Ok, I am now taking the time to check my RenSpace. I haven't checked it in so long. Shame on me.

 

I uploaded some more photos that I found on my hard drive while cleaning it up. I hope you all enjoy.

 

So what's new? Well, I got married and we are expecting our first child. My health has been good, just a little fatigued due to pregnancy. I am actively working with folks from the Louisiana RenFaire and loving it! Sewing up a storm lately and doing some costume designing for the baby. Getting ready for summer visitors as well as preparing for the baby's arrival and hoping to keep better contact with friends through the internet, since I have been such a slacker lately!

Well, I'm off to finish the sewing project I started yesterday! Cheers!

Written on Tuesday, October 30, 2007

First, a little bit of background info for you: My mom and I never got along. I always found her oppressive due to her religious beliefs. She is a Radical Southern Baptist, and I am Pagan. She, of course, constantly reminds me that I will burn in Hell if I do not repent and accept Jesus Christ as my savior. Needless to say, I don't speak to her much because we can't have a normal everyday conversation without her religion dominating the conversation.

Last week, I called my mom to talk to her about something really important in my life. (I will explain what it was in a later blog.) She therefore, proceeded with her religious beliefs and told me how I was going to burn in Hell. I attempted to defend my faith in the conversation by explaining to her that I love her BECAUSE she is Christian, and I accept her religious choice if that is what makes her happy. I also tried to explain to her that I love all people and their religions, races, creeds, political beliefs, moral beliefs, personal interests, BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFERENT THAN MINE. I bear no intolerance for anyone I meet, and I teach my daughter this too. Well, trying to tell my mother this was like trying to rip ones toenails out with tweezers, or giving oneself a papercut on the edges of ones mouth. It was hurtful, painful, and difficult, and she didn't hear a word I was saying because of her intolerance. I started getting mad at her, so I ended up telling her that from now on, we have nothing to say to each other. The next day, I found the following passage on the internet, so I sent it to my mom. Her response follows the passage.

A Christian Speaks On The Faith And Path Of Wicca

James Clement Taylor

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a Christian and not a Wiccan. A Christian is one who has been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who has made a personal, free-will decision to commit himself and all his or her life to our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Both of these things are true of me. I am a member of St. Mary's Eastern Orthodox Church, Calhan, Colorado. In this paper, I am not speaking as agent for any church, but I am, entirely on my own responsibility, speaking the truth in love, as we Christians are supposed to do.
A Situation of Strife and Shame:
There are many Christians today who believe that anyone who is not a Christian is doomed to an eternity of suffering in hell. Any decent person, believing this, would be compelled to try to save as many people from this fate as possible. But is this belief correct? Jesus Christ, having noted the faith and righteousness of a Roman centurion, a Pagan, proclaimed:
"Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:10-12)
If we accept these words as true, and surely we should, then it is clear that heaven will contain many who are not Christians, and hell will contain many who are! Clearly, throughout the Gospels, Jesus Christ sets forth the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and those criteria include love, kindness, forgiveness, and a refusal to judge others:
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15)
"For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7:2)
"But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'" (Matthew 9:13)
"Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be for- given." (Luke 6:36-38)
Is it not clear? Anyone who fails in these things, will calling himself a Christian save him? Anyone who obeys God in these things, will being un-baptized condemn him? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)
Yet it is not by good works that we earn our way into heaven, because there is no way we can earn the free gift of God's mercy and grace, which alone can save us. But it is clear that it is not by faith, in the sense of sharing the Christian faith, that we are saved, either. The faith which saves us is not faith in the goodness of our works, nor faith that we have the right theology and/or belong to the right church. Rather, it is faith in God, and in His mercy:
"So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy." (Romans 9:16)
But the Wiccans, you will say, do not have faith in God. Yet by their own theology, they certainly do. Those who call them Satan-worshippers are entirely wrong. They do not worship Satan, or even believe that Satan exists. Instead, they worship a Goddess and a God whom they understand as manifestations of a higher and unknown Deity.
Now if you are a Christian, this will sound familiar to you, and it should. In the Bible we find the following:
"Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, `Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you" (Acts 17:22-23)
The Wiccans worship the Unknown God, as manifested to them in the form of a Goddess and a God. Therefore, our Bible tells us they worship the same God we do; and if they do not know this, we should know it!
For those of us who are unable to simply stand on God's Word, and must prove to themselves the truth of what it proclaims the holy Apostle John has given us the method for doing this. You have only to attend any public Wiccan ceremony, and test the spirits which are there, to see "whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). You will find that, while the power manifested there may be less than what you have experienced as a Christian, that power is clearly the power of God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, these people of Wicca have been terribly slandered by us. They have lost jobs, and homes, and places of business because we have assured others that they worship Satan, which they do not. We have persecuted them, and God will hold us accountable for this, you may be sure, for He has said,
"Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew 25:40)
Let us, from this point onward, repent of our misdeeds and declare that henceforth we shall obey Christ our God, and not judge others or condemn them, so that He will not have to judge and condemn us for our sins.

