Normally, I Wouldn't Do This

I was going to post the link to the news story, but I decided not to because I think it will just stir more drama. I know there is a slim to none chance that the people who really need to see this post will actually find it, but I need to say something.

When a tragedy occurs, please do not treat real life events as if it is a soap opera designed for your sick entertainment.

Last year, my cousin's boyfriend killed her ex-husband, then killed himself the next day. She is devastated. I assure you, it is not romantic when two men are fighting over you. It is hard enough to deal with a death, so imagine dealing with TWO deaths at the same time AND the families blame you.

The local paper keeps running the story. It's the one year anniversary so the story was on the front page yesterday. There is really nothing else to say. The case is solved and closed, but the media keeps dragging things out like more shocking details are lurking in the shadows. Every time the story runs, the same people go the newspaper's website to post comments. I noticed over half the comments had been removed, so I assume the ex-husband's family is using the comments as a way to assign blame and be nasty.

My aunt broke her back around the time of the murder/suicide and still has not recovered. She is anemic and taking iron shots three times a week. She is 76. Every time this story is on tv, she shuts herself in her house and doesn't answer the phone.

My cousin's daughter has changed schools because she got tired of people asking her why her father got shot.

My cousin has changed jobs. She was in real estate and she couldn't sell houses for people saying, 'Didn't I read about you in the paper?' I wish she would move to another town where she wouldn't be harassed on a nearly hourly basis.

I knew a few more details and people figure I must know something so I am quizzed often. I finally told my father some of it because I am tired of people thinking my cousin caused this mess and I just hope my parents don't say anything to anyone because the last thing I need is my cousin angry with me for betraying her trust.

Please, people, this is causing a huge strain on my family. If you haven't been told everything, you don't need to know. Yes, I have her number, NO, I am not giving it to you. I don't care what you think of her or her lifestyle, keep you opinions to yourself. And for god's sake, please have brains enough to realize that while the media might present the facts, they don't always give all the facts and they are not above presenting material that casts people in a bad light just to sell more newspapers.

Silent Sunday- If I was going to Marry an Englishman- Sexy, Funny & He Cooks!

Preparing for Imbolc

I'm off this weekend and Imbolc is right around the corner, so I've been cleaning. Both mundane and magickal housekeeping. I swept and mopped behind the washer, dryer, and fridge. I burned incense. I washed clothes. I washed dishes. I cleaned out the refrigerator. I started cooking.

I've been thinking about what Imbolc means to me. I'm starting to see it as awakening in a cleansed state. As being reborn, becoming better. The Goddess is coming, I need to get ready.

Over the winter (not that we've had much coldness. Damn global warming.) I've been planning. I think Imbolc is the refining time, the time when I realize some of my ideas aren't going to work, and I should let them go. I need to be fully aware and ready to work, to make things happen.

It's a time of mystery too, of seeing lots of possibilities and not knowing quite what will happen. It's a time to be surprised, of receiving an extra boon, or having things bloom where nothing was planted, or of having love sweep you off your feet.

Whatever you have been hoping for, now is the time to get it.

Forget Stress, Let's Talk About the Dress

All of these clothes are from the pyramid collection. I had a very hard time narrowing down my favorites. Every time I get one of their catalogs in the mail, I wish I owned a profitable brick and mortar store where I could wear fabulous clothes every day instead of going to my factory job dressed in rags and reeking of hot metal. I'd really like some comments from my male readers. I know there's like a gazillion hot firemen reading my blog, too nervous to follow me, wanting to ask me out. I totally read it in the cards. Or was that what I wanted to see? Hmm. Anyway, I've noticed men and women rarely find the same thing sexy, so I was wondering- are these clothes hot? If enough men say yes, I could justify buying some, instead of filling up page after page in my journal with clippings of things I really want, but would probably never have the chance to wear.

Do You Feel Retro?

