Beware of toxic relationships
Mood:  sad
Topic: Toxic relationships

Probably at least once in your life you will experience what is known as a "toxic relationship" -- one in which you feel victimized by somebody or they make you feel uncomfortable. It can be a partner or it can be a friend.

Once you recognize that a friendship has gone "toxic," it's important to take steps either to remedy the situation (confront the friend and explain why they are causing problems in your relationship) or end it.

Read my article on ending toxic friendships at my Denver Examiner site:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12253-Denver-Relationship-Transition-Examiner~y2009m9d2-Toxic-friendships-demand-going-your-separate-ways

It's not an easy thing to do, I know, but sometimes for the sake of your own sanity and peace of mind, it becomes necessary.

 Namaste!

A tribute to an influential man
Topic: Tribute to Julian Joyce

Today (August 21) is the birthday of author and metaphysician Julian Joyce, who was our neighbor and our friend for many years when Ethan and I lived in Paonia. Our home was on Julian's land on Stucker Mesa, a special place that will live in my heart forever.

Julian was an interesting person who influenced a lot of people in many ways. He was born on Aug. 21, 1911 in Fredonia, Kansas. His life is depicted in detail in Julian's autobiography, An Empath, which he wrote and published in 1998, before his passing in 2000.

When I first met Julian in 1984, he was already in his 70s and married to Bonnie, his third wife. That marriage lasted only a couple of years. When I moved to Delta County in 1985, I became reacquainted with Julian on a professional level and he was often asked to lead discussions at metaphysical meetings held in my home. He was a fascinating speaker and a wealth of knowledge for newcomers.

In 1994, Ethan and I moved our mobile home onto Julian's property and began the process of purchasing the place. By then Julian was in his mid-80s and slowing down quite a bit. He was glad to have us there to help him with meals and cleaning his house and all the little things that needed doing around the place.

I helped publish a number of Julian's books through Earth Star, starting with a couple of his pamphlets, "Lifted Up" and "Into the Shekinah," and then his book "Thought." Later, he wrote "Sunrise" and "Cause," and then he wanted me to reprint Orrin William Auman's tome, "By the Help of the Infinite," which I did. All of his books, including "Cosmic Law," "Spiritual Renaissance of the New Age," and my favorite, "Translation" (about the apostle St. John) are available on Earth Star's shopping page.

Julian also had a column that ran in The Star Beacon, called "Cosmic Thoughts." I actually still have a couple of unpublished writings in a folder that one day I will share with the world.

When my parents would come to visit me, they always looked forward to their interesting discussions with Julian. He loved being the center of attention and really had a lot of good information to share. But, being human, he also had a dark side. He could be controlling and a little prejudiced. We learned to overlook that.

And so today I remember Julian on what would have been his 98th birthday. He passed onto the next world on Jan. 21, 2000 after a bout with pneumonia. At least he got to see the new millennium.

If you're interested in reading any of his books, please let me know and I can see that you get some.

I Have a Vision
Mood:  bright
Topic: A New Vision
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What if... there were a light center here in the beautiful San Juan Valley where I live? A place where people could gather from all over to share learning experiences and develop their spirituality?

I am envisioning a retreat here in Pagosa Springs, a metaphysical center where people come for weekends or special times of the year in order to explore classes in meditation, art, writing, music, and getting in touch with their higher selves. The possibilities are endless for the kinds of seminars that could be offered, using the local talent we have here as facilitators and teachers.

I believe the Four Corners region of the United States is a magnet right now, drawing lightworkers from all over -- calling them home. This is a place where you can talk about subjects and not fear ridicule, simply because there are so many like-minded ones already in place.

Granted, I have only been a resident of Pagosa Springs for two months, but I already feel the calling to put down my roots and be the "seed" in which something worthwhile can emerge and grow. A light center! A metaphysical college, of sorts, in which anyone can attend.

Imagine flying into the small Durango airport from some location across the country, then taking a shuttle van over the beautiful mountains into this glorious valley with its ponderosa pines, mountain ranges and high vibration. That alone is inspiring.

You arrive at a motel complex, ideally located outside of town, with a view of the sky and the mountains, and that is where you spend the next few days, attending classes, listening to talks, participating in ceremonies with drumming or meditation, and cleansing your spirit with the healing energies offered by this rich climate.

