Rediscovery...

They say when you get older you know yourself better...  sadly that is not always true.  I think I knew more about who I was and where I was heading at 16 than I did at 21.  I hit the "real world" and thought, "Hey, I was a kid, I thought like one, I can't do any of that as an adult."  Well, I was wrong.
1) I wanted to be a missionary living out in Dine Bikeyah. - VERY Do able! 
2) I wanted to use and teach others to use herbs. - Working towards now!
3) I wanted to live off the land.  - Working towards our own homestead!


Why did I stop working towards those last two?  Because well meaning adults told me to grow up and join the "real world", you can survive and provide doing those.

So now the door swung open...  I can see clearly the path that was hiding just beneath the fog of lies.  I can be the woman God created me to be.  My love of Herbs, of the Natural world, of tending to others, and living off the land... they do have a place in the 21st Century.  I am not just some crazy dreamer.  I am the Desert Gypsy Goth/ Gypsy Goth Gal that I am suppose to be.  This backward look, for forward purpose, has been a true blessing... a journey of rediscovery of the Morria I have always been underneath...

~ Morria

We made it!

Never in my life have I been so happy to see warm blankets, a matrices and McDonald's dollar menu food...  are bellies are warm and full.  I have gotten to wrap my arms around Merami in a warm hug.  And now I am crashing out... to tired to left my head.  Good night, y'all!  This gypsy goth gal is going to bed even though it is not yet 6pm, as I have been up for over 24 hrs now...

~ Morria

Battle of Camp Wildcat

 150 years ago today, there was a Battle here at Wildcat Mountain  and the Confederates were camped here at Camp Wildcat.   This ground on which which we are standing, and especially the tree covered mountain and wilderness road behind us are hallowed grounds.  Men fought and died here.  Men died in the military hospital at this very campsite.  Who died for the ideals they believed in.  And who gave us that strong back bone, that right now is all the keeps us afloat.

Today, reenactors are gathered to represent a portion of the battle and remember those who have gone before us, and died to make and keep this land free.  Yes, Robby and I spent most of Saturday and Sunday at the "Battle of Camp Wildcat" Civil War Reenactment.  It was so much a feeling of home to me.  LOL, yes, I use to reenact at Cowtown all the time as a teen, and prior to that would dress the part every museum and living history site I went to.


If I were to say anything to you, my readers, my fellow traveller, gypsy goth, and gypsy friends, and those who read around the world, see if there is any sort of historical reenactment in your area, whether you take part or just watch, tis an experience of a lifetime for all who go.  ^_^  And charish ever minute you have with those you love... as life is fleeting.

~ Morria

New Digs...

 Well, we have made it safely to Kansas after our grand adventure.  Tsalagi, the truck, has served us well!  We made it to my god mother, Donna's, for Thanksgiving... then traveled on to Kansas the next day.  We had a full truck bed.  Everything of value that we owned was in that truck, from my guitar, Truth, to my Victorian Wardrobe, to the mini Navajo rug, from Mo.  Kentucky to Kansas is along drive, but my dad was nice enough to call for a motel just out side of St. Louis for us.

Our new place is an apartment in the back of a church in their basement that they use for charity or special cases.   So as this is an emergency, and no one was using it, they gave it to us.  Sure, it has one small window, red carpet, a bed on pallets on floor... but it is our's for at least 6 months while we get on our feet.  A few room dividers, a coffee table and floor chairs, and I am sure I can make this place feel like home in no time.  A place to think and refocus after this great trauma has be fallen us.
Now, this gypsy goth gal needs to crash into bed and sleep sound for the first time in ages!

~ Morria

Misty Morning

'Tis a gray misty morn, and I am on the Road again!  I am heading out this morning from Chicago to St. Louis, to Columbia, MO, and then to Kansas City.  From Kansas City, it will be on to Wichita via a ride with my Dad.  I got a front top row seat on the Megabus so I have windows on three sides.  All I have with me this journey is my carry on (army green backpack) and purse (the green army bag).  As my little black mp3 player plays the music of my gypsy goth soul, I watch the land scapes change before me... as Chicago gives way to country.

'Tis so hard to leave Robby behind, even just for a week... But to be honest, he will have a blast at Ichthus Festival.   The strange whispers of the wind are like the sound of my heart crying as the wheels of the Megabus carry me farther and farther from my love.  Yet the green of the grass and the trees, both so long unseen, bring comfort to my heart.  Journey onward!

~ Morria

A visit!

