Last Friday was Ed's birthday. Ed was a friend of Richelle's, and he had an untimely death from asthma last summer. He was gone so suddenly, there wasn't closure, it was hard to grasp.

Ed was a quirky guy; he was tall, urbane- always too cool for the room. Not a warm and fuzzy character, but if Ed liked something you'd said, a song you played, it mattered more than if anyone else had liked it.... Ed was bitter, difficult, a hell of a lot of fun, and greatly missed.

Shelle went to a memorial dinner for him last week and they gave out little nuns- Ed loved religoius kitsch. We got together this week to have an espresso martini (espresso, vanilla vodka-yummmm) and toast to his memory.

And now it's Friday! So many of you visited my Terrarium/Tarot Specials page yesterday, thank you so much for being interested in my stuff! Remember the specials end on 5/1... Those who bought readings, I'm getting out my cards to do my first orders after this blog entry.

First, how about a card to send us into the weekend? I turn over the Seven of Pentacles, reversed. Actually this is timely, as I go into a weekend when I have a shopping trip planned with my daughter... This card tells me to keep a realistic handle on my actual finanacial situation, not what I would like it to be. As of now, I have all intentions of some very reasonable shopping, mostly looking. However, sometimes you enter the store, intentions intact, and the goods sing a siren song to you- the shiny new things, the smell of the store- it all combines to scramble the thought processes, and suddenly the financial outlook is more flexible. YIKES! I need to avoid that, and this card gave me a little wake-up call. Another aspect of this card is that I did not achieve the career goals I set for myself this week. I have a project due, and I have spent a lot of time planning it, turning it over in my head, without actually starting it... What can I say, we Capricorns are notorious procrastinators. Anyway, this card takes me to task, and having it come on a Friday is a good thing, I have the weekend to get my priorities in order.

Tarot Specials!
First, I always think this time of year is a good time to get a Tarot reading. Just for fun, I have set up links for special prices on TWO different readings, and the specials are available only to my Blog-readers and mailing list members. The Celtic Cross, normally $27.00 is just $24.00, and The Tarot-Mini is just $12.00, when it’s normally $15.00. These special prices are available ONLY here. (http://www.atasteoftarot.com/spring.htm) Hurry! The sale ends on 5/1/2006.

Well, the lonely chicken spent the afternoon with Petey. They are so weird, Petey had a chew product and the chicken decided it was delicious. He would gum it up, getting it soft, and Tina just pecked away! They were sharing a snack. At first, the puppy was in charge of this relationship, but now the chicken is running the show. Doesn't say much about the toughness of our dog, does it?

Well on Sunday I turned up the Tower card, and I was sure my world was going to be rocked. I was bracing myself. Well so far I'm re-thinking my call on that card. Maybe it wasn't for me, but about the people I love.... My three best female friends are all facing Tower-like problems, and I have been trying to support them through this.

I'm still waiting for my challenges, and I'll try to handle them well, but at this point I am thinking perhaps I got the Tower card on Sunday because my friends were facing such problems? People, in gerneral, are pretty egocentric. Maybe I was seeing myself at the center of the issues, when in fact it was my job to help my friends see the message from the card, that maybe this tumultous time will shake things loose and be better in the long run? Maybe it wasn't all about ME! (The horrrrorr! Not about ME??? )

It's been a purrrfect Sunday! We went out to breakfast, and then off to Hidden Lake Gardens where everything is blooming! We fed the fish in the pond, and my husband and son were so inspired, they took the boat out this afternoon. For the third week in a row, they were skunked. I, however, took a delightful soaky bath, with the wonderful book Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters. It's a rich historical novel, but not at all treacly, and an excellent choice for a rainy Spring sunday.

Now, as the afternoon moves into evening, the sun has come out. I'm putting up a picture of the park- look how much the grass has grown since the burning on the 11th! The trees are just starting to bud, everything looks frilly with green. Every evening Dan and I have been taking Petey over for a walk; we go around the edge of the field and the treefrogs sing to us- this is such a tender, sweet time of year!

The bad news, we found the carcass of Lucy the Rhode Island Red right across the road, just beyond the fence. All we found in the yard was a pile of feathers, the coyotes dragged her over there. That explains the night we though they were right in the yard- they WERE. It was the scariest thing, they chattered and barked, it sounded like a scary movie. Poor Lucy, may she rest in peace.

