Well Shelley came to visit me one late Saturday night after I got home from a long road trip to visit my son. It had been a difficult visit which didn't end well (not his fault however) and so I was fairly stressed when I did get home...and found Shelley awaiting me
I'd like to say I rushed in and opened her right up but...I didn't
I let the dogs out, got jumped all over a bit, listened to the cat whine that I was gone ALL DAY!!! and promised to beat myself for it, stuffed a walnut in the bird's mouth to shut her up, etc.
THEN I opened her up....
I have to admit it was a bit of a shock at first. I had expected this almost-sacred deck full of vibes and presence...what I felt was was dismay. The tremendous size variation was very offputting, I had expected size variation but this was far beyond what I ever expected. And going from card to card felt jarring due to the diversity in artists; how would I read with this?? So I pm'ed Cardlady, asking what do I do? She was her usual kind self, and recommended I just set it aside for the moment and relax after my harrowing day..(she already knew about it hehe) SO I did!
Best advice ever ♥ While I didn't connect with Shelley in the manner I have connected with my main reading deck, I had the presence of mind to sit back and THINK about what I should expect out of a deck of cards that had all its members chosen for it in an almost random manner. I decided what I really should have expected was a friend. And, as a friend, I would invite her into my life, show her what I was about, and hope to send her to her next stop with more good vibes and plenty of love
And so, that's what I did.
Well I had a fairly sedate week; it's getting to be winter here. Cold, but not yet pretty...so all the fun summer stuff is over with, but the winter play hasn't started yet! So I stayed indoors with her.
The first photo shows Shelley meeting some of my African Violets -- I'm a very big African violet fancier, and have a 6 foot tall 5-shelf setup of them. African violets are wonderful plants that are protective, and also promote spirituality in the home. They also bring cheer in the winter months where there seems to be hardly any light and the skies are all gray, with their gorgeous blooms ♥
I also went ahead with the reading I'd planned on doing for my dog, Lilah. She is 17 years old, and in the twilight of her time with me -- I have been putting off doing what I must do, but other family members have gotten firm with me about it. I needed to read about it, and try to reconcile myself with what is coming. Originally I'd intended to do the entire reading with Shelley. When I realized I would be unable to focus correctly due to my own inadequacy in dealing with her minor issues, I decided I would begin the reading with my main deck as usual, but then pull the specific cards that matched from Shelley. In this way I could gain additional insight without having to worry about glaring differences in card size or style
This worked VERY well and I highly recommend it
I don't really want to share the reading, though, because it was very personal and a bit emotional, so just take my word for this bit okay?
On Tuesday I will be hand-passing Shelley on to BlueDragonfly; we live in neighboring towns. I may or may not get out tomorrow, depending if it's raining again/still, but if so I will take her with me and post more!
, Shelley and I set out for home. 
