August Update

I start radiation Tuesday the 10th. Last Wednesday I went to the radiation center and got my tattoos but I can't find one of them. I don't think it took. They are just one little pin prick on my stomach. There is one on my left side, one on my stomach but I can't find the one on my right side.

I am still sore, red and bruised at the surgery site. The surgery was done in April and it's still there. My surgeon says it looks good though so I'll take her word for it.

The great tomato Topsy Turvey experiment has failed miserably. Do not try them.. In fact the only things doing well in the pots are the herbs. Here in Texas you have to water at least once a day preferably twice. I however have been quite lazy of late. I think I'll try maybe and re-pot the tomatoes and move the herbs closer to the house.

What with the Chemo and the Chronic Fatigue I just don't feel like even watering. Luckily Roy has been here to help with the chickens and ducks. By the time he goes to A & M I'll be well enough to take over his jobs.

I have been feeling much better since I finished chemo, I started taking all my supplements again. My Oncologist Dr Encarnacion, said not to take anti oxidants
or vitamin c, So I basically quit everything but calcium and my prescription meds.
I have to say that since I started taking ginkgo baloba and lecithin I feel more aware. I take evening primrose oil and black cohosh for the hormone's that I cannot take. Vitamin c, calcium with d and magnesium, hylauronic acid and glucosomine/chondroiten with MSM for my joints, plus asprin, and various and sundry other stuff.. OH and milk thistle for my liver because of the diabetes and cholesterol meds that I take. WOW!!!

I KNOW!!!!! But you know I feel so much better now.

I am hoping too that the anti oxidants and milk thistle will help cleanse my system of the chemo faster.

My husband pulled a muscle under his arm at work. So he had to go to the doc. Wrap it and take pain killers.

He got a new job at his work. A lateral placement. Same rate and pay grade, but he loves it. New fancy cubicle and a window@@@@!!!!! A window!!!!

Roy is doing good in school except for the bitch of a Comp 1 teacher.. she doesn't like him. And she may kick him off the honor roll because of it.

Carrie has gotten approved to substitute teach in the Long Beach schools and also has gotten enrolled at Southern in Long Beach. I'm glad that she is back on the school track.

And Unity is wonderful. She is such a smart kid and funny.
She will be in the 4th grade? 10. I don't know I can't keep up with it. She is in the gifted program and plays hockey.

I think someone should suggest to the schools on the coast to instate a field hockey program so that more interest in the hockey team will be generated besides a lot of the colleges have field hockey.

My best friend from high school's husband has colon cancer so I am thinking good thoughts for them.
My cousin has it too so Keeping a good thought for her.
Blessed Be

Well I have nothing relevant to say just wanted to write about what's going on.. No earth shattering thoughts on the world or economy.

Stolen Book

Have you ever had a book that you loved? Then you loan it to someone who solemnly swear to return the book. You know what's coming yet don't you?

Yea.. she never returned it and then pretty much denied having it.

Over the span of 25 or so years I forgot the name of the book but nevertheless, I never forgot the subject: Particularly because of the subject matter.
Sculptural cakes. I know right?!

Sculptured cakes are so popular now, but I got the book back in the late 70's or early 80's. I used to make them for my kids birthdays and Christmas.

Then she "stole" it from me. I've looked for it several times online but I could never find it. I found new books and not so new books on sculptured cakes. I found directions online for making sculptured cakes.

Well today I sat down with an intensity in my searching fingers. I went to the Library of Congress site. I typed in cakes. Guess what?!

I FOUND THE BOOK!!

Creative Cakes By Stephanie Crookston


I found it on Amazon and ordered that puppy. I am so excited. It's not as heavy on the rolled fondant like a lot of the newer books are. Not like the ones we see on Ace of Cakes or the cake challenges on Food Network.

However it's neat that I found it and I can prove that HEY I was making these cakes years before they were the Big Thang in cake decorating.


BOOB UPDATE

Surgery is about two months old. I finally had my appointment with the chemotherapy doctor and the radiation therapist. I will not have radiation until I am done with the chemotherapy in about 4 to 6 months.. depending what kind of chemo he decides that I need.

I know that these things take time.. but I want to get this over with. Its limbo. At least now I know what the game plan is. We are just waiting on the results of the new test they are running on the tumor that they took out of me. They have to see which drugs will take care of it.

I am very tired now.. so I am closing.. Peace

NEWS

About 2 months ago I went in for a yearly mammogram. I had had a bad mammo last year and was supposed to go in and have it looked at 6 months ago.. and didn't anyway.
I have cancer. I had surgery the 4th of February. The surgeon removed the mass on my right breast, which coincidentally I had cancer in 12 years ago, and also 11 lymph nodes. Three of them had cancer. It's stage 1, but I am not happy about it.

I am very sore. My skin feels like it's on fire.

I will start radiation next week and maybe chemotherapy.

Having cancer twice is a strange thing. I thought the first time was a fluke. Apparently it wasn't.

