Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Knitting Class




Ok, so I finally got tired of hearing other people talk about knitting, and all the cool stuff they make. SO I finally braved a knitting class last night at my LYS castawayyarnshop.com I could not cast on to save my life. So after about 20 minutes in the class I admitted defeat, and gave up. The teacher who is the store owner was wonderful. She cast on my stitches and told me to practice later, she wanted me to be able to learn the knit stitch. I said ok, and away I went. I had about 3" knitted by the time I left, and only 2 major mistakes. The teacher had to show me how to pull stitches off my needle so I could fix them. The class was actually a sucess. I will try it again, and I will complete the scarf. Granted it may take awhile, but once I got going it was ok. I am not sure how much actual breathing I did while trying to knit but I didn't pass out :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Seeing Red




Have you ever wanted to...
"Choke someone until they passed out, and then pluck their nose hairs out one by one, just to see them twitch"? Cuz that was my day yesterday. I actually raised my voice and told him at one point "Because I know my Alphabet!"

I really dislike it when you talk to someone, and they won't listen because it is not something they want to hear.

Lucky for you I like what I do.

Welcome to my parlor said the Spider to the Fly...

picture curtisy of http://www.dailycoyote.net/?p=1032

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Yarn Store shopping

Going to this shop tonight with a friend. It should be cool.
http://castawayyarnshop.blogspot.com/

Hope everyone is staying sane this holiday season. I am makeing all of my presents except for my dads. He will probably end up with a sweatshirt of some kind. Or woodworking stuff.

I am sitting here eating a carmel apple. Know I know what mice feel like when they step onto a sticky trap. I hope I can clean my mouse... the one attatched to the computer. Oh well time to get off work. See ya'll later

Friday, December 12, 2008

10 Ways to Transform Toxic Thoughts

This came in an email, and I thought popping it up here might be a nice reminder for us. :)

Kandi


10 Ways to Transform Toxic Thoughts

If you've ever felt the way anger or fear can electrify the atmosphere in a room, you'll know what Sandra Ingerman means by "toxic thoughts." The author, a family therapist and shaman practitioner, believes our thoughts and emotions transmit an invisible but palpable energy that can affect our mental and physical well-being. "Psychic punches," she writes, are as real as physical violence.



Text by Sandra Ingerman, adapted from her book, "How to Heal Toxic Thoughts: Simple Tools for Personal Transformation"

Breathe Through Your Heart

Breathing is one of the simplest ways to transform energy. This is an exercise you can do throughout your day: Place your hands on your heart and feel your heart moving as you breathe. This is calming, and feeds the energy of love, peace, and harmony in the world.

Look in a Mirror

Before reacting to a challenging situation, try emoting as you watch your reflection in a mirror. No one wants to see herself acting out in a toxic way. You may feel silly, but don't let this stop you. Taking ourselves too seriously is one of the causes of negative thoughts.


Express; Don't Send

Stress can make us act in ways we might regret later on. It is OK to have problematic emotions, and it's important to acknowledge your feelings. Just be careful not to send the energy as a "poison dart" to yourself, others, or into the world.


Think of a Favorite Face

The energy behind your emotions goes to all living beings. If confronted by someone who triggers problematic emotions for you, think of a loved one and impose his or her image on the face of the person challenging you. For example, you might work with the face of a baby, kitten, puppy, or your favorite flower.


Watch Your Words

Your words, like thoughts and emotions, have the power to change your experience and the world we live in. This applies to both the words we say out loud to others as well as self-talk. If you tell yourself that you're not a good person, you begin to manifest this reality. Fill your mind with positive words and this is how your life will unfold.


See the Divinity in Others

Never pity others who you perceive as suffering--this only pushes them deeper into a hole. When you see people in their divine light and perfection you help give them the strength they need to deal with their troubles. Remember that your perception creates your reality.


Connect With Nature

We are a part of nature. When we are in a state of stress we are cut off from the nurturing we receive from the elements -- earth, air, water, and fire (the sun) -- and we can actually become ill. Nature is a great healer. Take time out and connect with the natural world whenever you can.


Work With Water

The life-force of water can wash away your pain, and the simplest activities can have a healing effect. As you wash your hands, take a shower, or stand in the rain, visualize negative energy flowing from you and being transformed into light.


Protect Yourself With Light

If you feel someone is psychically attacking you or being energetically hostile toward you, imagine a protective light surrounding you. Some people think of a white energy field; I imagine being enclosed in a translucent blue egg. Find a color that works for you. This will protect you from any harmful energies being sent your way.


Respond with love

You do not have to be the receiver of negative and toxic energy from others. You can return the energy you don't wish to receive with love. Responding with love will prevent you from moving into attack position and creating more negative energy. It is only love that heals.

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Dark Pagans




There are some who find comfort in the shadows,
Who strive to comprehend the mysteries,
Who find solace in the silence of a winter night,
Who sing softly to the crone.

We are the Dark Pagans, children of the Dark Mother.

So often darkness is associated with evil. Since the term evil has no place in a nature-based religion, we Pagans are forced to look beyond such stereotypes.

Evil is a human term. It begins and ends with us. A tornado is not evil, yet it is destructive. Fire can be used to benefit life or destroy it. Nature is neither good nor evil. It simply is. It follows no moral code. Only humans, with our complicated set of emotions and intellect, can justify such categorizations.

