Reach for the stars!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I see
A little bit of stardust
Was given to you and me
And everywhere I shall go
You shall surely be
A little poem by Athey Thompson
Art by S. Hee
Stardust ⭐
4
My Frog Prince 🐸
If this is a crystal ball vision of 2024, I’m cheerfully apprehensive (or apprehensively cheerful) about what the next twelve months may bring…
Do you remember the Grimm fairytale, The Frog Prince? It’s about a princess who befriends a frog who was really a prince that had been turned into a frog by an evil witch. The princess’s transformative love was the remedy to break the spell.
I’m in the middle of living a real-life version of this story, but I have some basic issues that seem to be obstacles in the way of fulfilling this enchanted experience.
For the last few days, I’ve been hearing a frog croaking in the garden and every time I do, I run outside and try to find him. So far, I’ve been spectacularly unsuccessful.
The croaking seems to emanate from the lower hill that’s covered in a mass of California native plants and I simply can’t locate my frogprince, no matter how hard I try.
Maybe it’s some kind of weird, bizarre twin flame scenario; the more I chase, the more he runs away. Maybe I need to take a deep breath and allow him to come to me. What do you think?
He’s out there right now, beckoning me with his hypnotic, sexy croaking, and I can’t, not for the life of me, track him down.
It’s important to note that this is a highly unusual occurrence; we don’t normally have frogs around this mostly drought-y part of the world and I have heard them so infrequently that I can’t even remember when the last time there WAS a frog around here.
If you could see me running around the garden from one spot to another, you’d have serious doubts about my mental state, and I’d have to nod my head and agree with you.
Why is my prince hiding from me? I am a princess, after all…
While I’m waiting for my frog/prince transformation, here’s what I learned about the spiritual meaning of frogs…
🐸 Frogs symbolize water and land. They help to connect us with the natural world and our intuitive side. They have the power to transform, mature, and renew the soul.
🐸 A frog’s ability to transition from one element to another — depending on its environment — represents change and transformation, rebirth, and evolution.
🐸 Frogs are symbols of new beginnings and creativity because they hatch from eggs and emerge into the world as tiny tadpoles.
🐸 A frog’s spiritual meaning is associated with fertility, good luck, prosperity, money, transformation, new beginnings, love, and the Moon (due to its close connection with water).www.thepeculiarbrunette.com/frog-symbolism-spiritual-meaning/
🐸 Croaking is usually associated with mating and is used by males to attract females, although some frog species croak to mark their territory or indicate their presence. Frogs may also croak because they feel worried or stressed, warning other frogs around them.
I hope to discover what sort of magic is needed to find and befriend my froggy visitor for our very own happily-ever-after.
If you see me kissing a frog, don’t say a word, OK?
🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸
12/31/23 🥂
Happy New Year’s Eve!
123123 is a once-in-a-century date won’t be seen again until December. 31, 2123. According to astrologer Narayana Montúfar, “Number 1 brings the very spark of initiation, 2 focuses on building, and 3 is related to the concept of creation. Together, the sequence of these three numbers speaks of the spark of initiation that seeks to build a new creation.”
Surf’s Up : Part Two
Even though it rained last night, the waves were forecasted to be even BIGGER than yesterday, so I went down to the beach again. The sidewalk was packed with people and cameras and video equipment, all searching for the holy grail of the perfect shot.
I’m disappointed to report that the news was false; the waves weren’t any bigger than yesterday, at least not here. This was definitely not in the ten to twelve-plus range that I had anticipated.
The only surfer I was was one crazy teenager who was determined to surf the blown out waves. I walked out on the jetty to take this video, which wouldn’t have been a smart choice if the waves had been as giant as predicted.
I did spy this giant log, a rare sight on our beach. I wish I could have dragged it home with me, but it was too heavy.
Even though the reality didn’t live up to the hype, it was still beautiful, and now it’s raining again.
This is what it was like down the coast at Swamis.
Happy almost 2024!
Surf’s Up!
High Surf Warning, dangerously large breaking waves of 8 to 12 feet with sets to 15 + feet.
The larger waves are south of where I am –at Sunset Cliffs and La Jolla, but I went to my local beach to check it out, and the surf was impressive here, too. In Northern California, they’re reporting ginormous waves of 28 to 33 feet, up to possibly forty feet! I’d love to see waves like that from a safe distance, of course.
Again, there were dolphins, way out beyond the waves, and no way to get a decent photo.
These are two Imgur videos; some people can open them, and I’ve heard that a few can’t, so I’m sorry in advance. They’re pretty cool. It was a lovely morning.
There have been highly unusual sightings of orca whales in San Diego county but I didn’t see them either, I’m sad to report.
From TMZ, check out these videos of Santa Cruz and Ventura!
https://www.tmz.com/2023/12/29/massive-socal-waves-crash-street-onlookers-dangerous-flood-advisory-ventura/
What a way to end 2023!
From Russia with Love
I’m not referring to the James Bond spy film, but lately some treasures from Russia have found their way home with me.
[I don’t even want to get started on the politics of Putin — he’s an absolutely horrible person and now among the world’s most hated, and for good reason.]
