Category Archives: Serious Stuff

Happy New Year 5785!

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The elephant in the room is what’s happening in Israel. October 7 will mark one year since the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip and Israel. It’s the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. I don’t have an opinion to share because I think all the killing is terrible with horrendous collateral damage.

Now is the time for an end to war and hope for long lasting peace.

Happy New Year! Shana tovah!

Rosh Hashanah is one of Judaism’s holiest days. It’s also a powerful new moon, which enhances the overall spirituality of this holiday.

Meaning “head of the year” or “first of the year,” Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish new year — marks the creation of the world.

It also marks the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days leading up to Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. 

As is the custom with all new years, it’s a time to reflect on the past and how we can improve in the future.

This is the time for apples and honey to represent a sweet new year, to be eaten with challah bread and pomegranate seeds.

L’Shanah Tovah Tikateivu
“May you be inscribed [in the Book of Life] for a good year.”

Who Knows Where The Time Goes

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Do you feel this way, too?

The days seem to be slipping through my fingers, dripping one by one like a faucet that can’t be turned off.

I can’t fix it, can’t stop it, can’t slow it down. MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday, it’s all the same, it’s going nowhere, it’s going everywhere. I turn and turn the handle but there’s nothing I can do to slow the incessant leak.

(Maybe this was the real message about all those plumbing problems I had a couple months ago.)

First it was January; then I blinked and it’s almost the end of August.

Where has the time gone?

I can’t put all the hours back on the clock, I can’t halt the inexorable passage of time, I can’t stop the sand in the hourglass from running through my fingers.

I don’t know what happened to time. It’s out of my control.

Everyone has heard the version that of Who Knows Where The Time Goes by Judy Collins, but I just learned the original artist and songwriter was Britain’s Sandy Denny. She had the voice of an angel.

Of course Judy Collins is magnificent:

Everything Breaks

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Why am I breaking things?

In the last few days, I broke three coffee mugs. Tragically, one of them was my all time favorite wolf mug that I’ve had since the 1970s..and that really upset me. It was a perfectly shaped mug, not too heavy, with a comfortable handle and the ideal curved sipping edge, not too thick or thin. It had survived several moves and was one I used practically every day.

It’s not like I don’t break things from time to time, (including bones), but three in a row got my spidey senses tingling. Does it mean anything special? Is it a message from the universe? Have I been careless?

I had to investigate…but exactly how do we interpret our broken things? I could see an easy connection with a broken mirror, but three coffee mugs? It’s not clear to me, but I know there’s meaning in there somewhere.

  • Frequently dropping and breaking fragile items can be a sign that the universe is reaching out to you with an important message that you need to hear.
  • Breaking glass is considered a symbol of transformation and change. 
  • The shattering of a dish, cup, or other fragile item is a moment we can’t control. We are powerless as soon as it leaves our hands; how it falls, the type of material it’s made of, and what it fell on — there is nothing we can do to change the outcome.
  • Frequent dropping of things can be an indication that we need to learn how to let go of control.
  • Sometimes, things break as signs or symbols sent by the universe or our spiritual guides. These broken objects can represent the need for change or transformation in our lives. It could be an indication that something in our current path is no longer serving us and needs to be released or replaced.
  • Release it, set it free, so now there’s room for something else.

I’m not sure if that’s accurate OR is the answer that I’ve simply been especially careless and absentminded.

  • The next time something breaks, or if you’re holding onto broken things around your home right now, ask: what message do you have for me? Trust your knowing and what comes up. 
  • Thank the broken item for all its support and express gratitude for the joy it brought.

Sometimes I repair broken things to recycle as a planter, but these are too damaged. A little glue won’t be able to fix what’s wrong, and that makes me sad, because I have always felt that most things can be mended if you try.

Here’s a pic of two of the three mugs broken in succession. The third one was completely shattered so I immediately tossed it because there were sharp little shards everywhere and none of the pieces fit back together.

Whose Fault IS It?

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This has been around for a while, but it was a recent discovery for me.
It hits hard, doesn’t it?

Graphic created by Enchanted Seashells

Sisters, ARISE… I Understand The Assignment

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Let’s do it this time; let’s get the job done and elect President Kamala Harris!

When Hillary Clinton ran for president, I was really excited. I posted signs, I made phone calls, I participated in governance.

I thought she won. We ALL thought she won. She SHOULD have, but…

There’s a lot to unpack and delve into about why and how she didn’t become president because she absolutely won the popular vote. I truly believe the vote was interfered with.

According to TIme magazine, When Russia set out to interfere with the 2016 election, it went all out.

“Over the course of the election, a wide-ranging group of Russians probed state voter databases for insecurities; hacked the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee; spread propaganda on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram; staged rallies in Florida and Pennsylvania; set up meetings with members of the Trump campaign and its associates; and floated a business proposition for a skyscraper in Moscow to the Trump Organization. The goal, as determined by the U.S. intelligence community and backed up by evidence was to damage the Clinton campaign, boost Trump’s chances, and sow distrust in American democracy overall.”

I remember first being overjoyed, then confused, and finally, majorly depressed as, with class and dignity, Hillary conceded.

Since President Biden has chosen not to seek another term and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the BEST and ONLY Democratic party nominee, we are BEYOND EXCITED!

From Kamala’s speech: “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you. Part of the extension of the work you will do is, yes, focused on our young leaders and our young people, but understanding we also then have to be clear about the needs of their parents and their grandparents and their teachers and their communities, because none of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context.”

With future President Kamala Harris, we have another chance. I hope you understand the assignment, too.

It’s too important to NOT vote. We need to save democracy and save our reproductive rights and save this country from the horrors of Project 2025 or another four years of that insane orange turd and his disgusting MAGA cult, the cult of derangement.

Local News: Harassed Sea Lions and a Brazen Daytime Burglary

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Stupidstupid tourists just won’t stay away. I don’t know why they feel they need to either taunt the sea lions or take an idiotic selfie with them.

The Children’s Pool in La Jolla is closed to the public during pupping season from December 15 through May 15. The recent opening of the area has lead to the usual STUPIDLY dangerous interactions between people and wildlife.

Recent videos have popped up on social media capturing some of the troubling interactions between people and wildlife at the Children’s Pool. Some involve crowds gathering too close to seals on the beach. Others have seals and sea lions barking at swimmers in the water, one even has a sea lion chasing imbecilic humans.

I think these are the same types of people who get too close to the bison at Yellowstone National Park and are injured by them. I believe that’s the classic definition of instant karma, don’t you agree?

I’ll be happy when tourist season is over, that’s for sure. A friend who lives nearby has made it her life’s mission to protect the sea lions from harm and she says the harassment this year is far worse than in the past. WTF is wrong with people???

_____ ______ _____ _______ _____

In other startling news, neighbors and I received a Ring video about a brazen daytime burglary that had just occurred on my street, a couple blocks away.

Two masked, gloved, and hooded men carrying plastic bags were seen entering a home through the backyard. How scary is that!

On my way to the post office to mail a package to the Angel Kids, I drove right by the house as it was being robbed, which is a freaky thought.

Police were swarming the area and when I went out to talk to them, I was informed that the criminals had NOT been caught and the police were gathering evidence and taking statements.

I didn’t see a whole lot of active detective work going on, no forensic van had pulled up, nothing like you see on TV, so I’m not exactly sure what they were doing, but I know we are all on high alert.

It’s not clear exactly how the burglars gained access or what was taken, but I have a feeling the home didn’t have security or it wasn’t armed, because the police weren’t notified until a couple hours after the robbery occurred.

I’ll post any future updates if and when the perps are apprehended, OR if there are more incidents.

Happy Fourth of July! Fireworks Suck

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I hope everyone enjoys a safe and happy Independence Day. Let’s also think about what this day means for our animals.

Every year when Legoland sets off fireworks around here, dozens of terrified dogs run away. You can hear people calling out for their missing pets and the next day, there’s a plethora of sad posts online and missing pet posters taped to telephone poles.

Some of these dogs never come back home; they get hit by cars or become easy targets for coyotes. If they’re lucky and get picked up by animal control, I hope everyone chips their pets so they can be reunited.

Fireworks traumatize pets AND wildlife. My own Border Collie, Victor, was so scared that he’d crawl under the desk and his whole body would tremble until they were over.

Fireworks may also trigger PTSD in veterans, did you know that? It’s important to have a plan to help veterans if they are around fireworks so that they feel more relaxed and aren’t feeling threatened.

In my opinion, all fireworks should be banned and replaced by laser light shows.

Fireworks suck.

Summer Solstice AND a Full Strawberry Moon

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“Stay wild, moon child.” – Riitta Klint

Today we celebrate the summer solstice and tomorrow is June’s full “strawberry moon”, the lowest full moon of the year, staying close to the horizon as the sun soars to its highest point in the sky.

How often does a full moon and a solstice appear at pretty much the exact same time? Not very…however, some reports said the last time the solstice full moon happened was in 2016, and some said it last occurred in 1986 or even in 1967. It’s weird that no one seems SURE, don’t you agree?

WOW! The energies are crazy today. I was in a store and a man was causing an issue, swearing and yelling at the employees, and had to be escorted out. I watched the entire scene and stepped aside as his out-of-control anger ramped up so that I wouldn’t become an innocent target or collateral damage. Down the street from THAT insanity, a woman, definitely homeless, was lying across the sidewalk in the hot summer sun with her personal shopping cart tipped over blocking a lane in the the very busy street. I drove by and planned to pull over and call 911 because I didn’t know if she was dead or alive, when the fire and paramedics showed up.

After that, I thought the best course of action was to go home to my safe space and BREATHE.

To make best use of this intense energy, a full moon is a great time to manifest our dreams, honor the light within, and express gratitude.

And don’t forget to charge your crystals, especially with the super intensity of this solstice. I plan to take a walk around the lagoon at sunset and hope to see the moon rise at 7p.m.

Happy Summer!

“

A Shasta Daisy and The Fibonacci Sequence

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Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank

With no rain in sight, my plants are becoming thirsty and I have to water them so they don’t dry out. I stopped for a minute to contemplate the droplets on a perfectly perfect Shasta daisy.