One price covers just about everything -- your stay, as well as the activities that you wish to fill your days and evenings, and therapists would be available for massages, readings or healing sessions of your choice. A dining room would offer a selection of healthy and delicious foods of many varieties (and reasonably priced).

The teachers and healers that are part of this light center would all receive equal pay, with the opportunity to do extra work on the side. As a patron, you would pay one price and participate in all of the workshops and activities as desired, but if you wanted one-on-one sessions with selected teachers and healers, you could arrange it with them according to their fees and schedules.

My vision is to make this an on-going retreat. Perhaps seminars held twice a month, over weekends and to involve a growing number of spiritually minded teachers and healers who have something to give. So many right now are searching for answers and feeling the pull to be more than what they have assumed they are in the past.

If you share my dream and my vision, please feel free to contact me and we'll build this dream together. Creative manifestation is powerful! Let's build a glorious light center in the Four Corners area -- something that will be known throughout the world!
 

E-mail Ann at starbeacon@gmail.com

How Bill touched my life
Topic: Bill's Passing
Recently an e-mail came from my best friend of childhood. Kath doesn't write that often, but she is good about letting me know when someone back home has made their transition. Today I learned it was the father of one of our closest childhood friends. He was 82 and had passed away on Tuesday of this week after suffering from Alzheimers.

My first reaction was relief. Relief not only for Bill, but for his wife and family. Due to the nature of his illness, the last months could not possibly have been happy ones. At least now Bill's suffering was over and his respite has begun -- something to celebrate.

At the same time, I read the obit that was so thoughtfully chosen and appropriate for Bill, and I burst into unexpected tears. Although I hadn't seen this man in 37 years, it brought me right back to when I was a young girl, included in one of their family outings to the woods along the Wisconsin River. I recalled, almost as if it were yesterday, my delight and fascination with the unusual neighbor man who triggered my love of the outdoors.

The family had chosen a quote from Walden: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." Such a fitting quote for the man I looked up to because his interests diverged from those around him. Unlike other fathers in the neighborhood who had jobs and went to work, Bill stayed home and worked as a time study engineer, designing office equipment and games. His wife worked full-time as a nurse.

He was a nature enthusiast who loved bird watching and often took his children and their companions on outings. He enjoyed classical music, poetry and encouraged reading and creativity. He had a profound influence on my life at an early age, I have no doubt about that.

I have been out of touch with the family for many years, especially since moving to Colorado in 1978. I suppose I have become somewhat philosophical in how I have dealt with other transitions in the last few years. I've lost old neighbor chums, cousins, uncles and close friends, not to mention my husband just nine months ago. So why this sudden flood of tears over someone in my distant past?

It is because my relationship with Bill, 26 years my senior, was on a soul level. There are all kinds of relationship transitions... divorce, losses such as with my husband, new relationships coming in with friends and all kinds of family members. Last year I gained a new grandchild. Each transition involves a new kind of adjustment in our lives.

Our challenge is being able to deal with those adjustments. Often, such as in the loss of a mate, there is a vast lifestyle change in the making. In my experience I was suddenly faced with loss of income in addition to losing a vital part of myself. In fusing my feelings with Bill's transition, I have come face to face with my inner child and how he contributed to my growth at an influential time in my life. I look back upon that experience with gratitude and fond memories.

In order to integrate a transition such as this one into your own life, you can reach out to the family members who must be dealing with it in a much more difficult way. They were close to their father while I was way outside the picture. Their pain is more intense, for sure. Letting them know that their father had such an impact on my life, perhaps by sending a note along with a sympathy card, expressing a happy memory, is one way I will deal with my own sadness. Better yet, a phone call may bring comfort.

Grief is more than just an emotion we experience when we lose someone. Grief comes into play when we lose a job, when we must move from a location we love, and even when our perspective changes on viewing a certain situation. Grief is not something to stifle and ignore. It requires acknowledgement, at least in some way, and tears have traditionally been the most healing pathway when we have lost something or someone in our lives.

