Busy, busy, busy

My friend V is arriving from Seattle tomorrow night for a little visit. Wow, I actually have a life. :) I will post some pictures tomorrow - he will be here until Sunday. More to come.

Home!

Yes, I am. I had a wonderful time. No internet access, no blogs, no email! Yikes. I survived. Lots of pictures to come.

MMMMMMMMM Summer

Lots of tomatoes from my little garden - big, fat heirloom tomatoes, golden, coral, red, and green. I am in love - olive oil, sea salt, and fresh basil. This is what summer is all about.

The Darlings

Here are O and E, two of my three beautiful grands. They are spending the summer on the Jersey shore and i am on my way to see them next Wednesday. I have not seen them since October 2005, which is the longest I have gone without seeing my kids and grandkids ever. I am very excited to see them and their parents!

It seems terrible to say that it has been that long since I have visited. It is really difficult to take care of an aging parent on the West Coast, work full time, and travel anywhere east of the Mississippi. Last night, while talking to my DIL, I realized that I have not gone anywhere but to my mother's since the last time I was in Philadelphia to see my son and family. Wow!

The good news is that my mother is doing better, her health has stabilized. We sold the second house when I was home in May, which removed a great deal of stress from her life. Other friends from the City now are helping by coming up every month to visit and do chores. Mom also has met a new woman friend who is in her seventies and drives. She has been taking Mother lots of places and they really enjoy one another's company. Overall, Mother is less isolated. Thank goodness.

So, I am off to the East Coast. I will be in Longport, NJ, which is nearby Atlantic City. I do not know if I will have an internet connection while I am there but I will take tons of pictures.

It is a rainy Saturday in St. Paul - I hope you have a wonderful day.

Cat Training 1.2

Don't ask!

I love my garden window. I have always kept plants, beloved crystal pieces, small pictures and other things I love to look at in that window. It is a nice focal point in my kitchen.

Donnie, the cat, just loves to jump on things - everything as a matter of fact. He jumps up in there and knocks things down. I have tried putting sticky double sided carpet tape in the window to discourage the behavior - now I am trying my version of "crime scene" tape. Let's see if it makes a difference. Whew, cat training is tough work.

All cat-training ideas would be most appreciated.

Any suggestions????????????

One Thousand Days, Today.....

that I have walked this widowed road. Two weeks ago, Tom came as a pure golden light to say to me, ".... now you must throw off the veil of death, it is time for you to live your transformed life. Our souls will always dance."

LOVE IS AT THE HEART OF ETERNITY.

Visit with the Soul Reader Part 1

The Soul Reader, who I will call Spirit Woman, greeted me at her really ordinary front door (except that the large gardens on both sides of her door are entirely ringed with hundreds of big chunks of rose quartz) and escorted me to an upstairs room painted purple and filled with crystals, sculpture and other art. The second I walked into that room, I had an overwhelming impulse to remove my shoes and socks. (I did not do so at that time nor did I mention it to her upon my arrival.)

I told her my husband had died in 2004 and I was feeling lighter now. She told me that she would do the work in connecting with my spirit and then we would talk. Spirit Woman also said that she might ask me to do some things/exercises if she thought they could help me to move forward depending what she "saw." She told me I did not have to do anything - just relax and that she wanted me to be totally comfortable with everything.

After sitting in silence while she gazed at me for a few minutes, she wrote some things on a piece of paper and then cleared her throat and said,

"You have been living a parallel life - it is the life of plans, hopes and dreams, the life that you envisioned with Tom. As long as you are living that parallel life, you will not be able to live into the life that is trying to emerge.

Secondly, just as you are living a parallel life, you have a shadow self that is living that life. Your transformed self and transformed life cannot emerge if you hold on to the old life."

She asked me to do two exercises - the first was to honor my old life and the hopes and dreams and to let go of that life and to LET GO OF TOM. She was talking and asking me to repeat these things after her ---- I was fine until she asked me to let go of Tom and that was soooooo difficult. I was not going to say it if I could not envision it and mean it. I finally was able to do so.

Next, she asked that I love, honor, thank and let go of my shadow self. To let go and invite my new self to emerge and begin to fully live. After this exercise, I removed my shoes and socks for the balance of our time together.

I spent over an hour and a half with Spirit Woman so this is really a brief recounting of the experience up to this point. After the second mantra and release was finished - she leaned forward with a very serious look on her face and said, "OK are you ready to continue?" For a minute I had an "OMG - what is about to happen" feeling. The she said, "in a few seconds after I connected with your soul, Tom immediately came into the room and he has been here the entire time." I asked, "where is he?" "Behind you just over your left shoulder." And then she began to speak......

"Tom is a pure spirit - he is pure light - sometimes spirits are still carrying little wisps of their body because they have not completely made the transition. That is not so with Tom - he is pure golden light, very beautiful."

I am going to stop here - I have been wanting to share this but it is intense and I need to do this in a couple of installments. It was one of the most incredible, loving, powerful, and transforming experiences. I had no idea that this would happen when I went to see her. I did not even know if that is what she did - but oh, she is a gifted medium. I am blessed. There is more to come in the next day or so.

Life Changes in an Instant

Just wanted to check in to say that I am fine - the tragedy of the bridge collapse is unfolding around us. So far, everyone I know is safe. Many of the my friends, including my sister/neighbor V, use that bridge daily. Thanks for those of you who have emailed and posted to ask.

Life is a mystery.