I have always had odd things happening in my life, it’s either gremlins or I’m just completely nuts (or maybe both!) – or perhaps ghosts (who knows?).

This past Monday I had one of the “odd things” happen, so I thought I’d share. Before our vacation on for Thanksgiving I “knew” I was going to lose my work id – how I knew I have no idea. Anyway, before we left I didn’t have time to clean out my purse, sure enough all the extra stuff and the work id came along for the vacation to the beach house.

My purse sat on the night stand of the bedroom and never moved until the day we left and came home – I checked every single day from Wed. to Sunday to make sure the work id was still in it’s little pocket (where I always keep it) – and every day it was still there.

Monday I had off work, in the morning I did some grocery shopping, went to the vet to pick up the kitty where she had been boarded – forgot to check purse. The purse had sat on the back seat of my car for both trips.

Monday night I remembered I hadn’t checked my purse for the work id (and I would need it the next day) – I looked – it was GONE! So I check all over the floor and the couch where the purse had been. I took a flashlight and checked the front and backseat of the car. Unable to find it, I stated firmly to whoever or whatever, “I really need the work id back, now”. Then I “knew” – it was under the driver’s seat in the car. I looked, sure enough it was there – how it got there I will never know. Perhaps it was grelmins (or Luna Lovegood’s nargles), or a pesky ghost, or I’m losing my mind.

Oh well, at least I found it and didn’t have to rush around like a crazy at the last minute before work the next day.

From the time I was a young teen stuff like this happened, used to be a lot more and now it’s just once in awhile. For example – my toothbrush would always go missing and then turn up in my sneaker or in some weird spot; I’d lose one shoe and it would turn up under my pillow the next day (after I had slept in the bed the night before and KNOW it was not there); lost a brooch (pin) once and checked my coat pockets a million times then two days later reached in my coat pocket and got stabbed by the pin.

Do things like this happen to other folks?

Bright Blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:ghosts, paranormal

I grabbed this prayer from worldprayers.org. 

I am in a dark place again.  I have spoken of it before and as usual it stems from too many worries, too little time and not enough money.  What can I say ….. life is hard ….. as each of you who reads this already knows.  We each have our own losses that we grieve, our own dark moments, our own troubles.

But when you are down in the hole looking up a tiny dot of sunlight it is very hard to rationalize yourself back out into the world again.

I am holding my own (barely) with my remaining 2 classes this semester and am seriously considering taking next semester off entirely.  This is both to be able to give Miss Artistic the attention she demands and deserves as well as to eliminate one major stressor in terms of time and money.

Last year at this time I was feeling similarly hopeless and had planned a spell to transform my life.  For a variety of reasons that spell was never cast and I am at a place where it may just be time (past time?) to actually follow through and do it.

Why?  As hard as things were this time last year …. this year is harder.  I am at a point where Divine Intervention is not only hoped for but neccessary to my sanity and survival.

In addition to spellwork I am planning to resume the journal work that fell on the wayside when I took up blogging in earnest. 

I also need to reconnect to the Goddess and to myself as a Witch and Priestess and considering trying again to make a habit of using the Goddess prayer beads I acquired this past summer.  I do not find the prayers that came with them satisying and my attempts to use snippets of chants on each bead has yet to achieve the peace I lack.  I am going to have to resume my experimentation though because I believe that nightly prayer can only benefit me.

Additionally I hope to have Lady Rose assist me with a rededication.  The added benefit of which is that it will allow my feet can stand in a circle with a fellow Witch for the first time in oh too too long.

Wish me luck!

Wishing you all a peaceful day

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:prayer

How do you create the perfect Thanksgiving?  Here’s the recipe:  the turkey, the beach, and the full moon.   As I’m sitting here watching the sunrise over the ocean all I can think of is how very cool the past couple days have been.  I only wish I could have shared it with my best friend Mama Kelly. 

UPDATE: Photos of Thanksgiving

I admit I wasn’t totally up for the idea of packing and cooking at a beach house for Thanksgiving.  But it has turned out to be totally awesome and we have been having a great time.  Even the weather has been perfect and we got to take long walks on the beach, the kids got to play, dig in the sand and gather lots of shells.  The full moon over the ocean at night was not only lovely it was truly magical.