In the future I will be looking at the other transitions in our lives, such as the role codependency plays when we get ourselves into relationships for less than good reasons, and how it can devastate us. There are also transitions within relationships that don't involve a relationship ending at all, but shifting to new levels.

Sooner or later, everyone has to face some kind of major transition in their lives. But it is not the end of the world. It may feel that way for a while, and in some cases, for some people, it can last for years. But there are ways to integrate these changes into our lives so that we come out richer and stronger, able to tackle the next one that comes along.

Bill's passing has stirred something inside of me and caused me to examine and acknowledge a part of me that grew into something I value because he was in my life, if even for a short period of time in comparison to the scale of things. I look back and can't help but smile when I think of the wonderful times we all had in the woods... I can still smell the fresh spring blossoms and autumn leaves after a rain, and I recall how Bill taught me the joy of nature and the wittiness of word play.

I'm sure I see him, in my mind's eye, whistling along a path in a green forest in the Great Beyond.

Another Cold and Rainy Memorial Day
Mood:  blue
Topic: Memorial Day Gloom

Living up to its reputation, Memorial Day 2009 is cold and rainy in the Rockies, specifically Pagosa Springs, Colorado — my new home.

That's not to say there haven't been warm and beautiful Memorial Day holidays in my memory. Last year, in fact, was really "summer like" in southeastern Ohio. It was my last Memorial Day weekend with my late husband, and as I recall, we had company and there was a lot of hustle and bustle involved.

This year I am all alone. The weather suits me because I am definitely in a "memorial mood." Two weeks ago I arrived here in Pagosa Springs with my dog and my cat, after four to five days of traveling across the country in our Windstar. We were all glad to get to our new home and to greet the movers, who unloaded our furniture and a multitude of boxes — most of which, believe it or not, I have already unpacked. The climate was everything I'd hoped it would be — sunny, blue skies, gorgeous!

This Memorial Day weekend, for me, has been reflective and quiet. It seems everyone else must be busy with their own lives. The phone hasn't rung and nobody has come by. That's okay, though. I think I needed to have this time to be in solitude and to pay silent respect to those in my life who have passed and contributed their love and gifts to the world.

It doesn't matter that Ethan wasn't a veteran. He still served... in many ways. In his lifetime he gave to so many along the way. He made a big difference in people's lives, especially those who were close to him. My memories are all happy ones today. I do miss him, but somehow I feel he isn't far away from me.

Naturally my thoughts also turn to my Dad on this Memorial Day. He was a veteran of World War II, and he was a big influence on many people's lives. I am proud to have had Marvin Schumacher as my father in this lifetime. I honor my brother Jim, who was in Vietnam in the US Army during the 1960s, and I honor all the men and women who had the guts to join our Armed Forces in the last several decades. It could not have been easy for most of them.

The aftermath of all the changes that occurred in my life these past months seems to finally be landing at my feet. For so long everything has been geared to getting me right to this moment — being
in Colorado again — and now that I am here, and all has come to pass, I can't help but ask, "OK, God, what now?"

I know there is a purpose why I was led here to Pagosa Springs and not back to my old haunts in Paonia and Delta. It would have been easy for me to throw my arms up in the air and return to Paonia, where everything is familiar and I still have some friends. Yet I chose Pagosa Springs. A couple of times this past week I've asked myself, "Why? Why did I come to a place where I don't know anyone really, and the chances of work are not that great?"

Why did Spirit make it so easy for me to come here? There has to be an answer. I know there is a reason for everything. ith all the changes in my life, I suppose it's inevitable to feel this way now. Why didn't I go to Durango, near Niara, where job prospects are better? Why didn't I return to the North Fork?

Well... I did ask myself these questions before I made my final decision. I tried to like Durango, really I did! That small voice within said, "It's too big!" And when I considered the North Fork, the small voice cried out again, "Too many memories. You need a fresh start."

That's one reason I'm in Pagosa... to make a fresh start... a new beginning. No chance of falling back into old habits and getting stuck, wondering if the grass is greener on the other side. I'm here! The grass is greener HERE! Really, it's so friggin' beautiful in this part of Colorado, all else pales in my mind's eye.

But it's not just the beauty of the area, it's the ENERGY.

