Saturday- On My Mind

I haven't really had time to collect my thoughts, let alone compose a proper post. This is another conglomeration.

Storm At Sea is a beautiful quilt block comprised of all straight lines which appear to curve.

Storm At Sea is pure magick and wonderful variations can arise by shifting color or lines.

I decided to make a plastic canvas version and as soon as I decided this, it rained. A long time ago I started a Storm At Sea quilt and it rains every time I work on it, too. After I get my design all worked out, and if my project goes well, I'd like to draw the blocks in different sizes for a more 'magic carpet' effect. I saw it done once in reds and golds, all done up for Christmas. I'd do mine in blues, purple, and gold for an Arabian feel.

A Thousand and One Arabian Nights has also been on my mind. I love this story for one simple reason- the woman is the hero and this from a part of the world that devalues women. In case you're not familiar, a wicked king is marrying young girls then killing them on his wedding night. The kingdom is starting to run out of women so one very smart woman volunteers to be his wife. On the wedding night he comes into her room and she begins to tell him a story. Just when she gets to the most exciting part, she says, 'I'm tired. Good night." Well, then he can't kill her because he won't find out how the story ends. The king decides he can kill her the next night after she finishes her story. But she doesn't finish, she leaves him hanging again. She keeps this going for one thousand and one nights and by the time she finally wraps up her tale, the king is in love with his wife and doesn't want to kill her. She tames the king, saves all the women, and preserves the mythology to boot. That is one awesome chick.

Speaking of queens, I finally got to pet the puppy. Once. She's been here over a week and I have petted her exactly once. Sophie decided Queen is okay and now both my dogs play with her. Queen wants to come in the house, but she always chickens out at the steps.

I made extra money on a sewing job. I want to expand my sewing skills, but there's that darn time factor.

I am keeping up with the garden. Yes, I am keeping it watered.

I haven't done anything witchy on a large scale in over a month. I do minor magicks every day. I want to run my roots deep into the earth; feel the magick pulse around me. Minor is not enough and I believe I will have to just stop my mundane activities one night, no matter how tired I may be, and just shift into full witch mode for a good hour or more. I think I have a new totem- raccoon.

Since raccoons are suddenly appearing everywhere, I've also been thinking of masks, harlequins, and glamour.

I'm loving the checkerboard diamonds and I'd like to stitch some, which brings me right back to where I started.

Every 5 Days

I have been writing down when I see Mr. Dragon, either in dreams or I think he's astral projecting and so far the pattern is every 5 days. I had experiences on the 17th, 21st, and 26th. Notes pay off. I am also writing down the circumstances- weather, moon phases, mood, working conditions, etc in case there's an underlying pattern.

The Weekend Conglomeration

I've been doped up on allergy pills all weekend. If I start typing incoherently just deal it, okay?

'Conglomeration' is a word my mother often says to describe a supper made up of whatever she needed to cook before it spoiled. Conglomeration suppers always occur on the same day she cleaned out the fridge. I used to think it was a word she just made up. I think of conglomeration as being a bunch of things that don't go together, but separately they have little or no use.

The reoccurring theme this weekend is babies.

I have pumpkin, sunflower, and gourd babies.

Herb babies.

Someone let a puppy out here. I named her Queen. She is very skittish and I can't get within 10 feet of her. When she is alone, she sits out in the yard like she owns it. When I come out, she hides under the truck. Can't just anybody be granted an audience with the Queen. Halona plays with her, but Sophie the Guard Dog hasn't made up her mind yet.

I turned my sewing table around. I'm going to hang peg board on this side so I'll have a place to store my gabillion spools of thread. The peg board will also hide my junk  storage space.

This is my crystal ball. Because I had so much success with it Thursday, I decided to try using it on a regular basis. I am currently manifesting this star:

Manifesting with the ball is easy. I visualize what I want in the ball, then I push my visualization to the physical plain. The star is working up quickly with almost no mistakes. The problem with these stars is one stitch out of place will throw off the whole design. There is no fudge room. It's either right or it's not. If you want to try manifesting, you don't need a crystal ball. Any crystal will do.

That's about it for my weekend. Hope you enjoyed yours.

I Let the Monkeys Loose Via the Crystal Ball

It has been a very rough week workwise. I mentioned we shut down for a couple of days due to a fire at another supplier. I came back on Wednesday and where do I land but right back on my old line. Every time I look over my shoulder, my old supervisor was laughing at me. People kept teasing me, saying I was 'back home' and I'd never leave. Worse, they laid off most of the temps, including (gulp) the one that took my place so I could change departments. Hoo Boy.

Thursday afternoon I was so depressed I simply didn't want to go to work. Here I was thinking I finally got out of Hell, I finally got on a line where I like the work, the hours were great, I could manage my sugar, and my team leader understood my condition AND was willing to help me manage my diabetes. Now suddenly all that has been snatched away like it never happened. I did what I should have done in the first place- I called Human Resources.

