Earthbound Shaman

Drumming Circle - September

2010-09-27T23:11:00.005+10:00

Tonight Joyce was back from her holiday so her circle was back on again.

I really got tonight how there are fanatics in every religion. Tonight, some of the Sage got knocked and spilled on the floor and this woman started freaking out. Then when we were going around the circle and speaking from our hearts she used that time to essentially blame Louise who had accidentally knocked the Sage saying that in some cultures tonight would not have continued had that occured. I honestly cannot believe that God/dess/Spirit/Universe would stop helping us, or push misfortune on us for accidentally knocking over the incense. If I wanted that kind of blame or guilt associated with my worship I'd go back to Catholicism. Then after the circle the woman insisted that we drink some Sage tea or else 'bad things will happen to us.' Sorry, you may bring that sort of karma into your life but in my life I can't believe that they want harm just for an accident.

On a more positive note I have bought a drum, she sounds beautiful, I can see a wolf head and a horse head in her face and has this deep resounding beat. Joyce got me to play it, while another woman played a flute to consecrate it.

The drumming tonight was quite frenzied in parts, speeding up so much, and while I wondered at times if I should take a break I kept going. My muscles don't seem too sore now but we will see later.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2010-09-24T07:21:00.002+10:00

From Jamie Ridler Studios

What do you wish for an abundance of?

I wish for an abundance of health. I am sick of feel tired and wheezy and unfit and fat and frumpy and just not well! I wish for health, I wish for the motivation to exercise and eat food that is nourishing my body, not food that is 'nourishing' my emotions (ok, maybe sometimes, but sometimes is not several times a day). I wish for my stomach to get better.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2010-09-15T21:32:00.002+10:00

How do you wish to come out of your shell?

Found this practice at Jamie Ridler Studios called Wishcasting Wednesday. Each Wednesday she provides a prompt for something you wish for in life and this one was How do you wish to come out of your shell?

I wish to come out of my shell to bring more joy and laughter into my life. I wish to break out of the shell of depression and anxiety and start to see the joy in life, the happiness, the magic.

Witchcraft Paganism Questions

2010-09-12T10:24:00.002+10:00

From Hearthwitch Cottage

Basics

How did you find Witchcraft/Paganism?

I was introduced to it by a friend from highschool. I will admit I was originally more interested in the spells than the spirituality side of it (what 15 year old wouldn’t be?) but as I read more about it the spiritual side began to emerge. This was 12 years ago now and while I have gone through periods of intense worship and then next to nothing, I still count myself to be a witch.

How long have you been practising?

12 years give or take. I believe my first ritual was Ostara 1998.

Solitary or group practitioner?

I have done both. When I was starting my friend and I would do Sabbat rituals together, but mostly any spell work etc by ourselves. We then formed a Circle with my then partner and another girl we met through a witchcraft workshop. This lasted for about a year before I moved overseas for 18 months. I took on the role of the group organiser most of the time, so when I was out of the country, it kind of fell apart.

What is your path?

I have gone through several paths throughout the last few years. I was strictly Wiccan for a while, then got called to worship Hecate, then evolved into Hellenistic worship (following all of the Ancient Greek deities) and am now still figuring out what to call my path. I am definitely more attuned with the Goddess side of paganism, though this probably means that at some point I do need to re-evaluate the God side too for balance.

Lately I am called to several paths. I feel a strong connection to Shamanism and I am involved in several women’s groups, one drumming circle and am constantly learning things from these wonderful women. One of the women’s groups is Goddess Spirituality oriented, the other is Koori Shamanism focused. The drumming circle is mixed gender.

Are you out of the broom closet?

To anyone that asks, yes. I don’t go around just telling people that I’m a Witch and I certainly don’t dress stereotypically. But I am honest if people want to know.

What are your favourite holidays?

I definitely feel more connection to Samhain and Yule, most likely cause my group of friends celebrate these each year.

What if your least favourite holiday?

Imbolc and Lammas are the two that I feel least connected with.

Have you ever held a ritual on a holiday?

Frequently. I often wrote them for the groups I was involved with.

Ever taken a day off work to celebrate a pagan holiday?

Not yet.

Do you celebrate Yule on the 21 rather than the 25?

Yes I do

Have you ever felt the Veil thin?

Yes, this last year’s Samhain ritual was the most powerful one I have done.

Ever danced the Maypole?

