great skill.

It rises from Earth to Heaven, and then it descends again to the Earth, and receives Power from Above and from Below. Thus you will have the Glory of the whole World. All Obscurity will be clear to you. This is the strong Power of all Power because it overcomes everything fine and penetrates everything solid.

In this way was the World created. From this there will be amazing Applications, because this is the Pattern. Therefore am I called Thrice Greatest Hermes, having the three parts of the Wisdom of the whole World.

Herein have I completely explained the Operation of the Sun.

This quote, from Hermes' Emerald Tablet, has been condensed down into four simple words: As above, so below. It's one of my favourite teachings, one that I meditate on quiet frequently pondering all the inner meanings behind such a deceptively simple concept. Not too surprisingly, I am a devotee of Hermes/Thoth; I was called by that wonderful God at the tender age of 8 or 9 and ever since I am His, and He is mine.

Yesterday, while driving to Meeting, I began thinking again upon those four simple words in context to the great Universe and how that huge vast expanse of space is teeming with Life, Order, Love; that from within dark energy and dark matter we have been created: sprung from the very stuff that once brought forth the Planets, Suns, Stars, Moons, Comets, etc. We are part of all of it.

What would be it's equivalent "below"?

As I thought about it, a small light bulb went off (due to a small inner voice prompting?) and the answer came to me: Soil. Dark, rich, loamy, Soil.

Image found here

Soil brings forth and sustains Life: anyone who puts their hands deep into the Life-giving substance knows it's Alive. We owe our lives, our very species existence, to the power of Soil and equally we owe the existence to our Spirits/Souls to the Universe.

As above, so below.

Image found here

More information:
1. Hermeticism
2. As above, so below
3. Emerald Tablet

Post Script: I don't adhere in anyway to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. I have no interest. However, the very nature of Hermeticism as a religion is very compelling to me if for no other reason it is reported to have it's origins with Hermes Himself. Rather ironic, then, that I would be in any way connected to a philosophy that is heavily magic(k) centered... I am the antithesis to the Magican. Perhaps that is why He loves me so.

This Domina is Going to Temple Today...

2011-06-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

..The Mormon Temple that is.

I've been around the LDS Church for nearly 20 years: Sacrament Meeting (check), Young Womens' (check), Seminary (check), Relief Society (check), 6 discussions with the Missionaries (check...they don't do that anymore), visited BYU/Salt Lake City (check), and even went to the visitor centers of the SLC Temple (check).

But today, I'm going to actually be inside the Temple.

Mormons will tell you that what happens in the Temple isn't secret but rather sacred and so they cannot discuss it outside of the Temple. Non-members are not allowed to go into Temples after the Dedication so typically we don't get to learn the good stuff.

One of my closet friends is getting Sealed today with her husband and kids (they converted a little over a year ago) and I'm going to take the kids to the Temple this afternoon while their parents go through their Endowment. While the family is being Sealed, I'll wait in the waiting room which is technically inside the Temple, giving me a really big loophole in learning about what really goes on inside as the missionaries and Temple Matron are (technically) are free to answer my questions...

And boy, howdy!, I gots me some questions!

The Angel Moroni. I think this one sits on top of the SLC Temple.

Sun Worshipping

2011-06-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

"I eternally adore Surya, the sun, the beautiful Lord of the world, the immortal, the quintessence of the Vedanta, the auspicious, the absolute knowledge, of the form of Brahman, the Lord of the gods, ever-pure, the one true consciousness of the world himself, the Lord of Indra, the gods and men, the preceptor of the gods, the crest-jewel of the three worlds, the very heart of the forms of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, the giver of light."

To learn more the names of Surya go here. To learn how to do the Surya Namaskar go here .

Sun Worshipping

2011-06-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Happy June, Dear Readers! This month we celebrate the Summer Solstice and I celebrate my spiritual New Year. To kick off the festivities, I offer you a prayer to Amun-Ra: the God of the Morning Sun.

HAIL to thee, Amun-Ra, Lord of the thrones of the earth, the oldest existence, ancient of heaven, support of all things;

Chief of the gods, lord of truth; father of the gods, maker of men and beasts and herbs; maker of all things above and below;

Deliverer of the sufferer and oppressed, judging the poor;

Lord of wisdom, lord of mercy; most loving, opener of every eye, source of joy, in whose goodness the gods rejoice, thou whose name is hidden.

Thou art the one, maker of all that is, the one; the only one; maker of gods and men; giving food to all.

Hail to thee, thou one with many heads; sleepless when all others sleep, adoration to thee.

Hail to thee from all creatures from every land, from the height of heaven, from the depth of the sea.

The spirits thou hast made extol thee, saying, welcome to thee, father of the fathers of the gods; we worship thy spirit which is in us.

Sheesh...

2011-05-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've spent the past two hours trying to change my layout, template, and background. I don't know if it was Blogger messing up or my computer/Internet connection, or a combination...but sheesh! What a pain in the patella.

As you can see...I've changed things a bit: besides the background, I've also tweaked my Contact page by creating a fancy shmancy form and I've updated My Story.

I think the next thing for me to do is put some pictures up on the sidebars to give this place a bit more colour and interest. But that'll just have to wait.

