Growly

Today’s #cy365 prompt is “Steaming”. This is the best I could come up with:



My doTerra diffuser (currently diffusing OnGuard to combat the allergies in this house).
It was more than a little difficult to come up with something “steaming” when today’s temperature was 78 F. ::chuckles::

Grumpy Wolf is a damn grumpy Wolf today. MoonTime will soon be here and I’m just crabby as hell waiting for it to show up. ::chuckles toothily::

Nearly Full Moon was riding high this evening when I got out of work, and the skies were clear. I was sorely tempted to do my Full Moon ritual a day early and take advantage of it. But, honestly, by the time I got home, I was tired and crabby and decided to wait until tomorrow.

Wanderlust is back. I don’t have any destination in mind. Just somewhere that isn’t HERE. Seeing as how I have Monday and Tuesday off, I may do a quick trip out to the Zoo. I haven’t been there in a while, and going through all the photos I had on my camera makes miss the Zoo. The Husband has taken Tuesday off and we are just going to be bums that day.

He also has requested a week off in March the same time I have Spring Break – which, miracles of miracles, my school district finally got its fucking act together and has Spring Break the same week EVERYONE ELSE DOES – which means, I’ll have a full week off of work AND college. Woohoo! Last year I did not have such a luxury and boy did that SUCK!

The Husband had mentioned in passing about possibly going up to Wolf Park over our Spring Break. And while that would make my heart so ridiculously happy, honestly, we should be saving the money. I dunno, maybe we will go down to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park. We’ll see how it all pans out.

Grimoire & Altar Cloth

I didn’t use the #cy365 prompt from today – it was “print”.

Instead, I’m taking the prompt from the 2017 YouTube Pagan Challenge from last week. I know, this ain’t YouTube, but I do like the prompts. I just don’t do video. I have to remain in the closet because of my job….and I don’t want any part of the NASTY drama that goes on in YouTube Pagan Land. Fuck that noise.

Anyways. Week 1 of the 2017 YT Pagan Challenge (yeah, yeah, I know I am a week behind, but I’ll catch up!): Show and tell – your grimoires, notebooks, journals, etc. What type of book do you prefer?

And seeing as how excited I am about my working grimoire for this year, I decided this was a perfect time to show the very beginnings off.

Title Page:



I have the beautiful art card from Luna Blue Boutique covering up my Craft Name. As I’ve stated before, I am a collector of names and have used many throughout my life. But my Craft Name is one that I hold very near and dear to the heart. It’s once I created myself that sums me up pretty damn well. So yeah, I ain’t tossing that out for every day consumption.

The other three pages I have titles done for:



I just really like the way these have come out. I just need to type up what I want to say about each one (because I type worlds faster than I write) and then I can copy it over onto the paper in my own handwriting. I am old school about that kind of thing. I can print out articles and whatnot. I can type up my rituals for speed and ease. But if they are truly going in my grimoire, then I will be handwriting them.

So yeah, this is the beginning of this year’s grimoire. I kind of like the idea of doing a new one each year. I am keeping this one in a gray 3-ring binder as my working grimoire. At the end of the year, it will be moved over into a black leather 3-ring binder, or I may have it bound into an actual book. Haven’t decided yet, and I still have quite a bit of time to figure that out. For next year’s working grimoire, I’ll copy over things that haven’t changed, but will basically start it from the ground up again. At that point, this year’s grimoire will be more of a reference book for the new year. And I hope to continue this tradition each year.

I do like the bound books honestly. But it just doesn’t make sense for a working grimoire. I like there to be order, to be able to move and shuffle information around as needed. And my altar is small, so I need to be able to just have the necessary papers and leave the binder itself in the cabinet. That is what my altar is….a two tier cabinet, so the binder would be stored under the working altar – where the altar cloth, tools, candles, etc. that are used in the actual ritual. Hmmm, I don’t feel like I’m explaining this very well, so tomorrow’s entry very well may be a photo-essay about my altar just so I feel I’ve done a better job explaining it all. And that will go into my working grimoire as well!