I turn up a card tonight, and oh my, it's the Tower. I better brace myself... just when I thought everything was fine, this comes along to shake things up. There's revelation, an epiphany if you will, and it will changes the way things have been. While it feels disruptive or disturbing at the time, it's going to be freeing in the long run. I feel pretty good about this card, ready to embrace a freeing change, even if it comes about in a rough kind of way.... I mean, what else can you do? When something comes down around your ears, you HAVE to make a change. Sometimes when you can't do it for yourself, you need a little dynamite to get you going... The Tower will be a dynamited life change.

Off to my book... xolaura

Give the death card a break....
My kids had Monday off, but this still seems like it's been one lonnnng week. It feels good to have it finally be Friday. I lose one child on an overnight tonight, but will probably gain at least 2 smelly boys to replace her. With a 13 year-old and a 14 year-old itr's always something.

I want to get right to my card of the day today, I'm turning over one for my best friend Richelle, who had a very bad day yesterday. Wow, I turn over the World card, reversed. This makes so much sense to me- earlier this week I dedicated the card to another friend, and HE got the world, in a positive position. He's come a long way to hit a time when he feels this much promise, and that card was a blessing. Now, the World appears again, to show this friend is still working to find balance. Shelle, it's a tough time right now, so many aspects of life are out of balance, no wonder it's a strain on you! You feel sluggish and action feels like a lot of work. There are so many things on your plate it's really hard to know what to focus on at this time, so you wind up spinning your wheels and blaming yourself. There's such a focus on the emotional aspect of all this, the feelings involved, that the actual problems creating all this emotional upheaval get less attention.

So what to do? I turn over one more card to see if there is any obvious advice, and there is the Death card. Yeah, that's some serious advice.

Now, let's have a moment to talk about the Death card. This card has a bad rep, and I feel it's undeserved. I read this card as a promise of rebirth, of putting issues and problems from the past to bed, dealing with them and moving forward in a new way, making a conscious effort to start fresh. It can also be about putting the death of friends or loved ones behind you- own the feelings, own the relationship, learn from it, and feel ready to move forward.

In this case I think that is relevant for Shelle, too. Today is the birthday of a loved one who died last year. Shelle, what would Ed do? Or, maybe in this case we need to use this loved one who has passed as an example, Shelle, what SHOULD Ed have done? I mean, here you are and you are up to your eyeballs in angst, but you are here by God, still standing and still able to make whatever choices you want to about your future to improve your life. You are HERE, and while you're in a tough spot, you're going to work your way out of this. (Whereas Ed wasted a lot of time. Learn from that.)

The Death card tells you to make an effort to make changes, to put on your armor and move forward. Don't look at everything facing you, focus on one part of the picture at a time. Take baby steps toward change, and don't beat yourself up because you arent' able to solve all your problems at once. Instead, celebrate your small successes.

That's it for today. Happy Friday all...

Hello all! The picture is our fine chicken, Tina. She is a year old, the lone survivor of the three we got last spring. (We have Coyotes around here...) She's so lonesome these days, she has made friends with Petey the puppy. Once she became sure he was no threat (he barely has teeth...) she stopped running from him. Then she let him sniff and lick her feet, and now they will just sit together in the yard!

My soundtrack this morning is James Blunt, You're Beautiful, which I discovered is a song that all my children AND I like. It's rare to find one we ALL like. M is into stuff like Slipknot and Korn, lots of heavy screaming stuff. James is more the classics, Ramones and Hendrix. Danny is much like me; we both got Gorillaz CDS in the same week, independently. We both thought it was our "discovery". But James Blunt has such a beautiful voice, and that lilting tune is one we can play in the car and no one gripes. Well, I'm sure if my husband was with us he would change the channel. Probably to the 'riff. Anyway, music is hugely important and much debated around our house.

I have my hairdresser, colorist/GODDESS Amanda to thank for the song that's playing as I take out my cards for the card of the day. Joss Stone, doing Super Duper Love. Gosh, she's got a great voice, full and soulful "Are you digging on me babe?? Cause I'm digging on you..." Wayyy fun stuff- Download it. She makes you want to dance. But, instead I will do some chair dancing, and shuffle my cards...