I've also got a few posts topics that I'll write up in a bit...but for the time being I need to step away from this insipid contraption.

Happy Monday, ya'll =)

P.S. Today is Memorial Day here in the USA. Remember to light a candle for all of those who have died protecting our freedoms. Freedom isn't free.

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Cannot Think of a Clever Title Editon 5.28.11

2011-05-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

I’m wearing… brown t-shirt, coral tank underneath, jeans, tennis shoes, pinafore style apron with chickens on it. Hair is up in my soft kapp. I’m baking/cooking today.

The weather has been… cold! The wind was blowing so hard last night that I thought it was raining. This morning the boys and I went to the local cemetery to put flags on the servicemen’s graves and our hands were numb. It is almost June, right?!

I’m reading … oh! I went to Family Fun Night with Thadd at his school and the library was having a used book sale to raise money for new books next year. While perusing the stacks I found two really neat books: Mother Nature’s Herbal: A fascinating combination of plant lore, herbal remedies, and cooking recipes by Judy Griffin, Ph.D. (this books rocks!) and The Pleasure of Herbs: A month-by-month guide to growing, using, and enjoying herbs by Phyllis Shaudys.

If you cannot guess, this Summer I’m going to focus on herbs.

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… keeping doing what I’m doing.

What was learned this week was… all we need is love, love, love. All we need is love. Not really a new thing learned, but a good thing to be reminded of, nevertheless.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … I finally got to catch up with the last 3 episodes of Glee. Good stuff.

My guilty pleasure this week was… watching Extreme Couponing whilst daydreaming of my own shopping conquests.

I cracked up this week over… Finn’s new word/phrase is “happy happy happy happy”. Getting into the car, eating something yummy, watching a favourite TV program will elicit this phrase.

I got pissed off about… oh, that’s already been covered in my “open letter” post.

A quote that got me thinking this week … I have a very dear friend of mine that is LDS (Mormon) who is the kindest, most loving, most accepting person ever. Apparently she thinks the same of me ‘cause she told me that’s what she said to her fellow Church members who were asking about me. That just warms my heart.

A highlight of the week … I cleared off a space to devote as my “special space”. It’s still a work in progress.

The meal that I made that was the shizzle … rosemary bread and creamy chicken soup (well, I would make the soup if I didn’t forget the chicken stock and heavy cream when I went to the store. Smacks forehead). In an upcoming post I’ll show you how I make both…with pictures!

This is going to be tomorrow's dinner. There’s something so peaceful coming home from Meeting and it gets a bit shattered when I have to think about what to make for dinner.

Photo of one thing from the week…

You know that you live in the country when your neighbors' chicken ducks under your gate to visit a spell.

Dear Darlene Schacht aka Time Warp Wife:

2011-05-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

In the past few days you have created a huge firestorm of posts revolving around your anti-Pagan post on your blog. It's a shame, really, that in this day and age we, as a society, still cannot handle diversity.

The reason I am writing this letter to you is because your actions have greatly dismayed me and has left me (briefly) to figuratively sit in the corner muttering "there are good Christians, there are good Christians" without much faith in the words. I say briefly because regardless of your hate I have plenty of Christian friends and family members who are good, accepting, loving people.

Now, before we go any further, I kindly ask that you read this little piece that I wrote a while back about the Pagan haters. I ask that you read it, read again, and read it a third time. Sit and ponder the words. Allow them to soak in. When you are done, come on back here...don't worry...I'm not going anywhere.

Done? Great!

I would like to address the concept of who is being lead into the Darkness and who isn't. See, it is my opinion that if one is led to believe that hating another person simply because of their religion is Divinely inspired, then they are being led by Darkness. I ask if that is what your God/Jesus wants from you: to hate others, to advocate and call for hate. If the answer is yes, then I respectfully have to ask: why do you follow Hate instead of Love?

See, if my Gods demanded that I hate you simply because you are Christian then I would be led into Darkness and not by the Light, right? I wouldn't tolerate that sort of demand and would proverbially throw my statues of the Gods into the river as a sign of breaking ties. (This is an actual ancient Roman custom...they fully lived and believed in Free Will).

I don't hate you; I feel bad for you. I feel bad because your mind, heart, and Soul are so consumed by hatred that it will destroy you. I know you think/feel if you attack Pagan women with your sharp-as-knives words that the person who is getting hurt are the Pagans. However, the very simple truth is: you are only hurting yourself. All the cutting words, all the hate, all the attacks are damaging your Soul/Spirit, not ours.

In the spirit of acceptance, tolerance, and embracing Those That Are Different I would like to make a small list of things that I like about you :

1. Minus the aforementioned hate speech your blog is very lovely. I sincerely am saddened that I cannot/ will not be a follower.

2. Your devotion to family is one that I share.

I do have one very particular question for you from your post:

Beside that blurb, we see the photo of a woman holding her newborn child.

What is so offensive to you that a woman is pictured holding her newborn child? Don't you have pictures of yourself holding your newborn(s)? Is it just shock to your system that, yes indeed, our children are born as babies? I am honestly perplexed by this.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you feel compelled to respond you are more than welcome to do so in the comments section or through email: tpoaic at gmail dot com (and of course, others are welcome to comment too).

