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Poem by Athey Thompson
Picture credit to Pinterest
The full moon always disrupts my sleep. This full Beaver moon is giving me strange dreams, too, but I can only remember fragmented snippets, like my subconscious is rambling and formless; inchoate. This is my signal to spend time in nature, whether it’s the forest, the beach, or my garden.
And she stopped…and she heard what the trees said to her,
And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,
For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe.
~ Becky Hemsley
There’s always, always something to be grateful for, right?
This morning, I’m thankful for the sky’s breathtaking sunrise. What amazing colors!
The fiery intensity is surreal. No filters, no editing; this is exactly how the sky looked at 6 a.m.
Happy Thanksgiving… or as Jon Stewart said, “I celebrated Thanksgiving the old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.“
No, I’m not narcissistically describing ME, lol, but this little Thanksgiving cactus (zygocactus) with its dazzling, almost glowing, salmon pink showy blooms, is all dressed up to become the centerpiece at dinner.
Up close.
While we’re in the midst of plans to enjoy a feast with friends and family, I hope we don’t forget to honor, and with gratitude, recognize the Indigenous Peoples.
“Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.” Chief Seattle
“When you know who you are when your mission is clear, and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose. You know that you are alive.” – Chief Seattle, Suquamish/Duwamish (1786-1866)
Chief Seattle (more correctly known as Seathl) was a Suquamish and Duwamish chief. A leading figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, The city of Seattle in Washington state, was named after him.
Photo of people and tents and quote credit to Chief Seattle and Native Red Cloud Maȟpíya Lúta~Hińhan Wakangli. Photo credit of Chief Seattle from Wiki
I bought some things that I subsequently needed to return which my son calls my “catch and release” program because I do it a lot.
This time, I was in a rush. I picked the wrong kind of noodles and the wrong kind of applesauce, and a pineapple I discovered was rotten and gross; also a first pair of jeans for Angel Girl 2.0 that were the wrong size.
I located the receipts and put them in safe place, or so I thought.
To backtrack, I never lose things and I also save EVERY receipt because I know that I MIGHT return whatever it is. I’m thrifty like that, so what happened next is significant.
I left early to shop cos it’s getting crowded for Thanksgiving. When I got in my car, I looked for the receipts and could only find one, but I KNOW I had saved both of them together.
I searched every inch of the car-nothing. I searched my purse-nothing. I looked in the outside trash (eww) -nothing. I went back in the house and couldn’t find it anywhere. I took a few deep breaths and decided to accept the reality that for once, I had somehow lost a receipt, but I’d still try to return the items and not be upset if that wasn’t possible.
In the grand scheme of life, this wasn’t anything to worry about. Mistakes happen.
I parked my car, walked around to the passenger side to collect my shopping bags and the items to be returned. There, on the seat, right next to the sad old pineapple, I spied the receipt.
WTF? Where did it come from? I had OCD thoroughly searched every single inch of my car, even taking everything out, and never saw it, because it wasn’t there. But there it appeared, ON THE SEAT. ON THE SEAT where it had NOT been before.
I shook my head, called out a silent thank you to the universe and its witchy ways, and laughed at my good fortune.
The rest of the day has been full of sunshine and joy, but I still can’t figure it out.
Is it the disappearing object phenomenon? How did it happen? WHY did it happen? And what’s the lesson?
According to my Google research, these are the areas to explore if you have experienced the return of a lost item:
Lessons on the 3D level:
Must you always have a physical explanation for any occurrence? Why?
Do you believe that there is only one answer for any occurrence? Who told you that?
What happens if you can’t find an explanation for this occurrence?
Lessons on the 4D level:
Can I concede that I can’t explain this occurrence just yet?
Do Others have power over me?
Do Others have powers that I don’t have? (St. Anthony, or Archangel Chamuel, for example?)
Can they see more than I can see?
Who are these Others? Are they mirrors of me?
Lessons on the 5D level:
Is this an item you love? If not, why is it here?
How long was this item gone before you missed it? Are you rightfully managing this energy (including time)?
What is the disparity of frequency between the You that could see them and the You that couldn’t?
What is the energy of the missing item? Sad? Nostalgic?
Does it represent a period in your life needing release?
Does it remind you of something you need to get done?
I haven’t had to the time to explore and examine my relationship to the receipt and discover the deeper symbolism, but I highly recommend reading this entire article. It blew my mind!
https://www.areyouawakening.com/life-on-earth/when-an-item-youve-lost-suddenly-reappears/
Featured image from Pinterest
Now that it’s turning cold (not here, it’s seventy degrees right now) it made me think of that specific feeling of the warmth of the winter sun on your face. The word that describes this phenomenon is apricity.
You can be absolutely freezing, but when that glorious ray of sunshine finds you, it’s uplifting, hopeful, and calming. However brief, to bask in an unexpected but significant gleam of winter sunlight is a wonderful and restorative feeling.