My mom's response:
"This is the second time you have sent this. If I wanted to read fiction I would read the funny papers. James Clement Taylor is as lost as a goose in a snow storm. He might have religion but he doesn't have faith and religion won't get you to Heaven."

I find it frustrating that my views are so foreign to her and she can continue to tell me I will burn in Hell. Well, I guess, if I'm going to burn in Hell (which I don't believe in) then I will go there with the love of all the people I was tolerant to.... regardless of their beliefs.

I am writing this blog to vent, first of all, but also to thank my many friends for their religious, or racial TOLERANCE. You all wouldn't be my friends if you were intolerant. Blessed Be my friends.

 

 

Written on Wednesday, October 24, 2007

So I have been unpacking all these boxes, and am constantly reminded of all the "stuff" we have. So much stuff, spent so much money on, things to make life easier or more convenient, 3 sets of dishes, pots and pans and kitchen gizmos we never use, drawers full of kitchen silverware and utensils, many times over. I think it's time to downsize in the kitchen.

I also found our iRobot vacuums, which of course, I set loose around the house to vacuum for me. We have four. Three are for "dry" vacuuming, and one is a "wet" vacuum. There is so much technology these days that makes our lives easier because we have become so busy. I was doing some research online, using one of our many computers with wireless internet.... of course..... I was looking for a better pool vacuum, as the one we have is on it's last legs, no matter how many times I fix it. I found that the company that makes the robot vacuums also makes a pool vacuum, and get this...... a device that lets you keep an eye on your kids and your pets when not at home. It looks like the vacuums but with a webcam installed in it. It can be controlled remotely from a computer using the internet anywhere. So I would be able to check on Porter and tell him to get out of the kitchen, while I was driving around in my truck, using my wireless internet on my laptop! iRobot is starting a research panel of product testers for this device, which I signed up for, as Richard and I had discussed setting up a webcam to keep and eye on Porter's mischevious activities while noone is home.

I have always been the type of person to remember our past, and how we got to where we are today. What would we do without all this technology or electricity? What if it was suddenly taken away from us, by war, or disaster? Would we be able to survive? I mean honestly, how many of you can say that you could survive in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes you wear? I would probably not be able to, that's for sure. But I would like to learn wilderness survival. Why don't they teach that in our schools? Isn't that something that kids would really make use of? Math, Science, English, sure! Home Ech, Art, Music, sure! Survival? not so sure.

All this technology is just in it's infantile stages right now, but reminds me of something from Star Wars, or some sci fi movie. In contrast, I am glad that I am involved in the renaissance faire, and historical reenactments so that as our society moves toward such technological dependance, I can learn crafts and arts from our historical past that are beginning to die out or be forgotten. We can thank the technology of the internet for research on these topics too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a doomsday type of person, but there is nothing wrong with a little preparation and knowledge. I will continue to live in our technologically advancing world, but also remember and learn what it was like in our past. With or without my robot vacuums, I always have a broom! How about you?

 

 

Written on Sunday, October 21, 2007

Oh, boy, I haven't written in so long. My laptop is having issues... sometimes it will load a webpage, sometimes it won't. Very frustrating.

