Author Archives: Enchanted Seashells

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About Enchanted Seashells

Also known as Princess Rosebud! MIDlifestyle blog. Mom of Professor Angel Boy and Grandma to Angel Boy 2.0 and Angel Girl 2.0. Love to camp and hike. I've been in a few films, am obsessed with seashells, sea glass, and rocks; gardening and baking, Hello Kitty, Chanel, Leon Russell, and anything sparkly. Veg since 1970 and an ardent animal activist forever. Fashionista...veganista...animal activista. I'm still trying to find the perfect shoe!

Word Of The Day: Myrmecophobia — Fear of Ants

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Myrmecophobia: that huge word describes a fear of ants.

I don’t mind if they stay outside and it’s not like I have intense physical reactions like panic attacks. but I do admit to compulsive cleaning and excessive use of toxic chemical sprays to prevent any possibility of an ant infestation.

I read some articles about how to overcome a fear of ants but I don’t really want to do that. Overcoming this phobia isn’t my goal. I like that I’m diligent about NOT allowing an army of ants to occupy my living space.

Updated ant saga: After I initially encountered the scout ants in my bathroom and quickly dispatched them, the next day I walked into the kitchen and was shocked to see a MILLION ants. I’m not exaggerating. Well, maybe I am, but only slightly.

I had been hopeful that the scouts found in the bathroom had been successfully “dealt” with, but I guess a message was still able to reach the collective.

The colony decided to retaliate in a big way and war was imminent. It seems as if they gathered their forces and decided to descend on my kitchen counters and sink during the night. I awoke to large-scale hostility.

I had to take immediate action, and I’m quietly optimistic that this will be the end of the 2026 ant assault. All surfaces have been compulsively scrubbed and bleached and there isn’t a single crumb of food in the sink to attract another interloper.

The part that terrifies me is when I ruminate about how they breached my defenses and found a way to stealthily sneak in the house while I was asleep and vulnerable. Was it revenge for the “scout” episode? Are their tiny ant minds capable of such machination?

But why me?

A couple days have passed and the enemy lines have been drawn. It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morningvand I check to make sure my perimeters haven’t been breached.

However, it appears that these militant ants have honored the agreement to stay outside (at least for now). My fears have slightly subsided but I am on high alert.

Sky Sensuality: Peace and Serenity

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I woke up to this sexysexy tropical sky. Even if none of these heavenly clouds brought any rain, only extremely high humidity, aren’t they breathtaking?

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

I look up to the sky for peace and serenity.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

#WordlessWednesday

Macklemore: Standing Up For What’s Right

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I’m not all about Leon Russell, at least not ALL the time. I have a certain fond connection to PNW-born musician Macklemore, if you can believe it…

It relates to skateboarding and that’s all I’m going to say!

There are many reasons why I admire Macklemore, real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, and it’s not just because I reallyreally like his music, which I do.

I swear, I’ve been playing Thrift Shop on repeat for a long time. I AM that thrift shop girl hahahaha.

I admire him because he’s a great dad and I’ve witnessed it in action, so this is not celebrity gossip, and I admire him for the way he walks the talk and speaks his truth:

Macklemore has been loudly advocating for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza for years. The Seattle rapper is currently opening for Sheeran on his North American stadium tour, and he’s using it as a platform to advocate for a free Palestine among other causes. In response, a pro-Israel group has launched a petition to get him removed from the tour.

Halfway through his opening set Friday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Macklemore delivered a version of the speech he’s been giving through the tour. He’s since posted video footage of the speech on Instagram for all to see.

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to say this all day. One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages in stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: “Free Palestine.” I said, “Free Palestine!” I want those words to be loud and clear so that people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.

And this next song was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world. Opened up hearts, myself included. So thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, “No.” CUAD students, Students For Justice In Palestine, and Jewish Voices For Peace. Thank you guys.

To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace. Love. For all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. So I say free Palestine. I say free Lebanon. I say free Cuba. I say free Congo, free Sudan, free all people in America living in fear over this terrorist organization ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free. (Curated from Stereogum)

Instead of petitioning against him and vilifying this talented musician, husband, and wonderful dad, how about we REALLY listen to his words?

Macklemore is a brave truth teller and ought to be commended. As granddaughter of a rabbi, I’m on #TeamMacklemore

Here’s a couple of my fave songs, and I chose the ADULT version:

Can’t Hold Us

Featured photo from Yahoo

Scout’s Honor

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Scout’s honor? Well, not really.

I was never a Girl Scout for several reasons: I hate uniforms, especially ugly brown ones, and I don’t enjoy enforced gatherings and/or making weird crafty things to earn useless badges.

Don’t even get me started on how much I would LOATHE being forced to go door to door or stand in front of a grocery store to hawk cookies. That’s a firm and hard NO from me, at any age.

Yeah, I’m not a joiner of anything; I guess I’m a lone wolf by nature.

So…when I noticed a couple ants here and there in my bathroom, on the wall and in the shower — not a steady stream of them but a few that seemed to be aimlessly wandering around, I was perplexed.

A little research taught me something I had never known–these seemingly random ants are actually SCOUTS.

Scout ants are lone worker ants sent out by a colony to explore unfamiliar terrain, locate food sources, and assess potential nesting sites or threats, however, they chose the wrong location here because there’s no food in my bathroom!

They wander independently away from the nest using keen senses of smell and visual cues. When food is located, they consume a small sample and head straight back to the nest. Before they go, they leave a chemical scent called a pheromone trail on their return trip so other worker ants can follow the path to the food.

As fascinating as that info IS, I don’t want them anywhere near me. I get totally freaked out if I think an ant could possibly crawl on me in any way.

I don’t even care if the spiritual meaning of a scout ant represents a call to explore uncharted territory, to trust our inner instincts, or even to pioneer new paths before bringing others along.

I can admire their industrious nature, but stay away from me.

If you’re wondering what ultimately happened to these scout ants, the short answer is that these good little scouts are no longer able to bring back any info to their colony, which isn’t very animal-ioving of me, but I have my limits.

Let’s raise a glass to honor those brave, selfless little soldiers. RIP.

Photo found on Pinterest

Fly Away Home

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“If you become a bird and fly away from me, I will be a tree that you come home to.”
Margaret Wise Brown

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

Margaret Wise Brown wrote at least a hundred books, including The Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon.

Our oppressive heat seems to have abated a bit and there’s the slightest chance we might see rain from Tropical Storm Marie, but I’m not overly optimistic. It would be awesome, though.

I’d Rather Be Blind: Leon Russell with Freddie King

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I’d Rathe Be Blind is a blues song written, composed, and produced by Leon Russell, recorded by legendary blues guitarist and singer Freddie King with Leon on piano.

(This is not the same as “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta Jamea.)

Image from Church Studio

Freddie’s voice is as distinctive as Leon’s.

When I saw Leon in concert, he was with Freddie King. It was memorable, that’s for sure.

Treasures of The Heart

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Not too long ago, we were at the beach and while the ‘rents were surfing (of course), the Ferals and I searched for treasures in the sand. (The kids also surf, but this time the waves were too big for them.)

Suddenly, Feral Boy shouted, “Grampsie (my new moniker), look at what I found for you!” and he poured this heart into my outstretched hand.

It’s really really difficult to photograph properly. My pic doesn’t do its beauty justice at all.

It’s a tiny, shiny, perfectly formed heart.

“OMG, are you kidding me, did you really just find this NOW?”

“Yup, right here! Is it a keeper?”

“It’s a HEART! Of course it’s a for sure keeper, but don’t you want it for yourself?”

“No, Grampsie, it’s for you.”

“Let me see!” yelled Feral Girl, “I want to see what it is!”

“Wow, that’s really cool, T!”

How crazy was it for him to find this little heart by happenstance? Or was it happenstance?

I told them it must be very special and meaningful and I’d keep it safe, but if they ever wanted it back, I’d be happy to return it.

So far, it looks like I’m the keeper of the heart treasure, and that makes MY heart full. I promise to hold on to their hearts forever, no matter how Feral/Angelic they might become.

I think it’s an Apache Tear, a type of volcanic obsidian made from the fire energy deep within the Earth.

How it made its way to the beach, buried in the sand, is a lovely mystery, or were we meant to find it?

Apache Tears are named after a Native American legend about the grief of Apache women mourning warriors who died during a 1870s conflict with the U.S. Cavalry.

It’s an excellent protection stone to help ground our energy into the Earth before, during, and after energy work. Black stones absorb negative energy.

The heart shape adds an element of compassion, self-forgiveness, and emotional warmth to the grounding energy of the stone.

It helps us peek into the core of an issue to assist with deep healing and to lend support during times of sorrow, as well as relieving stress by offering opportunities for positive change.

