Capital Tacos: A Local Treasure
The best taco joint ever is in Land O'Lakes, Florida! Who knew?
Read MoreTarot Grandmaster
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Tarot is a book of spiritual wisdom in picture form that tells the story of all human experience.
With tarot, we connect with Spirit to discern wise guidance for the present, develop understanding of the past, and learn ways to work to manifest our goals and possibilities for the future.
If you are interested in the tarot and other tools of divination please begin with my tarot news page!
Please leave this site if the practice of traditional methods of divination are not of interest to you.
The best taco joint ever is in Land O'Lakes, Florida! Who knew?
Read MoreSome thoughts on the upcoming 50 year celebration and farewell shows, and the things I've learned from the Grateful Dead.
Read MoreIt's rare that fire ants make me happy, but these did.
Read MoreWe often mentally divide our world into “good people” and “bad people.” We want to be good people. We fear bad people. We try to raise children that turn into good human beings.
We struggle with self-esteem, worried that those around us will discover that, underneath our attempts at goodness, a bad person lurks.
When our kids are small, we teach them good behavior, but “being good” and “good behavior” are not the same thing as being a good person.
The idea that people, rather than behaviors, can be good or bad, is a harmful myth that is long overdue for busting.
What makes a person good, or bad, in our opinions? It’s pretty subjective, and entirely related to culture and context.
You can’t be good or bad at being human. You simply are human, capable of amazing courage, creativity, kindness, generosity, greed, callousness and cruelty.
There will always be people we like, and people we don’t like. There will always be people who do things we like, and people who do things we don’t like.
There are hurt people, ignorant people, and fearful people. We call these “bad people.” Sometimes they do things we don’t like. Sometimes they do things that hurt others.
There are healed people, thinking people, and charitable people. We call these “good people”. These people do things we like, and try to help people.
We can be good at the things we do. We can do good things for the world. We can handle situations badly. We can do things that have bad consequences. We can have good intentions that result in bad outcomes. None of that is the same as being a good person, or a bad person.
Instead of striving to be good, and worrying that we are bad, let’s strive to be authentic. Let’s work to release the things that hurt us. Let’s cultivate joy. Let’s raise our children to be curious, appreciative and responsible.
Rather than fearing the people that we believe to be bad, or fearing that we, ourselves, are bad, let’s recognize that fear itself is the source of most of the badness in the world.
We are all good humans, because to be good at being human, you simply have to be born.
Perhaps we would all do better at living on the planet if we accepted the flawed beauty of our humanity as the miracle that it is. Perhaps if we stop trying to be “good” and instead focus on being “healed” we’ll have fewer hurt people in the world.
“Good” and “bad” are subjective judgments that don’t mean much of anything, especially in describing people. When we strive to be good, we are striving for a meaningless and unattainable goal. When we strive for healing and growth, when we work to be authentic, to be kind, to be strong and to be creative, we become capable of doing great things. We succeed, and we become the people that help the world evolve.
Dear Artists, Authors and Inventors,
I am writing from my perspective as a member of the tarot community. However, I believe most communities function in pretty much the same way. If you are a self-published creative in any community, or want to be, please pay attention.
Twenty years ago, we called self-publishing “vanity press.” To pay to publish your own work was usually a waste of time and money. Technology changes everything. Today, self-publishing is a viable option for a wide range of creative people.
The success of your self-published project depends a great deal on your ability to market your project. To do that, you will need to reach out to members of a community. You will need to connect with other entrepreneurs who produce podcasts, webcasts, vlogs and blogs. You need interviews, and you need reviews.
We vloggers, bloggers and reviewers need you, too.
At a certain point, I realized I had gained some notoriety for my webcasts and reviews, because my inbox began filling up with introductions from creative people, essentially asking me to promote their work.
That’s not as bad as it sounds. I need interesting people to interview, and new products to review. Every professional community is symbiotic in that way. We have to work together. We can support each other, and lift each other up, or we can tear each other down.
When you approach members of a professional or hobbyist community to ask for support for your project, everyone’s experience will be better if you keep a few things in mind.
First, we are a community. Many of us have known each other for years, even though many of us have never met in person. If you send an impersonal cut-and-paste form letter to each of us, we will know. If you want to send an email blast to people you don’t know to announce your new project, just don’t.
If you want my time, take some time to build a relationship with me. You don’t have to buy me dinner or send me flowers. You do have to send me a personal email, not a copy-and-paste request. Understand the value of community, and of relationships. If I like your work, I will introduce you to my friends. That is how it has always worked IRL (in real life). That is how it works in cyberspace, too. We all want and deserve this basic human courtesy.