I am learning patience. I know that God will let me know my path when the time is right. All I need to do is trust, and let go of my insecurities. I have too much going for me not to trust afer I've come this far. There is much work to do. December 2012 is not that far away, and I have a part to play in whatever is going to occur at that time.

How interesting it will be to look back a year from now, when Memorial Day comes around again, and I remember how vulnerable and alone I felt now, uncertain as to the future, waiting for God's Plan to unfold...

It's time to go back to being weird
Mood:  energetic

The following was published in the May issue of the New Mat Top Hat (in New Matamoras, Ohio)

JACKSON RUN — I want to express in this, my last article, how much I have enjoyed being a part of the New Matamoras community. The last two years that I've spent here have become ingrained in my memory and I will carry fond thoughts of the land along the river with some of the friendliest people around.

When I came here in February 2007 with my late husband, it was with the intention of getting a taste of retirement, and it was a much needed break from an extremely busy life and work load -- not to mention a respite from weirdness. I'll explain later.

Early in 2006 Ethan had mentioned to me how much he loved southeastern Ohio. He used to come here to hunt every fall with his sons, his brother and his nephews. In fact, his brother had bought a house on Jackson Run in 1989, which he subsequently sold to the people who currently live there. Ethan wished his brother had kept that place because he loved the woods and the area and wished he had thought to buy property here years ago.

I said to him, "Well, you could still buy property there, if you want." He looked at me and said, "But you wouldn't want to move there."

"What makes you say that?" I replied. "Maybe I need a change."

I remember the twinkle in his blue eyes. "You mean, you would consider it?" Not only did I consider it, but I was aching for some new direction in our lives. I was getting burned out with my job and I felt there was too much stress in my life, due to my "outside interests" and the burden of always being the one to turn to.

So we wrote the Marietta Chamber of Commerce and gathered information, hoping to take a trip when summer came, to check out the area. Then, Ethan got sick the end of February 2006. A strange viral pneumonia triggered his pulmonary fibrosis and he almost died. He went on oxygen and life changed quite suddenly for both of us. I gave up on the idea of pursuing the "Southeast Ohio Dream."

Later that summer, someone suggested that Ethan might not need as much oxygen if we lived at a lower altitude. Where we lived in Colorado it was 6,000 feet. When we asked the doctor, she admitted that it was possible he might do better at a lower altitude. Once again I began researching the southeastern Ohio area, and on the Internet I found the house on Jackson Run. When I told Ethan, he grew excited and wanted us to make a trip out to see the house.

You may think it’s a bit much for somebody to travel almost 2,000 miles to look at a piece of real estate, but this is the man who traveled 2,000 miles to meet me... and look where I ended up because of it. Anyway, I got a couple of weeks off from work and we drove to Marietta the end of September.

Ethan wired the car so that we could bring the oxygen concentrator, since he needed it full time. He did seem to improve as soon as we left the high country.

The house on Jackson Run was the only property we looked at on that trip. We liked it and so we bought it. It wasn't quite that simple, though. We still had to list our home in Colorado, and this was at the time when the real estate market was starting to sour. I guess it was meant to be, though, because within two months our place sold and in another two months we arrived in New Matamoras, along with a snow storm and freezing temperatures at the end of January 2007.

I loved it here. I loved the woods, I loved the river, and when spring came the birds were my passion. It was quiet, it was secluded, and it didn't take me long to get used to not having a job any more. I had already made up my mind, when we moved, that I was going to become a "normal person." I wasn't going to talk to anybody in our new community about my interests other than writing novels, raising chickens and being a songbird fanatic -- all of which were safe, "normal" topics.

Sometimes I think being weird is like wearing a badge that everyone can see. We were there only a couple of days when some locals came to the house and the first thing the man asked was, "(So-and-So) tells me you're psychic."

I didn't know what to say. Okay, I'm intuitive, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm actually psychic, although they say everybody is -- to a certain extent. I kind of laughed it off and said, "Well, not really... but I am into UFOs."

Maybe it was the wrong thing to say. His wife got that look and her eyes rolled up into her head. But her husband said, "Oh, yeah, I'm interested in UFOs!" The wife kind of slunk away at that point. I didn't need to be psychic to pick up that she wanted nothing to do with aliens or space craft.

