New Moon Mojo

Sagittarius Horoscopes
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Next Week
For the Week of Mar 30th, 2009 -- The truth is a good thing to know but not always an ideal conversation starter. Your tendency to speak directly is admirable most of the time but could ruffle some feathers this weekend. A sensitive individual may not know that you're joking. If you're just playing, make sure that everyone is in on the game to avoid any conflicts or misunderstandings.

Well, I do believe some feathers did ruffle this weekend, but that's ok. Things will smooth down in no time.

We're just coming off the New Moon, which is a time for new beginnings. This moon is in Aires which makes it particularly effective for starting important goals. Spring and rebirth and those pheromones that fill the air this time of year can make one very edgy. I'm feeling it, most assuredly, but there has been a great deal ending, too. Still, whether planting a garden, writing a book or painting your living room, that feeling of growth and accomplishment is fine!

The day started cool and foggy. Walking this morning, I had the sensation of stepping through clouds. Close to that feeling you may get peering out the window on a plane. It was eerie and calming at the same time. Then my mind wandered off to the supernatural plane. Though The Count may be on my table, the werewolf came to mind. This is a cool tune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPmuD3-36dM

Earth Hour was a great success worldwide and personally, too. A couple of months ago there was a local blackout here Queens. Go Con Ed! What's a girl to do in a pitch black house on a cold winter's night. Alone, I fixed a tall cool drink and sat down to write by candlelight. With no distractions and plenty of atmosphere, I wrote a chapter of a vampire story which had little to do with my current book. It takes place in Mexico and has a good twist to it. I'm sure it will develop into a great storyline. With that achievement in mind, I put pen to paper last night. Lo and behold, I finally arrived at the end of my first story. I've been chasing this around for months, making myself crazy (do not smirk please, allow me :)

Maybe I'll try writing by candlelight more often. It seems to work for me.

On a different note, I found some beautiful porcelain doll heads and some sitting frozen Charlotte dolls with missing arms. They are just perfect for a project I'm working on, sort of a Crazed Carousel with some strange beasts and 'people'. That is on the back burner for now. The little quilt is in progress and needs to be finished soon.

Jackie Garbarino over at Altered Pages is starting an Elvis ATC swap. Check it out.

http://www.alteredpages.com/

The spring cleaning bug has got me and I am attacking stacks of books and ephemera.

I am scaring myself!

Have been adding to my comic collection, too. That's one investment I really enjoy.

Check out one of the funniest commercials I have seen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ZZreXEqSY

Marvel Comics~Giant Dracula Sept 1974

Cat Power~ Werewolf

Earth Hour March 28, 2009 8:30-9:30PM

Lights out for the planet. Just one hour. The polar bears will love you. I will, too. xoxo
http://www.earthhourus.org/

Obsession Addiction Compulsion

Sagittarius Horoscopes
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Next Week
For the Week of Mar 23rd, 2009 -- The Sun, Venus and the Moon are all in your 5th House of Romance on Friday night, so it's definitely the right time to make your move. If you try and fail the first time, don't give up. Persistence counts more than precision now, so don't be shy about going after who and what you want, even when it seems a little pushy.

Monday, March 23, 2009
General Weekly Love Horoscope
The fires of love burn brightly with the union of magnetic Venus and the Sun on Friday. Yet the urge to merge can overcome common sense and lead to some aggressive social behavior. Venus is still rolling in reverse gear and those who hurry toward romance may find themselves having to back out quickly when they choose the wrong partner or make an awkward move with someone they know.

Goodness, I'm even scaring myself. Persistence and pushy can be a powerful combination, but not always recommended for romance. Still, the two P's do have their place.

I've been trying to sort out the difference in obsessive, addictive and compulsive behaviour because there seems to be a mish mosh of all in my psyche. Not news to those close to me.

In fact, my daughter seems to feel I am obsessed with this website

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/03/20/funny-pictures-am-sorry/

It's just that I find cats entertaining. Perhaps the fact I email these pictures to her on at least a daily basis may lead her to believe I am obsessed with it. Wait. I'll just check again. They are pretty funny. Be back in a sec...

Now, oh yes, I've recently been described as being addicted to Dark Chocolate with Chili. Who isn't.

It may be more of a compulsion to check certain websites every single day. What's the harm in that? Checking the weather in Oaxaca and reporting to my friends and coworkers is becoming a mite worrisome. Ah, why worry? A couple of people actually ask me what is is once in a while.

Absolutely having to have my keys in my hand before I leave the house. That stems from accidentally tossing them in the dumpster with some other stuff I really wanted to toss. See, there is usually method to madness.