With that, I leave you with Miranda Lambert's Only Prettier:

Love and Light,

Cora

P.S. to all of my regular Readers: if this topic dismays you as much as it has dismayed me, please, don't stay silent. The only way to end intolerance and hate is to stand up for Truth.

Radomness

2011-05-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hello my Dear Readers! Yes, it's been rather quiet lately. Thadd has some earaches and then I got the tummy bug but it seems that we are on the mends. Beyond that, nothing too exciting is going on.

Our apple and Asian pear trees have mini fruits on them! The garden finally has the raised beds put in but we still haven't planted anything. With it almost June and the weather being so mild, it's hard to remember that time is running out to start the garden.

So since I'm out of ideas at the moment (beyond entertaining the idea of making a cuppa coffee) I thought I would throw a few topics out there for all of you and let's start a conversation...that's what the comments section is for in my opinion.

1. Have you seen the show on TLC Extreme Couponing? Thadd is hooked! Gaius is too, to be honest. In fact, he went online to find coupons for our local stores. What are your thoughts in this new phenomenon? Do you coupon? How much have you saved?

2. There is a fantastic discussion going on over at Pantheon about why some people (like yours truly) call themselves Polytheist instead of Pagan. There are some really great articles written by fellow Polytheists and also a list of links to blogs (ahem...) who have addressed this. I encourage you all to go read! Thoughts on it all?

3. Anyone watch United States of Tara? Thoughts?

What the Rapture Taught Me

2011-05-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Rapture was such a let down, wasn't it? I mean, here we are promised that all of the wakadoos were going to be ~~beamed up by Scotty~~ reunited with the Lord and Savior and it turns out that they are still here. I was secretly hoping there was going to be a loophole in the clause allowing all True Believers to be taken into the presence the One and All Powerful Oz God leaving us totally free.

But no... they had to go and ruin all the fun for the rest of us. So selfish. What a disappointment.

You wanna know something? There's a very valuable lesson in all of this. No, it's not "don't trust false prophets" or "the World will end when our galaxy collides with another galaxy in about 1 billion years not because some nutjob says it will..." or even "don't sell your house and blow your life savings on what some dude might or might not have written 2,000 years ago".

Nope, the valuable lesson we should all take away from this huge disappointment is this: There isn't one true True Believer in the entire world that was good enough to be beamed aboard.

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: It's Been Awhile Edition 5.21.11

2011-05-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

I’m wearing… Blue and white striped PJ pants under a green and white nightgown. Hair is down…no make-up. Coffee cup is my accessory. It’s Saturday and I woke up not too long ago.

The weather has been… hot then cold. Sunny then rainy.

I’m reading …

So far it ain't bad...but I'm just not feeling the whole Eric and Sookie thing.

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… simply trying to keep my mental health treading water. Nothing serious, just stupid bout of depression over absolutely nothing.

What was learned this week was… there’s an Egyptian god, Bes, who I think wants to be part of this little family. Which is cool because He seems like a really cool guy.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … Have you seen the documentary Catfish? It’s totally crazy and so relevant for those of us who create friendships via the Internet. You never know who’s on the other end of that email.

My guilty pleasure this week was… Sims3 Medieval. For reals, that thing is addicting.

I cracked up this week over… Yesterday Thadd had a fieldtrip to an historic museum where he was the first to raise his hand to answer any question. The guide told me that he totally loved Thadd’s enthusiasm. So they got to the Blacksmith shop and the class was asked “What is this?” Thadd’s hand shot up and said “It’s an anvil!”. The docent said “Wow. You are correct. No one has answered that correctly before.” The guide came up to me and said “I bet that doesn’t surprise you that he knew that.” To which I replied, while trying to suppress the giggles, “Nope, not in the least.”

I got pissed off about… my apparent inability to let things go from the past and just live in the present.

A highlight of the week … Mother’s Day was a great day as was taking Thadd and Finn on a day trip to the coast.

Photo of one thing from the week…

Isn't evolution just awesome?

Two Thumps Up to the Rapture

2011-05-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

You know what? I actually really really hope that the Rapture happens tomorrow. Why? Well, let's break it down, shall we?

1. May 21, 2011 takes away all of ~~the crazies...ummm I mean... the nutjobs....no, I mean....the wackjobs...~~ the True Believers. From what I understand, it doesn't matter what sins you've committed or how bad/good you really are in your heart of hearts... just as long as you are a True Believer will you be ~~beamed up to the Mothership~~ reunited with JC. So that takes care of a good chunk of the world population.

2. October 21, 2011 is The End of the World (as we know it...and I feel fiiine. Sorry, had to do it). This is the Day of Judgement where all of the assholes that have been left behind will be Judged and Punished (I'm thinking murders, rapists, molesters, and the damn companies that create new technology that is obsolete in 6 months (you listening Apple??). At this point the population goes down even further and we are left with...

3. The rest of us! Good, law abiding, Non Believers who now have just inherited Paradise.

I don't know about you, but I really really hope the Rapture happens.

More Witchiness With a Bit of Bitchiness On the Side

2011-05-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of my Witchy Readers for the great and insightful comments to my question.

I guess it's one of those things that fall under "to each his own" but still just irks the crap out of me. Let me share two experiences to illustrate why it's such a pet peeve:

A few years ago I attended a public Esbat with a friend of mine who was writing a paper on Wiccan rituals. The group (dare I say "Coven") was compromised of a number of Neo-Pagany types who loved to put on a show: the incense was so thick I swear I had a hangover the next day from all of the smoke.

Anyways, after all of the hoopla of blessing with a feather and water, "In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust" before entering the Circle, calling the Watchtowers, Calling Down the Moon, and going around the Circle while banging on a drum we got to talking about specific beliefs. I was pretty much asked what my Pagan street cred is and I told them that I had belonged to a Coven for a number of years and made it to 2nd degree, and that later I was unofficially trained by a Garderian HPS.

The attitude I got from them at this point was a look of complete disdain and "oh, so you're a Wiccan. We are not Wiccan" One woman made a really snarky remark about Wiccans and then said "but I lean more toward Hindu so no offense" bullshit.

That's when I saw what full of bullshit these people were: thumbing their noses at Wicca but their entire ritual was Wiccan. What the fuck?? It's like talking shit about Catholics but attending Mass.

You might recall that a while back I had a bit of a rant about a moron who was trying very hard to stir up his business by coat tailing Charlie Sheen. Said moron claimed up and down, left and right that he's not a Pagan, but a Witch...and certainly not a Wiccan. However, when he posted his laughable dumbass "binding" of Sheen the entire thing was Wiccan! Again, if one is not Wiccan nor Pagan why the fuck are you using their rituals/ceremonies? Can't you make your own? I can tell you this, Romans who wanted to bind or curse a person didn't do it that way and they weren't Wiccan either.

I guess this is turning more into a rant about the morons of the world. I would just love to get a straight answer about why said people look down in disdain at a religion and yet steal all of the religion's rituals/ceremonies/ ideas.

New God

2011-05-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

I think I've "found" a new God. Meet Bes, the Egyptian God of women, children, joy, dance, and all things happy. Slayer of all things evil.

Calling All Witchy Readers...

2011-05-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've got a question for my Witchy readers that I've been wondering about for a long time and with all of the recent popular topics around the Pagan blog'hood about Belaine, what is "Pagan", and why or why not identify with "Pagan" it has really been on my mind.

So here's my question (and then I'll go into why I'm wondering...)

Why do all Witches/those that practice Witchcraft celebrate the 8 Sabbats regardless if they consider themselves "Pagan" or "Wiccan" or not?

This is why I'm wondering: See, the 8 Sabbats are "Celtic" and were established as the 8 holy days by Gardner who...well... is the grandfather of Wicca. I put that is quotes because I haven't bought Gardner's story...I think at best he was an amateur anthropologist and at worse a cad...probably a combination of the two.

So, if a person self-identifies as "Witch" or "Ceremonial Magician" or "Practitioner of Witchcraft" but also self-identifies as not being "Pagan" or "Wiccan" then why are they celebrating the 8 Sabbats? And more over, if a person typically doesn't feel drawn to the Celtic culture/pantheon why, oh why, are they celebrating these holy days?!

See, Witchcraft isn't owned by the Celts...it can be found in every culture since time began. Do people really believe the ones who practiced Witchcraft in Egypt, Scandinavia, Rome, Africa, S. America, Australia, Polynesia, etc. celebrated Samhain, Beltain, Imbolc because they were/are "Witches"?

This isn't an attack on anyone or anyone's practice/beliefs...I'm just really curious why these 8 "Celtic" holy days have been accepted by all Witches regardless of personal beliefs.

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: I'm In a Real Bitchy Mood Edition 4.03.11

2011-05-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

I’m wearing… an old purple sweatshirt, fleece sky blue pj bottoms with bright circles of colour, blue slippers. Hair is in pony tail. No make-up. This is my third wardrobe change of the day and this one is my “if I’m going to have a mini-cynical pity part I might as well be comfortable” look.

The weather has been… perfect mid 70s with a slight breeze.

I’m reading … The Friendly Persuasion….still.

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… doing tons of genealogy: I’ve traced my ancestry to some pretty hard-core Puritans and even one woman who was imprisoned during the Salem Witch trials. When I told a certain person they said “well, I guess it runs in (your) the family then”. I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

What was learned this week was… people can be mighty self-indulgent. I’m really having a very very very hard time right now with this whole business of “Community”. It seems that “community” wants you to contribute a whole lot into the “mutual” pot of Goodness and Support…but the moment you need a small nip suddenly the pot is all dried up and not a soul is around. I’m not talking about anyone specifically…just the sense I got after posting several things on my personal FB page about family being in one of the hardest hit areas of AL… and only three people responded: E (because she is an awesome Soul Sista), a cousin, and my dad’s ex-wife. Yes! The ex-wife asks how he is/I am doing…but not “friends” that I’ve had for 20+ years; people that I’ve been there for on numerous occasions over the long years. My FB page suddenly became an old Western ghost town complete with tumbleweeds.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … I’m drawing a blank right now…

My guilty pleasure this week was… Ancestry.com

I cracked up this week over… when Gaius shaved Finn’s hair for warm weather he kept rubbing the top of his head saying “hair gone”. Thadd is now sporting a mowhawk.

I got pissed off about… I think I covered it in what I learned this week. I cannot/ will not make a fuss about it on my FB page because it’ll just make a huge brouhaha with family and friends and somehow it’ll turn into a mess with me being accused of “trying to get attention” and other bullshit… but then again, maybe it’s just my dark mood and it wouldn’t go down like that.

Also, why is it when a person is going through something and they need to be lifted up a bit, they knock others down?

A quote that got me thinking this week … (perhaps this should be changed to “What I learned during Meeting this week") 1) Talking shit about yourself is a sin. Since each of us carries that spark of the Divine we are sinning when we put ourselves down. We need to wash the sin away and plant Love in our hearts (I see it as a rose). 2) I need to stop living so much in my head and more in my heart.

A highlight of the week …1) we took Thadd hiking earlier this week and 2) this weekend we are taking the boys to a kick-ass Aquarium. We haven’t been since I was pregnant with Finn.

The meal that I made that was the shizzle … Make this bread, fry some chicken strips covered in panko breading and seasoned with this, served with salad or veggies, or whatever… you can thank me later.

Photo of one thing from the week…

An ancestor of mine whose direct family had at one time been rather hard-core Puritans. I don't see the family resemblance.

Prayers

2011-04-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Please keep all of those who have been affected by the tornadoes in your thoughts. N. 'Bama (where my family is from) has been hit very hard. My family is safe, but they are surrounded by great loss.

I feel completely helpless...so this is the best thing I can do at the moment.

Sad Day In the Blog'hood

2011-04-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday (2 days ago) I got an email from our favourite Jersey girl, Dark Mother Goddess, saying that Littleman spilled the beans to the Family about the name of her blog. Because she likes write all anonymous she felt the only action was to delete her two blogs and FB page.

In her own words:

Well, the cat's outta the bag, so to speak.

We all know I blog anonymously. Well, Littleman is often in the room when I'm blogging and I guess he's seen it. Long story short, he blabbed out the name of it during a big fucking family get together, and that I make "funny cartoons" about the family. Well, as you've read about my family....they're all CRAZY as me. I barely had enough time to run into my bedroom pretending to change my shirt and quickly delete both my blogs and Facebook.

If my family (and even husband) read some of my rants on there....especially about my sister..... I feel the repercussions would be disaster.

It KILLS me that I can't even post a goodbye to my readers and that I don't even have some of their emails to let them know I'm ok just have to avoid an angry mob.

Soooooooo, if anyone asks about me please just let them know I went into the Witness Protection Program to avoid the fallout of my family.

Sadly, I think I'm done with blogging. The best thing, for me anyway, was blogging about my crazy family and my relationships. I really don't have much else to blog about. I can't hide in my closet, make a new blog and start from scratch again.

This is going to be very funny one day......but not today.

It's gonna be awfully quiet without DM.
Sorry it took so long to post... it was a very busy weekend!

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Kid Free Zone 4.22.11

2011-04-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am wearing… black T-shirt, green hoodie, my favourite "fat" jeans, and blue slippers. Hair is up in a messy ponytail. No make-up.

The weather has been… weird. It looks cold outside with over cast skies and wind but in reality it's been rather warm. Today it looks like there might be rain on the way.

I’m reading …

It's a Quaker read.

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… tending to my mental well-being while I enjoy the peace and quiet. Is it terrible of me to relish in living in a Kid Free zone for a week?

What was learned this week was…Mommy needs more breaks and more margaritas.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … the fact that I actually watched my TV is the best thing on TV this week.

My guilty pleasure this week was… no kids.

I cracked up this week over… when I told Gaius my Belief-o-Matic results and that #2 is Reform Judiasm he said "you should totally become Jewish! And I'll join too." Later I asked him if he had ever been to Temple he said "Oh, I won't be that Jewish..."

I got pissed off about…nothing really major…

What got me thinking this week … The whole Soul discussion going on.

A highlight of the week … going hiking with Gaius. I love hiking around the lakes...just need to remember to get proper hiking pants and not jeans.

An old oak that we saw on our hike.

The meal that I made that was the shizzle …::smirks:: I have't turned on my oven while the boys have been gone. But two great dinners we've had were: Indian (yum!) and kebabs from a new Mediterrean place in town.

Photo of one thing from the week…

Hello, baby grapes!

Deep Thoughts: Questions

2011-04-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

With all of the Deep Thoughts about Souls and Reincarnation, I noticed that Owl left deep questions on one of my previous posts that some how got over looked. I'm sharing the questions here, and my personal opinion, and hope to hear from all of you what your thoughts are :)

Does the God/dess craft each soul, and chose when to reuse it?
Or do we spend time in the Otherworld before choosing ourselves to be reborn?