I decided from then on just to hush up and try to remember not to bring it up with anybody again.

You see, back in Colorado I was known as the "UFO lady" because back in the 1980s I was an associate director of an organization that helped UFO percipients, which translates to people who think they've been abducted or have had some kind of contact with an unidentified craft or the folks who fly them. My role was to listen, to record their stories, investigate, and try to reassure them that they weren't necessarily crazy or alone. I, too, had experienced some anomalous and unexplained weirdness, and all my life I've been weird (which isn't a bad thing, it just means I think differently from most folks).

I guess that's what attracted my husband to me. It was because of our mutual interest in the subject that he found me and traveled 2,000 miles just to meet me. At that time in my life I was actively holding public meetings about UFOs, spreading awareness so that people could learn that the subject is not just something to make fun of. Real people, including police officers and airline pilots -- and yes, even our astronauts -- have witnessed the unexplainable.

There are countless instances of very credible sightings and contacts that have taken place over many decades. For reasons known only to them, certain people in control of our government and our military do not want everyone else to know the truth about our planet's visitors. Other countries in the world, such as Mexico and Belgium, are much more open with their citizens about the subject. Since July 1947 and the Roswell incident, extraterrestrials became a matter of national security and a grand plan to brainwash the public into believing witnesses are crazy and that UFOs do not exist was launched. The controlled media always makes fun of sightings... haven't you noticed?

Most people I would talk to found the subject fascinating, and usually had their own story to share. They would call me at all hours of the day or night, call me at work, corner me on the street, and after years of that, I felt I needed a break. My little monthly UFO newsletter, The Star Beacon, which I began in April 1987, grew into what it is today, a 16-page color magazine, now in its 23rd year. I have subscribers all over the world, and the Internet has allowed me to expand with a PDF version and a Web site that offers many of the articles free each month.

It's easy to get burned out on being weird, especially when you're trying to raise a family, have enough time for your husband, write novels on the side, and go camping and bird watching. I got stretched really thin in 2006 -- to the breaking point -- which is why coming to Ohio seemed to be the right choice. Of course the fact that my husband needed to come here to enjoy his last years was the most important reason, and I've never regretted that we came.

However, he passed away last September, and I've been alone long enough. Our place is too big for one person, and I want to be close to my 10-month-old grandson who lives in Colorado. So I'm going back this month. I sold the property and am headed for Pagosa Springs, a community of about 1,500 people, with lots and lots of weird folks just like me... I knew it was going to become my home when I visited there last fall.

I've had my fill of being normal, let's face it… It's time to go back to being weird, which just happens to be my calling. Pagosa Springs, some say, is a vortex area and right now is attracting a lot of us so-called light workers. What’s that, you ask? To put it in simple terms, a light worker is someone who tries to make the world a better place. Sometimes you don't need to do anything except simply be in an area for a while... just sort of light up the area around you... using good thoughts, emitting positive energy and kindness, even if it's just a smile at a stranger or a loving thought. It has nothing to do with being religious, it's a spiritual thing... I know some light workers who don't even have a clue who they are. I'm sure one of them lives on my road.

So now I hope I've explained my reasons and extended my gratitude to you for allowing me to be a part of the New Matamoras community. I may have been somewhat of a hermit all these months, but it was necessary for me to re-energize and get ready to fulfill my mission. We are not far away from December 2012, the end of the Mayan Calendar, and a time many people find exciting because of the possible shift in consciousness and dimension.

Ethan wanted so badly to stick around for it... but you know what? He is anyway! But that's another story.

And if you want the whole story, you'll have to get my book, which coincidentally is coming out this very month. Throughout All Time is my spiritual autobiography about the man who traveled 2,000 miles to meet me, and the ensuing two decades we shared that were not always the dream life we had envisioned.

Naturally, Jackson Run plays its own part in the book. You can order it at my Web site, or it will be available on Amazon.com probably by mid-May. Thank you for letting me share your beautiful corner of Ohio for a while. I will never forget this area nor the friendly faces I've come to know in the last two years.

To order the book, go to https://earthstar.tripod.com/cosmiclove.html

 

Return of the Songbirds
Mood:  happy
Topic: Songbirds Return

It's been a long winter. I just came back from a road trip with my dog to Wisconsin, where I grew up. I didn't go over Easter weekend because of bad weather. Last weekend was beautiful, however, and the songbirds were reminding everyone of that fact.

