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 Solace Goodeve, one of Mother Nature’s favorite Fae Warriors, is assigned to Earth to help save the planet. Reptile invaders, disguising themselves as humans, are waging a takeover—and Mother is mad enough to eat asteroids. Solace is ready to prove herself as a warrior, but having a human for a partner is not in her battle plan—even if the man is rugged, ripped, and ready for action. 

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Fae Warrior, bliss Goodeve, fires up her empath skills to help Mother Nature battle the Reptiles invading Earth. But when it comes to her new human partner, Nathaniel Winston Calhoun, Bliss would rather make love than wage war. A man of mystery, he even makes horn-rimmed glasses and a white lab coat look sexy. 

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           HAPPY HOLIDAY READING

Julbocks / Yule Goaties

This Christmas season, my goats Tanzie and Tillie, 

insisted I do a blog post on

      Julbocks or Yule Bucks. 

         They pointed out the donkeys ruled the manger scene, the goose was famous for Christmas dinner (too bad for the goose, likewise the turkey on Thanksgiving), bunnies, ducks, and lambs had Easter, and doves had Valentine’s day---but goats get squat. So here goes.  

Back in the old days, the really old days, when Europeans                

hadn't heard about Christianity, the pagan folk celebrated holidays based on the wonders of nature, and their connections to harvesting and celestial events. One such ceremony involved a goat made of straw...a Julbock or Yule Buck.  
  








 Swedish folk-customs speak of it, and goats are common in Norse folklore in general. 
Apparently Thor had two favorite goats named Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder. The figure of Father Winter also tended to be linked to Thor or Odin (often called, The Gift-bearer). And all this took place before the Christian figure of Saint Nickolas came on the scene. 



The goat is usually the the companion of the Tomte, a small mythological creature associated with the winter solstice, no taller than three feet, he has a long white beard, with a conical hat of red or some other bright color. Very much like a Gnome, the Tomte or the Tomten, are also known as gift bearers. He travels with goats to deliver his presents.

                                                                                                        

Then there is the Norwegian custom called Julebukking, where people wear goat masks and go from door to door surprising their neighbors who receive them and try to identify who is under the disguise.



                        Giving Julebukkers treats and drinks is a tradition.

Once identified and the food is consumed, they move on to the next house. Another tradition requires that at least one person from the visited household join the band of Julebukkers and continue to the next household.



  As an offering to the gods, the straw Julbock is burned in the bonfires that are set during this season. Some people write messages to the gods on a piece of paper, and place them in the red ribbon around the straw goat's neck.

                       I hope the fire department is standing by....   

    So as we celebrate Yule, the Winter Solstice, and Christmas, don't forget the contributions made by goats. I better go print this out. My guys offered to proofread and edit a copy as they do enjoy a tasty bit of paper. 

      
                                 

Bliss Fae Warriors Book 2 New Release

                       

             When he discovered what she was,

                     he wanted her even more!

   Fae Warrior, Bliss Goodeve, fires up her empath skills to battle the Reptiles invading Earth. But when it comes to her new human partner, Nathaniel Calhoun, Bliss would rather make love than wage war. A man of mystery, she wonders what he's hiding behind the horn-rimmed glasses and white lab coat. 

    Nate admits to being a brainiac, at least that’s the persona he shows the outside world. If his boss discovers his troubled past, life could get complicated. The bad boy in Nate wants the beguiling Bliss in the worst way. Yet, the scientist inside him calculates high odds of being left brokenhearted.    

   After one Reptile goes rogue, it’s up to Bliss, Nate, and an alien critter named Noodge to bring him down. But time is running out, and things are heating up—especially romantically. Bliss is all for living in the moment. But will that be enough for Nate?

               Discover Bliss' story here... 

E-book or paperback at

 AMAZON
THE WILD ROSE PRESS
BARNES & NOBLE


                         In case you missed  
          Solace: Fae Warriors book 1

Fae Warriors: six foot tall and kick-ass gorgeous, 

they make love as hard as the fight.

                 
  4 1/2 Stars from Kam's Place.  Read review

E-book or paperback at 

 AMAZON
 THE WILD ROSE PRESS 
 BARNES & NOBLE 

               (Although part of a trilogy, each book stands alone.)

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Don't give up the ship

                 

We've all heard this phrase bandied about, sometime accompanied by a pat on the shoulder or a hug. But the true meaning meant to defend the ship until you were dead or mortally wounded or the ship went down. Sounds a little bit more impressive from that standpoint. 

During the War of 1812, Captain James Lawrence, commanding the 49-gun frigate U.S.S. Chesapeake, was attacked off Boston Harbor by the British ship H.M.S. Shannon.

In less than 15 minutes, Lawrence's crew was overwhelmed. Mortally wounded, Lawrence shouted, "Tell the men to fire faster and not to give up the ship; fight her till she sinks!" True to his words, every officer in the Chesapeake's chain of command fought until they were either killed or wounded.

  

In honor of Captain Lawrence, a group of women stitched the words "DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP" into a flag that was presented to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who commanded a new ship named after Captain Lawrence in the summer of 1813.




 Perry and the U.S.S. Lawrence went on to capture an entire squadron of British ships in the Battle of Lake Erie, although not before every officer on the ship, except for Perry and his 13-year-old brother, was either killed or wounded.

Lawrence's words became the motto of the U.S. Navy, which has since named numerous ships in his honor, and Perry's flag now hangs in a place of honor at the United States Naval Academy.

The Veteran Exempts flag of 1812

  The Veteran Exempts, was a group made up of veterans of the American Revolution who were otherwise exempt from military service because of their age. By forming the Veteran Exempts they enabled the younger militia men to go off to war while the older men stayed to protect the local settlements. 

                Their group was formed in July of 1812.

  Their impressive flag, started with the Don't tread on me wording, and the coiled snake with the Colonies represented by 13 stars, and 13 rattles in the snake's tail. But that wasn't enough for these guys. Thy will be done, was added giving it a religious overtone. And then wow, the skull and crossbones, very intimidating, and seemingly quite the opposite. 

They participated in the Battle of Plattsburgh, on lake Champlain, in Sept. of 1814. It is reported Captain Melvin L. Woolsey received the flag of truce that the British sent on shore before the main landing.     
   Unfortunately, other activities are poorly noted, but it is most likely the Veteran Exempts turned out for other alarms. 

The Gadsden and Culpeper flags

As Sheldon Cooper would say, "Let's have fun with flags!" 
                         
          The rattlesnake was the favorite animal emblem of the Americans even before the Revolution. In 1751 Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette carried a bitter article protesting the British practice of sending convicts to America. The author suggested that the colonists return the favor by shipping a cargo of rattlesnakes to England, which could then be distributed in the noblemen's gardens.                 

The Gadsden Flag

In 1775, Colonel Christopher Gadsden was in Philadelphia

representing his home colony of South Carolina at the
Continental Congress, where he presented this new naval flag to the Congress. It became the first flag used by the sea-going soldiers who eventually would become the United States Marines.

This flag first saw combat under Commodore Hopkins, when Washington's Cruisers put to sea for the first time in February of 1776 to raid the Bahamas and capture stored British cannon and shot. It was raised by John Paul Jones.

Although replaced by the Jack flag (fifty white stars on a blue field) the First Navy Jack was used in recent history during the

United States' Bicentennial year, 1976, when all commissioned naval vessels were directed to fly it while moored or anchored for the entire year. In 1980, Secretary of the Navy directed that the warship or fleet auxiliary with the longest active status shall display the First Navy Jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive service. Then the flag will be passed to the next ship in line (not including the USS Constitution.)

The Culpeper Minutemen (a militia group that formed around 1775 in the district near Culpeper, Virginia) were inspired by the Gadsden flag, but took it a step further. Their company flag portrayed the coiled snake with the famous “Don't Tread On Me” slogan, but the minutemen decided that was not enough. They raised another defiant fist in the air and added the message “Liberty or Death” to their flag.     

Recently the Gadsden and Culpeper flags have come under criticism by leftist groups who see it as a radical symbol or a threat, rather than a symbol of freedom. The Navy Seals still wear the patch proudly on their uniforms. 

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Dushanbe Tea House: Filled with History, Myth and Romance!

Boulder, Colorado and Dushanbe are sister cities. Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan. The name, means Monday, and is derived from the day of the week on which a bazaar was held in the village. 


  The area we now know as Tajikistan was once at the eastern periphery of the Persian Empire. Situated a bit south of the Silk Road trails, the area has seen invasions by Alexander the Great, Mongols, Arabs, Turks, and Russians. Today, Tajikistan, with a population of 7 million, is bordered to the east by China, to the north by Uzbekistan, and to the south by Afghanistan.

                                
                               
 Forty artisans from Tajikistan hand made the tea house over a

period of two years, took it apart, and then packed the pieces into about 200 crates to be shipped to Boulder. The trades used by the artisans were passed from generation to generation. No power tools were used in the original construction of the tea house.

Inside, are 12 intricately carved cedar columns. These, were sent from Tajikistan with the original gift. No two columns are alike.

                  FOUNTAIN OF THE SEVEN BEAUTIES        
 In the central pool of the Tea house there are seven hammered copper sculptures created by artist Ivan Milosovich. The life sized sculptures are based on a 12th century poem, “The Seven Beauties the 4th poem of Khamsa. 

                                                                                                   
     In the middle ages, the number “SEVEN” was considered a sacred number. Both mythological and scientific beliefs of the day held that the world was divided into seven countries, there are seven planets, weeks are divided into seven days, and the spectrum is composed of seven colors.
                            
   In this story, our hero sees portraits of the seven daughters of the continents, and loses his heart to them. Later, when he becomes the Shah of Iran, he sends for the seven women and marries them. He has the renown architect, Shidda, build a palace with seven cupolas, each colored a different color with a corresponding planet. On the proper day of the week, Bahram would dress himself in the appropriate color, and go to visit the wife that corresponded with the day. Each woman would relate to him a story from her native land and praise the attributes of her own color.  

   The poem inspires honesty, virtue and kindness, while denouncing arrogance, villiany, greediness and treachery. And so, the princesses’ tales serve not only to entertain the Shah, but to ponder life and consider the secrets on the universe and human nature.

Recenly, my sisiter and I had the joyful experience of lunching again at the Dushanbe Tea House. Passing through the doors is a step back in time. Menu selections include various delights inspired by the Far East, and your tea comes with an egg timer so it will be properly steeped. 

The tea selection is at least six pages long, I chose Russian Caravan a longtime favorite. Its name originates from the 18th century camel caravans facilitating the transcontinental tea trade from India, Ceylon and China to Europe via Russia. "It took at least half a year to make the six-thousand-mile journey from the Chinese border to Russia, and the voyage was harsh. Anecdotal evidence had it that during the camel caravan journeys, the teas, unloaded for the night, took on the smoky flavor from the nearby campfires.

                                What a beautiful afternoon.
    Tea House hours/menu etc. http://boulderteahouse.com/