Before my husband passed away we decided to not get another dog after our last one passed on. Allof our dogs have died of old age and it is so hard on a person. But since he died I am lonely and tired of talking to myself. I was in town getting my windshield replaced, and the gal in the office belongs to Best Friends, a dog and cat rescue place. I was telling her no more big dogs maybe a small one but I never saw any small dogs on their ads. She picked the phone up real quick and made a call and low and behold they had a mixed chiuaua/terrier female that just came from the vet from being spayed. She had been in three foster homes and had separation anxiety. I went to see her and what a doll. Fell in love right away and she took to me like an old friend. Well I thought about it over the next couple days waiting for my adoption application to be approved and yes I believed this was the right decision.

After two day she knows how to sit, dance and come when called. Even if napping she will wake to see if I'm still in my chair and if not will look for me. She is getting better about not barking if I leave the house, like to water the yard and such. But she has her own timetable and can only wait so long, lol. I give her a treat if she doesn't bark.

The cats are another story. The oldest he is 6 does not want any part of it, the next in age he is 4 says no way also. Now the youngest he just turned 1 he has come as sat next to her for a bit at a time so there is hope. I know there is hope with the other two also, they were raised around dogs. I think they were just getting too used to an all cat household, lol.

Hannah is a doll and saves me from talking to myself, becoming that old lady no one wants to be around and the kids are afraid to walk by her house cause she's weird.

Blessings all

Lady Bleu

I read this in one of my groups and had to share. Makes you think thats for sure.

SEVEN WORDS OF WELL-BEING
written by Rachel Snyder

MOVE
Your address, your bed, your body, your bookshelf. Take a walk, take a
hike, take a step away from stagnating jobs, relationships and life
patterns. Change perspective. Move closer to people who meet you with
authenticity and nourish your wildest dreams. You don't have to move
mountains, shifting a single pebble can work wonders.

TOUCH
Touch the part of your own body that you love. Embrace in the bakery,
in the parking lot, in the doorways all over town. Kiss people on the
cheek. Stroke your cat more, pet your dog more. Savor the sensation
of a silky scarf, of a well-sanded piece of wood, of the triad of textures
in an Almond Joy. Moss, bark, rocks and the water work, too. The more you
do it, the less you bump up against the "ouch" in touch.

LISTEN
Sit in silence and see how much there is to hear. Listen to people.
What are they really saying? Listen to the very last notes of every
song. Listen to your own inner voice - the one you hear only when the dim
of every day is diminished. Hear the rustle of a leaf, the call of a bullfrog,
the pop and crackle of your wood stove. Listen with your toes, listen
with your heart and always listen to that which is never spoken.

FEEL
Feel the pain, feel the joy, until you feel you'll surely evaporate.
Stop holding back from laughing with your belly, loving from the
deepest places of your heart, swooning with the sensuality of life itself.
When another's disregard or arrogance enrages you, feel the anger rise up
and roar! If you're not truly feeling, you're not truly alive - you're just
going through the motions.

TRUST
Stop second-guessing yourself. You know what you know, you know? That
inner tickling is your highest truth. It will serve you well; the
backfire comes when you deny or discount it. Take in information,
from all sides, yet trust, in the end, that you - and you alone - know what's
best for you. If all day you pine to paint, then that is what you must do. If
you ache to walk beside the ocean, find a way to get there. Without complete
trust, you are left only to rust.

GATHER
Gather together with women and men you love. Sip tea together, walk
in the woods together, talk and talk and talk, read aloud to each
other, do absolutely nothing together. Revel in how your hair and your skin and
your bodies and your stories are so different - and so utterly alike.
Cook and eat together, stand beside the washing machine and cry and hug
and wail together. And most assuredly, laugh together until your sides
ache.

RECEIVE
For once, stop giving, giving, giving to everyone but yourself.
Accept a compliment with grace. Voice what you need - be it a hug, a
moment of talk, food for your table, a loan of money - and know that it will be
provided. Loosen your white-knuckled, stressed-out grasp on life, and
then let the palms of your hands fill to overflowing. Know that you deserve
all you receive, and remember to show your gratitude for the sheer
magnificence of a life lived well.

With Litha upon us I found this appropriate. New beginnings, new things to try and this fits in.

Enchanted Entrances and Bewitched Back Doors

Doorways are in between places. Therefore they are considered to be magickal. So why not take a look at this idea from a Witchy perspective and see what we can conjure up? It's time to concentrate on the entrances to your enchanting home. First impressions are absolutely important. The threshold of the Witch's home sets a tone and introduces a sort of ambiance. Visitors to your place will probably feel it as they step up to the door. This can be a feeling of welcome to friends and family or it could be a feeling of warning or unease to intruders. If you are going through the trouble of creating a home
that sparkles with magickal energy, why not set the mood right off the bat?There is the old, enchanting tradition of painting your front door blue. The color blue is both a magickal and peaceful color. It represents the element of water, healing, and protection. A blue door also denotes a magickal safe house. White-painted window frames and sashes were believed to keep out unwanted influences as well. And speaking of windows, if you have a front or back door that has a window in it, then try adding a stained glass panel to your door's window. A few celestial-style patterns, Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign
patterns, or something more art nouveau can be a very magickal addition indeed. If stained glass is out of your budget, then take a look at the arts and crafts stores for stick-on strips of leading and glass paints and patterns. This is a great way to get the look of stained glass and it's easy to do. These glass paints and leading strips can give an average door window a magickal, stained glass look at a fraction of the cost. Plus it's a good excuse to be magically creative all at the same time. What sort of design would
you add to your front door? Elemental symbols, stars, floral patterns? The sky's the limit.