My brother lives in the country near Clinton, Wis., and his backyard acreage is a Bird Paradise, even more so than the one here on Jackson Run (in Ohio). They have feeding stations set up all over and attract a good variety of songbirds throughout the year. Springtime is especially delightful. My niece was ecstatic because a group of cedar waxwings had spent a few days there.

The goldfinches were bright bright yellow, and we watched red-bellied woodpeckers come to the feeder, as well as blue jays, cardinals and starlings ("junk birds" to some). Up near Madison, where my sister lives not far from wetlands, ducks and geese could be viewed, and I heard the call of a snipe on a few occasions.

Returning home yesterday, I had hoped the wood thrushes had returned by now, but so far I haven't heard one. The frogs were in chorus last night after a heavy rain, and at daybreak this morning I awoke to a flood of birdsong in my own backyard. Glorious!

Sadly I'm looking out the window as the cardinal helps himself to some sunflower seeds on my platform feeder. The chipping sparrow, a Carolina chickadee and a couple of mourning doves have joined him, while a rufous-sided towhee collects spilled seeds on the ground. I will miss my favorite Eastern songibrds in a couple of weeks, after I've left Ohio to return to the mountains in Colorado. We just don't have cardinals and blue jays in that part of the West.

I will miss the frogs and the fantastic bird sounds of the East, but I wanted to move more than I wanted to stay and hear the birds. I have a 10-month-old grandson who needs his Granny nearby. I'll soon be happy to see a western meadowlark again and a magpie and pinon jay. The West does have its perks as well.

But until that moment comes... I'm getting as much of the Eastern songbirds as I can. I think I'll get out for an early morning walk in my woods this week... one last chance to enjoy a special gift from the Creator... and Ranger can come along if he's quiet.

 

The Week of Crasher
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Crasher finds a home

On President's Day I came home late. It was getting dark and the dog was riled up about something. He and Jessica had been stirred up the entire weekend, but I had presumed it was the snowstorm we'd had. They were both acting rather disturbed, so I followed Ranger into the backyard and that's when I discovered a stray cat sitting on top of my furnace underneath one of the bedroom windows.

The black and white cat was friendly and meowed pitifully, probably because it was cold and hungry. It let me approach and pick it up. I carried it into the house and noticed he was bony and ruffled looking but otherwise sociable and appeared used to humans.

I noticed he had beautiful green eyes. It tugged at my heart to think that somebody had dropped him off and abandoned him.

His reaction to my two pets was less than friendly, so I removed the stray to the breezeway between the house and the garage, and gave him food and water for the night.

The next morning when I stepped outside, the black and white cat meowed loudly, wanting food, and I opened a can of Fancy Feast, which he consumed the entire contents. Afterwards, I was amazed that the cat reached his paws up onto my shoulders and gave me a "hug." I had won his affections from that point on.

Now what was I going to do? I didn't want or need another cat. He had reacted aggressively toward both Ranger and Jessica, so I thought, OK, I'll check around and see if there's an animal shelter I can take him to.

Meanwhile, he was getting caught up with missed meals and starting to relax a bit. He craved affection and I felt guilty about not giving him the attention he could have if I'd allowed him into my house. That was out of the question, of course. Jessica was already having a fit and not wanting to go outside with the intruder around.

By the time the weekend came around again, I realized I had to do something. I named the cat "Crasher," and took pictures of him with my digital camera. Then I whipped up a flyer and printed off a few copies, then drove into town and put them up at various locations. I hoped and prayed someone would find it in their heart to adopt this deserving kitty. As an incentive I offered to pay for his neutering and would provide two week's worth of food.

The next day I got a call from a local woman who wanted Crasher. She wasn't sure where I lived, but I got directions to her house and made an appointment to deliver Crasher that evening. Thank goodness she gave me her cell phone number, because I had trouble locating her house out in the country and had to call.

The first place I stopped at, which I mistakenly thought was her house, was an old trailer with scattered junk everywhere in the yard. I knocked on the door and could hear a television playing, but nobody bothered to answer the door. I quickly left. I didn't want to think that would be Crasher's home. I had a vision of some trashy person answering my ad because they wanted to collect the money I offered and didn't really care about the animal.

