Tag Archives: new bike fenders

Muddy.

            There was an old ad campaign (from the ’70s or ’80s?) which featured a person who had overindulged and was now regretting it.  I thought it was Alka-Seltzer, but Delia Daniel googled around and couldn’t find it.  He did find several other, borderline offensive, commercials that we both remembered. 

            (Although, we didn’t remember them as being quite so bad.  Additionally, we had to bicker and argue about WHICH one I was referring to.)

             Doesn’t matter, I’ve dropped my fizzy tablets into a glass of water and downed the lot in two big gulps.  I’ll start to feel better any second now.  On top of the already not-releasing issue I’ve been dealing with for far too many days (weeks?) this is just TOO MUCH.  As in, I ate too much.  Too much that is now sitting on top of everything else.  It’s her fault though, not mine.

               How cute is my mother, and how can we possibly be angry at her?!  We really can’t.  But I’m still tossing all of the blame in that direction.  She put together a ridiculous (and only barely complimentary/marginally related) group of food for dinner.  And I ate some of everything.  Not because I was hungry, just because it was there.  Nothing is against the “rules” of my eating regime, so there’s no guilt here.  There is, however, a not good tummy.

            (Any second now I’ll start to feel better.  I know I will!)

              She is holding up a bag of croutons that she made for me, special.  And please take note of the outfit.  It’s the jammy pants we gave her for Solstice, paired with a sweater she made (with ladybug buttons!) over a co-ordinating turtleneck.  You can’t see them, but her socks also match.  Is it really a surprise to anyone that I have NO taste?  On the plus side, when I get to be over 70 I’ll probably still be considered “cute” too.  Completely insane, but adorably so.

              See those cookies?  Yeah, had plenty of them too.  (Even brought a few of the bastards home with us!)  Seriously, all her fault.

               I should have known there could be repercussions.  Earlier I had an over-glove mishap.  My gift failed me.   Ripped and snapped.

               My OTHER new addition, happily enough, was not a failure.  I still got very wet (it’s raining again, did I mention that?) but I wore the second-hand (third? fourth?) pseudo-waterproof jacket (zipper still broken and safety-pinned across the bottom) that I discovered in a closet, keeping a great portion of my upper half (mostly) protected.  With this, and the fabulous rear fender in place, there was FAR less splashing up my back.  (The “real” raingear order says it will arrive by Tuesday.  Which makes it NOT in time for the ride probably, but I’ll still be glad when it shows up.)

             Appropriate, as always, our message today is as soggy as I was.

“Frog  ~  Losgann  (pronounced as Loss-can)  ~  Sensitivity, Medicine, Hidden Beauty, and Power.

The card shows a common frog crawling from a pool in which lies frogspawn, traditionally considered a powerful medicine.  To the right grows muilead - frogberry, now known as cranberry, and frog’s spindle or orchid.  To the left beneath the hanging willow leaves grow toadstool mushrooms, which were once called frogstools.

Losgann unites the elements of water and earth, bringing joy, delight, and healing in its singing and hopping, and leading you to a sacred spring from which you may be refreshed and renewed.  A cold-blooded creature living half on the land and half in the water, the frog possesses an extremely sensitive skin, considered magical by shamans.  A companion of the rain spirits, the frog can help you develop your sensitivity to others, to healing, and to sound through your skin and your whole body and aura.

Nothing is what it appears to be, and life is more fun than you at first supposed.  There is a hidden beauty and a hidden power in all of nature, and as you open yourself to this you will feel close to the Goddess and close to both the earth and the water.  Look for the beauty and the magic behind appearances.

Drawn Reversed, this card suggests that you are learning how to embrace difficult circumstances.  The frog that you must marry may well turn out to be a prince.  The circumstances you have chosen to accept – whilst apparently unappealing or difficult – may well bring you rich rewards in the end.  Remember that the frog brings medicine, and medicine brings healing.”

            This was right-side up when I flipped it, but as I was typing along it felt as though both directions wanted to be heard, so you get both.  

             Who knows what you’ll be getting tomorrow, or how much.  I probably won’t have a chance to check in here until we are back from the pool.  (Special Occasion deck feels as though it’s called for though.)

              I’m sure I’ll be completely better by then, in fact, any second now I’m going to be fine again.  Any second now….

Today’s Deck:

The Druid Animal Oracle  ~  Working With The Sacred Animals Of The Druid Tradition by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm ~ Illustrated by Bill Worthington

LateNight Gratitude:  thank you all SO very much for keeping Empress, Graham, and Max in your thoughts, and for sending all those healing/moving/safe home vibes and energy and prayers.  (Make sure you see her Thank You in Friday’s comments.)  As soon as we know more we’ll share.  What she told me today was totally unrelated but amazingly great, she received the (newly conceived of and just initiated) Employee Of The Month Award!

 

Brightly Attentive.

