Top Ten EC Droppers for August

Thanks to my Top 10 Droppers for August!

Stir The Cauldron
2 Witches Blog
People You Need to Know
Thyme2dream
Communique by Ivanhoe
Diet Pulpit
Blue Turtle
Passport2Cruising
Money from Nothing
Robin's Woods

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Forestville Town Social

Last Thursday, Wise Women of the West participated in the Forestville Town Social and Business Expo. I had a booth featuring my herbal products and cordials. There were many more booths than last year and not as many people came. I didn't make as much as last year, but I did meet many great people and from what I heard, I did much better than others. I got a little carried away as I usually do, talking with people and was not paying as much attention as I should have and either I dropped some of my money or someone did not pay (or both) Yikes! I don't think I dropped it since surely someone would have said something.

I remember one exchange that was odd and I'm not sure the woman actually paid me, yet let me give her change. When I added up my sales and the money I had, it was that amount that was lacking.

I was up half the night counting and checking and I was definitely short. I really did not want to believe that someone stold from me. I make all my products from scratch, using high quality ingredients locally grown and gathered or brought back from other countries I visit. In all cases, there is a great deal of time, expense and effort in making them. I create my own recipes - many come from inspiration. All are unique.

Any artist or craftsperson who tries to sell their creations at fairs knows how much work is involved. It is a labor of love. But that does not mean that you want to just give it away. I was both hurt and disappointed. And of course, I blamed myself for not being "more business-like" and or more careful.

The woman herself may not have realized she didn't pay me. It may not have been intentional at all. This is what I prefer to think because it gives me more peace of mind.

Happy 80th - Little Mother

Today would have been my mother's 80th birthday and, knowing her, she would rather be where she is than say she was 80. Bless her heart, she passed away three years ago. She did not accept aging very well. She fought it tooth and nail. Her death was a shock to everyone who knew her.

We were packed and ready to go on a trip back to where my grandparents came from in Sicily. She had been complaining about her feet hurting. It interfered with her tap-dancing. Yes, at 75 she had fulfilled one of her lifelong dreams of being a tap-dancer and performed regularly as a member of the Golden Follies at local functions in the Hayward area. In fact, they had a big show at Chabot College and it was filmed.

She had named me after Judy Garland because when she was a kid, the Wizard of Oz had inspired her with the dream of singing and dancing, which she was unable to fulfill herself. Like many parents, she tried to 'force' me to do what she felt she could not do. Believe me, when I saw her dancing on stage for the first time, I was overjoyed. For her, that she had made her dream come true, and for me, that I was finally off that hook. She had just danced a few weeks before.

She also rowed a whaleboat with a crew of women older than her once a week in Lake Merritt, Oakland. They were on the boats by 8am every Wednesday morning. She had to drive about 20 miles to get there. She had just been there a couple of weeks before.

She was president of her local chapter of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, traveling all over the state for their fund-raising program for children who needed medical care.

She was an incredible woman to have as a mother. We were more like friends. Only 20 years apart, there were more years between her and her oldest sister, than between us. She was the youngest of nine. She had seven older sisters (who always had a comment for everything she did), but she loved them all. One of her greatest dreads was that she would bury them all. God bless her, she didn't have to.

As a kid, she taught me to eat right, by example. We always had fresh fruit and vegetables in the house. We never had junk food around. Soda and ice cream were treats we only had at birthday parties. She cooked at home every day, even though she always worked outside the home, usually full-time. She believed that a woman should have job skills and be able to be independent, to take care of herself.

She would come back to kill me if I told you of the adventures we had together during the 60s. Knowing I will see her again someday, if not tonight in my dreams, I won't say a word.

When I was 48 and she was 68, we both went sky-diving for my birthday. I have a video of her floating through the air. She looks like she is totally blissed out. That same year we went to Crete together and had a marvelous and sometimes challenging trip.

We laughed until we wet our pants more than once. I haven't laughed like that since she died. We smoked cigarettes and drank brandy together, knowing it was no good for us. She nagged me all the time about my weight and the fact that I never exercise. She became a weight trainer at 24 hour fitness at 68! I'm 60 and I'm lucky if I can walk 1/2 a mile.

About a week before our trip, her blood pressure went sky high. She had my sister take her to the emergency room. They admitted her. When I got there, they said they wanted to do tests, but she would probably be going home in a day or two. Apparently, before I got there, they had told her that she was going to be on dialysis three times a week, would have to stop driving and would need an oxygen tank.

My mom, who had been driving the tour van for the senior center full of people my age - not being able to drive! No way. During the early hours of the next morning, she tried to leave like a lady. Her heart just stopped. But, not having her DNR done yet, which she planned to do when we got back from Sicily, they brought her back and put her on machines. She never regained consciousness, her organs shut down and did not come back and so after 3 days she went into the light. Her boyfriend and I stayed with her day and night for those 3 days.

Hurricane Katrina had hit only a few days before she went to the hospital. I used to live in New Orleans and knowing my mother, she watched it all on T.V. thinking about what 'could have' happened to me if I still lived there. She was like that. Worrying about what could have, should have, might have been. Also, her name was Katherine. I know she cried when she saw all the people suffering, she had a huge heart and a lot of compassion. I believe that Hurricane Katrina broke my mother's heart and when she saw that no one was helping people, she just wanted to get down there and do something herself. She had planned to join the Red Cross Relief program a few years before, but hadn't gotten around to it. She was probably sorry she wasn't there - playing with the kids; cooking and serving food.

