Home Sick and Thoughts

Hi and Merry Meet,
I've been so busy these days! Today I'm home sick, so I have a minute to actually breath and blog.

Since I have been home for two days I have been watching about the earthquake in Haiti. Earthquakes are scary. In Japan, we had one almost every month or more. However, they were not nearly that big. I can't imagine how scared and frighten those people must have been. One thing that I did when Katrina hit was to send a box of clothes and goods that could help the people there. I am thinking about doing something similar this time. I am grateful for the things I have. If I can give them away to help someone else, then I feel that I need to do that.

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Vacation Fun

Hi and Merry Meet,
It seems that every two years to the day I get summoned for jury duty. I have never actually been to the court house. I have to call in and my number has not come up yet. This time, I not only got a summons, but it is a three month grand jury summons! Today was my first day to call in. I'm off the hook for a little while. I don't have to do anything until they send me a letter (most likely next week) and then I start calling in.

So, after learning that I don't have to go to court tomorrow, I am going to visit my mom so we can get some skiing in!! It will be my first time out this year! My parents thought it was very important that my brother and I learned to ski at a young age. They had me out there when I was three. I can't tell you how glad I am that they did that, because if I had to learn now... well, most likely, I wouldn't go. My mom and I have some of the oldest equipment known to mankind. However, I think we make some of the hot shot kids with the newest and most expensive stuff look like they are rookies.

One of the other things that I have been up to learning to quilt. My husband bought me a quilting class lesson for my birthday. I had to choose three colors. A light, a dark and a medium color. I went with all blue tones. It made me think of the element of water. I decided that I wanted to make an element quilt. I got reds, green, and yellow tones for the other three squares. Measuring is really hard for me. It ties into my dyslexia with the sequence/ order of things. This quilt is a big challenge for me. So far, everything has come out the same. I worry that if I do something harder that is not measured in even inches, I'll drive myself crazy with it. Oh well, I cross that bridge when I come to it. I asked the Lord and Lady to help me stay claim and relaxed as I work on this project. Fun things should not cause stress. I'm really excited about how it looks so far. I have a bit more to do before the squares are done. Then, I have no idea how to put it together to make a real quilt!! :) I want to do this as I am thinking that if this works for me, I would like to make one for my brother and his fiancee for their wedding gift, however not an elemental one, but one that would represent their union and marriage.

Tomorrow night after skiing I'll start to prep my altar and scared space for my blue moon ritual.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Tarot Class and Other Stuff

Hi and Merry Meet,

The past few days have been kind of crazy here! Yesterday, I woke up to find that someone had rammed their car into the fire hydrant outside my house during the night. I heard it happen, but just thought someone had hit a semi, or a bus... not the hydrant!! It shook my house and all the water pipes reverberated for a minute after. Seriously, I had no idea what really happened! So, when I got up this is what I saw:Yup, that's the hydrant lying on it's side knocked completely off the water pipe. Crazy... I want to know what their car looked like after that! Husband called the city and today they are replacing it.

Last night was my intermediate tarot class!!! I'm so happy that it is back in session. I really missed it. I'm the only one from the original class, but that's cool because the new women in my class are just as amazing! Our instructor encourages us to pick a card and see if we can find that energy in our daily life somewhere. Today my card is The Moon. For the next three weeks I'll pick a daily card and take notes at the end of the day to see where this energy has manifested. She has us do it last go around of classes, but I wasn't so serious about it. I admit, I didn't think it was cool. However, I've been working with one card at a time in meditations and now I'm finding that I do enjoy looking for that energy. It has also helped me connect with my decks more than I thought I could. I'm also trying to rotate though my decks so I'm not dependent on the one that I use for readings with others.

The last time we had classes, our instructor used different decks and asked us to read with them. I found this very difficult as I was stuck on the pictures from my one deck. I've been working with three different decks now so that I can look at them and feel what they mean instead of memorizing what I was taught. This is hard for me! I'm putting in effort and slowly I feel like my effort is paying off. Last night my partner for reading practice used a deck I have never seen. I was able to do a reading and I was pretty accurate with it. It was a cool feeling!

We also learned a few new spreads. This one that I did today is for seeing how to overcome an obstacle:You spread it out in a crossroads patten to see what you direction you want to take. From there, you build the path that you are on. Then you have a mountain and the cards tell you how to approach the problem. I really liked this one. I usually do a very simple daily spread to just get a feel for my day. This one was cool for long range planing.

In addition to the intermediate tarot class, I found out that they are offering a Wicca I course for the next 7 Sundays. I really want to go to a.) learn and b.) meet other people in my area! I think it would be good for me to go. I don't know if I can make the first one as I have a jewelry show this Saturday in another town. I'm not sure if we'll be back in time for me to attend the class. The shop owner told me that if I have to miss the first one, it's ok. I'm going to try to make it back for class! I am so excited to meet and talk with others who are just starting out on this path! :)

Hope everyone has a great day!

Blessed be,

Autumn

Happiness Is....

