Life has been good

Life has been going well although I have been busy.  The boys are settled into their routine of school and are learning things so fast  Liam is reading, writing and spelling, while Zander is starting to get the basics.  I have been at the clinic for a year now and am feeling like I am starting to know what I am doing.  I have joined the family support team at the hospital.  This team is called in when there is a catastrophic event in someone's life, be it an illness, accident, or death.  I really appreciated the work that they do when I worked in the ICU, they give the family the comfort I was not able to as the nurse caring for their loved one. 

I am on vacation this week and find myself wanting to do a ritual for Samhain.  I know that it will be a solitary one, but I feel the pull to do something.  I have not had anyone in my family pass this year, so I am researching what exactly I would like to do  I will be honoring Typhoon, my last ferret who crossed the Rainbow Bridge this year with something as well.

I am wondering how to do a ritual that symbolizes the maturation of my wants and dreams from the extravagant to something more practical.  I have always wanted a huge house with a lot of luxuries and land.  I now find myself more looking toward a modest house with the rooms needed and a few comforts.  A little land to have a circle on; close to town, but not in town where my outside rituals will not draw undue attention.  It is not that I'm in the closet, I just don't feel the need to involve my neighbors as an audience. 

Wikipedia as a scholarly source?

As you may know, I am completing my Masters degree in nursing leadership and management. If you have ever completed any post-high school education you know that performing research and writing papers is a HUGE part of this. One of the first thing my institution made very clear was the Wikipedia was NOT a credible source to use in this research. As I had already come to this conclusion myself, it as not a hardship for me to refrain from citing this site in my graduate level papers. 

The premise that just anyone can edit an entry and still claim it to be an expert entry is ludicrous. Now, it has come to light that there is an individual who appears to have a vendetta against pagan authors that has been getting the entries for these authors deleted. This person, writer Robert Clark Young or “Qworty” as he was known, has succeeded in getting quite a few entries deleted. It is for reasons such as this that I have never regarded Wikipedia as a site worthy of even my most mundane searches. For all I know, the entry I am using to expand my knowledge of a subject could have been written by some kid with an overactive imagination and a bone to pick with someone. 

Coming into the home stretch

Ha, ha.  I could not resist a reference to Derby Day.  But, I am talking about my degree.  I have one class and then my practicum.  I am not sure when I will be able to tart my practicum as I have run into a few difficulties obtaining the required forms.  But, I will prevail and I will have my Masters degree before the end of the year!  I have worked hard for my 3.65 GPA and I am not about to give up now.  Besides, I have to have something to show for the amount of money I will have to pay back.   LOL

The reason I mention this ties into the reason for this post.  I have been so busy with work and getting my homework completed that I have neglected my blog and my spirituality.  I had been trying to get back to following my path and that is still a desire.  I have a feeling deep inside that is telling me to get back on the broomstick, I just cannot find the time.  I still talk to deity, I am just horrible about doing ritual.  A lot of this stems from being solitary, if I have someone depending on my presence I am compulsive about being there. 

Living in northern New Hampshire is wonderful and I love it.  The mountains and streams so close by are beautiful.  But, there are times when I long for being closer to others who believe as I do.  I miss the camaraderie of getting together and performing a ritual.  Even the closest Pagan Pride Day does not claim those of us in the north country.  When I recently mentioned them doing some events in the north country, I was told they are for southern New Hampshire only and I would have to find a group closer.  Yeah, easier said than done. 

You just cannot fool Mother Nature

On February 2, 2013 that groundhog that is so famous said that there would be an early spring.  In New Hampshire it felt like he was right, for a few days.  Then we had another winter storm roll through and Mother Nature let us know that only she decides the season changes.
Not that I am complaining because, as some may know, I love the winter.  However, there comes a point when I want to sit down with the dear lady and have a heart-to-heart.  My witchlets are tearing the house down and driving the Lycan and I crazy.  The mud outside is becoming treacherous to walk on as it thaws out during the daytime, becoming a squishy, slippery mess, then freezing at night into the ruts and divots that can incapacitate  person with one wrong step.

Nonetheless, I am beginning to turn my eyes to the warmer weather.  While I have been losing weight lately, I have reached a plateau where what I have been doing is no longer taking pounds off.  I am maintaining, but I become slightly addicted to stepping on the scale of a morning and seeing the number smaller than is was the day before.  For the first time in a long time, I want to get out to walk and play with the kiddos.  I want to explore the back portion of the property and the clearing that the Lycan has told me about.  He says it would be perfect for a circle.  I would like an area to do ritual in that allows me to ground properly to Gaia.  I wonder if I was able to ask the deities for assistance in finding a permanent house for us from their environment (outside), would they find it more favorable?