At first, I didn't think it did any good. I was told someone would call me back and two hours later, he still hadn't called me. So called him, and got his voicemail, which cut me off in the middle of my message. I was kicking myself, thinking I was getting nowhere, when, finally, he called. The more I explained, the more he seemed to be on my side, but his solution was to 'monitor' the situation and for me to let him know if things became worse. He did give me his cell number, but I was very frustrated when I got off the phone. I felt like a brick wall was solidly in my way.

I sat down with my crystal ball just to make myself feel better. It's very grounding and peaceful. I kept repeating the name of my new team leader and department.

I have been hearing all kinds of rumors. The biggest one was we were shutting down next week for maintenance instead of shutting down in June. Yes, it would be a week off, but I would have no money, it screws up the plans I made for June, and after shut-downs people tend to be shifted around. Limbo is a bad place to be during a shut-down. You might get stuck there.

I imagined a great gold dragon rising out of my crystal ball. He nudged people into action. He cleared my path. He protected the job I want.

I went to work still feeling depressed. As I headed in, the plant manager stopped me. He heard that I called HR and he wanted to assure me that working on my old line was a TEMPORARY solution. AND Monday everything would be back to normal. We aren't shutting down. The shut down will be in June just like it always is. Whew! Okay, now I just have to get through this week.

The asshole, laughing supervisor took vacation. Yay!

They didn't lay off the temp who took my place. She was just sick Wednesday. Even better!

Instead of Monday, the plant goes back to normal FRIDAY. Ah, thank the Goddess! I will be back on my line this week after all.

So now I have my job back, Human Resources is aware of how I was treated, the supervisor will probably get his ass chewed when he returns, I don't have to worry about money next week, and people now know I will take a stand if I am messed with. Plus, I still have my crystal ball, dragon, and witch powers. I have been pondering all sorts of possibilities.

Don't make me call the monkeys back.

 

Watch Out For W.O.M.B.A.T.

W.O.M.B.A.T. stands for Waste Of Money, Brains, And Time. Spring seems to make everyone want to start a new project. Just be careful of what you're starting.

This is so dumb I can't even start to comment on it.

The person who made these has issues and far too much time on their hands.

I hope this isn't made out of what I think it is.

Not sexy.

I don't know what this is supposed to be, but it's creepy.

Ick.

If you take a bunch of plastic trash and glue around a mirror, what you end up with is- a pile of trash.

Sometimes you just need to resist the urge to craft. Seriously.

Fire

I don't work at Kia. I don't work at the plant that burned. But I do work for another supplier, and I am off work until Wednesday too. Here's the link.

Silent Sunday- Dragon Lady

More Astral Projection

I mentioned a while back that I thought Mr. Dragon had learned astral projection because I saw him standing in my bedroom. I've dreamed about him a lot, and now I think that is astral projection too. Last night had a new twist.

I was laying in bed, with my hands clasped over my chest. I wasn't asleep, but I was very relaxed and about to drift off. I felt something touch my hand. I cried out and opened my eyes to see Mr. Dragon standing over me. He was gone in a second, but I know what I felt and I know what I saw.

He was in a really good mood at work last night. When he's happy, he teases me. He snuck up behind me and made me jump. I'm trying to see if there is a pattern to him astral projecting or if it is a more random thing, like when he starts to miss me. I should have been writing this down.

I Guess There's Irish People Everywhere. Or At Least They Think They Are

Today's title comes from the movie 'Million Dollar Baby' (which you really ought to see just for the outstanding acting). In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I had to tell you I'm Irish. I'm only part Irish, and I have never been to Ireland. Nor I can name one family member who's been there or speaks the language. All I know about my heritage is what I've seen on television and I'm sure most of that is wrong.

If you really want to know, I am practically a walking Europe. My father is German, English, Scottish, Irish, and Cherokee. I call him a British Germ. My mother is a French-Irish Native American. Being that both sides of my family have been in the South since before it was called South, I consider myself Southern. If you took a random poll of White Southerners, about 90% would claim Indian ancestry. And every damn one has pasty white skin. 85% of those would be descended from a chief. I doubt there were ever that many Indians down here and I know the chiefs weren't fathering that many children. But I digress.

My point is, when you're made of so many bits and pieces, it's hard to claim something as heritage because you only get a little tiny part. Other people have a much bigger claim and when it becomes obvious you don't know and understand what you lay claim to, then you look like a fake, a wannabe, an impostor trying to pass as something you're not.

