Bindi has a boyfriend

Arrived on Aug. 28 into Orlando, FL, was met by two women who drove me, the two cats and Bindi to Saint Augustine. The flight was uneventful for all of us, altho Camilla has now developed her eye allergy. Stress.

Have been staying at S's until my things arrive tomorrow morning at 8am. My car arrives today.

Sunday morning my body just crashed as I realized, "there's nothing I have to do." Good situation that my stuff would not arrive for several days as it has given me time to acclimate a bit, and just rest. Altho I've already been to Southern Horticulture, a lovely garden shop, and bought some annuals to put color in front of my house.

The house looks great, the colors J and I chose are going to work out well. There is still more to be done, but there is time.

Yesterday I went for a massage to a very good practitioner recommended by S., planted my flowers, and then took S. out for dinner at The Present Moment, the raw vegan restaurant in my neighborhood. We were both again astonished at how completely delicious the gourmet food is.

S's dog Jasper, a corgi, has fallen for Bindi, and they are best buds now. S was concerned they might not get along, but quite the opposite. We have had many laughs watching them play together.

Sunday afternoon S and I and two other women hung out at S's mom's house across the street, had dinner, and good conversation. I've taken naps the past two days, and seem to be well on my way to this new adventure.

Pentimento of a different sort

Did you ever see that movie with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayak called "Fools Rush In?" It was to me a quirky romantic comedy which I have enjoyed watching several times. Among other interesting aspects of the movie is when a street priest tells Matthew Perry's character, "There are signs everywhere."

Basically, you just have to keep your eyes, mind, soul, heart, and spirt open and they will be revealed.

That being said, I came back to the house this evening and decided to do something with a framed print I have been carrying around for over a decade. It was left in the apartment when someone moved out of the house on Norton Street where I used to live. Something about it called to me, perhaps the languishing of the female figure, perhaps the title written in English and Sanskrit at the bottom of the print:
"Lonely and Lost," by Kanu Desai.

I never hung it on the wall being that there was something depressing about it, but I could not give it up. I put it in the shed during my last move and it sustained some water damage, so I thought that since I clearly wasn't throwing it away in toto, I would take it apart and just keep the print.

As I removed the print from the glass, it was clear that there was more than one sheet of paper. Underneath Lonely and Lost I found "Shree Radha-Krishna Gopal" and under THAT was "Shree Laxmi."
































Shree Laxmi means:

Goddess Lakshmi
Lakshmi is the auspicious goddess of wealth and fortune, whether it is material or spiritual. The word ''Lakshmi'' has been derived from the Sanskrit word Lakshay, meaning "aim" or ''goal''. Goddess Lakshmi suggests the aim of life, which includes all worldly and spiritual success. Lakshmi is the divine consort of Lord Vishnu and provides him with wealth for the maintenance and preservation of the creation. Sometimes, Maha Lakshmi is also known as ''Laxmi''.

Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, luxury, fertility, fortune, purity, beauty, power, generosity and auspiciousness. She is claimed to fulfill the promises of material, wealth and contentment.

Lakshmi and her association with "Shri''
According to the Hindu mythology, the sacred name of Lakshmi is ''Shri''. Whether in written or verbal form, ''Shri'' always suggests presence of goddess Lakshmi in it. ''Shri'' is written at the top of most of the documents. It is usually spoken before addressing a god, or any revered individual. The usage of ''Shri'' itself evokes grace, affluence, abundance, authority and auspiciousness. The word ''Shri'' is spoken or written, an aura of holiness is established. Sri is associated with the material side of life, just like the word ''Om'' is associated with the spiritual side of life.

Goddess Lakshmi - The Image
Generally, Lakshmi is portrayed as a beautiful lady with golden complexion, dressed in red color attire and adorned with precious jewels. Lakshmi has four hands representing the four ends of human life, Kama (desires), Artha (wealth), and Moksha (liberation) from the cycle of birth and death. She holds lotus bud in two of her hands, which stands for beauty, purity, spirituality and fertility. She sits on a fully blossomed lotus, a seat of divine truth.

Cascades of gold coins are seen flowing from her hands, illustrating that she blesses people with wealth. The constant effort of two elephants is often shown standing next to the goddess and spraying water. It denotes that, in accordance with one's dharma when governed by wisdom and purity, leads to both material and spiritual prosperity. The personal charm of Lakshmi is considered par excellence. An aura of divine happiness, mental and spiritual satisfaction, and prosperity always exists around her.

Belief Regarding Goddess Lakshmi
It is believed that Lakshmi resides in a place where virtue, righteous- ness, truth and compassion prevail. Goddess Lakshmi is considered to stay at a clean place. Wealth is required to meet the basic needs of life. People worship Lakshmi for the well being and prosperity of the family.
On the auspicious night of Diwali, Hindus worship Lakshmi ceremonially at home, pray for her blessings. It is believed that on this night the goddess herself visits the homes and replenishes the inhabitants with wealth.

So as the waning gibbous moon floats in a cloudless sky this eve, I share with you the art, the sign, revealed to me.

Sooooooooo Tired

The nice thing about the oxalis plant is that all the leaves are quadrafoils.

Front yard, Johnson Road.

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Whatever I don't get done by Friday night, oh well.

Started the morning with packing up a box with plants to send to myself in FL.

Then I went to my accountant's to have my 2009 taxes done. I have a "complicated" array of financial tentacles/tendrils, so it's worth it to have someone do it for me. Besides she's a friend, with two black and white cats named Lucy and Desi.

Then off to the last visit to the PT. My anxiety was rising, so I asked her to do some cranial sacral work on my head, opening up the muscles/plates of the skull so more blood flows easily to the brain, and it definitely helped.

Next to the optometrist to have my new lenses put in my current glasses frame. Took him about an hour so I went and had Thai food for lunch, then took Bindi for a walk on Chapel Street and felt relief that I wouldn't have to witness yet more of Jale buying up buildings in New Haven. Yuk.

Some emergency phone counseling with a client. It's the worst time for me to be leaving town regarding her situation. But we will stay in touch by phone.

Stopped by my internist's office to sign a form so that I can get copies of my medical records to take with me. Now I just have to contact about six other doctors for the same thing. Gotta get me one of those 3 in 1 fax/print/copy/scan (4 in 1? all in one?) machines for all this stuff. Snail mail will work too.

To the post office to mail the package of special plants that I wanted to take with me. Priority mail so they should get to my friend T. in Saint A. in a few days. I had to give up my gorgeous 15+ year old double apricot six foot tall tropical hibiscus. That hurt. Like leaving a family member behind. She went to my neighbor who does very well with his outside plants so I hope he will be able to keep her happy for more years to come.

A stop at the bank, then some ice cream as a reward, finally back home and an immediate nap that lasted 3 hours. Tomorrow and Thursday have the same hectic schedule.

I'm not having a going away party or anything. If people want to see me, they can get in touch.

There's a touch of fall in the air the past couple of days. A big rain on Sunday, cloudy yesterday, and cool today. Have noticed a tree here and there that is changing colors. But lucky me, I'll have a couple more months of warm weather in Florida once I arrive, and won't have to worry about the snow and ice.

Couldn't find Camilla all day, and she has a vet appt. tomorrow in order to get approved for the plane ride. I figured she was hiding in the attic, so I shut the door to the attic after retrieving Pippa from there, and in a couple of hours sure enough, I hear Camilla's meow and was able to snag her and shut the attic door against all of them. Lots of hissing going on but no fights. Misty has taken over the cat scratcher box, much to Pippa's dismay

Guilford WITH manatees

Well well well. This creature had to swim right past Guilford to get from Bridgeport to Clinton. And here I am at M's house for the week, I open my computer and see this story.

Movers came today. All went well. I'm exhausted.
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Manatee spotted near Clinton marina
Friday, August 20, 2010

By Susan Misur
Register Staff
smisur@newhavenregister.com

CLINTON—The state logged its first manatee sighting of the summer this week when one of the marine mammals was spotted swimming near Cedar Island Marina Friday and in Bridgeport and Fairfield Wednesday.

Janelle Schuh, a stranding coordinator with Mystic Aquarium who handles reports of distressed animals, said Mystic received calls about the animal and that there are usually one to three manatee sightings a year.

They typically occur in late summer and early fall, and it’s unknown why the animals come this far north, since they most likely come from Florida, Schuh added.

Some manatees routinely come north year after year, but Schuh said she is not yet sure if the one spotted this week is one that usually comes to the Connecticut shore. She added that she’ll be sending photos residents took of the manatee to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to see if it matches the description of any in its database.

“There are definitely cases where the same individual animals are seen in the northeast in year’s past and it’s just a normal route for them, so to speak,” Schuh said.

Schuh believes the manatee seen in Bridgeport and Fairfield earlier this week is the same one found in the Cedar Island Marina Friday because of the time frame and proximity of the towns.

On Friday, the manatee was swimming in Clinton in about three feet of water, which Schuh says was normal behavior, as the mammals usually stay close to the shore and eat off the ocean floor. She wasn’t sure if it was an adult, which could weigh around 1,000 pounds.

Mystic employees will observe manatees or other animals spotted near the shoreline to ensure they aren’t in need of rescue, Schuh said.

“We let them do what they’re going to do until they’re showing behaviorally that they need some sort of rescue,” she explained. “If it was really injured, we’d go help it, like if it had gotten struck by a boat.”

If people spot a manatee near the Connecticut shoreline, they shouldn’t give it fresh water or food because it will stay in the area, Schuh. As the weather and water gets colder, it could be dangerous for the manatee to remain here.

“They’ll hang out by side of people’s boats if there’s a fresh water hose going over the side and drink underneath that,” she added. “As great as is to continue watching a manatee, we don’t want them to stay in an area where there is a lot of boats. They get acclimated quickly once you start feeding and giving them water.”