Yes, as part of a ‘Living Art’ exhibit organised by one of my firends

How do you usually celebrate the pagan holidays?

Depends, if a group feast is organised then we generally all bring something to share to eat and have a ritual. If nothing is organised within the group I generally take a few minutes to honour the season but lately do not perform a ritual by myself.

Divination

Do you use Tarot?

Yes, I have several decks, my first one being the Shapeshifter Tarot and my latest one being the Robin Wood Tarot Deck

Do you use runes?

I have a set of citrine runes but do not use them

Do you use astrology?

Yes, I have studied Astrology in a formal class setting for 3 years.

Any other form of divination?

I use various Oracle Cards and try to pay attention to dreams

Gods and Goddess

Who are your patron Gods?

I’m not sure I have any at the moment

Who are your patron Goddesses?

Hecate was for a long while, I’m not sure she still is or whether its morphed into the generic Goddess with the different faces as needed.

Which Gods/Goddess' do you worship?

I am more Greek Pantheon based, I feel more comfortable with them

Do you fear dark aspects of the Gods/Goddess, or rather, respect them?

I respect them for the most part. The dark aspects occasionally scare me, or make me angry, but I am learning to trust that they are all part of life.

Nature

Do you regularly commune with nature?

Not as regularly as I should

Ever walked barefoot in the woods?

Once or twice, but nor as often as I should

Describe the moment you felt closest to Mother Earth?

While camping I feel her strongly, looking up at the stars and breathing in the cool air.

What is/are your power animal(s)?

Horse, Dog, Hawk

Do you have a familiar?

I am owned by a couple of cats but I’m not sure either are my familiars.

Spells

What was the first spell you did?

I did a prosperity spell when I was younger and it worked very effectively.

What was the latest?

I can’t remember the last spell I did. I’m trying to reconcile spell casting with my current belief thinking. I have done protection visualisations for my house and shielded myself against unwanted energies.

Ever done a love spell?

No.

A job spell?

Yes, but it was generic, not a I want X job, it was a I want a job that will bring me x, y, z.

A healing spell?

Yes

Cryptozoology

Do you believe in Vampires?

Energy Vampires yes

Werewolves?

The myths probably stemmed from Shamans

Shape shifters?

In the shamanic sense, yes.

Elves? Faeries? Dragons? Nymphs? Sprites? Mermaids? Sirens? Satyrs?

Why not? They make the world more magical to think about

Ghosts/Spirits?

Yes

Ever "seen" any of the above?

Yes

Do you have one of them as a personal guardian?

Yes

Other Witchy Wonderings

Do you see a rabbit, a man or a woman in the moon?

A man

Do you own a cat?

I am owned by 2

When you meditate what does your sacred place look like?

A meadow with a Greek temple

Do you believe in soul mates?

Yes, though I believe you have a soul circle of friends, a group of people who you chose to meet this life who are here to help you learn one of your lessons for this life. I believe that you do know who these people are, they are the ones you meet and just instantly click with, likewise the ones you instantly dislike. Its the instant reactions that is your soul recognising them

Is it always love and light?

No, in fact frequently is awkward and bad timing and painful.

Turtle Woman (Tree Heart) Women's Circle - September

2010-09-06T23:00:00.002+10:00

It had been a couple of months since I went to Turtle Woman's Womens Circle. I now know it is called the Tree Heart Circle, which I like.

Brought up a lot of things that I needed healing for, mostly around my guilt surrounding Kim's death, the whole idea that if what we think and speak manifests, then how did I not have some part in her death, considering I imagined what would happen if she died prior to the last round of diagnosis. I asked for healing and understanding from Spirit, and immediately afterwards Louise sat me down and we had a good chat. She's apparently taking me under her wing to try and help through these issues. Ask and ye shall receive.

The card I pulled was The Morning Star which immediately spoke of hope to me. However I then immediately quashed that and went on and on in my head about how I don't understand the card and couldn't possibly understand it etc. I sat in my own darkness and didn't want to come out. I acknowledged that in the circle. Louise also gave me her card, which was Lovers at the Feast which was all about hope as well as conscious eating which was very fitting.