We all have many facets of who we are. Some are quite apparent to people we meet. Others are known to those closer to us. Then there are those we may deny or try to suppress. These are the ingredients that make us unique. It's difficult sometimes not to have some things drive you a little crazy, but that can be a positive thing. Some of my favorite creative work flows when I'm just over the edge. Wrestling with these quirks can use energy better spent on what it is you love to create, be it words, paper, metal, fabric, beads or food. Fill in your own blank and go with it.

I'm settling in to watch Twilight. Yeah, I read every book and enjoyed them very much. Nobody here is obsessed with vampires :) They're so cool, very cool.

Today's journal page. Just love the disembodied foot on Kate's dress :) I'm bad :O

Thank you Marney and Artella, great Studio Kits xoxo

Oaxaca weather~86' partial sunshine

Woodstock, NY weather~21' this evening

Nightmare on Main Street

You can't help hearing alarming news. The television just loves to tell us how awful things are, "tune in later for an update". The newspapers that aren't folding (no pun intended) sport the same glaring headlines with dire forecasts about bank failures, layoffs and foreclosures. You're online, you know the internet is rife with the same bad news. We all have friends and family who have been affected by this decimating spiral of events.

Then you come across something that doesn't just depress you. It doesn't just frustrate you.

It doesn't just make you angry.

It pushes the button that says 'ENOUGH!!'

In it's zeal to protect children from dangerous products, Congress passed a law which includes a provision to ban the sale of pre-1985 children's books. What this means is thrift shops, used book stores, even the people hosting garage sales, are forbidden to sell these and many other items, such as children's clothing, without a detailed research of all embellishment of each item.

That would be plastic, buttons, zippers and paint. These would have to be tested and then the item would be approved for sale or not. The cost of this procedure is prohibitive for small businesses, never mind the garage sale entrepreneur.

There is an excellent article by Walter Olsen at City Journal which details the bureaucracy attached to this law. Some are burning these books. You're subject to the law even if you give them away. I consider my books my friends. Some I have known since before I could read them and others have come into my life recently. There are many old books in my home. Scavenging library sales and thrift stores for treasures is a fave pastime. When I walk into a library I inhale the scent of books, old books. The feel of the book in my hand is a comfort. The touch of the paper between my fingers brings anticipation of a new adventure. As a child, my daughter was on a first name basis with our librarian, Eleanor. She was able to read Eleanor's name from the hieroglyphs on her pendant because she learned the symbols from an old book.To burn a book is breaking a sacred trust between friends. It's just wrong.

http://www.city-journal.org/2009/eon0212wo.html

We are the government and as such we have a duty to speak out and protest when something is so blatantly wrong. Will this administration be attentive to the voice of the people? I say, let's give it a go.

You can contact your Congressman, I know I will. Let your Senators know how you feel, too.

Of course, it's not just this issue that gets my goat, but this one got the fire burning. Once a flower child, still protesting peacefully but vocally. Power to the people, folks!

This is a great song which kind of sums up how I feel at the moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSXL98Z-WAk&feature=related

Fearless ~ VNV Nation

So many little things followed me

So many little things that bothered me. But I found my answer.

From all the chaos that followed me I have found my answer.

I've told you before don't follow me because I am not your answer.

I am not alone, I am not afraid, I am not unhappy.

These are the words I say to myself everyday.

I am not alone, I am not afraid, I am not unhappy.

Tell me what ritual I should have today.

But I'm not alone. I've resolved so many things and set myself free.

I am not alone, I am not afraid, I am not unhappy.

The words I say to myself every day.

I am not alone, I am not afraid, I am not unhappy.

Such a stupid ritual to have to say to myself everyday.

I'm not alone but I found my answer and set myself free. I'm not unhappy.

I'm not alone and I'm not unhappy.

Not alone and I'm not unhappy.

I'm not afraid and I'm not unhappy.

I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.

I am not alone. I am not afraid. I am not unhappy.

These are the words I say to myself everyday.

I am not alone. I am not afraid. I am not unhappy.

I'm not afraid

Fearless~vnv Nation

Speak Softly altered art from Outsider Art

Book Banning~City Journal

Atmosphere

A baby shower can be a
transforming experience for both the mom and the daughter. Soon the

daughter will be a mom, too. There is something so magical in the cycle of life and the anticipation of new life within a family.

It is both exhilarating and humbling to enter the realm of grandmother. In mythology the grandmother is supposed to be wise, the keeper of wisdom, the voice of experience. Well, ok, I've had experience, but am I wise? As you live life you share your knowledge and experience with your children and hope and pray the right information filters through. If you can pour enough good sense, good judgement and good humor into the mix they have a solid foundation to nourish them as they grow into their own lives and loves. So far, so good. I am so filled with awe waiting to meet my new grandchild come this May.

