When things are as bad as they appear to be here in the US, and with growing anxiety every day, sometimes all we can do is breathe and reach for the light wherever we can.
Light is the thing we seek
Within the darkest of day,
let it show us the way.
Little words by Athey Thompson
“Reaching for that Star” by Florian Ceglarek
It’s becoming more and more difficult to ignore that absolute shitshow that’s going on in this country since that orange POS and his puppet master muskrat defrauded the election in November.
And yes, I truly believe that his “winning” was not the will of the people; with muskrat’s help and maybe aided by a foreign government, there is a growing fear that the vote was tampered with.
I can’t imagine what the rest of the world thinks about us. The deteriorating relationships with our friends in Canada and Mexico is hard to believe, but it’s all real.
We are living a worst case scenario.
While all this is going on, yesterday my local congressman posted smiling pics of himself in my city having a cup of coffee at a local place like democracy isn’t burning to the ground. Talk about not reading the room! You should have seen all the comments telling him to get back to DC and DO SOMETHING to stop this madness.
As much as I try to stay away from watching the news and becoming overwhelmed with dread, THIS can’t be ignored, no matter how hard I try:
From the BBC (as I no longer trust most US based news sources):
The Trump administration has given Elon Musk’s deputies access to the federal payments system that controls the flow of trillions of dollars in government funds every year, US media report.
[From Enchanted Seashells: To clarify, this includes Social Security payments, social security numbers, and banking information for those who get direct deposit.]
Reports suggest members of Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – which is not a government department, but a team within the administration – have been granted access to sensitive personal information of millions of Americans.
Two officials at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were reportedly placed on leave after a standoff with Doge members over access.
Read the full article here:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77rkg5dm3vo
I’m trying to distract myself from all the horrible events going on in this country — too many to talk about — with memories of beautiful Bandit, who still visits me in my dreams. She was the real princess, not me.
“Hello, my love…”
Little Ghost Cat,
Sometimes, I hear your gentle purr
And feel the soft touch of your fur.
Then, late at night, old memories stir
Of the friend I loved and lost.
Little Ghost Cat,
By moonlight, now you come and go
Unseen and like moving water flow
O friend I loved and lost.
(I believe this poem is attributed to Barbara Parkhill Hall)
I hope I’d be able to. It’s one of my secret wishes, to communicate with whales.
Yaskina Valentina
For the first time in about nine months, it rained, and it rained HARD. So far we’ve had about an inch of rain and the forecast predicts a bit more. There was similar rainfall in Los Angeles which prompted flash-flood and mudslide risks for the wildfire burn scar areas through this afternoon.
This deluge reminded me that I had started writing a post about an unsettling, recurring leaky roof dream where bits of the ceiling fall all around me and no amount of buckets can ever stop the catastrophe in my living room, no matter how hard I try.
I had the same exact dream a few days ago. It’s not a pleasant feeling to be powerless to avert a disaster so I did my usual research and learned that it’s a common dream theme.
Potentially, it’s not as dire as I thought. It could mean…
–A heavenly transition of divine blessings. The heavenly waters are descending down, as a cleansing release.
— You will be flooded with relief as blessings rain down upon your life.
— Your dream is an expression of pure giving that represents grace in life and personal growth in prosperity.
— The dream is from a spiritual part of your soul. The rains are a sign of a beautiful future filled with growing abundance; spiritual and material gifts.
— The presence of heavy rain and water in your dreams may symbolize emotional cleansing, a need for spiritual renewal, or the flow of energy and creativity in your life.
On the other hand, a recurring dream about a leaking roof might symbolize a feeling of vulnerability, insecurity, or a sense that something important in your life is falling apart. The leaks represent emotional distress or overwhelming issues that you feel unable to fully address.
Things to think about…
I wish I had paid more attention to the other times I had this same dream; I could have kept track of the date and all the other details to figure out if there’s a pattern — I’ve dreamed this same scenario more than a dozen times in the last couple of decades. I know it’s not related to the failure of my actual roof, so it must be psychological or emotional. At least I memorialized it THIS time and will observe any future recurring dreams.
No matter what my dream meant to me personally, the actual sky water made my gardens very happy as they had been parched for such a long time.
This is such an easy recipe — just a few minutes mixing and cooking in the microwave.
Since I have zero impulse control when it comes to being able to STOP eating chocolate, and since I was literally dying for some chocolate cake, and knowing my propensity to eat the whole thing, I decided to try a recipe for a single serving microwave chocolate cake.