Maybe it's a little of both? I think our Souls were "born" or "created" by The Powers That Be/Universe/Great Amoeba and that ultimately it's that Greater Being that decides what lessons we learn in our next life time. However, I think there might be some one-on-one meetings in which we get to discuss what we want to do and help formulate a game plan.

I don't think we bounce directly from one life straight to the next. I think there's a rest period where we wait for those closet to us to all meet back up and then we go out again. Sorta like safety in numbers.

What are your beliefs as to personalities, true nature of souls, that kind of thing.

I really think there is a true nature / true personality of our Souls. It's what people are calling "your authentic self". If you can discard all the societal bullshit and become your true self then you will be at your happiest.

Do you have the same type of personality each time around?

Hmmm. Again, I think there's the true-self Soul wise, but each life time brings unique circumstances that shapes who we are as a mortal. So while our Souls probably have the same personality our mortal selves will have different personalities. If that makes sense?

Are you a being who chooses what it becomes?

Ultimately, YES! I firmly believe in Free Will and Choice. But during a mortal lifetime sometimes our choices are taken away by others...but it's our choice how that will affect us.

Why do you think? Feel free to either comment here or post on your blog :)

You Should Never Say...

2011-04-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

Dark Mother's post 5 Things You Should Never Say To A Fat Person got my wheels turning. We all have that list in our head of things we would like to educate the world not to say. I would like to educate the world on what not to say to short, underweight, and very young looking women. Every comment in bold has happened to me...every single damn one.

Things Not To Say to a Short Woman:
I'm actually pretty damn short. I missed the mark of being a Little Person by 2 inches. Now, 2 inches doesn't sound like a whole lot, but when you are short 2 inches is a huge deal.

Wow! You are really short!! Really?! I am?! I never noticed that before. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Look, I can use your head as an arm rest. Don't EVER do this. Also, don't pat my head. Just stay away from my head all together. I'm not a damn dog.
You're so tiny... and you are a giant.
You're so cute. I actually hate being called this. Puppies are cute. Babies are cute. A full grown woman is NOT cute.
How old are you? I swear to the gods, adults feel this question is appropriate because some how my size makes it "okay" to be rude.

Things Not To Say to an Underweight Woman:
Most of my life I've dealt with a weight problem: being underweight. In high school I topped the scales at 85lbs. When I got pregnant with Thadd I was 90lbs...by the end of the pregnancy I was up to 130lbs. That's the most I've ever weighed.

Do you have an eating disorder? If I did, do you think I would admit it?! Idiot. The truth is, no, I never had an eating disorder...just crazy-ass genetics.
If you just eat more than you would put on the weight. Well, fuck! Why the hell didn't I think of that?! I must have over looked that while devouring a double-double with fries and milkshake at In-n-Out.
It must be so nice to shop in the kids' section for clothes. Obviously you've never spent too much time over in that section. Go on over and try to pick out an outfit that doesn't have pink, purple, sparkles, bow, sequins, or ruffles. That goes for the shoes too.
You're so tiny...you're so cute. Bugger off.
I wish I could be your size. Yep, it's a blast dealing with assholes and their comments. Clothes and shoe shopping is a hoot. And because I barely have any body fat I get sick all the time and have to worry about loosing weight too fast. I know, the last part sounds awesome, but think about this: it would take me about a year of hard work to gain 10lbs. I could get the flu for a week and it would all be gone. It ain't pretty.

Things Not To Say to a Very Young Looking Woman:
I had to go through my teen years twice: once during my actual teen years and the second through-out my entire 20s. Let me go on the record that it sucked, people are assholes, and I don't wish it on anyone.

When I was your age... Bitch, please. I'm 6 years older than you.
Is that your brother/sister? Said in reference to your son or daughter. Oh the looks of shock, judgement, and dismay when they find out the child is your very own. Or how about this: being 9 months pregnant and complete strangers give you dirty looks because they think you are a knocked up 14 year old but you're actually 24.
One day you'll appreciate it... I really hate this statement. I will never appreciate dealing with this crap.
How old are you? Again, people think that it's totally okay to ask me...as if social politeness doesn't include me.
Are your parents home? I have had this happen to me so many times. I just answer "I don't know...why don't you go to their home and find out." It was really great while living in NY ;-)

What's on your list of Things To Never Say?

In the Land of No Kids...

2011-04-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of a Kid Free Zone and I've manged to do the dishes, wash the bedding and towels, pick up Finn's room (how a "baby" makes such a mess is beyond me), and clear off the dining room table.

Oh, and I've made some sweet tea (summer is almost here!), laid on the sun-warmed brick path bordered by bright orange poppies, and took pictures of little baby fruit buds.

Sweet tea and orange poppies. Summer must be coming.

Peek-a-Boo! I see you!

Now I wait 30 minutes for Gaius to get home so we can go on Date #2. Last night we went for drinks (finally got my margarita!) and saw Source Code. Tonight we are seeing Hall Pass.

Deep Thoughts

2011-04-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ready for another Deep Thought, Dear Readers?

Continuing where I left off with "How Old Are The Gods" I would like to pose this question:

How old are our Souls?

The image was found HERE. I have no idea what 'oneism' is, just liked the 'Being of Light'.

