Time to celebrate....

Courtesy of www.superherostuff.com

September if definitely shaping up to be my busiest month of the year so far, and I still haven't  spontaneously woken up as Wonder Woman, although  I live in hope and I'm sure Mark does too! I did once have a birthday present wrapped up in wonder woman paper so that's probably as close as I'm going to get! So that just means I'll have to get on with being me for the time being....  All jokes aside, having so much to do has made me realise how much we push ourselves to meet all the demands that we are faced with at home and work or with family and friends as much as we love them. This week I have made a concious effort to stop and reward myself with time for myself or doing something for me, even if it's just for 20 minutes or so, and it seems that Goddess is with me on that one too. 
All morning I have been slaving away on an assignment for the diploma from hell after getting up early to take the kids to work (the countryside is great but the bus timetables not so!) after a mere 6 hours

September Sunshine

asleep. 'Meh' springs to mind, anyway I took myself out to my garden altar for 20 minutes with a  mug of tea to enjoy some of the glorious sunshine we're having and I was rewarded by the unexpected company of my youngest cat, who's very shy and also a complete Daddy's girl. As she sat on my lap after wearing herself out stalking a shiny black beetle, we were both entranced as a huge dragonfly flew into the garden and proceeded to put on a display of aerial acrobatics just for us. 
It really was huge - it's wing span must have been about 5 or 6 inches and it glistened and shimmered as though it had

My very own Dragon Tree..

been rolling in gold dust. I didn't dare to move in case I chased it off so I didn't manage to get  a photo but it was gorgeous! I have loads of dragonfly items round the house - jewellery, photo frames, wind chimes, scarves etc so I was thrilled to have one visit, especially when a bit of research suggested that it's symbolic meanings include reminding you that you need more lightness and joy in your life, wisdom and transformation - pretty apt then! Obviously on the right track adding time to stop and stare, like with this bark on a tree that I walk past everyday that always makes me think of dragon skin, the way it's ridged and folded, and yes, I was one of those children that pestered my Mum with questions like "If there is a word for dragons/unicorns/witches/fairies why don't they exist Mum, why?" 
This harks back to my musings from last week, 

Sunset over the Bridge

when I was reflecting about how I connect with Goddess, seeing Her in little everyday things and stopping to notice, hear or see . On Tuesday night I managed to persuade my lovely colleague to stop the car so that I could take this picture of rich bronze sunset as we crossed the river on our way to work, luckily for me she likes a sunset and moon view too, good job really, bless her!

Crafting Mayhem

Now, I've elicited a promise from my daughter not to secretly read my blog until after her birthday, so I can share a bit of what we've been doing for her with you. It's felt really important to do and make something myself for her (My poor son didn't get this treatment, but he was just as happy with money for plane tickets for his expedition of choice that year and his own body weight in pizzas as a surprise to share with his friends at Explorer scouts.) - I think this may be something that has evolved as part of my spiritual journey and the path that unfolds before me and my fascination with the Motherline all rolled into one! Anyway, apart from compiling a Memory Scrap Book full of anecdotes from all her friends and family,  what I decided to do was gather friends who have known her a long time and create a Jar of Love and Happiness.... What we did was to decorate pretty cream

heart or circular tags with beads, sequins, paper flowers, stickers etc on one side and stick an inspirational quote on the other so that she always has our love and ahem, wisdom around her! The idea is that she pulls one out of a jar or box, probably the latter as we got carried away and did several each either when she needs a hug, needs a bit of bravery or feels she'd like to! 
The first wave of this was Friday, and despite some of my lovely friends quietly wondering if I had lost it, they all gamely got into it and we produced these beauties. In fact even those who were muttering "I'm not very arty", well and truly got

Decorated in her favourite colours

stuck in and thoroughly enjoyed themselves whilst we has a glass or two of wine, talked about making 'stuff' again and generally put the world to rights, the makings of a moon lodge if you ask me! Round 2 this week with some other dear friends. I think she'll love them. So I've got more joy to look forward to and another assignment to write (boo!) this week as well as one of those friends daughter's 18th birthday too, I suppose I'd best think of  something gorgeous to make for her too! 

Have  a Blessed Week x x