Update

Sorry, I've been out of sight for a while. I haven't been feeling well, was struggling with some personal issues and on top of that my computer decided to quit on me. Major stress... BUT, I'm back, feeling a bit better and with a brand new computer! Time for some catching up...

To start with the computer... Ron really wanted the computer back in the living room, because I was always upstairs to work on it. He felt like a computer widower! ;-) We wanted something we could close, so last week we bought a beautiful computerdesk. It is quite big, but it looks great!
When everything was moved downstairs, my computer started to cause major problems, again. Aaaargh! Ultimately we had to decide to buy a new computer. We knew what we wanted and found it: a HP Pavilion M9160 with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor. But... it came with Windows Vista and I wanted my Windows XP Pro on it. All the stores said that wasn't possible, but Fundat@ (just around the corner!) did it for me, and did it fast and good. Today it was ready and I'm busy installing, updating etc. I'm so happy with my new desktopper!

Last Sunday Wonder and I visited the Onkruidbeurs, a fair organized by the Dutch esoteric magazine Onkruid. There were two large rooms with a lot of stalls; one room with all kinds of courses, institutes, training, etc. and the other with esoteric-orientated publishers, businesses, etc. We met a few friends, like Renee of Vrouw Holda and Ciska of Animal Power Art. We also found out, that there is a Dutch training institute, Lichtfontein, that offers education in chakra therapy based on the work of Anodea Judith. Wonder wants to do it, and I'd love to do it too.
Wonder got a wonderful massage for free. I bought a book about our local Dutch Goddesses, "Godinnen van eigen bodem", and a pendant of a black panther (my totem animal). At the end of the day I was very tired, but I enjoyed myself very much!

Tuesday Wonder and I drove to Breda. In the afternoon we took a walk in the Mastbos, a beautiful forest near Breda. Of course we spent time at "our tree". Touching it felt so good, it really gave me new energy. I took a large branch that had been torn off by the storm. I made lots of pictures, like this one of 'me and my shadow'. From under the tree I saw a long lane with sunlight in the distance. I immediately thought: hey, there's the light at the end of the tunnel! When I talked about it with Wonder, the light came closer! Nice symbolism...
We had dinner at Wonder's mum and in the evening we went to the Matthäus Passion (St Matthew Passion) by J.S. Bach in the Grote Kerk in Breda. It was the first time I saw it live performed by professionals. It was incredible, great! The soprano sang with too much vibrato, but the soloists were very good and so were the orchestra and choirs. We had a male alto, that was new for me but amazing. It's a long sit, but it was very much worthwhile!

Wednesday Ron and I visited his niece Kim and her baby Matthias, born March 2. Such a handsome little boy... He cries a lot but when Ron took him against his chest, he fell asleep. Of course I took a picture of great-uncle and great-nephew together! The next day we heard that Matthias was taken to hospital because he seemed to be dried out. We hope he'll be okay and home soon.

Yesterday Wonder, Violette and I celebrated Ostara with a ritual at Wonder's place. The altar looked beautiful. We made a shamanic journey to find a place where we can recharge with energy. In my journey I was the goddess Eostre; everywhere I walked appeared flowers and new green, baby animals. I ended at a beautiful pond (like in "The Blue Lagoon"). I walked into the water, it was comfortably warm. A waterfall gave some cooling. Suddenly I wasn't alone anymore, a long dark man joined me and we ...ehm... had fun together! ;-) Slow passion, love... I didn't want to return (can you blame me?), but I had to. Needless to say I was completely recharged when I got back!
This was the first time I used the Mindfold for a journey. I read about it on Michael Harner's website. It's is a flexible black plastic face plate backed with a high-density soft foam padding. The foam padding has cutouts that allow you to experience total darkness even with your eyes open. I can really recommend it!