My blog color

I found this while out blog surfing. I love purple so this is a perfect choice for me.

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Kitty Kitty

I had to run a few errands today, and since I am still learning my way around the area I took the long way home just for fun. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the local SPCA, with a sign that said petting zoo. I had my grandson with me and I knew this was a great way to show him some farm animals. I have been showing him books and telling him how the duck goes quack and the sheep says bah for awhile now, and he is just beginning to get the idea. I knew seeing the real thing would be fun for both of us so we paid the small fee they were asking and went in. As soon as I opened the gate I was asking myself why is it that I never seem to have my camera with me when I want it. I would have loved to have a few pictures of the chickens, ducks, turkeys, and peacocks. Several of the goats were expecting little ones in the spring and like most petting zoos this one offered a machine where you can buy food for a quarter. I think the animals must be smarter than the humans because the minute I opened my purse for the change I had three of four new best friends waiting for the feed to drop. I feed them a few handfuls and moved on. In the outer cages we saw a bald eagle, a black panther, a mountain lion, and a kangaroo. They even had a display with sea lions in it. Of course my grandson called everything a kitty since that is one of the few words he can say. I thought it was pretty impressive to be part of the ASPCA, and not a real zoo, especially for a little tot.
Back inside the main building we visited with the dogs and cats. My heart went out to all of them and I wanted to bring them home with me. There were several beautiful cats. I plan on going back again soon with the camera.

Take me please

Is anyone else watchingWife Swap on ABC? This has turned out to be one of my favorite shows of the season. In case you haven't seen it, here is the basic idea. Two wives trade places and take over the other's home for two weeks. They agree to follow the rules written by the departing wife for their new household ,how they parent, shop, do the house work, and manage their budgets and their social life. But then, in the second week, everything changes. The new wives take charge. They introduce their own set of rules and get to run the new household their way. Most of the shows become very explosive and I don't think I have seen an episode yet where the rules are followed. Believe it or not most of the time it is the husband who breaks the rule and not the children. The fun part of the show is that they seem to match families that are completely opposite in every way. I have found myself wondering what it would be like to swap families; I think my crazy life would drive someone else away in just a day never mind two weeks. They would take one look at the boxes and run.
LOL

From Candles to Catus

Yesterday was a great day for my daughter and I. We were over due some "girl time" so we headed up the road to Williamsburg. I think I'd mentioned a couple of post back about the great history surrounding this area, and how I never paid much attention to it. It is because I have always gone for the shopping. Williamsburg is full of great outlets and factory stores. You can find almost anything up there. Our first stop was the Yankee Candle Store. This isn't an outlet store. This location is a huge super store It is similar to the one up in Deerfield MA. It has every kind of fragrance you can imagine. In addition to candles they offered a variety of sauces, and dips, candy, and toys. They even have a year round room full of Christmas things. I had been up there a couple of weeks ago, but it was my daughters first visit. After an hour or so of looking around and many ohhs and ahhhs we picked what we wanted and headed on towards the pottery factory. My daughter is decorating her kitchen in palm trees, and she found several things she wanted. I'm not much of a palm tree person myself. I am more earthy, and still prefer my "country look" .Yes I know it went out in the 80's, but I can't bring myself to buy much of anything else. I will take a chicken over a palm tree any day. I don't think I have mentioned it before but I have a collection of chickens. I've been collection them for years and once we move again and the boxes get unpacked I will take some photos. It might be a few months down the road though so someone remind me I promised them. I didn't really look for much for myself yesterday, since I am not the one doing the decorating but I wanted to bring a little life to the place, and decided plants are the best way to do it.I like live plants and not plastic and even though I don't have much of a green thumb, I can get a few things to grow. Hopefully cacti will be one of them, if not I guess I will always have an extra planter.

Today's Goddess

Each morning in my mail box I receive mail from Granny Moon
I enjoy the news letter and find a lot of things of interest on it. Today she is talking about Kali. With all that is happening to me now I felt she was the perfect Goddess to post about.


Today's Goddess: KALI
Festival of Shiva (India)

Themes: Rebirth; Cycles; Joy; Courage; Hope; Cleansing; Change
Symbols: Flowers; Dance; Iron; Sword; Peacock Feathers; Honey

About Kali: Kali, a Hindu Goddess whose name means "time;' is the
genetrix of natural forces that either build or destroy. Even in destruction,
however, she reminds us that good really can come of bad situations. If
you find your hopes and dreams have been crushed, Kali can change the cycle
and produce life out of nothingness. Where there is sorrow, she dances to
bring joy. Where there is fear, she dances in courage.

To Do Today: Hindus gather today at Shiva's temples to honor his
celestial dance; of creation, and Kali dances with them in spirit. Beforehand,
they fast and bathe in holy waters for purification. Doing similarly (in
your tub or shower) will purge your body and soul of negative influences. Add
some flower petals or sweet perfume to the bath to invoke Kali's cleansing
power.