What an exceptionally magical find from Mother Earth!

It’s just really really difficult to capture the smooth shiny pure blackness, but as long as I’m the keeper of the heart, it’ll live on my bedside table, protecting my dreams, definitely enchanted.

P.S. I’m grandma and the kids started calling me “Grampsie” when Feral Boy started reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. I think it’s funnycute and I always answer to the many creative nicknames they’ve chosen for me.

Lunar Eclipse Photo Journey

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I was lucky enough to capture the swift travels of the full moon’a partial eclipse.

I used to think it was the moon that flew across the sky but I learned the rapid journey of the moon is an optical illusion caused by the Earth spinning on its axis, rather than the moon zooming through space. As Earth rotates, it makes the moon look like its traveling westward at a rate of about 15 degrees per hour but that’s really not the case. Like so many other things in life, it’s not what it seems.

That was enough education for one day — it makes my brain hurt — although I’m sure most people already learned that even if I didn’t. I can only assume it was yet another topic on yet another day I didn’t pay attention in school.

I love every phase of the moon and its significance. A partial lunar eclipse symbolizes a powerful period of emotional illumination and a transitional turning point where the subconscious shadow meets conscious awareness. As above, so below.

The moon and
her shadow side
Reveals exactly what we hide

Here’s the first pic with a bit of spooky cloud cover…

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

The eclipse’s progression…

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

Almost fully eclipsed, right around 9pm…

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

It’s still oppressively hot and humid here, but that’s supposed to change in the next couple of days, fingers crossed!

Were you able to experience this amazing partial lunar eclipse?

August Full Moon + Partial Lunar Eclipse

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It’s the end of August, time for another full moon and she’s already shining big and bright in the night sky, this time with the added bonus of a partial lunar eclipse.

The weather here in SoCal has been miserable. We’ve had a veryvery hot summer with record temps, which normally isn’t so bad, but the humidity has been sky high and that makes it nearly intolerable, especially at night. We normally only have a dry heat — Santa Ana — which is hot but pleasant, but this moist air is so draining. Since I don’t have A/C, I’ve resorted to a fan to sleep since it never really cools off.

On top of the heat, we haven’t had rain in months. I’ve given up on the garden because there’s really no point in fighting the drought, especially since our water is so expensive. I’d have to literally spend hours a day watering, mostly to no avail since it immediately dries up. The rats and bunnies have taken their toll too, and I’m not sure what the cosmic message is, but I won’t resist it, whatever it is.

Enough ranting about the weather…

From Liverpool Echo

This full Sturgeon Moon will be special because the Earth’s shadow will swallow 96% of the lunar surface overnight on Aug. 27-28, potentially coloring the moon a gorgeous bright red as it bathes in light filtered and refracted by our planet’s atmosphere.

The partial lunar eclipse will occur as Earth passes between the sun and moon during the full moon. Around this time, Earth’s curved inner shadow will appear to creep across the lunar surface while leaving a thin crescent exposed to direct sunlight at the point of maximum eclipse.

For stargazers on the west coast of the United States, the point of maximum eclipse will arrive just a few hours after sunset, while anyone watching from the east coast will hopefully see the lunar spectacle peak around midnight.

The spiritual significance of the August Sturgeon Moon is all about resilience, inner strength, and processing deep emotional truths.

Unlike a solar eclipse, no safety glasses will be necessary.

Don’t forget to charge your crystals and enjoy!

Ahimsa: Word Of The Day + The Three Gates

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Do no harm. It’s really a simple way to live.

Found on Pinterest

Ahimsa is an ancient Indian ethical principle meaning nonviolence, non-harm, or harmlessness toward all living creatures.

It’s a core virtue in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It forms the first restraint (yama) in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and inspired Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful resistance movements.

Non-harming: Avoiding injury or pain to any living being, including animals and insects, through the smallest footprint possible.
Three Levels: Practiced through thoughts, words, and physical deeds.
Universal Benevolence: Cultivating an inner attitude of peace, empathy, and love instead of malice or aggression.

I think we need to include the Three Gates that I annoy the Ferals with on a regular basis.

When they’re being obnoxious to each other, I ask if what they’re saying passes through the three gates…

The three gates of speech are a mindful communication framework often attributed to Sufi mystic traditions and the poet Rumi, as well as Buddhist teachings.

They act as a filter to pause and evaluate our words before we speak:

Is it true?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?

I think we all can benefit from the practice of Ahimsa and think before we speak, right?