Cat On My Head

Eclipsed Sun, Setting

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:06:00 +0000

Here are some photos I took of the partially eclipsed sun, as it was setting. It looks as if it is being sucked down into the small mountain.

Griffin Gets A Treat

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:57:00 +0000

When I Was A Zombie

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:15:00 +0000

I was playing around at www.photofunia.com, where you can easily do all sorts of cool stuff with photos of yourself or others. I created these images of myself as a zombie. I must say, I think I make a good zombie!

Henry Sweetly Snoozing

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:17:00 +0000

Here's Henry. He is such a sweet fellow. He has become a father figure for the new kitten BaBu (who is growing like a weed!)

My New Kitten, BaBu

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:57:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I came home from a staff meeting at work with a new kitten. I've named him BaBu, and he is a sweetheart. He is 4 -5 months old. Here are some photos and videos of him:

Harvesting the Potatoes!

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:25:00 +0000

Here are photos of my two recent potato crops. They are little guys, 'cause they only grew for a couple of months... I found some old sprouting spuds in the back of the fridge when I was moving out of my old house. I thought, hey, why not stick them in dirt and see what happens, and lo and behold, now I've grown my first potatoes!

Wonderful fun. Next year I will do it again, with an earlier planting so they have time to grow to full size. It is such fun digging them up - like digging for buried treasure!!

The first bunch I dug up, a couple of weeks ago:

And my second harvest, which I dug up yesterday:

Gorgeous Chester

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 04:42:00 +0000

Here is Chester, photographed yesterday as he perched on top of a fence, framed by a bluer than blue New Mexico sky with a fluffy white cloud in it, and some nearly naked branches from a nearby aspen tree. Such beauty!

Tarantula Visitor!

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:01:00 +0000

A couple of days ago, at I was taking out my trash, I spotted this big, fuzzy, spider in my driveway. Here is a photo of him (or her?) and also a short video I made. What an interesting creature. And while I very much enjoyed watching this spider, I'm glad he (or she) was outside, though, and not inside my house!

Griffin Giving Me 'The Look'

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:15:00 +0000

Recent Afternoon Rainbows

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:51:00 +0000

Two days ago, and again today, it has gotten stormy in the afternoon, with rainbows appearing in the sky towards the Sangre de Cristo ('Blood of Christ') mountains. Here are photos I got each day, taken standing right in front of my house south of Taos. The first is of a very high rainbow, a double rainbow, actually, and then the second is of today's low rainbow.

Griffin Snoozing

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 09:33:00 +0000

I took this photo of Griffin snoozing yesterday. He seems to be enjoying the new bed I've set up for him at our new house.

The Sky Was Filled With Beauty!

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:48:00 +0000

Two photos I took yesterday evening, as I was out walking near my new house... To the west, the sun was dramatically setting. And to the east, there was a fat rainbow seeming to shoot upward from the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Also, though I don't have a photo of this, to the north, ahead of me, in the distance over Taos, there were huge sheets of rain falling, and lightning bolts coming down from the sky! All very dramatic and very beautiful. This is what I've been missing for the past nine years, when I lived in town surrounded by huge trees that blocked the view...

The Sun Sets On The First Day Of Our New Life

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:45:00 +0000

This photo was taken through the window in front of the dining room table. It shows Griffin sitting outside in the enclosed area, watching the sun set. It was taken the evening of our first day at our new home. I think the golden light is symbolic of the happy radiance that is going to be flooding into our lives now that we have relocated to a much nicer place!

* Move In Progress * Please Stand By *

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 08:40:00 +0000

Hi everybody! I wanted to drop a quick note just to say that I've been buried in boxes and mountains of STUFF, as I'm just about to move to a new house. Why? Not because I chose to! About a month ago I got a call from the fellow who manages the property where I've been living for the past nine years. Out of the blue, he told me I had to move out by September 1st, as the owner of the house has decided to do some renovations.

And so my life was turned upside down, and I was instantly in a financial crisis as well. Phew! Luckily, one of my brothers has helped me out with some money, but even so, all my meager savings are being used up on this move.