To invoke Kali's assistance in bringing new life to stagnant projects
or ruined goals, leave her an offering of honey or flowers, and make this
Kali amulet: Take any black cloth and wrap it around a flower dabbed with a
drop of honey, saying:

Kali, turn, dance, and change.
Fate rearrange.
End the devastation and strife;
what was dead return to life.
Carry this with you until the situation changes, then bury it with
thankfulness.
)0(
By Patricia Telesco

Organized Chaos

I am a Libra, I need balance. I can not live in anything that resembles craziness. My blog buddy Connie
told me to think of what is happening right now as being in transition. I like the sound of that. It is a much nicer way of looking at things. I had been referring to it as chaos. My life is in boxes. My body is in my daughters apartment, and my mind is....well I have lost my mind so I am not sure where it is. It's driving me crazy not to have what I need close at hand. My hubby is starting a new job soon, and they want a copy of his high school diploma. The man has been out of school for 30 years, so why they want it is beyond me, but they do, so he had to go digging around trying to find it. So.......Out came the boxes. One by one by one until he found the box he thought it was in. Well guess what..It wasn't there. GROWL!! Now he has to send away for his transcripts. Just something else to send my blood pressure up. I just took a deep breath and smiled. It's just another day in organized chaos...mmmm I mean in transition

Someday My Prince Will Come

Ok I know I am stuck in a rut. I can't think of much to blog about lately. When our family moved, I quit my job. This is great since I admit I love staying home being lazy, but there is a difference between being lazy and being LAZY. I have nothing to do with my days. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that my daughter took an apartment in her name and my hubby and I moved in with her. This means MY life is still packed in boxes. This includes my books. I miss my books. I have craft books, I have cook books, I have books on witchcraft, spell craft, tarot card reading, stones, energy work and almost anything else along those lines you can think of. I am lost without my books. Yes, I know I can search the net, but so much junk is on here now days, what would happen if I try a spell and something goes wrong. I'm still trying to reverse what happened to the last guy I tired something on without my books. I keep waiting and hoping and kissing this frog..Maybe someday I will happen upon the right spell. Do you think when I do he will turn into a prince? Hmmmmm

Things That Go Bump In The Night

Several days ago we took a tour of Fort Monroe in Hampton VA. We took a drive around and stopped in at the Casemate Museum. I learned a lot of things about the fort and it's history, and enjoyed the tour. As we were leaving we stopped in the gift shop where a book caught my eye. It is called " The Ghost of Fort Monroe". I found several stories that I enjoyed so today we went back to take some pictures. The house you see is referred to as "Old Quarters Number One". The house hosted several presidents including Abraham Lincoln. His ghost is said to visit in the room he slept in during his stay. Other famous ghost include Lafayette, and General Grant.
There are stories of sealed off tunnels that were part of the underground railroad and shuffling can be heard in the lower halls near the tunnels. Also sounds of boots and the rustle of skirts and laughter can be heard.
I personally don't think I would want to spend a night there.


The other picture is of a alley simply called Ghost Alley. It involves a tragic love story.
During the civil war a young wife had an affair with one of the men on the post while her husband was away on business in Washington DC. The couple would sneak out at night and meet in alley which was part of the stable area at the time. From there they would go back to the young woman's home. One night her husband arrived home and caught them in bed together. It is said that he took his gun and tried to shoot the man, missing and hit his wife instead killing her. She comes back in search of her lover and has been seen on moonless nights in this alley. She appears luminescence and is referred to as the "White lady" or "Light Lady".
People live in the houses surrounding this alley still today. I don't know about them, but I don't think I would take the trash out back after dark.

A year of photo's

At the beginning of the year, I had a post with some photo's that I intended to use as part of the wheel of the year. I wanted to take a photo of the same location each month to see how things change. Due to me getting upset and deleting all of my post I no longer have those photo's. I did however try and take these from the same basic area. I plan on doing this again in March. Check back to see what has changed

A Historic Church

Yesterday I promised to post a few pictures from my day of sight seeing. Blogger is finally behaving this afternoon so here they are.
These were taken at Historic St. Luke's Church in Smithfield VA.
This church is the only surviving original Gothic building in the U.S.
It was built circa. 1632.
Today special ceremonies such as weddings are still scheduled at the church.
The graves shown are very old. The oldest date that could be read is around 1752, but it believed that others may be older.

A Winter Walk

Even though it is February, the weather here for the last few days has been beautiful. It reached 72 degrees, which is unusual even for this area in the winter months. I took advantage of the day and went sight seeing again. I want to post some pictures but for some reason blogger won't let me upload anything..Oh well maybe it will behave tomorrow and I can get them on here.

Lilley

Last night I posted a picture of Gizmo, my newly semi-adopted cat. He was pleased to know so many people complimented him. Not wanting to be unfair I thought I should give Lilly equal time. As I mentioned she is a bit on the shy side, and no matter how I tired to coax her she wouldn't come out to have her picture made. I finally found her curled up in the corner, and was able to take this one of her before she moved away. Gizmo on the other hand seemed to understand he was somewhat of a celebrity now and tried to get in the way. Thank goodness for the crop feature on my camera or you would have a great picture of his tail.

Here is the other beauty...Meet Lilley...the queen of the house.

Hallowed ground

Did you know that more than 3 million Americans fought in The Civil War, and over 600,000 men, 2 percent of the population, died in it?

Also did you know more major battles during the Civil War took place in Virginia, the Capital of the Confederacy, than in any other state.

And did you know that Yorktown was the site of a major Civil War battle.

I didn't until today. I had never really thought about it,

I have lived in the Tidewater VA. area for the better part of my life. Unless you count the two or three times a year that I go to the pottery factory in Williamsburg I have never spent much time in that area.

Of course I've done the tourist thing a time or two over the years, but I have never really spent much time exploring the area itself. Maybe that is why it came as a surprise to me to find that a major Civil War battle had been fought in Yorktown. I always thought of that area as a Revolutionary War tourist trap.

Today while riding around I discovered the Yorktown National cemetery. One of the first things I noticed was that the majority of the headstones were marked unknown, and that most of those housed the remains of two or more soldiers. The more I walked the more this intrigued me. It also left me feeling sad to know so many brave young men died so far from home, never to be identified. I couldn't help but wonder what it must have been like for the families to never know where there love one was put to rest.
While reading US-Parks.com
I found the following information:

"In August, 1862, David Judd of the 33rd New York Infantry wrote upon passing through Yorktown: "Near to the fortifications [Confederate] was a Union Cemetery, containing the graves of 300 Union soldiers, each of which was adorned by a neat head-board, designating the name and regiment of the soldier." By the end of the Civil War in 1865, the total of Union soldiers buried in the "Union Cemetery" exceeded 600. The following year, the cemetery formally became a National Cemetery and Union dead from 50 sites within a 50 mile radius of Yorktown were re-interred in the newly landscaped cemetery.

Today, the Yorktown National Cemetery, which is closed to burials, contains the remains of 2,183 soldiers, ten of which are Confederate. Only 747 of the dead are identified. Many of the dead are from the 1862 Peninsula Campaign and other battles around Richmond, though some died during the period Yorktown served as a Union garrison from 1862-1864. "

I left knowing I have walked on Hallowed ground..I like to believe that somehow those men know they are not forgotten.

Meow

Do to a recent move, we had to give away our pets. I miss them terribly. For most of my adult life I have always had a pet of some sorts. There have been so many cats or dogs in and out of my life that I have lost track of which one was which and there are to many names to remember. Maybe this is one reason why my daughter ask me not to bring mine along when she moved into the new place. She said she doesn't ever remember living in a house that wasn't filled with cat hair or summer fleas. I have to admit it does feel nice not having to pull the hair off my clothes or sweep up the fur balls and dust bunnies. But I still miss the compainionship an animal offers. Due to this I have adopted my ex-husband cats.

Meet Gizmo.(Pictured above) He is a sweet cat when he isn't in a "mood" He still has a lot of kitten in him. He will love you one minute and pounce on your heels the next. He has a cat friend Lily who is the sister of the cat I just gave away. Lily is shy and although she will come out and visit she keeps to herself. I prefer animals a bit more social, like Gizmo. Claws and all.. I kind of like this living next door thing. When I want to visit I can, and when I go home I can leave the fur behind

Things to think about

Judge not! Judging someone by your standards for what they have done, what they are doing or what you think they should do, eventually leads to self-judgment and that is the worst kind of judgment to overcome.




Harboring anger and resentment destroys your passion for living. No reason is a good reason to hold on to anger.
Talk about it! Write about it! Run, dance swim. Do anything and everything you can not to be an anger monger.

A bit of excitement

When I posted last, I made the comment that I can always find something new and exciting to write about. Well I didn't think it would come so quick. Just a few minutes after closing the post, all the excitement started. Two men were shot outside of our apt. It happened just a few doors down. No details really. We didn't hear or see a thing. The first we knew of it, were the red flashing lights of two fire trucks, two ambulances, and about six police cars all screaming into the complex. Of course being in an apartment every one's first thoughts were fire, and I quickly looked around for my shoes wondering what to grab first if the flames were to spread. It only took a few seconds for us to realize it was more than that. The police are still here and were all night trying to piece together what happened.
The last we heard the gunman was not either of them men shot..Scary thought, that someone with a gun is running around..Gee, just when I thought life was dull..It never fails.

Starting Fresh

Well I am going to try one more time to have a blog and hope that the ugliness that has followed me around the web has gone back into her hole where she belongs.
In a moment of anger, I let someone win, and this makes me even more angry. Instead of just considering the source, I let my temper take over and I deleted months of post along with all the hard work I had put into this blog. Now I have to start fresh. That's ok, I can always find new and interesting things to blog about...