Goodness Gracious!

Deepest apologies, lovelies! Apparently, December 26th came and went. As it passed, it glared at me and clicked at me as a disappointed parent walks by a lazy child in their filthy room. I was that lazy child. Whoops! At any rate, I am back with "Happy New Year" greetings, even though our new year began with Samhain. So! Let's work backward, then.

I am enjoying my three-day weekends while they last. Once Spring hits, it's back to full time. However, for my gas bill, a bit of warmer weather wouldn't go unappreciated. Today, I went to the local hardware store and bought: four bottles of lamp oil (I use my oil lamps instead of electric light for that "period" feel and to keep the electric bill down), weather stripping for my door (whoever hung that thing needs to go back to construction school), plastic sheeting for my windows (though I've only covered the one in my room for now; kitchen window's next weekend), and a spring-resistance curtain rod (to put up my heavy curtains between the living room and the "hallway.") This was all less than fifty dollars. While I was out, I saw my "check engine" light turn off, so I made a beeline to the local mechanic shop to have my (two month overdue) inspection sticker changed. Now, I'm home uploading the last few videos from my trip to Anime Boston last year to my YouTube page.

Work has been hard. It's a farm, so, not surprise there. The cold isn't actually so bad once I'm moving. The circulation gets going in my fingers and toes once I've been working for about a half an hour. It's just the annoyance of trudging through snow/slush. Granted, this only last for a few months out here, as opposed to the half-year-long winters in Michigan. At least there's always a warmer clime. Loving Fall the way I do, though, I'll accept the winters and forgo to yearlong summers of the south. But, I digress.

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping for the first half of this month. I'm attempting to spend only twenty dollars every two weeks on food. So far, so good. I've got a mushroom and barley soup recipe that I'm planning on making for the week that I have in one of my many cookbooks. If it turns out alright, I'll post it. It's supposed to be a good, thick soup, too, so it'll fill me with a single serving and last me a while.

New Year's Eve is usually a quiet evening for me. This past changeover was no exception as I had to be up the next day to work at eight. I returned home for work around five o'clock, made dinner and watched Brazil on YouTube. Then, I went to bed around nine-thirty. Woo-hoo! *U_U*

Now, back and back and back to Christmas Day. Uncle's sister came over and we went sledding across the street! Though, by then the big snow that had fallen a week prior ("Blizzard 09" is what the Weather Channel called it) was wetter than is preferred for sledding, but a few pushes and we were off! Nature was welcoming and happy to have us that day. The sun shone and the breezes were minimal. As for the morning ritual, we (I slept over in Uncle's office which is off of his and Auntie's bedroom) all slept in a bit, as we'd gotten home from the Family Christmas Eve party around midnight. Bedtime was closer to one because we have the excitement of filling each other;s stockings and placing gifts below the tree without looking on Christmas eve. So, when we wake up, it seems as if Santa had come and all of the childish joy and innocence we once took for granted was returned to our minds and hearts!

Speaking of gifts, what a haul! I received some candle making supplies to get me off to a grand start of making my own candles and using them in lieu of electric light. They consisted of a cube mold, antique 4-taper mold, block of beeswax, block of cinnamon scented wax with wicks and a bottle of sugar cookie scent for the unscented wax. It smells closer to butterscotch and I couldn't stop opening the bottle and sniffing it! Auntie found me a wooden drop spindle kit with instructions and a few handfuls of alpaca wool. Two years ago, she had given me a book on spinning that has still more instructions on spinning (from start to finish!) I also received Edain McCoy's A Witch's Guide to Faery Folk (a book that I've been coveting since high school), The Coming of the Fairies by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (yes, fae enthusiats, that book!) and Craft of the Wild Witch by Poppy Palin. This last book, I had never heard of, but, immediately I fell in love with the concept and words. We all express words of confusion and have felt the path wander away without us from time to time. Around the beginning of November, I felt lost, too. I knew that I was on the right path for me, but calling myself Pagan was like staring at an open-ended question on and exam. Long story short, the path of the Wild Witch is exactly the path that I am meant to pick up! Lost no more! It is incredible to finally feel that I've found that specific, yet open pagan calling. I've always felt akin, though frightened as a child of the witches of fairy tales. Misunderstood, they are the nature-oriented healers of the Earth and wise folk of past, present and future. They are the archetype of The Witch I Want To Be. They dwell in the cottages after which I hope to fashion Witch Cottage. They tend the gardens and call the spirits with which I hope to work. The thrill I hold within my very bones at being given my true path as easily as a Christmas gift is impossible to put into words. Everytime I think of the book, I uncontrolably imagine myself hugging it as I would my path if it were tangible. My witch heart is full of love and deepest gratitude to Auntie, my Godmother, my sister, my friend for knowing that this would be of interest to me. How grand that she knew not how important it is to me, yet took that chance because of all of the little bits of it I love that she happened to see in flipping through it before purchasing. I adore my library and I cherish my newest additions as I will glean decades of information and magick for them! Ooh! And long johns and woolen socks for work!!! I've been so cozy this last week! *^_^*

The family Christmas eve party, themed every year by the host, was put on my my oldest sister. She and my brother-in-law chose the theme Japanese. So the food was: Saketinis, roll-your-own sushi, veggie tempura, veggie "nests" and homemade Miso soup. Now, I've never been a fan of Miso. It always tasted like feet to me. Perhaps it is the results of eating dehydrated, pre-packaged, powdered soup? I dunno. But Jen's Miso, well that's a horse of a different color! Amazingly delicious! When I say homemade, I mean made from scratch; the girl even made homemade seaweed stock for the base! That's dedication to the theme. We have a set spending limit of twenty dollars every year for the gifts. It's been a Yankee swap every year since we began this tradition. To keep it easier on anyone that wasn't obsessed with Japanese culture (like my other sister's boyfriend, my other sister [to an extent] and myself), she kept the theme "Asian." I picked out a cute little figurine and some origami. Having too few gifts for us all to have a third go-round, I was lucky enough to be the "last to pick." This is lucky, because I had the option to stick with the two I had, or steal a third from someone else. I would have been fine with what I had, except that Auntie was the last gift and she picked a Sgt. Frog ring! I wanted it, and she would never wear it, so it is mine and I love him! The evening was full of great fun and frivolity and a marvelous time was had by all!

And now, dear friends, you are all caught up. *^_^*