Scenes from Mardi Gras '07

Grandma Mimi's old yellow ball dress comes in handy.

Sorry, Anna Nicole Smith. RIP. There was a guy walking with these ladies. His sign read, "I'm the Baby's Daddy."
Old dominatrixes go to New Orleans when they retire.
His makeup was very cool.

You'll have to enlarge the image to read his sign. He ran with a pack of dreamers.

Happy Birthday to me.

I encourage all who visit my blog to watch this video. Mind you, it has the eff word a lot, so if you are easily offended... get over yourself.

Love,
Janine

solar returns

The solar return is when the Sun gets to the exact degree every year when you were born. You celebrate your birthday on the same day every year, but the solar return could be a day or two different. Today is my solar return, at 5:05 pm to be exact. It sets the pace for the upcoming year.

I have many major transits right now. Any one of them, by itself, would be promising. If nothing happens this year, like I am intending, then I am throwing away my books, uninstalling my astrology software, and finding some religion to throw msyelf into.

Tonight, I have plans on a backburner to celebrate in a hedonistic way, at an Irish Pub in New Orleans with my old roomie and drinking buddy, Cathy. She frequents a place that is full of Irish men whom she reports tell jokes and stories, sing songs, and speak Gaelic.

I wish to submerge myself in the culture of my ancestors for just one night. I am half Irish (the left side, I'm pretty sure), one quarter Italian, and one quarter Heinz 57 - as my Grandma Ferrara called her ethnicity.

Then again, with the transits I have (namely, Venus conjunct my p-Venus, and Mars conjunct my Venus/Mars), I would do better to stick close to home. A pub full of men might be asking for trouble I don't need.

There are parades to go to this evening. The little people might wish for the diversion too. Family fun? Or, me getting mine? Saturn? Jupiter? I am Jupiter's Girl, but Saturn wants a piece of me as co-ruler of my Aquarian Sun. And ruler of my Venus/Mars. I will always opt for less karma. Saturn wins.

Hey, the day's not over yet. Plenty of time to vacillate and end up with an evening of Irish ditties.

Venus is in the sign of Pisces

For Valentine's Day, one couldn't get a more exalted placement for the planet whose function is to love and be loved. Pisces is totality. Venus here knows about unconditional love and merging with another to become One. And today, Venus is sextiling Mars, so there will be plenty of opportunities for us all to express our affections to our loved ones. Let it gush forth.

My husband gave me a dozen red roses yesterday. I thanked him for the gesture. It was sweet of him. The love has only deepened over the years. After a kiss on the lips, I told him that I would prefer other flowers next time (not that he gives me flowers often (about a half dozen times in all of our years together). Roses don't last long. One of them is finished and the others are on their way out. And where's the aroma? I don't smell them. (That's no way to gush, Janine.)

Lily of the Woods

I lost my camera on my Saturday walk and didn't know it.

Yesterday morning (Sunday), I found it in the middle of my path.

I call this part of my walk - "Mosquito Bay".

Wasting time

http://www.myheritage.com

Chinese New Year Display

Before working for a distributor, I never gave much thought at all as to how groceries got to the shelf. I was content to just push my cart around, mostly wishing that I was back at home with a cup of tea.

It seems like hours before I can complete my shopping mission and get out of the store, especially if it is a Super WalMart expedition. I'll be there a long time as I remember an item that is across the store, where I may have started - then ping-pong back to the opposite side for something else on my list that I forgot. I try to be organized, but maybe it's the flourescent lighting, or the muzak, or running into people I hadn't seen in a while and exchanging chit chat, or something to make the shopping take so long.

People with ADD need to give themselves plenty of time for grocery shopping.

I am putting together displays with some of the Asian products my company stocks all week in preparation for the Chinese New Year on Sunday, Feb 18th. Isn't it colorful?

Y'all better buy this stuff.

Scenes from Mid-City

Across the street from Liuzza's is a brick bldg, and right next to it is this damaged home with the chairs in front. This pink one is around the corner.

My friend works at Liuzza's in New Orleans. It is a quaint neighborhood place that packs 'em in at lunch and dinner. It's where the locals hang out.


Liuzza's was closed for a year after the hurricane. You can get a picture of what it looked like underwater for $5 from Cathy at the bar.

Helping South Africa

I have a friend in South Africa - who calls himself an action scientist. His name is Dave Hall and he is doing such inspiring and courageous work to uplift 5 humble communities down there. He has made it his mission to help them by raising funds for PC's and cellphones, and the training for using them.

People cannot conduct commerce without efficient ways to communicate with each other and the outside world.

Dave is not stopping there. He first has to work on the root of their collective consciousness - to educate and empower them. The poverty-mindedness is steeply enmeshed and promoted by those who have. There are disparaging differences between the haves and have nots. He is a bold leader and is lifting up the natural leaders amongst the villages he has taken on to change for the better.

Read "The Warrior of Light" by Paulo Coelho to understand what impels him.

Dave masterfully befriends the locals because he is one, and because he had some awakenings as a soldier fighting a ridiculous war for years in the bush of South Africa. He realized the unnecessary destructiveness of those acts and vowed to make amends.

Talk about a man of vision, compassion, and enthusiastic love of life...

1. vision http://www.makepovertyhistory.za.org
2. video http://www.youtube.com/ActionScientist
3. blog http://actionscientist.blogspot.com
4. radio http://actionscientist.podomatic.com (soon)
5. memes http://picasaweb.google.com/actionscientist

6. strategy http://www.africorps.org
7. tactics http://www.africorps.org/Pegasus
8. storyline http://www.horserescue.za.org
9. dreams http://www.dagda-explorations.com
10. friends http://groups.yahoo.com/group/level-3

11. volunteers http://www.africorps.org/Township-X.htm
12. tools http://earth.google.com
13. utilities http://www.snarfware.com
14. stunts http://www.strato-x.com

Slow comebacks

I worked in New Orleans East the other day. Took the Downman Rd exit. That highway used to be congested with bustling businesses and traffic. Not anymore. It is a devastated area with at least a couple of miles of boarded up and half-destroyed buildings; debris in front of some of them. I hadn't been down that way since Hurricane Katrina hit us over a year ago. It was a shock to me. What's it going to look like in another year of neglect? Not a pretty picture.

Then I took a left onto Haynes blvd. Neighborhoods like this above. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's one of the better ones I got from my car. Every now and then, I'd see a trailer in the front, but mostly it was houses that were boarded up, or in various states of decay. Many had spray-painted writings near the doors - probably from the people who did search and rescues.

Oddly, the casino around that area is a gorgeous-looking establishment with pristine parking and colorful facing. I don't know if it is operational, though.

I overheard conversations between people reconnecting in the grocery (I often do) exchanging stories about where they've been since "the storm", and what they are going through to try to get back to normal, or some semblance of it. The things I have overheard...

Some of the stories are of how many residences they've had in the past since H.K. Some have been of horrendous, or stupendous, life changes they've experienced since. We are an adaptable race. Some of the changes are definitely for the better.

I have seen resiliency in couples who've lost everything, but still had each other and the memories of going through such trials. They say it isn't the good times, but the bad that make a family.

One couple I met when I waited tables got married after living through the experience of clinging to a tree in Lake Catherine for three days; She said she didn't know her house floated into the lake, though she felt it tip over - previously being on tall pilings. Actually, the lake wasn't that large before. At one point during her tree-clinging days, she was eye-to-eye with a 6 foot alligator. Their story made the newspaper. I guess you are ruined to be with anybody else once you share that kind of experience with another.

I don't like the Downman Road exit. It steeply goes down and then curves under another bridge and then banks and curves bringing you up a little and then down again to a traffic signal. It is a roller coaster for cars. Not fun in the rain. I dated a guy when I was a young lass (really young - about 20). He didn't have a car and I had to pick him up at his house off Downman Rd. I did that maybe twice.

Colonel Pooper

Just a little wish that Coloner Pooper, aka Charlie Callahan, would drop us a line to let us know what's going on with him. He had an extraordinary way with words and used them to comment on our blogs, plus had his own "Used Kitty Litter".

What a witty man. He was dying of lung cancer and had nothing left to lose. He wrote essays and posted them on his blog - which then got turned into a book. It was excellent writing, with profound messages that always touched me. He wrote me privately once. He said he used to not believe in any of that mumbo jumbo, but now appreciates Astrology and some of the other (seemingly) wacky tools for self-understanding.

I googled his name and his blog name and got nothing for my trouble. He may have made the big transition already. I don't know.

I would love to hear from him. If you ever read this, Charlie, I wish you well.

Boys and their toys

I read that somewhere on two different blogs today. It must be boys-and-their-toys day I figure. Here are several of my nephews playing with their toys Christmas evening. One of my older nephews got a much coveted Wii the other day. He is the one that wants to major in whatever major gets one into the graphics and styles field for computer games. At least that interest is transferring into marketplace skills.

It is a very different evening when my son has friends over than when my daughter has friends over. The girls are noisy with music and laughter, making up dances or plays for me to watch. When the boys are plugged in, we don't see them again until they surface to wipe out the pantry. And after the gorge, they go back to my son's cave and hibernate again - plugged back into their games. I always insist they get outside for at least some of the visit. That's how mean I am.

"The Secret"

The Secret is no secret. I have read and heard of these things before. After watching the video of "The Secret", I layered this new information onto "The Power of Now" which would have one be a little less aggressive about pursuing desires. If you just hold the space for wonders to happen, they will.

Like that ring story below, I didn't think I would ever run into that man again, so I didn't entertain the thought that I'd recover the ring. It was more of a lament than a feeling. The emotion I felt was 'wistful'. Who knew it was so powerful?

There were many, many things that I consciously willed into being by thinking "wouldn't it be nice if I had _______________?" I challenge the Universe to provide experiences or things for me a lot. It happens so often that I am very aware that my thoughts create my reality.

Most of the time, my desires lie in passive mode as I take Life as it comes, with a belief that it's all good. What I don't think is Good is usually good for something, so I accept, and possibly embrace, whatever my reality is reflecting back at me.

It was a good, mind-expanding video. It helped me overcome the feeling that if I get what I want, somebody else might go without. "The Secret" hammered home the idea that it is an abundant Universe and that there is plenty for everyone.

There is controversy about the way the movie is marketed, and controversy about the things expounded on within the video, but overall - it can powerfully uplift and cleanse outmoded and negative thinking which only puts limitations on One's happiness and fulfillment.

Synchronicity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qftvt9IHHUM&mode=related&search

In the early 1980's, I read a book called "Psycho-cybernetics" which told of the same thing - only it took about a hundred thousand more words to say it, and it didn't mention putting it on the PC and to music.

Putting your focus on anything that strongly, packed with feeling, one is bound to manifest whatever the mind is projecting. I have used it for a lot of little things, like parking spaces, or a ticket to an event that I wanted to see.

One time, after working at Synchronicity for a few months, and really getting to understand what crystals and other stones were about, I felt regret at having sold my triple-tiered emerald Hindu Temple ring that I inherited from my Grandmother the year before. I sold it for $100 - not liking the ring, and needing the money at the time. After perusing books about properties of stones, I decided I wanted to get the ring back, but not bad enough to hunt down the man who bought it. I sold it to him on the side of the road, in front of an antique store.

Within an hour of the desire to recover that ring, I had an address in hand of an estate sale that wasn't too far from where I was working. I have occasionally stopped at yard sales, but I never look in the paper for them, and certainly not during the week.

The 2nd odd thing... I closed the store, put a note on the door, and headed over there. There was the man who bought my ring. It was his estate sale. I told him what I was looking for. He said he had three huge jewelry boxes at another location and would look through them for it and get back with me if he had it. I gave him my card with a description of what I was looking for. I left with nothing but my wonder at a Universe that would conspire to have me meet up with that man again.

Incidentally, I never heard from him again. He moved. I realized that I didn't want the ring after all - just what it represented. Emeralds are cool stones.

And to add some Light to the story, the man passed gas while he was talking to me. I pretended not to hear it, but went away laughing at the latest in my Divine Comedy. I love to laugh. The Universe knows me well.

Speaking of force...

I was forced to help my daughter with a science project that she was forced to do. She got an EFF on the science paper associated with this lesson. It's about electricity and energy. The project was to make a bug, put a light in it, and then connect it to a battery to light it. Oy vey. My 12 year old has less interest in electricity than I do - except for the use of it.

I can speak on energy in ethereal terms, but the science escapes me. And I detest having to do a project on it. It's magic to me. I told her to just take an eff on it. I don't care. This will not cause her to fail the 6th grade. I was not happy about taking her all around in the rain last night, at the final hours before it is due, to spend yet more money at Radio Shack getting parts we didn't know about before visiting her friend whose Dad put hers together. Another classmate had someone put hers together too.

They still know next to nothing about lighting, but a lot more about putting a ladybug together that can house a light. I hope we get an "A".

Dare I care?

I may have been one of the few people in New Orleans, and thereabouts, who didn't watch the Saints game Saturday night. I was busy watching (sweet) Richard Gere in "Shall We Dance". Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon were very good too, but He always impresses me. I liked the movie a lot.

Michael kept yelling for me to come watch the game with him. And then he was just plain yelling. It was an exciting game from what I hear now and heard then. Just seeing some energy and enthusiasm everywhere one goes around here now is fun even if I don't like football.

I was thinking of how much money all tipped employees are going to be making in Chicago next weekend during the playoffs. I worked at the N.O. Airport for Host International (F&B) when New Orleans hosted one of the Superbowls. I also worked at the Airport Hilton years later when N.O. hosted another Superbowl. All managers and employees were pyched up for those events. And we were only on the periphery of those teams' hard work payoff. Crowds of pumped up and happy people were fun to be in. Money flowed and the wheels were greased.

Sports competitions aren't my thing. I am just so glad to see some animation and joy in my community again. Geaux Saints!!!

Suppressed Jupiter

I can usually pull a good mood out of my mood bag when the darkness descends. I have a prominent Jupiter in Sagittarius in my natal chart which gives me an inordinate amount of faith in Being powerful and full of light. Everything is in Divine Order. I relax; feel happy, healthy, and fulfilled. Then, anxious again that I am doing something wrong to have manifested this job. Then, up, up up again as I realize it's not so bad, the music is cool, I usually work less than 8 hours, there's money deposited into my checking acct every Friday at one minute past midnight, etc. (Saturn and his practicality...)

I am going across the Causeway bridge today to merchandise at a store I've never been to before. That's how I keep the tedious nature of this job from kicking my ass - by going to different stores. Different stores = different products, different layouts, different faces, and different music too. That store plays "Oldies but Goodies" One N.O. store I work at plays only jazzy instrumental music. I have heard David Bowie, Ricki Lee Jones, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Seal, and other favorites at different stores. I need change. The Zen thing of emptying boxes and lining up products in order can only carry me so far.

I've been doing this job all year and it's about time to move on to what I came here to do. "See her shake on the movie screen, Jimmy Dean."

"Power VS Force" by David Hawkins

(but first a picture of my wet backyard and Chip - New Year's Day 2007)

"...If we analyze the nature of force, it becomes readily apparent why it must always succumb to power; this is in accordance with one of the basic laws of physics. Because force automatically creates counter-force, its effect is limited by definition. We could say that force is a movement - it goes from here to there (or tries to) against opposition. Power, on the other hand, is still. It's like a standing field that doesn't move. Gravity itself, for instance, doesnt move against anything. Its power moves all objects within its field, but the gravity field itself does not move.

...Force is incomplete and therefore has to be fed energy constantly. Power is total and complete in itself and requires nothing from outside. It makes no demands; it has no needs. Because force has an insatiable appetite, it constantly consumes. Power, in contrast, energizes, gives forth, supplies, and supports. Power gives life and energy - force takes these away. We notice that power is associated with compassion and makes us feel positively about ourselves. Force is associated with judgment and makes us feel poorly about ourselves."