Hi and Merry Meet,

Well, after having some nice weather, I woke up to frost and a very cold day. We've had frost a few times, but now it looks like it could snow! My friends in Japan had snow already, and I think we are not too far behind. That's ok... snow = skiing!!! I love winter, but this time of year is my favorite. Cool/cold days and beautiful leaves. There is something very special about this time of year.

Yesterday my family came to visit us. That meant before they came putting away anything that would tip them off to my religion. I feel sad that I'm hiding it from them, however, I'm not too sure that they would understand. I've post about what I think their reactions would be. I'm not ready for a blow out with my dad. Or my mom crying and sicing all the church ladies on me. Not so much.

However, they did like the shirt I got... they think it is only for Halloween!! Here it is:I thought it was so funny and cute. My husband just laughed. I didn't wear it yesterday, but I did show them. My dad thought it was silly, mom just laughed and asked if I would wear it to work. The answer to that is no. I will however, wear it any place else! :)

Today there is no work, so I can use the day to catch up on things that I let go this past week in my madness with interviewing! I found out that I was the first one to go and that they have two more people to do. I hope that we all have the same observation group! It was a big challenge, but I have a feeling they did that to see how we would react and how we would handle it if it was our job. I'm happy that I don't have to stress over the weekend about it! :)

After I catch up, I want to sit outside for today's meditation. I think it might be one of the last days that I can do it outside with out freezing too badly!

Enjoy the extra day if you have off!

Blessed be,

Autumn

Interviewing and Haircut

Hi and Merry Meet,

I made it though my interview this morning. It was a large group to interview with (23 people!!!!), but I did the best that I could. I was surprisingly relaxed even though I was in the hot seat. I'm please and feel relieved. I even said a little charm that I found in book to relax before an interview.

I also got my hair cut and dyed today after my interview... so nice to get pampered after being stressed out! Here's my new look... a bit emo, but I'm happy with it:I also got a scrying bowl that I have yet to take a pict of! I saw it months ago... it has the three different faces of the goddess on it. I fell in love with it, but wanted to wait until there was a special reason to get it. As luck would have it, it was still there. I think it was meant for me! I can't wait to clean and consecrate it!!!

Tonight, I'm sitting back and relaxing! I think I earned it after interview this morning!

Blessed be,

Autumn

Too Much To Do!!!!

Hi and Merry Meet,
It seems like everything that can happen today has! I've laughed, cried, and almost pulled my hair out. I'm in a calm spot right now... Overall, it has been a good day despite all the craziness!

Turns out I missed an appointment that I planned a few weeks ago... they called me to ask where I was this morning. Oops. I forgot to write it in my planner, so without it being written down I had no idea what they were even talking about! I was so embarrassed. I am very anal about time and being on time. I would rather be an hour early to something than be two minutes late. Drives my husband crazy!

After that hoopla, I got called for the second round of interviews with a job that I really want. The interview is tomorrow and I have to do a demo for them. Oh panic! I have a lot of work to do today! At this point in time I am almost set. I have a plan and some of it put together. I have a few more things to do, but by tomorrow morning, I WILL be ready! :)

I also got a call from my brother who has successfully move to New York City. He is so far away now, but he sounds so happy. I'm really glad from him and my future sister-in-law! My brother is not a big talker on the phone, but today he had lots to say about their move and their place. They were able to get all their stuff in one u-hal, even the dog fit in the cab with them! I can't stay with them because I have allergies to her, but my mom and I are planning a trip to see them and the holiday lights in the big city!! I'm really excited about that trip!

I did take a walk outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. The leaves are just amazing! The weather was warm with a light warm breeze. I needed that time to just enjoy nature and get my thoughts together. Tomorrow will be a busy day for me with this interview, but after I plan on getting my hair cut and colored. I need a change!

Tonight I plan to finish getting all my stuff together for the interview, meditate, and go to bed early!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Random Thoughts Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today my cousin came over to help me prime the hallways for my international visitor coming in 21 days! Four hours later, we had two hallways primed! We did kind of run out of paint....we used every drop to finish, but I think I need to redo the final part that we ended at. It didn't come out so good at the end! That's ok. I do need to figure out how to get all the paint off my hands for tomorrow's interview. I hope to get them actually painted later this week. My cousin promised that she would help me. Husband has banned me from painting when he helps me. I am a walking tornado when there is paint out. Just have an open paint can in the house and I can get paint on me without ever setting foot near it. It is an amazing feat! Husband can't understand how paint is so attracted to me. Lucky me!

I ordered new witchy books last night! I love half.com! I made a wish list about a week ago and I picked out a few that I could get cheap. I finished reading To Stir today, but I haven't finished working though all the working minutes in it. I do like her ideas on meditations. I find meditations to be so fun and relaxing! I love how they make me feel and how loved I feel when Ive finished one.

Hope you are having a great Monday! :)
Blessed be,
Autumn

Thoughts Of The Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today was another great day of house work done! My husband and I worked on a project that has been put on hold for the past few years (yes, years... 5 to be exact!). We put shoe molding in our dinning room to hide the ends of the hard wood floors. It makes the floor look so much better!! I have to paint tomorrow the the shoe molding since I had to fill in all the nail holes with wood filler.