I turn up the Page of Wands, which is relevant to my world, but I bet it's relevant for a lot of others out there, too. The Page of Wands is about starting new projects, lighting a fire under ambitions and goals. I think that a lot of us wind up setting goals and making resolutions at the first of the year, right? Whether or not we even announce them, it's just a really handy time to take stock of life and kind of realign the rudder on your life plans. So now here we are, and April seems to be a handy time to take stock, to dive into things you may have planned on doing in January, but gave up on or didn't get around to. Don't be afraid of being a novice, if you need to start at the bottom, be open to the experience.

Enjoy the day!

All hail Spring! Still no rain, another stellar day. Eggs are still being consumed at an alarming rate around here. Yesterday there was a big run on mini-pitas toasted and filled with egg salad. My chives- both onion and garlic- are up in the garden and we've been eating them as fast as they exit the ground. Minced, they were excellent in the eggs.

I got a lovely letter from a new client, I thought I'd share...
"Thank you so much! I'm very impressed with your reading. I can see why you have repeat customers. Honestly - this is one of the best internet purchases I have ever made."
What an excellent thing to hear from a new customer; I was so pleased, and felt compelled to share.

Okay y'all. I'm going to turn up my card of the day. The Four of Pentacles, reversed. Sigh. I think I'm trying to be good with money, trying to keep on top of it and keep it under control, but I keep getting overwhelmed by it. Anybody else out there have a problem with money management? I need to control my impulsive approach. Double sigh. Well, the day is half done- so far so good today!

Hello y'all,
I thought I would mention to any other crazy freaks out there like me, who boiled 4 dozen eggs for Easter (at least they were MEDIUM size and not LARGE), pickled eggs is a great idea. We save the juice after the pickles are gone, peel the eggs and pop them in. Refrigerate for about a week, and the eggs take on the flavor of the juice, and get nice and firm. Tres yummy as egg salad, sliced on an english muffin, or straight from the jar.

For everyone out there on the edge of their seat about the status of the burned field across the road- it is starting to grow grass! I first noticed it on Easter- isn't that appropriate for the whole rebirth thing? I took pictures yesterday morning, but for some wild reason, seem unable to upload. So, here's a link to the picture of the tender new grass, which appeared on 4/16/06. Notice the leafless trees, just budding.

I just downloaded a bunch of music last night, some stuff that's on my playlist today: First, Innocent Child, by Big Audio Dynamite. I took my daughter to her friend's house on Friday evening, and drove my best friend Richelle's Toyota with the top down. Her CD player was cranked, and this came on. The sun was shining, which, when you live in Michigan is greeted with the joy of mole people long denied the precuious light- "The Sun... my Eyesssss!" It's been a longggg winter. Anyway, you get an idea of how a dose of sun can make you feel electric. Then this song came on, I looked at my daughter and was so happy to be there in that moment with her. A GREAT song. The other stuff I'm loving: Bus Ride, by Rocca DeLuca & The Burden. Very soulful. For Today I am a Boy, by Antony & the Johnsons is really haunting, it gets in my head. Finally, want one to get you up and moving? This is sooo it: All 'Cause of You, The 88

Now, card of the day today is for my dear friend. I turn up The World Card. I thinks this reflects his recent, more positive life outlook. This is definitely all about moving forward in a more insightful, balanced way. It's a card of abundance, success, fulfillment-what's not to love about that? There's a liberation represented here, dancing lightly through life rather than trudging. That can be a real Spring thing, too- for all of us 4-season types, spring is a real awakening. Jet darlin', you are on the right track. Keep on dancing forward, handling situations with finesse! Have a light touch, and be confident! You deserve it!

Okay, off to do my readings. xolaura

Well, how did we all make it through the holidays? Things were quite quiet around here; we all dyed eggs at my sister's house on Saturday night. She had every kind of egg decoration product known to man, and there were 7 dozen eggs! God save us from our chloresterol! One of the biggest hits was rubber bands, and "Tie-dying" the eggs- very cool, will do again. And amazingly, one of the most beautiful eggs was a deep, deep blue that was forgotten about, and sat in the dye cup for a lonnnnng time. Plain old, well done, deep colors are better than many of the fancy egg eggstravanzas...

It's a beautiful day here, daffodils and forsythia are blooming, hail to Spring! I'm taking my son back to Flint, and it's a lovely day for a drive. (As opposed to our winter trips, when ice and snow seemed to come in a deluge every time he was due home...)

I sold two Tarot readings- one to Hawaii, one to Germany- which were sooo aprreciated. Since I lost my day job I am subsisting on Tarot, eBay, and occasional webwork. It's a good day when I see sales in my inbox!

Well, let's do a card for the day, shall we? I turn up the Eight of Cups, I need to keep on keeping on, keep moving, don't get stagnant. I cannot use the excuse that I'm not sure of next steps to slow down or to stop moving. Also, while keeping on, I need to remember that I can move AWAY from my goals or move toward them. Keep control over choices, so random movement doesn't lead away from the goal. However I do it, it's time. It's time top move away from the past, and search out new options. (I think I better check the Michigan Works site when I get home!)

Okay, love to all! Laura

Picture #1- 4/11/06 Something's Burnin'...
Picture # 2 4/13/06 Come on Spring!
Well, I just had a bizarre life moment. Sitting here, working on pictures and stuff, I felt this stinging pain on my shin. I kept rubbing it, kinda randomly, as the realization of pain entered my conciousness... the it was getting worse... Like serious! I whipped up my pant leg, and I have a flipping wasp/bee thing in there! I've been smushing him, rubbing the "pain", which was actually him stinging the hell out of me and flying around in my pants. I have about 3 stings on my leg. I stood outside on the porch to get the above picture, and he must have siezed his opportunity then. I put a baking soda paste on it, but it really hurts. I hope the picture was worth it....

I think I'm going to do a Tarot card today, to see what messages there are for me as I begin my day. (I mean, the NEXT message, because I'd rather not think the wasp in my pants was my message for the day. )

I close my eyes, and I turn up the Hanged Man card, in the positive position. Okay, I can totally groove on this one... The Hanged man is all about looking at life in a new light, make changes using wisdom gained from past experience. DON'T MAKE THE SAME OLD MISTAKES! Make NEW mistakes, that's fine- Trying new solutions to old problems is key. Don't necessarily worry about conformity, a different viewpoint is often welcomed. Today this feels like a Springtime kind of card, fresh starts, new beginnings- ride the wave of the feeling of rebirth! This information makes a lot of sense to me in my life currently, does it fit any of you?

Last night was a big, fat moon- did you see it?? According to the Farmer's Almanac tonight is the Full Moon! Make a wish on the Full moon, look back on the new moon, April 27th, and see how the wish has worked out!

I've been doing some webwork lately, and set up blogs for my clients , Needle-Lane Farms & Wines Beeyard, and I said to myself, "Laura, you can babble with the best of them. By God, a blog must be JUST what you need. " And actually, it will be a lovely way to connect with my Tarot folk out there.

New stuff in my life- Petey, the puppy. Just at a time when my kids are entering teenhood- I have finally lost that faint aroma of peanut butter that accompanied me for years- (which came AFTER the faint smell of spit-up...) I was finally starting to smell like me again, but my lap felt pretty empty. I guess I missed the snuggling you get, along with the all the smearing and the smells. Enter Petey.

We were always big dog people. Well, not big DOG people, BIG dog people- the Labradors, etc. However, we don't have that kind of house- we are just barely cramming all of us in here. We finally got another chair in our living room so that when my eldest comes home we can all watch TV together- tres sad. My Daughter's friend has a dog, Stella the Shih tzu, and her litter came on December 22. Being BIG dog people, I didn't have any interest in the whole thing.

Well, so much for plans. Margaret got us to look at them, and we were lost from there. And sadly, I have become the kind of sappy small dog freak I once despised- sweaters and all. I have no idea how I lived without this amazing little guy.

Any Shih Tzu owners out there? Petey has been doing this thi ng where he runs and hides from us if he gets out and loose. He's fine on walks- any suggestions?

Other big News! Across the road from my house is a Tallgrass Prairie Conservation project. It's a gorgeous view for us through every season. From spring through fall it bloooms, daisies and black-eyed susans and more, the fragrance from whatever is in season floats on the breeze to us. On summer nights the grass sparkles with the lights from a thousand fireflies. This is all the good news. However, part of the cycle is burning, and they finally burned this week. This is the sad time for me-it seems late in the season, the Redwind Blackbirds that nest over there have been back sonce late February. Wouldn't you think this burn sets them back, poor guys? And before they started these burns we would hear pheasants over there. They are gone now... And really, burnin g is the bad news, but it's a small price to pay.

Anyway, I'll keep track of the view out my front door and share with it you all as the tallgrass comes back to life!