Here’s a true story. Recently, many of us received the same email request regarding a new project. My friends and peers smelled a spammy rat right away. My reaction was different. I was excited about the project and forgave the heavy-handed approach. Well, without any further contact, and without my request or permission, they added me to their official spam mailing list! I had no choice. I withdrew my support from a project that had really excited me. My friends had been right all along. Yum, yum, crow.
Ultimately, whether your bad internet manners are a result of naiveté or intentional spamming doesn’t matter. Your poor results will be the same. You see, we all have mailing lists, too. We are very careful to make sure we don’t spam people with our mailing lists. That you don’t show this same courtesy and restraint shows us we don’t want to work with you. Behavior matters.
Here’s another true story. I was doing weekly webcasts on a Livestream channel. Over the course of a week, I received two emails, each from people hoping to promote their self-published creation. One was very demanding about his requirements for the interview; even though he was the one requesting it! I expressed my enthusiasm for his project, and explained the constraints of my production schedule. The reply I received was abusive, beginning with the phrase, “You are an idiot.” To this day, I have heard nothing more about this project.
The other person who approached me was very polite in his initial email. When I responded by inviting him to be a guest on my show, he was appreciative. We had a wonderful interview. His project has become a successful reality, and he is now working on a follow-up project. This time I’ll reach out to him with a request for an interview.
Please don’t misread me. I am not saying that my webcast is a star-maker. I am saying that the attitude of the artist matters. To promote your work, you have to make the rounds. There are more shows looking for guests than you can imagine. Bring a good attitude, and you will be on every show and in every blog. Bring a bad attitude and very few of us will want to talk with you.
In any community, there can be a few talented people with difficult personalities. Most people are forgiving enough to appreciate talent and excuse a few social faux pas, thank goodness. However, for most of us, there is a saturation point. If you irritate enough people, you will have a hard time finding any peers who are interested in your work, no matter how good you work might be. This isn’t usually an organized community-wide blacklist, it’s just something that happens. What you learned on the elementary school playground remains true to this day. If you don’t play nicely, no one will want to play with you.
The ability to interact with creative people is one of the great perquisites of my job. Like many of my friends and peers, I will gladly review your project and promote your Kickstarter. We are all in this together. I can support a friend. I can support a community member. I can support great art. I can’t support an egomaniac, or a spammer. I can’t support an entrepreneur who doesn’t take the time to learn basic internet courtesy. I think you will find many of us feel the same way.
Are you looking for something interesting to put on your holiday gift list? Adult tricycles are becoming more popular for the boomer generation.
Unlike the trikes we rode when we were toddlers, adult trikes have three wheels that are all the same size. Most adult trikes have a sizable basket in the back. That’s my favorite part. I use that basket for laundry, tarot cards, musical instruments, and anything else you can imagine.
I first noticed adult trikes when we moved to Florida. Immediately I knew I wanted one. As I did some research, I learned that the adult tricycle is not a new phenomenon. In fact, I spent $5 at a yard sale to buy the carcass of a “Western Flyer” from the 1950s.
After much consideration, I decided it would be easier to get a brand new trike than to try to rehabilitate the antique Western Flyer.
There are a surprising number of adult trikes from which to choose, and seemingly more on the market every day. You can get a three-speed, a six-speed or a fixie. You can get wheel sizes from 20 inches to 26 inches. You can even get a canopy to shade you from the fierce Florida sun as you pedal to your water aerobics class.
The trike I chose for my first trike (yes, there will be others) is a Schwinn Meridian in Wild Cherry Red. I understand these are very popular in third-world countries for basic transportation to work. We could learn a lot from third world ingenuity.
We ordered the trike online, so it needed assemby. In the picture, you can see my dear husband added some bows and balloons to his stellar assembly job. The trike was waiting to great me when I arrived home from my trip to Connecticut.
It is also possible to purchase high-end trikes from bike shops. The top of the line is the Miami Sun, but there is a wide range of other options, too.
Adult trikes are perfect for those who need to carry more than a two-wheeler will allow. They are also great for folks whose sense of balance isn’t quite what it used to be.
For fun, transportation and exercise, the adult trike makes a lot of sense!
Here in Florida, “season” is much more important than “the seasons.” Season begins as the weather turns cooler. Folks start arriving from Canada, Michigan, New York, Ohio and all points north. Florida roads have almost as many RVs on them as they do cars.
Season doesn’t come in to full swing until January, but there is a moment when the seasonal season and the holiday season coincide. Christmas barbeques and holiday boat parades become the order of the day. Colored lights wrap around palm trees, and people wear their Santa hats to the beach.