This book has been an easy, good read. I will back up this new input with a viewing of the documentary movie "The Secret" and then see if I am not wildly successful at living life the way I was intended to live it. Do I have a purpose? I think so, but is thinking the way to be?

Tinkerbell, the cow

This pasture is full of defunct cars, campers, freight cars, and a cow. I pass it on my walk into the woods.

At the turn-around point is a pond which Chip wades into, and then Lily waits by the side to herd him. They are married. There were signs last week of the imminent coming of homes around the pond. Michael and I discussed how we will have to blaze a new path to the pond to avoid the new neighborhood. Even then, the pond might get others coming so that taking the dogs without leashes will be no fun.

Santa couldn't get the Wii, Son.

Aaron had a x-mas wish-list with 15 items on it. Twelve of them were for the Wii in various statements of desire - such as "#8. in case you haven't noticed, I really want a Wii." One of his wishes was to take off his top bunk bed, which we did not do. The extra bed is nice to have. The remaining two wishes were fulfilled; a Gamecube game and a new pair of shorts.

We gave him a verbal IOU for the Wii system. I hope he comes to his senses and stops desiring one before it becomes available. I like what we got him much better than another reason for him to hole up in his cave of a bedroom. This basketball goal and new basketball are more in line with the things I think a growing boy of 14 needs; exercise and fresh air.

I tell him he's the 'best'. He really is a sweet potato of a boy and was happy with what he got. He thanked us a few times for everything. The whole family got in on the game, but I do not know how to play. He smiled at me and let me off the hook after my inept attempts at playing the game. He said I throw like Julia - just towards the direction of the goal. Points for trying, right?

Pisces-Aries conflict

Last week in Olde Mandeville, there was a Dickens Christmas playing out on the street. A 4 block radius was shut off from traffic and vendors displayed their wares; Wassail and roasted chestnuts were available. There was a parade with Santa heading it and the cast from "A Christmas Carol" walked behind him down Girard St.

I followed the throng down the street, talking to my daughter, Julia. I didn't see the life-size blackboard in the middle of the street announcing a Scrooge Screaming contest at 2. I hit the board with an impact and took it down, lying flat on it, in the middle of the street. I popped off of it fast and stood it up. I was not fast enough and drew attention to the loud sound a blackboard makes when an adult woman uses her weight to smash it down to the concrete road. I fussed at my daughter, "couldn't you have told me about that?" It wasn't her fault. I have ADD, or selective ADD my sister would say.

I have processed that and can make something of it - like, "can't miss the signs." It isn't like I want or like the attention. I usually like subtle humor compared to slapstick. My Mercury in Pisces is very comfortable being invisible, behind the scenes. But because it is in Aries domain (1st house), and conjunct my Ascendant, I am very good at getting attention, whether I like it or not. I out myself all the time.

Father Earth

I have seen Father Earth in meditations before. He asked me once before to help others' gain awareness of his existence. I have told some and gotten reactions about Father Time, or some have mistakenly said the Earth is Mother and the Sun is Father. To me, the sun is solar, and the Moon is lunar. Each have their own governing to do. And I ascribe time to Saturn.

No, this is definitely a male presence in all of creation. Everything that has life needed both negative and positive in order to become. I don't wish to diminish the feminine divine in any way, just to bring a balance to the adoration.

As a race, we are evolving towards a new awareness of our divinity. We know matriarchal societies were unbalanced, and now we have experienced the unbalanced patriarchal culture that wreaks havoc. Shall we advance towards a bi-archal society - peacefully, lovingly, with liberty and justice for all?

Chemtrails from Saturday: Too many of them to capture on my camera. Every day now there are well-defined lines crossing each other. My friend says he has seen tic tac toe in the sky. I hope the contrails win.

Franklin - age 4

My cat is named after my children's 1st grade teacher whom we all adored - Ms. Franklin. One time recently, a neighbors chocolate lab wandered through the woods and into our yard. Franklin took off hissing and chasing the big dog away. That's Aries energy for you - very courageous. He knows his limitations, though. He won't walk with us into the deep woods. He used to go a little ways with us, meowing for us to turn back the whole time. Now, he just waits in the debris and springs out at us when we return.

Chapter 2: mushrooms

Nature lover

I love to look at mushrooms. When I come upon them, I think of all the things they look like except for what they are. There are these one mushrooms that look like pancakes that grow in my woods. This guy, I am ashamed to admit, looks a little phallic. Maybe it's just me and my gutter-mind.

I looked at planetary line-ups today to see why I would have the mind I do and guess it could be transiting Mercury sextiling my Mars/Venus. Okay, that's it. So?

I love Astrology. And mushrooms. (not to eat, though. Yuck.)

Tribute to J.T.

I only caught maybe the last hour of the PBS tribute to James Taylor last night, but what an extravaganza to fold clothes to. All of the wonderful performers playing his music - it was an awesomely entertaining show.

I saw James Taylor in concert about 15 years ago at the UNO lakefront arena. He is a Master. I love his music and his voice. I loved Cheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, and David Crosby's rendition of "Mexico". And the song that Sting sang was incredibly beautiful. It was about a woman that worked in a factory - running a machine, eating her sandwiches in the lunchroom, all day long it was her and her machine for the rest of her days.

Thanks, James, for all the music you have produced. Two of my personal favorites are "Something in the Way She Moves", and "Sweet Baby James". I wonder if anyone sang "Steamroller, Baby". I like that one too. Pure genius, James.

Merchandising

The company I work for has over 15,000 products they represent. Michael and I have tried many of them now as we have been inspired by the foods out there. Last week, there was a major hustle to get enough of your favorite food items and resources to the shelves of grocery stores in preparation for the biggest feasting day of the year. Pilgims and Native Americans never had it so good with all the convenience foods that are marketed now. So much variety and ease of turning out something delicous.

The stores I work at play nice music. They are interrupted frequently to broadcast commercials for the store chain. One of them says rapidly and with a jingle, "cough, cough, cough." I thought they were saying, "go, go, go" and when I imitated it to Michael, he corrected me and then I heard the line of cough medicine advertised. There is also a commercial for the flu shot paid for by the American Lung Association that actress Jean Smart does the voice-over work for. I have had to tune it out. I do not want any funky programming going into my subconscious mind. And mainly, I don't trust flu shots.

I wonder about subliminal messages behind the music and what it might be; don't steal, buy products, watch more tv, eat sugar, whatever. Michael and I have amused ourselves trying to make up some potential subliminal messages. I hate to be suspicious. It really is nice music that they play. I see people drumming on the grocery baskets as they are wandering around the store trying to decide what to buy. That may account for some of the more illogical purchases my husband has brought home from the store; the music.

Walking

What am I doing just sitting here? These woods are beckoning. I have told the dogs we are going. The 20lb turkey is in the oven. (which I will not eat - vegetarian, you know?) the pecan pie is baked, and I have some other detail work that can wait until after my walk in these woods. I so love them. Happy Thanksgiving to all. May you have much to be thankful for.

Gratitude

I am thankful...

... for my children - they bring the best out in me. I am very thankful that they are healthy, happy children whose minds I adore.

... for the woods behind my house. Walking is good exercise and the beauty and diversity of the vegetation fills me with ecstasy.

... that my husband and I reconciled our differences years ago and grew together again.

... for my house and everything in it. Last night's news informed the many Fema trailer dwellers how to use their heaters safely during our almost freezing temps.

... that I have running water and electricity. We were without for two weeks after Hurricane Katrina. I can imagine what that would be like to live without those two precious commodities indefinitely and wouldn't want to.

... for a job that I like doing; an income that meets my needs, and food everyday. I wish that for everyone.

... for clothes that fit. Thanks to Old Navy and my credit card. I have changed sizes every year for the past 6. Down, then up, up, up, now down again.

