Ammonites

“But didn't everyone have a shell? Hard, external armor protecting the soft, vulnerable creature beneath?

Perhaps, she thought, people were more like ammonites than one would suppose. Perhaps they too built shells on a consistent, unchanging factor- some quality or circumstance established in your youth. Each chamber in the shell just an enlargement of the previous. Growing year after year, until they spiraled around and locked themselves in place.” 

Tessa Dare "A Week to Be Wicked" 

The name Ammonite comes from the ancient Egyptian god, Ammon, who believed that these creatures were Divine.  Now extinct, ammonites are fossils of the Cretaceous period; in other words, they are the fossilized shells of ancient marine animals who once inhabited the deep sea. They hold the energies of more than 65 to 200 million years and because they are so ancient, they are an earth healing fossil with its spiral shape symbolizing the constant change and evolution that takes place on our blessed Earth.  No lie, I am in awe when I hold this stone, close my eyes, and try to imagine just what the earth was like when this creature was alive.

It is believed that Ammonite brings stability and order in life, and eases spiritual growth and development by providing natural healing and cleansing energies.  They have the ability to use the Cosmic energy they have absorbed through the millenia to stimulate Chi, the life force within. As such Ammonites will help guide you through times of change or transition in your life. Natural filters, they can draw away any of your negative doubts and fears while instill positive thought processes.

Personally, I purchased these stones because I am very interested in past lives.  You will see that many of the crystals I purchase have common themes--past lives, spirit guides, angels, Mother Ocean, and inner child work.  Yup, 71 and my inner child still has residual childhood trauma. Ammonites are just what are need for healing and cleansing karma, as well as establishing a connection to Akashic energy, spirit guides, and ancestors of both familial and spiritual natures. May also  be used for  prophetic dreams as well as work or meditations pertaining to past lives.
 
Carry or wear Ammolite for good luck and financial abundance.  Place a piece of Ammonite near you at night time to promote prophetic dreams. When placed in your home, they attract prosperity, success, and abundance. Physically, they can help increase your stamina and vitality....and are especially helpful for blood pressure problems or issues with your lungs.  

 This is the inside of one of the Ammonite just below.  It is really more beautiful in person.

Sorry for the blurry picture.  My camera does not take the greatest pictures.

Soup's on.

Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.

 Auguste Escoffier

Good morning everyone.  What a day we had yesterday!  Rain and wind.  Over 3 inches of rain.  That's a lot.  So glad I decided to stay in.  Definitely going to get out today.  Need to get some fresh air....and a bit of walking exercise since I didn't get to my classes yesterday.   

Thinking about having some nice hot and spicy soup for dinner tonight. I love experimenting with spices and have become quite adept at throwing a soup recipe together.  The good news is that in January Weight Watchers started its new Freestyle program and increased their list of 200 0 point foods which includes chicken and all kinds of beans.  Bean lover that I am, I've discovered many creative ways to incorporate them into recipes.  Plus, since I am now only eating meat and poultry a couple of times a week with the rest of the week  a vegetarian menu, bean dishes add some much needed protein. These '0' point soups also allow me to get back on track when I've treated myself to some of my favorite goodies like this weekend when I not only had a slice of pizza, but an ice cream as well. That's the good thing about Weight Watchers though.  One can eat whatever they want in moderation. 

The following is one of my favorites. Made a huge pot and froze the rest for another day....like today.  Sorry.  The bowl was half empty before I remembered to take a picture.

Spicy Harissa Bean and Spinach Soup

Lots of ingredients and lots of great taste.  

1 can small red beans
Spinach (I used frozen, but you can use fresh if you want)
Carrots
Celery
1 can diced tomatoes
Garlic
Onion
Sweet peppers
Harissa spice
Thyme
Basil 
Oregano
Coriander
Red pepper flakes
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar 

I can make up recipes, but I am not a very good recipe writer.  That's because I just add everything to taste.   I just provide the basics.  Amount of seasonings are up to you.  (Note:  All spices I used are dried.  You can use fresh if you like).

Monday Morning This and That

 If a man harbors any sort of fear, it percolates through all thinking, damages his personality and makes him a landlord to a ghost. 

Lloyd Douglas

Good morning.  It's a rainy one here in Brooklyn. Talk about rain. My goodness. The rain and win woke me about 4:30 am. Heard a loud crash and something blowing in the wind. 40 mph gusts out there and heavy, heavy rain.   And wind?  Non-stop.  Not a day fit for man or beast. 

No way am I going out in this. Had my bag all packed for arts and crafts, but that will just have to wait until next week. It's a wait at 2 bus stops with no shelter and then a fairly long walk to the class. Forget about my fingers locking when I hold an umbrella. Arthritis.  Aging hasn't been so easy on me, perhaps because I never really kept myself in tiptop shape until symptoms set in, but I don't let it stop me from doing the things I enjoy.  Life is to be lived, and after working 50 years, I am definitely living it. In this weather. though,  you can't even open an umbrella if you tried.  Wind would blow it right out of your hand.

I have been going through it lately.  Been very stressed.  After 5 years I suddenly developed a mouse issue, and I am petrified of them...to the point of it being a true phobia.  I couldn't eat or sleep, and when I did sleep, I slept in my clothes with the television and light on (hubby drives a cab all night).  I kept hearing them surrounding me even though they weren't there, and the worst was when I would walk into the kitchen and one would scoot across the floor.  Tears would flow and my body shook so badly that I just wanted to run away.  And worst of it was, I couldn't seem to get any help.  I told the super and he said he thought the problem was to be taken care of by the tenants.  Building management told me to talk to the super.  I was using peppermint oil and it seemed to be keeping them at bay, but hubby, with his emphysema, couldn't breathe.  

So I spent over $100 on air tight containers for all our foods, even my spices, $25 on an electric trap, $24 on Rodent Be Gone spray, $30 on the pure peppermint oil, I purchased the poison, but hated to use it as much as I wanted it gone.  The last straw was when we discovered they had crawled through the vents of our microwave and destroyed it.  Hubby had to go out and spend $159 on a new one.  I called and DEMANDED help, and the next day the super came in and used a foam spray to seal all the holes.  Haven't heard or seen any in two days now.  Hoping that starvation drove them away and the seals will keep them from returning.  Needless to say, no matter what, I will never feel the same here again.  

We have been looking to move anyway.  Once the large building goes up next door it will block all light and air from entering my apartment.  I will  be living in 24 hours of night time.  So we have been putting applications for affordable housing. Not easy to get here in Brooklyn, but if I don't try, I will have 0 chance of finding something.

 The brown would is the distance from my kitchen window.  That's how close it is.  Now imaging an 8 story building going up right there. 

Another view of it.  The white building is the front part of my building.  The building will actually be built about one foot from my bedroom window.  Sorry, but I can't live like that.  

So, that's a few of the negatives that have been going in my life lately.  It never gets dull.

Sunday Morning Post

 The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings. 

Ralph Blum

Good morning, and a Happy Sunday. It's a cold and windy one for sure.  Yesterday up in the 70's and today it's in the  40's with wind gusts that bring it down into the 30's.  Spring sure has a fight on her hands this year.  Winter just doesn't want to leave.

Had a wonderful day at the park yesterday. It felt so good spending some quality time in the good old outdoors. Sat up on the hill and ate my lunch. Did some reading. Then, I took out my phone and decided to listen to the video lesson of a course I am taking on prayer via Daily Om. Well, I put my head phones on and halfway through the video when I notice that everyone is watching me. Discovered then that the headphones weren't working, and everyone was listening to my course. I stopped it then. Some lady said she had been enjoying it and wanted to know about the courses they offered. Others didn't seem too happy. People don't like their quietude disrupted, and I understand. I am very much the same way.

Anybody here into crystals?  I adore them.  I have so many now that I don't know what to do with them, but every Wednesday evening, without fail, I attend an online FB crystal sale on Mother House of the Goddess and always end up with one or two new ones.  They also have some great courses, some expensive, but many of them free. Here's some pictures of my beauties.  

 Rutilated Quartz Point

Occo Geode

 Obsidian Pyramid

 Malachite Crystal

Quartz Tower and Selenite Wand

My beautiful Dessert Rose

Crystal Four Direction Quartz Generator

Have many more.  Will explain their meanings.

I'm back into my Druid classes after a few years break.  Now I feel ready to move on.  Lots of essay writing and looking within.  Some of the lessons have really been stirring up some feelings, and I have to keep reminding myself what's in the past is past and to be let go.  That's my problem.  I keep saying counseling helped me to get over my traumatic childhood and forgive my parents, but there is still the deep-rooted pain that must be let go before I can begin to feel whole. 

Well, I'm off to church now.  

Family

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. 

Erma Bombeck

Family.  We've had a bit of turmoil to say the least.  My husband had a nasty cold and ended up have COPD exasperation.  I had to call the ambulance, and he spent the week before Christmas in the hospital.  Came home Christmas Eve morning.  My son and his (still not) girlfriend came over, and we had a nice quiet evening to a point.  My son was supposed to pick us up on Christmas Day to head over to Pennsylvania to spend our first family Christmas ever, but about 9 pm Christmas Eve we received a call that my daughter had fallen and fractured her ankle.  It was a bad break and emergency surgery was needed.  Pins were inserted to hold everything together, and because we have been unable to get everyone together, we have still not celebrated Christmas.  We're hoping in May.  My two granddaughters are both nurses and when one has the weekend off, the other has to work, and vice verse. We'll get it together soon I hope...before my great granddaughters outgrow the dolls I bought them.

And now some good family news.  My granddaughter is pregnant with my 7th great grandchild, a girl), who is to be born in July.  As my granddaughter says, "This child will know that I am her grandmother from the start" unlike the other 6 who still consider my mom grandma and me a stranger.  Hoping that will change one day, but for now, I am grateful for what I have.  Family is everything.  

Some recent family pics:

 My daughter's surprise birthday party. 

 My granddaughter.

 My grandson's girlfriend, Megan.

 My son, Tahnee (his want to be girlfriend) and myself on Christmas Eve

 Easter Sunday with the family.  My son, daughter, and her new boyfriend.

 My daughter, grandson, and his girlfriend, Megan.

 My crazy son and daughter with asparagus.

It's already 59 and expected to rise into the 80's.  Heading out to the park today for a day in the fresh air.  Have a good one.

Well, Hello There

 In Spring, everything is full of promise.... The child sporting upon the lawn, and the season, sympathize together, and nature rejoices in her virgin loveliness.

Charles Lanman, "The Dying Year," 1840

Wow, it has been awhile since I have been here.  Too long.  Spring has already sprung, and I still had my Christmas theme up. Life has been so busy, and to be honest, for awhile I was all blogged out.  That's what happens when you try to carry too many blogs at once.  I think I had 7 or 8 at one time and tried to post on each every day.  That was in the very beginning of my blogging days.  So, moving on, there is much to tell.

To begin with, I turned 71 on March 23rd.  I can't believe I am that old.  Time is passing so quickly now, I sometimes fear I won't have time to accomplish all that I want to do.  One thing I DID accomplish was REACH MY WEIGHT WATCHERS goal.  After 2 1/2 years I did it.  Down from a size 3X to an XL.  Bought myself an entire new wardrobe in celebration.  And I still NEVER miss a meeting.  It is so important to me.  I credit them with saving my life.  

Not bad for 71, huh?  A new cut and color as well.  

I am no longer going to the college for classes.  They just stopped having courses of interest.  I did take 2 classes of memoir writing during the last semester I took, but darn, I was there to learn, not to sit and listen to the teacher talking about her life and her issues.  I could care less about your divorce or that your mom liked to control.  I am there to learn how to write about ME and when that didn't happen, I didn't go back.  Not going to pay $85 for something I wasn't enjoying.

So, instead I looked into the free things my union offers to us retirees, and I am loving it.  Every Monday and Wednesday I take Qigong and Line Dancing (first time dancing in over 50 years).  On Monday I also have an hour of Meditation and 2 hours of Arts and Crafts so it is a full day for me.  Many are doing fabric painting, but that didn't interest me so I am back to jewelry making and loving it.  When my fingers get achy or stiff I just take a 10 minute break.  Next month I think I am going to learn quilling.  I've always been a crafter--crochet, jewelry, etc--but in latter years I made the excuse that I couldn't do it because of my fingers.  That is so not true.

Life is good, and I've so much more to tell, but for now, hubby is asking for some lunch.  Be back tomorrow with family updates and pictures.  I promise.

Moontides

It's been quite awhile since I have been here, and I've decided it's time I retire Moontides.  It was my first blog, and I will NEVER delete it, but I can no longer keep up with more than one blog so will be concentrating on On Turning Seventy.  Hope you can join me there.
http://onturningseventy.blogspot.com/