Nature is amazing. Everything is related to everything. Nothing is simply what it seems.

Many flowers exhibit a petal count that corresponds to Fibonacci numbers. Shasta daisies have twenty-one. This is something I didn’t even know about until recently. If they taught it in school, it’s another one of those days when I wasn’t paying attention.

In the 13th century an Italian mathematician, Leonardo de Pisa, better known today as Fibonacci, published a book called Liber Abaci. He introduced a number sequence that became known as the Fibonacci sequence. Starting with 0 and 1, each new number in the sequence is the sum of the two before it.  0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377.

The golden mean or the golden ratio is a special number found by dividing a line into two parts.

The golden mean and the Fibonacci spiral are connected to life, even spiritual life. They can be found in nature in the number of petals of flowers, the way the tiniest stem
unfurls, in spirals in seashells, and more. 

The golden proportion of 1.618 is found in key proportions of the body in humans, animals, insects, and in DNA. Our perceptions of beauty support that phi is a factor in what we find attractive.https://energeticgeometry.com/

That’s a pretty weighty concept for my brain to absorb or even understand. The possibilities seem endless, one more mystery of the universe.

I’m an uncomplicated person. All I know for sure is that I love the way Shasta daisies spread to fill in the empty spaces like they fill my heart and make me happy.

“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.” – Theodore Roethke.

Lady Justice Prevailed With a GUILTY Verdict On All Counts

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I don’t often write about political issues, but this is big news.

Have you heard?

On May 30th 2024, a jury of citizens in the state of New York convicted a former President of thirty-four felony counts.

There has been a full scale political assault on Lady Justice these past few years, but she’s still standing, proud and resolute.

In my opinion, the true crime is whatever the orange turd did to steal the election from Hilllary Clinton in 2016. He should have never been elected President.

I was a bit worried that the jury wouldn’t understand their task, but they did.

From the New York Times:

Donald J. Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, capping an extraordinary trial that tested the resilience of the American justice system and will reverberate into November’s election.

From BBC News, here’s exactly how it happened when the jury returned to the courtroom with a verdict:

The judge walked into the courtroom shortly after 4:00 pm, and said he planned to dismiss the jury for the day in a half hour. Then he left to talk to them.

Passing the time, Mr Trump and his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, huddled together at the defence table laughing. They looked like old friends sharing a good joke – and Mr Trump’s shoulders even shook in a rare display of mirth.

But then, as time passed, the judge still had not returned.

A few minutes later, Justice Merchan arrived in a swoop of black robes, his face inscrutable.

The jury, he said, had a note. And a verdict. They had taken extra time to fill out required paperwork, but they were ready.

The atmosphere shifted. The only noise was the sound of reporters frantically typing.

“All rise,” a court officer said suddenly. “Jury entering”.

One by one, the twelve walked past Trump who rose along with the rest of the courtroom for their entrance.

Justice Merchan, in the same even tone he used throughout the trial, asked the jury to confirm they had a verdict.

They had, the foreperson said.

The first guilty verdict landed – the next 33 added a crushing weight.

Silent and still at the defence table, Trump kept his lips pursed as his lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove on either side of him, glanced sternly toward the judge.

As each juror verbally confirmed the decision to convict him, Trump turned his head in their direction and followed their faces one by one as they answered.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsification of business records. He was guilty on all counts.

Prosecutors said that with Trump’s approval, his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay silent just before his 2016 presidential run about an alleged sexual encounter. Trump then was accused of approving a fraudulent scheme to disguise the reimbursement to Cohen as legal expenses.

He pleaded not guilty and has denied having sex with Ms. Daniels.

On Thursday, Trump’s pursed expression remained unchanged after the verdict was read and his attorneys pleaded with the judge for acquittal, claiming Mr Trump’s former fixer had committed perjury with his damning testimony on the stand.

Denied, Justice Merchan said.

Can he still run for president?

Yes. The US Constitution sets out relatively few eligibility requirements for presidential candidates: they must be at least 35, be a “natural born” US citizen and have lived in the US for at least fourteen years. There are no rules blocking candidates with criminal records.

What could Trump’s sentence be?

Trump has been free on bail throughout the trial and this did not change after the verdict was read on Thursday.

The judge will have several factors to consider in sentencing, including Trump’s age. The sentence could involve a fine, probation or supervision, or possibly prison time.

The more pressing matter to discuss is how messed up this country is, how his cult of hatred attracted so many disturbed followers — and how we can make sure this never happens again.

It’s really scary to consider that millions of Americans were being brainwashed by a reality-TV host.

Do they need to be deprogrammed? Can they be deprogrammed?

From Vanity Fair, Steven Hassan, a former Moonie turned cult expert and author of The Cult of Trump, says the process will require not only empathy and individual family involvement but a wholesale change in how social media and information systems separate fact from dangerous fictions. “I would put undue influence or mind control as the number-two most important thing that we address for the planet,” he says. “Because otherwise authoritarianism, using social media, is a threat.”

At the end of the day, Lady Justice might be slightly tattered, but this time she was able to rally and stand for truth. We need more of this.