Blue Moon/Betrayer Moon

Today December 31, 2009 is a Blue Moon. The Blue Moon is a full moon that is not timed to the regular monthly pattern. Most years have only 12 full moons. But in addition to those 12 lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains an excess of 11 days compared to the lunar year. The extra days accumulate, so that every 2 or 3 years, there is an extra full moon. It is called a blue moon. Was called a Betrayer Moon in olden days. The last Blue Moon on New Years was in 1990.

This year the Blue Moon also falls on a lunar eclipse. Europe, Africa and Asia will have the best opportunity to veiw this eclipse. To some this will be a very important event because of the two events happening on the same date.

This would not be a good time to travel or have an operation. It could cause an emotional or teary New Years Eve.

The Marcells made the song "Blue Moon" famous back in the 60's. Elvis had a version of it in the 50's that I liked better. The group "Cowboy Junkies" probably got thier style of singing by listening to Elvis's version. X.

Tip Top Recipes

Herbal-Salt Substitute

2 tablespoon dried dill, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregno, finely chopped
2 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Put in a shaker with large holes. Store in cool, dark place. Use on vegetables, salad or buttered bread.

A few years back my Aunt Madge started writting cookbooks. The first was titled "Tip Top Recipes". It was named after her father's (my maternal grandfather) dairy farm. Now and then I will throw in one of the recipes from one of her cookbooks.

In the top picture is an ad my grandfather ran in the local paper. The bottom picture is of my maternal grandparents Francis & Otis. X.

Country Dogs are Different

City dogs wear knitted
turtlenecks and scented
shampoo to ward off ticks.
Country dogs wear ticks the
size of pocket watches.

City dogs answer to
"Mitten" and "Buffy"
Country dogs answer to
"Butch" and "Thorn".

City dogs fetch cute little
rubber squeaky toys.
Country dogs fetch cow bones
and the neighbors chickens
... dead or alive.

City dogs sip from mono-
grammed plastic bowls.
Country dogs drink from
mud holes and swim in green
farm ponds.

City dogs chase the vacuum
cleaner cord as it wiggles
from room to room.
Country dogs chase anything
that moves, including
tornadoes.

By Tony Attoun

I think I'm more of a country dog myself! X.

My ancestry

I have not always been that interested in the people from which I decended. However, a few years back the subject started to interest me. As I begain to dig into the past, I realized how closely I am tied to the Scotch/Irish people. Since both of these groups are primarily decended from the ancient Celtic tribes of europe I started to read more about thier customs and beliefs and found them very interesting.
One of my ventures to do some digging occured in 2004. After searching on the internet I found where some of my ancestors were buried. My paternal line came to Missouri in the mid 1800's from northern Virginia's Shenandoah valley. In the spring of 2004 I planned on going on 'The Run to the Wall'. Basically, Vietnam Vets riding to Washington D.C. to go to the Vietnam Memorial. I used this opportunity to try and visit the homeplace and gravesite of my great, great, great grandparents, near Strasburg Va. I contacted the landowner where the homplace and gravesite were located and made arrangements to visit. It was a rainey day when I arrived at the location south of Strasburg at a place known as Fischer's Hill.
One thing I found quite amazing was the old rock two story house. All of the wood had deteriorated but the stone walls were all intact and as solid and straight as the day it was built, in the early 1700's. As I visited with the landowner he asked me if i wondered why they had left that area, because it was so beautiful there. And it was. But I noticed the ground was littered with rock. A lot of the fences were made of the rock which had been gathered from the fields. And you will notice the rock fence around the family graveyard in the photo. Perhaps they had heard of better land to the west of them. That is one of the things I would like to know, but will probably never find out. Things like that are hard to come by when digging for information from the past. Not enough written family history!
The earliest I've traced my surname relatives is this period (1700's) in the northern part of Virginia. Many of the other branches in my family tree have been traced back much farther. Some to about 1000 A.D. in Scotland. I'm going to have to spend some time in Virginia to find out more information for the surname relatives. I do have some vague information that they arrived in this country in the late 1600's from Scotland. X.

Dowsing

Known by many names;Dowsing,Divining,Doodle Bugging,Water Witching,Etc. Many consider it to be magic, witchery, or just another form of snake oil. Whatever the case I know for a fact that it does work. Why, because I have done it myself with all but 100% success. About 30 years ago I worked for my dads telephone construction company. We buried telephone cable along roadsides and in town through peoples yards. My first experience was in the city of Butler Mo. We were plowing phone lines in from peoples homes to pedistles along alley ways. All of the utilities in Butler were buried underground. Thus causing a big problem for us. We had to know where these lines were located in the yards. I was working with my younger brother on the first place we plowed cable. He suggested that I try witching for the underground utilities. He could not do it, but had worked with people before who could. He took a couple of the orange marker wires and removed the orange plastic flag from the wire and bent each wire about 1/3 of the way up each wire. he then told me to place my hands together and form a cup. He then placed both wires in the cup of my hand by the smaller section. He then had me walk back and forth in the yard slowly. As I walked across the yard the wires would slowly start to move and would point in opposite directions to my right and left. They would be pointing in opposite directions only when I was directly over a buried utility. I would then mark it with an orange flag. I was doubtful at first, but after probing the spot with a rod or actually digging down to the water line, electical line or whatever, I became a believer. Which is saying something because I am a true Missourian, you have to "Show Me".
Over the years I have thought about this, trying to come to some kind of logical conclusion about why it works. My strongest feeling is that it has something to do the magnetic fields of the earth. Since the ground was disturbed when those utilities were installed it did something to the natural state of the earth in each of those locations. I really don't know why it works, just that it does, and that some people are better able to interperate that part of nature.
What brought this to my mind today? I have a great-great grandmother that is buried on a farm near Newark Missouri. No one knows where her gravesite is located. I was just wondering if I couldn't use my ability to dowse or witch to find her gravesite. It would mean a lot to me if her final resting place could be found and marked. X.

Santa Claus aka St. Nicholas

Santa Claus as we know him today was created from a real living person. Not only a person, but a saint. Nicholas was born on the southern coast of Turkey in the third century to a wealthy family. His parents died while he was a young man. Being of the christian faith he took his families wealth and gave to the needy and eventually became Bishop of Myra. Many stories and tales tell of his genorosity and miraculous deeds. He would later become known as a saint. As europeans came to the new world they brought with them the history of St. Nicholas and his deeds.
In the early 1800's St. Nicholas was transformed into Santa Claus. A poem of this time helped to create his new image. This portion of "A visit from St. Nicholas" paints a picture of the new "Santa Claus".
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot,
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack
I find it ironic today when some christian says that we are missing the point of Christmas by our attention to Santa Claus. Santa Claus aka St. Nicholas encourages the giving spirit and caring for those less fortunate than others. I'm sure Jesus, would be for, all that St. Nicholas tried to do. X.

Christmas as a child

There is so much excitement and anticipation for a child on this day. Imagining what is to come. Hoping for that specail gift. Wanting to get a glimpse of ol saint nick. Here is a photo of my family from many moons ago. X.

Choose Joy

I battle depression off and on. This time of the year is one of those times. I'm not alone in that gloomy boat. I believe the lack of sunshine plays a part in some of it. They have proven how sunlight can effect our mood. I also know that we can make a conscious effort to change how we are feeling. Today I will choose joy. As I think about it, I have many things to be grateful for in my life.

I took this photo in western Colorado near Silverton. X.

Winter Solstice

Oh Winter Solstice, bring back the light! X.

A Warrior Breed

My family has participated in wars as far back as I can find. It is a common thread that binds us together even though we are seperated by time. War is a terrible thing to live through. But, at times necessary, for people to live without an oppressive society or ruler. In this country today, there are so few who are actually warriors. I don't believe the majority has a full appreciation of it's cost. This picture is of my grandfather on my father's side. He fought in WWI.
"War is mans saddest way to communicate. When all is said and done, there are so many who are not there to hear." Xavier

Double rainbow picture at top

I took the picture that heads my blog from the old town of Northfork Mo. I was standing at the Buckman cabin facing the southeast, looking toward Mark Twain Lake. I think double rainbows are unique and have specail meaning.

New to this blogging thing? That would be me.

I'm not sure why I started this blog. A couple of reasons come to mind. One would be to connect with "like" thinking souls who are out there. Another is to leave some sort of history for my grandkids if they should get to a point in life where they are interested in what I was all about, to some degree. Instead of having to rely on someone's opinion or a picture here and there. This photo is my grandfather on my mother's side, holding little Bogaman ;) He was short in stature, but a big person in my eyes. I get my height from the paternal side.

Another Passion

Here's another of my passions's. To cold here today to ride, but I can dream.

Insurance, the main evil of our time!

Just setting here doing up some bills. Insurance seems to consume the majority of my income at times. Oh for a time when it wasn't even heard of. It seems to be the blight of our time. We think we must have it to protect ourselves and are required by law to have it in some cases. But is it really necessary? There were times in my life when I couldn't afford it, and seemed to get along just fine.

The meaning of "Bogaman".

Bogaman is the old world celtic word for bowman or archer. I have always had a keen interest in archery and hunting with bow and arrow. A few years back I became interested in making my own bows and arrows. At first I thought that I wanted to build laminated bows. But the more I read up on it, the more I became interested in building primitive bows. Solid wood bows like the indians made and bows like the europeans made about a thousand years ago. That is how I came by the handle "Bogaman". This is my first bow. It's an english style longbow made from the wood osage orange.