I choose one of my favorite Grandma mugs…
I have to confess that my very first mug cake was way more delicious than I anticipated! What a pleasant surprise! I will definitely make this again. But to be completely honest, those few bites weren’t quite enough to satisfy my cravings.
Ingredients:
Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder to a mug. Whisk to combine.
Pour in the oil, non-dairy milk and vanilla into the mug with the dry ingredients and stir well with a spoon. If you have them, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
Cook in the microwave for 40 seconds. It will likely be a little undercooked in the middle at this point, but if you want it cooked more, microwave another 10-20 seconds.
Serve immediately.
Whew! Something strange happened to me as I embarked on a late afternoon walk around the lagoon, about three miles or so.
As I was walking and walking, the sun began to set. I took a photo of the sky even though I know the colors resulted from a couple local brushfires.
As I walked up the hill, I guess my mind wandered; at least I think it did. I’m actually not really sure what happened.
At some point I realized that I had lost a chunk of time.
In one way, it seemed like time stood still, and in another way, it seemed as if I had been walking for HOURS, and yet I felt like I wasn’t even really in my own body, or even in my own specific reality.
I was somewhere else, or more accurately, I had BEEN somewhere else; again I’m not sure where.
When I came back from that nowhere land, it’s not that I became dizzy or lightheaded, but I definitely felt a sensation of a jolt back to my physical body when I looked around and realized that I was still walking but I’m not sure how I got to where I was — which probably makes no sense at all.
I said out loud to myself, “Well, that was really strange. Where did I go?“
Where was I? Did I enter a portal to a different dimension? Did I unintentionally astrally project somewhere? A different time and space? I can’t rule out dissociation, but there had been no Immediate preceding traumatic event. I was simply walking.
Was it astral projection? A meditative experience? Did I really enter a portal?
I can’t remember that ever happening before. It wasn’t unpleasant, but I didn’t learn any earthshattering truths about the universe or receive any profound messages from beyond.
If it was a gateway to different spiritual planes or realities, I guess I prematurely returned HERE too soon to retrieve any memories.
Maybe I entered Leon Russell’s “…place where there’s no space or time…”
Have you ever had a similar experience?
She anchored her heart to a shooting star and followed her dreams.
Of all the stars I admired, drenched
in various rivers and mists,
I chose only the one I love,
Since then I sleep with the night.
Pablo Neruda
Look up!
Starting tonight, there’s a spectacular celestial event in the night sky as six planets—Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Venus—align in an exciting planetary parade.
On January 29, the New Moon will turn the skies even darker, enhancing visibility for all planets and stars. A telescope or binoculars will reveal the finer details of Uranus and Neptune, while the other planets shine brilliantly on their own. Curated from Alex Myles
When planets align—that’s when magic can happen. As above, so below!
And that’s about all I have to say about that meaningless event that’ll take place in Washington DC on January 20, 2025. Instead, let’s focus our attention on Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is SO repulsive…I learned that Alabama and Mississippi both combined the King holiday with “Robert E. Lee Day” to honor the birthday of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who was born on January 19.
If you’re like me and refuse to watch a single second of the inaugural farce, there are plenty of ways for us to stay busy by streaming the King Center’s commemorative service and by volunteering in our community, as MLK Day is designated a day of service.
I absolutely will not acknowledge the magacult funeral of the death of democracy and neither will beautiful and intelligent former first lady Michelle Obama…
After election day, I really hoped something was going to be done to nullify the fraud, but now I’m really depressed. It’s going to happen and no one stopped it.
I’d never use the word “presidency” to describe his criminal power grab. Muskrat/Russia seemed to have succeeded in stealing the vote and I’ll never stop wondering why Kamala Harris conceded and why President Biden didn’t do something — ANYTHING — to stop this travesty.
That orange POS is a twice-impeached, convicted felon and that’s his legacy.
I will never acknowledge him as president. I didn’t last time, either. My condolences and sympathy go to democracy. It’s on life support right now.
P.S. I always kinda sorta liked Carrie Underwood, but I can ‘t understand her very poor decision to perform at the rapist felon’s inauguration. Shame on her!
Randy Rainbow nailed it in 2017:
Effulgent comes from Latin meaning “out” and fulgere meaning “to shine”. A light that is effulgent shines brightly.
A personality that is effulgent radiates warmth and goodness.
The effulgent glow of the sunset painted the sky in hues of pink and orange.
More effulgence….
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 