Mars is retrograde. I dropped Hecate off at the body shop today and their computer was down. They were utterly and completely lost. It was suggested that I come back later. No! I work 2nd shift and I got up early to come down here, dammit. They guy agreed to write everything down on paper. I thought we were making progress. After filling up a sheet of printer paper, he told me to come back Monday. Huh? I can't leave it here? I've got to get up early again? I called State Farm and guess what? Their computer was down too. While I was on the phone, my mother talked to the body shop guy and started convincing him that I really should leave my truck at the shop. State Farm finally got their computer up, answered my questions, and I was able to make the body shop understand how much of a hassle it was to come back to town. But he didn't say anything about money, so I might be going back later anyway to pay them before they start the work.

Mars is going to be retrograde for a while, like until April, so if you have to deal with an office or paperwork or play telephone tag, I'm sorry. Take a deep breath, remain calm, and push through.

My Poor Baby!

Gad, looks worse in daylight. Hecate is going to the shop tomorrow. I borrowed my father's truck thus avoiding the rental car issue completely.

This truck doesn't have a name because my father doesn't know cars are sentient beings. He thinks they're just machines. Silly man. Since the chevy seems male, I'm thinking of calling him Hagar, as in Sammy.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Without Transportation

This is my truck, Hecate. As you can see, she has a busted lip. A deer ran out in front of me. There are too many deer Alabama. Nothing keeps them in check save for deer hunters and the hunters aren't looking to thin the population, they are looking for the biggest rack so they let a lot of deer walk. When my father was a boy, there were no deer in this area. Somebody decided to reintroduce them. Now it is a challenge to drive anywhere without hitting one. I see deer on the side of the Interstate. It sounds strange, but I85 is an ideal habitat. Hunting is not allowed from the road. Despite the huge number of passing cars, there are no people ambling along the highway. There is plenty of grass and water. The wooded areas are thick and make good hiding places. The Fish and Game Dept. released wolves and panthers a few years ago. I suppose soon I'll be writing about the problem with predators. I'll probably say something along the lines of, you know, we still have too many deer.

There were three deer standing on the side of the road. They were standing in front of a house with a fenced in yard and they couldn't go under or through the fence. I don't know why they didn't jump it. Deer are rather stupid, so this doe ran in front of the very thing that was frightening her- my truck. I tried to stop. I was yelling NO! NO! NO! But alas, she plowed right into me. Thankfully, she hit me instead of me hitting her because if I had, my airbags would have deployed and that's at least a $1,500 repair. I just need a new bumper, head light, and get the hood straightened. The truck is drivable, but it will go to the shop and I'm not sure how I will get around then. I forgot to ask the agent if my insurance company would pay for a rental car. If it wasn't for a piece of the bumper rubbing against my tire, I might not have it fixed because I can't stand driving a car that isn't mine.

My truck is an extension of me on wheels. Hecate is therapy- I drive too fast and sing along with the radio. By the time I get wherever I am going, I feel better. I eat in the truck. Memories are made in cars- I love road trips. I could, if I absolutely had to, sleep comfortably in the truck. I had my first date with Kevin on the same day I bought Hecate. In fact, I was running late, he called thinking I was standing him up, I assured him I was on the way, and I surprised him by pulling up in style, hot chick in a brand new, stickers-still-on-the-windshield, shiny truck. We took Hecate to Panama City for a wedding on the beach. Kevin borrowed the truck when his father had surgery in Birmingham. I have sex in the truck just because it is a fun thing to do. Without Hecate, I am just lost. I never remember all my 'important' stuff. In a few days I will probably be really disappointed when I realize one of my cds in the truck and Hecate is in the shop. Or I might be hunting all over the house for a pair of pliers before I remember my tools are in the truck. Shit, I should probably go get my sunglasses right now.

What really, really bothers me is people invading my personal space. I know mechanics have probably seen it all, but I don't want them going through my cds and laughing at my choice in music. I don't want them to find an old grocery receipt and know what I buy. I don't want my seat or mirrors adjusted. Don't touch the dream catcher hanging from the review mirror. Get out of the glove box, you don't need to look at my maps, and never mind when was the last time I changed the oil. The dagger isn't your business and neither is the little bag of rocks and dried leaves. Aaarrrrggggghhhhhh! I have anxiety just thinking about it!