How about adding bewitching plants in containers to your front porch? Try red geraniums for protection or pink geraniums to promote love. An ivy growing along the house is protective and a honeysuckle vine promotes prosperity. Hang up window boxes and stuff them full of aromatic and magickal
herbs, colorful flowers, and foliage. Consider planting begonias in your window boxes. These shade- and sun-loving annuals symbolize a protective warning. I plant begonias in my window boxes every year for protection and because they perform beautifully in the part-sun, part-shade area of my back
patio. Also, according to local Midwestern folklore, the way to spot the good Witches in the neighborhood was by the red geraniums or red begonias growing in window boxes at their homes.

"Cottage Witchery: Natural Magick for Hearth and Home" by Ellen
Dugan

Guardian spirit

The belief in guardian or guide spirits originated in tribal
cultures. The spirit, usually in an animal form, protects,
individuals, tribes, clans, or provides some sort of magical shamanic
power. The power possessed by the animal is generally believed to
represent the collective power of the entire species or genus, giving
the animal magical abilities to perform extraordinary feats, such as
the wolf with the power to fight.

These spirits usually appear in animal form, but have the ability to
assume human form too. In their animal form it is believed they can
talk to humans. This belief in animal formed spirits is derived from
a stronger belief that animals and humans were once related.

Beliefs concerning guardian spirits vary among the various tribal
cultures. Many tribes believe every male child is born with a
guardian spirit to protect him, otherwise he would never reach
adulthood. Other tribes believe not every male successfully gets a
guardian spirit; those who do not experience weakness and failure in
their lives.

Most tribes assume that it is less important for girls to acquire
guardian spirits because when reaching womanhood they do not become
hunters and warriors. Although, some tribes do have minor rites for
girls to acquire guardian spirits.

Totem guardian spirits are known among the Native North Americans,
especially among the tribes along the Northwest Coast. These totem
spirits can protect an entire tribe or clan with collective power or
the individual power of the animal. The totem animal is sacred to
that particular tribe. If, for example, a tribe's totem animal is a
bear, no member of that tribe is permitted to kill a bear, but the
tribe may eat flesh of a bear killed by another tribe.

In Shamanic cultures the shaman is required to have a guardian
spirit. He cannot be a shaman without one. The guardian spirit
empowers the shaman with its magical powers and serves as the
shaman's "animal power" or his alter ego.

Within an altered state of consciousness, in which he performs his
duties, the shaman assumes the form and power of the guardian spirit.
He sees it, converses with it, and uses it to help him achieve his
mission. The guardian is never harmful to the shaman but escorts him
through the underworld or accompanies him on his mystical ascents
into the sky.

The shaman can contact his guardian spirit regularly. This is
called "dancing the animal." Although, one guardian spirit does not
remain with the shaman throughout his life. The stays of the spirits
are temporary, and new spirits replace them.

Guardian spirits are not the same as "spirit helpers" which have
minor powers and specialized functions such as curing certain
diseases and illnesses. A shaman may use spirit helpers collectively.
And, guardian spirits are not to be confused with helper spirits.
Neither are guardian spirits to be confused with the tonal, a spirit
in animal form, which symbolizes the person's soul or birth date; nor
are they familiars.

There are several ways of acquiring guardian spirits: seeking a
solitary spirit quest or vision quest in the wilderness; spirits may
come in dreams to some persons; many tribes require the acquisition
of a guardian spirits during initiation rites into manhood. In some
rites hallucinogenic drugs are used.

One way of communicating with one's guardian spirit is during
ecstatic dancing when the person enters a trance state and assumes
the form of the animal. The Zuni, for example, call this
dance "Calling the Beasts."

From the tribal view point most Westerners still have guardian
spirits, but are not aware of them throughout their lives. This is
because of their lost contact with nature, and thus they rob
themselves of this source of greater reinforcing power. A.G.H.

Source:

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen.
Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience.
New York: HarperCollins, 1991
[ISBN 0-06-250366- 9]

At first I wasn't going to write about this but then I said why not? It is part of my life. May with Beltane symbolizing new beginnings I wanted to do something that I would remember, that would be a statement only I would know about as far are being visual.  After my husband died in March I was at a loss, and still am, but with my Beltane ritual came an awareness that unfortunately I had to start my life anew. I would always remember him of course but I needed something visual also. So as a symbol of my reaffirmation to the Lord and Lady I got my belly button pierced. I know, here I am 51 and doing something most kids are getting over. I don't wear short tops etc., so unless I pull up my shirt no one will ever know or see it. But I will know and it will remind me that new beginnings are not painful, just a bit scary.