The good news is that the place I've found to relocate to is much nicer than the place I'm moving out of, and I think I'll enjoy living there. But it may be a while before I post again, as chaos abounds. The actual move is taking place next week. Please wish me luck!!

Griffin & Rexie Snuggling!

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:06:00 +0000

These two are very fond of each other. Recently I turned around at my desk and saw them in this adorable configuration. They are SO sweet! Do your pets enjoy sleeping with each other, too?

Magic Moon Over New Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:20:00 +0000

Here are a few minutes I recorded from my driveway of the majestic full moon playing peek-a-boo with clouds in the sky around 11 PM. Such beauty!!

Jaya's Gibberish Song (singing mySelf)

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:09:00 +0000

I enjoy singing this sort of gibberish song. When done at full volume it sometimes makes one or more of my cats run over and bit my ankles. Everybody's a critic! But this time I did it at more moderate volume, and recorded it for the first time. I've been singing variations of this for at least 25 years. It always begins with the same three sounds. I have no idea where this comes from, but it feels to me like some ancient connection, and it makes me feel good to sing it.

Upside Down Griffin

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:34:00 +0000

Here is a photo of Griffin I took the other night. He really enjoys lying upside down...
It makes me smile to see him like that!

And here are a couple of kitties I've been boarding recently,

Cyndie, with the blue eyes, and her younger brother, Gato:

TSA --> Enough Already!

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:01:00 +0000

WRONG WRONG WRONG

Griffin On The Back Porch

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sun, 29 May 2011 23:41:00 +0000

Very FUNNY News!

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:20:00 +0000

This is just too good not to share! Enjoy!!

Griffin & I declare it is now Spring...

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 23:21:00 +0000

The dandelions have bloomed, and here is our official Spring portrait:

The Gaze Of Braco

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:02:00 +0000

I haven't posted in quite a few weeks. I got sidetracked by life! The biggest life event happened this week: I went and experienced being gazed upon by a man named Braco (pronounced 'Brahtz-oh') this past Tuesday in Denver. I was able to attend seven gazing sessions. It was an intoxicating and joyful experience! If you'd like to learn more about Braco, there is a lot of information online, including these two sites: http://www.braco.net/ and https://bracoamerica.com.

Braco stands silently before crowds of people, gazing upon them, and transmitting what I would call Divine unconditional love. While he does not call himself a healer, many experience 'miraculous' healings during and after being gazed upon by him. And these are not just physical healings, but healings of all aspects of life that may be troubled or out of balance. It is common for people to simply say their lives changed for the better thanks to Braco.

Below are two videos. The first is a good introduction to Braco. The second is one I made after I got home from seeing him. I'd been awake for around 23 hours at the time I made it, so I was exhausted, but still elated. In addition to the feeling of being physically pushed backwards and pulled forward during the gazings, which I mention in the video, I also experienced an intense energy in my body several times. It was a surge of an almost electrical feeling going through me, a sort of a buzzing or rapid trembling. Many people see a lot of lights around Braco, and around the audience, during gazing sessions, but I didn't experience much of that. The first session my vision was obscured by the tears of joy that filled my eyes. It is common for people to be moved to tears when experiencing this energy. The second session I did see a golden light around him at times.

At this time, Braco travels to various places in the world, from his home in Croatia, so people can come before his gaze. Over 8,000 people saw him in two days in Denver this week. Thanks to modern technology, soon many more will be able to have the gazing experience, as they are working out a way to be able to live stream it over the internet. That will be a wonderful gift for all.

My Childhood Home

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:57:00 +0000

I finally was able to find my childhood home on Google Maps! Yay... It made me happy to see it again after 44 years. Earlier, when I couldn't find it, I thought the building must have been torn down. But it's still standing, looking much the way it did when I was a child there, even though now it's a Bank of America building. My older sister Paige, who still lives in the area, says it's her bank and since it used to be her home they've given her a free deposit box for life!

The image below is interactive, so you can move around in it, go further down the road, turn left and right, etc... The driveway across the street, a little before my house, was where my best childhood friend, Andy (Andrea) lived. The best tuna sandwiches I've ever eaten were made in that house. I spent a lot of time over there. In fact her mother taught me how to spell my name, by not letting me enter the house until I spelled it correctly for her. I learned it pretty quickly. I also remember us looking at scary photos in the medical books belonging to Andy's father, who was a doctor.

View Larger Map

New Mexico Natural Gas Outage

noreply@blogger.com (Jaya) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:16:00 +0000

It's been an interesting, and cold, few days around here. First we had cold night temperatures that went down past 20 below zero two nights ago. That night I could see my breath as I lay in bed, under a huge pile of blankets.

Then, the next morning, the entire town of Taos, along with many other areas of New Mexico, lost natural gas service. Natural gas is the only, or primary, source of heat for many here, including yours truly. Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency for New Mexico on Thursday. Over 10,000 customers were out of natural gas, just in my area alone.

The local stores immediately sold out of space heaters, electric blankets, etc., yesterday morning. And all the grocery stores and gas stations were also mobbed, as people were concerned about the electric grid failing. There were a few minor power outages last night, but that was all. Shelters were set up for those who needed it, though I heard that not many people took advantage of it.

My personal situation was that I had only one small electric space heater. I went to the stores to try to buy another one, but they were all gone. I fueled up the car, as it was already almost on empty, and then I went home and took a shower with the last of the hot water in my gas water heater. So I was clean, but my house was getting cold. I do have a fireplace, but that is in another part of the house, away from the kitchen and bathroom. My biggest concern was pipes freezing during the night.

In the afternoon, I heard on a local radio station, that the local Ace Hardware store was going to have a truckload of portable heaters delivered. I called them and they told me that the heaters, 1200 of them, were being driven down from Colorado and should be arriving around 9 PM. After closing at their regular time, they would open up again, at 9, to sell the heaters.

I got there a little after 9 PM to a surreal scene of 40 or more cars and trucks sitting out in a dark, icy parking lot in front of the hardware store. There was a police car there also. I was told by the man standing outside the store that the truck had encountered a snow storm up in Colorado, and they were now expecting it to arrive between 10 and 10:30 PM. I drove back home for a little while and returned, with my camera, closer to 10 PM. The scene was the same, except there were now more vehicles parked outside the store. Checking in again, I was told there were further delays and they were expecting the truck to arrive between 11 and 11:30... There were now two or three police cars present.

Shortly afterwards they began to let people inside the store to wait where it was warmer, as the temperatures outside were rapidly dropping. I was among the first group let into the store. As we waited in the store for over an hour, we were given periodic updates as to where the truck was... It's in San Luis, Colorado... It's in Costilla, New Mexico... it's in Questa... it's in Arroyo Hondo... it's in Taos! Then the heaters, in various types and price ranges, began being distributed to the happy crowd. The police were in the store with us now, to ensure all stayed calm, and that all the heaters that were being walked out the door had actually been paid for.

I found a heater that I liked very much, happily paid for it, and, after taking some photos, drove home. I got back home a little before midnight. I'd have to say it was the strangest shopping trip I've ever made! The extra heater was just what was needed here at home. With it, I was able to get the heated area of the house warmed up to sixty degrees... warm enough to take off my big fuzzy coat for the first time that night. And warm enough that I no longer needed to worry about my water pipes freezing in the night. My cats like the new heater too. Rexie and Boo have abandoned the basket by the (now cold) furnace to sit and lie next the new heater.

The local news has reported that around 900 heaters were sold at Rio Grande Ace last night, and there was a crowd waiting when they opened up this morning to buy up all the rest of last night's shipment. I was very appreciative to the store and its employees for getting this emergency shipment down here, and putting in those extra hours to see that everyone who showed up so late in the night got the heaters they needed. Below are some photos from last night.

We arrived in the dark of the night, in search of elusive heat...

The Taos Police were on hand to help...

After a long hour standing in the store waiting, the heaters were about to arrive...

Heaters! Yay!! And I'm not the only one taking photos of the happy event...

Smiles break out in the weary crowd as heaters get distributed...

And the parade of heaters begins to walk out the door into the cold, cold night...