We close our eyes, lift our faces toward the sun, and those moments of apricity warm the spirit as well as our body, and we yearn for more.
Are you thinking about what to serve this year for family gatherings? I swear, Angel Boy 2.0 could eat kugel every single day. It’s his most requested dish but I only make it a few times a year.
Let me introduce you to one of our family traditions. My mom’s recipe is NOT vegan, but it can easily be adapted if you substitute eggless noodles and eliminate eggs. It’s just as delicious.
What IS Kugel?
Of German/Jewish origin, Kugel is a savory or sweet pudding built around layered potatoes or noodles (lokshen), usually served as a side dish. Some recipes use cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, and raisins, but that’s not how we make it.
Our family’s traditional Kugel is the sweet noodle version. It’s to die for. Really. Spectacular hot or cold or reheated, it’s one of those recipes you can make a day in advance and gets better and better.
If you have any leftovers– which we never do — it freezes well, too.
Grandma’s Kugel
Ingredients:
One large package wide egg noodles (or eggless wide noodles)
One large can fruit cocktail in juice
One small can pineapple pieces in juice
One large can canned peaches and pears in heavy syrup, yes, you read that right
At least 3 Granny Smith apples, sliced with about 1/4 cup sugar and 1-2 TBS cinnamon
3 eggs (or not)
2 tsp vanilla
Approx 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Crisco (YES)
One lemon, juiced and zested
Directions: This is a good dish to make in advance especially if you’re also planning to make apple pie (which I am) ‘cos you can just prep all the apples for both dishes. The secret to this dish is a LOT of cinnamon. If you think you have enough, add a little bit more. More is better, trust me!
1. Cook a whole package of wide egg noodles and drain.
2. Add 3 beaten eggs with vanilla, 2 tablespoons cinnamon and 1.4 cup sugar ; it will be super slippery.
3. Add the lemon juice and zest to the apple slices.
4. Drain all the canned fruit but keep the juices; you’ll need them.
5. Mix together all the canned fruits.
6, Use Crisco to oil one large and one medium deep baking dish.
7. Add a layer of noodles, then a layer of canned fruit, a layer of apples, then another layer of noodles, a layer of the canned fruit, sliced apples, more noodles, more canned fruit and apples, ending with a final layer of noodles.
8. Pour over any remaining egg mixture, and a cup or so of the fruit juices. Be very liberal with the juice. It will all get soaked up as the kugel bakes.
9. My mom would dot the whole thing with a bunch of Crisco, like ¼ cup, which sounds gross, but I still follow her recipe. Some people use butter, but we don’t.
10. Bake covered at 300 degrees for about an hour or so depending on the pan size. Take cover off for final 15/20 minutes. Excellent reheated and/or cold.
Featured pic is not mine, Found on Pinterest.
We finally had rain AND thunder! In the middle of a downpour, I absolutely forgot how to turn on my windshield wipers. I had to pull over and search for the owner’s manual to figure it out. That’s exactly how long it’s been since we had sky water! From last night to this morning, there was more than an inch of rain. More is on the way.
For some reason, it seems like a Cream kind of day, and I can’t exactly explain why I feel like this…
Ulysses, also known as Odysseus, is a character of Greek mythology. Homer wrote The Odyssey about Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who wanders for ten years (although the action of the poem covers only the final six weeks) trying to get home after the Trojan War.
When the original Angel Boy was young enough for nightly bedtime stories, we read The Odyssey to him (truth!) and think, in some small way, that it helped to encourage his professorial and writing talents.
Tales of Brave Ulysses
You thought the leaden winter
Would bring you down forever
But you rode upon a steamer
To the violence of the sun
And the colours of the sea
Bind your eyes with trembling mermaids
And you touch the distant beaches
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
For the sparkling waves are calling you
To kiss their white laced lips
And you see a girl’s brown body
Dancing through the turquoise
And her footprints make you follow
Where the sky loves the sea
And when your fingers find her
She drowns you in her body
Carving deep blue ripples
In the tissues of your mind
Tiny purple fishes
Run laughing through your fingers
And you want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
Her name is Aphrodite
And she rides a crimson shell
And you know you cannot leave her
For you touched the distant sands
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
Tiny purple fishes
Run laughing through your fingers
And you want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
Background: The lyrics are inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, an account of the adventures undertaken by Ulysses. This can be seen in the song’s reference to “naked ears … tortured by the sirens sweetly singing,” an event from Homer’s epic. When interviewed on the episode of the VH1 show, Classic Albums, which featured Disraeli Gears, lyricist Martin Sharp explained that he had recently returned from Ibiza, which was the source of many of the images in the song (e.g. “tiny purple fishes run laughing through her fingers”) and the general feeling of having left an idyll to return to “the hard lands of the winter” https://www.lyricinterpretations.com/cream/tales-of-brave-ulysses
A live version…
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 