Since part of my family emigrated from Russia and Ukraine, probably to escape the vicious pogroms, I have an inherent affection for Russian collectibles. (Also ballet and vodka, haha.)
I have a hazy memory of playing with some Russian/Ukranian nesting dolls, or maybe it was simply my overly overactive imagination because I certainly don’t have them now, and I know that I would never have discarded them.
I went to Goodwill and saw this complete five-piece set of Russian nesting dolls for $3.99. I have a feeling that no one knew what they were, that the largest doll opened up, so SCORE for me.
The matryoshka, or nesting doll, is one of the most quintessential representations of traditional Russian peasant life, as a relic of quaint serf culture. Russian children learned to count with these handpainted beauties. Matryoshka dolls are used to illustrate the unity of body, soul, mind, heart, and spirit.
I can add the dolls to the beautiful Kohkloma bowls and spoons that were gifted by a generous neighbor.
In the mid-17th century certain handmade goods being created in the village of Khokhloma. Tableware was carved out of wood and then primed with clay, linseed oil. and tin powder before being hardened in a kiln. The result was then painted with floral patterns in red, black, and gold. One theory as to how the craft first started is that “Old-Believers” hiding out in forests around Khokhloma used these techniques to make it appear that the items were made out of something more substantial than wood and that gold was actually used in their decoration.
I have a Russian lacquer box that my mom gave me when I was in high school. She told me it was very special and I should always save the box it came in, which I did. It’s signed by the artist on the back and numbered, which makes me think it might be valuable. (No, the Angel Kids can’t have THIS box.) I wish I had started to collect them; I’ll put that on my wish list.
Maybe one day I’ll find an authentic Faberge egg at a thrift store and end up on Antiques Roadshow. A girl can dream, right?
Care to Join Me In a (Full) Moon Dance?
I lovelove this song, and it’s perfect for the last full moon of 2023.
“It’s a marvelous night for a moon dance
With the stars up above in your eyes.”
Today, December 26, the full moon is in Cancer. Because of that, we might experience heightened emotions and feel some déjà vu. This Cold moon is all about healing old wounds, tapping into the supernatural, and accessing our intuition. It’s a reminder to sit in stillness with practices of introspection and awareness.
“You know the night’s magic seems to whisper and hush…”
Last night, the moon shone so brightly through the window that it woke me up. I’m glad I had remembered to put my crystals outside on the deck to savor the full moon’s cleansing energy.
Happy almost 2024!
Art curated from Pinterest
🌟☃️🎄🎁 🌟Season’s Greetings 🌟☃️🎄🎁🌟
“What’s magical, sometimes, has deeper roots than reason.”
Mary Oliver
Art curated from Pinterest
Treasures or Trash?
“Grandmama, can I have this?”
We’ve all heard the proverb, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” and I’m proud to say my DNA of hoarding and obsession for shiny baubles is alive and well and thriving in this next generation.
When they find something around here that they want/need, these Angel Kids call me Grandmama. I love that extra syllable. I AM a mom and a grandma, so it works.
They like to inspect every room like a couple of CSI forensic detectives, searching for whatever might strike their fancy among my little treasures, along with an extraordinary ability to suss out anything new that’s been added since their last visit, like my penguin box.
I especially like that they ASK and don’t simply TAKE. It really makes all the difference.
“Grandmama, can I have this sparkly box?”
“Yes.”
“I want one too, can I have THIS one?”
“Yes.”
“Grandmama, can I have this Hello Kitty bracelet?”
“Yes.”
“Grandmama, can I have these pearls?”
“Yes.”
(We’re not talking about my real pearls, just a couple strands of fake ones and some pearls used in jewelry making.)
At some point in the day, they opened a closet and discovered my crafty area with shelves of boxes and drawers full of polished rocks and seashells and gems and beach glass and sparkly beads.
“Grandmama, can we have some?”
“Yes.”
Between the two of them, there was a wild feeding frenzy. They sat on the floor, their individual piles of loot growing and growing.
“OMG, LOOK AT THE GEMS!”
“Can I have the blue ones?”
“Can I have the green ones?”
“Look you guys, I’ll find containers for each of you and yes, you can take what you want. All I ask is that you work together and don’t argue about who takes what. Compromise and share. Do we have a deal?”
OK, Grandmama, we can do that. Even the big pearls?
“Yes, even those.”
“DAD, GRANDMAMA SAID WE CAN BRING ALL OF THE TREASURES HOME!”
As happy as that makes those Angel Kids, I wonder if they have any idea at all how happy it makes ME to be able to make THEM deliriously happy.
A total win-win. DNA RULES!
Joyous Winter Solstice 2023
It’s the shortest day; the longest night.
To Know the Dark
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.–Wendell Berry
This is a magical moment. It’s not simply a day on the calendar; it’s actually a very specific moment when the sun stands still, which is over almost as soon as it has begun, and winter begins. This physical changing of the seasons is a powerful time to manifest spiritual transformations.
I awoke at dawn to honor the spirit of the solstice — from the backyard, a pink sunrise in a blue sky. It rained all night and more is on the way, but for now it’s clear and sunny.
From the front yard, check out this glorious skyfire, a perfect celebration for the solstice, safer than a bonfire!
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 