As I have endured the inconsistent weather patterns recently, I have concluded that this beautiful state is close to paradise for me.  I have the snow without the extreme bitter cold that Wisconsin has, the short stint of heat in the summer that reminds me of Texas, and the beauty of scenery that, to this day, can stop me in my tracks to marvel at what is revealed before me.

May your life be filled with wonder

your day filled with joy

and your mind filled with serenity

One BAD apple spoils the whole basket

The Lycan recently went on vacation to see family and friends in Wisconsin.  Every few years, he takes off and heads over there while I stay here with the boys.  Used to be there wasn't hardly anyone for me to see there and goddess knows I am not missing the CL at all.  I was very hesitant to see him go this year as the last time he went, he came home saying he did not love me anymore.  Well, we were in a better place this time and he came home expressing his love for me very eloquently.  

However, one of the main reasons I am reluctant to have him go without me is an old flame of his.  Now, the Lycan likes older women (who would have thunk it?  LOL) and this woman was someone he liked a LOT.  His mother is constantly throwing this woman at him every chance she gets.  But, she has apparently slid from christian to fanatical christian.  She spent about three hours one night haranguing him about his beliefs.  It is her stance that you cannot believe in god and also believe in evolution.  Now, she is conveniently overlooking that fact that he does not believe in her god to begin with.  It was so bad that after she left very angrily, it was not long before he had to leave as well because the negative energy in the house was at critical mass.  

The Lycan and I are very tolerant of other religions.  We do not badger them, try to convert them, or knock on their doors to preach the good word to them; yet, she does not have the same ideals.  We can both enjoy a lively debate about the difference in beliefs, it is when it turns into a maniacal rant that we do not care for.

 It was enough for even god to say:

The Last of the Education-Part 3

 The following information comes from the Mayo Clinic website unless specified; see references entry for the links.

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is the most common genetic condition in the world.  One in 9 people is a carrier (Hemochromatosis: Introduction , n.d.).  It  is a condition where the body absorbs too much iron.  This excess iron is stored mainly in the liver, pancreas, and heart.  Because of this, it can cause abnormal heart rhythms, cirrhosis, and cancer among other things.  Before the age of 50, men exhibit symptoms more often than women and frequently they do not show any symptoms other than joint pain or fatigue.

According to the site, the Lycan should not have HH because he is classified only as a carrier having the one genotype, but that seems to not be the case as he has all the other indications.  There could be the argument that what he has is secondary hemochromatosis, but then we would need to investigate which other chronic disease he has.   Because of all this, I will need to be tested in the future to determine if our boys are at risk.  If I am a carrier as well, then the chances they will develop it are fairly high.

There are a few things that increase a person’s risk for developing this.  Having two copies of a mutated gene, having a first-degree relative with it, being a male, and being of northern European descent. 

The treatment is so very simple (and free!), he just has to have blood removed until his iron levels are normal.  This is done just like giving blood for donation, only more often at first.  Once the levels are normal, then he will only have to have it done every so often to maintain.  There are even some blood centers that have permission to take the blood for use in patients.  The blood is safe for others to use.  If for some reason he ever becomes unable to have that amount of blood removed, there is a treatment.

The Lycan’s diet is going to change …no alcohol whatsoever, no red meat or organ meats, no raw shellfish (cooked is okay), and no supplements that contain iron or vitamin C as that increases the absorption. He can drink tea because the tannins in the tea slow the rate of absorption.  I am sure that there is more, but we have not  consulted a dietician yet. 

So, that is hemochromatosis in a nutshell.  I am sure this has all been very fascinating for y’all and if you read the entire saga I appreciate it. 

We will be back to our normal programming in the near future, so stay tuned. 

 References

Hemochromatosis. (2012). Retrieved from Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hemochromatosis/DS00455

Hemochromatosis: Introduction . (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Medicine- Gastroenterology and Hepatology.  Retrieved from: http://hopkins-gi.org/gdl_disease.aspx?currentudv=31&gdl_disease_id=c8bd9205-e51b-4186-b4e4-b5087b21f9ea&gdl_dc_id=9aa60584-3607-4d15-a459-bd3f67a3a4a7