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Virgin of Guadalupe Day
December 12, 2012
New Mexico celebrates 12 Dec
The village of Tortugas near Las Cruces, NM takes the 12 December very seriously. The fiesta and pilgrimage to the Virgin of Guadalupe is the main event of the year in the town close to the border. The Piro and Tigua traditions are honored in this village.
Dances 12 Dec.
Procession
Virgin of Guadalupe Surfin Safari
December 11, 2012
mosaic on underpass
I was lucky enough to see the surfing virgin in person during her brief stay on an underpass in Encintas, CA. She was perfect there, just a few blocks from Moonlight Beach. She was removed and I think she went to LA to a collection. There was a great uproar to save the art work, but alas she was taken from the site. Tomorrow is the 12 Dec, Virgin of Guadalupe day. I know all her fans at the beach wish she still had a shrine they could see every day in Encinitas.
Surfing Virg
During the protest the Kook at Cardiff was dressed in her image to show solidarity. If you enjoy costuming and are not familiar with the Kook, you can check his calendar here.
Kook 2013
Grand Holiday Spa Down
December 11, 2012
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If you could go back in time to any place and time where would you time travel? I know I would go straight to Bad Ragaz (via Zurich) to party like it is Christmas. I would attend the tree lighting choral evening and giant buffet offered by the Grand Hotels Bad Ragaz. There is nothing like it anywhere.
Lobby Grand Hotels
lights of Bad Ragaz
buffet for the whole town
choir for the whole town
Let’s party
Festive in Bad Ragaz
the Christmas tree
downtown Tamina Gorge
Sonia, Bademeister
I would go back to the day before the beautiful people redesigned the spa, when bads were bads, and bademeisters were bad ass.
Sonia on the job
Christmas Customs in Colonial America
December 9, 2012
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This gives us the history of the celebration of Christmas.
I have had several of you ask me about how true are the wreath decorations of Colonial Williamsburg. So true to form, I did some research to confirm their authenticity. In my research I came across some interesting information on customs and traditions of Christmas within the colonial period.
During the colonial period in Virginia, the Christmas season followed a four week period of Advent. Most Virginians were devout Anglicans and they would have observed a period of fasting, prayers and reflection. They would have read daily from the Book of Common Prayer. Fasting would have been only one full meal, which generally would have been meatless during the day. After the four weeks, they would end with a Christmas meal and the start of the Christmas season.
Did you know that most of New England didn’t celebrate Christmas during the colonial period? Christmas was outlawed in most of New…
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Navigating Backwards
December 9, 2012
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sunken treasure of dreamsStudying one’s ancestry one learns history once and for all. Any abstracts become clear when you chart your own pedigree. Any dates memorized come to life when you find out what your own ancestors were doing at those times. I am always a big proponent of being present in the moment, but historical knowledge helps me appreciate the present. The belief in intuition is enhanced when the timeless soul is given room to move. Calendars and clocks are maps of time that match the heavens in a very precise way. The full meaning of the heavens is impossible to capture in a clock. If you can view your life from a higher place time is less relevant than it appears to be in your rear view mirror. Meditation is the path to truth beyond time.
I am all the way a navigator. I have flown many miles in private planes navigating from the air, do very well with driving, or public transportation. Reading maps and finding different kinds of maps has always been a fascination for me. Historical maps and charts of the heavens are of particular interest. I am learning with precision how to navigate backwards by means of the family tree. My study of Sacred Contracts teaches me to align with time in a much broader spiritual sense.
Memory and dreams reconstruct time as well as facts. Often by repeating a story that is highly revised and edited for the ego’s best light we create a strong reality that never existed or has a chance of being true in real time. Our poetic dreamy visions of ourselves and others are the pageant we produce in order to learn our life lessons. Each one of us produces and directs the archetypal dramas in which we live. We act in the dramas of others, as do they in ours, but we only witness tiny segments of other people’s story. In dreams we only see faces we have seen in our waking lives. In dreams we deconstruct and revise the archetypes and their roles in our own big picture.
Looking at the symbolic as well as the scientific meaning of the past I see above and below are forever linked just as the past and the future. They have no meaning without their partners, like the border crossers and the migra. Our lessons are repeated in time, but are not done in a logical worldly sequence. If we believe in divine order it would be wise to honor and make some contact with it. In this way we can avoid swimming against the current , struggling to arrive in a place we have already been. Deep meaning is found by reading the treasure maps in our dreams.
Let Us Eat Cake (or Not, But Let Us Not Give it Superpowers)
December 8, 2012
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American Gothic corn bread
If you go to war with cake it will win. If you pretend that December makes food more important than Jesus, you will be damned in all possible ways. I have nothing against cake, but only eat it two or three times a year. Since bakery cakes usually do not satisfy any of my gourmet desires I make my own. In order to glorify the special event of cake creation I purchased a bunt cake pan that is super gothic. Making the cake your creation and your gift is the opposite of going into a trance to eat an entire crappy tasting store-bought cake quickly before you become aware that you are shoving something into your mouth. If you give a cake power to control your actions, what are your saying to your own soul? If you take your time and select the ingredients with care your cake can be a reflection of your Epicurean celebration of good taste and tasting good.
Goth cake pan
I have dusted off the super goth pan for a winter delight. In the running for chosen recipe is a green tomato bunt cake I made a few years ago. It is not unlike zucchini or carrot cake, in that one does not associate the taste with the vegetable right away. Persimmon pudding is another favorite of the house. I never get as far as icing, and hold my breath every time I dump it out, hoping it will not break as it exits the bunt mold. I have bought a gigantic piece of lovely fresh ginger root which is already being used in all kinds of dishes. I think it is fitting to find a gingerbread creation that can go gothic.
overhead shot of corn bread
Governor Lost and Found
December 6, 2012
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Gov. Jan Brewer of my home state put on her high-heeled sneakers, and that ever-present wig hat on her head to sneak out to Afghanistan. This was done presumably to brighten the holidays for AZ National Guard troops stationed there…..as IF…..her presence was so exciting it is worth it to all to export it. Troops used to get Bob Hope, Raquel Welch,and lots of A list stars to light up their holidays.
I am politically torn on this one. Although I loathe the Barry Goldwater style move that this seems to be, and as a true conservative deplore the expenditure of public money, I do so want to export her to someplace far from here. I am also fully in favor of her putting herself more in harm’s way than even Phoenix can offer. If she had paid for it herself and used her vacation days I would say, “Vaya con Dios. Stay for a while.” In Spanish la gobernadora is luz de la calle, oscuridad de la casa (light of the street, darkness of the home). We had a lovely Gov Jan Napolitano who was imported to DC for the security of the homeland while we replaced her with a shadow governor.
In this woman’s mind it makes sense to deny hispanic youth dreamers the right to obtain drivers licenses. If they have the nerve to drive they will be doing so without insurance, a very unappealing idea for anyone driving through the state. If we gave them drivers licenses we would not only acknowledge them with some dignity, we would enhance the chances that they might find employment. In Arizona we graduate only 25% of English learner high school students in the state. We have few legal jobs but an abundance of easy fast (read instant) careers in crime that will have a rapid turnover. That turnover feeds our for profit prison system, a big player in the new normal economy of Arizona. It is easy to see how granting the right to legally drive to the dreamer is a slippery slope that could be disruptive to the current crime for profit model we have for growing our economy.
Zombie Fruitcake Identification
December 5, 2012
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In this busy season while everyone prepares for the end of the world as well as the year zombies take advantage of the rush to inundate all segments of society. Vigilance has never been more important if you want to avoid being dragged into the zombie vortex.
Although you may think zombies exist in certain geographical or demographic ways, they are much more able and agile than anyone suspects. Shape shifting is their life. There may be zombies in your workplace, in businesses you frequent, and yes, gentle readers, even in your home. Don’t bother trying to identify them by appearance, as they are masterful at disguise. It is their bread and butter. There is only one proven way to know if you are dealing face to face with a real zombie. You shall know them by their fruits. This means that the results are the only way to determine what the intent has been. The zombie creates works (fruits) without merit and without meaning, coarse and wasteful. So if you are gifted a fruitcake by a zombie, do NOT regift it. It is evil. Do your part.
Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity.”
If your zombie fruitcake has none of the above ingredients, toss it straight in the landfill. Better yet, take it to Colorado and enter the fruitcake toss. What could be more fun than lighting your perfectly legal doobie and launching a fruitcake into flight?
Consumption as Culture
December 3, 2012
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Who is in charge of the decisions you make about consumption? Do your values ever influence what you buy?
Tucson’s Butterfly Jungle
December 3, 2012
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In Tucson we keep a small power packed tropical jungle full of exotic butterflies. We live in a draught filled desert, so besides the regular showing of of our local flora, our Tucson Botanical Gardens provides a little slice of steamy tropical heaven for visitors.
Visiting the tropics
I support the gardens and enjoy visiting at all times of year. The contribution to our botanical heritage is important. This oasis provides a luscious environment in the heart of the city for those who treasure gardens.
strike a pose
The collection of butterflies is seasonal. They arrive in the fall and stay until spring.
Butterfly on stone
We do not mind hanging out for a while in the mist. They even play jungle sounds, Here I am with an antler fern coming out of my head.
sitting in the butterfly jungle
The star attractions are born and die constantly. The butterfly tenders bring out new boxes of babies, born right next door in the nursery every day.
twice as lovely
They are whimsical, friendly, and short lived. They are kind of like a living sand mandala. They brighten the world for a brief time. They invite you to come on down to their jungle for a break from everyday cares. They know the secrets to getting it while you can.
on my head
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