We arrived on Wed.  Half my family came Wed. night and the rest arrived Thurs. morning., every one left after lunch and a trip to the local Christmas shop on Friday.  Tonight my good friend Brookela coming to stay overnight and will be with us until we leave tomorrow. 

Hubby and I did a lot of the food prep at home, so Thanksgiving day we just had to toss some things together, put the turkey in the oven and enjoy the day.  I had gotten some arts and crafts kits for the kids, they collected shells, we all chatted and hung out listening to the crashing of the waves.

I truly feel deeply relaxed and renewed, and with the ocean and the full moon my spirit is humming and happy.

I hope everyone had an awesome, happy and healthy holiday. 

Bright Blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:family, Thanksgiving, vacation

An Iroquois Prayer of Thanksgiving

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, with sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams,which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life. We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We return thanks to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished diseases. We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to our grandfather He who has given to us his rain. We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.

*********
Wishing every one a healthy and happy holiday, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:prayer, Thanksgiving

Today was my 15th day in a row going to my job.  I hate my job.  It’s boring and tedious and stressful as hell.  I never knew how many truly hateful people there were in the world until I entered the world of doing customer service or telemarketing.  People will say things to you through the anonyminity provided by the phone that they would never dare to say to another human being in person.  Anyway, today wound up being a short day at work.  On Sundays we do nothing but confirm appointments that our various Doctors have in their Monday schedules.  Today our 7-8 hour day turned into a 5.25 hour day because of too few appointments and overstaffing.  I was more ticked off than pleased as my hours today were overtime and so I lost $40-50.  But, it did have some advantages.

After dinner Miss Artistic and I played We Love Katamari. It is a favorite game in our house primarily because it is pure silliness and makes us laugh.  And tonight was no exception.

If you’ve never played it …..

Imagine that you are a small being whose job it is to roll a sticky ball around the world that will pick up anything that is smaller than it. As you pick up things your ball gets bigger allowing you to pick up more and more items.  So you can pick up paperclips and pushpins, pudding and penguins, as well as people, plants, and eventually planets.

It is visually beautiful with a funky soundtrack.  One of my favorite boards is one with the goal of gathering as many flowers as possible.  It is restful and almost meditative.  Other scenes are less peaceful.  There is something oddly satisfying about picking up wailing cats or a kicking and screaming person … its like a Godzilla movie on LSD.

Anyway …. it allowed us some time to bond and to get her in a brighter mood than she tends to be in of late.  I think that was worth $50. Don’t you?

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

Today marks my 9th day in a row going in to my telemarketing job.  Because I lost most of a day when Gamer Dude had a doctor’s appointment I only wound up accumulating 45.75 hours in my first overtime-eligible week (also because they didn’t tell me til Thursday that I could work over).  I hope to do slightly better this week.

I am not a happy camper overall.  Mr. Grumpy (my dad) has been nit-picking a lot the last couple of days and my tolerance is low based on my own fatigue and stress levels.  An example can be seen in last evening.

I left for work before 11:30 and came home just before 7:30.  GamerDude was on my computer, Miss Artistic was at a friend’s house, Princess Nibbles was upstairs watching a movie so I heated myself up some leftovers and went into the back room to watch a little TV.  Mr. Grumpy decided to stick his head in and ask me why I wasn’t studying.

Grrrrrrr

Anyway, my plan the next couple of days is to tackle a small stack of reading, do some of my required writing and be ready for school on Wednesday evening.

I also hope to tackle some clutter …. even if only by means of 15 minutes a day.

I hope to find the time to finish a scarf I am crocheting for Princess Nibbles, to block a scarf I did finish for Miss Artistic, and to do the last leg of a baby blanket project for a woman at work (photos forthcoming).  I am starting to get suggestions that I should sell what I make but my time is so limited that I don’t see being able to do enough to make it profitable.  Though I may work on a couple of ponchos after New Year and try and sell them at work in the Spring.

