THIS IS IT!

I’ve cleaned all day until I must smell like a combination of Murphy’s Oil Soap and Lysal Disinfectant.  A far cry from the Opium perfume I sold at the garage sale. And all the tine I was scrubbing inside, a professional window washer was working magic inside and out and it made me wonder why we had never sprung for that service before.  They must have a secret beyond Windex.  And a very tall ladder.  He was able to come extra early because his other jobs had cancelled due to the impending rain.  But we just went ahead because tomorrow is the last day at Castenada Lane and rain or no, it needed to be done.  And as Grandma Marie would have said – “You got rid of the old dirt.”

I took a break at midday and hiked down in the lower field to take a picture of the Chumash Indian artifact.  Carved into a four foot flat rock which sits just  at the bottom juncture of the field, is an engraving of a sun sign.  We went to the natural history museum in Morro Bay and found the exact symbol attributed to the Chumash tribe, who at one time inhabited the central California coast 20,000 strong.  As a tribe they are best known for living in balance with nature, taking only what they needed from the land and sea, believing that they must always preserve and leave enough for future peoples. There’s a philosophy we need more of in our world.   Our sun sign has faded out a bit just in the years we have lived here, but it still seems special to me.  In the photograph, which obscures the symbol even more, it shows if you look closely, a circle with a dot in the center, and four long rays interspersed by four shorter rays.  A compass?  And why in this particular spot?  Whatever the history, I think it is a good omen.

The Sun Stone

Lichen on the Rock, almost in the middle of the Sun

And here’s a good omen for the road.  On our early 70’s trip we made a quick stop in Las Vegas.  Just long enough to run inside (I think it was the MGM Grand) and I put one nickel in a slot machine.  And hit a jackpot!  Granted I only won $10.00 but I was thrilled.

JACKPOT!

I know we won’t be stopping in Las Vegas this time, but it’s always good to look for omens.  And I do intend to write and post along the way so stay tuned for the journey.