            Before we get started with our daily dose of ridiculous and verbose, or move on to anything else, I have to share that recipe I promised you guys days ago.  For the entire thing, plus credits and pictures and the exact nutrition numbers, go here.  (Seriously, go there.)  For the basics, and just to give you an idea of what you were seeing in that little bowl Dan brought me to taste test, here it is: 

  • 1 cup couscous
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup chopped dried apricots
  • ½ cucumber, seeded and diced
  • ¼ cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
  • ¼ cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted
  • ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint

Directions 

1. Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl.  Add enough boiling water to cover the couscous by 1 in (2.5cm).  Let stand for 15 minutes, or until the couscous has absorbed all the water.  Fluff up the grains with a fork.

2. Stir in the pepper, raisins, apricots, cucumber, olives, almonds, and pine nuts.

3. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, and mint.  Pour over the couscous and toss.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm, or let cool and serve at room temperature. 

            That particular site has a ton of great stuff on it, this one is not the only thing we’ve tried.  Today I went in search of black mustard seeds (did not find them, had to get brown) for a dish that is made with orange cauliflower (there is also purple!), which I really can’t wait to try.

             Our title today refers, partly, to the weather (and partly to me too, I did NOT forget the recipe again), it was so freaking sunny today!  I went out on the bike, not much else to report about the ride.  However, when I got home from my erranding, TA DA! there was box waiting for me on the porch.

             Fender!   Now affixed securely over the back tire, the better to keep water and mud and all manner of debris OFF of my behind-me areas.  (Did Daniel and I have to argue and bitch and fight during, before, and moderately after the installation of this accessory?  Of course we did.  But then I left the garage, so the conflicts were over at that point.)   Once I take it for a test run, I’ll be sure to report in.

             One of the places I had to go this afternoon was the library.  Across the street there used to be (a billion years ago) a Sears.  Then (for another billion years) there was a big pit.  Soon there will be an expanded downtown campus for our local community college.  Currently it looks like this.

              Every time I go by there I want to stop and just watch the progress, it’s a fairly huge thing for us.  Not that it will have any bearing on my life, directly, but it’s interesting all the same.  (Oh wow, in googling around to find that first link, I found this, which says they have a webcam aimed at the construction.  I am totally gonna come back and check it out.  You know how I love webcams!)

             I’ve had this note in my draft folders for weeks, but I don’t have any pictures to go with it, so I keep just NOT writing about it:  hats.  My Beloved has been making me new hats.  We’ve just about run out of “good” yarn around here because of my special requests.  Cotton is the only option (especially now that we know bamboo as fibre is a poor choice).  Or cotton with alpaca maybe (not that we have any of that).  But mostly just cotton.  I promise, over our next weekend we’ll get the camera out so you can see how beautiful his work is, while I’m wearing it (or possibly them).

             Just about the first thing I did today was flip over our card.  When I saw what the top of it said I kept repeating it in my head, and I was conscious of staying on the awares*.  (That’s another part of today’s title, which made itself known, very clearly, as I pedaled past the burnt-up house.)

*I can’t recall where that phrase started, seems like it had to with Winnie the Pooh, but it may have just been used by us during the years we watched those videos with the witchlings several times a day, or even when the original version first played, when I was a kid.  I just know that it’s something that sticks in my head, and I still say it.

“Pay Attention  ~

Notice  repetitious signs and your inner guidance, as they can yield valuable information.

Heaven is giving you important messages, and by drawing this card, you are asked to pay extra attention to them.  Notice conversations you overhear, comments made to you by others, inner feelings and thoughts.  Look for common threads among the signs, as they are forms of guidance to help you manifest your Divine purpose and desires.

It is not your imagination that Heaven is sending you signs and Divine guidance.  Anytime you hear or feel something three or more times, especially within a short time period, it is information worthy of your attention.  These signs also give you feedback about your current belief system, since your thoughts attract mirroring experiences.  Use these signs to heal beliefs that dishonor you, and swim in the direction that your guidance points you.”

             (Standard Doreen Disclaimer: if the word Heaven does not resonate with you, please feel free to substitute it for something that does.  I like Universe, but put whatever is comfortable for you in that spot.)

            This illustration has its good and bad aspects for me, but the message is entirely good.  It has a few levels to it though.  The obvious one, about paying attention and noting signs that we are being given, is a great reminder.  But she also tosses in that last bit at the end, about belief systems. 

              My thought here is that she’s basically saying to follow our heart, more specifically, if we are in a position of seeking some spiritual assistance, stay tuned-in to what our emotions and senses are telling us.   If we feel as though the place we go for solace is not doing the job, keep looking, don’t settle. 

            I really like the line that talks about healing “beliefs that dishonor” us.  Honor and respect for ourselves are necessary foundational building blocks, basic elements we all need, because once that stable self-support is in place, we are better able to express to others (consciously or subconsciously) that they treat us accordingly, as beings who are worthy of love, honor, respect, and so much more.

 Foreign License Plate Report:

that new, very colorful, Alaska; and the newer Idaho one with the bird on it; lots of Texas people; plus a Minnesota.

Today’s Deck:

Magical Mermaids and Dolphins Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue