Christmas is over....

.....but Tuesday was still a holiday here in UK , because Christmas Day landed on a Sunday. Hi all-hope you had a good time .
I'm back to work , have been since Christmas Day on Sunday. Yesterday I attempted to design a bit to make a new kit, but soon lost interest ...the new book had more of a pull on me. Plus of cause having fun and chatting with friends on FB.I got a reflexology book with DVD to learn it ....now I just need some Guinea pigs to try it out,lol.
The old year is almost over and time for me to reflect on all that has happened in 2011. It has certainly been a year full of events and learning. A year of making fantastic friends and adding to our little family on FB( the Circle). I have just been adopted as "little sis" by big brother Bob, a friend of Ricky, who is very dear to me. And all my sisters Teri, Rachel,Nikki, Deb,Pixie,Jillian plus a few more.And I am grateful for having Daniel in my life....we didn't have much time recently to talk, he definitely works too much.But I love waking up to nice messages in my in box. Let's see if we manage to catch up on the weekend , maybe on web cam or via telephone.
I have been spoiled with presents for Christmas, here a few of them ...plus there is a brand new DVD player in my room, so I can now watch movies in bed .... what a luxury-much better than DVDs on the laptop.

My Angel collection is growing- that essential oil diffuser looks lovely in my bedroom.

Over the next days I will make a new vision board for the coming year. I didn't achieve everything I wanted this year, but I made a good start and plan to carry on in the new year.Here a few layouts I made the past days.

One priority will definitely be a flight to Phoenix and meeting Daniel...will be interesting to see how I cope with the rather warm Arizona climate. He tells me they all walk around with guns and knifes-even he does, apparently it's the normal way of life...very Wild West ....yeeehaw ! Lol, gotta see the funny side of it.Anyway, enough for now....I will be off work again soon....3 shifts left to do, and then I prepare another freebie for you. Until then -Hugs Snowy

♥♥♥❥•♪♫¸☆¸♥ Lღ√Ƹ and Jღy ♥.✫'*°☆.`❥•♪♫"

The night before Christmas Eve....brings another freebie

Hello all.
I know I have been awfully quiet lately but have been really busy here. Not to mention more visions and a being attacked by a spirit. No kidding.... I cycle along in the dark, and it felt really spooky, and I sensed I was not alone, and suddenly get a choking feeling and start getting breathless , as if someone has his hands around my throat.I actually had difficulties breathing. I was starting to feel faint , gasping for air when I mentally called on my Guides,Goddess and several Angels to help and protect me - the feeling stopped almost immediately and I was trying to recover my breath and got the hell out of there. I think I never peddled so fast in my life !I admit it- I was scared ! Lol, I won't be going along that path in the dark again for a while. But that brings up the need for better psychic protection. I'm learning all about it and trying to put it into action. Daniel, will be making a medicine bag for me to wear and send it over , I am so grateful to all my friends giving advice and help. Apart from that it was nice to hear Daniels voice on the phone , we had a good talk. He's on call this week including the holidays, so with him not having much time,I miss chatting with him.But at least I won't be the only one working over Christmas.
We had our Christmas party at work ,I got a Fairy Jar. I will show more pics from that in another post.

It was a great laugh ! Creative side of me has been busy with a little heart shaped trinket box. Painted and decorated....did I mention I love the feather trend,lol?

Plus I made several quote layouts the past days. Here is one of them, made with my Angel Magic kit.

I have another freebie for you today- its a cute little ex store kit .

 As always on the freebie page.
The 24th is our Christmas Day and we'll be having our Christmas Dinner and open our presents. I'll be back when I find the time , in the meantime I wish you all a very merry Christmas.
Hugs Snowy

The last two parts of the freebie Kit .....

