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January 29, 2004
New Felt Appys Arrived
Pictured is the smaller appy, whose name (I think) is Digimon. He's about the size of a Julip pony or foal.
Digimon and his stablemate, Blue, arrived today all the way from Nottingham. They said they had a wonderful trip, despite all of the snow they encountered. They also said it was very cold here, so I put them in the warmest room in the house, which happens to be the Horse Room!
They certainly are very well-made. Their creator is Laura Bond, and hopefully, she will put more felt horses on eBay in the future. (I missed out on a dapple grey and a bay Andalusian due to budget constraints, but maybe in a couple of months I can afford another one! Who knows? Maybe not-I was looking at baby furniture today, and it's very expensive from the nearest specialty shop. Looks like a trip to Babies R Us is in the future for Brian and I!)
Posted by Jessica at 07:32 PM | Comments (3)
January 26, 2004
Labyrinth of Healing
Brian and I had a wonderful weekend. Saturday was an especially nice day. Although it was crispy-cold out, and there was loads of snow all over the ground, we ventured forth to a neighboring city for a morning cup of coffee (decaf for me, due to the baby) at Starbuck's.
Brian was meeting some of his Masonic brothers there to discuss plans for the new Youthful Masonic group they are forming. I made myself inconspicuous, curling up in a comfy armchair with a copy of Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice."
Next, it was off just down the road to the Triple Goddess bookstore, where we met our friend Emerald and our new friend, Kathy. The Triple Goddess has many interesting items to look at and I have never before emerged without puchasing something...but this time I restrained myself. Life without an income causes one to make some adjustments in one's spending habits! I still have lots of toys to play with at home, and lots of excellent books on our library shelves, so I am not deprived!
After this delightful turn through the bookstore, we gathered in one vehicle to visit a spot that Emerald had described to us. It is Michigan's first Healing Garden at a hospital, and is complete with its own Labyrinth. We were eager to visit, as Emerald gave it glowing reviews!
We arrived to find the Healing Garden accessible, but alas! covered with a deep coating of snow, so that the Labyrinth was not visible. Emerald saved the day by asking if maintenence could clear it off for us, which they gladly did. We waited in a warm and light-filled lobby and got to know Kathy. She is a physician's assistant, and works many long hours, but is able to help many patients during her day's work.
Finally, it was time to walk the Labyrinth. Emerald explained that the way in is the path of forgiveness, and one must open one's being to allow guilt, blame or other stressful emotions to leave. The pathway becomes a kind of meditation, and you can actually feel stress drain away as you continue through the Labyrinth.
The center of the Labyrinth is a place of great spiritual power, and is where the Deity speaks to you in whatever form is most comfortable or necessary to you at the time. I had a very Goddess-centered experience, while Brian's experience (he told me later) was decidedly non-feminine!
I noticed that the center of the Labyrinth had a six-sided petal shape, with a center almond or circle. This reminded me distinctly of the triple Goddess, it did resemble a statue that I have of Brigit who is facing three directions at once while in her three forms (most commonly, the triple Goddess manifests as Maiden, Mother and Crone.) The interior circle I sensed as a yoni, or womb of the Mother.
We all received healing from Emerald while in the center, and then we quietly and respectfully exited the Labyrinth by the same path we had entered. Now we were ready to share what we had received in personal insight with the rest of the universe.
Actually, we were ready to eat! Since we were near one of my favorite restaurants of all time (Clara's, combining my interests of tasty food, historic buildings, and antiques) we drove there and had some delicious lunch. So much lunch that I had to bring half of my sandwich home in a box! Clara's is in a Victorian railway station that has been converted into a restaurant. It has a HUGE menu, reasonable prices, and is filled to overflowing with gorgeous and fascinating antiques.
After this splendid time, we had to take our leave of Emerald and Kathy and head back towards our home. But not before stopping at a giant Antique Mall just off of the expressway! (Once again, no purchases, but it was fun to browse!)
And the weekend was just beginning! On Sunday, our friends Ryan and Danielle came over and we went out for Chinese. Our friends Henry and Lulu own the best Chinese restaurant in the county, and we had great fun visiting with them while we were there. Ryan, Danielle, Brian and I then went to see the movie "The Big Fish," which had been recommended by not one, but three different people we met on Saturday. It was indeed a very worthwhile movie, and I highly recommend it!