Merami and Daddy came to visit!  And they brought stuff!!!  I couldnt be happier.  I get to show Merami and Daddy around town... and now I have my Victorian wardrobe to store stuff in too!  Yeah, yeah... I know, I am a gypsy goth gal who loves the open road and not much stuff... but this is my one furniture piece that I adore from my childhood.  I always longed to have it, and now that I am married it is mine.  LOL!  Merami and Daddy took well to the beach, though Daddy swears he will never ever ever come back to Chicago again.  He hates the big city and the traffic.  Not that I blame him, most parking places are at least $3 a day.  That is why Daddy brought me my bike, Meg, so that I can get around town and not worry about a car.



Now, they are headed back after spending Merami's 62nd birthday in Chicago site seeing.  I got to take her to all the best thrift stores, from Little Thai Town to Unique Thrift to Salvation Army, we hit them all!  I trust it was a good birthday for her.

~ Morria

To Project 12 and Chicago!

So, here we are nearly home to Tennessee after our summer at BABR...  We were resting against our bags at the St. Louis old Union Station, waiting for our bus and the call came.  "We have a room and an opening for you in P12! Can you be here by weekend of the 8-12th?"  Umm...sure.  Thankfully we packed most of our stuff BEFORE leaving for camp, as that gave us 3 days to pack and head out.  After I got off the phone, Robby and I laughed.  So the journey continues....

This gypsy queen and her pirate king have alot of prepping to do.  We have to get our camp clothing washed.  Get our linens stripped and packed.  Call a few friends from around Knoxville and say, "Good-bye." as *la sigh* we wont get a chance to see them in person before heading out.  Oh, wow, so much to think about.  Gotta go!  They just gave the call to load our bus... 12 more hours then Knoxville!

~ Morria

The Road Ahead...

Easy road?  What be it....
Ne'er is my road easy....
Trails and sorrows
Joys and friends.....

Ne'er has been this road easy.
Narrow road! It be mine!

Full of rocks, of sword
Of pain
Yet in the end
A crown be mine
In it's Zion land.
2005 MMH/MMN

Simplicity.....I have hungered for it for years.....studied books.....and all.....and at last I am beginning to take the steps that way.....I realize I have to be at peace inside.....and no longer needing the decorations and stuff around me....to keep my mind at peace......but that peace comes from within and from God....now with that accomplished....I can begin the decluttering of my stuff.....peacefully.....and with joy in my work.

Didean Ranch...

 June 7th, 2005, that is the day the idea for "Didean Ranch" (working title) was born. What does Didean mean?   Nothing less than safe haven, shelter, and refuge!  And that is what this homestead or homestead community will be.  Though we (my friends and I) own not an inch of land, and not one stone is in place, "Didean Ranch" is a reality in the hearts of those who love the ranch.

Our plans our progressing well, though slowly.  I found good info at the library, plus some in my own shelf.  "Back to the Basic's" and "Homesteading" by readers digest are great books, and very helpful. We are unsure if to make it a mini village or just individual ranches, but what ever we do... it will be an adventure.  May haps this is the birth of something a Gypsy Goth Gal could settle at!

~ Morria

Of Bare Feet and Bicycles...

I am a gypsy of sorts... nothing makes me happier than to dash about with my feet bare.  To splash about in the puddles of a summer thunder storm.  To dance in the rain and feel each drop caress my face. Aye, that is what makes this gypsy goth gal dance.

I long for the open road, just me and my bicycle, "Meg".  If it were up to me, I would set off a crossed country just me, "Meg", and whatever I could fit in a bike trailer.  I would stay at churches, visit friends, and just be free.  Would that I were healthier, so that I might do it!

~ Morria

The Gypsy Goth Gal

PEACE....
now that is a word that use to be so easy for me to explain.  Life was good.  I knew where I belonged in those days.  Well, at least in terms of at my church.... took me years to find out I belonged reaching out the the youth.

UNREST...
O, my soul is restless!
I know it now.  I have the restless, wandering spirit of the Irish missionaries and gypsies of old.  I knew by now I would be preparing to leave home.  I knew it when I was 16.  I wish I had listened to myself better.  LOL! Oh to wander the open lands, going where He sends me!

PAINED...
The Sorrow and Loss of the past year, the Year of Sorrow, have left it's bitter scars.  Death, losses, unwise choices, bitter wounds, and lessons learned. I may not be strong yet, but I am stronger from these trials.  I am not praying for this life to be easy, just for the strength to make it.

ACTION...
With this all summed up, I am starting to really prepare and pack today.  My goal? That I might be able to give up  all that which is no longer needed or useful for the journey.  My time in Kansas is over... No matter how much longer I physically stay, I will live as if I am a visitor, a gypsy goth on the way to their next stop.

Father to You this Life, I commit!

~ Morria