Hello, Darlings,

I had a gay ol' time in recording this podcast episode. I hope you'll enjoy it. 

I wanted to approach this in another way, other than the traditional type of celebrity gossip, we've heard no end. 

Cheers!

Most Affably Yours Til My Next Swim, Raquelxxx

 

My Tasha Tudor Lifestyle Of Slow Living And Establishing My True North

I laced up my black working boots, layered my underclothes (petticoat, bloomers but no corset today,) and placed my shawl upon my shoulders. I then gathered my basket of painting goodies and followed the cow path to my little chicken coop that now rests at my folks to spend the morning hours with my beloved chickens and one rooster. May, my one and only Plymouth Rock loves to hop onto my back and perch. I don't mind just so long as she doesn't make a mockery of me by doing her business. I've been lucky thus far, so no worries as of yet. Let's hope to keep it that way.

I enjoy taking notes of my hens; believe it or not, if you haven't had chickens as pets, they are quite personable. I always tell my relations, I cherish my hens and rooster for they are my golden geese (smile). I write stories about them, and profit immensely. It doesn't seem an equal trade. I'm fairing far better than my barnyard fowl. They do, indeed have splendid lives. They are cared for superbly well; I nurture them as if I would like unto my children. (Well, you know I mean, I've yet to display real clothing on them, only in my stories of anthropomorphism). They receive quite the luxury and will never be disposed of, although my older three no longer lay eggs. I assure you they will all be taxidermied when they have been laid to rest from biological casualties. I would have taxidermied Polly (my black Austrolorp and most favourite); however, the graphic way Polly was destroyed gave me no option for her preservation. I like taxidermy, and it was quite a popular recreation in the Victorian era. I want to taxidermy my pets because I plan to exhibit them sufficiently to display my legacy as an author and illustrator at The Carter Settlement bequest.

Do you care for taxidermy? I know Tasha Tudor and Beatrix Potter both enjoyed the idea similarly. To me, it's another form of art and preservation. Do you recall Tasha had a freezer full of casualties that she would semi defrost and pose them for painting? My most favourite was her Edgar Allen Crow (black crow) that she'd place atop her Christmas tree each year instead of an angel. Tasha was such a delight. I suppose that's why I adore her so immensely. Ever since I was in my teens, I've dreamt of living as Tasha, and now it's come to be.

I first was introduced to Tasha at the age of 13 or so. I'm nearly 50 (well, next year, I shall be), and I was captivated by her life, so I set out to become like her in many ways, I think I've become quite successful at it. The conundrum that I see women face in not realising their imaginations into displayed measures. Women compare and evaluate their lives based on others' acceptance. It seems so often they snatch a hoe handle on their desire. Still, then when confronted with real-life and living in the tangible world, they begin to wilt in reluctancy. This is only because of one's wavering confidence. Precisely why I created a cosy place to land; my blog. In travelling to my blog, It is a happy place for women (and men too). The world is in forlorn shortage of a diverse site of acceptance and tolerance of differences in one another. My blog is that place for many. I know it's received this way because I have numerous women visit me and send me emails of encouragement and feel-good sentiments. This is how the world is when women stand alone firmly (first and foremost) and then gain enough personal strength to stand alone in the world. This is the secret to creating a revolution of beautiful ladies who are loving, bold, confident and kind. And the virtues I just rattled off do not equate to being a particular, race or creed. It's merely a woman that loves dressing and living her life in the olden ways, with a mindset of awakening. We all must come to at some point in life, an awakening. A woman's requirements must be the priority, and that doesn't mean either-or, it means that she must place her desires, needs, and love of self before anyone else's. Can you imagine the impact this would make on our world? Influential women are sharing their truth with confidence and delight. Now that is a phenomenon! 

Raquel's Book 

I would be delightfully honoured if you would impose my name in the suggestion bin of your local bookstore, and inquire of your friends to do likewise. Perhaps query of them to sponsor a presentation/signing, or as your library to choose my book as a Community Reads Project. I also am available for author readings or as a lecturer instructing women with the pragmatic keys to creating a life they joyfully and creatively love.

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx

Cool As A Cucumber With An Unwavering Spirit

As the dew softly layover and enveloped the burnt green grass from the last evening's frost, my darling husband and I tucked ourselves in his chariot and made a route to see if we could nab all of our favourite spots for collecting our list of antiques. You see Jeffrey Shawn, and I have an agenda. It's one that profoundly entails all of the beautiful collected antiques we will utilise when we have landed in our forever home; a proper Victorian manor house on 40 plus acres. We haven't given birth to a time threshold, nor do we make haste in creating a detailed plan of how we will acquire such a vast desire as it's presently been cared for, THAT, we know for sure. The only requirement to receive a desire accomplished lies in the imagination. There is no need to inquire of anyone or anything outside of one's own wonderful human imagination. It's a technique I practice, and it works without fail. I feel obliged to teaching you how to do it for yourself in my next post. Jeffrey Shawn and I allow for the unfolding to naturally transpire as it's been fulfilled at the perfectly appointed hour. It is done! I'm am thankful beyond measure and have an unwavering knowing all that I desire I have received. One must entrust the process and not lean to understanding earthly imagining or anyone outside of oneself in fulfilling a desire. I have mastered how to manifest using the forces of God state consciousness and my power.

All that is required to manifest every desire is a knowing with solidarity. I'll share more in-depth in another post as I feel I can't do it justice with but a few excerpts. I feel happy with this knowledge in which today I possess because, for so many years, I was frustrated and felt powerless. The reason for this is that I was raised to believe (in theology) that to receive desires one must rely on outside sources, believe that all things come once in alignment or that desires were reliant upon another being (or a God in heaven). I was led to think If I wanted something, I would have to be worthy to receive, and that wasn't always a sure thing. What an untruth and so disempowering. Nowadays, I know that I AM the operant power. There is no one outside you nor or I in receiving our desires. Golly gumdrops! What an entirely potent and remarkable aspect to know! This knowledge has changed my life completely! I have been successful at every whim, and I will continue to only ascend from here. I will share more throughout this here ol' blog, as time progresses, (with accompanying videos) so you can look forward to those decadent delights.

I'm not sure that I had confided in you about Jeffrey Shawn and my ideas on finding a substantial piece of land with a Victorian or not, because, well truthfully, we hadn't pinpointed what we desired when we first moved in with my folks a year ago. It's been a bang-up with time proportions passing. It seems time has so quickly ratified. I can hardly believe it. It's been lovely spending time caring for my folks. I had moved abroad at age 18 and have been taken off since. I had always longed to live back in our little home town (Jeffrey Shawn too), but I was in my previous marriage, and our small province was never on the roster of places as an option of living nor raising a family which distressed me no end. I learned to push down my deepest ambitions, as that seemed the only way to keep peace within my relations. If I've learned anything, (and I've learned quite a lot) it's that being financially independent makes me feel so fortunate, and I love the sovereignty it brings me. Indeed, I've heard someone once say to me that being financially independent isn't always a useful thing for a marriage in which I refuted, "oh I wholly disagree". When a woman is equally (or above) the same money stream as her mate, it gives way for authenticity in a relationship. I am so happy because it frees my soul and Jeffrey and I know that we are together because we adore each other and not for some internal strategy of financial kickback. I frequently see it with women, and after my divorce, I had many women seek advice because this topic is ubiquitous in relationships. Often the women would confide in me that they are only in their current marriage because there are benefits of less financial struggle. I ask the question, is that kind of mental anguish worth it long term? No, in my opinion, it is not. However, I'm not one to judge, but I never fail to deliver the truth as I see fit if asked my viewpoint. I speak from experience that my mental state was no longer worth accepting infidelity (decades worth), control, loneliness and several other incompetencies. The superficiality, lack of empathy and respect was no longer sufficient. Wherein I ask you, how many women would remain in a disastrous union if they were financially stable of their own accord?