There's always talk about "Old Souls" and "New Souls" and I often have wondered "what makes a soul young, old, new, etc". There are folks who claim to be an old soul because they believe they've lived many lives on this Earth and feel they've been around a few hundred (or thousand) years.

Now, I am not knocking the possibility of reincarnation, heck!, I think it's both possible and logical. What I am knocking is this idea that we know how "old" we are or that having lived a life in the 7th century makes a person "old" while another is "young" because maybe they don't feel like they lived so far back.

So let's take another look at that last post where I ponder that the Gods have been around for at least a few billion years: our Milky Way is one of the oldest Galaxies in the Universe but I firmly believe there are other planets out there with just as intelligent Life as we have. And I happen to also be one of those crazies who believe that since reincarnation makes sense, it is only logical that we could have spent Lives on other planets.

Which begs the question: how old are our Souls?

Here's what I think: I don't think there are too many "very young souls" (ie this is their first around the block). I think age is relative but there aren't too many "babies" being created. I think our Souls were created eons ago (perhaps billions of years ago...) and we are Living here, doing our thang, busy, busy, busy. When it's time to leave, we pack up our stuff and head off to the Stars (or where ever) to await our next Grand Adventure.

What I do know is this: I love Life. I love being on this Planet. I love the experiences, the interactions, the possibilities.

I also know that I am deep-down-in-my-Soul in love with my little family...and if I have to leave before them (I truly hope I leave before Thadd and Finn!) then on that day when Hermes comes to guide me on to the Next Place I will have to firmly and gently tell him "Not yet. I have to wait for them." and I will sit down and wait.

Because what's the point in going on to the Next Grand Adventure without my Soul Mates?

Image and Quote found HERE. I'm lovin' this quote!

Belief-O-Matic

2011-04-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, since I'm a rule breaker today, I'll share what my Belief-O-Matic results are:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)

2. Reform Judaism (99%)

3. Liberal Quakers (90%)

4. Sikhism (88%)

5. Neo-Pagan (87%)

6. New Age (81%)

7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (75%)

8. Mahayana Buddhism (74%)

9. Baha'i Faith (72%)

10. New Thought (66%)

11. Jainism (66%)

12. Orthodox Judaism (66%)

13. Hinduism (60%)

14. Secular Humanism (59%)

15. Theravada Buddhism (59%)

16. Islam (56%)

17. Scientology (55%)

18. Taoism (43%)

19. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (37%)

20. Nontheist (37%)

21. Orthodox Quaker (35%)

22. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (34%)

23. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (20%)

24. Jehovah's Witness (20%)

25. Eastern Orthodox (17%)

26. Roman Catholic (17%)

27. Seventh Day Adventist (13%)

Liberal Quaker made it to the top three! Damn UU...I always get that as the top result. Most shocking is that Secular Humanism went down to 14: it used to battle UU for top spot. I guess that shows how things change in a few years.

Breaking the Rules

2011-04-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

I'm breaking my rule of no computer on Sundays to bring you this very important message:

Spring Break has arrived at our house! That means, I'm home alone during the day for a week!! (minus the two days Gaius is off and the day I get the boys back... soooo...) I'm home alone during the day for four days!!

Let the wild rumpus begin...

(cleaning house, painting inside of said house, getting the garden done, getting the boys' Easter baskets done, maybe bake a cake...and somewhere in there read my new books, spend some quality time with my bloggy friends, and soak up the silence)

... before the sad Mama pops up and wants her lovable crazy boys home again.

Wooooot! Spring Break!!

From the Desk of the Iconoclastic Domina: Where the Hell Has the Time Gone?! Edition 4.16.11

2011-04-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

I’m wearing… a long sleeved, ankle length blue nightgown with Edward Bear on it (he’s awesome), pale pink robe over the nightgown, blue slippers. Coffee cup in hand. Hair is up in ponytail and no make-up. This is my “it’s before 8am on a Saturday” attire.

The weather has been… perfect up until this morning. At the moment it’s foggy, gray, and damp looking. It’s a bit late in the year for this.

I’m reading … A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka

This week I’ve been working on Cultivation by… 1) I created another blog (Jesus H. Christ…how many of the damn things do I need?! Sigh.) devoted to my research into family history using my great-great-great grandmother’s recipes as a jumping off point. The goal is to recreate the recipes while talking about her life in the Deep South. 2) Thadd and I worked in the backyard picking the kumquats off the tree, weeding, retrieving bricks from the garden plot. 3) I’m teaching Thadd the Testimonies… he’s done really well!

What was learned this week was… time is going by way too fast. I have emails that I’ve been meaning to respond to and they are over 2 weeks old.

The best thing I watched on TV this week … I haven’t been watching too much and when I do it’s been recorded on the DVR so I’m usually a week behind. With that in mind, the best thing was last week’s Vampire Diaries when we find out that Ric isn’t Ric anymore.

My guilty pleasure this week was… the LL Bean catalog.

I cracked up this week over… Gaius and I joking around, being dorks together.