I put more stuff up on etsy today and I made a huge discovery on half. com! I had no idea I could make a list of all the books I want and save it on there! Much to my husband's dismay I now have a huge list of books that I want to get and read. Most all of them are pagan in nature. I want to read/do/learn and practice so that I find what fits me best. I am really interested in herbs, but I have no idea what to do with them. I want to know more about Celtic myths. I want to learn different ways to do things and then change them to fit me. Learning new things is exciting to me. I'm a nerd like that. :)

Tomorrow, more house projects and then Friday we can relax a bit as Husband's vacation comes to an end.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Working Day

Hi and Merry Meet,
My husband and I are finally able to do some of the things around the house that we have been putting off! He started vacation on Friday and this week off is about house projects and other things that have been put on the back burner.

One thing that we did already was to sand and re-poly our hallway hardwood floors. I have done the other rooms in our house so it was time to do this one. I did all the sanding, and husband polyed it for me. Trying to avoid that hallway was a bit of a chore, but we did it. The hard work was worth it. All that sanding gave me a great idea.

The table that I am using for my alter is an old TV stand. Why couldn't I sand it down, re-stain it, and make it look really nice? My grandfather use to do stuff with a wood burning tool to inscribe things like picture frames and tables. When he passed away the wood burning kit was given to me. I have never used it, but I'm crafty enough. I thought it would be cool to sand down that table, re-stain it and inscribe it with things that mean something to me. It would be much more personal that just an old TV stand. The TV stand was his grandmother's and I asked him how he felt about me using it as an alter. He was cool with it. Then I asked him about my wood scribing idea. He was also cool with that, however, he reminded me that I would have to sand it by myself. No big deal, I did all the floors in the house myself! Then he pointed out that the floors are flat, the table has spindle legs. Ooh, I love a good challenge! I really want to make my alter special. All that elbow grease will make it infused with love, sweat and hopefully no tears!

That's the project that I'd love to do this week, but while I have my husband to myself, we are doing projects that we both have put off!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Computer Problems

Hi and Merry Meet,
I haven't been able to update and post my random thoughts since our computer has had a small issues with the screen. Apparently, a bug landed on it last week, and my husband was working on it. This bug was annoying him, so he went to squish it and instead, he cracked the screen...

So, here I am at the library to leave just a small update that one we get our new screen for the laptop, I'll be back with more regular updates.

Hope that all is well with you!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Today's Thoughts

Hi and Merry Meet,
I feel like this past week I have just fallen off the Earth.... my life has been so busy and full that I haven't had time to sit down!

I hope that everyone had a happy 4th of July. We sure did. My husband's coworker invited us to visit his family at his camp for the weekend. We had a great time! It was nice to hang out and relax. I have to admit that the fireworks show was spectacular! It went for over an hour and then when all was said and done, they would find more... it was a very prolonged final. I love it! We stuffed ourselves with Smores and even had a clam bake. Hubby and I enjoy this family a lot and it was a nice way to spend time together.

Tonight is the full moon, but there are no open circles in my area. That's ok, since I have some things I want to cleans and dedicated to my Craft use. It will also be a good opportunity for me to try writing my own Esbat. I admit I've been a bit dependent on books to help me so far. This past week I took a big step and wrote my first healing spell.

Writing my own rituals and spells is a very big deal to me. I've liked using the books for guidance and help, but I think it is time I stood on my own two feet and see what I can come up with. I am still very new at all this, but I feel like I have grown a lot recently. Medications are starting to get easier and I am able to relax more quickly into them than when I first tried. I know that in my daily life, I have become much more relaxed and peaceful. There is still a lot of stress, but I feel like I am handling it differently and not letting it get to me as much as I was.

Tonight might be cloudy and rainy... no outside Esbat for me.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Random Thoughts

Hi and Merry Meet,
I feel like I have been away from this blog for too long. I know it has only been a few days, but I like posting everyday if I can about what I have been learning. When I miss a day it feels like I have missed so much in my progress.

Anyway, today it has started off very chilly here, so I found myself inside reading a book. The past few days I have been out in my garden weeding, planting, and cleaning it up from the leaves that fell after the first snowfall last year. I have also taken yoga back up in the past week.

I love how relaxed I feel after a yoga class, so I thought this would be a great way to help me relax and in the long run help me with my meditations. I'm also a runner, and it really helps after a long run the day before!

I feel like this past week was so hectic for me. I needed some "me time" and to relax a little bit. The yoga sure helped me with that. My "me time" was my run yesterday. I ran a new route that took me through the most beautiful gardens and neighborhood. It was nice to see some new scenery and it was also nice to reconnect with the elements in a different way. I did get a little battered by the wind and a little wet from the rain, however, it was such a peaceful thing that it made my run much more enjoyable.

Today, I am reading Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner. I've just started it and I like his writing style. It flows nicely and I am learning some new things!
Blessed be,
Autumn

PS- sorry today's post was kind of random!