Witching

Photo 365/1001



Some truly beautiful lilies and roses I saw at Tom Thumb today. I was tempted to purchase them, but that’s $16 that could be better spent elsewhere and tomorrow’s paycheck is a light one. ::pouts::

One year done…just 636 days left in this particular challenge. ::chuckles::

It’s been a wonderfully quiet day here at home. I changed the sheets on my bed and vacuumed the room. It’s always amazing how much just those two simple acts really change the energy of my room.

After that, I worked on various sigils while listening to Poe. Haven’t listened to her in ages, but I still know every word to her songs. ::smiles:: I sketched out the banishing sigil on top of the jar I’ll be using for it. The sigil I printed out was a bit too large to apply directly to the lid, so I had to sketch it instead. I’ll go over it with the wood burner sometime soon-ish. I had also printed out a sigil for strong, healthy, long hair that I had planned to put on the back of my hair brush. But again, I printed it too large, so I just free-handed instead with a sharpie. It turned out pretty good.

Oh, and I picked up a green candle to being working on my “Manifesting the Right Job for Me” spell I have underway.

I also went through half of my closet and pulled out shirts I have not worn in ages. Those will all be donated this week. Still need to do the other half of the closet. I really want to come up with a good way to organize it and make it useful. It is a MASSIVE closet, but not particularly useful at the moment. I really need to get in there and do a deep clean and a massive organization run. All I need is the money to buy the stuff to organize my closet with. ::chuckles:: Slowly but surely, I’ll get there eventually.

Eleven

written:  March 30

Photo 364/1001



Ha! Victory is mine! This was rolled up inside a TINY spell jar in the Ostara gift box from Annette. She didn’t think I would be able to get it. ::chuckles:: Turns out I just needed a pair of tweezers and some time to just sit with it. I was able to get it out intact. ::smiles::

Once I get around to actually PLANTING new things – like the herbs and veggies I have and the seeds from the ToK Coven’s Ostara ritual, I will read this blessing over the seeds and then bury it with them. ::smiles:: Just not sure when I’ll actually get around to doing this. Next weekend is a class with the Coven, so that takes most of my Sunday. Maybe I can snag some soil and planters Saturday – IF I can get some of my assignments done for Resource Management class done by then. The next major paper is due on 15th (with some minor ones due on the 12th). The plan is to do a little bit of work on it each day and NOT wait until last minute (like always). ::chuckles::

Only 11 more days at the F. Library and then I’m done with my Practicum hours. Thank goodness. Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy the Library and would LOVE to work there. But I’m so over having to be there for FREE. I’m ready to have my mornings back and focus on my final class and work. I’m just ready to be DONE and have a break before diving into the End of Program Exam in June.

All Clear

written: March 29

Photo 363/1001



My most prized piece of jewelry. A polar bear claw and Dall’s sheep horn necklace made by the most talented lady behind Salmonberry Dreams. Also my most expensive piece of jewelry.

The Cobra perfume oil I ordered from Sage Goddess (taking advantage of her BOGO offer – got Gaia oil for free) arrived today. It doesn’t resonate with me, but the Gaia one does. ::chuckles and shakes her head::

And the super cool little gift I will be sending to Annette arrived today as well. It really is SUPER cool. I almost don’t want to send it to her! ::laughs:: I’ll keep my eye on that particular shop and hopefully they’ll get another one of these items in stock soon that I can snag for myself. I just hope she likes it. Now I just need to put together her little care package and mail it out as soon as possible. And I have another care package I’m slowly piecing together for another friend.

Ah, I got word back today from my last visit with the gyno – all clear. All my tests came back normal. Whew! Talk about a major sigh of relief here. I wish I could tell myself I don’t have anything to worry about. That all my future exams will tell me the exact same thing – no cancer. I know this, intellectually. But emotionally. I still stress out each, and every time. And I’m sure that’s how it will go for years. Maybe one day…it won’t be that way. But I don’t see that day being anytime soon.

Plant Magick

written: March 28

Photo 362/1001



My lovely rosebush is gearing up for a massive blooming season soon. And if her blooming rounds are anywhere as prolific as last year’s, I will have no problem trying my hand at making my own Rose Water this year. ::smiles:: Plus, I will have more than enough to dry and send to various Pagan pals that want some. ::chuckles::

The two bluebonnets I picked and had mostly dried in my car (thank you Texas heat) are now completely dried. I am still coming up light on any information on the metaphysical traits for these flowers. So weird that they wouldn’t have major usage due to their vibrant color.

The only information I’ve found list Lupine being a plant of merriment and joy – it symbolizes happiness. It brings inner strength to recover from trauma. It brings new opportunities and a positive outlook. Information from Flower Symbolism. It seems to sync up with my own personal meanings for the flower. Guess I am starting to get the hang of herbal magick after all. ::chuckles::

Seems Circe has been listening and is lending a helping hand in this matter. I should look for an incense to offer her in return for her aid. I know she gave me the dream with the banishing incense in it. Sekhmet would just slay him. The Harpies would terrorize. Circe is the one about teaching men a lesson in manners. Circe is the sorceress. She’s the original witch who harnessed plant magick. So I credit her with putting that information in my dream. And I find it interesting that I picked up Mandrake root on a whim, and yet I keep finding links between Mandrake and Circe. Perhaps she had a hand in that as well.

Sweet Note

written: March 27

Photo 361/1001



Sweet note and sticker from one of my students today. Really needed that after what a shit-show yesterday was.

David is sick, so he’s been home all this week. Which isn’t good for me. I’m NEEDING some quiet time at the house between the practicum hours and the job. And normally, I would have some quiet time at work before the staff arrive, but this week is Book Fair…so there’s always a handful of the PTA parents there, just chattering away, plus the extra students that come and go to the Book Fair as well.

I am so close to just barricading myself in my room and not coming out for a week. Or hiding out in the woods for a week. I just seriously need some quiet down time to recharge.

Burn Out

written: March 26

Photo 360/1001



My feral broccoli plant. When broccoli goes wild. ::laughs::

Crazy fucking day at work. I’m in burn out mode, I can tell. I’m not to the point of hating the students or my job yet…but I just have very little tolerance for the bullshit. I get to have a meeting with Esmeralda about one of my students that has been consistently physically aggressive with his peers and I’m all out of tricks to use on him at this point. So hopefully Esmeralda will have a helpful perspective on this situation.

I am thinking this weekend, since David is working it, I will focus 100% on ME. I have a unicorn bath bomb I picked up a week or two ago that I want to use. And I want to get some potting soil and pots to start my seeds in. Honestly, gardening is rather Zen for me. I need to make a note in my planner to buy some Bluebonnet seed bombs in the fall. I want to put a bunch of those on my grandparents’ grave so that next spring time, they are just a sea of blue. Honestly, I think if I just buy a few seed bombs here and there, between now and the fall, I can put a bunch of them out for the Family Plot. How awesome would it be if our Family Plot was a sea of blue each spring? ::smiles::

I got some coupons in the mail today from Michaels – one of which is a 50% off any regularly priced item. So I’m hoping this weekend to pick up a wood burner. Maybe I’ll get to burn the banishing sigil into the wooden lid this weekend as well.

Bluebonnets

written: March 25

Photo 359/1001



Beautiful bluebonnet blooming in the Old Cemetery. I stopped there on my way back to the Big City, to check in on my grandparents’ grave and make sure it all looks well.

I did pick two bluebonnets to dry out. I wonder what the metaphysical properties of Bluebonnets are? For me, personally, they symbolize Texas pride, a sense of belonging, home, and happiness. We used to do family photos in the bluebonnets around Easter time. I kind of miss that tradition.

A very quick appointment with Dr. H. today. That’s why I take the early morning appointments with
her – so I can get in and out before she starts to be backed up. ::chuckles:: So I’ll know if a few days if anything comes up on the tests. Fingers crossed that I get the all clear again.

Drive to Clear my Head

written:  March 24

Photo 358/1001



Alfred, the wild cottontail rabbit, was chillin’ in the backyard today when I was headed out to my hometown.

Nothing major to report for today. Had a lovely drive to my little hometown. My new tires are AWESOME. My car doesn’t vibrate when I do 70 miles an hour. ::chuckles::

The bluebonnets are just beginning to bloom. Next weekend would be a good weekend to make this drive – the bluebonnets should be out in force then. I need to get some planters and soil soon and get the lavender seeds going.

New Tires

written: March 23

Photo 357/1001



Just a small portion of the list of books (and all the accompanying data) needed for the paper that is due on Monday for the Resource Management class. I never thought it would be so difficult to come up with $2,000 worth of Pagan books. I worked on this for about four HOURS today. The narrative part of this assignment will be a breeze tomorrow.

I got new tires put on my car finally. I went to Discount Tire and told the guy there that I needed new tires because there’s no way my car was going to pass inspection. He gave me a look that said he didn’t believe me. Then he checked the tires and said he was amazed I had ANY traction. ::laughs:: Yeah, I TOLD you, but you didn’t believe me. ::shakes her head:: Oh well. I did breakfast at IHOP to kill some time while waiting for them to do their thing.

Sad day for us here – Josey’s beloved laser pointer has officially died. It lasted almost a full three years of MASSIVE usage, so I’m not surprised it finally gave up the ghost. And given that I only paid $12 for it, I know me MORE than got our money’s worth. So I’ve ordered a new one that will hopefully be here sometime next week. The sooner the better, as this dog is feening for a round of hunting the elusive Red Dot. ::chuckles::

Stressed to the Max

written: March 22

Photo 356/1001


Cute dino painting for the Book Fair.

And, I swear, every time I turned around at work today, something was NOT going according to plan. ::chuckles:: It wasn’t anything major. Just tons of little hiccups. No choice but to just grin and roll with it and make the best of it. Luckily the kiddos were in great moods, which makes all the difference in world.

I made some serious headway on the various assignments due for the Resource Management class. I opted to skip one of the assignments only worth 1 point, but did the other three. And then there’s a major paper due on Monday worth 15 points. Honestly, I figured I should stress more about the 15-point paper than one 1-point paper. And I’m stressed to the max right now. My mom text me, inquiring if I had set up an appointment to get my car inspected and I almost broke down crying at work because I am THAT stressed at the moment. Luckily, she was kind enough to schedule the appointment for me on Monday, while I’m down visiting her and doing my annual appointment with the gyno – part of the added stress I’m under right now.

I just need to get through the next few days and a lot of the stress will be lifted. The gyno visit is always stressful. I swear, it doesn’t matter how many years I get a clean bill of health, I will always worry about the HPV coming back and bringing the cancer along with it. So until I hear back from my doctor, saying everything is good, it will be a worry in the back of my head. It’s gotten less “loud” of a worry in my head…but it’s still there all the same.

Ostara

written: March 21

Photo 355/1001



The MOST amazing Ostara care package from Annette. She seriously sends the absolute coolest things. I’m already brainstorming a care package I want to send to her in return. But I’ve got to keep mum about it, because she does have access to my blog, and I don’t want to tip her off to what may end up in her surprise package.

I had a flash of witchy insight last night, right before I was about to fall asleep. I love those. And I’m glad they are coming back. I’m keeping mum on this as well because I think, once I have some free time? I’m going to test some of these witchy creations out. And if they work out, I plan on trying my hand at selling them. Might end up with an Etsy shop or something. ::chuckles:: Wish me luck. It would be awesome if it worked out. I don’t plan to get rich or anything off it. More just to share what I create with others who may enjoy it as well.

So I got put on another “special project” at the F. Library – but this one was actually pretty cool. They are getting ready for summer break, so I was given the task to do a quick inventory of the popular books we currently have on shelf. Bonnie gave me the list of books to check on. That took about an hour. After that, I got to log into Ingram (what the F. Library uses to order their books) and start pricing out books to add to the collection. So that was kind of fun. Better than weeding. ::laughs::

Comfort Food

written: March 20

Photo 354/1001



I was seriously craving some comfort food today. So I opted for a bowl of Honeycomb cereal.

Rough, rough day for me all around. I’ve opted to just read through the 2 modules for my Resource Management class. I’ve picked out two articles (one for each assignment) that I print out at work and read tomorrow night. But the bulk of my attention will be on the Gap paper due on Monday. It’s worth 15 points.

I worry that another depressive episode is on the horizon. My sleeping has drastically increased in the past few days. I’m sleeping almost the entire night through (getting up twice to answer the call of nature – pretty standard for me). I’m going to bed earlier and earlier, and yet I’m still just dragging ass. It’s either a depressive episode or the hormonal cycle. But since I don’t have periods any more, hormones are a bit harder for me to track. I’ll probably pick up some ovulation testers and figure out when I’m ovulating so that I can track my hormone cycle that way. This is THE ONLY THING I miss about having a period…just being able to track when I’m PMSing (aka EATING EVERYTHING in sight and ZERO tolerance for any sort of bullshit). ::chuckles::

Though…to be honest? Most of my PMS symptoms have drastically lessened since I got the ablation done. Maybe it was more of a mental thing – knowing that I was going to be menstruating soon – that ramped up the symptoms? I still wish my doctor had mentioned it right around the time I was getting my tubes tied. I would have jumped on that pronto and gotten it done at the same time.

Wand & Dragging

Photo 353/1001



My FABULOUS wand arrived yesterday. I seriously LOVE her. I did a quick video of her yesterday so I could show her off in her prime. The stones that are used to make her – you need movement to capture the flashes in the stone.

The point is astrophyllite, the focal stone is a cobalt and purple flash labradorite (looks gold in this shot as you have to angle it differently to catch the blue and the purple), and the base stone is blue goldstone. Seriously, the only way this could have been made MORE for me is if there was larvikite somewhere in there. ::chuckles:: And, as always, Luna Blue Boutique took the utmost care in packing it, both for safety and for aesthetic purposes. Her creations do cost a pretty penny, but man, you can FEEL the love and the care she puts into each object. And she puts just as much love and care into packing it up and mailing it out.

Man, I don’t know what is going on, but I have been dragging ass all damn day. I just can’t wake up fully. I’m drinking my second cup of coffee here at 7:45 pm. We’ll see if this is a bad idea or not. ::chuckles:: Even the students were commenting on how tired I looked!

::sighs:: We are waiting on ONE student to join the group and then the High Priestess will send out the calendar. Come on, Elisa, make a decision already! Either join the mailing group or leave the group. It’s not that hard! The High Priestess told us Saturday night that she would be sending the e-invites out that night, so it’s not like Elisa doesn’t know. ::grumbles:: I know, I am just being completely impatient here. And knowing that still doesn’t change how I feel about it.

Apparently, me and Azza are the only members not caught up on Game of Thrones – I haven’t seen any of it. So, I checked and my local Library has the first seven seasons on DVD. David’s game for watching, so we’ll probably binge that soon as we can. That way, I can join in on the conversations that revolve around Game of Thrones. ::chuckles:: Which, I’ve been wanting to watch it, but didn’t have a way to do so and didn’t think about checking the library. Silly me. ::laughs:: Yeah, I’m dense sometimes, I swear.

So a fellow blogger, Paper, pointed out, using a wood burner is fairly easy. You just use it to trace over the lines you draw in pencil. And I was just bragging about my tracing skills. ::laughs:: So yeah, I plan to snag a wood burning kit on the next paycheck and give it a go.

Spring in Swing

written: March 18

Photo 352/1001



The Douglas pear trees are absolute rubbish trees and their flowers stink. But man, they are pretty in the spring time. Took this photo while out on a walk with the Josey pup.

A lot of people in the neighborhood are pruning their trees, so I’m out scoping scrap wood. ::chuckles:: I want to make some beaded suncatchers and would prefer to gather up wood that’s been trimmed locally instead of using wooded dowels. I wish I had caught the people who trimmed this super ancient crape myrtle before they got rid of the wood. They had an entire trailer FULL of thick brnaches, and I’m sure I could have come home with the entire trunk of my car and part of the back seat full of amazing finds. ::chuckles::

Then again, it’s probably for the best that I didn’t. I would just hoard all of the wood SOMEWHERE (probably my closet of doom) for a year before I even realistically could start crafting with it. ::chuckles:: Though, if nothing else, it could have been fuel for the fire pit (that we STILL have not used!). There just aren’t enough hours and ENERGY in the days to accomplish all the things I want.

I got some work done on this week’s assignments for the Resource Management class. I have two more “opinion” essays and some reading to do before I can tackle the Big Paper due on Monday. Which, I will be out of town for, as I’ll be doing my yearly check-up with the gyno. I’m sure I’ll get the “all’s clear” again this year, which will make for 9 years cancer free (though, that technically doesn’t happen until October, as that’s when I had the dreaded LEEP procedure to remove it from my cervix). I do plan to talk to my gyno about possibly going every 2 years instead of yearly.

I am so glad that I didn’t have to go to the F. Library this morning. I still need more time to process everything from the ritual last night. And I had forgotten how much a good ritual will wear you out – in a good way. I need the Coven to send out the calendar, that list the class and ritual dates. The sooner the better, so I can get those dates blocked out on my planner to ensure I don’t accidentally make plans that conflict. But the High Priestess is waiting until all the students join the mailing list before sending that information out, so she only has to mail it out once. Which, I get. But I’m a planner and I want that info NOW.

And I forgot to mention that yesterday, David hit the gun range with John (his coworker). John has guns, so they didn’t have to rent from the gun range. They just had to buy ammo before they went – 200 rounds. ::laughs:: I am glad though that he went and hung out with John for a few hours. It got him out of my hair for a few hours before I headed out to class and ritual.

ToK Coven Class & Ritual

written: March 17

Photo 351/1001



The card I pulled at the first class and ritual with the ToK Coven. It’s from the Wild Unknown Deck. I’m still mulling over its meaning.

I ended up being about 10 minutes late to class. But at least someone came in later than me! ::laughs:: So I’ve made note of how long it takes me and WHERE the house is exactly, so hopefully next class, I won’t be late! Besides, the chair I was sitting in was so unforgiving! My hip was aching by the time ritual rolled around.

I can’t talk a lot about what goes on in the classes and the rituals with the Coven. That is one of the Tenets of Etiquette for the ToK Coven. Respecting privacy and not blabbing everything out there into the world.

But man, when we walked into the ritual house – a “she-shed” made over for ritual use – man, my breath caught in my throat. It was so beautiful. A whole ritual house, lovingly decorated with all manner of beautiful and sacred items. Immediately, I knew I wanted to do something similar to my bedroom where my altar is. Eventually, when we have a larger house with a larger yard, I wouldn’t mind setting up my own ritual house. Seriously, it was just gorgeous. And there were lots of candles lit and fairy lights as well. Just lovely. Seriously lovely. Granted it was a bit crowded with all of the Students (6 of us), the High Priestess, and Coven members (5 of them), but it was still really cool.

We did the feast there in the ritual house, in Circle as well. And I FINALLY got to sample Aesa’s amazing sourdough bread loaf AND sourdough banana bread loaf that I’ve seen all sorts of photos of on FaceBook. And man, it was every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. I seriously may have to try my hand at making sourdough now, because it if turns out half as amazing as Aesa’s bread, then it will still be pretty damn good.

I seriously love this group of women. As corny as it’s going to sound, the whole thing reminded me of the Book of Shadows by Phyllis Curott – which is, hands down, my absolute favorite pagan book. It’s her story of how she got involved in witchcraft and I’ve read it dozens of times and it never fails to inspire me. So yeah, I have a really good feeling about this group. Plus, the High Priestess cusses about as much as I do and has this fantastic rainbow colored hair. What’s not to like? ::laughs::

The only downside from the whole thing – the lady that sat beside me had THE ABSOLUTE worst breath I have ever smelled. Like we weren’t even sitting all that close during class, but anytime she spoke, it was awful. Like AWFUL. But super awesome lady otherwise, so I’m not holding it against her. ::chuckles:: But I won’t be sitting next to her next class if I can help it.

Chill Saturday

written: March 16

Photo 350/1001



My Mom was sending me all these cute photos of Lil Nephew and Lil Niece. Since David, Josey, and I were all together, watching a movie, I thought I would send her one of us. ::chuckles:: Too bad there isn’t a way to have Leviathan in the photo as well. Then it would have had the whole family together.

Tomorrow is my class and then ritual with the ToK Coven. And I’m starting to get a little nervous about it. But I keep telling myself, I really liked the High Priestess and the Guardian that I met for breakfast and interview. AND Aesa will be there for the ritual. So my lil head just needs to calm the fuck down about it. I will be fine once I’m actually THERE. It’s just the prospect of meeting a group of new people that always raises my anxiety a bit. I’ve decided to wear my Gaboon Viper necklace – in honor of Saint Patrick’s day. I always wear some snake jewelry on that day, because I’m Pagan. Just a little push back on the Saint Patrick legend of him driving all the “snakes” (metaphor for Pagans) out of Ireland. Ooooh, I have the snake hair stick I could wear as well, to keep my hair out of my face. Might have to see how that works with my hair – it’s fine but there’s a lot of it, so generally hair sticks don’t work very well on my hair. I bought it ages ago to use as a wand, but didn’t really care for it in that regard.

Wands apparently have been very, very fickle for me. Let’s see:
First, I had the apple wood wand with an ivy design burned in to it. I gave that one to Mary.
Next was the huge cedar wood and HUGE quartz crystal one. I still have it, but honestly, it’s more of a scepter than a wand. And it’s so difficult to actually use as a wand. I keep going back and forth on this one if I will sell it or not.
Then there’s the eucalyptus carved wand that looks like a snake that I bought from Australia. Yeah, I think I used it maybe twice?
The bone carved snake hair stick one that I mentioned before.
And the deer bone one with a rutilated quartz point that is my current favorite and the one I’ve used the most in all honesty.
I’m just a very fickle witch I guess when it comes to wands.

Athames? I’ve had five that I can recall.
First one was my grandfather’s hunting knife (I did return this to my brother).
Second one was a standard boot knife that I bought at a flea market. I painted the handle black because I was super Wiccan then, and the athame HAD to be a double-edged, black handled knife.
Third one was a beautiful deer bone handled, buffalo horned blade created on a lunar eclipse. I LOVED that athame. I sent it to a guy to make a custom sheath for it, and it was stolen. I am still sad about that to this day.
Fourth one was a beautiful one with an elk antler handle and a hand-knapped blade of ribbon obsidian. I ended up giving that one to Hazel Nut.
And last, is the one I currently have – a massive buffalo horn handled knife with a gorgeous Damascus blade. I love this beast. She’s heavy and powerful, but not so much that it’s a chore to use her.

I like my tools to have a good weight to them, so I know it when I use them. But they can’t be too heavy or I won’t use them. Hence why I do not have a ritual sword. ::chuckles:: I do have a spear with a bone head though. I really need to decorate that object. I’m just not 100% sure on what I want to put on it just yet.

Witchery & Journals

written: March 15

Photo 349/1001



I seriously love getting my witchcraft supplies from Hobby Lobby. It just gives me such joy. ::laughs:: I picked up two of these jars (for $1.24 each, they’re on sale 50% off) specifically because of the wooden lid. One of these jars will be used to hold the Psycho Ex Banishing Incense. And because the lid is wooden, I will be drawing a banishing sigil on the top with a paint pen. I wish I was skilled enough with a wood burner to burn the sigil in and then go over it with paint. But alas, I am not, so paint pen it is! Plus the wire that locks the lid into place is perfect for hanging the skunk claw or tooth from as well. I’m not sure what the other jar will be used for, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get two at a time.

And honestly, if I had known that they were 50% off, I probably would have grabbed half a dozen. ::laughs:: Because, CLEARLY, I need all the jars, in all the possible styles. Such a witch stereotype – one of the few that I find myself embracing.

I’ve decided I DO want to work on getting my Witch’s Journal updated after all. So I went through all the various journals and notebooks and blogs and found all the notes and entries that are Pagan and made a list of them. So yeah, now I have about 30 entries I need to make in my Witch’s Journal. Remind me again why I let this slip so bad? ::chuckles:: Oh well. I also need to work in Ali’s journal. I did get the photos printed that I want to put in it. Now I just have to DO the entries. ::laughs::

Otters & Stones

written: March 14

Photo 348/1001



Me and the most chill Capybara on the planet.

We went to the Otter Interaction thing at SeaQuest today. It wasn’t quite what we expected, but still, we had quite a bit of fun with Zander the otter.

David helping with a training session with Zander:



Zander between my feet:



He’s apparently a BIG fan of pebbles and likes to stuff them in people’s boots. ::chuckles:: At the gift store, we came home with plushies (a Saber cat for me and a Raptor for David) and David got a mug. I am shocked that they didn’t have magnets. I like to get magnets from the places we visit and put them on the side of our fridge. I guess I’ll just have to make one myself then, or have magnets made from the photos I took (via Shutterfly).

And then David inquired if I knew any good Pagan shops in the area that we could check out. I scanned through the stores listed in the mall, and picked out Crystal Moon Gallery. We hoof-ed over there and man, it was so awesome. Tons and tons of gems and minerals and fossils for such GREAT prices.

I ended up picking up two pieces of tumbled dinosaur bone (so friggin’ cool), a tumbled piece of ruby in blue kyanite, a tumbled piece of larvikite (because there’s just no way I can pass up beautiful larvikite for such a great price), and a piece of elestical quartz that is just stunning. They are all currently sitting on my altar, just chilling. I love them.

Happy Flail

Photo 347/1001



So this is apparently what happens when you let your broccoli plant just do its own thing. ::chuckles:: Maybe it will reseed itself and grow again? At least I know I can grow it.

Today was a boring ass day. I weeded for an hour. Though I did sneak in reading three of the picture books during this. ::chuckles:: And then I was on the E desk with Jen (who’s awesome) and then Kayla (who was super non-talkative). Which, normally I would be fine with the whole non-talkative, but anytime I opened up my journal to do some writing, she would start looking over my shoulder to see what I was writing. ::rolls her eyes:: I HATE that shit. So the hour with her DRAGGED so slowly. It was awful. At least we had a steady flow of patrons to keep me somewhat busy.

To be honest, I could still be completely worn out from all the socializing yesterday. I made sure to wear Hazel Nut’s protection locket today and I feel it did keep me a bit more grounded.

I’ve been steadily working this week to get all caught up on my pen pal replies. I’m down to just three currently! Woohoo!

I watched a pretty good webinar by the Witch of Lupine Hollow titled “How To Create Powerful Mini-Rituals” today. I took a few notes that I want to flesh out a little bit better. And I have a few things I want to mull over and write on before sharing here. Like a list of mini-rituals that I engage in most of the time without realizing they are mini-rituals. Witch of Lupine Hollow suggested writing them all down in your journal, and when you are feeling disconnected, just flip to that page and do one of the mini-rituals. Love that idea.

Tomorrow we get to go play with the Asian short-clawed otters! I am so excited. I was planning to call them today and verify that we did have our spot, because, how horrible would it be if they didn’t log us for that day and time? I would literally lose it because this is something I have been looking forward to for MONTHS. But I got the reminder email today, so hurray! I didn’t have to talk on the phone!

Oh yeah! So I may get to meet up with long-time blogging buddy, Annie, in October. We’ve known each other something like 14+ years now. She’ll be in Atlanta, which isn’t an awful drive for me (about 13 hours). AND I have two other buddies in the Atlanta area – James (LARPing buddy) and JoAnn (journaling buddy) that I would love to get some face time with as well. So I’m making a weekend of it and can hopefully meet up with all my peeps.

And you wanna talk about my social anxiety coming out when sending Annie a FB message when she announced she would be in Atlanta later on this year. I wrote and re-wrote, deleted, and then re-wrote my inquiry if she’d be interested in meeting up. Hell, I almost didn’t even send it. ::laughs:: But she is cool with meeting up and I seriously did a happy flail. ::laughs:: So I’ve got that weekend blacked out in my planner so I don’t plan anything else then. It will be so cool to meet up with Annie in person.

Curious George Event

written: March 12

Photo 346/1001



Cool postcard from Croatia. Funny, in the 5 years I’ve been doing Postcrossing, I have never received a postcard from Croatia, but now I’ve received 2 within a week of each other.

Today was a crazy day at the F. Library. We had our Curious George event today. We were expecting about 200 people. Instead, we got 386. And let me tell you, this Introvert was DONE at the end of my three hours at the Library. I came home, ate lunch, and then me and Josey pup took a two-hour nap. Honestly, I handled it a lot better than I thought I would have. Goes to show that my antidepressant is working. Because there is NO WAY I could have done that un-medicated. I would have lost my shit, had a panic attack, and have to hide in the back until I could calm back down. And then I would have been horribly embarrassed for losing my shit like that and it would be seriously painful for me to show my face there again.

I swung by Hazel Nut’s house to drop off the dried rose petals and Mandrake root she wanted. She got to show off her new-to-her car. It’s very nice. I just have no idea how they afforded it. ::shrugs:: But that ain’t any of my business and I will certainly wish her all the best.

What else to babble about? I’ve decided to just wear my green top from work with the black skirt for my ritual attire. I’ll have to decide if I’m going to wear my ritual necklace (the amethyst necklace made by Luna Blue Boutique) or if I’ll wear a different necklace. Maybe the protection locket that Hazel Nut made for me?

I received notification that Luna Blue Boutique has shipped out the Peacock Medicine Wand I purchased back on the 8th. I’m so excited! And super impatient. I want it here NOW. ::laughs:: But it’s traveling from Canada, so it will be a bit before I have it in my little paws.

Doodles and Journals

written: March 11

Photo 345/1001



GORGEOUS mail art on my letter today from my pen pal Sorrow. I am seriously jealous of her artistic abilities.

But I traced a FANTASTIC deer onto her reply letter. ::laughs:: I can’t draw very well, but man, I am the QUEEN of tracing. Once school is done, I will be picking up some How To Draw/Sketch books and giving that a serious go. It is a skill that I seriously want to develop. I want to include little drawings and whatnot in my various journals. And I want to be able to do things like this for my pen pals as well.

Can I just say, “Daylight Savings” sucks? Like, it really sucks. My alarm went off WAY too early for my tastes. But I got my hours done at the F. Library, so that’s really all that matters. Tomorrow is our Curious George event that I’m helping with. I have zero idea how that’s going to go.

Speaking of the F. Library – they gave me a new project. Weeding the Folk & Fairy Tale picture books. ::deep sigh:: Seriously, I’m about fed up with fucking picture books. ::laughs:: But at least I got some solo desk time again, which gave me the opportunity to do some journaling in my physical journal. I’ve color coded the pages with a highlighter (for Practicum notes – as I have to keep a spread sheet of my hours and duties to turn in to my Practicum Professor) and a blue sharpie (for personal entries). It certainly makes it easy to flip to the pages I need.

Which, I want to do the same for my ToK Coven journal. Maybe one color for class notes. Another color for ritual notes. I would also like to set up an index as well, so I can keep track of what I’ve put in the journal. Which means, I need to go through and number all the pages. ::sighs:: I really need a stamp that does that for me automatically. It would make my life SO MUCH EASIER. Or if all journals would just automatically numbered their pages. That would really nice as well. Knowing me, I’m going to mess up somewhere in the numbering of the pages. ::laughs:: I just always do that. Like I have a photo tracker in my BaBuJo (Bastardized Bullet Journal) to help me keep track of my 1001 photos challenge, and it never fails. I always fuck up the numbers for the month somewhere. ALWAYS. Thank god for white out and humor. And given that it’s my BaBuJo, I don’t feel the need to be perfect in it, so it all works out in the end.

Serpents and Plans

written: March 10

Photo 344/1001



Little Miss Leviathan, looking so purdy, as she was out, cruising all over her tank this morning. I definitely need to make an outdoor enclosure thing for her this spring and summer. I think it would do her a lot of good to just hang out in the sunshine and the grass with Josey and me while still being safe from predators. It shouldn’t be too hard. It would basically be a wooden box frame with screen for the sides.

I was looking through the journals that I do have and I came upon my nice, leather Slytherin journal I picked up last year (I think?). Turns out, I haven’t written it in at all. So that one is going to my Coven journal. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that since this is a new chapter in my spiritual practice, it should have a new journal. That, and my current Witch’s Journal has my magickal name on the front and it’s a name I’m not sure I want to share with others just yet.

I am a collector of names. I have so many of them that I use in various ways. But this is the name that I’ve only used between me and the Spirits/Deities. I have not shared this name with anyone else. And I kind of want to keep it that way. Maybe, later on, if this Coven turns out to be a good fit for me and I’m doing my Initiation ritual, maybe then, I will share this name with the Coven. But even then, it’s still not a given that I will. But no worries. Like I said. I am a collector of names and can use any one of them for Coven work.

Now for the journal, I just want to find a good Magickal Book blessing (Book of Shadows or Grimoire, I’m not picky) and possibly a protection Sigil for it as well. I plan to then copy in the Student Obligations that I will be signing on the 17th with the group. And I should probably add in my High Priestess’s contact information as well. After that, I have nothing to do until class and ritual day.

Which, now takes the pressure of trying to update my Witch’s Journal off, as I don’t have to have it done by a specific date. And honestly, I am thinking of just starting from this year and not worry about trying to update it with all the stuff since the last time I wrote in it. And honestly, my Spirituality kind of took a Sabbatical there for a while anyways. ::shrugs:: So I’ll just start from where I am currently at.

David did our taxes (which took him forever) and it seems that we are getting a VERY nice return. Now I don’t feel any guilt what-so-ever about buying the wand. ::chuckles:: I will be able to pay off a chunk of the hospital bill and set up a payment plan that I can live with. That is a huge weight off of my shoulders.

Witchy Class

written: March 09

Photo 343/1001



Yeah, I went a little crazy at the Not-So-Local Pagan store after the Candle Magic class (which was sooooo friggin’ awesome, by the way). The herbs are for the Psycho Ex Banishing Incense that I’m slowly amassing the supplies for. There are only a few items left that I want and then I just need to grind it all up and I can get that ritual rocking. I’ll be happy to fully cleanse and cut the cord on that shit so I can finally close the door on that past. I’m so ready to be done.

The Mercury dime is for the Red Fast Luck Oil. I will be making that in April. All I need now is a carrier oil. I have everything else.

The locket is a gift from Hazel Nut. Inside is a spell/charm for protection. She’s recently gotten into doing locket charms because they are a very inconspicuous way of doing magic and keeping your spell work on you. I love the idea.

The class over Candle Magic was awesome. I’m so glad Hazel and I went. I got a ton of ideas on new and different ways to use candle magic. I’ll need to write down all my notes in my Witch’s Journal. Which, I seriously need to update.

As much as I would love to buy a new journal to use for the classes with the ToK Coven, honestly, I should just use what I have. There’s no reason why I can’t use my current Witch’s Journal for that as well. I really need to complete things I start. I’m not very good at that. ::chuckles:: So I will need to update my Witch’s Journal asap because my first class is on the 17th. And there will be a full moon and Ostara combo ritual after class. So I’ll be there for most of the day. There is no telling what all my husband will do while unsupervised for that long. ::laughs::

Long Ass Day

written: March 08

Photo 342/1001



A cute Chinese New Year stamp (it’s the Year of the Pig) on a letter from my French pen pal.

Loooooooong fucking day. Early release day before Spring Break. Man, the kids certainly swung for the fences today. All sorts of shit behavior. ::shakes her head:: But we are off for NINE full days (counting weekends) and I am seriously looking forward to it.

When I got home, I saw that Luna Blue Boutique had put her wands and pendants in her etsy shop. There was one amazing piece in particular that she has been sharing photos of all week that I desperately wanted. I tried sooooo hard to be good, but this kick ass wand is MINE now:



I mean, seriously? How could I pass that up? The point is astrophyllite, with a gorgeous teardrop piece of labradorite, and the end piece is blue goldstone. Just stunning. It has been calling to my soul all week long.

So yeah, now I need to get my butt in gear and start selling off various things I have that I no longer use. I have two wands currently that I do not use that I need to get rid of, and the money would definitely help offset the cost of this gorgeous beast.

And of course, right after I bought this wand, I received my bill (finally) from the ablation procedure I had back in June 2018. I owe a little over $3,600. Which is not bad, when you stop and realize that it was a $40,000 procedure. But still…the hospital is expecting me to just cut them a check for the full amount. ::dies laughing:: I mean, yeah, I have the money…but that would almost completely wipe out what I have in savings. So yeah…that ain’t happening. I will have to call them on Monday and set up a payment plan. Why is it that you always receive mail like this on a damn Friday, so you can’t do anything about it until Monday and just have to sit with the knowledge looming over you all weekend.

I do not have any buyer’s remorse over purchasing the wand. My only wish is that the timing would have been better for me financially. ::chuckles:: Man, I just hope that when I am able to get a full time job, most of these worries will disappear. Because I am really tired of budgeting out every little bit, only to have some big expense come knock me off my rocker.

Maybe that should be my magickal focus for the rest of the year – manifesting the right job for me. The one that pays me $40k or more. That is full time. Full benefits. GOOD health insurance. Good fit for my personality. That is 30 minutes or less from my home. Stable. Healthy work environment. Great business culture. Good coworkers. Good retirement package as well. I do not think that is asking too much. ::chuckles:: There is a tiny bit of Red Fast Luck Oil still in the bottle, so I can use that until I can make my next batch.

Humbling

written: March 07

Photo 341/1001



CUTE unicorn sticker on pen pal letter from Sandra R. that I received today. I am seriously going to need to step up my pen pal game. I should hit the Dollar Store and see about picking up some low-cost stickers and stuff to make my letters a bit better. ::smiles:: Or, most likely, I will just start going through the massive sticker collection I currently have. I have a ton that I’ve amassed over the years, so honestly, I should just use those all up first. Besides, the less money I spend on stickers the more I can spend on postal stamps.

A previous student of mine, Lindsey C., stopped by today to say hello. Crazy to think she’s a Junior now! This was the 2nd grader that I had an in depth conversation with about the differences between marsupial and placenta mammals and she could keep up with me on that. She’s the kiddo that I taught some Latin to so we could translate the scientific names of animals, to see how the name describes the animal.

And she said that she got really into art because I used to draw all the snakes at the after school program. And she wanted to do the same. Talk about warming my heart!

I’ll have to email her mom and tell her she has an awesome daughter.

I needed that reminder as to why I do the after school program. It’s so easy to get caught up in the daily bullshit grind. It’s so easy to get caught up with the politics of the work place. It’s the connections with the kiddos that go far beyond just what we do at the program that matter. I mean, Lindsey hasn’t been in my program for 9 years now. But I still had a big enough impact on her that she made it a point to stop by and hang out for a bit. I mean, damn. That is beyond humbling.

Lil Sprout

written: March 06

Photo 340/1001



One of my daffodils is finally sprouting. Everyone else’s daffodils are in full bloom already. Figures that my plants keep to their own schedule – they are just taking after me. And seeing as how I do my own things on my own schedule as well, it just makes sense that they would do the same. ::chuckles:: Oh well. It’s better this way. I get to enjoy everyone else’s daffodil blossoms. And then, once theirs have all died off, mine will finally bloom and I get to enjoy those. ::smiles::

And if the new leaf growth on my rose bush is any indication, it is going to go absolutely crazy with the rose production this year. I will definitely try my hand at making rose water this go ‘round. And I will probably dry out a lot again and mail them out to some Pagan buddies this year. Rose petals are so versatile in the magickal world. And these were grown with a lot of love and care.

I do need to get some more potting soil and start my lavender seeds and assorted vegetable seeds indoors. Once the weather stops ping ponging up and down with the temperature, I can then move those outdoors with the rest of the plants. I am really hoping my garden does better this year than it has previously. It’s gotten better with each year, so I’m fairly confident this will turn out well.

Burn Out

written: March 05

Photo 339/1001



A fabulous turtle stamp (and a jet) on a Postcrossing postcard from Russia. Turtles, turtles, and more turtles. I keep seeing turtles everywhere since my grandmother passed. For me, it is like she’s sending them to me to let me know she’s doing ok. ::smiles::

Another boring day at the F. Library. Since I completed the picture book weeding yesterday, they had to scramble to find a new project for me to do. Now I am lending a hand to their Curious George projects for Spring Break. I can tell I am hitting a burn out stage as I am not even remotely interested in doing this. Honestly, I just want to sit and write and only be interrupted to help a patron find a book. That sounds like absolute heaven to right now.