In the years I contemplated making the move from the Northeast to Florida, I wondered how the holiday season would be, in a land that doesn’t snow. It turns out, we have snowfall events that feature soapflake snow and ice skating on plastic “ice”. We even ironically wear sweaters that say “Let it Snow.”
As the snowbirds arrive to begin our Florida winter season, the excitement in the air is palpable. There are stories to share, friendships to renew and people to meet.
There is a whole season of activities to plan; the first of which involve the celebration of the holidays, Florida style.
This is my seventh holiday season in Florida. I’ve been to Winter Solstice drum circles on the beach, and celebrated the New Year by jumping into the ocean. I’ve eaten Christmas Dinner on a picnic table.
It’s not the holiday season of my youth, and hot chocolate doesn’t have the same allure when it’s not freezing out, but I’ll take it.
If you need me, I’ll be stringing colored lights on my adult-sized tricycle, getting reading for the holiday golf cart parade.
After moving to Florida, my family started joking that avocados were the “zucchini of the South.” Up north, at a certain time of year, people’s gardens produce so many zucchinis they have a hard time finding homes for all of them.
As it turns out, avocados are only one of the luscious treats that literally fall from the sky here in Florida. We also have loquats, mangos, coconuts, carambola, and papaya.
Just the other day I ate a papaya that I grew myself. In my front yard is a papaya tree laden with fruit. When we first moved here a little over a year ago, a neighbor gave me a small papaya tree – just a stick to put in the ground, really. I made my daughter’s boyfriend dig the hole for it. I didn’t expect much.
Now I see what a gift a fruit tree really is. The tree has grown tall and is producing shade, fruit, and admiration from the neighbors.
I actually didn’t have the courage to eat the fruit myself. I am trained to only eat things that come from stores. My friend was happy to try one of my papaya for breakfast. When it didn’t kill her, I decided it was worth a shot.
I am sure there was a time in history when most people had the experience of eating something we grew with our own hands. Now, this is a rare thing for many of us.
The sense of satisfaction and connection to the great cycle of life that comes from eating food directly from the tree is immense.
Here in Florida, we have corrupt politicians and crazy news stories. We also have food that grows year round in our yards. Living in Florida can be a struggle in some ways. There are things, like papaya trees, that seem to make it worthwhile.
Here in Florida we have a lot of really large birds. The sand hill cranes, many of whom migrate here from Missouri, are some of my favorites.
A few weeks ago, I stoped to take a picture of a pair of sand hill cranes. Then, they began their mating dance. I was happy to catch some of it on video.
I am not usually the person who has the presence of mind to snap a picture or take a video when something interesting happens, so this was a really nice moment for me.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
Video of Dancing Sand Hill Cranes, Lutz FL
Just yesterday, a few weeks after my birthday, I realized how wonderful it is to be the age I am. I’m old enough to have learned a few things, and young enough to have a future that will benefit from those lessons.
This morning, my happy mood was darkened slightly by a listicle on Answers.com, “9 Things Middle Aged Women Should Stop Doing Immediately.” It was silly of me to hope to find helpful information there.
Many middle age women go through a great deal of healing and transformation. We release what no longer serves us, and embrace positive change as we develop the courage and grace that comes with the passage of time.
The listicle even mentioned some of the things we need to release – we should stop smoking, stop eating processed foods, and stop forgetting to exercise. I agree, by the time we have been on the planet for fifty years, we should know how to take care of ourselves.
The list also concerns itself with our appearance. Apparently we should also stop wearing mom jeans and too much makeup.
I understand the fashion dilemma of being an older woman. Who are our icons? Whom can we emulate? Where can we find fun, flattering clothes? My mother had wonderful fashion sense until she turned forty. On that day, it seemed, every item of clothing in her wardrobe turned beige.
I would love some great fashion advice. A listicle reminding me that I’m not twenty anymore doesn’t really cut it. It also makes me believe that whomever wrote this list couldn’t be more than thirty. So, here’s a clue for you. I l know I’m not twenty anymore, and I’m glad. I like the age I am. The fact that I don’t long for my youth, and I do look forward to my future, shouldn’t surprise you, but apparently it does.
The role of middle aged women in our society is changing. Now, we are not just grannies. Now, we are doctors, attorneys, dancers and artists. But, who tells a doctor or an attorney how to dress? And who thinks it matters what a competent adult wears? Articles such as this work to keep us from experience our lives fully. Middle aged women, apparently, just need to not look too weird. We don’t really contribute anything, we just need to learn how to dress, and how to eat.
I refuse to be marginalized by those who apparently care more about my jeans than my contributions.