Silent Sunday- Mermaid

Man Hunting- Open the Door for a Beautiful Woman

I haven't mentioned anything about my search for a new man in a while, so I thought I'd give you an update. Now keep the above picture in mind because someone has been watching me just like that.

First, when I got to work yesterday, one of the men rushed over to open the door for me, which I thought was nice. I like that sort of thing anyway. He was obviously trying to be smooth and cool, but he was nervous and awkward too. He yanked the door open wide and banged it against his foot. I'm sure it would have hurt if he hadn't been wearing steel-toe boots. Really, hit hard enough to rattle the glass. He said he wanted to open the door for a beautiful woman.

I didn't really have anything to say because I don't think of myself as beautiful. Sometimes I don't feel the least bit attractive. Through out my teens, I was told over and over I was ugly so when someone pays me a complement, I don't believe them. It was hard not to argue with him. I work in a welding plant. I wear old clothes that I don't care about in case I get hit with burning sparks. I also wear steel-toe boots, gloves that stink, neon yellow ear plugs, and safety glasses. This is not high fashion.

Since I am dressed for my job, I have to wonder why any of the men notice me. This guy likes my ponytail. I kid you not. I said 'thank you', went through the door and he said, 'You know you have it going on with that ponytail.' I thought my hair looked like a mop dangling under my cap.

In other man issues, I found out the guy who invited me to sit under the pavilion is Anna's cousin and not her husband. But I also found out he dips and EEWWWW! Nasty.

Two more men grin at me like jackasses eating briars. The player moved to first shift, which is a relief. I finally asked Mr. Eyes if was married, he is, but he waves at me all the time. Jeff runs up and tries to talk, but after a question or two he seems utterly tongue tied so he slinks off.

Now- about being watched:

Mr. Dragon. This is the only man that gets me hot and bothered. The others, well, some are okay, but I don't feel any sparks. Mr. Dragon confuses me. I cannot figure him out. He's hot, he's cold, he's attentive, he's ignoring me, he wants to talk, he's not to be found and I finally just gave up. Monday he followed Nene and me out to break and joined in our conversation as if he always hangs out with us. Normally he stand by the door smoking, but now he leans against the rail. And watches me. Nene thinks it's funny. I would think it's funny if it were happening to someone else. Nene thinks Mr. Dragon has noticed the other men showing an interest. I feel like a new toy being passed around. Mr. Dragon goes out of his way to walk past me. He stares at me during break. He watches me walk across the parking lot. Sometimes when I am working, I will look up and see him staring from his job. I don't know how he is getting any work done. He watches me so much that other night I woke up and for a second I thought I saw him standing in the corner of my bedroom. Either he has learned astral projection or I've become so accustomed to him ogling me that I now expect to see him everywhere.

Sheesh.

I've Decided to Break my Rule

I'm a kitchen witch. I do a lot of earth based working involving the mundane world, specifically my home. I use whatever spell ingredients I have on hand. My spells usually involve something I have grown, found in the wild, made by hand, or cooked. Most of my 'spells' are really about planning and trying to align myself with the various energies in my life. I seek balance, not control over spirits. I have a very 'live and let live' approach. On the rare occasions I have been asked to help with ghosts, my first priority was to determine what kind of haunting was occurring and if the people could learn to live with the ghost, not to rush in with banishing spells. Hey, it's the ghost's house too. I don't try to make ghost leave unless they are malicious.

I am of the mind that the whole world would be better if everyone just minded their own business. Just keep you affairs in order, try to be nice, and all will run smoother. I am not likely to join a protest group or march for a cause. I think I have marched just once in my life, a night walk for sexual assault awareness, and I only did that because I was already a volunteer for the rape counseling organization sponsoring the event.

I have never used witchcraft to influence politicians. But I think I'm about to start.