I would wager that we would begin seeing vast amounts of divorces. And if it's not the financial independence, frequently it's the amount of money the couple has acquired together (an image per se), which makes it rigorous in splitting. Frankly, it comes down to whether the money is more important than ALL other things. Pure and simple. Remove the leverage, and what is the desire? What is happiness worth? When a woman holds all financial abilities; it takes an extremely confident man. Often insecurity rises within men that have been raised in an old fashioned setting. Not always, of course, but I've seen this noticeably among many.

Let us shift now to planting.

Each year I plant cucumbers in our kitchen garden and tuck away numerous jars for future occasions. I put forth many years of bread and butter pickles. Still, my beloved gardener loves dill pickles no end, so when we wedded, I started making him the vinegar Dills, more specifically a knock off version of the Claussen vlassic located in the cold section of the grocers. Jeffrey Shawn is a gardener, and we now reside in Florida, so he will often take the pickle juice for drinking to fend off during those exhaustive work hours.

The simile for "cool as a cucumber" means calm, trusting and unruffled. The phrase originated in the 1700s because cucumbers are one vegetable that has a colder temperature than all the other vegetables.

Last week, I must confess my back was up, and I lost my optimistic footing; the complete opposite of cool as a cucumber, especially when observing our worlds state of affairs presently. I say this because if you are such as me and know the mysteries of the kingdom (now have a complete understanding of universal laws), you, too, see that feeling discord is a disastrous sentiment. What I can attest to is needing many naps to release that kind of inner conflict. I crawled down a few rabbit holes, and it was like dipping my finger in the palm of my hand and tasting poison, hence repeating the process regardless of my dissent—the madness of it all. I'll not do that again, at least I don't intend on it, I can assure you. I'm catching that before it gets that dreadful furthermore. It also created my anaemia to shoot off, and I hadn't dealt with anaemia issues since 2014.

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I should like to ask if you're consciously associating with other happy, optimistic, and unruffled people? Do others in your life continually remind you of all that is erroneous in the world? Is there constant complaints or rumination on their declining health or that of others? Are they convinced the world is going to hell in a handbasket? I pose these questions because folks we surround ourselves with are contagious.

I do not consciously remove myself from others, as there's no need to, the universe has a way of dividing and removing the souls that are not of the equal yoke. If one has noticed those who attempt to yank you down, perhaps it's time to seek a desire for more enriching relationships. Rather more honourably, strive to be a person who offers happiness and calm to everyone you encounter.

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I'm happy to have lovely pickles I put up from the garden last year, and I plan to make another batch in the next week.

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I love cucumbers, and I make a quite lovely cucumber salad, which I learned from my beloved gardener. After a long day of labouring, I thought I'd share the receipt with you a satisfying simple meal to have when one calls for a light supper. I make a loaf of sourdough bread, and honey butter to accompany. A few times I've prepared a piece of fresh-caught fish. Jeffrey Shawn is a darling because he always instantly comes home and cleans his caught fish and packs it away nicely in the freezer when he goes fishing. He packs it so professional it's as if it came from the fishmonger's.

My Beloved Gardener's Cucumber Salad

One cucumber peeled and cleaned (remove the inside flesh) and dice into small chunks.

One tomato cleaned of inside flesh and diced into small chunks.

Scant of green olives

Thinly sliced onion (thinly so it's see-through)

Two peppercinis (pour the juice over the salad) and then dice up

Farmers boy salad dressing

Ranch buttermilk salad dressing

Top with crumbled feta cheese

Salt and pepper

Enjoy!

I chop the remaining vegetable scraps and feed them to our chickens, and they immensely appreciate it.

Are you fairing well?

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx