Ridiculous Medical Update! Maybe I won’t need you guys to send in photos of your injuries, I seem to have enough of my own lately. So, remember when I kept bashing my hands all over the damn place? Yeah, we are back to that now, except this time with my feet. (Again? Anew?) The deal seems to be that I am phenomenally blessed with much goodness in my life. (Well, we have no money, but whatever.) This appears to mean that the messages I get are minor, or mostly minor (yes, I am ALWAYS grateful for this, I say my “thank yous” every day). The way the Universe advises me of shit I need to deal with is by bumping and nudging me along.
Today’s Mystery Affliction is a scrape on the bottom of my foot, the OTHER foot. (Dog head vs top of right foot is healing really well, just a small bruise and all the swelling is gone.) Tonight in the pool I am just flitting along when… OUCH! I stopped, flung my foot up onto the deck and peered at the wet, wrinkly sole. Yessiree, it was most red and scraped looking. This drew the attention of Matt, who came right over and peered at it as well. We determined that it was maybe some kind of cut or scrape. (We are not doctors, but ya know, he has first aid training.) More folks then asked about it. No, I was not a bio-hazard, I was NOT bleeding into the salt water, but I did have to slow down a bit.
There was no (physical) reason, that we could all determine, for this injury. Obviously it is another message. I will figure it out, eventually. Let’s just hope that the third incident (because we all KNOW there will be one) won’t cause me to see an actual medical professional. THAT would just piss me off.
Time for some subversive cross stitch pictures! I know some of you are familiar with Alton Brown. A favorite around here as well (okay, with Daniel and Empress mostly, food shows just make me hungry).
If you do not watch him, well these are a few of the things he says on a regular basis. Now, if anyone knows how I can get him over here to SEE them, that would just be amazingly fun.
Yeah, this shot did turn out crooked, sorry (the stitching is mostly straight though). I have done three, the first one, as you may recall, was “wash those chicken-y hands” and now I have added the “golden brown and delicious” and “your patience will be rewarded” to my trio of AB devotion. (Why yes, I DID make sure the spelling was correct before I charted the words.) Still puzzling over Em’s ideas, you’ll see them here as soon as we got something worked up.
Yesterday you saw one of my favorite tiny historic buildings. Well, on the same property, in front of the museum is this. 
They are grave markers, if you can’t tell. The sun was well past on its way to going down and this was the best I could do. (Hanna, any way we can lighten this thing up from the dashboard?)
About a year or so ago I read a really cool book about the history of cemeteries and grave yards in America (no doubt it is in The History Quilt some place). To me these are peaceful and lovely places, so tranquil and full of lives. I know, that kind of goes against how many people feel about them. But there are stories there and memories and yes, lives. It’s not because I have not dealt with death, I have. I have just never seen the resting places of bodies as sad. The body goes there but the spirit moves on.
Art and trends can be found in these locations. What people thought was attractive or meaningful is everywhere you look when you walk through them, especially the really old ones. The tales of loved ones and families are evident. I am fascinated by the history there, and I’ve never felt uncomfortable in one (and believe me, I’ve visited quite a few). The day Dan and I took that picture I forgot to write down why these particular markers are located where they are, and not in their original locations. But I’ll drive by next week and find out, because now I’m curious about how they ended up on the fairgrounds/museum property.
Our card today is a good one, even though, like differing opinions about cemeteries and graveyards, it’s not always thought of that way. It can be scary to some people, but that is a fear-based reaction. We have them when we don’t know all that there is to learn on a topic. We react out of our lack of knowledge.
“Death” from the Robin Wood Tarot.
I like this illustration on many levels, but I also dislike the image of Death as a person. Death as a card in the Major Arcana means New Life. In order to have newness we must let go of, or allow to die, old or long held concepts or perceptions. We sometimes must let go of bits of ourselves, in order to make room for the new part of who are becoming. Death is always balanced with Birth, it’s a Universal Law.
Imagery-wise this card shows a yellow butterfly, a cloaked figure in deep red, an enormous white rose, and much greenery behind and below birch-like trees. The colors are rich and all have the underlying feeling of bright new beginnings, which is exactly what the card is talking about. Red: life blood. Green: new growth. White: purity in the love of all things and the White Light of Good. Yellow: sunlight and hope. (There are also some nice earth tones, and they have a purpose as well. The soft grays and browns have a smooth and soothing feel to them.)
Whether we think of the character as mysterious or ominous is how we have been taught to deal with loss. If we look past the stereotypical negatives we are able to see the vibrance in the colors and wiser meanings behind the scary spin. We are not led to our deaths by a cartoonish guy in a ridiculous costume. But rather, we are allowed to move past the difficulties of this life and the bodies we have been hauling around with us. We transform, we flow into the new hope, and we head Home, without the burdens we previously carried. We begin anew.
The number 13 in numerology is really a 4. The most solid and sound base we can have. Standing firmly in this life, we then step easily, and with confidence, into the next. Or, to look at it from the point of view of our new beginnings, we have a solid and steady base to move onto to start the next piece of our journey. On a foundation that is strong enough to hold us up without the wobble that we are leaving behind. (Referring to The History Quilt once more, I know I have talked about the misconceptions of the number 13 someplace here. In the past three years, I’ve probably discussed it way more than once already.)
I am always pleased (and hopeful) when I see this card come up in a reading. It means there is something very positive and meaningful just around the corner, a new leg of our adventure is beginning, a new page in the book of our lives is flipping over for us to see what is next. It does not have the turmoil of some cards that portend jumping off into fresh starts, Death is more defined and stable (even dignified in a way). The excitement of seeing something new on the horizon is what you want to remember with this one, the knowledge that you have worked your way up, earned a prize even. Watch what is being birthed now, be aware of what new beginnings are taking shape in your life.