I drove on up the road and passed some nicer homes, then got lost and had to turn around. I called the woman's cell number and she directed me back to her place. What a wonderful relief to discover she lived in a beautiful house, neatly landscaped, and she appeared to be an animal-loving human who had several dogs and cats already.

She welcomed Crasher into her home and I had a very good feeling about her. I left with that happy feeling that even though it had cost me sixty dollars, Crasher had a chance for a good life and I had done my good deed for the day.

Ranger -- a perfect gentleman -- was relieved not to have to back off from a stray cat, and I think Jessica has already forgiven me, although I told her repeatedly she was my dearest and one-and-only cat and nothing would ever change that.

Thank you, Michelle, for giving Crasher a chance at a good life!

 

Can winter be over now?
Mood:  chillin'
Topic: Tired of Winter

Okay, January is a done deal. Let's have winter over with already.

I've had enough snow, ice and cold to last until... well, until next year.

 I thought I had moved to a part of the country that had "mild" winters, as in "little snow," "warmer than what you're used to temperatures," and so on... get my drift?

Last week really tried my patience. We got hit with an Ice Storm. The day before (Tuesday) I had gone out and spent two hours shoveling off my concrete driveway so it wouldn't turn into a skating rink.

Well, guess what? After the Ice Storm it truly became a skating rink.

Then it had to snow on top of that. This isn't Wisconsin, it's southern Ohio... where last year we had more rain than snowflakes. Much more rain. Not to mention relatively warm winter days... not like what you'd find in Arizona or Alabama, mind you, but... tolerable.

The ice storm affected a lot of people from Arkansas to New England and claimed several people's lives. I guess I was pretty lucky that the power was out for only ten hours here on Wednesday. But, believe me, ten hours without water and heat and not being able to flush the toilets was long enough.

Fortunately, the night before, I'd gotten the message to store up several gallons of tap water to keep on hand... just in case... (THANK YOU, ETHAN!) and I ground up my organic Peruvian coffee beans... (thanks, Marty, they're delicious, by the way). There was plenty of food in the house and good insulation kept the indoor temperature in the house from dropping below 65.

But I was sure a Happy Camper when, at 6:30 pm, the lights came back on... along with the confused telephone in the bedroom trying to tell me to re-program it. Every digital clock in the house needed to be re-set, in fact. But I was GRATEFUL!

And talk about Computer Withdrawal... I had that pretty bad on Wednesday. I had gone without checking e-mail almost 24 hours and I survived! But just barely.

Actually, it was kind of fun not having power for a few hours. I was amazed at the SILENCE in this house. I played the piano three different times that day, just because it was something I could do without having electricity. I buckled down and started editing my book near the window with the most light. I talked on the telephone to people I wouldn't ordinarily call.

But enough is enough. I'm tired of winter and I want spring to get here. Bring on the ground hog!

I'm also ready for all this snow to melt and find its way to the Ohio River so I can tidy up the lawn and get this place SOLD. I'm moving to Colorado in the spring, whether I have a buyer for Jackson Run or not.

Oh yes, I know Colorado has winter. And does it EVER have winter... but at least I won't be alone anymore, and powder snow is much more desirable than ICE STORMS and tumbling trees that can come down on top of your car.

When my husband was alive, winter was actually kind of fun. We had each other. Now that he's gone, it's a totally different scenario. But I guess I had to experience it for myself. Now that I've been there and done that... I'm ready for spring.

 

Wanted: Your True Stories
Mood:  bright
Topic: Wanted: Your True Stories

Have you lost someone close to you -- through death -- and received some kind of sign or communication from them?

I am collecting stories from people who have had paranormal occurrences after the passing of a loved one. I am accepting story submissions NOW for a new book on mourning, to assist others who have -- or will -- face it.

E-mail me at acmiller@wildblue.net with your story, or you can send me a TYPED version by snail mail. The address is: Earth Star Publications, 3885 Jackson Run Rd., New Matamoras OH 45767.

If I select your story to be included, I will contact you to obtain written permission for publication.

Thank you!