Blessings for the New Year

I was taking a walk near the laguna.  I love this area and it is a great place to go after work to clear my head.  I was enjoying the stark landscape of winter and noticing the hint of green carpet starting to sprout from recent rain.  I came upon a small group of wild felines, gazing at me and but not coming toward me.  I stopped to watch them and noticed a women up ahead of me moving her arms up, down, around and talking out loud.  I wasn't even sure what she was doing, but as I have stated before - after you have lived in Sebastopol for a while, you are unfazed by these things.  She came closer but I wasn't sure she saw me.
After a minute or two, she stopped and looked in my direction.  "We are starting a new year's ritual."
There was no one else around.  I did not know who she meant by "we."  For a few seconds I actually thought she meant her and the feral cats.  But she stepped in the opposite direction of the cats, and I concluded she meant her and the trees.  Or maybe her and the water fairies.  I wasn't sure.
A moment later two men came around the bend and I realized the three of them were together.  I must admit, I shifted from innocent stroller to trolling blogger.
"What would you like to manifest for the new year?" the woman asked me.  (In this part of the world, people talk a lot about manifesting.)
"Oh, leave her alone," one of the men said in a friendly voice.  "She is just out taking a walk."
I asked what they wanted to manifest.  We chatted about new year's resolutions which included meditation goals, healthy eating and spending less time on the computer.  The most memorable was one of the men saying during 2014 he wanted to ecstatic dance in every major city on the west coast. 
As I went to continue on my walk, one of them said, "Blessings for a prosperous New Year.  And by the way, we lost our friend on stilts."
I half-laughed, as I thought he was joking.  Then I realized they were serious.  "You lost him?"
"We don't know where he went off to.  If you see him, tell him we are over this way," the woman requested.
"All right," I replied.  "No problem."
"He has blond hair and a shirt with a picture of an eagle on it."
"Okay."  I nodded.  "But I believe the stilts will give him away."


Guest contributor, Jennifer, performing at the Goddess Crafts Fair:
"We performed an act as Orishas.  I was the Orisha Oya.  The Orisha of change, hurricanes and tornadoes. When it was my turn to do a solo I danced with a whisk.  I turned in circles and screamed at the top of my lungs.  Yes, I scared the children of Sebastopol."

Favorite line of the week:
"I'm sorry, did you say you needed more chi?  Or more chai?"