Requests module

Everyone, this is Katie. In theory, she is a cat. I can't make any guarantees because her existance is the result of witchcraft. Its true. I cast a spell to create a black or grey cat named Hecate. I had to ask Bast for her form and Hecate for her name, but they happily consented and in short order, my priestess presented me with a kitten. It was a feral little beast with wild puffy fur and the cutest little hiss. As expected, she made an excellent companion for my familiar, Hex, a thirty-five pound black monster cat that scared away the cleaning lady and kept the dogs away from the waterdish through shear intimidation. As a matter of fact, I always introduced them as Hex and his cat, Katie. Yes, my cat had his own pet cat. I created her to be his companion. I figured who better to take care of a cat than another cat. He was good at it too. At first Hecate was completely terrified of Hex, but one day, when she dared walk right in front of him, he reached out with one paw and pinned her to the floor. Then he cleaned her for the first time, with gigantic swipes of the tongue that went from head to tail, and the puff ball became the sleek creature you see in the picture. For years she looked like some kind of strange martian cat with eyes too big for her head. It wasn't until after she was fixed that she really blossomed into the beauty she is now. But it makes sense in hindsight, Hecate being a crone goddess and all. Well, for a while I was worried about my craftsmanship. Okay, I thought, I created a really weird-looking cat. Is that what I look like as a cat? And she's prissy. Given a choice between the entire planet and her cat box, she will insist on using the box. We lost her in Las Vegas once, miles of sand in all directions, but she had to come back to her box to pee. Well anyway, I've cast hundreds of spells since the one that created Katie, but she remains my favorite by a long shot. I learned a powerful lesson from her creation. With the right motivation I could do anything. She had come into being not because I wanted to demonstrate my powers or because I wanted another cat. I created her because I was working long hours, had a busy social life, and Hex just wasn't getting enough attention. I still look at her and feel the deepest sense of awe and mystery. She has always been more than I expected. For example, she's a tabbie, a black tabbie with blacker stripes. I didn't ask for a tabbie, but they are my favorite kind of cat. I did however specify that she be black. The tabbie stripes are just one of the many details I didn't specify but were a delightful surprise. In fact there is so much to her that is beyond my comprehension, I wonder how I created her at all. But I did. I can't deny what I did any more than I can deny that she exists. The fact that she seems miraculous even to me has, in a way, become old news. The new news is that my husband Rob really wants a puppy. hehehe. How to make a puppy . . .

This is Rob and Athena, my hubby and our dog. They are the two most important people in my life. One of the reasons I married Rob was because he is good at family. I could see that he was a good father in the way he took care of his dog, Winston. We are about to have our ten-year anniversary together in this lifetime. We have been lovers, friends, family or enemies in more than 200 incarnations. This lifetime marks the 83rd incarnation that we have been married to each other. Right now, very few people can make that claim, but only because they don't know about their other incarnations. Nonetheless, if I was here only for my family, only for Rob and Athena and our other children both past and future, it would be enough for me to stay in this world. The fact that I have more family and more friends here with me is like icing on the cake. The reason I have blogged this somwhat obvious passage is because it is a good place to establish common ground. From this point on, everything I blog will only get weirder and weirder. But everyone can understand family. So when I say something that you hate or is completely contradictory to your world-view, you must concede that we are not so different. You must say, well, he loves his family just like we do. How different can he be? Imagine finding the first apple ever? As you munched away, would you think, someday everyone is going to be eating these? I have found something which I must share. Its a deceptively simple thing, like an apple, or the dao. And now that I have embraced it, it has consumed my spiritual life. Even as I am being reshaped by what I've found, I am aware that while I may be the only one eating the apple today, soon it will be as commonplace as water and fire. I have found the means to bring time to an end. I have already started the process. If my claim is just too crazy to be believed, remember, I'm not so different than you. I have a family that I love. As I reach out with this apple in my hand, I wonder if this is what eve must have felt like. She knew the apple would destroy Eden, just as I know my apple will destroy the world. I am only a messenger. My life revolves around my family.

Rob had his knee surgery and will be in recovery and physical therapy for a couple of months. Nonetheless he is very active and is itching to live the adventurous lives we've been preparing for. The only other problem is that our car is sick and may be terminal, which may cause need buy a new car. We have the niftiest little pull trailer that we converted into a gypsy camper. Along with a raft and wetsuits, we're ready to swim strange beaches and explore their many tide pools. California is especially beautiful in the spring when flowers paint the mountains bright yellow and deep lavender, and the bright orange california-poppy is everywhere. We had a great full moon, a scorpio moon, so I planted my tomatos and prepared some pots for acorns. A unique miniature oak tree native only to this region has created the one-of-a-kind Elfin Forest micro-ecology. The trees have leaves like a holy bush, grey bark, and long acorns. The larger branches tend to meander over the ground rather than grow upward like a typical oak. All in all, you'd never think it was an oak tree. Wish me luck germinating the acorns. Successful trees will planted in ecological restoration areas of the Elfin Forest.