Of course in the midst of all of this I have to try and get myself in gear to have a Happy Thanksgiving with dinner prepared by moi.

The circles under my eyes are growing darker just thinking about it.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

While this prayer is apparently of Christian origin I still found something meaningful to me in it.  No matter what faith we practice it is during those difficult times that we often find our faith tested.  It is easy to find the will of the Divine in blessings …. not so much in challenges … in grief … in times of fear and anxiety.

Blessings to you all

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

I am happy to report that work has brought back overtime to a select handful of people that I am one of.  The timing makes me suspect that some of you out there lit candle or uttered prayers. If so, my humble thanks!!!

I have been given carte blanche in terms of how many hours I can work and my bill paying as well as my holiday shopping fund is grateful indeed.  Granted, this will mean going in to work nearly every day between now and the Solstice, even if only for a short 4 hours shift in order to accumulate 47 hours or more each week.  But, when one puts out a plea to the Universe and it is answered it is not wise to bitch about the form it is presented in.

Miss Artistic is not happy about my extended hours, but seems mainly appeased by my spending quality time with her when I can.  Today she helped me cook tonights dinner (mexican “lasagna” bake) and enough pot roast for 2 meals and then we played Scrabble.

I am pleased to report that she is quickly catching on not simply to the skill behind the game but the strategy and planning required to excel at it. It is quickly becomming something we can do when we have an hour to spare and I really enjoy it. Of course it also evokes memories of the times I played with my own mother and is occassionally a bit bittersweet.

Her friend “J” came over for dinner, and they are watching a movie as I type ….

The Invisible

It makes me happier than I can say to hear the counds of their comments and conversation as well as her laughter coming from the other room.  Slowly life is approaching normal …. I am grateful, more than I can say, to have my family all together. It is something that I will never ever be able to take for granted again for the rest of my life.

Now I am off to do some homework.

Blessings to you all

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

Just because it is beautiful and because it touched me …..

Written by Mama KellyTags:prayer

One of the things that I hate with a passion as a parent is homework that requires that I take part in the process.  Don’t get me wrong I am always happy to pitch in and help or answer a question. 

But, tonight I am specifically referring to projects that a child in grammar school or middle school cannot possibly do without a parent or guardian running around like the proverbial headless chicken.

Whatever happened to shoebox diaramas, and posters, and call me old fashioned …… book reports!

I don’t even mind the “Tshirt” book report that each of my girls has had to do.

But, why do I need to take wire cutters to hangers to create a mobile …… why do I need to go to specialty shops or spend money I don’t have for my child to do their homework assignment?  Why do I always wind up feeling like I have been given homework?

Case in point.  Miss Artistic has to make a scrapbook from the point of view of the main character of a book.  The scrapbook may have a drawing or two but is supposed to mainly be comprised in 3-D …. translation small findings, photos, and whatnot.

So she and I spent a good amount of time tonight brainstorming and then hunting through Google Images for fitting photos.  These have been downloaded on my handy dandy little memory stick and will have to be taken tomorrow to be resized and printed through the wonders of the photo kiosk in my neighborhood drug store.

Luckily we have other items that we can use for the bulk of it.  We will also be filling baggies with seeds and other “stuff” and harvesting some thorny branches.  We will be cutting labels off of my canned goods.  I also have to go out and buy a plastic cover for this masterpiece when it is finally complete. 

Now granted, we had some fun getting creative and thinking outside of the box.  But, it was not a process that I could’ve skipped being involved in.

Anyway, I hope to take photos of it and upload them here when she is done because I think that it is going to be awesome!!

In case you are interested, the book she selected is Green Angel by Alice Hoffman.  This is teen fiction and rather dark …. but it is also suprisingly good.  It is set against a backdrop that will remind you and your child of 9/11.

Tomorrow will find me doing more hours of classroom observation, food shopping, homework, and hopefully some cooking.  Saturday will be filled with more homework as I desperately have to get ahead in my History and Literature classes so that I can try and get caught up on my backlog of Spanish.

I will be buzy as a bee the next few days (read weeks) but will always try to get here as I can to update you all.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly