Sunday, March 30, 2008

Things that go bump in the night

The phone rang about 10:30 tonight and it was my daughter telling me that my grandson was upset and telling her that there were people in his room. It was no surprise to me since this type of thing has been going on for a while now. It started with the lady in the woods (photo a few weeks ago) and seems to be increasing. Last weekend my daughter took him to the park and he saw the lady again (I think I mentioned this) then the next day we took him to Newport News Park.
During the American Civil War, the current park was the site of the Battle of Dam No. 1, part of the Battle of Yorktown (1862). In the days prior to the battle, the Confederate forces constructed rifle pits and other earth works from which they held off the Union Army forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. The earth works were preserved; though overgrown with woods, they are accessible from the White Oak nature trail on the camping side of the reservoir.
While we were there he said he "saw two men" sitting down, and then he saw lots of men in the distance.
We told him to tell the men to stay there, and we left. Just as we got to the exit he looked out the window and said. THE MEN, Lots of men....Hurry Mama
Sine then we has ask more questions and he said he plays with kids and also a lady.
Now I am not sure if we need a psychic or a psychiatrist but when my daughter called I knew I had to do something.
I had already been preparing, so my husband and I jumped in the car and went to her house. Her boyfriend is working over night tonight and I knew she was afraid.
When we arrived I went straight to work. I planned on doing a cleansing of the home.
First I told my grandson what we were going to do. I explained that the people he saw had to GO AWAY. He wanted to help, so we started at the front door and place sea salt in all four corners of all the rooms in the house. He really enjoyed this. As we finished each room he jumped up and down yelling yippee. At one point he was making noise hitting the tables and doors. It was his way of saying go away!
Once we finished the salt I lit some sage and once again walked the house, using a special feather to fan the smoke. My grandson help fan. Once we were finished I said in a loud voice. Nothing but good and love can live here. Bad things go away!
He was so excited and with in a few minutes he was ready for bed. I had brought a hematite stone with me and he put that under his pillow. He also wanted to wear my hematite necklace I had on to bed. I left it with him. It is now 1 am, the phone hasn't rang and all is quiet. I am hoping the house cleansing will release any negative energy at my daughters and leave things protected there now. I plan on doing my house this next week. I want to do some cleaning first. I have never had any problems here but I have protection around me all the time. One can never be to safe though so I will still do it. Right now the only annoying thing here is my husband snoring in the other room. Hmmm I wonder if sage will work on him ha ha

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Something to do if your bored




ColorQuiz.comPatty took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Seeks success, stimulation, and a life full of exp..."


Click here to read the rest of the results.


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Friday, March 28, 2008

Friday


The sun is shinning. Spring is in the air..
Just look at the temperature and it is only 11:30 in the morning.

And I have to work till 10 tonight
I hate retail!

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Sky Watch

 

This one speaks for itself
Visit Tom for more great Sky Watch Fridayphotos
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

ABC Wednesday, The letter J


It is time once again for ABC Wednesday Just click on the link to join us or to see other post with the letter J.


And keeping with the theme I want to tell you about one of my favorite places to visit. JAMESTOWN VIRGINIA


Last year my husband and I took a day trip to Historic Jamestown, Virginia. A couple of years ago we went to Jamestown Settlement but I had not been to the historic area since my kids were young and my husband had never been. (Historic Jamestown and Jamestown Settlement are two different places located next to each other)

2007 marked the 400th anniversary celebration. I knew I wanted to visit, but did not want to get caught up with all the tourist. Since my hubby and I both had a day off in the middle of the week, we decided it would be a great time to go. We had a wonderful day walking around.

Although most people think that Jamestown was the first place that the English landed at, it was actually in Virginia Beach at a place now known as Cape Henry and April 26th, 2007 was the 400th anniversary of that landing.

"Here, on the windswept sands, led by their chaplain Reverend Robert Hunt, the colonists must have knelt in prayer giving thanks for this new land and their safe voyage. Now they were ready to follow the company's instructions and push deeper into Virginia and seek a suitable site for settlement."

On May 13th 1607, the group landed in a new site and named it Jamestown in honor of their King, James the 1st and it became the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Join me as we tour Jamestown Virginia and be sure and click on each photo to enlarge them for the full effect


Our first stop was at the Glass House




We were able to view the




Men were there making things just like they did in the orginial house.



There is even a area where you can buy what they make.


From there we drove a short distance to the entrance.

Where you can see the orginial fort


From there we walked around the old church

Inside you can view the orginial bricks. They are kept in glass to preserve them

Outside is a cemetary where some of the orginial settlers are buried


While walking around viewing these graves I felt an overwhelming sadness.
Did you know that only 60 of the original 214 settlers at Jamestown survived.
Amoung those who survived was a man named John Dods. He is listed on the orginial list of settlers and also can be found on the 1624 Census. This name is important to me because he is a direct bloodline to my children, and grandchildren. My ex husband has done extensive research on his side of the family to document this. It was exciting to walk on land that he once walked.
Since Jamestown was established on the banks of the James River


And surrounded by swamps



People had to dig wells





As we passed some of the ruins of the old houses



I couldn't help but wonder what life must have been like. It wasn't until around 1608 that women arrived and families were formed.
Plantations were also established





Trading was done with the local Indians like Pocahontas


and after many years of hard work, our nation was established!

We arrived on a day when ABC News was there doing a document for the 400th anniversary.

We got there just in time to see some of the interviews that were going on.


Jamestown is located on the banks of the beautiful James River and you can tell that one of the camera men was enjoying the day.

We were lucky enough to witness some of the excavations of a new area. They were not sure at the time of the photos if they were digging an old well, but old wells are where most of the artifacts of that time period have been found. They did know that they had found something and we got to watch! It is very delicate work to sift through the layers of dirt in hopes of finding a piece from the original settlement.







First the dirt was put into buckets where it was tagged


Then they are taken to a special area where it is placed a little bit at a time on a screen and washed.



If they find something it is set aside
Depending on what they find some pieces will be taken to another area and cleaned again then later placed in the museum here on the island.

As you can see from the following photos, several pieces of old pottery were found. Just look at that beautiful shade of green. It is hard to imagine this piece is probably 400 years old.

Can you see the tiny beads in the tray? They would have been used for trading with the Indians in the area.

There are some old nails there too. Do you see the bone?

Just take a look at this.

It is an old lock from a ship..What a great find!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed viewing my photos as much as I enjoyed taking them for you. It was a fun day that I will remmeber for a long time. I know everything in the photos did not start with a J, but you can find them all in JAMESTOWN. And don't forget stop by ABC Wednesday. She does not have Mr. Linky this week but if you follow the comments you should be able to visit everyone.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

He sees dead people

Does anyone have the number for ghost busters? Seriously I think we might need one.
Do you all remember the photos of the lady in the woods, and how my grandson said he saw her? Well, it seems lately that he is "seeing" other spirits. My daughter took him back to the farm over the weekend and when he got to the area where the graves are he started talking about "the lady" She said he became quite excited pointing to different areas where he was seeing her when they would asked him about her.
Later that evening, he came over to my house and I asked him if he had fun seeing the cows. Yes, he said. and the lady. I said oh you saw the lady again. Unn huh he said. Did she talk to you this time I asked. Yes, he said, What did she say I asked..
He told me she liked the water. This didn't surprise me since every time he has "seen" her it has been near the lake there. After a few seconds he added...
She lived a long time ago.
Ok, now this is getting creepy, so being the type of person I am I started searching for more history of this farm. I emailed the farm via there website and enclosed the photos. I only told them that I captured something in the photos and did not tell them about my grandson. What a surprise I got when I received a response from a lady that works there telling me that she is the founder of a local paranormal group.
I immediately emailed her back telling her everything. I haven't heard back from her yet, but I was off today so I took a little trip out to the farm. I recently purchased a digital voice recorder, and went with the intent of trying to pick up some EVP (Much to my disappointment they were closed. The office however was open.so being the brave little ghost hunter that I am I went in and asked for the lady who I was emailing. She wasn't there, but I went ahead and told them my story, showing them the printed photos and ask if I could go out to the graves. I took several photos, but nothing showed up. I really didn't expect it to. However it makes me wonder. Was the first photo a fluke, or do you think the lady simply did not manifest because my grandson was not with me. Is he a conductor somehow? I haven't evaluated the recordings I did yet. I have a special program on my computer that wipes out the excess noise, and my husband knows how to use it. He will be home in a couple of hours so if anything shows up on tape I will post it here.

I have another ghost story that has happened in the last few days but I am saving it. I will post about it soon,.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Happy Easter

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Friday, March 21, 2008

Release Old Burdens for Spring

Release Old Burdens for Spring
By Cait Johnson, author of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air (SkyLight Paths, 2001). Simple Solution