...and I'm still alive and kicking,lol. Hi all- I have been on early shifts the last days and was too tired to do much else.
And I have been busy with other things . I'm learning about what it means to have visions and start to be clairvoyant. Daniel has been such a help with this when I first started to get the visions more regularly and to figure out what they mean. I'm slowly getting used to it now, just have to learn to receive them at the right times-and not while I'm at work or being woken up at night from my sleep from them.  Questions from him like " Why do you feel you were sent on this path?" ,"What does it represent?",and "What have you learnt from it?" really make the brain work and gets you thinking ! I know that Phoenix /Arizona will definitely be one of my destinations to visit and to meet him....  we probable won't stop talking.
Well, I just had to treat myself yesterday when I saw that Claire's Accessories had a sale on. Got myself a necklace and some things to tame my hair.

Feather jewellery and Accessories are the " IN-TREND" at the moment. I usually don't go much by what is in , but I love feathers.
Even made a layout,lol.

And I have the last two parts of the freebie kit up now. Here a layout made with it. -the Christmas card collection

So hop over to the freebie page to pick it up.Not sure if I shared this before with you- the performance is outstanding ! Have a look ! And I'm off -hugs Snowy

A new Week and another freebie

Good morning :)
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine certainly was great ! Saturday was the Eclipse and full moon , so I went out to see if we are able to catch anything of it.Sadly that was not the case ,but the north of UK was lucky to catch at least a partial view of it. Still, it was nice to see the moon come up at around 4pm in the afternoon. I was at Ness Point with some other Moon watchers. Luckily I was clever enough to wrap up warm, because the wind there by the sea was real chilly ! Here some pics from our sky watch on Saturday.

And the sun going down ...

Me wrapped up,lol

And just at home to warm up again., I actually made a layout.
This is made with the Freebie kit I start to put on the Freebie page today.

It's an Ex -Store kit -Black and Silver X-mas, and the first 2 parts are up now.

Sunday was of cause Football day , so after a short time out -it was horrible rainy weather, I snuggled up on the couch and watched the game after we had dinner. And what a game it was ! I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. But all ended well with another win for the Pats ! I treated myself to another new book, I have started last night and it really is a pleasure to read. This man is an inspiration ! If more would think like he does , if politicians would act like he does the World would be a much better place ! Most of my packages have been sent last week, today I'm mailing the very last of them , plus more cards.

That's it for now again, I'll be back with the two next parts of the Freebie kit. Hugs Snowy

Waking up with a smile ;) and another freebie kit

Hi and hope you are all having a lovely day.
I'm really enjoying my time off work and find time to just be lazy and relax as well. So I have not been doing that much the last couple of days. There's of cause the usual chores and  the laundry, but apart from writing more cards, wrapping up yet another present and lots of reading not much done. Oh, not to forget chatting with my friends of cause ! The messages have been going nuts,lol.
Had a good chuckle last night as well , talking about childhood and growing up I remembered the films we used to love watching as kids. And there was no game consoles , so out and about in the woods it was and we would play act scenes from the  films. I went on You tube to see if I could find any of the old film scenes and I did ! Oh my Goddess- it not only brought back memories but I was laughing about it as well. These are movies made after books by Karl May - a Story about Winnetou,an Apache Chief. Hahahaha... Have a look yourself, here is one of them (in German , there are some more with subtitles , but the translations are so bad it wasn't worth bothering to to put up)lmao , looking forward to the next chat. Don't know where this will go , but enjoying the present time -that's for sure !
I did another layout with one of my nature photographs -quite a simple one.

And this is the freebie I will be putting up on the freebie page now - enjoy ! Hugs Snowy

Quickpage 4 of Santa's World

Hi again, today was a mellow day. I got up late because my coughing woke me up a few times during the night. In the end I couldn't go back to sleep at about 4.30 am and ended up chatting on my laptop until almost 6.00am before I had another attempt to go back to sleep. Luckily this time I slept through straight till almost 11.00 am. I'm feeling great, just when I lie down all that mucus makes me cough - but its gotta get loose and come out ! Then I went for a walk along the beach, being by the water always has a good effect on me, I find it relaxing and sitting on the rocks watching the waves is a great opportunity to meditate and ground myself. Obviously in this cold weather I don't stay as long as I would in summer. Here are some pics I took today.In the end it was already getting dark, and it was only around 3pm.Can you tell I love the sea,lol ?

and yes, it was dark on the way back !