The more I hear about SOPA, the madder I get. I have been online most of the day and most of the sites I visit have something to say about it. I haven't found anyone in support of the bill, which makes me wonder how it got written in the first place. I have tweeted until twitter started running slowly from all the protesting. I have put my name on petitions, something I NEVER do, and I have emailed Alabama Representatives, just to find out their web pages are jammed, too. Good.

Jam 'em up, people! Cause a stir, speak out, be an absolute pest until your congressman agrees to vote your way just so you'll stop bothering him. Then call his office and annoy his staff.

I've got candles to burn. Then I've got to call the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery.

Because Going With the Flow is too Damn Easy

A great many bloggers are protesting today by being silent. Congress wants to censor the Internet, if you have no clue what I'm talking about. Now if Congress wants to censor content/people/blogs/websites (and I think of censor as being silent) then they win when we don't post. So I am doing the opposite- posting and tweeting as much as possible.

I love the Internet. I love its vastness. I love how I can find anything on God's green earth online. I even love how I can find some things online that shouldn't have ever been thought up. The Internet has made me think, wonder, learn, and find out more about the world. The Internet has given me friends, knowledge, a place to rant, and income. I strive to be a better person because I think my blog readers have an ideal version of me in mind and I don't want to let anyone down. I want to be glamorous, smart, funny, artistic, and admirable.

And I love the Internet best because it (almost) free. Okay, I pay for satellite usage. But I don't have to pay to read anyone's site. I used to have BellSouth and I got really annoyed at the CEO because he wanted people to pay for monthly Internet service- and then pay extra to go outside the BellSouth network. Supposedly, under his plan, you could pay more for 'unlimited' web access, or you could get a slightly less restricted plan which let you go to 'approved' sites and pages. In other words, this jackass didn't think you should be able to look at whatever you wanted whenever you wanted. And who the hell is he to determine what is appropriate for me to view? How can he pick which stores are okay for me to make purchases from? I might think Amazon is okay, but they might not be on his network because they didn't pay him enough money. And this is all about money- and control.

The Internet is what the whole world SHOULD be. We should all be allowed to express ourselves. We should be able to search for the best price. I want to read product reviews; please, tell me before I waste money if something is junk. We should be allowed to read the opinions of others. I used to read a quilting blog. I started reading it because it was about quilts, I kept on reading because the quilter wrote a lot of posts about her personal life. I felt a connection. That's what we humans do, we find others of like mind and circumstance to validate ourselves.

I realize some people have concerns. After all, the Internet can be dangerous. You don't really know who is behind the computer. But I've got news for you, the world is a dangerous place and that's why we don't talk to strangers, give out personal information, and we shouldn't be ignorant of what our children are doing online. If you're a parent, SUPERVISE. The computer is not a baby-sitter, you lazy idiot.

Vices abound on the Internet such as gambling and porn. But know what? Those things were already in existence before the 'net. Online gambling is just the latest form in addiction evolution. Even if you took all the sex off line it would still exist and people would still find it. The people who spend hours on those sites already have a problem and they will still have a problem if the computer was taken away. They weren't corrupted by technology, they were already corrupt and imbalanced. They just found an easy outlet to get their fix. If the Internet was gone they'd be at the racetrack or the whorehouse. Nobody is suddenly cured of an addiction when the source is removed because the reason that caused the addiction in the first place was NOT resolved. A sex addict needs therapy to find out why he finds it gratifying to degrade women.

The Internet is my life. I pay bill online. I shop online. I browse for books. I search for information. Some things are better in virtual form. I love jigsaw puzzles, but after I put one together I rarely want to do it again. I found a puzzle site that not only has thousands of puzzles for me to play, but I can create my own. Same thing with ezines- read the articles, no paper waste. Internet groups allow me to connect with people without having to leave my home; it's a time saver because I don't have to get dressed and burn gas driving somewhere.