The beautiful print above is by artist Betsy Walton http://www.morningcraft.com/

I could not resist the magical colors and story it seemed to tell me. It brought to mind the story of skeleton woman, beautifully told by Michael deMeng in his fantastic book Secrets of Rusty Things. In short, it is a wonderful story of rebirth and transformation. How sometimes you have to go back the the bare bones of your existence before you are reborn and transformed back to yourself, a you tempered by life and experience. The magic in the transformation is love, especially the ability to share love.

When I saw all those women floating around in various states of completion that truth resonated for me.

For a while there will be four generations of the women of our family on this planet. How cool is that?

Atmosphere ~ print by Betsy Walton

Skeleton Woman ~ Inuit myth

Roses and Rosary Beads

I Crave Your Mouth

I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.

Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.

Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day

I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.

I hunger for your sleek laugh,

your hands the color of a savage harvest,

hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,

I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.

I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,

the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,

I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,

and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,

hunting for you, for your hot heart,

Like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.

~Pablo Neruda

Your Laughter

Take breath away from me, if you wish,

take air away, but

do not take from me your laughter.

Do not take away the rose,

the lanceflower that you pluck,

the water that suddenly

bursts forth in your joy,

the sudden wave

of silver born in you.

My struggle is harsh and I come back

with eyes tired

at times from having seen

the unchanging earth,

but when your laughter enters

it rises to the sky seeking me

and it opens for me

all the doors of life.

My love, in the darkest

hour you laughter

opens, and if suddenly

you see my blood staining

the stones of the street,

laugh, because your laughter

will be for my hands

like a fresh sword.

Next to the sea in the autumn,

your laughter must raise

its foamy cascade

and in the spring, love,

I want your laughter like

the flower I was waiting for,

the blue flower, the rose

of my echoing country.




Laugh at the night,

at the day, at the moon,

laugh at the twisted

streets of the island,

laugh at this clumsy

boy who loves you,

but when I open

my eyes and close them,

when my steps go,

when my steps return,

deny me bread, air

light, spring,

but never your laughter

for I would die.




~Pablo Neruda











Ah, Pablo Neruda. His poetry, whether in Spanish, English or any other language, grabs hold of the soul. It may inflame passion~I Crave Your Mouth, or caress it with almost melancholy longing~Your Laughter. His words linger, reminding you both love and life are complicated, but so worthy of the travails.


Because I am who I am, I Crave Your Mouth brings my vampires to mind. They are a primal passionate bunch, but they love after their own fashion. The capacity to give and receive love is a gift and a double edged sword. Neruda and my vampires were quite prepared to fall upon that sword at times. The wound may or may not be lethal, but it is deep. So is love.


While searching for inspiration, I found that rosary beads acquired their name because their beads were made of rose petals in the past. I'm told that today there is still a convent that makes these fragrant treasures. Thank you ebay, I found a rosary of rose petal beads. It is quite lovely to my eyes and still has a rose fragrance. It may find its way into a chapter or two...it does seem to have a story to tell.


Last night, compliments of the fine hospitality of new friends, I spent an evening with old friends. We kind of lost touch, but recently our lives became entwined again through mutual acquaintances. That six degree thing again, so comforting to know the universe knits like Madame Defarge, usually without such dire results. We are all bound to one another, so cool :)
The company, the repast and those pink mojitos were wonderful. It seems any pink drink has a very giddy effect on me (some might say it is not the pink in the drink) and that is such a good thing. Things are still pretty wild in this neck of the woods and life is good.





Sagittarius Horoscopes
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Next Week
For the Week of Mar 2nd, 2009 -- You can enjoy conversation more than ever this weekend so seek the company of good talkers. Even if their tales aren't entirely true, you'll appreciate the entertainment value of outlandish ideas and philosophical ramblings. Sharing your own beliefs makes a mental connection that gets your mind off of the daily grind.



Hah! Ok, next weekend looks good too! lol

Lisa Vollrath is doing a lovely St. Patrick's Day Countdown. Check out her site for some shamrock green downloadable goodies. Thanks Lisa!

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/


Your Laughter ~ Pablo Neruda inspired by Perceval Press
Your Mouth ~ Pablo Neruda inspired by Jonah Dawkins
Rose Petal Rosary, still obsessed with white flowers and Jonah, one of my fave vamps
Oaxaca weather 84' partly sunny
New York weather 14" snow predicted for manana...sigh...