I've finally starting writing things down for the DP. Starting simple, with the holidays. I suppose I can do the altar planning one too, as I just rearranged it recently. Things around me tend to accumulate junk or random bits of stuff, and the altar is no exception. Bits of wax, pine needles, lots of acorns... now it boasts a pretty pottery candle-holder I found at Savers of all places.




On a more personal note;
it's strange how you can miss someone when two weeks ago you felt like you couldn't take much more of them.
My boyfriend is studying abroad for a month-long language intensive so he can be done with one major's requirements (he has two, which is a story in and of itself) and graduate a little sooner.

What happened now seems fairly obvious--nothing like some distance and time apart to put things in perspective, right?--that we spend the majority of our time with each other, and it was that which was slowly driving us nuts. All those little things that sneak their way under your skin were getting unbearable lately. We just couldn't leave each other alone. I ended up feeling criticized more than I felt was fair, we were both worn out from the long bus rides between our respective residences, and his jokes were just getting so old!

I was happy to see him to the airport, and the first week felt like a real vacation even though I was the one staying home.
Now...
well, his internet is rather limited, and half the time I don't know what to do with all my spare time (I've never been one to schedule my every minute as it is) so we end up thinking "shit. now what?"

or at least I do.

You look for one thing, and find another

Just read this post on The Ditzy Druid, and finally got around to giving Thor the stout I promised him for helping me out a few weeks ago.
Also having recently discovered this amazing blog written by some seidh-sisters here in the Midwest, I decided to get a little more of my spiritual act together and do some gorram meditating.
Lit candles, new stick of incense, offered the stout, and ended up donning the crow mask I had made a couple years ago for a quick Halloween costume to try my hand at spirit-walking.

I think I'm going about beginning the right way--or at least, a way that kind of works--by perching on the edge of my seat and assuming a bird-like pose while holding the sound of cawing crows in my mind. It was hard to picture things clearly, but I think I was able to hop around the branches of a tree a bit (no idea if it was the tree outside my apartment or some otherworldly Tree).

Suddenly a sound came through the open windows, and something in me knew enough to get alert.

Turns out a couple guys were knocking on the door. As my room is situated right above the front door and I happen to be house manager here, I was able to ask them out my window if they needed anything. Turns out they're college students looking for rooms to rent; I offered a house tour.

* * *

Well, I guess in lieu of spirit-work, it was back to convincing folk that our house is a good place to rent a room. 'Twas nice to meet those guys though. They seemed good folk, and it'll be good to have the house full up at last.

I think this means the Gods are happy enough with me for now. If anything, I'd say that was Thor's way of giving a pat on the back and saying, "well, it's all right. Now go do your stuff!"

Why yes, I do have a camera

It's not often that my thoughts turn to Frigga. It seems odd that I wouldn't have much to do with Odin's wife, given that I have some skill in housekeeping--I can bake bread and mop floors and can be fairly crafty with my hands when I feel it. Though I suppose some part of me equates her with simple housewifery, which I have long objected to; my daydreams were always of wild adventure, not sedately setting out the evening meal and then darning socks until bedtime.
I suppose if anyone had a connection to her, it would be my mother. She's a bit quiet, and seems very normal, but you should see her sewing room. Swatches of colored fabric hang on the walls, and totes of cloth (organized by color of course) have taken over half the basement! Even though Dad is the master chef of the household, Mom can still whip up a batch of bars or a cake like there's nothing to it. And of course she does her share (the lion's share in some cases) when it comes to keeping things clean--the cats run before her when she wields the vacuum.

But she's a lawyer too. This quiet little person went to college, studied hard, got mostly A's and B's, and then when right on into law school.
The story goes that when grandpa (my dad's dad) met my mother, he asked what she wanted to do with her life. She told him she was going to go to law school, and he laughed right there. Now, so many years later, she's been working for the state as an administrative law judge and no one thinks anything of it.
You go, Mom.

* * * *

Some years ago, Dad made a drop spindle in his workshop. It's a sweet thing, the weight is solid cherry and the handle a dowel. A simple bent nail is what catches the fibers and induces spin, creating yarn.


I've been sticking with plain, undyed wool roving for spinning, picking up a bag every so often when money or Mom allows. The yarn is rather thick, since this is my first batch and I'd rather keep the thickness relatively uniform. If I made or acquired a smaller spindle (or ever got enough of this to make into something), I know I can spin thinner stuff and that would be my next project.
*If you want to see some nice fine yarn, Grey Catsidhe at The Ditzy Druid posted a little while ago with her first spinning! It's a nice little batch, and I'm thankful I'm not the only person interested in something so odd and old-fashioned as spinning.


Someday, I do want to dye it. I even got a book on natural dyestuffs and how to use them for Yule a couple years ago, so I'm excited to see how the recipes will turn out! If only I knew what color to choose...


Any ideas of what to make homespun yarn into? I can knit and crochet, but I'm afraid I'll never make enough to actually knit anything more than, say, one mitten. I don't spin very often either... perhaps now I'll have more time for it.

never out of style

So help me, I'm old-fashioned.

Borrowed from "Confessions of a Kitchen Witch", with permission.

No flavor more exemplifies these days of High Summer than a fresh pesto.

I don't mean the green glop you see spooned onto limp pasta and over-cooked salmon, however. Real pesto is nothing more than a big bunch of fresh, fiercely aromatic basil leaves chopped fine with minced raw garlic and then drizzled with enough extra virgin olive oil to pull everything together. Some fresh-grated Parmesan or Romano cheese adds another intense flavor to the mix, making your plain old anything a meal to remember.