... for all of the different jobs that I have had. I gained new skills at each of them.

... for my big family. I will have 32 people at my house for Thanksgiving. That is just the immediate family. My house is small, so many will flow out onto the deck and in the backyard. I have told them to bring boots or hiking shoes. May no one get snake-bit, poison ivy, or hurt playing on piled up dead trees.

... for my car, camera, laptop, dsl, jewelry, essential oils, other miscellaneous items.

... that Reva didn't really die on "The Guiding Light". That would have been her 3rd or 4th death. I wonder how she pulled back from the brink this time.

... for where I AM Now and for your reading of my blog entry.

Peace,
Janine

Jupiter's placement for November

Somebody has been searching for this information and finding my blog. As a courtesy, Jupiter's placement is 27 degrees of Scorpio, traveling with Venus 26 deg Scorpio.

That conjunction is squaring my Sun today - and I'm not sweating it. Excessive pride, overexagerations, laziness, spending too much money. Well, that last one maybe... I need new shoes and I am taking my Mother out for her birthday, which was yesterday.

Mars, Mercury, and the Sun are also traveling in Scorpio's constellation. Still waters are running deep in all of us. On the surface, things are going along as they should, but underneath it all - the thoughts are more contemplative - seeing the light and the dark in all things. Yin-Yang.

Mercury is conjuncting my Neptune today. I am forewarned to try to be very clear, but not to expect others to understand me anyway. Oh, great!! I'll use it for what it is good for, which is imaginative and artistic expression. Neptune is sort of my ruler - rules my Ascendant, which it trines. Mars is sextiling my Saturn, good for getting some work done.

I like my new job - merchandising. It truly is a Zen thing to do; organizing, emptying boxes, finding the spot for the item. I am still helping others, just in a new capacity. I get asked where something is all the time by shoppers. I have been very thoughtful about our collective consumerism too. The products that are out there now, one would never have to cook again. There are so many gourmet convenience items. It gives me inspiration for what's for dinner. Last night, I made potato soup, salad, and good french bread.

I got hit on twice yesterday; one was not put off when I said I was married. He said, "so?" I had to say "happily" before he would leave me alone.

I am happily married. Michael and I are on the same page now. We were discussing work related things last night at supper, and my daughter told us that's all we talk about now. We had to change the subject for the time, but later picked it back up. I like working with him and vice versa. We are a good team. "Lucky for this company to have us", I'd say.

Leave a comment

I re-did my blog. Actually, it escapes me as to what I did. I changed over to a Google account. That's not the point. When I was prompted to change it, I did, and discovered there were comments caught in a black hole that showed up when I told Blogger to publish them. I was excited to find most of them, but there's the one comment in the tipping your waitress entry that I didn't need. That poor lass. May she find peace and contentment.

Say "hey" if you feel moved to.

Go West

I want to move out west. Actually, I'd like to keep my home and family here in Mandeville, while I live a bi-local existence. I am scared to completely uproot, and it makes my Mother weepy to hear that I wish to move.

I often feel like a freak in this city of bible-programmed people. I have intuitive gifts, and don't know what the heck to do with my Reiki Mastery, other than long-distance healing on people that come into my awareness that need some.

Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, California, West Texas are all contenders for my future livelihood. Seattle could be too, though I fear instead of helping the depressed people there, I'll become depressed too - being an empath and all. I feel other's feelings and might get bogged in another's darkness if I don't take constant measures to offset it; calling on the Light, burning sage, meditation, exercise, eating right.

How do I get there from here? It will take money to do a little reconaissance to see if that is even viable for me. My friend recently travelled through those parts and picked up publications from Crestone, Co and other places. The way of life in those parts seems so much more progressive and thoughtful than where I am. It also seems like a highly competitive area for a non-competitive person like myself. Maybe the area is saturated with others like me. I'll never know by sitting and wishing.

One fear I have to get over is of driving in mountainous terrain. What about driving mountainous terrain in snow? My guides tell me I'll acclimate and overcome the fear while remaining respectful of the fact that one could just accidentally do a Thelma and Louise. It couldn't be worse than staying put, getting more in debt, and hiding my gifts so I'll fit in. I often encounter fear when I tell people that I am an astrologer. Then rejection. Then, I generate my own fears of there being something wrong with me.

I wish to escape. (thanks, Neptune)

Putting groceries away isn't that bad, but what did I study Astrology for? I am doing readings on Saturdays. I love to enable others to see the light through the dark images the mind conjures. Light eliminates the dark.

Living for tomorrow

I have gotten myself into a situation. I have borrowed against a future that keeps eluding me. I am currently on hold with a credit card company - desiring an increase in the limit. I must pay bills and my first paycheck - which will be quickly absorbed - will not come in for another week and a half.

Tears of joy and relief; with some finagling - I got the increase I needed by decreasing the limit on another credit card. Now I can pay the car note, insurance, and the extras my children need for field trips, school projects, fundraisers, and a gift for my son's friend who is having a party. I can put gas in the car, and pay for the dessert for my circle supper dinner tomorrow. I let a friend off the hook for the $25 he owed me for two months. It was his birthday and his finances are almost as bad as mine. Yesterday he needed food. I tore up his check.

This is just another investment in my destiny, one which has me rich beyond my dreams. Gotta love credit.

Uranian lifestyles

Uranus represents an urge toward differentiation, originality, and independence from tradition. There is a need for change, excitement, and expression without restraint.

I live such a Uranian life which means many changes in my profession and daily life. Uranus is the ruler of my Sun sign and it is in my 6th house - which is the domain of my daily work life, health habits, and is a not-so-good placement for someone who would like to be settled.

I almost wish it could be that I had learned early in life that I am a teacher/engineer/chemist/dog-trainer/or something else so that I could have gone to school, got the necessary training, and then plunked myself down into a profession.

That wasn't to be - for me. Today is my last day at the restaurant that I've been working at since June. This was my 5th job this year and lasted the longest. The other four were a week or less. One of them was just one day.

My new job will be in the grocery store business - assimilating the 15,000 products for a distributor. I start Monday. It will pay more than waitressing and comes with a benefits package that includes 401K and paid vacations. I can stand that for a time.

I am sure this will not be the final stop in my career days, though it just might be a cool job. I can zone out in my zen world, organizing, unloading, reconfiguring. I won't be stretched to the limits of my physical and mental capacity as I do a mad dash to satisfy 30 people at one time.

I am a people-person. I have strong empathic skills, am very intuitive, and love to help others' understand and appreciate their Selves and the lives they are living. Maybe I am relieved of that duty for a while as I gain some ground in debt resolution.

No matter what I do for a living, I will always be an astrologer and an actress.

Saturn opposition, part 2

So, 3 years ago, when transiting Saturn was opposite it's natal position in my chart, my Dad died. It went retrograde, essentially meaning it went backwards in motion, and then went direct again to that same position 8 months later. At that time, my father-in-law, another man I called "Dad" died, with my nursing him through that transition. It was incredible times for me. The last safety net was gone. The next day, I got an email from the owner of "Synchronicity" asking me if I wanted a job there. Saturn was imposing structure, discipline, and a paycheck at just the right time.

My father-in-law also had lifechanging transits going on, namely Uranus conjunct his Moon and the progressed Moon. It was a very liberating event, figuratively and relatively.

I only tell about my major transits to cause others' to look into theirs and know that all is in divine order and that you can handle whatever comes your way because of that.

I was watching "The Guiding Light" today, which I sometimes get to do on Mondays, and one long commercial was about depression. It showed all these depressed people in different settings, doing such dreary looking things. And then came the magical cure, Cymbalta. I have trouble with those images. On the other hand, do they do any good? Maybe.

When my Dad died, I was so worried about Neptune squaring his Mercury/Moon conjunction that I was begging doctors to stop giving him psychotropics. I did a lot of research on Paxil, Xanax, valium, and other drugs he was taking; a bunch of them actually.

When my father-in-law died, I completely went the other direction with doctors. I would tell them, "aw, he can have more ativan than that", when it was only two or so pills. He also rattled his hospital bed rails. Apparently, that's a symptom of the transition.

Live until you die. Listen to music, dance, laugh, sing, share with a friend.

Happy 40th, Kim - or Saturn Opposition, part 1

It is time for a new entry on this blog. I started one two days ago. It was going to be very profound; I could tell. I had to take a break because it was supper-time, and my PC is in the kitchen, and I am the woman here; therefore expected to get dinner on the table, or at least help. (these people eat too early for my liking, but then again, dinner is over and out of the way earlier) My daughter, we all suspect, must have thought she was minimizing my new entry, but deleted it instead. Oh well, you'll never know about the Scorpio planetary line-up of Sun/Venus/Mars, plus the Mercury/Jupiter conjunction in Scorpio. I no longer think much of it, though I am sure much could be thought of, and probably expounded upon, because of it. IDC.

Besides being Kim Ayres 40th birthday today, it is the 3rd anniversary of my Dad's passing. My father was 72 and died of Creutzfeld-Jacob (pron Kroytsfeld-Yockoff) Disease. It is the human form of mad cow disease.

At the time, I was having a Saturn opposition going on. Thank goodness that only happens once every 28-9 years. Saturn represents the father image - is stern, imposing limits, teaching and providing structure, the disciplinarian. It is the ruler of Capricorn. It is why some Capricorns appear so serious and thoughtful. I have seen some happy-go-lucky Caps., though they are still very responsible and dependable.

My Dad also had some powerful, life-changing (obviously) transits going on too. I became all the more reliant on Astrology to bring understanding to my experiences during his final days as Samuel Francis Ferrara.

The one that became most prominent was transiting Neptune squaring his natal Mercury. My Rob Hand book, "Planets in Transit", said this and more: "In some, cases this transit can also coincide with some type of paralysis or other motor nerve problem, but this is not likely unless there is a predisposition in your birth chart. Avoid drugs that affect the mind at this time, for your mind already has enough unreality to contend with."

My Dad was lucid sometimes. As his neural functions shut down, his thoughts never stopped coming. For weeks, he couldn't sleep for more than little spurts, and even then his mind wouldn't shut off. He would start to doze and then suddenly he was up, having to get someplace. That is, he took off for places, but couldn't get there without falling. Towards the end, he was so full of meds that his eyes would close for periods, but he kept poking at things in the air, sometimes looking like he was writing stuff. He was hallucinating in a very un-relaxed way.

It was all very Neptunian; the drugs, the hospital stay, the ambiguity of what exactly was wrong and trying every test, drug, and specialist we could to diagnose and fix the problem. And also Neptunian, he thought he was in a movie sometimes, and he never stopped being interested in tv and old movies. They were playing in his hospital room and he could come through the fog to tell you who played a part, or what the story was about. It was odd, but we could communicate with him on that level.

We only learned through an autopsy what it was affecting him. I resisted that idea of CJD being what was causing his problems. Did you know that mad cow disease and CJD is a parasite that eats holes in the brain? They say you can't get the parasite from eating tainted meat, which affects other livestock besides cattle.

Mostly because it was my Saturn opposition - this time 3 years ago - meant that I lost a safety net. I am quite okay because he provided the body for me (through procreation) and then taught me how to take care of it. My first Saturn opposition at 14-15 meant I sought autonomy - challenging authority figures, including him, and trying to gain more independence on other levels.

Thanks, Dad. I am sure all of the things I learned or inherited from you will stand me in good stead for the next Saturn opposition in approx. 25 years when I am 71.

Wednesday nights off

I feel greatly relieved to not have my Wednesday evenings tied up with the radio broadcast of Jupiter's Girl. I just wanted to give all of my guests an honorable mention for sharing information - which I consider to be Light.

First up, my friend, Earendel. He spoke on esoteric Astrology the very first broadcast. He also returned in the summer to speak about the latest Rainbow gathering that was held in Colorado this past July 4th.

There was Jim Leasure - Astrologer/Artist/Intuitive - check out Jim's artwork on his web-site. It is beautiful work. Rashanna - peace activist with messages of hope and love. Sandra Slifer - Feng Shui consultant/activist and all around good soul. There was Anne Beversdorf - Astrologer with understanding of Vedic and Western systems and remedies for what ails in a chart. My re-located friend, Zabe Barnes - Healer extraordinaire. Zabe shared her wisdom and personal background of recovery.

James Braha - Astrologer/Author; James wrote a book about non-dualistic thinking called "Living Reality". There's nothing like NOW to bring about serenity. He is a wonderful astrologer - Western and Vedic, but devotes his focus to other things now - including bringing about an awareness of what being present is good for.

Also up - two Stevens in a row; Steven Forrest - an evolutionary astrologer and author. I bought two of his books and resonate very strongly with his philosophies of reincarnation and the evolving soul. Before him was Steven Sakellarios who has a most comprehensive documentary and web-site devoted to bringing about awareness of reincarnation. There was Cayelin Castell = a Shamanic Astrologer with a wonderful web-site that tells of upcoming planetary aspects and forces for change.

Another Astrologer that joined me was Jeff Jawer. You can sign onto his web-site for your personal planetary aspects that come delivered "free" in your e-mail. Jeff and his partner, Rick Levine, teach Astrology, and give daily forecasts that apply to the whole.

Diane Gaye was my favorite Jupiter's Girl. Diane is an Astrologer. I had hoped she would take over the program, but at this time, she is full of obligations and wouldn't be able to commit. I recommended that she do readings on the air for individuals that gave permission in exchange for a free reading. That would show the public what good Astrology can do for harmonizing an individual with their life and environment.

Others who agreed to share their light and love were Nor Sivad, the station owner and a man with vision. He has his own two hour program that airs on Mondays, I think. There was also Cynthia Long, who shared some Oracular poetry.

Nori Muster, a very interesting artist and activist, shared all kinds of insights and continues to on her web-site which is an I CHING resource I frequent. And there was Maria Griener who did a mini-meditation, having listeners join forces during Beltane.

My last guest, October 4th (available for another week or so) was Robert Wilkinson, a most erudite and intelligent astrologer. Like me, he is also an actor. He lives in L.A. Lucky him. California is so beautiful, on the whole. It was very fun to talk to another Astrologer.

I don't get to speak the language as often as I'd like to. My friend, Diane, and I get to chew the fat in our astro-speak, on a pretty regular basis, but it is sometimes difficult for us to find an open window of time - what with both of us working and living in different areas of the country.

And then last, but definitely not least, I wish to thank Barry Carter for doing what he does. Check out ORMUS. If Jupiter's Girl did anything, it pointed listeners in the right direction for their continued development into healthier, happier, more fulfilled individuals - contributing their light and love to the whole.

Peace,
Janine

Laughter

"Will a day come when the race will detect the funniness of these juvenilities and laugh at them - and by laughing at them destroy them? For your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon - laughter. Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution - these can lift a colossal humbug, - push it a little - crowd it a little - weaken it a little, century by century: but only Laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of Laughter nothing can stand."
"The Chronicle of Young Satan, Mysterious Stanger Manuscripts" by Mark Twain

My husband and I were walking yesterday in the woods. He wanted me to walk ahead of him so I could break any spider webs first. Sometimes you don't see their gossamer threads until they are wrapped around you. I asked him if he remembered the time I went through one of those webs, way back in the days of our first dates, and threw my purse to the ground, dropped and rolled, all the while screaming? He laughed just recalling it. He was no help to me while the killer spider was surprised and probably trying to escape my lunacy.