I have a virtual shop on Etsy. It's in the ideal location- exactly the customers I want to reach will visit. There is no electric bill or rent. No sales display to set up. No worries about someone breaking or stealing my product. Nothing gets dirty. If someone makes a snide comment, I won't ever hear it, unlike a flea market booth where people criticize your work to your face. I don't have to be a pushy salesman. I set up my shop and go mind my business.

You might be thinking I have an extreme reaction to bills that won't be restricting all this. You are probably thinking that surely life will continue on much as it always has and we will still have our twitter and flikr. Maybe. Maybe not. What if your family vacation photos are banned because that bikini you have on is considered too revealing. What if your post is deleted because you said your husband is sexy and anything dealing with sex is not allowed. What if you want to tweet about your boss' inappropriate behavior and your ISP doesn't allow negative comments about a member or affiliate. If we have to start watching every little thing we say, how long will it be before we completely loose our voice?

All I Wanted Were the Pinking Shears

Those are big Wally World bags. Any time I ask for something, Mom sees a chance to clean out her house.

Contents of bag one.

Plus, all this thread.

Bag 2. More fabric, a tote bag of thread, and a Christmas tin of sewing notions.

This is the top of Mom's old thread holder. It is made of flimsy plastic, it only holds small spools, and it is not easy to get the thread back out. The thread is stored by dropping it into slots, so it is only convenient if the color you want is on the top or the bottom. If you want something in the middle, you got to take out a bunch of spools to get what you need. I think most sewing organizers are designed by people who have never actually used a needle.

Contents of the tin.

And yes, I did get the pinking shears.

I went to the big box craft store today to look at pattern books. I haven't looked at a pattern book in 30 years. My mother used to make my clothes, until I figured out I wasn't dressed like the other kids. We spent what seemed like hours in the fabric store. First, I got to pick out the fabric. That was the only fun part. Then my mother would look through every book the store had in search of just the right dress. I had to sit beside her and not move or talk. Every time I twitched, she'd say, 'Shhh!'

As I recall, pattern books were big, boring, heavy things with a long list of meaningless numbers. I flipped one open today and wow! Now there are patterns for t-shirt-like tops and purses to match. There are period costumes, faux fur lined house boots, curtains and pillows, plus things for your pet, like those really expensive car seat covers. (I seriously need one because Labrador is a fancy name for four-legged drooling, sloppy, shedding, farting mess.) You can make prom dresses, aprons, halter tops, jackets, AND they had quilt patterns. When I was a child, quilt patterns were only available by mail-order. One of the patterns had a bonus- instructions for making a necklace to go with the dress. I saw patterns for things no one would have thought they could make 25 years ago. And the clothes looked good. They were chic and trendy. One of the reasons I didn't want to wear my mother's creations was because it was so obvious the clothes were home sewn and not store bought. Patterns are vastly improved now. I feel inspired to sew all my clothes. Goddess knows I brought home enough sewing notions.

Tag! Now You're It

EmKat tagged me. So here we go:

The Rules

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random thoughts about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you have tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about 'you are tagged if you are reading this.' blah, blah, blah, you legitimately have to tag 11 people!

My 11 Random Things:
1. I like purple.
2. It's my dad's fault I have a scar under my nose.
3. I drive a Nissan Titan named Hecate.
4. I think dogs as fashion accessories are horrid. It's a living being, not a purse.
5. I hate junk mail.
6. My mother is a French-Irish Native American. My father is English, German, and Native American.
7. Despite having Indian ancestry, I don't tan.
8. There are 7 letters in my first name, 7 letters in my last name, 7 letters in my father's first name, 7 letters in my mother's maiden name, the address of the hospital where I was born was 106, and I was born on January 7, 1977 at 1:27pm EST.
9. I carry a dragon with me every where I go.
10. My grandfather was considered a professional gambler because he owned jukeboxes and slot machines. My father's first job was going to bars to collect the money and change out records. When Phenix City was under marshal law, my grandfather hid his jukeboxes so the police couldn't destroy them. They have never been found and I would like to know what he did with them.
11. My grandmother, my mother, and myself all use the same hiding place to secure valuables.