I got pissed off about…nothing really major…

What got me thinking this week … Plain dressing and what my version of it would/could look like (thanks, in part, to LL Bean): simple T-shirts, tunics, sweaters in lots of colours (I think mainly blues, greens, some purples, and pale pale pinks). I started noticing that I automatically gravitate toward collarless, button-less shirts already, as does Gauis… so we already share that “Plain” idea. Weird to realize.

A highlight of the week … Finn spelling his name…by himself!

The meal that I made that was the shizzle … I experimented with a coconut chicken curry. It didn’t make a rich creamy sauce, but still pretty damn good.

Photo of one thing from the week…

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner...

2011-04-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

A challenge from my Soul Sista: who would you invite to a little dinner party?

Choose 6 people, living or dead, that you'd like to invite over for dinner. Choose freely, they can be friends and/or family, famous or infamous ;) people.

'All' I want from you is a motivation as to why you've chosen these people, both on a personal level as well as what you think the individuals might add to the group.

Why not add a little note of what would be on the dinner table too?? :D That'd be fun to read about too. :)

So, my six people coming to a dinner party:

E. of course ;-) And it would be a sleep over 'cause we would need the whole night to talk.
Marcus Aurelius
Cicero
Stephen Hawking
Ian Somerhalder
My great-great-great grandmother

I tried to make it half girls and half boys, but that didn't work out so well.

Why these six?

Because she's my Soul Sista and I couldn't imagine passing up the opportunity of having her at a dinner party! Besides, a girl has got to have her girl there <3
Well, he's a rock star! I think I would be in complete awe in his presence but I know we would learn so much from him.
Yep, another rock star and still tongue tied. I think him and M.A. would get along so well (M.A. was a fan of Cicero too).
When the conversation gets around to the Universe (which you know it will!) how awesome it would be to have Stephen Hawking there to lift us up and inspire us with his Science.
Do I really need a reason?! Okay, beyond the fact that the man is gorgeous (and in spite of that fact at the same time) I choose him for his social justice contribution to the GLBT community. Any straight man that feels that strongly on gay rights just became worthy of my dinner party. Granted, I may not be able to look directly at him, but I'll pass the rolls if he asked.
I am completely fascinated by her and her life. From what I have gleamed from letters and personal ledgers, she was a very educated, independent woman who was completely devoted to her family. I like to think I have some of her in me. So as nervous as it would be to cook for a woman who cooked all her life, I would love to sit down and learn Life from her.

What would I serve at this dinner party? I'm going to pretend that everyone eats meat...the only guest I am not 100% sure on is Ian, but hey..this is my fantasy, mmmkay.

So, I would serve Gaius' super yummy tri-tip, my "famous" (for the family at least) sweet potatoes, green beans, homemade mac & cheese, homemade bread/rolls. Or maybe homemade chicken pot pie. For dessert, there's homemade pumpkin pie, my "famous" oatmeal and orange/cranberry cookies, maybe a cake?

Who would would be on your guest list? Either let me know in the comments (who, why, what would you serve) or leave me a link to your post :-)

Happy daydreaming, everyone!

Charting the Course

2011-04-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know how it happened.

When Thadd was a little growing jumping bean in my stomach I had grand dreams of him being raised purely Pagan. Before he could even walk I had him attending Sabbats at a HPS's home, he played with my quartz tipped wand, and bopped along to our Circle Round CD.

By the time he had reached his third birthday I had packed away all of my Witch-y things and out of necessity of living with the inlaws, had to figuratively bury all of my Pagan beliefs.

When Gaius and I finally got ~~away from~~ our own place I slowly began unpacking all of those long boxed up beliefs, turning each one over slowly and examining them like fragile china. Some of them cracked, some completely shattered into powdery dust, but most stayed intact.

I took him to the UU Church thinking it might be a good mortar for our stone foundation. Turns out, it wasn't the right fit for us. So I spent the past couple of years just doing my thing and trying to get him interested.

And then Percy Jackson came along. Suddenly Thadd's eyes lit up and he finally understood what I had been feebly mumbling about when explaining the Gods. In no time he answered the calling of Poseidon and Hephaestus, creating a special space to them in his room.

Some now, without really knowing how it happened, I have a full fledged Greco-Roman Polytheist as a son and on top of that, he's already embraced the Quaker Testimonies.

I realized this just last night when Thadd was digging through a side table drawer and found my old Fairy Elven (seven sided) Star and instantly took a liking to it. I looked up what the meanings of a seven sided star could be and one really spoke to him:

A nautical star that represents childhood and a whimsical mind. That's Thadd, alright: Nautical=Poseidon, Childhood=he's in it, whimsical mind=he's got it. I even suggested that it being a Star could also represent Hephaestus what with them being basically a burning furnace of fire. He liked that.

Then I suggested that we make each point represent a Testimony to help him remember them better. So this is what we came up with:

Top point: the Gods because they are always above us and should always be a priority in our lives.

Clockwise:

Integrity

Equality

Community

Simplicity

Stewardship

Peace

He wore it all last night and right when he came home today he put the necklace on. He says that on Friday he'll take it to school for Show and Tell. I'm not sure how much the kids will understand what he's trying to "show" but I'm in awe of what he's "telling" me:

I'm not the only Polytheist Quaker in the family.

How did that happen?