After she died, I felt like part of my body was permanently removed. My life has totally changed. Gone the 5 hour phone calls, the laughing, the crying together. I have never cleared her voice messages off my unified messaging system, but I haven't listened to them either. I can't face dealing with her belongings which are stacked up in my house and in storage. Everytime I open a box, her perfume fills the air and I am sad again. She loved expensive perfume and I will say this for it, it lasts.

I ask for her help all the time. I hear her 'nagging' me every day. I miss her something terrible.

Happy Birthday, Little Mother. Thank you for everything.

Upcoming Tour of Morocco 2009

Now that the eclipse is past (see my astrology blog thedesertsky.blogspot.com for more about that) I am ready to announce my upcoming tour of Morocco for 2009. It will feature the best of the three trips I've made there plus the Fez Sacred Music Festival 2009. They have not set the program for next year yet, but you can visit the website for this year's program.

I have been wanting to create and lead my own tour for quite awhile now and with the help of friends, it is set up.

Click here to view the brochure.

This is going to be a very special trip. Send the deposit now to secure your spot. You still have plenty of time to save up your blog earnings (LOL) for the rest of the trip.

Hope to hear from you soon. If you have questions, leave a comment.

In His Own Words

My cousin Frank wrote an account of this experience. Here it is...He sent it to us in an email and I thought I would post it just like that. He's the one in front wearing the white hat.

"Dear Family, Friends, and Running Buddies,

I wrote for somebody that wanted the complete story of my run. I thought I would share it with you all.

The 2008 San Francisco Marathon: Call it an epic adventure or a story of survival.

At the start the weather was cool and comfortable. There was magic in the air. Thousand of runners were gathering in the dark with the city lights adding a nice glow. The excitement was building and we were ready to go. The music engulfed us. The elite runners took off at 5:35 and the waves of runners followed. That moment it was great to be alive and in the City. The smell of fresh bread greeted us on our way then came the smell of stinky crabs at Fisherman's Warf. We ran along the waters edge on the bay and then up to our first speed bump, a short but very steep hill. No problem. We ran past Fort Mason and through Chrissy Field. We were then faced with the most daunting hill up to the bridge for about a mile. No problem. Then on to the bridge where they split one lane for runners to go both ways. It was a problem. To add to it, there were wind gusts so strong our bibs were almost ripped off. We were just happy to be running across this treasure. The only problem was a lot of people didn't understand runners etiquette which was needed to transverse the tight roadway. At times I and others felt like yelling "lead, follow, or get out of the way", but I remained jovial and darted around the wafflers with my pace group. My brother Steve and nephew Rafey greeted me on the bridge and snapped lots of pictures. After the bridge we faced the second biggest hill for about 3/4 mile. No problem. The training really helped on these two hills. We then got to coast down a hill for a awhile and then off to flat stretch. We entered Golden Gate Park and ran up a slope/hill that lasted forever. At the halfway mark my legs reminded me of the hills I ran. And then out of the blue a "convergence". All of the Half Marathon runners that were running the second half descended on us. Again no runners etiquette. Again, I was thinking "lead, follow or get out of the way". This did slow me down somewhat. We continued through the park and around Stow Lake which is quite scenic. It was a real familiar site. I was making good time. We ran down Haight Street. It was a nice run all the way to Market Street. I was in good shape. We went through a flat stretch which was not scenic. Miles 22, 23 and 24 included industrial/commercial buildings and three hills. I got over the first hill keeping pace and feeling good with just a little heaviness in my legs. Hills 2 and 3, not so good. The scenery didn't help. Mile 25 was beautiful and inspiring but my legs were cramping due to all of the challenges along the way. It was my slowest mile. No matter what, I knew I had to finish strong for the last 1.2 miles. I sucked up the pain in my legs and I came racing in. I totally sprinted in the final .2 There were plenty of people cheering including family and my Pace Group. I am not sure how I did it but I did. I did have my "dark side" moments. My goal was to break 4:30 but I am happy with the 4:39.24. My brother Steve thought under normal circumstances I would have run 4:20. The culmination of all the hills and slopes were really challenging. The training did prepare me for the hills but you have to experience them to really know. It is something you have to process and work through as you go. I hope you enjoyed my story. I am now doing a lot of walking to help me recover. The only injury I have is one black toenail. I am plenty sore but in a good way. I will start running in two weeks. Next up: The San Jose Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in October. It is smooth and flat. I can really gauge myself with this one. To follow is the Honolulu Marathon in December. I will be training with some of my running buddies for this one. I have truly been bitten by the running bug. May you all be bitten by something new and exciting in your lives.

Peace, Love and Joy

Frank"

Frank my Hero!

He did it again! This time he ran 26.2 miles over the Golden Gate Bridge and around the city of San Francisco.

While I was writing about "buckets" and barely able to walk from here to there, my 'hero' and cousin, Frank was training for, then running, the SF Aids Marathon. Bless his heart.

And now, he's getting ready to do another one! in Honolulu. He's says he's got the bug and loves running.

I've caught a bug too, blogging. In my case, it entails hours of sitting on my duff and loving it! LOL

In his case it means running his duff off! LOL He says he last another 12 pounds. He weighs less now than he did in high school. Here he is at the finish line. Still on his feet - amazing! How do they do that! Hours of running? Amazing! Makes me tired just thinking about it. Well... someone's got to do it. More power to you.