2017 is a #1 year...

To celebrate the coming year, which carries the numerological weight of a "1," I decided I wanted to do something new and adventuresome to set the tone for "new beginnings," which is the energy for this new year.

2+0+1+7=10/1

(Numerology is an ancient science of evaluating birth dates, birth names, starting of a business, etc. and the link will take you to a place with lots of details about the coming year.)

The camel, "Eli," lives in Port Angeles and is available
for events where camel rides are an option.

The "new" thing I did was to ride a camel and to attend an Arabian Nights Murder Mystery dinner, neither of which I had ever done before.

A friend asked me "What did the camel ride feel like?" I told her that it was just as I had imagined it might be... like sitting on a rock while an enormous bowl of gelatin was being moved from side to side.

Because the temperatures were hovering in the 30's I was double-duck downed so that sausage on top of the camel is really me, not Omar's tent.

Other riders were younger or more gutsy or both and were dressed in the costume of the evening so they look as if they are supposed to be riding a camel.

"Samyiam," or "Deniz," a trader with the caravan.

The fellow in orange was also celebrating his birthday, so he was over the moon when everyone starting singing "Happy Birthday" as he went around, but the camel (named Eli) was less enthusiastic about the raw choral delivery.

My character was "Cantara," the fortuneteller (fitting, as some of my friends noted), and I tried to find costume elements to fit that role.

"Zahrah" is in the middle, discovering there's a plot afoot.

Jenna Rose, a former roommate and good pal, was "Zahrah," a young woman shopping in the marketplace. She had a friend with some belly-dancing costumery so she was quite colorful and it fit her, too, as she does personal shopping as her business, though not generally with bells and hip jewelry.

Moi, as "Cantara" with Kasuni, a caravan
guard, wondering what his future was.

At the bottom is a group shot of the folks who came to the event, and we all had a great time trying to solve the mystery of who killed the prince.

What was quite entertaining was that each person had a script and a few folks really took their roles very seriously (including Dr. Marschall, NP, as the character "Jinan" who claimed his herbs were miraculously healing stuff)!

Following the mystery event, everyone enjoyed a potluck dinner and some creative desserts. And there was a drumming circle which was pretty lively, but by then I was ready to head home for a quick refresher before going to a dance.

However, once I got home I received a message about the death of my son-in-law's sister and although it was expected, it did not feel to me like I wanted to go and dance and so I chose to be quiet, keeping my energy focused.

As 2016 came to an end, I realized that there had been many 'journeys' over some rough terrain at times, but I was not beset upon by thieves and charlatans, nor forced to beg for food in the marketplace and from time to time my palm was crossed with silver, so all in all, it was a pretty good year. But 2017 is going to be even better...

What can I say? People were tired of listening to the
fortuneteller giving them bad advice and putting them at
risk with the guards... could not get them to focus.