Let’s start this evening’s festivities off with an apology shall we? This will NOT be a very entertaining post, so I’d like to say how sorry I am right out of the box. If this is your first time here (welcome!), I strongly encourage you to go back and read something from last week, and come back tomorrow, when I don’t feel as though someone has just stuck an egg beater inside my skull. For regular visitors to JulieLand, I’m also sorry. Days with too many things in them are chaotic to my smooth brain. No need to worry, just feeling more askew than usual.
Daniel and I got to go and celebrate with Karen earlier. And we visited with people we had not seen in way too long. 
Me and Karen and Stephanie. Our girls were preschoolers alongside Stephanie’s boys. It was great to see friends and spend time with folks we have known for decades.
Our card today is from that unusual deck The Celtic Shaman’s Pack. It is also starting to run out. This one is placed in the category of The Elements, but the grounding doesn’t seem to be working for me. I hope it helps some of you though. (And please, no remarks about what it’s called okay? Thanks.)
“The Elements: contact with the elements is of primary importance for every shaman. From them you learn the mysteries of creation and something of your own relationship to the living world, both inner and outer.”
“The Mound of Wonders ~ Empowerment of Earth.
A green mound with an arched doorway in its side from which stream forth rays of light as though sun were rising within it.
The Mound of Wonders gives access particularly to the realm of earth and inner earth. It gives a firm foundation from which to begin an exploration of any of the worlds, especially those which lack a strongly grounded dimension.
There are many hollow hills in Celtic and faery tradition, in which the wonderous folk of the otherworld dwell. To visit one and to sit or lie upon it is to invite more than wonders. It is to desire admission into the realm of the Lordly Ones, the Fair Folk, the Mothers – to name but three of their many titles. It is also a way into the heart of the element of earth itself, into the body of the primal Mother who gave us life, and to whom we return.
Journey: travel to one of the hollow hills. Knock upon the door which opens in the hillside and ask for entry to the world of inner earth. Call to your totem or empowerer to guide you through and back from this realm. Showing you what you need to learn and keep with you once you have visited.”
Here is the foreign license plate report: Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, Illinois (that same one I saw before with the illegal frame), Texas (times two, both new ones that I had not seen before), BC, Arizona, and a commemorative Lewis & Clark one from North Dakota.
I promise, I’ll do better tomorrow. And if I owe you an e-mail, don’t give up on me.
FGBV’s Julie
Hey no need to feel hassled – any post with such a great happy picture is a fantastic one! This daily blogging is a miracle in mho, I never seem to have the focus to keep up with any of my good resolutions; if I had a blog it would be twice a day for a fortnight then once every two months at best!
Thank you both.
Don’t worry about us, we JulieLanders are very understanding
Glad you got to visit with your friends
Visit plus spend time with your spouse. That marks it a win, and that you still blogged makes it a double win. The card and its relation to the ground made me think of the burial mounds in Oklahoma for some reason…
Well, you’re right, it’s hard to ignore the name.
You went out! With your husband! Someone from New Jersey visited, and it wasn’t me, darn it!
Have a great day, ane we’ll see you later!
You’re always there for all of us…and as we’ve discussed before, we all need “recharge” time. We’re with you! *hugs*
Well, we love you no matter what you post. Even if you don’t post.
FGBV & lots of hugs!!
It’s okay. WEBS: friends, husband, wow-post-a-day! So, it’s all good, as long as you are safe, healthy, and happy. We all get overwhelmed.
And this is an odd card. And it’s not like we can all go find us a fairy mound to lie on. Or maybe it meant in your head, but then it wasn’t specific. And the fae are supposedly quixotic and could keep you for a very long time. Not safe, not safe at all.
Here’s a sock. Now you find the other one.
Hey you got all the important stuff in – a pic with friends, foreign license plate report, a card and explanation. Who could ask for anything more? Not me, that’s for sure.
WEBS. FGBVs to you. No need to fret, we still love you.
OT Request. I need one or two beta readers. I committed myself to writing a novel in serial installments on my blog. The first post went up last Friday. I decided to do it partly because writing had become less than fun and dammit if I can’t make a living at it, I want it to be fun.
So I’m posting an installment of 3-5000 words every Friday for the next 20-26 weeks, whatever it takes to finish.
It’s kind of scary cause I really believe in the importance of editors and this is going out unedited.
However, I have one really excellent beta reader. She doesn’t just read and say this is good. She isn’t afraid to hurt my feelings. Which is good. Because real constructive criticism doesn’t hurt my feelings.
But I don’t want to be solely dependent on her because that puts too much work / pressure on her and she is already a busy person.
So, is there anyone out there who would be willing to beta read for my modern gothic romance serial novel? If you go to my blog you can read the first installment as a sample; http://noveltruths.blogspot.com/2011/05/hungry-ghosts.html
Hugs
SOrry you’re having a rough week. But when I saw the “no comments about what it’s called” I thought…Elephants? What’s wrong with elephants? Then I saw it said elements…
Not giving up, nope, no-way, no-how, we all have down days. Love seeing the wee self elf in a photo. Going for a nap, I’m tired today. Life is…well, life. Sending love.
I forgot, saw 3 Oregon license plates on Sunday. 1 New Mexico and many Washington. That’s a lotta gas from New Mexico to Canada.
WEBS, we love you no matter what, and even if you want to skip a couple of days or a week we’ll still be here when you get back. Everybody needs a vacation now and then.
Without actually making the obvious crack about the name of the card, I think given the name and the picture that she wanted us to think about that, so it’s not all bad. The journey into the hollow hills is somehow a journey into our femininity where esoteric knowledge, ancient wisdom and mysteries can be revealed. I think.
Thanks guys.
We love the blog. We love you.
Seriously, you amaze me with the way you always manage to post, and check in with all the folks you check in on. You are pretty awesome.
Aw, now you are going to make me cry. Thank you. All of you are so supportive!