... from those who not only want the controls to be loosened, but who want Islam to have a greater role in society. At the very least there are those who wish to have the freedom to wear religiously defined clothing/accessories. The Eastern Orthodox Church, would like some freedom to train priests, etc." More:Ponderings on a Faith Journey: Penitents Compete and the Future of Turkish Secularism

Okay. Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions. I'm going to leave the banner-less family picture up for a while. I have a personalized picture in the making so I'm going to probably be experimenting around for a little while (the next 2 or 3 weeks) with that header to get it just the way we like to then leave it that way for a much longer time.Tonight I am making pancakes, bacon and ...

I have always enjoyed these days as the weather turns cooler and the outside light shortens a little each day through December. In the midst of spring and summer's warmth and light, I think this year will be different. This year I'll not want the cold and dark which arrives in late autumn. However, by mid-September I am ready... each year... each season. I need these indoor months to ...

Well sometimes things just make you wonder.  Last night I was reminiscing with some residents and we started talking about brown paper packages tied up with string.  When was the last night you saw a brown paper package tied up with string?  Depending on your age you may just think I’m talking about a line in a song but seriously, once a upon a time packages where sent in brown paper and ...

Alone, I sometimes pause and say, "You're in my loving thoughts today." It seems there's no one there, and yet I speak to those I can't forget; Lest, being gone, they do not know I think of them, and want them so! I've always made it a habit, that . . . whenever a person's name pops into my head, I immediately say a little prayer for them. I don't know if it ...

It is the beginning of Samhain today. Tonight I attend the Daughters of the Goddess Womyn's Spiral Dance in Orinda. (come by and say hello if you are there!) This is the end of the cycle of the year. The beginning of the dark, quiet, gestating time of the year when root vegetables, apples, walnuts, and pomegranates are in season. When the weather can't decide to be cold or sunny. When ...