Finally Finished and Launched the Website!!!!

www.quartzcafe.com

I finally finished it. And yes, it looks like a 3 year old did it. Actually, I'm thinking about asking the 3 year old who lives next door to come and fix all the screw ups.....I've said this before and I'll say it again....I hate widgets!!!!!! I usually don't discriminate, but in this case I can truly say, with all my heart....I really hate widgets. If you have no idea what I'm talking about....(and like I really care, because I'm going to tell you anyway), a widget is a very reputable, Nascar sponsoring Website host's answer to a computer tool that is suppose to make building a website easier. Bullcrap. I've been working on this site for 3....yes, 3 months. I started out with this awesomely cool theme, added a bunch of widgets. I really had this site lookin' good. Then a few days ago......hmmmm......during Mercury Retrograde, one of the widgets went on strike, and the next thing I know....They're all on strike.  All I heard when they walked out, was something about ignorance of html, too much cat hair on the keyboard and I believe I saw one of them flip me off. I tried to negotiate with them, I even upgraded....But alas, no go. I had to delete the work and start all over again.

Even though our (me and my sister) website looks like someone washed and dried a box of crayons with the whites, it's somewhat functioning and I'm somewhat proud.

10 Facts About Tea

I'm not a Tea Master, nor do I play one on T.V. However, my aunt, Thresa Griffin, is a Tea Master. She is the owner of Napoleona Tea Company. My sister, Rosalyn, and I have been thinking about furthering our education of Tea. Just so you know, our education consists of going to the local grocery store and buying whichever Tea box looks the fanciest. Our early education is boiling 5-7 family sized teabags in a pot, let it cool down a bit and then add half a pound of sugar and pour into an old pickle jar known as the "tea jug". I consider this the "Basic Southern Style" method.

Okay, so we've established I know nothing about Tea. I still thought it would be fun to list 10 facts I do know.

1. Tea leaves come from a plant called the Camellia sinensis.
2. Pekoe is how a leaf is cut.
3. Herbal teas are not actually considered tea, but are infusions. (I know, I feel the same way, it's a tea.)
4. Tea (black) is meant to be consumed au natural....no sweetener, lemon, or milk. (Again,......what??? Really, I love a little tea with my sugar and lemon....Jus' sayin')
5. White teas and herbal teas are not to be steeped in boiling water.
6. Tea can help cure or a least help with just about every ailment in the book, including alcoholism.
7. Kenya is currently the world's largest exporter of tea.
8. Argentina is where the US gets most of its tea.
9. Catnip can be used as a tea. (MEOW.....I wonder if it has the same effects that it does on my cats..??)
10. I love tea, and that's a fact, Jack!

Please feel free to comment. Educate me on tea. Share your knowledge.

New Kipper Deck and I'm Still in Awe!!!!!!!!

Yay!!!!! Just received the long awaited Mystical Kipper Deck, by Regula Elizabeth Fiechter. I preordered it in January and due to the snow, it got lost in the mail (actually, I'm blaming Mercury Retrograde...see my previous post on these feelings). Anyway, I had time to do some research on how to use Kipper Cards. And of course, almost everything was in German (I think...I know it wasn't English...I think...Ummm,... English is suppose to be my mother tongue, right?...) I found a pdf in English and read it, but it didn't really tell you How to use the deck. Okay, so fast forward, I opened the deck, read the LWB, and guess what.....it still really didn't say how to use the deck. It did have instructions for the "All Cards Spread", so I threw caution to the wind and after the wind blew it back in my face, I followed the instructions and laid out the "All Cards Spread".

I'm not going to divulge the question or concern I asked the deck, plus the instructions didn't indicate you needed to pose a question. As of right now, my jaw is still on the floor....(the cats are batting it around). The spread was so accurate. Of course, it took me a while to read up on all the individual cards, which the instructions say to do. But OMG!!!!!.....it was scary accurate. I did another spread for a friend, and I still posed a question. Although, the spread didn't answer the question, it did shed light on a different aspect of my friend's life.

Here are my thoughts (it's okay, I've been to see the doctor and he's okay'd my thoughts, for the time being).... The Kipper Cards do not use a question or concern.  It sheds light on a theme of your life using distance and a time frame. Somewhat like a Grand Tableau in Lenormand. As for the Mystical Kipper deck as a whole, the card stock is professional grade, the images are vibrant with a 1900's theme, painted using the egg tempura method (yes, I thought it was Chinese food at first). The cards measure 3 1/2L x 2 1/4W. So yes, they are small, it makes sense because you have to lay them all out. For your money, you get a box, 36 cards, and a 52 page LWB.

For me, I give this deck 2 thumbs and 2 big toes up.

When The Reading is Feeling Right!!!

I don't know about you, but when I start a reading (person to person), I get a little sick to my stomach. Not because I don't want to do the reading. I guess it may be self doubt. It seems to me, no matter how many readings I do, I still doubt my ability. I go through this every time. However, by the end of the reading, I can already feel it's effect on the client. To date, I've only had 2 readings that went in the crapper. I don't know if it was me or the client. I still don't understand why I continue to beat myself up over those 2 readings, but I do. Especially, when I've had many, upon many readings where I felt so happy for the client. It's a feeling that's so hard to describe. I look into their eyes as I read and relate the meaning of the spread to them and I know and feel the empowerment it gives them. It's like waking up on Christmas morning and getting that Barbie with the 10 different hairstyles, the puffy dress, and of course the matching shoes that you'd wished for and had been good for the past 6 months. It's all worth it.

Retrograde on Friday Always Gets Me Down.....

Ever wondered what it means when your horoscope says that such and such planet is in retrograde in the House of <insert your zodiac of choice here>? I was going to type Uranus, but I'm just not feeling that froggy today. Anyway, back to the question. Just the word "retrograde" sounds bad. But what does it mean???? Per The Old Farmer's Almanac, it's bad, very bad. They define Mercury retrograde as "... the other planets appear to be traveling backward through the zodiac; this is an illusion. We call this illusion retrograde motion."  What the..???? An illusion? Really? I want a real reason, not an illusion. Lets see what NASA has to say on the subject of Mercury retrograde.