And totally unrelated, but I figured while I was taking various photos, I might as well get one of the altar cloth I’m so happy made it in time for this Full Moon:



For serious, ain’t it GORGEOUS?!?!
And it cost me $6.98 (that’s WITH shipping). Gotta love beautiful, cheap, well-made fabric!

Hair and Devotions

written: January 9th

The #cy365 prompt today is “Game” – my interpretation is the game I’m currently playing of “how long can I grow my hair out”. This is the length I am currently at (roughly around 30 inches, scalp to tip):



I keep saying I am going to go get my hair cut/trimmed. Normally, I have between 4 and 8 inches cut off, but I keep stalling about doing it. I don’t know why, but I really, really don’t want to cut it. Even if I know it would make my hair look so much healthier. I’m sure at some point I will go in and get it cleaned up…but for now, I am relishing the sheer length of it.

So I guess all my wishing yesterday paid off. My new, dark blue altar cloth arrived today – a full three days early! And it’s gorgeous. ::chuckles:: I am very happy with it. The altar cloths I use are actually Pashmina Shawls that I purchase from Aileen’s Scarves on eBay. They are cheap. The seller is lightning fast on the shipping. And they are perfect for my altar. ::smiles:: So I’m starting to set up for that. I’ll be sure to take a photo of the altar cloth before I get everything set up, to show off its gorgeous color.

I watched a video by MonsoonMagick called “Sacred Art – an act of devotion PLUS a Book Review”
that I just fell in love with. She reviews the book “The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire” by Skye Alexander and discusses how working in one’s grimoire should be a sacred act, an action of devotion. And I just LOVE that idea. I have even purchased the book (used, to save some money) and plan to read through it and see what all I can gleam from it. But this video and the lesson behind it, spurred me to start honestly working in my own Working Grimoire for 2017.
I found a font I like that I’ll use for the titles of the pages. Since I am using a 3-ring binder and I came across a huge stack of assorted colored cardstock, that’s what I’m electing to use. I’ve already got the title page for the Grimoire done, plus headings for the smudging I did at the first of the year, the upcoming Full Wolf Moon, and my daily affirmation ritual. I will share photos of those tomorrow. I don’t have an issue just sharing the title pages. But once I actually fill in the information…that I won’t be sharing.

I have to walk a fine line between sharing information to help others, and oversharing and thus exposing my own hard-earned lessons/truths. If I were in a teaching Coven, some I would be happy to share. But even then, there are some truths that are only meant for me, on my Path, at this time.
That’s the beauty of this Path. It is ever changing, ever evolving. Just because it is my truth today does not mean it will be my truth a month or a year from now.

Ritual Prepration & Inspiration

written: Jan 8th

#cy365 prompt is “Get in the Picture”:



Josey looked so content, napping in the sunshine, so I decided to join her.
You know? Laying on the floor isn’t NEARLY as comfortable as it used to be!

The Full Wolf Moon is swiftly approaching. I will be cleaning, cleansing, blessing, and rededicating my various wolf items and will be renewing my bond with my spirit wolf who watches over and protects my dreams. I hope the dark blue altar cloth arrives a day early so I can use it for this ritual. I just hate it when inspiration strikes, but there may not be enough time to pull it off! Like seriously, it would have been nice if the inspiration for a dark blue altar cloth had hit a week prior…that way I could be sure it would be here in time.

I will also be trying out a Circle Casting I found online. My current Circle Casting is pretty weak and something I’m rather uninspired about, but that I know would make my Practice so much more meaningful if I were better at it. I mean, the Circle Casting is the start of the ritual and if it’s a shitty start, it’s pretty difficult to overcome it. SO. With that all said and done, one my personal goals relating to my Path this year is to have a consistent way of Casting Circle. Hence why I plan to use this prewritten one for a while before tweaking it to make it more personally relevant to my Path. I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those “Back to the Basics” year. Once I get a solid foundation built, I know my Spirituality will become even stronger and deeper.

I kind of got a wild hair up my ass and did some MAJOR “settling” work in my room. My desktop computer is FINALLY up and running (only took me, what…9 months?). this also means I can get the photos off my good camera once again! And holy hell, some of those photos are STELLAR! I had forgotten how good that camera is. Might have to start using it some for the 365 photo challenge as well. Don’t get me wrong, my phone does a very good job. But my Nikon? AMAZING.

I also cleaned out and organized about half of my massive closet. I have a shit ton of papers that I need to take to work and shred. I have a shit ton of stuff to toss (recycle what I can, throw away the rest). I also cleaned off the “art table” which really, had just become a dumping ground for EVERYTHING. I hope to continue the decluttering, by setting the goal of just going through one box in my closet. That’s how the massive decluttering that happened earlier today started….just one box. Because, if I say I need to work on the entire closet, that is so fucking overwhelming that I just avoid it and nothing ever gets done. But instead, just one box, gets me in there and soon I’m going way beyond the one box. ::chuckles:: Sucks that I have to trick myself like this, but I am glad I’ve finally figured it out!

Snow, Pigs, & Expenses

written: January 7th

#cy365 prompt is “Minty White” – which has always bothered me because mint is GREEN. ::laughs:: Yeah, just one of those thoughts that sticks with me and irks me anytime it comes up. Anyways, another shot of the “snow” once it was done “snowing”:



I’m glad I took this shot as soon as I got up. By noon, most of the snow had melted away. Right now the only snow left is what’s been protected by shade and shadow. And from what I’m seeing about our weather, we’re supposed to be back up in the 70s by midweek. ::laughs:: Gotta love our two or three days of winter at a time.

My brother and two of his friends went hunting out on our land. Right now, the only deer you can take are does (females) and spikes (males who’s antlers do no fork). But to Mom’s and my happiness, they took one of the feral hogs instead.



This is ONE of the boars….not even the biggest, that my Mom’s named “Big Boy”.



This is why, as much as I would like to camp out on Mom’s land, I won’t, unless I go out and run a hot wire perimeter. And even then, I would certainly have a gun on me for sure.

We just have SO many hogs. There’s a handful of adult sows that we really need to kill off. And TONS of piglets. Which are cute with their spotted coats, but the above hog is what they turn into. Hell no. They have got to go. And given that those lil female piglets can be sexually mature at 6 months old, and that they have zero problem with having multiple litters….you can see why they are so difficult to eradicate. Shit, I may take up hunting just to go after the pigs. I’m not sure that I could take a deer myself just yet.

Who knows? Maybe after taking all those wilderness survival classes, I’ll be out there running around in a loin cloth with a spear, killing ‘em all! ::dies laughing:: Yeah, just ignore all the cactus, mesquite, and other vicious native Texas plants that are out there.

Looks like the next medium expense for the house will be getting proper curtains for all the windows. The next BIG expense will be probably having someone come out and reseal some of the windows. With the temperatures being down in the single digits at night, we figured out real fast that some of the windows are VERY drafty. ::sighs:: Now, the Husband would love to replace all the windows with bullet-proof glass, but that transforms the Big Expense into a MASSIVE Expense, so that is definitely on the backburner for a while. He might change out one window every so often until he gets them all done. Or this may just be a project that he talks about and dreams about for years, but never actually does. But then again…he’s done one window already. There’s just no telling with him. ::laughs::

Cuddles and Prepping

Today’s #cy365 prompt was “Where I Stand”. Originally I took a photo of my feet on the elliptical, as I did finally get my butt on it today. ::chuckles:: But then it started “snowing” (it is really just sleet, but here in Texas, because we rarely even get that, we just call it snow and enjoy it while it is here), and my crazy little pit bull wanted NO part of it, that I am going with a photo of us cuddled up on the floor, under a blanket, in front of the little space heater we have in the living room instead. Because that is how we roll here in this household. ::laughs::



So to touch more on the wilderness school I mentioned in passing yesterday – it is the Earth Native Wilderness School in Austin. I found it when I was searching for a “local” group that hosts Vision Quests. There is a group down in Houston that I was trying to locate again when I stumbled across this one instead. And this one is not only closer, but it offers so many classes that I have been interested in taking, but had no idea WHERE I could take such classes.

I am really going to let my nerd flag fly here, but these are the classes I am interested in taking:

- Acorn Harvesting & Preparation
- Brain Tanning Buckskin
- Camouflage & Concealment
- Flint Knapping & Primitive Stone Tools
- Knife Making
- Wilderness Survival 101

Seriously makes me giddy at the thought of getting to take such classes beyond the Vision Quest. Now, I will not be able to take all of those classes this year. One, I just do not have the time to do each of those classes. And two….some of those classes are PRICY. But I think if I space them out over two years or so, I can do all of them. I like the “survival/prepper” type of classes. I would like to increase my knowledge and skill set in this realm. Besides, have you seen the price of tanned leathers and hides? And given than my brother and his friends enjoy hunting, I can get deer hides easily and cheaply.

Oooh, random idea….I can treat myself to one class for each A I get in my Master’s program. ::chuckles:: Y’all may laugh, but that is some crazy motivation there on top of my standard competitive streak. So I got two A’s last semester, so that is two classes I can take already. ::rubs her hands together and starts plotting:: Honestly, though, the brain tanning class is about $200 so most likely it will count for two of these classes.

::sigh:: I soooo look forward to the day that I am making more than $22,000 a year. Yeah, ya read that right. That is roughly what I make after taxes. Amazing that I have done this well for myself, this long, on so little money. I look forward to the day that I complete my Master’s degree and I am making more than $22k. Am I saying that money will make all my “problems” disappear? No. But not being worried about looming debt AND being able to pay all my bills with some fun money left over? That shit is AMAZING. THAT is what I am looking forward to achieving.

Thankful Thursday

Today’s #cy365 prompt is “Smile”.



So I took a photo of my Frappuccino and Rice Crispy Treat Bar that I had at work. Gotta fuel up before the students arrive!

I am thankful….
1. To be done with the Writing Buddies’ Journal Swap for now. I mailed DB’s journal back to him on Tuesday. I keep saying I’m going to bow out and then I forget until the journal arrives unannounced in my mail box. Maybe I secretly like the fact that it guilt’s me into journaling? ::shrugs:: Who knows?
2. Ordered my Imbolc candle today. I know, I have a bit of time between now and Imbolc (February 2nd), but the lady that makes these AMAZING candles does them in very small batches. So, I’m learning my lesson, because I missed getting her Yule candle, so I snagged the Imbolc today.
3. Working heater in my house. The weather has been cold lately, so I am deeply grateful for a heater that makes it enjoyable to be home.
4. Being back at work again. Missed my lil hooligans. My grumpy aide and my shitty boss – not so much. ::laughs::
5. Lauren (aide from last year) was able to come by and hang out for a few hours. It was nice catching up with her and I know the students were thrilled to see her again.
6. That I don’t have to run my husband anywhere tomorrow morning. It’s been crazy to see how much doing that has completely thrown off my daily rhythm. But tomorrow SHOULD be all me, so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things.
7. For red laser pointers. It allows me to easily wear out my pup when I am too much of a baby to walk her in the cold. ::laughs:: I can stand out in the yard for 10 minutes and run her close to ragged before moving the game into the house for continued destruction.
8. Being able to chat with family I have never met via FaceBook. I have connected with my father’s cousin (her father and my grandfather were brothers) – she and her family live in Australia. We’ve been sharing family information back and forth and it’s been pretty damn cool.
9. Getting hit with a flash of inspiration for my altar for Imbolc right at the red light that lasts forever! I was able to scribble down all the notes while waiting for the longest-red-light-ever to turn green.
10. Finding a “local” wilderness school that is offering a number of classes that peak my interests. Local is in quotations because it’s about 3.5 hours away….which is the same amount of time I drive to go see my mom, and that is with me staying in the same state. ::laughs:: Texas is crazy huge.
11. That my copy of Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries: Intuitive Ritual Creation, by Ruth Barrett arrived today. And since I finished up reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrick Backman, I can delve into this book right away.

All in all, it’s been a pretty good first week of 2017. Boss is still an idiot. Annoying aide is still annoying. But other than those minor irritations right now, everything else is pretty damn peachy.