I'm scared and scarred. Tired and weak from the surgery, from the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and lack of exercise.

more later.

SAMHAIN

A Brief History of Hallowe'en

Author: Christina Aubin [a WitchVox Sponsor]
Posted: October 28th. 2007
Times Viewed: 206,581

Witch Vox

The Celtic peoples called the time between Samhain (pronounced "SOW-in" in Ireland, SOW-een in Wales, "SAV-en" in Scotland or even "SAM-haine" in non Gaelic speaking countries) and Brigid's Day "the period of little sun." Thus, Samhain is often named the "Last Harvest" or "Summer's End".

While almost all Celtic based traditions recognize this Holiday as the end of the "old" year, some groups do not celebrate the coming of the "new year" until Yule. Some consider the time between Samhain and Yule as a time which does not even exist on the Earthly plane. The "time which is no time" was considered in the "old days" to be both very magickal and very dangerous. So even today, we celebrate this Holiday with a mixture of joyous celebration and 'spine tingling" reverence.

The Samhain Holiday begins at sundown on October 31st. The nightide was always a time to be wary of walking alone in the countryside. So much more on this Night when the veils between the worlds of humans and spirits was at its thinnest. Traditional lore speaks of the dead returning to visit their kin and the doors to the Lands of the Sidhe (pronounced "shee") or Faery Realm being opened.

"The Feast of the Dead" ("Fleadh nan Mairbh") is laid out by many to welcome these otherworldly visitors and gain their favor for the coming year. Many folks leave milk and cakes ("Bannock Samhain" ) outside their door on Samhain Eve or set a place at their table for their ancestors who may want to join in the celebrations with their kin and family.

Some Witches use a chant at the beginning of the Feast to welcome their ancestors.

One of these, for example goes like this:

And so it is, we gather again,
The feast of our dead to begin.
Our Ancients, our Ancestors we invite, Come!
And follow the setting of the sun.

Whom do we call? We call them by name
(Name your ancestor that you wish want to welcome.)

The Ancients have come! Here with us stand
Where ever the country, where ever the land
They leave us not, to travel alone;
Flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone!

Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Great be their Power!
Past ones and present-at this very hour!

Welcome within are the dead who are kin,
Feast here with us and rest here within
Our hearth is your hearth and welcome to thee;
Old tales to tell and new visions to see!

It is also customary to light a new candle for the "new year". This ritual harkens back to the days when Samhain was one of only two days- the other being Beltaine-when it was considered correct to extinguish the "hearth fire" and then to re-light it. If your fire failed at any other time of the year, it was thought to be very bad luck indeed.

Upon the rekindling of the fire in the morning, this blessing was often said:


We Call Upon The Sacred Three:
To Save... To Shield... To Surround
The Hearth... The House... The Household
This Night, Each Night, Every Night.!


Many Witches of the Old Ways, actually celebrate "two" Samhains or Halloweens (Yes, some older traditions DO use the term "halloween"!) . The "Old" date for Samhain occurs when the sun has reached 15 degrees Scorpio. (As a side note, the Catholic Church has "borrowed" this same day to celebrate the holiday of "Martinmas".) So if you follow this Way, you can always celebrate the "party aspect" with your friends on one date and the "worship" part with your kin on the other.

If you are interested in learning more about Samhain traditions and customs, you can read Peg Aloi's article entitled "You Call It Hallowe'en... We Call It Samhain"




Copied from Wikipedia:

The term "Samhain" derives from the name of a month in the ancient Celtic calendar, in particular the first three nights of this month, with the festival marking the end of the summer season and the end of the harvest. Samhain was also called the Féile Moingfhinne ie "Festival of Mongfind". According to Cormac's Glossary, Mongfind (mod.Irish spelling Mongfhionn) was a goddess the pagan Irish worshipped on Samhain. The Gaelic festival became associated with the Catholic All Souls' Day, and appears to have influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween. Samhain is also the name of a modern festival in various currents of Neopaganism that are based on, or inspired by, Gaelic traditions.

The Gaulish calendar appears to have divided the year into two halves: the 'dark' half, beginning with the month Samonios (the October/November lunation), and the 'light' half, beginning with the month Giamonios (the April/May lunation). The entire year may have been considered as beginning with the 'dark' half, so that the beginning of Samonios may be considered the Celtic New Year's day. The celebration of New Year itself may have taken place during the 'three nights of Samonios' (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]), the beginning of the lunar cycle which fell nearest to the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. The lunations marking the middle of each half-year may also have been marked by specific festivals. The Coligny calendar marks the mid-summer moon (see Lughnasadh), but omits the mid-winter one (see Imbolc). The seasons are not oriented at the solar year, viz. solstice and equinox, so the mid-summer festival would fall considerably later than summer solstice, around 1 August (Lughnasadh). It appears that the calendar was designed to align the lunations with the agricultural cycle of vegetation, and that the exact astronomical position of the Sun at that time was considered less important.

In medieval Ireland, Samhain became the principal festival, celebrated with a great assembly at the royal court in Tara, lasting for three days. After being ritually started on the Hill of Tlachtga, a bonfire was set alight on the Hill of Tara, which served as a beacon, signaling to people gathered atop hills all across Ireland to light their ritual bonfires. The custom has survived to some extent, and recent years have seen a resurgence in participation in the festival.

Samhain was identified in Celtic literature as the beginning of the Celtic year[8] and its description as "Celtic New Year" was popularised in 18th century literature[9] From this usage in the Romanticist Celtic Revival, Samhain is still popularly regarded as the "Celtic New Year" in the contemporary Celtic cultures, both in the Six Celtic Nations and the diaspora. For instance, the contemporary calendars produced by the Celtic League begin and end at Samhain.
Gaelic folklore

The Samhain celebrations have survived in several guises as a festival dedicated to the harvest and the dead. In Ireland and Scotland, the Féile na Marbh, the 'festival of the dead' took place on Samhain.

The night of Samhain, in Irish, Oíche Shamhna and Scots Gaelic, Oidhche Shamhna, is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, and falls on the October 31. It represents the final harvest. In modern Ireland and Scotland, the name by which Halloween is known in the Gaelic language is still Oíche/Oidhche Shamhna. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast, and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night.

Traditionally, Samhain was time to take stock of the herds and grain supplies, and decide which animals would need to be slaughtered in order for the people and livestock to survive the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock because it is when meat will keep since the freeze has come and also since summer grass is gone and free foraging is no longer possible.

Bonfires played a large part in the festivities celebrated down through the last several centuries, and up through the present day in some rural areas of the Celtic nations and the diaspora. Villagers were said to have cast the bones of the slaughtered cattle upon the flames. In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the primary unit of currency and the center of agricultural and pastoral life. Samhain was the traditional time for slaughter, for preparing stores of meat and grain to last through the coming winter. The word 'bonfire', or 'bonefire' is a direct translation of the Gaelic tine cnámh. With the bonfire ablaze, the villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well.

Divination is a common folkloric practice that has also survived in rural areas. The most common uses were to determine the identity of one's future spouse, the location of one's future home, and how many children a person might have. Seasonal foods such as apples and nuts were often employed in these rituals. Apples were peeled, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape examined to see if it formed the first letter of the future spouse's name. Nuts were roasted on the hearth and their movements interpreted - if the nuts stayed together, so would the couple. Egg whites were dropped in a glass of water, and the shapes foretold the number of future children. Children would also chase crows and divine some of these things from how many birds appeared or the direction the birds flew.
Ancient Ireland

The Ulster Cycle is peppered with references to Samhain. Many of the adventures and campaigns undertaken by the characters therein begin at the Samhain Night feast. One such tale is Echtra Nerai ('The Adventure of Nera') concerning one Nera from Connacht who undergoes a test of bravery put forth by King Ailill. The prize is the king's own gold-hilted sword. The terms hold that a man must leave the warmth and safety of the hall and pass through the night to a gallows where two prisoners had been hanged the day before, tie a twig around one man's ankle, and return. Others had been thwarted by the demons and spirits that harassed them as they attempted the task, quickly coming back to Ailill's hall in shame. Nera goes on to complete the task and eventually infiltrates the sídhe where he remains trapped until next Samhain. Taking etymology into consideration, it is interesting to note that the word for summer expressed in the Echtra Nerai is samraid.

The other cycles feature Samhain as well. The Cath Maige Tuireadh (Battle of Mag Tuired) takes place on Samhain. The deities Morrígan and Dagda meet and have sex before the battle against the Fomorians; in this way the Morrígan acts as a sovereignty figure and gives the victory to The Dagda's people, the Tuatha Dé Danann.

The tale The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn includes an important scene at Samhain. The young Fionn Mac Cumhail visits Tara where Aillen the Burner, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, puts everyone to sleep at Samhain and burns the place. Through his ingenuity Fionn is able to stay awake and slays Aillen, and is given his rightful place as head of the fianna.

Many people know the first few lines of this speech. Many people know that Lincoln spoke these words in Gettysburg many years ago. But I wonder how many people have thoughtfully read these words lately.




Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
November 19, 1863

On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner commented on what is now considered the most famous speech by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called it a "monumental act." He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech."

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

borrowed from http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Summer

Summer is here full blast in Central Texas. Sooo hot!!!
My kids were here from Mississippi.Got to see my granddaughter for the first time in about 3 years. Don't want it to be that long ever again. She is so smart and fun to be around.

We took a trip to Kansas to let my kids get to know my brother and his family. We had a blast. Managed to get to Waco once and to the movies to see Angels and Demons, but other than that we just hung out here at the house.. cooked and ate and computered.

I have not knitted a stitch, painted a stroke or pottered a bit for ages. I do however have a sort of garden. But it's so hot I only manage to water. I dug some taters and carrots yesterday and we ate them for dinner last night.

Hoping to keep up with this a little more..