As the Sun takes a stroll first with Jupiter on the 16th and then Uranus on the 18th, the good luck you'll experience will be nothing short of a universal gift, especially after some of the more challenging experiences of late.
Jupiter represents luck and growth, while Uranus has to do with individuality, inventiveness and the unexpected. When the Sun enters the mix, these qualities come out in full force. Between the 16th and the 18th, you can expect your luck to change, but because of Uranus' love of surprise, this will be an instance where you won't have much control over the lucky breaks that come your way. Instead, they'll just fall right in your lap!
That doesn't mean there's nothing you can do to make a good situation even better! In this case, your task will have more to do with keeping things in check and making sure nothing gets out of hand. The expansion that Jupiter brings is good up to a point, but don't forget that too much of a good thing is possible. When an exciting opportunity presents itself to you, don't hesitate to grab it, just make sure you do so with a bit of caution. Take care to enter into any situation with your eyes wide open and aware of any issues that may arise later.
One other transit occurring at this time to take note of will be retrograde Mercury travelling backward into Sagittarius on the 18th. Fiery Sagittarius is full of opinions, and with Mercury residing there until the 13th of January, you'll find yourself eager to share your own thoughts and ideas with everyone in earshot. This would be an ideal opportunity to promote some of the causes and charities that are most important to you, and just in time for the holidays.
Crafts Weekend is the best place to find unique,
made in Alaska treasures~! Live music & artist
demonstrations add to the festive atmosphere.
Friday & Saturday 10 to 6 pm
Sunday 12 to 5 pm
It was amazing how much she stuffed into a little box! Lots of cool vintage envelopes, an old 45 record (T'was the Night Before Christmas), a "Bid Recorder" that William is desperate to have, green & white checked cards (maybe from a game?) & a sweet little decoupage' box......filled with....More Treasure!!!
Here's what was inside the boy box.
A little card with the word "Prize." Also, little tart tins, an enamel buckle, glass discs & milleforie pieces, a metal piece with the word "SOLACE" stamped in the center, and some of Kim's hand made beautiful BEADS!!
Yeah! Lucky Me!!!!
Here's a shot of Kim's beads. Each one is different & unique.
These are bound for something special....
Thanks again Kim!! It was a very special give away!
William has new x-country skis so he was itching to to go skiing ~ for his very first time! So, we put on our rain gear, waxed the skis for warm slush & headed out to Moose Meadow. You might ask why we would have rain gear with us for skiing? Well, its Alaska & the weather can change on a dime & you always need to have rain gear with you!
Tracks were set ~ it was fast & icy but he did great!
Will was a quick study. He learned how to kick & glide, turn around, push up with his poles & fall!
Yeah! Success.
Speaking as an accordion player & someone who purchased 12 (yes 12!!) calendars last year this is a really cool gift! I bought 12 for the members of the Anchorage Accordion Club & everyone oohed & aahed over the pictures & the CD. It was a big hit and we're not just talking accordion lovers here! One of my favorite cuts is "Blue Box Waltz" by Roxanne de Oliva.
A couple of the Anchorage Accordion Club players privately told me I couldn't give this to Father Eric. Yes, we have a priest who rocks the accordion & button box. He even has a polka mass once a year ~ how cool is that???? It would make my Mother so happy if I went to church & maybe I could actually do it once a year. Probably isn't going to happen...sorry Mom!
I hadn't even thought about the "appropriateness" of giving this to a priest because to my thinking who wouldn't LOVE this calendar??? To be honest I did get a little worried & I didn't want to offend him ~ is "offend" the correct word(?) I don't think so ...maybe "hot under the collar" is better. hee, hee! Naughty!!
The solution? More clothes for the women! Yep, a set of paper doll clothes did the trick & the Padre could make up his own mind on whether he wanted them more covered or au naturel'.
His choice ~ but I think the Goddess would want him to embrace the beauty of a women's body!
I'll be ordering more this year & maybe everyone will get a extra set of clothes / costumes! Who knows but it ended up being a really fun project & I can have William do the coloring!
Always calm & watchful. 
Groucho & a side kick! 
ARGGGGG!
You were a good First Mate. Smooth Sailing All Your Days.
My only regret is that I didn't have time to teach Rudi the accordion!!
We miss you....good dog!
I still have some volunteer hours to put in so if you have any gardening opportunities or challenges let me know. I especially love gardening with children....maybe I can recruit my gadening helper, William?OK ~ I'm off to celebrate with a glass of my new favorite Chardonnay....
"Valley of the Moon".
What do you do at 2 am when you can't sleep?
Practice the accordion for Monday night accordion club?
Probably not...but surfing for accordion videos on utube is fun!
Here's a video of the "Accordion Dog" that's been circulating for awhile but I just learned how to post a video via another accordion player (thanks Diana at Accordion Diaries) here it is for your listening & viewing enjoyment! Her current post is the "Accordion Idol" video which is also a must see for accordion enthusiasts!
Maybe I should be posting videos of "Mister Sandman" so I can get a good nights sleep!
If you're inspired or inclined, grab your accordion & come to the Anchorage Accordion Club tonight for our bi-monthly practice (6 to 8 pm at ASE on Brayton Drive). We're practicing up for our holiday gigs plus a few polkas, waltzes & novelties thrown in for good measure.
Join Us!
Anchorage MuseumI'll be selling loose beads, jewelry, & fused glass wall tiles!
See you at the Museum!
I'm working on a large sculpture for the Aurora Waldorf School Gala.
My sister emailed me the following list. She especially liked #24 on the list ~ probably because she lives with 1 husband & 2 sons all of whom play hockey. I thought the list should really be titled as
Strange Truths For Mature Humans Women
1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighbourhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
16. I disagree with Kay Jewellers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Budweiser than Kay.
17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!
September 21st represents the autumnal equinox, the point in the year when the length of day and night are equal (the exact time this year is 11:09 p.m. ET). Starting today (September 22 nd), the days will be getting shorter, the air brisker, the nights a little longer. Sunflowers and other garden plants that have been working hard to grow leaves and blooms now subtly switch tactics. The shorter days are a signal for them to devote most of their energy to making fruits and seeds against the time when they will eventually stop producing energy altogether and dry up.
Even though the days are shorter, there will still be blooms on many a sunflower throughout sunny September. You may want to consider saving your sunflower seeds & especially the Lemon Queen Sunflower seeds. as these are a favorite of honey bees!
If the birds and other critters don’t beat you to it, you could have a nice stash of sunflower seeds for planting or sharing next year. It’s easy. Just follow these steps:
1. Identify the earliest, biggest and best-looking sunflowers in your garden.
2. Watch and wait for the plant's seeds to ripen. When the flowers begin to drop away, you will see little green nubs all over the round head of the sunflower. In a week or so, they will begin to darken and the pollen tips will fall away easily.
3. Once the seeds are ripe, cut the sunflower head and carefully place it upside-down in a paper bag, ensuring any seeds that fall go directly into the bag.
4. Hang the bag in a cool, dry place.
5. Examine the seeds every few days. As they dry out, some the seeds will easily fall out of the flower head to the bottom of the bag.
6. When the seeds are dry (about 2 -3 weeks) remove the seeds completely from the head, separating out any leaves, stems or other debris.
7. Store in a closed container and label with the year and type of seed. If stored away from moisture, most seeds will be viable for the next few years.
Sunflower varieties readily mate. When they do that, the seeds produce plants that are intermediate between the two parent types. This means that if a bee brought in pollen from one of your neighbors Mammoth sunflowers, next years seed will not be true Lemon Queen.
Happy Autumn!
The plate in the upper left corner is actually 
When planning the colors for the piece you have to think in reverse order color-wise. We decided that a spring green background with a black bat would look best ~ high contrast colors between the base & image plus a little spooky-ookie for Halloween.
Next gently place the stencil on top of the base color ~ you should still be able to see the outline of the design that you drew on the glass blank so line up the stencil over your tracing lines. The Sharpie ink will burn off in the firing. After the stencil is placed you can sift on the black for the bat image. William went a little crazy here & even covered all of the pink stencil but you really just need to fill in the open areas of the cut out design.
So lighten up & embrace the change!
Get an accordion. The cheaper the better because they all sound the same. Do not tell anyone what you have done - it will only cause them to worry. They will find out soon enough.