Death, destruction, chaos… these are essential driving forces within nature. Life feeds on life; destruction precedes creation. These are the only true laws, and they are not open to interpretation.

When Pagans anthropomorphisize nature into something good and loving, they deny its very all-encompassing nature. When the dark deities are shunned in fear of the unknown, we deny ourselves full understanding of all deities and what they have to offer.

It is our nature to fear the unknown. We cling to archetypal forms
representing the aspects of some great unknowable, encompassing force, which we cannot comprehend. We call them our deities. This is not wrong; It is in fact, necessary since we cannot grasp the "divine" or cosmic source otherwise.

Some religions choose to see this source as one omnipotent being. However, accepting the existence of an all-good and just being dictates that there must then exist a counterpart that encompasses evil.

Since nature-based religions view the concept of deity in a more polytheistic and pantheistic way, the separations of creative / destructiv e forces are not as well defined. The deities take on aspects of nature or human ideals. Instead of one omnipotent being, we have deities of love, war, beauty, the sun, the moon, the sea… Each deity inherently contains both the creative and destructive forces.

It is through the many aspects of the Goddess and God that we come to learn more about the universe and ourselves. To shun those aspects we fear inhibits our growth. It is the goal of Dark Pagans to encourage those who hide behind the positive aspects of our deities to embrace their fears and learn.

As a life-affirming spirituality, Paganism often focuses on the
positive, creative and nurturing forces in nature. It is easy to loose touch with the darker aspects. Life begets death and death begets life. Chaos is the fuel of creation. Something must always be destroyed for something to be created.

Those who shun the darker aspects of nature and ourselves tend to fall into what I have heard called "Lightside Paganism" - Pagans who think life is all happiness and joy and that once attuned to the rhythms of nature, life becomes such wonderful dreams. Many subscribers to the "New Age" movement have this shallow outlook. To them, nature is good and just and ordered.

This simply is not the case. Take these dull-eyed individuals and place them in the wilderness with nothing but their crystals and they will be some animal's dinner before the end of the week. Nature is harsh. It is unforgiving. The weak die or are killed by the strong. Life feeds on life. Even the strictest vegan is a plant killer. Humans, with their technological and medical breakthroughs have "improved the quality life" by distancing themselves from the harshness of nature.

However, despite this harsh side of nature, it is not evil. It also has its share of beauty. The point is, nature encompasses both the creative and destructive forces. Ignoring the negative aspects results in an incomplete view of nature.

It is the goal of dark Paganism to remind us that there is a darker side to all things and that this darker side is not necessarily harmful and negative. There is beauty in darkness for those who dare enter the shadows to embrace it.

Many aspects of the darkness are not as harsh as death and chaos. There is reflection, reverence, change, divination, introspection, trance, autumn, winter, maturity, wisdom, the distant cry of a crow in a forest, a single candle glowing in the night, the cool embrace of the autumn wind. These are all aspects; these are its gifts. Perhaps it is through the beauty of a sunset and sunrise and the colors of fall and spring that we are reminded of the cycles of birth-death- rebirth and of the importance - the necessity - of each phase.

It is important to remember that focusing only on the darker side is just as dangerous as focusing on the lighter side. Balance is important, and even though some may relate to one aspect more than the other, we must always remain open to the other aspects.

©1997 - 2001, John J. Coughlin


I came across this in my email. I think this is very true. And I live by much of this. If that makes me dark, or not who you want, then keep moving, I hope you find who and what you need.

Dark Dreaming and Bright Blessings to One and All

Friday, November 14, 2008





I love the dark hours of my being.
My mind deepens into them.
There I can find, as in old letters,
the days of my life, already lived,
and held like a legend, and understood.

Then the knowing comes: I can open
to another life that's wide and timeless.

So I am sometimes like a tree
rustling over a gravesite
and making real the dream
of the one its living roots
embrace:

a dream once lost
among sorrows and songs.

~ Ranier Maria Rilke ~

Keith Olbermann's Prop 8 Special Comment: It's "About The Human Heart" (VIDEO)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Funny Morning

I like the town I live in. I know its kind of a strange thing, but it made me smile.
Driving to work, I had to do a double take on the street just after the overpass on my way to work. There were three turkeys just standing on the lawn in front of a building. How many people can say they saw 3 turkeys just standing around on their way to work.

Silly, but it touches that part of me that loves animals, even wild ones.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Prop 8

This is my opinion, and if you read this then you might care what it is. Maybe not. I am not sure why as a people we think it is OK to tell someone who to love. Its not. We do not have control over who we love. If we did many people would not be in abusive situations. Many people would live happier lives.

But besides that everyone is created equal per our Constitutional rights. Why do we want to take someones rights away. If Prop 8 goes thru, do you realize that for a gay couple you are taking away rights. IF one gets sick, the Dr. actually doesn't have to let them see their partner, because they are not a spouse or a family member....

VOTE NO ON PROP 8!!!!!!

The world we live in today is very lacking in Common Courtesy, and Love. Why must we as a society put a right or wrong on it.
Live, Love, and Laugh!!!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Lion Brand Crochet Afgan Sampler



Here are my first two blocks in the CAL from Lion Brand Yarn