The Earth renews herself in spring and so can we. If you have a habit you want to release (like smoking, compulsive eating, or chronic complaining, for example), or if old emotions are weighing on you, the elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air--and the power of your own focused intention--can help you to transform these burdens from the past so you can feel lighter and ready to begin anew. These simple, effective rituals practiced by people from all around the world can help us to let go of our old issues. You can do any or all of these four simple elemental ceremonies. They have worked for thousands of years to help people feel free. 1. First, give some real time and thought to the things you want to release. 2. Now write them on one very small piece of biodegradable paper for every element you want to ask for help. (Really stuck stuff may need all four!) 3. Choose one or more of the following rituals. As you perform each one, be sure to ask the element for
help and thank it when you are finished. Earth The all-embracing Earth takes everything back into herself, slowly transforming all things into the essential elements of which they are made. Bury your paper, marking the spot with a stone, if you like. When you see the stone, be reminded of the process going on underneath it. Earth is slowly helping your issues to transform. Water Flowing Water is a wonderful purifier, cleansing and making things new. Take your paper to a river or stream and tear it into tiny pieces, then offer them to the water. If you don’t have moving water nearby, you may flush the papers down the toilet. (Be sure your paper is really small!) Fire Lively Fire changes everything into itself with lots of lovely light and heat. Burn your paper in a safe receptacle (with proper ventilation and water nearby), watching as the transformative power of fire turns your paper into flame and smoke and ash. Air The Air carries our intentions outward,
bringing in new hope like a fresh breeze. Take your paper to a high place and tear it into tiny pieces, then release them into the air. Watch as they flutter and float downward.

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Sky Watch Friday March 21

I am cheating a bit for this week's Sky Watch Friday Last summer I did a post with these photos and since they turned out so well I am repeating it for this week.
The first one you are looking at is The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach Virginia.


The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was built in 1792. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse is maintained by the APVA and is a National Historic Landmark, serving as the official symbol for the City of Virginia Beach.



It started to crack in 1870 and was replaced with the new Cape Henry Lighthouse only 357 feet away, which is an active aid to navigation and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.




In the same area is the First Landing Cross





Upon touching the shore of the New World on April 26, 1607 (13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock) the first permanent English settlers from the London Company set up a cross on the newly named Cape Henry shore in gratitude to God and to affirm England's claim to the site. These settlers later traveled up the James River to Jamestown. Each year a pilgrimage is organized by the Order of Cape Henry to celebrate this milestone. The present-day granite cross was erected in 1935 and is a national landmark.



I love living in this area and being able to visit the beach. It is so peaceful to look out and see water everywhere


While we were there a ship sailed past heading towards open water. If you look closely just beside the ship you can see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge leading to the eastern shore and on up into Maryland.



I hope you enjoyed my post this week. Be sure and stop by Tom's Blog for more Sky Watch Friday Photos

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Chit Chat

Sorry I have become such a boring blogger lately. I seem to have gotten into a routine of posting photos or maybe a short quiz. It's not that I am ignoring blogging. It just seems that I really don't have much to say. I think it's the weather, it makes me lazy, and I tend to become more of a hermit in the colder months. Hopefully since today is the first day of Spring, the Spring like temperatures won't be far behind. I was sitting here early this morning looking back on the last few months and with the exception of my mom having a heart attack I really don't have any complaints. (Thank Goodness) Life has been pretty routine, and we are going to sign a new lease at our apartment complex in a few weeks. I really want to move but we don't have the money for deposits, etc. so we are going to go ahead and stay. The rent will go up a little but it is still one of the cheaper apartment complexes unless you qualify for state assistance which we don't.
Speaking of apartment complex, when I came home from work last night I heard the news that there had been a horrible shooting at our old place in Virginia Beach. You can read about it
Here
It seems that a lone person walked into the retail office and opened fire killing three people and injuring three others. Details are still coming in, but apparently it was over an eviction notice.
I was really upset to hear this because I lived in those apartments for three years and often went to the office, so I am sure I knew some of the victims.
It is really frightening to hear these types of things, because it just goes to show you are not safe anywhere. These were upscale apartments, running close to a thousand dollars a month (some units more than that). They were well kept and in a nice part of town. You rarely heard of a break in or even a bad neighbor, so for some one to walk in and shoot the girls in the office leaves my mind boggled.

I'm sure we will learn more on the news tonight.
In the mean time I am off to work. I hope everyone has a nice first day of spring.

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Happy Spring



Blessed Ostara to my Pagan friends and Happy Spring Equinox to those who celebrate it that way.




 
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The photo is a little dark, but I wanted to show you my Altar for Ostara. I thought using the window ledge on this fake window would be fun. I don't know about you, but I enjoy looking out my real windows and enjoying the renewal of the season. The trees are beginning to bud and flowers are starting to bloom. Birds are once again making an appearance and Spring is here. Today marks the Equinox, when once again there is a balance between night and day. It also marks Ostara.