Your local farmer's market is probably the best bet for fresh basil, both for price, quantity, and quality--I got a huge bunch for a buck!

And really, you don't need a blender. I find that for many things in the kitchen, good knife skills will make up for a lack of appliances. A mortar and pestle is a good way to go as well, if you like a smoother sauce (mine is far too small for most practical cookery), and you can show off your impressive arm muscles to friends afterwards ;)

The vibrant green of the basil perfectly complements the greenery all around, soaking up these long hours of sunshine and is one way to make summer intimately yours. It's a different way to experience the season: strong flavors not only taste great, but the basil and garlic are invigorating, bringing new strength to body and spirit. I'm no great shakes at herbalism (not yet, anyway), but I've read a little on elemental correspondences and herbs: namely, hot and cold and wet and dry. From what I recall, basil is hot and wet, nourishing with water while energizing at the same time. Combined with the heat of raw garlic, this makes for a potent potion!

It's easy for me to get caught up in something new and different, but I can only stand any food for so long. An easy solution (and great way to save a flavor of summer for colder months) is to freeze the pesto in little portions for later. *Leave out the cheese before you freeze! It doesn't really freeze well and tastes better fresh anyway.* Using an ice-cube tray lined with squares of plastic wrap or tinfoil is a great way to portion it out and keeps it from getting messy.

So bring out the basil and throw some veggies on the grill; open up a bottle of white wine and enjoy these summer days while we can.

At least I'm doing something right--right?

I have concluded that the secret to getting physics homework done is a careful balance of coffee and just the right amount of background activity; hence, I am following in the path of college students everywhere and studying at my local coffee shop.

Still need to get a job though... but if it means getting this stuff done in a timely fashion (and therefore a better grade), the cost is worth it.

* * *

We've started going to dojo twice a week now--Monday and Tuesday nights, which means I was a tad sore getting up this morning. Couple that with the fact that I can sleep in any day of the week, while my man S. has an internal clock set rather early and once he's up, he's up.

Thank the gods for coffee.

Since I haven't yet heard anything about summer fencing and it's hard to get myself to the gym these days, this is a great way to keep up something of a routine. It also means I get to study a slightly different system under a different teacher; A. was a Marine in either Korea or Vietnam and brought back karate and sword styles from Okinawa. He is the toughest old guy I have ever met.
However, everyone gets old and although he's a good guy and definitely knows how to fight, his training system has gotten a little silly as of late. I'm not sure how spending two hours balancing on bricks is supposed to help you fight more effectively aside from improving your balance... but it's nice to have something else to do. Sure, I had to learn a couple new blocks and stretch myself in weird ways I never would have guessed on my own, but it was fun to do something new.

I am also beginning the DP work--finally, you say! Well, I've only been a member for a year and a half now, so I figured I'd get started on something. :P (Not sure if my previous blog entries on my altar count towards the requirement or not... ah well.) I'm writing down a little bit on each Holy Day, starting with Samhain. I mean, sure, it's a day associated with death and the ancestors and the thinning veil between the worlds... but it's also when the deer go into rut. Is it then some dark antithesis to Beltane?
Ooh, idea: contrast the paired opposite holidays! See what they have in common and how they differ and all that. It would help make this part of the assignment a little less tedious, no? ^^


And of course, I hope everyone had a lovely Midsummer! I'm celebrating with my Protogrove this coming Sunday, and looking forward to it as always. We're getting some new members too! It's very exciting to see our little group work its way to full Grove-hood :)

New happenings

So, after weeks of no working laptop and then the generously lent spare not working, we've finally figured out what's happened: I ordered new adapters, one for each laptop, from the same company. The first one worked, and then I thought something was wrong with the computer as it didn't recognize when it was plugged in. Turns out it my new part had died, and here I was ready to spend lots of money for someone to dig around inside my laptop!
Same thing with the second laptop too, only this time the adapter worked for all of two hours. It was far easier to see this time that the adapter was at fault.

BattDepot, I'm sorry, but this is a pretty major fail.
sigh.
that's what I get for trying to find the best deal online. faulty parts.

* * *

In other news, I've heard that ADF has a new ArchDruid: this article on The Wild Hunt covers the ceremony nicely. Though the fact that as an organization we're now up to our fifth elected leader in 26 years seems to me a bit strange.

I can appreciate that being the elected leader of any group is a big job, and there's lots of responsibility that goes with the position. Maybe it's silly of me to try to compare our group with what ancient Druids may have done, yet I do have an admittedly romantic vision in my head of the wise old leader, long of beard and robe, who has been leading the Druids for more years than memory bears to serve.

Yet what purpose do these artistic visions really serve? As I said, such notions belong better to fantasy, and it would be unfair to expect our ArchDruids to try and fulfill their roles as we imagine. Nowadays, there are all kinds of things we have to deal with that our ancestors did not: different legal issues, advancing technology, and the fact that we're trying to reconstruct a path that's hard to follow closely due to lack of concrete evidence and writings from those whom we wish to emulate.
Some things are the same though, right? I mean, we're serving the Gods as best we can as well as our communities. Maybe we're not the all-purpose wise guys (lawyer, doctor, historian, and priest wrapped into one), but there's still a calling to follow.

Two nights ago a great thunderstorm came through, and our cat leaped up onto the bed with an inquisitive sound and a bit wide-eyed. "It's ok, buddy," I told him, "Thor's out smashing some giants." Genki settled onto my tummy and I pet him all through the thunder. Now that I think back, it was kind of neat that he purred along with the rumbles from the sky.

* * *

I wish our new ArchDruid all the best, and may all our past leaders live long and healthy lives.

Especially you, Isaac. Stick around a while.