So, then I recalled how 8 years ago when we were looking for a house with some property, we looked at one in Tickfaw, LA. The owner/agent took us into the backyard to show us the spread and there was a very big boxer-looking dog back there, whom she assured us was friendly and playful. After getting on the side of the huge garage, her dog started head-butting me with it's massive, hard head. It would put my wrist and ankles in it's mouth too. The owner was apologetic and powerless to stop it from "playing" with me. My husband, and our real estate agent too, were convulsing with laughter. Finally, our agent, who later told me she laughed all the way home (an hour's drive, got herself safely inside, cracked the sliding glass door just a little and said, "hurry, Janine, come inside." That dog kept trying to prevent me from getting away by butting me into the outdoor garage in the backyard. Only the owner of the house was not laughing. It was a very absurd situation. We laughed while remembering the incident. I could even laugh then. It would have been much more funnier if it had been someone else, though.

the last one

I just finished my last radio interview as Jupiter's Girl on Outoftimeradio.com. I had Robert Wilkinson of www.aquariuspapers.com as my guest. How easy was that to just trigger a response from a wonderful, articulate astrologer? I had the easy job of just listening.

Doing the show has been a hoot and a half. Now, it is on to other things for me, though this blog will be a constant. For a while, anyway. My previous guests and their particulars are listed on my web-site, www.jupitersgirl.com (of course). They all deserve an applause for adding their light and love into the ethers of which we all breathe and get our being from.

And I will always be Jupiter's Girl. Unless, Uranus wants to duke it out with the Lord of Grace. And there's always Venus that could give Jupiter a run for his money. Let's not forget Mercury. Without Mercury, one would forget.

Nah, Jupiter wouldn't stoop so low and I surrender to his grace and wisdom. Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.

Jupiter's Girls

This is Cathy, ChaCha, and I a couple of days ago at City Park in New Orleans. Right before this picture, Cathy's keys were rescued from her locked and running car by a good samaritan. Saturn was saying things like - "you always do something like this, when will you learn?, it's going to cost you $50 that you don't have, you'll never get it open, the engine's going to burn up, everyone around here hates you for doing stupid stuff." And then good old Jupiter chimed in, "don't worry, I'll send someone to rescue you, it'll all work out, nobody's being hurt, relax, the car will still run when you need it, see?" Cathy was playing the part of Saturn that afternoon. I role-played Jupiter. Saturn sometimes wants to slap Jupiter's face. Ha. Foiled again, Saturn. Take your limitations and punishment elsewhere.

Peace

Luke William

Two more radio broadcasts

I have given my notice to Out of Time Radio. It has been all kinds of things, nerve-wracking, fun, exciting, and mind expanding. I have made many righteous connections and spoken to some beautiful and wise souls.

Tonight, I will have Diane Gaye, my favorite friendly astrologer as a guest. And then next week, Robert Wilkinson, whom I am looking forward to conversing with. He said with his Jupiter conjunct North Node in Pisces, he is usually the last train out of town - a very appropriate guest for my last broadcast on that station.

I would like to take Jupiter's Girl into television broadcasting. I think there is a place for finding out about the latest in metaphysical arts, though I fear the subject would become trite. A burned out Jupiter's Girl would say, "yeah, yeah, so you pull tumors out with your bare hands, see into the future, can manifest a ship out of thin air. What else can you do?"

Put this astrologer to work, willya?

Solar Eclipse

I found a great web-site that has articles about Eclipses, solar and lunar. I enjoyed reading them so much, I asked the man to be my guest on Jupiter's Girl and he agreed. October 4th, listeners will be treated to Robert Wilkinson of Astrology Papers. Here's his article on eclipses. Very erudite writing. I love Astrology.

This past Wednesday on JG, I had Cynthia Long of www.healingdivas.com. Cynthia did a private reading for me that included reviewing a past life where the energetic fear pattern was imprinted upon me and which is activated in this life. I am still processing that information. It was deep. She also read some of her poetry on air, which one may find samples of on her site, that she receives by transmission. They are lovely words, and she has a soothing, pretty voice.

Next week (Sept 27), one, or both, of her partners are joining me on the radio. Ildiko has agreed to share her wisdom and insights as a healer and psycho-drama therapist.

I am still in awe of Ormus and wish all people of good will to check out that web-site. Barry Carter was a great guest on JG, which is still accessible on Out of Time Radio. He patiently and eloquently described the product ORMUS and gave ideas of it's uses. I have made my own with Olive Oil and Sea Salt, but I think I'd rather have some that is made from sea water and alchemical processing.

My days of doing radio are limited. I have given notice to the station. I would like to do Jupiter's Girl on television, or in the movies, with demonstrations of all the different healing modalities brought into the light.

I have made some very cool connections to some very interesting, smart people. I will count my blessings and move on. One can still find me here, philosophizing, ruminating, or blah-de-blahing.

The Solar Eclipse is in 20 minutes. I should go now. Peace to all.

My day at the beach

I had been craving a beach-side getaway for a long time now. I couldn't get anyone else but Julia and her friend to come with me. It was just as well. I love to daydream - due, I think, to Pisces Mercury, Rising, South Node, and 12th house Sun. What better place to do that than near and in the Gulf.

I love to swim in the Gulf; to feel the swells, to feel weightless and vulnerable - yet safe, and pick up shells with my toes. I love to hear the sea gulls, and potentially see dolphins swimming - which has happened on a couple of beach-side vacations. I love the smell of the sea and to eat a good seafood dinner that evening, feeling satiated and a little sun-burned. My hair goes back to the wild and I get a cave-woman feel.

Yesterday, I drove 2 hours and 50 minutes to get to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We set up our stuff, and then immediately jumped in the surf. We weren't in there long before being ousted by what appeared to be small, needle-like quills that embedded in our bathing suits. I thought, at first, that we came into contact with jellyfish, but that wasn't the case. They felt like tiny needles and we picked them out as best we could, but then we had to completely take off our suits and shower. It was disappointing.

We ate lunch, shopped a little, and then went back to the beach to play. Julia wanted a hermit crab for two years now. I have told her "no" to that too (see the hamster story), but her birthday is on the 15th and her color-coded birthday list has that item at the top, in the most wanted of the colored items. We got two of them and all the accessories that a hermit crab could ever want for (assuming it never wanted to live in it's natural habitat and do what it naturally would do). Their names are Lola and Shelly.

The beach is still a wonderful place to be, once the sun came back out and the drizzling stopped, and once I got over the fact that I couldn't get in the water. We saw many come out of the water in the same way we did. We tried to forewarn some, and we told others that it wasn't jellyfish that stung them. I wonder what that stuff was. None of the locals I asked knew.

Full Moon in Pisces

I think it was an eclipse yesterday too. Did you feel it? Words that came to mind while sitting outside, under moonbeams: reflective, deepening intuition, thoughts about what is, I AM and what that means.

Otherwise, it was just another day.

good news

You didn't miss Barry Carter's discussion of Ormus after all. I copied a wrong digit in his phone number and obviously couldn't reach him with a wrong number. I started to panic, but having faith that all is in order, I tried first Anne Beversdorf who was unavailable and still marvelous, and then my friend, Diane - another of Jupiter's peeps. Diane Gaye is a lot of fun to shoot the breeze with.

Barry is going to be on next week, Sept 13th. I would definitely listen-up if I were you. Ormus is balm for the Soul. www.subtleenergies.com/ormus

Ormus and Barry Carter

In a phone conversation a month ago, I called him "Mr. Carter" and he told me, "Mr. Carter's my Dad." So goes the down to earth way this alchemist conducts himself. The product he is researching and teaching others about is ORMUS.

If I can use my own words... Ormus is the substance in our bodies, in the sea, and in other forms that acts as a super-conductor for spirit into matter.

Here I was just trying to obtain enlightenment through the old fashioned way of meditation, and semi-purification of diet, deeds, and thoughts. I know that I feel like I am spinning my wheels sometimes, getting nowhere fast.

Ingesting Ormus - one has to be aware that whatever thoughts they are holding in their minds, will quickly become their reality. Sometimes one isn't even aware of the thoughts one is thinking - they're subconscious. How can you tell? Look around you. Do you like your reality as it is? Did you know that you co-created it?