Posted by Jessica at 10:43 PM | Comments (2)
January 20, 2004
New Appaloosa to arrive from Nottingham, England!
Laura Bond of Nottingham makes these splendid felt horses. I found this one on eBay just a short while ago, and couldn't resist bidding on it.
Laura makes the horses out of a wire armature which is then covered in felt and has detailing added. Her stable is called Moon's Milk.
He should be arriving from England within the next month or so (along with another cute appy felt buddy of his!)
Posted by Jessica at 04:36 PM | Comments (2)
January 18, 2004
Janie and Kelpie
I found another view of Janie and her pony, Kelpie, in my archives, so here it is! Isn't he an adorable pony???
Janie and Kelpie will soon have a couple of additions to their stable. I was very fortunate to win eBay auctions for two felt appaloosa horses (photos coming soon!) They, too, will be coming all the way from England. Janie promised to have carrots and apples waiting for them when they arrive. Kelpie will restrain himself from being grumpy as long as Janie gives him some of the apples and carrots!
Posted by Jessica at 08:50 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2004
News Flash!
Medical insurance provider in the United States declares giving birth to be a "medically necessary" procedure!
We had to switch insurance providers when Brian took his new position in Ann Arbor. I had to call the new insurance company, which is a PPO (this means one has to have nearly every medical visit "pre-approved" by them) to let them know that I was pregnant so that they would cover my visits to the OB.
I received a formal letter in the mail a week or so later, telling me that I was pre-approved for "vaginal delivery" and that the reason I was approved is that the insurance company had deemed this to be a "medically necessary procedure."
I wonder what they wanted me to do with the baby if they had declared my giving birth to it to be medically unnecessary! These insurance companies really take the cake sometimes.
Posted by Jessica at 01:56 PM | Comments (1)
January 08, 2004
Fitzwood!
I found this lovely photo of the famous Havillands Arab Champion, Fitzwood Silver Blue, in my archives!
Fitzwood is owned by Amanda Massara, and he is the special stallion that has won the heart of my own dear Julip Arabian, Whisper.
Fitzwood is wearing a spiffy headcollar in this photo. I think it was a gift from Whisper...
Fitzwood has sired the energetic colt named Lucky that resides in my stable! Lucky is enough to make any sire proud, and Whisper is very fond of him (even though his constant galloping about wears on her nerves sometimes!)
Posted by Jessica at 10:44 PM | Comments (1)
January 07, 2004
Wonders of Life
Well, I am starting to really feel pregnant...
For the past few months, I have been too sick to think about being pregnant. I'm still sick most of the time, but fortunately, there is an amazing wonder drug that my doctor prescribed for me (after seeing that I had lost eleven pounds and was dehydrated.) It is called Zofran, and so far, it has helped me quite a bit. I can eat and do housework and laundry. I can even drive short distances to the local supermarket to do grocery shopping. It is amazing, considering that for several weeks I was confined to a sleeping bag on the floor of the bathroom, unable to eat, drink or sleep and certainly not able to do anything more strenuous than curl up there in great discomfort, unless it was projectile vomiting into the toilet. I got to know my toilet very well during those weeks.
Hopefully, the nausea will start going away sometime soon (it hasn't, yet) as I am now four months pregnant. I will have an ultrasound at the end of the month to see how the baby is doing. Maybe we'll even get to know whether it's a boy or a girl! (Handy when it comes to buying baby clothes!)
Posted by Jessica at 04:17 PM | Comments (3)
January 01, 2004
Julip Celebration
The Julip Yahoo Group celebrated its second anniversary late last year, and we celebrated with a special cake!
The Julips didn't actually eat the cake, though. They felt the frosting would have gotten stuck in their manes and tails, so they left the cake for Brian and I. I gave them an extra helping of affection, though!
Shown are Whisper the Arab Champion and Privateer the Family Horse and her foal Firefly.
Whisper's foal, Lucky, had scampered off out of camera range just before the photo was taken. He has a lot of energy for such a little guy!
Hello to everybody in the Julip club!
Posted by Jessica at 07:20 PM | Comments (1)