But I can't deny the fact that I don't tan. I burn. I turn lobster red in just a few moments. After being an unsightly, painful red for three or four days, I peel. Then I look like an ugly, shedding snake. After all that, I am just as white as ever with a few more freckles sprinkled over my shoulders. I use 50 SPF sunblock. On more than one occasion, I have gotten sun poisoning which is being so burnt that I started vomiting. When I was 17 I got so sunburned I couldn't wear a shirt because it hurt to have anything touching my skin. Damn Irish genes. What happened to that fucking Cherokee DNA?

So the only thing I seem to have inherited does me no good and instead of having a cool accent everyone tries to imitate, I have a drawl everybody makes fun of. Evidently I didn't get any of that famous luck either.

St. Patrick's Day is a holiday when I feel like the whole country is making a mockery of my culture and using it as an excuse to drink beer. But I'm not sure exactly how it's insulting because Irish people seem to go right along with it. Maybe that's their great contribution- the ability to put on a good face and laugh at ourselves.

Spring Garden Post

Ran out of bird seed. Instead of 'chirp' the birds ought to say 'oink'.

Lovely green.

Irises planted the length of my house. I had no idea they were all yellow.

I don't know what these little flowers are, but I think they're charming. Bees love them.

Bees also love my snap dragons. The bed needs a little attention. I haven't done much with them. Snaps seem to be fairly hardy, so if you are looking for a beginning gardener plant, this is a safe bet.

My mum lived through the winter. Now it faces the much more difficult task of surviving the Alabama summer.

The porch is crowded because the aloes were starting to blister in the sun. It's not even that hot yet and most days are cloudy.

I planted pumpkin seeds.

In a few more days, this bush will be covered with plastic Easter eggs.

And now I leave you with a picture that has nothing to do with gardening:

Wordless Wednesday- is this your cat?

Oh Happy Day!

WooHoo! Last night I was moved to another line! Yay! I wasn't even tired when I got off work and my sugar stayed nice and steady!

I've worked on this line before, so 'training' was just seeing the little odds and ends that were different. I cannot tell you how relaxing it was to just work and not worry about what someone might be saying about me behind my back. I feel so much better now.

There is only one little detail that concerns me- Mr. Dragon is now my team leader. Now the man can be moody and strange and times, but he IS a good team leader. He's fair, honest, and reasonable. He's very particular about everything being done by the book, but as long as you do your job, he'll leave you alone and let you work. I'm just wondering how he's going to behave on a personal level. I didn't ask for his line, I just asked to be moved. But I'm so happy to be out of my old department, I can deal with whatever strange feelings pop up.

:blissful, relieved sigh:

Not Quite Silent Sunday

I found this picture on StumbleUpon and I love it because these young ladies look like they are up to utterly no good. I think that's great.

I am making small changes with the blog. Instead of weekly updates on the Kitchen Witch page, I'm going to monthly. I have a better chance of meeting a monthly goal. My tarot page is also changing, I just haven't decided to what yet. Maybe monthly too. IDK. Every thing else is the same. For now.

Squee! Time With My Element!

FINALLY! I had a Saturday off! I almost didn't want to go to sleep when I got off work because I didn't want to miss any of my weekend. I have been outside all day.

My day started great- my mail carrier brought my gazing ball. This is a stainless steel ball and is supposed to be unbreakable. I love gazing balls but they never last long. Hopefully this one will fair better. I sent a picture to Kevin and he texted back a description of what I am wearing. He says he zoomed in close and saw my reflection. I think my landlord's wife drove by, called her husband to say I was outside, and they decided to mess with me.

I coiled the garden hose because I got tired of seeing it strung all over the front yard.

I refilled the bird feeder. My little feathered friends are hogs.

Yesterday before work, I repotted aloes. I still have a few more to go. These are the regular ones.

These are broad leaf aloes.

This is last year's garden space. I cleared it so I could plant sunflowers, pumpkins, and peppers.

Next on my list- plant seeds!

MOM! Don't Tell 'Em That!

This is my mixed-breed Lab, Halona. She likes to think she is fierce. (She has bravely faced an intruder, so she does have a little mettle.) She is scared to death of storms. Last night it rained hard enough to disrupt the satellite, so guess who got in my lap? All 55 pounds of her.

Well, I'll Just Go See

I got tired of not knowing what my bit of land was doing, so today I walked around the yard.

I have iris and violets blooming. I saw the first blackberry bloom of the season. My hydrangea has brilliant green leaves. The pine trees all have little yellowish cones (fair warning, pollen season is nigh!).

I picked up fallen limbs and refilled the bird feeder. I have a gazing ball on the way. I started a herb garden.

Okay, the last one is nothing to be proud of because it's one of those cheap kits from the dollar store. But it's all I've had time to do. This urge to garden might be a bad idea. If I don't have time to plant it, I won't have time to tend it. I can just picture me walking outside to a brown, wilted patch of ground and saying, 'Oh damn! I forgot to water the garden for over a month.' But I am a kitchen witch and I am DETERMINED to have fresh herbs and a magickal relationship with my landbase. I will connect with my earth even if it kills me.

Today I am leaving early so I can buy potting soil before work. I. Will. Have. A. GARDEN!

How I Spent the Weekend

I slept all day Sunday. It was my intention, no matter how tired I was, to work in the yard. I woke at 12 to take insulin. I had a splitting headache. I lay back down and the next thing I knew, it was 5:30pm. Night shift is not for sissies.

Practical matters first; I did all the laundry. Hmm, now that I think about it, there may still be clothes in the dryer.

I put a roast in the slow cooker. There are sweet potatoes under the roast and I think they cooked down to mush. My dogs have been watching the slow cooker for hours because they know I will pour the juice over their dog food.

And I am almost done with this star. That doesn't mean I'll be finished any time soon, because I have like zero time for myself, it just means I made progress. I'm calling this one 'Forest Star' because the dark green and bright orange remind me of hunting camouflage.

That was it. Now my weekend is gone, gone, gone :(

My, What Big Shoulders You Have!

Jeff has surprised me. He was standing in front of me tonight and I realized- he's built.

I had no clue. How could I have failed to notice shoulders twice the width as mine?! I thought he was average sized and suddenly he has bulging biceps and pecks straining the fabric of his shirt. When did this happen? And tattoos! OMG. I love tattoos. He has a chain around one arm and barb wire around the other. He's all manly and I think I was a blithering idiot. I'm not sure because I can't remember what I said. He's also much taller than I thought. I'm eye level with his fabulous chest. Who waved the sexy wand over him? If he starts wearing good cologne, I'm doomed.

FreeDragon- Diabetes Advocate

Of all the things I've been through in my life, diabetes is the hardest. Diabetes touches every single aspect of my life. I can't stop being diabetic. I can't stop thinking about it. I often say diabetes is a full time job, but really it's so much more; diabetes is, whether I like it or not, what I live and breathe.

I try really hard to be a normal person. But I'm not, I'm a diabetic. This means sometimes I am forced to be a bitch.

Every single night at work, my sugar drops. Sometimes it drops two or three times. This is not normal. If I had my sugar under control, then it shouldn't drop but maybe once a week. I have informed my supervisors several times of the problem and I have asked for help, to either keep me on one job, to let me know in advance what I will be doing so I plan ahead, or to move me to another line. Nothing is happening. I realized part of the problem may be they don't know how often my sugar drops. Usually when I feel my sugar going low, I just eat and keep working. I decided to start testing my sugar and showing my team leader the result so she would know the seriousness of the situation. My sugar was 41. Just give you an understanding of what the number means, a normal person's sugar stays between 70 and 120. If my sugar falls below 70, I am not supposed to drive. At 35, I will probably be unconscious. At 25, there will simply not be enough sugar to keep my body functioning and my heart will probably stop. So when my sugar is 41 I am on the verge of death. This is not me being dramatic. This is a PROBLEM.

I told my team leader. She was getting ready to leave, so she called the production manager over. He acted like I was telling him I broke my nail. He said he couldn't do anything and it wouldn't be fair to make an exception for me.

Well, I'm sorry, but he does have to make an exception for me because I'm a fucking diabetic. If I pass out at work I can rightfully file a lawsuit against the company. So Monday I am going to Human Resources.

It would be really nice if my team leader would just be a logical, reasonable person. It would be nice if the production manager would get it through his thick skull that my life is more important than production. It would be great if I didn't have to educate people about my illness. The best thing on earth would be a cure. But I don't have these luxuries. I work for assholes. So I am going to be The Queen Bitch and insist on having my basic human rights until somebody realizes I am not a doormat. Then I can go back to being a person who just happens to also be diabetic.

Would You Say 'Sorry'?

A while back, I 'broke up' with Red Beard. I told him the 11 year age difference was too much for me and I am just 5 years away from 40. He got mad and stomped off.

A few days later, I saw him take a youngish girl to lunch. Okay, cool. He moved on. I'm glad for him.

Then he starts going to lunch by himself.

Now he won't look at me.

I feel a little guilty for rejecting him. He's a nice guy, and it is the age difference alone that is making me say no. (That, and he dips. Gross!) I don't know what happened with the other girl. I don't want him to think I find him unattractive or anything. I don't want him to feel bad, but I don't want to encourage him either. Please don't tell me there is nothing wrong with the woman being older. It bothers me. I don't want to say, Honey, you remember in the 80's... and he says, no, I wasn't born yet. That will make me feel older than dirt. Sort of like hearing a song on the radio and being all, oooh! I remember when this came out! Then you realize you're listening to the oldies station. Yeah, it bites.

So do I go tell him he's fine or do I just pretend I don't see him either?