I am proceeding like one with Venus in Capricorn should proceed - with caution. I am very excited by the implications of Ormus for cleaning up the environment and re-generating growth in barren areas, destroyed by our own ignorance and carelessness.

Would I like to be completely God-realized? Yes and no. I am still thinking...

My walk today yielded this picture

I read this line on philosophy.org the other day... It was something to the effect of what George Washington Carver said after sitting for three days with a sick plant. He was asked to diagnose what was wrong with a whole crop of this plant infected in the same way. The farmer questioned him as to what he was doing besides just sitting with it for three days. Mr Carver said he was waiting for it to reveal it's secrets, believing that's what nature does. He was successful.

My husband and I cleared my trail which had been overgrown, and snake-ful. I didn't want to happen upon a family of moccasins or something, like one of the legends goes. I hadn't been able to walk in my woods for maybe two months. I was in heaven on earth these past two days.

My guest on Jupiter's Girl last night - 8/30

Anne Beversdorf was such a great guest. We continued our conversation well after we went off the air. I had spoken to her the night before also. If not for my teenage and preteen children needing the one and only phone line too, I'd have stayed on the phone as long as she was willing.

I learned a lot from her, and got answers to nagging issues which have preoccupied my mind for years. She is an awesome Astrologer - skilled in Vedic and Western astrology. I had a mental block, and a chip on my shoulder, when it comes to Indian Astrology. She knocked off my chip. I don't know that it will spur me on to learning more in that field; Western is deep and complex enough for me - and it gives me useful information when I am trying to help a client, but the helpfulnes of Vedic Astrology is undeniable.

The show is available for the next two weeks at outoftimeradio.com. Anne is available for consults and I highly recommend her. You can't beat a Mercury/Saturn conjunction in Virgo (7th house too) as a counselor. Helpful, humble, articulate, clearly sizing up a situation and how to remedy it.

New Orleans spirit

My friend, Cathy (also known to my friends and family as Cathy Williams Stajdel Luminais Reynolds Luminais because of her many incarnations in this life), also called Catherine by those acqaintences that she made in the recent years, moved into a shotgun house in uptown New Orleans a week ago. She has vision, and an indomitable spirit. She makes small spaces turn into artistic havens. I think she is even feeling inspired again and may make some art.

It has been an artistically dry time for years as C.W. (another of her names) did what she could to survive living in the culturally barren and socially regressed place of Reserve, LA. Those are her paintings behind her which she had just hung. She is taking her time finding the right place for her just-the-thing-for-it. I was her roommate over 25 years ago. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends.

Cathy is Jupiter's Girl also. She has Saj rising, with Moon and Saturn conjuncting it. When Pluto conjoined those three points, while squaring her Virgo Sun, she had her hands and mind full - taking care of early childhood memories and her present day responses to them. Actually, she resisted with all her might and still ended up living with her mother. Talk about facing your demons... Her structure changed a few times (Pluto conjunct Saturn). And so did the way others viewed her (Pluto conjunct Ascendant).

Now, it is time to take those transformations and do something with them. She never lost the faith (Jupiter rules faith), though the challenges seemed insurmountable at times. She is raising a dynamo of a daughter. Acadia is in the gifted and talented program at a N.O. magnet school. She is g&t academically, artistically, and in G&T drama now too. How they thrived in Reserve, I will never know. It is an hour's drive, and a world away.

We dodged it; phew.

Ernesto means nothing to us now. Mui bueno. Sorry for Cuba, and sorry to Florida too, though maybe it won't be so bad after Cuba's mountains tone it down.

I can't afford another hurricane at this time. That $98 a week unemployment I got after my uninsured store was destroyed didn't enable me to save anything. I amassed more debt on top of what I already owed in the months following Katrina, as I struggled to get back on my feet. I am not feeling sorry for myself, though. So many have it worse than I do. I still have a house to sleep in.

And now, besides a couple of paying clients here and there, and after trying 4 other jobs since January, I am thankful to have a job in the restaurant industry. I don't dislike the job as much as I used to. The comment someone left me in the "Tip Your Waiter/Waitress" entry is just some of the crap I feel coming from the occasional customer that makes the job unpleasant sometimes. You can tell the type - they have demands that set them up for misery, and then they spread that around like butter.

There is this old man that comes to the restaurant semi-regularly, and the other wait staff don't like to wait on him because he is full of demands and complaints. He may be right about some of his issues, but his superiority attitude is a dark cloud that assaults us and there is no way he will be pleased. I volunteered to serve him the last time he came in, and being aware of his strong likes and dislikes, gave him perfection in service. I listened to his disgruntled criticisms of this and that with a smile and sympathy, and got a 20% tip for my troubles. We pool tips at work, so I felt like I did the whole staff a favor by being receptive towards him instead of defensive. It worked.

So, the lady who left that long, angry sounding comment - I still hold out the olive branch and wonder how miserable her life must be if such small things like not getting the extra ranch dressing with her wings sets her off so.

What's the weather forecast?

We here in traumatized Louisiana can't get enough of weather reports right now. It is triggering everyone's stories about the days leading up to, the day of, and the days that immediately followed being hit by Hurricane Katrina.

It was freaky weird from my vantage point. Being an Aquarian, I enjoy storms. They are electrifying and exciting. I used to think we would never get hit - being under some protective mojo the voodoo people in the French Quarter conjured up. I no longer have that false sense of security and think they are all coming for us now.

I am up early. I told my husband to go get some gas. We have a generator now and have plans to only use it at night to run our well, and the window unit we bought. It is a wonder we survived without A/C for 5 days before getting the one little window unit and generator. We were lucky to only be without electricity for only two weeks. Others waited months. Nervous Nellie here. We've got a lot of people living in little Fema trailers. Oy vey.

Relax, you are going to die when it's time to.

I have been asked a few times by clients when they were going to die. I can't see that in a chart. There may be a way of knowing that information, and I think there are books how to find it, but yikes - why does anyone want to know that? A very sweet lady I saw professionally yesterday asked that question about her beloved son, is he going to die soon? - she had premonitions, and then when was she going to die. The truth (as I see it) is that we are all going to die. The body dies, that is, but life always goes on.

In most of the major religions, and thought systems in general, the esoteric idea that there is NO DEATH hits home the fact that we are eternal beings. It's like driving a car for years and then it dies. You get a new vehicle, but then you are still the same driver. You may have learned to keep fluids in it, repair parts, but still it is a vehicle for getting you to where you want to go. We drive to where we need to, school/work/store/Grandma's - in order to get the things we need at home, education/groceries/money for bills and obligations/nurturing.

The human body is the vehicle for spirit which just wants to return to it's home.

Last night on the Jupiter's Girl radio hour, Nor Sivad, the station owner and all round good guy, spoke to the listening public about Love being the basis of all manifestations of people, places and things. Love thy neighbor as thyself because he/she is. I enjoyed talking with him so much that I forgot we were on the air. I am such a slouch if I can get away with it. Give me a Gemini with Mercury conjunct anytime. I am a good listener. The show will be up on the web-site for two weeks. www.outoftimeradio.com, eclectic radio, Jupiter's Girl.

Tip your waiter or waitress

20% and round it up if you have to. We make a few cents over two dollars per hour. The lunch or dinner rush is actually just a couple of hours and that is when everybody wants service at the same time. Forgive the waiter/ess if they don't bring you the extra lemon or dressing that you were asking for. I am doing the best that I can, and don't take it personal if I forget something you asked for - like the sauce on the side instead of on the fish. And if we don't have the dressing you like, be happy with the 4 different homemade dressings we have, plus the one we don't make, but is the most popular, Ranch. And if you don't like anything we have on the menu, don't come to our restaurant. The chef/owner flies off the handle when I ask him on your behalf to make something that isn't on the menu - even if he has the ingredients for it. That happens all the time. And another thing, if you tip me very well - don't think I have to hug you goodbye. Got it?

20%, not 15%, and definitely not 10%

Changes by David Bowie

I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
....
There's more, but you get the gist. I am going to use that as an opening for Jupiter's Girl this week. I always open with a quote, or a poem, or a reading of some kind.

