Saturday, October 31, 2009

Mexican Butterfly!


Butterfly having a bit of a drink while in Mexico!  Great picture Laura!

Friday, October 30, 2009

What is going on with the airlines!?

I've traveled alot but I have never had trouble like lately. I have to again think it's a cosmic message.

I'm seriously listening to my own thoughts too because I gotta say we have more power than we even realize! (I feel like Bullwinkle pulling out the Monster from the hat and saying "Don't know my own strength!")

I'm in Milwaukee. I have a flight to Boston. I am on the way to the airport, I look at my ticket in my hand and think "Shoot. WIsh I had booked the direct flight. I don't want to go to Detroit first."

I get to the airport and guess what!? My flight has been CANCELLED! I am ON the flight, buckled in no less when the pilot comes over the intercom to tell us we have TWO flat tires and there are no spares and so we have no plane. We have to unload, they have to put us on other flights and I end up on a direct flight with a different airline. I get there 20 mins earlier too. Hmmmmm

I'm then in Boston. I am checking in the night before and I think "I wonder if they will cancel my flight again? Nah." Then I decide "Ok. If they do, I want a direct flight!" I was supposed to go to New York first.

I am totally not kidding with this folks. I get to the airport, and as I am handing them my suitcase-that I have PAID my baggage fee for, they say "oops. Your flight has been cancelled." Are you kidding me??? She says nope. Go stand in that 3 hour line with all those other unhappy people and we will try and get you on another flight."

I stand in the never ending line. People are laying on the floor it is taking so long. I get to the front and she says, "we can get you to La Guardia, and then you can get your baggage, get a cab, go across town to JFK and check in again. You have an hour and a half. Then we can get you on a flight to Atlanta, and from there a flight to Denver. Then you can get to SLC right?"

I say "NOT without a plane!"

She says "Oh. We don't have anything leaving Denver." Oops.

We finally agree that if I spend another night, they can put me on...yep...a direct flight to SLC. Can you believe it??? But it meant I couldn't be back to start the shamanic class on Monday night. I was in transit.

I hear horror stories from fellow travelers. 11 hour delays in Houston. Endless stories. It's not just one airline, it's happening all over. I'm seriously unhappy.

Then I have this thought about my next trip. But no. I have a direct flight on my return. I mean, what can go wrong with a direct fliglht? I suddenly worry about it. i think "Hmmmm. I hope everything is ok with the flight to Mexico and back?"

I get an email from the airlines. My flight has been rerouted. I will be going to go through customs in Phoenix. I am not direct. I am and I'm not. I get back on the same flight after a few hours. Instead of getting in at 3:46pm, I will be getting in at 7:30pm, and hope this isn't going to inconvenience you.

NO! I will miss my class on Monday night! I will not be back in time to teach. Again. I am seriously unhappy. The airlines says "Sorry." I get an apology and 2500 miles. Big whoop.

So if any of you are signed up for the shamanic class, and you are wondering about your flaky teacher...I am grounded for the month of Nov. I leave again on Dec 2. Maybe Dec will be better than Oct? I am going to watch my thoughts.

Do we get the thought as a precognitive hunch, or are we creating the future we are imagining?

What happened to the mouse?

I had a friend email that she was on the blog and liked the mouse story. I thought "what mouse story?" I realized it's been awhile since I've posted! AND that there was more to the story. Poor little mousey.

So, I let the little guy scoot off into my neighbor's yard with the firm admonition to avoid my cat right...which I figured would be enough of a warning in herself, right? Mice aren't known for their brains though. They are cat food remember.

I leave town and when I return there are little tale tell signs of mice in the house. In my kitchen drawers no less! Invasion! Now this is really a rather rude response I think to my generosity! I did let him off. He wasn't supposed to go tell his friends I was a soft touch.

My husband has been setting traps, but I gotta tell ya - if you thought he was squeemish about picking up a live mouse, you'd have to really see the toe dancing over trying to touch a dead one. We didn't catch any so stop worrying. The man could not set a trap! Oh he could set it, but he couldn't catch anything. Good thing we aren't trapping for our food for winter-we would starve. (sorry honey, it's the truth). Come on. You put a piece of cheese on the trap, and wham. Quick. Clean.

I know this because when I was ten my girlfriend and I decided we were going to go into business selling mice to the pet stores and our friends. We were going to make a fortune! We got our breeding stock-three females and a male.

I'll cut to the chase-we ended up with thirteen baby mice that all got out of the cage one night and my mother had an ongoing mouse-battle that I still hear about. Let's just say...three cats couldn't keep up with it and we were out of business. Too bad because we really picked some breeders I tell ya!

I'm not squeemish about mice. But he is.

So there he is, my sweetie, mouse traps all over the drawers, full of cheese, and he tells me he keeps adding fresh cheese every night. Hmmmm. I look and there are mice droppings everywhere which means the traps are being visited and the cheese is being sampled. Not so stupid mice! I take back the crack about cat food. We are feeding the mice! They are having a party in my kitchen! Where the heck is my cat! Some queen mouse chaser she is! I think she's upset because I let her catch go and she has decided to let us fend for ourselves and frankly I'd probably feel the same way.

"Hmf. They think they are so smart? Let them deal!" She's pretty imperial as it is. There's no living with her now as she watches us in our mouse issue.

So. Since I'm the shaman ya know, I get out my rattle and my florida water and I say, "hey guys, we had a deal! What's up!?" Since everything means something, this has to have a message from the universe just for us, right?

I look up "MOUSE" on the internet again. Oh thank you great GOOGLE. "If mouse has entered your life, ask yourself if you are neglecting trival but necessary things. Mouse people can make the simplest task fraught with difficulty."

I look at the plethora of mousetraps in my kitchen. I mean seriously. He has probably got 20 mouse traps going. He has placed them behind every drawer, in every drawer. Now 20 might not sound like a lot to you, but they are only coming into one section of the kitchen. One set of cupboards. No where else. 2 large drawers, and 3 small ones. That's it. 20 mousetraps. Mountains of cheese. We are feeding the neighborhood! Party time in rodent land. Ok ok. Maybe this is his issue? Maybe he is mouse and not me? You mean this might NOT be about me after all? Is that possible? Nah.

"Honey. Could we maybe find a better mousetrap than this one?" I'm seriously worried about opening a drawer. I am leaving town again, and I tell him I figure if he catches one he will have to pay a neighbor to come take it outside. He growls at me. Men don't like having a flaw, and they certainly don't like it if we poke fun at it. Oh but come on...oh ok. I'll be nice.

I clean all the drawers out, really well, all the traps are freed from death duty and tossed. Never did like those things. I sit down and talk into the drawers. Serious. I spit florida water and tell them they have two choices, but the party is over. They can move on down the street, or it is war. I am taking back the neighborhood. All the utensils and pots and pans go in the dishwasher on high. Hey-they wash up just fine.

I am not neglecting the little things anymore. I am not fearful of life. I am focused. I am shaman! I am seeing the larger picture-drawers without droppings. I have an image of little mousey dancers dragging out in the wee hours...tuckered out from the party at my house but spreading the word they have to find a new place to dance.

Upshot is ... no party at our house anymore! We are mouse free. Was it the talk with the mice? Was it taking back my power? Was it the florida water? Was it putting my cat in the crawl space under the house for a few nights...who knows? I only know it worked!