Boring Day

written: March 04

Photo 338/1001



My very nice lithium quartz point that arrived today. I do not know why, but I decided to immediately rub it on my forehead. ::smiles:: It is soothing to say the least. It is supposed to be good for sleep, so it will be going on my bedside altar soon.

It was a rather boring day at the F. Library. I finished up weeding the picture books today. Thank god for that. I am so over doing that crap. But then I was only scheduled as “available for desk coverage” after that. And I was not needed for desk coverage. So yeah. Long, boring ass day.

But I get it. They have plenty of librarians that are on salary that they want to use to their fullest potential. And I am basically a volunteer. So of course they are going to give me the “special projects” that nobody else wants. And I also know that some work days are just going to be boring and suck. But damn. It just really sucks that I am giving up my mornings to do this shit, paying for the tolls and whatnot, to be there for FREE and doing boring ass shit. Not to mention the money I have had to spend to upgrade my wardrobe (which had to be done anyways at some point), just to be able to do these free hours.

Do not mind me. I am just being a whiny little brat at the moment. I am tired and burnt out and just really ready for it to be Spring Break already. I am ready for some of this craziness to be put on pause. This semester is just insane. Just nine more weeks and it will all be done. Then I get four weeks of break before I do a week of the End of Program exam. And then I am DONE. I can then start planning my celebration luncheon that will happen once I hear back officially that I’ve been awarded my degree. Then begins the fun of looking for a full time job. It would seriously be nice if I could just slide right in to a full time gig at the F. Library.

Missed That One

Photo 337/1001



A tumbled piece of GREEN goldstone. Normally, I do not really care for green, but this stone is just gorgeous. I hate that the green is not showing up properly. Maybe if the sun ever reappears, I can get a shot of it in natural light and hopefully show off the green.

So yeah. Today was the Bone Divination class. I checked my GPS last night and it said it would take me 25 minutes to get there. I get ready to leave today 30 minutes before class, and the GPS says it will take me 45 minutes! What the fuck???? Yeah, I ended up 20 minutes late to the class and there was nowhere to sit and they were well into the class information at that point. So I said fuck it and did some shopping at the Store instead. Because there is no way I drove 45 minutes to a Pagan store and going to return home empty handed.

And honestly, from the bits and pieces I heard of the class, it sounded more like a trinket reading than a bone reading. Little trinkets and charm bracelet pieces, with a few bones thrown in here and there. I was hoping for more bones. ::chuckles:: I will probably still take the class the next time it is offered though. And I have already noted how long it takes me to get to the Store, so for the upcoming candle magick class, I should arrive with plenty of time.

I already got my grade back on Big Paper #2 – 100%. Woohoo! That brings my grade for the class up to a 92. Thank goodness. I even tried to be a good student and start lesson 3 today…but the professor does not have it available yet. ::sighs:: Hopefully it will be open tomorrow and I can get a jump start on that.

I did get a bit of cleaning done up in my room. Changed the sheets on my bed and vacuumed the room. I did a tiny bit of cleaning on the art table – tossing obvious trash. But there is just so much there that you cannot even tell I touched it. Baby steps, so I do not get completely overwhelmed and just ignore it for another year.

I am down to just two pen pal letters at this point that need replying to. I am rather proud of myself on that. Though I am sure that as soon as I finish and mail those out, I will get a flood of letters to bury me again. ::chuckles:: I do need to start working in Ali’s journal as well. I might even bust out some paints for this one. Well, I will have to first go through and toss all the paints that have dried out. Then I can choose from what I have left. ::chuckles::

So all in all, a good, busy, but productive weekend that did not completely exhaust me. That is quite rare for me at times, especially considering the amount of people I was around most of the weekend.

Not According to Plan

written: March 02

Photo 336/1001



Um yeah, I totally forgot I was reheating my pizza in the oven. It got a tad charred. Surprisingly, most of it was still perfectly fine to eat. Just had to sacrifice the crust, which is my favorite part of the pizza.

Tea with Hazel Nut didn’t go quite according to plan. The place was PACKED. So we ended up sitting at the bar. And then the guy beside us was eavesdropping before finally joining in our conversation. ::sighs:: Which, he wasn’t impolite or anything. But dude, I wasn’t there to hang out and chat with him. I was there to hang out and chat with my friend that it’s been MONTHS since I’ve seen. So yeah, he pirated most of the hour we were there. Needless to say, we did not get nearly enough chatting done. We know next time, if it’s packed like that again, we will go elsewhere.

I came home and banged out my Big Paper #2. I’m actually surprised at how easy it was to write and fill in all the parts. Like, almost worried that I was missing a key point or something. But nope. I went over it twice just to make sure I had covered everything completely and correctly. Nineteen full pages. And I went ahead and submitted it. Yay! So glad to have that off my plate. And I went ahead and submitted my Practicum hours spread sheet for the month of February as well. No major assignments due at this point until the end of the month. But I seriously am going to try my damnedest to stay on top of the readings and assignments this month and not just wait to the last second (like I have thus far). I just end up completely and utterly stressed the fuck out and I only have myself to blame.

Ug, I am NOT enjoying the cold at all right now. I just want to curl up in bed and not move. ::chuckles:: I found another pixel art app and I’m completely addicted. It’s the No. Art app and I’m loving it. It has a lot of super detailed pictures to do, which I love. Sucks that it has ads from time to time, but not enough for me not to use it. ::chuckles::

Welcome March

written:  March 01

Photo 335/1001



BEAUTIFUL wolf postcard I received today from Lithuania via Postcrossing. Just gorgeous.

My new aide, Kaitlyn, started today. She is a high schooler and pretty quiet. Then again, the kiddos have been utterly insane this entire week, and all of the staff is just dragging major ass, so I do not blame her for just watching and learning. ::chuckles:: I told her today was just about survival. I will train her beginning Monday. Which, I also need to retrain Christina on how to use ProCare and get her to start doing that part of check in.

And talking to Kaitlyn, she’s planning to stay local once she graduates high school and go to one of the community colleges to get her basics out of the way. So I am a bit more motivated to really train her well as she could be back on my campus next year. That would be so nice, to have three aides return next year. Still not sure if Jess will be, and I won’t know about myself until I graduate and start applying for Library jobs.

Yesterday was the end of LetterMo 2019. I sent out 74 individual pieces of snail mail – letters, postcards, and packages. And I still have people on my list that I haven’t written yet. I want to get everyone written by the end of March (not counting the replies to letters I receive). But I think, considering everything I have going on currently, I did a damn good job this go around. Typing up a standardized introduction letter was friggin’ genius for this. I will certainly keep it for future use – updating it as required. And it would make a good update letter for pen pals that I keep throughout the year.

Crappy, cold weather here right now. So hubs and I decided to order pizza so we did not have to go out in said crappy, cold weather. That seems to be our tradition – if the weather is shitty, we opt to have Dominos delivered. ::chuckles:: We rented Lady Bloodsport on Vudu. Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for it, but it ended up being pretty good. Not good enough that we will buy the movie, but good enough that we didn’t regret renting it. ::chuckles::

I got started on my Big Paper #2 for the Resource Management class. It shouldn’t be that hard to actually write it. I just don’t WANT to write it. ::chuckles:: It is over a Needs Assessment for a Library and creating one of those. And let me tell you, it is just as exciting as it sounds. Which is to say…not exciting at all. Luckily, I got to sit in on a monthly staff meeting for the F. Library yesterday and got to see their circulation report for all the various sections of the library. So I got photos of that to help with this paper, so that was a major score. Yay for me!

Speaking of the Staff Meeting…holy crap. It seriously was awesome. I got to meet the Assistant Director of the Library and she was just as happy and welcoming and genuine as all of the staff I have met. I seriously wish my After School Program Management team could sit in on one of these staff meetings and learn what it is to create a GOOD culture for your company. AND how to have a productive, non-boring, non-STUPID staff meeting. Because, let me tell you, the monthly staff meetings I have to go to for the after school program? Yeah they suck so bad. Soooooooo bad. And most of the time, aren’t even useful.

Crafts: Witch & Otherwise

written:  February 28

Photo 334/1001



Sleepy Josey with her “security bone”. ::chuckles:: She has to pick just the right bone to bring with her to nap in my lap at night. ::laughs:: I love that silly ass dog.

So I ended up doing 7 hours at the F. Library today. The class that was at the last part of the shift I meant to do, ran late, and I stayed to help John A. put away the laptops and mice used for the class, so I was there until 9 pm. BUT, that means I am closing out February with 40% of my Practicum hours completed. Woohoo! Now I just need to update my spreadsheet and send it to my Practicum Professor.

The class I stayed for was on how to use the laser cutter and milling machine at the Library. Sooooooo friggin’ cool! I really want to make some sigils in wood to use in my Craft. And they would make cool gifts for my Pagan friends as well. Just gotta find the right designs and the wood that I want to use. From there, the rest is pretty easy. I will try both the laser engraver and the milling machine to see which look I like better. After that, man, the sky is the limit!

And I had a brilliant idea. The Local Library has an embroidery machine as well as a sewing machine. I want to make a red cloth pouch to put the Red Fast Luck Oil in while it is charging. And I could embroider various money, prosperity, and luck symbols on the pouch in gold thread. How cool would that be? And I would not mind making a pouch/wrap for my wand and my athame. Though I get the feeling that the wand wrap needs to be made of leather, and I am not sure yet if the Local Library’s sewing machines can handle leather. If not, then that will have to be done the old fashion way of needle and thread. Talk about a labor of love there.

I received my email today from the High Priestess. My first class is March 17th at 5 pm. And we are also doing an Ostara/Full Moon ritual after class. And I am expected to have “ritual wear” of some sort that is not street clothing. Eek! For my rituals, I typically wear a black skirt and the black spaghetti top. Which, I mean, eventually this coven does practice certain rituals sky-clad (aka, in the nude), so I guess I should start getting used to being a bit more “exposed” than I usually am. I will probably take my black cardigan just in case I get cold. Though, the top I wear for ritual is not exactly built for a girl as top heavy as I am and the straps really dig into my shoulders. I will probably hit Old Navy and see if I can find another top that will work better and won’t hurt as much. ::chuckles:: I am so excited though.

Feathers & Zombies

written: February 27

Photo 333/1001



A close up shot of a gorgeous Kookaburra feather Loree (family) sent me from Australia. Unfortunately, the cockatoo feathers and the rainbow lorikeet feathers were seized by US. Fish & Wildlife. Apparently, they are classified as endangered species and can’t be mailed to the US with a CITES license. Oops! I didn’t even think about them being protected as we can have them as pets here in the US. I just hope it doesn’t get Loree into any trouble. And I’m totally bummed they seized the cockatoo feathers because she had a GORGEOUS, perfect wing feather in there that was massive. It would be have soooooo pretty to put in a frame and hang (which is what I’m planning to do with the other feathers). But apparently kookaburra feathers are just fine, so hopefully I get a few more of those.

I completely forgot that today is the International Polar Bear day. All day I was thinking it was tomorrow. I swear, I barely know if I’m coming or going these days. Needless to say, I did not get the altar set up or do anything ritual yet. Maybe this weekend. ::chuckles:: Seems to be the story of my life.

I did get asked by Kayla (librarian) to help out on a project she’s doing for the teens this summer – a live action choose your own adventure thing centered around the Zombie Apocalypse. I will be reaching out to my LARPer buddies and see if they have any ideas to share. I should definitely ask Kayla when they are doing this (I know it’s sometime late June), because I will certainly love to come help and see how it plays out with the teens. My Practicum hours will be over then – hell, I might even have my degree by that point. But I definitely want to see how it all plays out in the end. And it is certainly something that would be cool to add to my resume to really make it stand out from the crowd.

Better

written: February 26

Photo 332/1001



A beautiful card from Cassie W. (Australian pen pal). I just loved all the details, from the emblossing to the colors to the washi tape as well.

I am doing a lot better today than I was yesterday. Honestly, I probably should have taken yesterday off and just slept the day away. I was barely running on fumes. I did not sleep well for most of the weekend and it took a serious toll on me. But I headed to bed early last night and did not even last the entire CD I usually listen to while I do my pixel coloring before I turn in to go to sleep. And I slept most of the night rather soundly. So hopefully that will fix a lot of the issues I was struggling with yesterday.

I updated my Practicum spread sheet. I need to sit down and rework my schedule (again) to make sure I can get all my hours in before the end of the semester. And I would like to schedule a few more 2 pm – 8 pm shifts just to get the hours done faster (and pay less toll fees).

I need to set up my altar for Polar Bear Day ritual. That is on Thursday, so it is swiftly approaching. I have quite a bit of cash in the box that needs to be blessed and charmed before I deposit that into my savings account. And I should figure out how much of each paycheck I need to deposit into savings to be able to hit the Savings Goal I have set for this year. And I am really feeling the pull for some good ritual time. And the Polar Bear one is one of my personal favorite holy days that is solely mine.

Maybe that is what I need more of. More personally meaningful holy days and less of the “mainstream” ones that do not really mean much (if anything) to me. Honestly, I think if I were to do a massive decluttering and maybe some rearranging, my rituals will be better. The “art” table is completely buried in stuff and trash. And I think that stagnant energy is slowly enveloping my entire room. Maybe this summer, I can get that done.