I am still unpacking. The company that packed up the house were rediculous about the way they packed things. They litterally wrapped each individual pinecone I have. (I have cinnamon scented pinecones in a basket) Yes, they wrapped each one in paper. I spend most of my time unwrapping stuff. The pile of packing paper just keeps getting taller as I flatten out each sheet and add it to the stack.

Today, I spent most of the day working in the backyard. I cut dead leaves off the palm trees, and pruned some of the other trees around the backyard. I also spent time fixing the pump on the swimming pool. Pure luck... I have no idea, what I did, but I fixed it. Later, I worked on getting my sewingroom set up. I had to paint the room first, which I finished the other day. I got the table set up, and moved some boxes around, which killed my back to do. I'm feeling it now! Tomorrow, I will bake some cookies for the folks at Rich's work, work in my sewingroom some more, finish some yardwork, take the dog for a walk and look at some big ass houses around here. OH! There is a historical plantation home around the corner from where I live! It is absolutely grand!

What have we been up to.... hmmm. well, last weekend, we went to New Orleans and met Richard's sister and her husband. He is the police chief in Miami Beach. They were there for the National Police Chief's Association Convention. So we partied with a bunch of police chiefs from around the country at The House of Blues. We heard some fantastic music, ate some great food, drank some great drinks, and then we walked around the French Quarter and collected beads. I got several strands, which I gave away to the other ladies in our group who did not get any. Besides, if I wore all the beads, they would have covered up my most prized assets! We took some crazy pictures, walked with some crazy folks, listened to some crazy bands, and had some crazy fun. Richard wants to go back to New Orleans for Halloween, which I read, is almost as amazing as Mardi Gras. What an amazing city to have taken such a hit from Hurricane Katrina, and the spirit never died. I commend the people of New Orleans. They have fantastic strength of spirit. What a beautiful city.

With all this newness here in Baton Rouge, I still miss Seattle so much. I unpacked some of my Seattle memorabilia, and just burst into tears because I miss everything and everyone that I left there. I will be making a short visit back to Seattle next month. Richard has some work stuff to do there, so I will go with him. I am so excited to see Kariya and Jayme!

Well, I suppose that's it for now. Adieu!

 

 

Written on Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Oh, my gosh, I haven't really been online much over the past month or so. I have been so busy. We arrived in Baton Rouge on Saturday afternoon, and we had an appointment with our real estate agent to see 2 houses that day! They weren't what we were looking for. So we called it quits, and penciled in all of Sunday for house searching. Our agent printed up the latest hot sheet Sunday morning, and made appointments to see the houses on it. We saw 2 houses on Sunday morning. The first house was not for us, the second house was absolutely gorgeous. We ended our house search right then and there. The house went on the market Saturday afternoon, we went under contract with it on Sunday. No other buyers even looked at this house. It is 4 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths, 2500 square feet, with a little shop and spare room outside, hard wood floors, spanish tile in the kitchen, and new carpet in the bedrooms, walkin closets in all the rooms, and a pool with a waterfall fountain that falls into the pool. The landscaping next to the pool has 2 25 foot tall palm trees. Plus smaller palms around the yard, pool and patio. It has an electric gate to a long driveway along the side of the house. The seller will be moving out by October 1, and we will be moved in by Oct 3. Yup, my last day in Seattle will be so soon.

I don't even want to think about how much I'm going to miss Seattle and my daughter, and my friends here. So I won't be writing about it now.

Our trip here in Baton Rouge has been fun, that's for sure. We have eaten some fabulous food. I have tried many new things for the first time. I tried raw oysters, alligator- breaded and deep fried and also blackened... which I must say was very good. I also tried calimari (breaded fried squid). So many new things. I'm really enjoying my time here. Tonite, we went to New Orleans and ate at Emeril's. Yes, the chef guy on t.v. There were four of us and the friggin bill came out to $380.00 with the tip. The food wasn't really that great, I don't think it was worth $380.00, and I will probably never eat there again. Shoot me or what ever, I guess I prefer bar food. We got to New Orleans late, so we didn't tour the famous areas. After dinner, we drove back to the hotel. Tomorrow, is our last day here. Not sure what our plans are, so I guess we'll see!

See pics of the new house in my "Baton Rouge House" folder!