Who I Tagged:
October Farm
The Candy Corn Chronicles
Living in Muddy Waters
Secret Life of the American Working Witch
The Ditzy Druid
Hecate Demeter
Aine of the Deepest Well
Vivienne Moss
http://bythebroomstick.blogspot.com/
Mrs. B
Chrysalis

Questions for me to answer:
1. What's your favorite song or musical artist?

Rolling in the Deep

2. If you could live in any era, what would you choose?
This one because I can't live without the Internet

3. What's your favorite holiday?
Halloween!
4. Which modern convenience would you rather give up, indoor stoves or plumbing?
Indoor stoves. I can't live without hot water either.

5. Pirates or Ninjas?
Pirates! Jack Sparrow- oooooh!
6. Do you have a patron deity, if so whom?
I usually work with Spider Woman, Isis, Hecate, Brighid, or Oya

7. Coffee or Tea?
Coffee, black.
8. What's the farthest you've ever been from home?
Texas

9. Which element is your favorite or which do you work best with?
Earth

10. Cats, Dogs, Rodents, Birds or Reptiles?
Dogs

11. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
12:30pm 1-15-12. I took the dogs for a walk.

Now, what I want to know about you:
1. Do you hate being tagged?
2. Which art form do you admire most? Who is your favorite artist?
3. Would you rather keep a secret for life to save one person, or tell your best friend's deepest, darkest secret to save several people?
4. If you could stop one social injustice what would it be?
5. Which is better- being lucky or being smart?
6. What is your best skill?
7. What do you wish you could change about yourself?
8. Real book or Kindle?
9. If you could be anyone, who would you be?
10. If you knew you were about to meet the love of your life, how would you prepare?
11. Which shapes a person more- nature or nurture?

Silent Sunday- What I Made This Weekend

I WANT HER BROOM!

And it lights up! I tried finding a pic of just the witch, but no such luck. I am totally crafty, I think I could make my own broom, glowing sphere and all.

Why I LOVE Textiles

Fair Warning- It will be difficult for me to write this post without rambling. I could go on about fabric entwining and influencing culture forever.

I love fabric. I love the color. I love the feel. I like sewing. I like threads and yarn too. I like weaving. I like spinning cords. I don't know how anyone could look at fabric and not see art.

It is said the Goddess Isis civilized the world when She invented weaving. In case you are wondering how that works, people have to settle to weave. It takes a great deal of time to farm cotton, then to pick it, card it, spin it, weave it, and THEN dye it, sew it, or embroider it. While you are busy making clothes, you don't have time to get into trouble.

What astounds me are the textiles of desert dwellers. Look at this rug. It's huge. I can't even count all the colors in it. Now think about living in Arabia and nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. How do they feed the sheep for the wool? And then they get enough fiber to make this?!

The Navajo do the exact same thing.

And so do Mexicans. If I could study anything, I'd go to the Middle East for the rugs, robes, and tents. They craft their whole lives into fiber in a place where fiber should be damn hard to come by.

I love weaving. I find it very meditative and soothing.

I also love quilts. I have always loved geometric patterns. My grandmother's quilting was for necessity. My Granny made her quilts pretty.

Now it is almost an insult to make a quilt that is less than beautiful. And it's not just quilting-

Cross stitch has become fine art.

I thought this dragon was a painting when I first looked at it and I was wondering why in the hell an oil painting came up in machine embroidery search results.

Even plastic canvas

has evolved way beyond geeky tissue box holders.

Know what's hard to find now? Plain white tea towels. Now we want them with firm words and bold sayings.

Actually now, if it's a textile, it should be as beautiful as possible. Plain anything won't do. The artist's skill and personality must shine through. What's covering your bed? Will you dream better wrapped in beauty?

I think this is a subject I'll have to come back to. I will try to narrow my focus in the next textile post. If anyone has a subject they would like to know more about, leave a comment. Otherwise you can just read whatever I post.

Satanic Stick Worshippers

EmKat's comment on my last post reminded me of when I was dating a police officer and I told him I was a witch. The very first thing he asked was,

'Do you walk down the road at night swinging a sword?'

It was so ridiculous, and he was so very serious, that I started laughing. Turns out he had limited experience with witches. He knew one, a man with wild hair who walked down the road under the full moon, muttering and swinging a really big sword. The man freaked people out and my police officer never understood what the sword was for.

My policeman had several encounters with the male witch, each (to him) more bizarre than the last. He told me about the time a caller was frantic because 'satanic rites' were being performed in Ghost Town. Several officers arrived on the scene to find a group of pagans in face paint, robes, and carrying, guess what? swords. The cops told the pagans they were on private property and the group willingly moved across the road. As the police were leaving, one of the officers told my policeman 'Them satanic stick worshippers are up to no good.'

I thought the satanic stick bit was funnier than the sword question so from then on he would periodically ask me if I had been worshipping sticks and I would collapse into hysterical giggles.

I've thought about it carefully and come to this conclusion- I'm not broadcasting my belief system. If my future man asks, I'll be honest. I think if he really cares about me he'll broaden his mind and accept what I do. If he doesn't like witches then he doesn't like me and I'll have to cut him loose. It might not even be an issue. Kevin didn't have any problems with me being a witch. The subject rarely came up. Sometimes he would notice me doing magick and asked if I was 'spelling it.'

If my future man is reading this post, I hope you have a sense of humor. It helps.

Monday Full Moon & What I've Been Doing

First, Witchy stuff.

Today is the full moon. While I was looking up names and correspondences, I discovered the Choctaws called this the 'Cooking Moon'. I think that's just wonderful. Go cook your favorite dish. It is really hot here, there's been lots of storms with high winds, and all the energies in my life indicate a need to make plans. Things are definitely cooking in my part of the world!

Saturday, Jan 7th, I turned 35. I had a good birthday. I'm not telling you what I did, I'll just say I'm a kinky freak and leave it at that ;p

Everyone gave me the best gift- money. I am still trying to view/work with money as an energy. I intended to write down all my purchases in a journal and I skipped several days. I tried telling myself I've been busy, but I think really sometimes I don't make the best choices with money and I am ashamed to write down how I wasted it. So I haven't made great progress, but I have uncovered where my problems lay.

EmKat is still hosting a giveaway featuring Celtic Knots I made. You can visit her blog to enter (http://emkat-creations.blogspot.com/) Here is what's up for grabs-

Both are art with hanging hooks on the back. They are made of one continuous looped piece of yarn. It's a Reader's Choice giveaway, meaning you can have either the red knot or the purple knot, but not both. Whichever knot isn't chosen will be listed for sale in my Etsy shop after the giveaway.

I am making more things to sell, mainly boxes. I am trying my hand at a round box.

It isn't difficult, but it does require a good deal of patience. This is a practice piece and I'm not sure it will ever be listed.

My indoor garden looks good-

The rosemary died. I think it was a combination of too much light (bought it in a low-light store) and gas heat which most herbs object to. Every thing else is doing well. I'll try herbs again in March when the heater won't be an issue. I haven't done anything else with the outside garden other than hanging a bird feeder and drooling over garden porn. Yes, the seed catalogs have arrived!

In work related issues,  I got a raise. Yay! That helps a lot.

On the relationship front, I still don't have a steady man. I did get asked out, but he's a nasty old goat and I don't want to talk about it. My cards indicate a change is coming, so we'll see.  I'm not sure I want a relationship anymore. Since I've been single I've been doing a lot of magick. I know that would change if a man moved into my house or even if I just started dating one person. I like being able to have spells laying out on the table undisturbed. Witchcraft is by necessity secretive- talking about spells can attach negative energy. I would either have to be a lot more open about my life, or I would need to make things less obvious. And it's the blog too, not just magick. My blog is my diary. Do I really want my man reading it? Am I willing to censor my writing? Open up more? If I'm having issues about personal boundaries, maybe I'm not ready to share my life with anyone.