Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

urns

Big Dogs

akita

Pet owners who favor the larger breeds will often choose our hand-painted ceramic Wolf Urn. Earlier this week, an Akita owner requested this urn style.

wolf urn

The problem? The Wolf urn only comes in two sizes, a large 200 cubic inch and a small keepsake size. We offer a similar style pet urn featuring various breeds with a capacity for larger dogs 85-120 pounds, but the clients are sold on the wolf urn. Recently we added two affordable alloy style urns that will accommodate up to 85 pounds. But for dogs of this size, the choices are limited.

On a side note, a Greyhound owner mentioned that the Greyhound was the only breed of dog mentioned in the bible.

Well, I had to know more. Yes, it’s true the Greyhound is specifically mentioned in the bible, (Proverbs 30:29-31, King James Version):

There be three things which go well, yea,
Which are comely in going;
A lion, which is strongest among beasts and Turneth not away from any;
A greyhound;
A he-goat also.

It’s all in the translation: The Hebrew phrase translated as “greyhound” literally means “girt in the loins.” This probably was considered by translators the most appropriate English term to describe the ancestor of the greyhound. It also didn’t hurt that the Greyhound was popular with the sixteenth century court of King James. (Source: courtesy of http://www.agreyhoundswish.org/hist_bible.htm)

Biblical references to dogs are not favorable, certainly not admired and loved as in our culture.

Pardon My Dust

dorthy parker

Over the holiday weekend we caught an old favorite, “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle” with Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dorthy Parker, and was reminded of the author’s tragic ending.

Four suicide attempts, no heirs, her will was simple: she left her literary estate to Dr. Martin Luther King. Parker was cremated and her ashes sat on a shelf at the crematory for six years.

A year after Dorthy’s death, Dr. King was assassinated and the Parker estate rolled over to the NAACP. Meanwhile, her ashes had been mailed to her attorney’s office where the box resided in a filing cabinet for 15 years.

In 1988, someone figured out that Mrs. Parker’s ashes were unclaimed, New York tabloids ran stories and readers sent in letters about what should be done with the dust. The NAACP stepped in and took the box and dedicated a memorial garden at the national headquarters in Baltimore, and finally interred the ashes there.

dorthy parker memorial

source: dorthyparker.com

The Wonder of the Interweb

post secret

It doesn’t happen often, thank goodness. But occasionally, we’ll get an order from a client who is new to the wonderment of the internets. They heard they could get a good deal, in this case…a sensitive purchase, like a cremation urn. Bargains abound, so they set up a juno account, go to the library and jump on the information superhighway.

Shop a little, make a purchase, give conflicting shipping information and then disappear into cyber space with no contact information.

In the interest of serving you, dear client, do you prefer shipment to Florida or New York? Help me out, could you swing by the library or hop on a computer at work and check your email? Maybe leave a phone number so I can call you?

We pride ourselves in a speedy turnaround, and our families appreciate this service. Most inexperienced computer users will call, and frankly, sometimes it’s faster to pick up the phone.

Two months later, client does a little detective work and rings me up. Purchase was paid for two months ago and they haven’t received the item.

Well that’s odd! Have you checked your email? No?

Still clueless.

Thank you for letting us serve you.

Anubis Egyptian Pet Urn

anubis tattoo

Our Anubis pet urn is back in stock after a brief absence. This funeral urn is a replica of a canopic jar and holds 90 cubic inches. Too bad these styles are not available in a size to handle adult remains, we get several requests for the larger capacity.

Egyptian urns for ashes

Dog lovers tend to favor this cremation urn style.

anubis egyptian urn

Early in Egyptian history, Anubis was a god of the dead. Anubis had three important functions. He supervised the embalming of bodies. He received the mummy into the tomb and performed the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and then conducted the soul in the Field of Celestial Offerings. Most importantly though, Anubis monitored the Scales of Truth to protect the dead from deception and eternal death.

The god of embalming is probably associated with the jackal due to the habits of jackals to lurk about tombs and graves. One of the reasons the early Egyptians sought to make their tombs more elaborate was to keep the bodies safe from the jackals lingering about the graves. It is only natural therefore that a god of mummification would be connected with them. By worshiping Anubis, the Egyptians hoped to invoke him to protect their deceased from jackals, and the natural decay that unprotected bodies endure.

Egyptian god Bastet is also included in our Egypt urn collection.

Urn Garden

Goddess of Cats and Fire, Bastet is Back!

One of the experiments we conducted in the garden this year was the launch of our Egyptian Collection. We try not to be slaves to our own tastes, but admittedly we’re crazy for all things Egyptian (except for cobras and poison asps) and it seemed like a good fit.

The Bastet and Anubis canopic jar style pet urns have been a popular selection with our families and both styles been sold out for several weeks now. Bastet is now back in stock and appeals to the cat lovers. Makes sense because Bastet was the goddess of cats, fire, home, and pregnant women.

bastet canopic jar

Bastet had a split personality and was both gentle and docile, but could quickly turn into an evil kitty and slaughter her enemies.

According to the Greek historian, Herodotus, festivals for Bastet were held in April and May at Bubastis. Boat-loads of men and women would sail the Nile shaking rattles and blowing horns, dancing, and disturbing the peace. Jeering at the crowds along the banks. When the Egyptians finally reached the festival destination, the party really got started! Kicking it off with sacrifices, massive wine consumption and the largest orgy in the Mediterranean. Herodotus said “more wine is consumed than during the whole of the rest of the year.” Good times!

In addition to Bastet and Anubis, other pet urn styles in the Egyptian collection include a Pharaoh and Horus version.