I case you wonder where my mop of curls is, I had braided my hair today.
of cause it was a case of having to warm up after coming back from the beach. When I came home I had a hot steaming coffee with a generous shot of Captain Morgan's ,lol. That stuff really works ! No wonder the Pirates liked their Rum ! Hmmm..... braids suit me ,I think.

 Then it was a case of preparing dinner- chicken into the oven and I even made us a Chocolate Butterscotch Pudding for afters. And it was Football time -the Pats were playing ...and winning it seems.... damn, I missed the last quarter ! I blame a certain person for keeping me busy chatting....not that I mind,lol.
As for design- here is another quote layout I made.

And Quickpage no.4 is up for you.

That's all for now - till next post
Hugs Snowy

Quickage number 3

Hello again , hope you are all having a lovely Saturday !
I was up quite early this morning and went into town . I am so glad I did ! Come this afternoon and the cold wind was picking up and I was glad to be finally home in the warmth again.I had to hop into the Crystal store and found another perfect little gift , as I now have another contact to add on my address list to send a card to. The present is that small it will fit in with the card - can't write to much or show ....you never know who will read my blog.....
I treated myself to another one of the white angels I started to collect .I think it looks very cosy and nice in my bedroom.

Crystal collection constantly growing,lol...

...and that's not even all of them ! Anyway-I have qp number 3 ready for you on the freebie page. So for now I'm wishing you all a nice evening, afternoon or morning -wherever you are and the last of the story about the White Buffalo.
Hugs Snowy

Joseph Chasing Horse
For Native Americans it was the fulfillment of their legends, as significant as the Second Coming of Christ

“In the legends of Native Americans, the birth of a white buffalo calf is an omen of universal significance. The Cheyenne, Sioux, and other Plains tribes believe that a White Buffalo Calf Woman once brought a sacred peace pipe to the world. Her return, they say, would signal a time of unity and goodness among people of all nations and colors.

The odds are against it. At their peak, the American bison, or buffalo, numbered about 80 million, and the chances of a white, nonalbino, buffalo being born were about one in 10 million. Today, there are only about 130,000 buffalo.

Still, on August 20, 1994 a white buffalo calf was born on a farm in Janesville, Wisconsin. For Native Americans it was the fulfillment of their legends, as significant as the Second Coming of Christ.
Their legends also say the buffalo would change color four times in its lifetime. By the time it was a year old, the buffalo calf, named Miracle, had already changed once.
Floyd Hand, a Sioux medicine man from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, said the birth would affect all human beings, not just Native Americans. "It's an omen that's bringing a change and a new world. The twenty-first century that is coming is going to unify all of us.”
As the Rains of Revelation fell in 1994 and began nourishing the Sahasrara, other spiritual seeds were sprouting on Mother Earth. Against overwhelming odds a white buffalo was born in Wisconsin, USA. To the native Americans this was a Divine Sign that would bring about the spiritual healing of this planet and all its inhabitants. The birth of the White Buffalo is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy that ushers the Dawn of Enlightenment to all spiritual seekers of Earth. These deep esoteric Truths are far beyond the reach of religious masses whose spiritual senses — still underdeveloped by centuries of falsehood, dogma and delusion — will not be unable to feel Mother Earth being charged with Spiritual Energy of the Great Spirit. These subtle Sure Signs are for the New Age seekers who aspire to be one with humankind, and then with the Universe, and finally, with the Creator.

Note: On March 31, 1995 SY François Gibeau (New Jersey, USA) and Partap Gulati (Toronto, Canada) were at Kash’s home. The topic eventually came to the White Buffalo. François told that the birth of the White Buffalo was a scheme by some smart ranchers to make money out of a revered North American Indian prophecy. He had found out that the White Buffalo had changed color, and lacking knowledge, suspected that some sort of ‘biological dye’ had injected into the sperm and then artificially inseminated.

Kash’s father completely disagreed: such bioengineering feats were not yet feasible. Moreover, who would undertake such an extremely expensive, secret research just to reap a small financial benefit from producing a white buffalo. But François was not moved by any logic and insisted that it was a fraud.
Kash’s father, who had seen news coverage of the Native Americans and their White Buffalo, knew that they were telling the Truth. As far as he was concerned Native Americans were probably the most spiritual among humans and had the means of ascertaining Truth. If they had declared that the White Buffalo was born then it was the Truth.
François refused to budge and Partap could not make up his mind. They both checked their vibrations but got mixed readings. The only way was to check with the Great Spirit. Kash was told about the whole argument and asked to verify with Shri Mataji in his Sahasrara.
Kash came back after meditation and told that Shri Mataji told him that it was not proper to argue whether the legend of the White Buffalo was true or not. She did not tell Kash who was right, perhaps out of respect and not to hurt any feelings, and this question was never put forward again. (However, if the legend of the White Buffalo was not true then Shri Mataji would have said so at a later date as She had done on a few occasions. Since the Great Spirit did not do so then this sacred White Buffalo prophecy of the noble North American natives is the Truth.)

Note: Some historians claim that Lord Jesus Christ was born around 6 BC. if that is true then the birth of Miracle 1994 marks exactly two millenniums since His birth. It is as if the Great Spirit wishes to bring hope and harmony to all nations and people of many tongues by giving them a common vision of the Eternal Oneness.
"The message is simple. The people should be of one heart, one mind, one people. Peace, love and harmony. It is time to educate the world," Hand said, raising up his cane to make the point.
"I'm 55-years-old and I've been lucky. It's been the dream of our people for 500 years (to see the white calf return. In 1954 my grandfather said I would live to see (the calf) and see a change in the world. We've been praying for her return,'' he said.
Swinging his arm around the field, Hand pointed to other elders who had journeyed from around the United States and to attend the ceremony.

"If we keep desecrating Mother Earth, there's going to be nothing left. This is like the Second Coming to us!'' he shouted.
Hand said at the present time there is an anti-Christ movement throughout the world, evident by rampant alcoholism, drug abuse and murder.
"The values of man have been lost through contemporary life. We are losing our respect, our dignity and self-worth,'' he said."
Neal White, Beloit Daily News (September 13, 1994)

QP number two and first Christmas post

Hi and good morning ,
I got up quite late this morning, but that's what time off is for as well -to be lazy and just stay in bed sometimes. But now I'm ready to roll and have recovered from my nights. The postie just brought me a parcel ....from Holland. Thanks so much ,Kyra - you went well over the top again, there is so much !

But I think she mixed up the cards somehow....lol ...Tootsie????

Last night I made another quote layout with one of my kits , happy how it turned out.

This was inspired by this story -I couldn't believe what I was reading then !What is wrong with people? This is not greater unity-it's just the opposite ! And it makes me sad to see such ignorance
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/30/interracial-couple-banned-from-kentucky-church_n_1121582.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false&fb_source=message#undefined
 My friend worded it perfectly:
 It seems to me the world around us is falling apart. The value of life... the importance of nature... animals.. children is thrown to the wayside. I hear or read about how children are dieing at the hands of their parents. The very people that are suppose to love and protect them. And seeing what is happening in this church doesn't surprise me either. What i had hoped was fading away has only gotten more pronounced and that prejudice and hatred is growing stronger.Where churches preached about universal love and openness, they easily turn a blind eye to everything in life if it doesn't conform to what they perceive is right according to their own wants or desires. How can people be called humans when they have lost their humanity?I can only hope people find their way again... find the truth and realise whats really important and what is an illusion in life...Thank you, Daniel -.I totally agree!  ♥♥♥
On another note, if you hop over to SilverRavenwolf's blog-her daily release challenge for 2011 has started.It's not too late to catch up. I did it last year and am taking part again this year. The link to her blog is in my sidebar.
Today the second quickpag is up for you-enjoy !

And I promised you more from the Lakota story , so here is some more, but before that I say "have a nice weekend"-hugs Snowy
WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN

Brings The First Pipe
As told by: John Fire Lame Deer, in 1967

"The Sioux are a warrior tribe, and one of their proverbs says, "Woman shall not walk before man." Yet White Buffalo Woman is the dominant figure of their most important legend. The medicine man Crow Dog explains, "This holy woman brought the sacred buffalo calf pipe to the Sioux. There could be no Indians without it. Before she came, people didn't know how to live. They knew nothing. The Buffalo Woman put her sacred mind into their minds." At the ritual of the sun dance one woman, usually a mature and universally respected member of the tribe, is given the honor of representing Buffalo Woman. Though she first appeared to the Sioux in human form, White Buffalo Woman was also a buffalo - the Indians' brother, who gave its flesh so that the people might live. Albino buffalo were sacred to all Plains tribes: a white buffalo hide was a sacred talisman, a possession beyond price.

One summer so long ago that nobody knows how long, the Oceti- Shakowin, the seven sacred council fires of the Lakota Oyate, the nation, came together and camped. The sun shone all the time, but there was no game and the people were starving. Every day they sent scouts to look for game, but the scouts found nothing. Among the bands assembled were the Itazipcho, the Without-Bows, who had their own camp circle under their chief, Standing Hollow Horn. Early one morning the chief sent two of his young men to hunt for game. They went on foot, because at that time the Sioux didn't yet have horses. They searched everywhere but could find nothing. Seeing a high hill, they decided to climb it in order to look over the whole country. Halfway up, they saw something coming toward them from far off, but the figure was floating instead of walking. From this they knew that the person was waken, holy.

At first they could make out only a small moving speck and had to squint to see that it was a human form. But as it came nearer, they realized that it was a beautiful young woman, more beautiful than any they had ever seen, with two round, red dots of face paint on her cheeks. She wore a wonderful white buckskin outfit, tanned until it shone a long way in the sun. It was embroidered with sacred and marvelous designs of porcupine quill, in radiant colors no ordinary woman could have made. This wakan stranger was Ptesan-Wi, White Buffalo Woman. In her hands she carried a large bundle and a fan of sage leaves. She wore her blue-black hair loose except for a strand at the left side, which was tied up with buffalo fur. Her eyes shone dark and sparkling, with great power in them.

The two young men looked at her open-mouthed. One was overawed, but the other desired her body and stretched his hand out to touch her. This woman was lila wakan, very sacred, and could not be treated with disrespect. Lightning instantly struck the brash young man and burned him up, so that only a small heap of blackened bones was left. Or as some say that he was suddenly covered by a cloud, and within it he was eaten up by snakes that left only his skeleton, just as a man can be eaten up by lust.

To the other scout who had behaved rightly, the White Buffalo Woman said: "Good things I am bringing, something holy to your nation. A message I carry for your people from the buffalo nation. Go back to the camp and tell the people to prepare for my arrival. Tell your chief to put up a medicine lodge with twenty-four poles. Let it be made holy for my coming."

This young hunter returned to the camp. He told the chief, he told the people, what the sacred woman had commanded. The chief told the eyapaha, the crier, and the crier went through the camp circle calling: "Someone sacred is coming. A holy woman approaches. Make all things ready for her." So the people put up the big medicine tipi and waited. After four days they saw the White Buffalo Woman approaching, carrying her bundle before her. Her wonderful white buckskin dress shone from afar. The chief, Standing Hollow Horn, invited her to enter the medicine lodge. She went in and circled the interior sunwise. The chief addressed her respectfully, saying: "Sister, we are glad you have come to instruct us."

She told him what she wanted done. In the center of the tipi they were to put up an owanka wakan, a sacred altar, made of red earth, with a buffalo skull and a three-stick rack for a holy thing she was bringing. They did what she directed, and she traced a design with her finger on the smoothed earth of the altar. She showed them how to do all this, then circled the lodge again sunwise. Halting before the chief, she now opened the bundle. The holy thing it contained was the chanunpa, the sacred pipe. She held it out to the people and let them look at it. She was grasping the stem with her right hand and the bowl with her left, and thus the pipe has been held ever since.

Again the chief spoke, saying: "Sister, we are glad. We have had no meat for some time. All we can give you is water." They dipped some wacanga, sweet grass, into a skin bag of water and gave it to her, and to this day the people dip sweet grass or an eagle wing in water and sprinkle it on a person to be purified.

The White Buffalo Woman showed the people how to use the pipe. She filled it with chan-shasha, red willow-bark tobacco. She walked around the lodge four times after the manner of Anpetu-Wi, the great sun. This represented the circle without end, the sacred hoop, the road of life. The woman placed a dry buffalo chip on the fire and lit the pipe with it. This was peta-owihankeshini, the fire without end, the flame to be passed on from generation to generation. She told them that the smoke rising from the bowl was Tunkashila's breath, the living breath of the great Grandfather Mystery.

The White Buffalo Woman showed the people the right way to pray, the right words and the right gestures. She taught them how to sing the pipe-filling song and how to lift the pipe up to the sky, toward Grandfather, and down toward Grandmother Earth, to Unci, and then to the four directions of the universe.

"With this holy pipe," she said, "you will walk like a living prayer. With your feet resting upon the earth and the pipestem reaching into the sky, your body forms a living bridge between the Sacred Beneath and the Sacred Above. Wakan Tanka smiles upon us, because now we are as one: earth, sky, all living things, the two- legged, the four-legged, the winged ones, the trees, the grasses. Together with the people, they are all related, one family. The pipe holds them all together."

"Look at this bowl," said the White Buffalo Woman. "Its stone represents the buffalo, but also the flesh and blood of the red man. The buffalo represents the universe and the four directions, because he stands on four legs, for the four ages of man. The buffalo was put in the west by Wakan Tanka at the making of the world, to hold back the waters. Every year he loses one hair, and in every one of the four ages he loses a leg. The Sacred Hoop will end when all the hair and legs of the great buffalo are gone, and the water comes back to cover the Earth.

The wooden stem of this chanunpa stands for all that grows on the earth. Twelve feathers hanging from where the stem - the backbone, joins the bowl - the skull, are from Wanblee Galeshka, the spotted eagle, the very sacred one who is the Great Spirit's messenger and the wisest of all cry out to Tunkashila. Look at the bowl: engraved in it are seven circles of various sizes. They stand for the seven ceremonies you will practise with this pipe, and for the Ocheti Shakowin, the seven sacred campfires of our Lakota nation."

The White Buffalo Woman then spoke to the women, telling them that it was the work of their hands and the fruit of their bodies which kept the people alive. "You are from the mother earth," she told them. "What you are doing is as great as what warriors do."

And therefore the sacred pipe is also something that binds men and women together in a circle of love. It is the one holy object in the making of which both men and women have a hand. The men carve the bowl and make the stem; the women decorate it with bands of colored porcupine quills. When a man takes a wife, they both hold the pipe at the same time and red cloth is wound around their hands, thus tying them together for life.

The White Buffalo Woman had many things for her Lakota sisters in her sacred womb bag: corn, wasna (pemmican), wild turnip. She taught how to make the hearth fire. She filled a buffalo paunch with cold water and droped a red-hot stone into it. "This way you shall cook the corn and the meat," she told them.

The White Buffalo Woman also talked to the children, because they have an understanding beyond their years. She told them that what their fathers and mothers did was for them, that their parents could remember being little once, and that they, the children, would grow up to have little ones of their own. She told them: "You are the coming generation, that's why you are the most important and precious ones. Some day you will hold this pipe and smoke it. Some day you will pray with it."

She spoke once more to all the people: "The pipe is alive; it is a red being showing you a red life and a red road. And this is the first ceremony for which you will use the pipe. You will use it to Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery Spirit. The day a human dies is always a sacred day. The day when the soul is released to the Great Spirit is another. Four women will become sacred on such a day. They will be the ones to cut the sacred tree, the can-wakan, for the sun dance."

She told the Lakota that they were the purest among the tribes, and for that reason Tunkashila had bestowed upon them the holy chanunpa. They had been chosen to take care of it for all the Indian people on this turtle continent.

She spoke one last time to Standing Hollow Horn, the chief, saying, "Remember: this pipe is very sacred. Respect it and it will take you to the end of the road. The four ages of creation are in me; I am the four ages. I will come to see you in every generation cycle. I shall come back to you."

The sacred woman then took leave of the people, saying: "Toksha ake wacinyanktin ktelo, I shall see you again."

The people saw her walking off in the same direction from which she had come, outlined against the red ball of the setting sun. As she went, she stopped and rolled over four times. The first time, she turned into a black buffalo; the second into a brown one; the third into a red one; and finally, the fouth time she rolled over, she turned into a white female buffalo calf. A white buffalo is the most sacred living thing you could ever encounter.

The White Buffalo Woman disappeared over the Horizon. Sometime she might come back. As soon as she had vanished, buffalo in great herds appeared, allowing themselves to be killed so that the people might survive. And from that day on, our relations, the buffalo, furnished the people with everything they needed: meat for their food, skins for their clothes and tipis, bones for their many tools."

Two very old tribal pipes are kept by the Looking Horse family at Eagle Butte in South Dakota. One of them is the Sacred Pipe brought to the people by White Buffalo Woman.

John Fire Lame Deer was a Lakota Holy man, and perhaps a Heyoka. His book Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions, written with Richard Erdoes in 1972 . He died several years later on the Roeebud Lakota reservation in South Dakota; his son Archie carries on his spiritual work. This version of the Buffalo Calf Woman's bringing of the first sacred Pipe is from American Indian Myths and Legends, 1980, by Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz.

Still alive and kicking ,plus a Quickpage freebie

Hi all, I'm still alive -I have survived the two night shifts with my cold. Today I slept half the day of cause -night shift recovery in progress ! Needless to say I didn't get much done the last few days. And this afternoon and evening was time to catch up with some work in here. I got the laundry done, the floors are nice and clean again,it's dusted, it's tidy and smells nice.In between I took some more pictures of  the festive decorations in here to put you all into the Christmas mood , if you have not caught the bug already. This is the Advent Wreath, on each of the 4 Sundays before Christmas another candle is lit-a tradition I brought with me from Germany

And a white Poinsettia with some gold foliage makes a nice decoration in the corner.

I have more, but will leave that for another day. This is the preview of the Quickpage I have for you on the freebie page today. It's the first one of a series -Santa's World

And now I will have another little nap and then over to FB a little later and see what's been going on. A little story for you, lately I am getting Bulls and Buffalos galore.A friend who is part Cherokee sent me this.

So I looked up the meaning of the Buffalo Totem and came across this lovely story , the first part today, -more tomorrow.
And I'm off-Hugs Snowy

WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN
Brings The First Pipe
As told by: Joseph Chasing Horse
We Lakota people have a prophecy about the white buffalo calf. How that prophecy originated was that we have a sacred bundle, a sacred peace pipe, that was brought to us about 2,000 years ago by what we know as the White Buffalo Calf Woman.
The story goes that she appeared to two warriors at that time. These two warriors were out hunting buffalo, hunting for food in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota, and they saw a big body coming toward them. And they saw that it was a white buffalo calf. As it came closer to them, it turned into a beautiful young Indian girl.

That time one of the warriors thought bad in his mind, and so the young girl told him to step forward. And when he did step forward, a black cloud came over his body, and when the black cloud disappeared, the warrior who had bad thoughts was left with no flesh or blood on his bones. The other warrior kneeled and began to pray.
And when he prayed, the white buffalo calf who was now an Indian girl told him to go back to his people and warn them that in four days she was going to bring a sacred bundle.
So the warrior did as he was told. He went back to his people and he gathered all the elders and all the leaders and all the people in a circle and told them what she had instructed him to do. And sure enough, just as she said she would, on the fourth day she came.

They say a cloud came down from the sky, and off of the cloud stepped the white buffalo calf. As it rolled onto the earth, the calf stood up and became this beautiful young woman who was carrying the sacred bundle in her hand.
As she entered into the circle of the nation, she sang a sacred song and took the sacred bundle to the people who were there to take of her. She spent four days among our people and taught them about the sacred bundle, the meaning of it.

She taught them seven sacred ceremonies.
One of them was the sweat lodge, or the purification ceremony. One of them was the naming ceremony, child naming. The third was the healing ceremony. The fourth one was the making of relatives or the adoption ceremony. The fifth one was the marriage ceremony. The sixth was the vision quest. And the seventh was the sundance ceremony, the people's ceremony for all of the nation.
She brought us these seven sacred ceremonies and taught our people the songs and the traditional ways. And she instructed our people that as long as we performed these ceremonies we would always remain caretakers and guardians of sacred land. She told us that as long as we took care of it and respected it that our people would never die and would always live.

When she was done teaching all our people, she left the way she came. She went out of the circle, and as she was leaving she turned and told our people that she would return one day for the sacred bundle. And she left the sacred bundle, which we still have to this very day.
The sacred bundle is known as the White Buffalo Calf Pipe because it was brought by the White Buffalo Calf Woman. It is kept in a sacred place (Green Grass) on the Cheyenne River Indian reservation in South Dakota. it's kept by a man who is known as the keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, Arvol Looking Horse.
When White Buffalo Calf Woman promised to return again, she made some prophecies at that time
One of those prophesies was that the birth of a white buffalo calf would be a sign that it would be near the time when she would return again to purify the world. What she meant by that was that she would bring back harmony again and balance, spiritually.

No matter what happens to Miracle in the coming months and years, Joseph Chasing Horse says the birth is a sign from the Great Spirit and the ensuing age of harmony and balance it represents cannot be revoked. That doesn't mean, of course, that the severe trials Native Americans have endured since the arrival of Europeans on these shores are over. Indeed, the Lakota nation mounted the longest court case in U.S. history in an unsuccessful effort to regain control of the Black Hills, the sacred land on which the White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared 2,000 years ago.
Still, despite their ongoing struggles, Native Americans are heartened by the appearance of a white buffalo in Janesville, and have hope for a harmonious and prosperous future.

"Mention that we are praying, many of the medicine people, the spiritual leaders, the elders, are praying for the world," says Joseph Chasing Horse. "We are praying that mankind does wake up and think about the future, for we haven't just inherited this earth from our ancestors, but we are borrowing it from our unborn children."

Pharmacy Raid and Craft project

Hi and good morning,
I'm up, vertical and as soon as the coffee has kicked in I am going to get ready and raid the pharmacy ! My son believes in sharing again and has given me his cold. So its sore throat , cough and runny nose for a while , I guess. Ughhh...and that when I'm on night shift ! I am so not looking forward to tonight. Guess I will have to drug myself up,lol.
Here are some more Christmas impressions- some things are just a necessity ! Like having advent calendars for the big kids with a sweet tooth here. -with Chocolate....hmmmm !

Decorations are in place, even on my altars

And if you would like to make your own bauble -like this one, go to the craft page , I have posted pics and explained step by step how to do it.

 And I'm off now to get ready, get myself some meds so I can function on my shift tonight. Only good thing is that I have some time to chat with my friends in between , keeps me awake -and with up to 7 hours time difference its sometimes tricky to find the time. Hope you all have a great day-Hugs Snowy :)