What a Difference a Year Makes

 

Yes, it's been almost an entire year since I figured out I am not a person who can follow others. I knew this, I've always known this, but somewhere I lost the ability to stand up and be heard for my own merits. I cannot be just a member of a group or an invisible voice in a crowd. I am a leader. I cannot follow no matter how my life may depend on it. Once I figured out I had wandered from my path, I made the necessary adjustments and got back on track. And WOW! What a difference this past year has made in my life.

I normally don't do the pat myself on the back thing. I would rather lift up someone else and shout about the things they have been able to accomplish. Today, in this moment, I am writing all about Vickie. The things I have been able to achieve and the steps that are locked in place to reach the goals I can see just over the horizon. Things are good and I am diligently working to maintain the progress we have made not only in our home life, but also my academic life and spiritual path as well.

We have been here in this house for just a little over a year, and the changes that have come about are astounding. When we moved in here I was dealing with black mold poisoning, coughing, shortness of breath, unexplained aches and cramps, limited mobility ... life pretty much sucked. For the most part, with the exception of the pain and muscle aches, these symptoms have gone away. Having a clean and healthy home is something I took for granted. I always kept my house clean, but when there is a problem you can't see until after it is too late, you pay the price. Here, we have no hidden problems, and if anything goes wrong, breaks, or quits working our landlord is on top of getting them fixed almost as soon as I call him. Just last week we had a problem with our well, on a Saturday. I called the landlord, left a voice mail, he called me back within about 15 minutes and then sent someone out here to fix it... ON A SATURDAY!!!

With the knowledge I have overcome black mold poisoning, I had to face the reality I more than likely have Fibromyalgia. I say probably because I haven't been to a medical doctor for a diagnosis, don't have insurance and can't afford to pay out of pocket for the visit. There are no *tests* that determine if someone has this crazy disease, just the monitoring and tracking of your symptoms and pain. Fortunately for me, I have someone who works with alternate medicine, is a Reiki master and energy worker who is working with me on the things I need to change in my daily routine. I've already begun the change to the diet, and using natural alternatives for pain management. Meditation has been working wonders as well as baths with Epsom salt & baking soda. It has been suggested I try Tai Chi, but so far I haven't found anyone in our area who teaches. Baby steps and I can live with this ...

We've also been working on the yards (front & back), planted some roses (TEN of the things!!) and I've got 3 foxgloves going, the gardenias smell heavenly, but I wasn't able to harvest any of the blossoms this year. We had an infestation of thrips - they're kind of like an aphid, but longer, and don't tend to have a winged stage. Which pretty much destroyed the gardenias before I could get the diatomaceous earth on them ... sigh, there is always next year.  We do have a morning glory vine that is working its way up the trellis, a light purple clematis, purple onyx basil, echinacea, English ivy, marigolds. Wednesday evening I planted some mugwort seeds and Friday under the full moon, I planted some white sage seeds. I don't have a garden bed laid out, most things are in pots and containers. This method seems to work best for me...

In the back yard, we are adding a 12' X 16' deck, a 20' X 48" pool, new BBQ grill and a patio table set. All I can say about this is I LOVE Kmart and their layaway!! Our neighbors to the south (left side if you are standing in the driveway looking at both houses) are great people too. We've had them over a few times, and they make sure Tanya, the Witchling and I are alright which makes Jimmy a little less nervous about leaving us at home while he goes to work. These same neighbors have the backyard I would love to have. Not so much formal landscaping, but trees, trees and more trees, shade, vines, plants just so much positive energy. I keep asking them are they sure they aren't Pagan, the energy in their presence is amazing. Anyway, the Mr. has been sharing his plants (he gave us the basil, echinacea, morning glory and sunflowers that line the back fence), and has told us anytime we want to plant some trees, we are more than welcome to come take some of their saplings. Cherry, birch, maple, oak, just WOW!!! The only thing stopping me from taking them up on this very generous offer is where to put them that won't inhibit a delivery truck that is bringing the small building I blogged about here. Plus we still haven't completely cleaned up the burn pile the former owner/tenant/renter had growing in the middle of the back yard. Once that is all cleaned out and circled with stones, then I can begin transplanting some of those trees.

Inside the house not much has changed. I'm still planning on painting our master bedroom/bathroom. I just haven't bought the paint yet. I seem to have this problem of putting that on the back burner when a different project comes up, LOL! At any rate, paint and supplies are on the list to purchase sometime in the coming week...let's see if I follow through. I do have some art prints ordered for the living room walls and I found a set of drapes for the front window. This is actually 3 windows side by side, but without enough room to install 3 different rods. This makes this opening quite wide and the drapes were considered a custom order due to their size. Other than that, I'm just getting random items for the house, new sheets for our king sized bed, new bath mats for the master bath, and a stand mixer for the kitchen.

My classes at Ashford are going good. I just finished Anthropology of Religion, Magic and Ritual. It was nothing like I imagined and the instructor had no business teaching an Anthropology class. The only experience she has is book learning she needed for her degree to teach, no field work and NO idea about the different cultures she wrote her lesson plans for. I keep telling myself, just do the work, don't get involved or upset, get the degree and then your REAL education will begin out in the real world outside of the classroom. It's a daily challenge... but I am still maintaining my 3.875 GPA and on the Dean's List each semester. I now have a graduation or completion date of December 14, 2015, which will be great IF I don't take any more self imposed breaks from my classes, LOL! When I do finish I will have a degree in Complementary and Alternate Health, with a double minor in Political Science & Government and Entrepreneurship. Not too bad for an old gal, huh??

Last weekend I was gifted with a cutting/branch from our neighbors cherry tree. The vibrations in the piece of wood are unbelievable. I've never had or used a wand for my personal use before, so this one making himself known to me was quite the humbling experience. He has been blessed and then charged with the essence of Draconis. For the time being he has a place of honor in the living room on the fireplace mantle. He also lets me know when he's bored and wants me to handle him. I woke up the other morning before anyone else was awake, went into the kitchen to start the coffee. As I turned around from the kitchen sink I saw something laying on the hearth. We don't have cats or anything small that could climb, the Witchling was still at her dad's and I have no explanation for why my newly acquired wand was on the floor. Once I picked him up and gently caressed him for a few minutes, he was content to return to his place on the mantle ... for now. I have made a point of taking him down throughout the day and turning him over and around to get a better feel of how he wants to be embellished. I think I've found his first crystal, a beautifully breathtaking Tanzanite point that will be used for the tip.

I am more than blessed with the way my path has changed over the past year, even though there will be challenges, the road has become much more clear with a destination fully visible. I am looking forward to the new things Deity has to show me and the lessons to learn along the journey. Yes, I am in a better place. What a difference a year has made for me.