Many modern Wiccans and Pagans celebrate Ostara as a time of renewal and rebirth. Take some time to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature -- walk in park, lay in the grass, hike through a forest. As you do so, observe all the new things beginning around you -- plants, flowers, insects, birds. Meditate upon the ever-moving Wheel of the Year, and celebrate the change of seasons. At our house we like to decorate eggs so I wanted to share the following nautrual dyes. I got the list off of a yahoo group I belong to and have not used any of them myself, but some of them sound very easy. Have fun and enjoy your day




NATURAL EGG EASTER DYES

-----SPRING CHICKEN YELLOW-----

1 teaspoon Turmeric

2/3 cup -Boiling water

1/4 teaspoon Vinegar

-----EASTER BUNNY BROWN-----

1 tablespoon Instant coffee -- heaping Tbsp.

2/3 cup -Boiling water

1/2 teaspoon Vinegar

-----SEREN"DIP"-----SER

-----BOIL EGG WITH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING-----

Onion skins -- (golden orange)

Beets -- (reddish purple)

Spinach -- (pale green)

Red Cabbage Leaves

Walnut shells -- (buff)

Grape Juice -- (mauve) &

1/4 teaspoon Vinegar

Wash eggs in mild soapy water to remove oily coating which could
prevent dye from adhering. Simmer for 20 minutes. Spring Chicken
Yellow: Add turmeric to boiling water, stir until dissolved. Add
Vinegar. Easter Bunny Brown: Add heaping Tbsp. Heaping instant coffee
to boiling water, stir to dissolve. Add vinegar. Seren"dip"it: Try
boiling eggs with one of the listed ingredients. Add 1/4 Tsp. Vinegar
to water.





Eggs are fun to decorate - here are recipes for natural egg dyes you
might like to try

NATURAL EGG EASTER DYES

-----SPRING CHICKEN YELLOW-----

1 teaspoon Turmeric

2/3 cup -Boiling water

1/4 teaspoon Vinegar

-----EASTER BUNNY BROWN-----

1 tablespoon Instant coffee -- heaping Tbsp.

2/3 cup -Boiling water

1/2 teaspoon Vinegar



-----BOIL EGG WITH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING-----

Onion skins -- (golden orange)

Beets -- (reddish purple)

Spinach -- (pale green)

Red Cabbage Leaves

Walnut shells -- (buff)

Grape Juice -- (mauve) &

1/4 teaspoon Vinegar

Wash eggs in mild soapy water to remove oily coating which could
prevent dye from adhering. Simmer for 20 minutes. Spring Chicken
Yellow: Add turmeric to boiling water, stir until dissolved. Add
Vinegar. Easter Bunny Brown: Add heaping Tbsp. Heaping instant coffee
to boiling water, stir to dissolve. Add vinegar. Seren"dip"it: Try
boiling eggs with one of the listed ingredients. Add 1/4 Tsp. Vinegar
to water.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Teen found

Do you remember a few days ago when I posted about the teenager that had ran away. Well I am happy to report that when I checked her moms blog this morning that they found her yesterday, and she is being reunited today with her family. This is wonderful news.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

ABC Wednesday-The Letter I



This week on ABC Wednesday we are talking about the letter I, and the first thing that came to my mind is ICE CREAM!!



Some times when we eat ICE Cream we buy it at the local Ice Cream Parlor. As you can see from this photo my 2 year old grandson is enjoying his favorite flavor.




There are so many flavors of IceCream at the store, we can't always decide which one to buy, so we buy alot.

 
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To me any flavor of ice cream taste good, but my very favorite kind of ice cream is the homemade kind. When I was a kid we had the old fashioned ice cream freezer that you had to crank by hand. Now day of course we use an electric one, but it still turns out really yummy. I thought you might like to try some for your self so here is a recipe for you. Enjoy your Wednesday and be sure and visit The home of ABC Wednesday

Old-Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
13-ounce can evaporated milk (1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
1 gallon whole milk
chipped ice
rock salt
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar gradually, stirring constantly. Add salt, vanilla and canned milk. Add about a pint of the fresh milk and mix.

Pour mixture into ice cream freezer can. Add enough of the remainder of the milk to fill can to the middle of the top board of dasher. (If the freezer can has a "fill" line on it, fill no higher than that line.)

Assemble the ice cream freezer. Add alternating layers of chipped ice and rock salt to barrel around freezer can. Crank freezer until ice cream begins to freeze (cranking will become harder as ice cream freezes), adding more ice and salt, as needed. When handle becomes difficult-to-impossible to turn, remove turning mechanism, and carefully remove top from freezer can; remove dasher. Replace top. Cover can with more ice and salt. Cover ice with an old towel, allowing ice cream to "cure" for at least 1 hour. If yours is an electric freezer, follow manufacturer's directions, but the curing step is essential.

Makes about 5 quarts of ice cream.

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