This week, my guest will be Nor Sivad, the owner of Out of Time Radio. When I first signed the contract, I didn't know what company I'd be keeping, nor what out of time meant to the owner. It is a reference to the transition humanity and the planet we inhabit seem to be going through. It's the end of the world as we know it.

I don't know anything. That's my story and I am sticking to it. But I do believe that the only way to combat darkness is to turn on the freakin' light.

Peace.

I Am That

by Nisargadatta Marahaj

"There is no need of a way out! Don't you see that a way out is also part of the dream? All you have to do is see the dream as dream... Wherever it leads you, it will be a dream. The very idea of going beyond the dream is illusory. Why go anywhere? Just realize that you are dreaming a dream you call the world and stop looking for ways out. The dream is not your problem. Your problem is that you like one part of your dream and not another. Love all, or none of it, and stop complaining. When you have seen the dream as a dream, you have done all that needs to be done."

I told Julia "no" to getting a hamster.

She wanted a hamster for a couple of years. I was worn down, and had just experienced the shock of Hurricane Katrina last year when we gave Julia a panda hamster for her birthday. I resisted holding it for about a week. Michael and I both had hamsters when we were youngsters. I recalled that mine bit, and it smelled up my bedroom something awful. I was not a good pet owner then. Now, even when Julia isn't home, Michael and I get Oreo out of her cage and let her have some downtime in our bedroom. She likes us, and vice versa. It has been almost a year since we got Oreo, and Julia has turned out to be a very good pet owner.

get your trunk and go

Thanks to FEMA, which I have nothing but thanks for, some 80 ft leaning pine trees were removed. This oak tree trunk, the 40 ft remainder is still in the woods, had to go too. We never once lit our fireplace last year, though we had firewood out the wazoo. Our winter was very mild. The fireplace is just for decoration in our living room.

Last night, the Jupiter's Girl radio show had on rainbow friend, Earendel, who told us what we missed at the last rainbow gathering in Colorado - July 1-7. It sounded heavenly to be in a national forrest with 35,000 conscientious brothers and sisters. Those few hours of silence on July 4th must have been a very powerful vortex dedicated to bringing our humanity, and cooperative spirit, front and center.

Ormus - My guest's topic - Sept 6th

by Barry Carter
"When we look back at the histories and legends of ancient times we find many mysteries and puzzles that are still waiting to be solved. Many of these ancient puzzles involved a mysterious material which had magical properties. The ancient alchemists of China, Israel, India, Egypt and Persia spoke of such substances. They called them Soma, the Elixir of Life, Chi, Manna, Prana, the Philosophers Stone, Shewbread, & King Solomon’s gold.

These substances have been associated with other ancient mysteries like the Fountain of Youth, the Ark of the Covenant and the Great Pyramid. They were also often associated with miraculous healing properties and mystical abilities.

Ancient Jewish commentaries describe how the Ark of the Covenant would levitate when it was brought out on holy days. According to the Zohar, the ancient Jewish priests would tie a rope around the ankle of any priest who was going into the presence of the Ark of the Covenant so that they could safely pull him away from the Ark if it zapped him. The Ark of the Covenant was used to store (and perhaps charge) the pot of manna saved by Moses." ...

The above is just a lead in to the most phenomenal information going on at this time. Anyone wanting to know more can go here. Or, you can mark your calendars to tune into Jupiter's Girl on Out of Time Radio. Take that Eclectic Radio link into the station, and find me and Barry Carter talking about it - Wednesday, Sept 6th at 7pm. You don't want to miss this one.

"Because you counter the majority of your thoughts with opposing thoughts, you believe that you are not powerful.

When you no longer split your flow of energy with contradictory thoughts, you will know your power."

Abraham-Hicks, A New Beginning II, p. 160-161

Last night, my guest on Jupiter's Girl was Nori Muster of www.surrealist.org She was a great guest; easy to talk to. She has an awesome web-site, a good resource for the I Ching, as well as thoughtful writing, artwork, and links with other movers and shakers who are diong something to bring about peace on Earth, and goodwill to all.

Eckhart Tolle

"A New Earth" - great book. A passage taken from it:

"On a collective level, the mind-set "We are right and they are wrong" is particularly deeply entrenched in those parts of the world where conflict between two nations, races, tribes, religions, or ideologies is long-standing, extreme, and endemic. Both sides of the conflict are equally identified with thought. Both are equally incapable of seeing that another perspective, another story, may exist and also be valid. Both sides believe themselves to be in possession of the truth. Both regard themselves as victims and the "other" as evil, and because they have conceptualized and thereby dehumanized the other as the enemy, they can kill and inflict all kinds of violence on the other, even on children, without feeling their humanity and suffering. They become trapped in an insane spiral of perpetration and retribution, action and reaction."

And, "...You construct a conceptual identity for an individual or group, and you say: "This is who he is. This is who they are." When you confuse the ego that you perceive in others with their identity, it is the work of your own ego that uses this misperception to strengthen itself through being right and therefore superior, and through reacting with condemnation, indignation, and often anger against the perceived enemy. All this is enormously satisfying to the ego. It strengthens the sense of separation between yourself and the other, whose "otherness" has become magnified to such an extent that you can no longer feel your common humanity, nor the rootedness in the one Life that you share with each human being, your common divinity."

The whole book is full of wisdom and engenders peace of mind in the reader. I highly recommend it.

Hurricane Chris?

I used to have a false sense of security where hurricanes were concerned. I lived through Betsy and Camille, but I was too young to remember in detail how damaging they could be. We lost some shingles and screens then. There wasn't two weeks, or more, without electricity and our phone lines never went down in '65 and '67, respectively.

After living through some hardships caused by Hurricane Katrina, not to mention the loss of my retail business, I am now a scaredy pants. I love running water and air conditioning. I can live without for a while, and then I start to get testy.

When the news and weather people mention tropical this or that, I start to fidget and pace. We have a game plan this time. We didn't evacuate before, even though we were under mandatory evacuation orders from our parish president, because lines to get on the Interstate and get out of here were backed up for miles and miles. Not that we needed it then, but gas was nowhere to be found near here at the last moment. Our truck was full, but my car wasn't. We had dogs and cats that we couldn't bear to leave, and we thought we would be safe from harm. Our trees protected us, going down on the side of the house and preventing the other falling trees from getting to us. Still, one huge Cypress tree came down over my son's room and cracked through the frame of the attic. We feel fortunate that all that happened to us was a demolished shed, fence, that one tree on the roof and deck, and some other minor losses in comparison to people whose houses, and all the belongings in it, were totalled. I didn't really want to be in retail anyway.

Now, there is nothing holding us back from leaving. Michael will take our two dogs and one child, probably the boy. And I will have the two cats, and probably the hamster, and the girl child. We haven't organized a list of things to take with us when we leave, just in case we lose the house and everything in it while we are gone. I guess those things would include photo albums, insurance papers, maybe some letters. I'll probably know at the last moment what I find important and necessary. We have friends who lost everything except for the two days of clothes they packed for their mini-vacation. Many lessons were learned last year.

August 2nd's guest on Jupiter's Girl

Zabe Barnes is an energetic healer with many accreditations to her name. Zabe, pronounced Zobby, is a licensed massage therapist, specializing in Ortho Bionomy. She is also a Reiki Master Teacher skilled in Divine Intervention - healing the most difficult medical cases. And she has been a student and practitioner of Light Language for years. All of her education and experiences have led her to be an extraordinary teacher - very patient and encouraging.

Zabe, aka Zabe-lu (by me), is a sweet friend who relocated to Hot Springs, Arkansas after hurricane Katrina last year. She has been busily planting roots and spreading her wisdom in that neck of the woods. I want to visit her.

There are many places I wish to visit, but I don't think I am going anywhere except for running around here in the near and distant future. I am the parent of a teen and pre-teen. What did I expect?