The meditation saw me journey with Dog, who hasn't been the main guide before but was the only guide this time. I still struggle to see the faces of the Grandmother's Council and the ancestors, but I suspect thats my own ego jumping in there. I think I see people from my family but then immediately throw that idea out as it is just 'wishful thinking.' Though I guess who is to say who is right or not. Giama was the woman who gave me a gift this time, I actually kept trying to shift her image but she wouldn't stay different for long. She gave me an acorn but also a white rose. In the pool of tears I curled into a ball and mourned and cried and felt the hurt and the pain and the depth of what I was feeling. Leaving the cave saw me geared in greek armour, with golden leather boots and breastplate with a flowing white robe underneath. It felt powerful and with added protection, something that I had felt that I needed.

Louise is going to email me about her woman's group, yes that'll be the fourth one I'm potentially involved with, as well as a fundraiser she's organising.

Dawn

2010-08-11T21:23:00.000+10:00

This morning I sat and ate my cereal while I looked out over the backyard, rather than sitting at the computer. It made a nice, peaceful change to my morning and I was rewarded with this sunrise.

Red Tent Circle - Leo

2010-08-09T22:49:00.003+10:00

Tonight was somewhat disappointing. I think I'm letting the facilitator get to me, she doesn't seem to be very structured and therefore her circles are quite fragmented and jumpy which I don't particularly like. Other times it hasn't bothered me quite so much but with just me, her and one other tonight it was quite strong. Not sure what to do with that. On one hand it certainly highlights doing the facilitator training, but I kind of feel like I'm betraying that group by starting my own, even though there isn't anything out this side of the city really.

One of the facilitator courses coming up is for the Inner Goddess Makeover which could be interesting.

So tonight we pulled cards and I got Athena, so all about trusting my inner wisdom which is part of the manifestations I made yesterday. In the meditation was more maiden/inner child healing being required though the meditation itself felt quite strong, we met Brigid and assisted her in birthing some lambs. The purple forest flower is my symbol.

Manifestations:

I will leave Fitness First
I will start Yoga Practice
I will go back to Martial Arts
I will relearn how to play
I will encourage my inner strength
I will listen to my inner truth
I will rediscover the magic of the universe
I will meditate twice a week
I will nurture myself
I will embrace healing

Maiden, Mother, Wise Woman Workshop

2010-08-08T18:48:00.002+10:00

Today I had the Maiden, Mother, Wise Woman workshop run by Tanishka in Olinda. She is the woman who started up all the Red Tent Circles that I've been going to. The workshop was good, there were 5 of us plus Tanishka. A lot of it felt like I already knew it, either from previous learnings with paganism or soul knowledge.

Something that I really got today was how wounded my inner maiden is. Like majorly wounded. We started out with a meditation to visit each of the inner aspects and the maiden just took me and ran with me, showing all the areas in my life where I am wounded. This really hit home with me how much I need to work on nourishing and healing her.

The group commented on how strong the Mother and Wise Woman aspects were in me, which is possibly offsetting how wounded the Maiden is. I need to be able to integrate all 3 within me.

I came out of today with intentions to honour each of them:

Maiden: I will take time out to nourish and heal myself

Mother: I will encourage and speak my inner truth, without veils and illusions

Wise Woman: I will continue to evolve my spirituality and use it to help me on my path

These felt quite good.

Red Tent tomorrow night, seems like an intense spiritual period atm

Solo Temple

2010-08-02T20:29:00.004+10:00

I didn't go to the shamanic circle tonight. I had had a bad nights sleep last night and it all just felt too difficult. I felt I would be bringing too much of a discordant energy to the group. Turns out it was probably a good idea as the group were going to be doing healing work with Karen who has been put on heart medication. I don't want to have interrupted that.

Tonight I reset up my own altar, taking back at least part of the spare room that had been converted into a more creative workspace.

I also did an inner temple meditation, creating my inner temple and meeting a spirit guide. My inner temple was a great field with a Greek temple in the middle of it. Inside the temple were the chambers of healing and of knowledge. Inside the chamber of knowledge I met one of my spirit guides, who my old doctor had told me was around, I just hadn't met her fully before now. Anenket is her name. She is the guide of my heart. When I asked her for what purpose recent relationships had been she said to reawaken my heart, as it had almost crystalised from inertia. i then asked what about Kim, and she brought Kim to see me. I almost cried at this point. She isn't gone, she is still here, she is just different now. And I can no longer take the big sister role with her, that needs to be healed. I also asked for advice on how I need to heal myself at the moment, and not to my surprise the answer was to let go which despaired me a little as I don't do that well. When I told Anenket this she told me the key was trust. Trust that this will be taken care of, trust that I don't have to manage it, trust that other people can do it just as well as I can. Seems simple now that I think about it but was a bit of an eye opener.

Drumming Circle - July

2010-07-26T22:27:00.002+10:00

Tonight was my first drumming circle where we all got drums to hold and use throughout the circle. Most of the other people had their own drums but Joyce had a spare one for me to use. We drummed and chanted and sang songs. There was a small meditation in the middle of it, but it was different to Karen's circles in that it was more drumming and letting you go where you wanted to with the drums rather than a full on circle. Will have to get used to the new style.

Red Tent Circle - Cancer

2010-07-12T22:55:00.002+10:00

The circle was larger tonight, 11 women in total. I'm not sure I liked the larger group but we shall see. Next month I'm going to sit in a different area of the circle as I have sat in the south east for the last 3 sessions.

We pulled Oracle cards and I got Isis - This situation involves your past life memories. I'm pondering perhaps this is what a past life connection is like, met in a previous life which potentially explains the connections.

It took a while to get me into the meditation, my back and neck were still, my lower back ached. I swirled into my third eye Chakra and into the boat. In between these two the space was quite dark and cavernous. I found I wanted to look around and see where I was in the boat. I didn't want to just lie there, I didn't want to trust where it was going. I started out in a large lake before it became a river. A large Greek Temple greeted me, gleaming white in the sun but with a dark entrance. I took the lantern and went into the darkness and came to a circle ampitheatre with an altar in the north. There I met Isis. She asked for when I have recently felt that I have lacked mothering and immediately I thought about recent relationships. I cried and let it out. It was/is a massive burden. She enveloped me in her arms and I felt surrounded by love, understanding and compassion. On coming out of the meditation my chest felt larger. The space between my back on the floor to my heart felt large and light which I'm taking is a good thing.

We then did a Past, Present, Future spread with one of the other women. Charlene and I pulled cards that the other person interpreted.

Past - Adili - Thoughts create your reality, be conscious of what you choose. The additional images that Charlene got were young and naive and the number 12.

Present - Glispa - Healing power within, healing through music. When we looked at the book the big things that jumped out where Shamanism and Drumming. Good thing I'm going to that Shamanic Drumming Circle in a fortnight.

Future - Isis - Heart will be healed, have faith, strength for heartbroken of the beloved, Charlene got the impression that it was a woman involved though.

Interesting reading. Isis is apparently calling at the moment and the Shamanic Drumming Circle is the way to go on the full moon.

Manifestations

I am worthy of self respect

I choose nurturing food and drink

I am capable and kick arse

I release my anger

I release unhealthy connections

I nurture myself

Maintain regular meditation

Walk frequently

See physio about back

Distance myself

Share more with P

Strengthen my back

Start Drumming

Turtle Woman Women's Circle - July

2010-07-05T22:30:00.002+10:00

I went back to the circle this month, despite my previous misgivings over my own ego and I'm really glad I did. I felt welcomed back immediately and safe and cocooned in the group. There were a few more women there this time, and a few women from last time were unable to make it. All up there were 11 of us, so a bigger group but still the connectedness was there.

I spoke about Mel and her scans that need to happen and put her name on the healing list. Joyce, one of the elders of the group, reminded me that we are unable to see the bigger picture and we just have to trust and let people go on their own journeys. I then told everyone of the message from Kim, of her not being sad because she can see the bigger picture.

Several of the group were undergoing pain and it was good to be reminded that we're not alone in our pain. The weird thing is, pain makes us shut off from the world and thats when we need the world, need our connections the most.

The card I pulled was Enchantment, reminding me to see the childlike joy in things. It seems I'm getting that message a lot at the moment, to enjoy life, laugh, delight in it.

The journey was interesting, I went where I was told to go. I had a new animal accompanying me, Hawk. We went to the Grandmother's Council and the messages that I got were forgiveness and fortitude. A sense that its ok, things will get better, I just need to weather it for now.

After the circle had closed I was speaking with a couple of the women and Joyce invited me to her drumming group on the 26th of July, coincidentally the full moon. It seems that when I least expect it, but open myself to it, groups and connections come out of the woodwork.

A realisation tonight was that I connected too much to a song where a guy gave the girl the breath of life, woke her up, unfroze her. And I can't always rely on that connection to be there, or fulfill that role, it is unfair of me to do so. I have to learn to fulfill it for myself, to pull myself up and light up my own life.

Daunting but true words

Red Tent Circle - Gemini

2010-06-23T21:36:00.004+10:00

The night felt quite... disconnected but that is Gemini for you, flitting from idea to idea.

We did an activity where we wrote down 10 things that we wanted to bring into our lives but each of the 10 things was based upon a theme or a question.

10 Things to Bring into My Life

Physical - More activity, exercise
Projecting onto others and bring into myself - Patience
Words of Power - Courage and Fortitude
Fill yourself with Joy - Meditation and Earth Walks
Centre Yourself - Meditation
Adjustment or Decision - Stay or Go
Share - Heartache
Who or What as travelling Companions - Horse and Dingo
Outcome or Goal to which I am surrendering - Direction at Work
Commitment - Exercise and Meditation, forming a habit of both

The Goddess Card I drew was Brigid, which was kind of surprising seeing as she was in my life for quite a while back in 2001 however had disappeared when the Greek Pantheon were making themselves known.

Let me come to you, through the mists, through the fire

She is all about finding the creative spark inside, and nurturing it.

The meditation we did was meeting an eagle and having a conversation with it to gain a message.

The message from the eagle was unclear at first, like he was waiting for me to get it. Patience and Fortitude. Keep doing my spiritual work. I got the image I have had many times of a gypsy/shaman holding an eagle with her eyes penetrating my soul. My hair was dark in the meditation, dark brown, not black. My clothes were different, instead of the usual white shift I wore a white tunic and pants with a grey woolen bolero jacket and a white scarf that flew in the wind. Indian style. The circle was up at Falls Creek, though that could be where I'm making it be. I found it easy to shift and become an eagle, connect with it. The sensation of flight wasn't especially new to me and I shifted easily back.

I need to gain/gather my strength, my power, I need to focus on it and surrender myself to it.

The manifestations that I wish to bring into my life before the next New Moon:

Completion of All-4-Biz
Regular Meditation Practice
Malkuth Chapter
Crocheting
Exercise - Yoga and Walking

Next new moon I need to write my manifestations properly, like affirmations. They feel more powerful when I do that.

Turtle Woman Women's Circle

2010-06-07T22:37:00.004+10:00

I went along to the women's circle I was invited to yesterday. It wasn't as ecstatic experience as the Red Tent circle group and I'm trying to figure out why. The group was a pretty amazing bunch of women, 7 in total including me. And we went through the smudging and then did a bit of circle to get ourselves present, followed by pulling a couple of cards (Dreamcatcher and Retreat) and journey work.

I think my problem is that I'm a bit of a snob and I have no idea why I'm acting this way. They were wonderful women but rough and I'm not sure why but I'm pulling away from this. Most of the pagan/spiritual stuff I have been involved in has felt smooth and light. This felt rough and raw, which I'm actually thinking is how shamanism should feel. And the thing is it wasn't even the ritual, or circle that has me arked up, it was talking with them afterwards.

Of the 7 women there, 6 had lost someone close to them in the last 2 years. That brought me home, grounded me, and made me realise I'm possibly living a bit too much into my grief, too much into the victim, the wound.

So it wasn't as an amazing experience as the Red Tent. I have issues I need to work through with it, primarily my own ego. I'm not sure whether I'll go back next month. I'd like to think I would, but I guess I'll see how the next few days go.

Moonee Ponds Healers Market - June

2010-06-06T11:25:00.006+10:00

Today was the first time I went to the Moonee Ponds Healers Market. Its held in the community hall, down near the library. Its quite a small hall, so it was a bit crowded but all in all quite good. There were the usual tacky jewelery stalls that you get with these things, but there were also a couple of good crystal stalls. A few tarot readers, as well as a few Reiki healers. What drew my eye immediately was the Turtle Woman stall.

A wander around the stalls drew me to one of the crystal stalls where I found a piece of Unakite which I bought later and is now sitting in my bra. I signed up to have a healing with the Turtle Woman and while I waited got a quick Reiki healing which was centering I guess, but I didn't really feel it work.

The Turtle Woman stall was the best one for me. I went and immediately felt good. She did a smudge cleansing using Sage (burnt the sage in a dish and using a feather wafted it over me to cleanse me) and then we prayed for guidance from my ancestors and hers to give me what I needed in todays session.

We pulled some cards from her 3 different decks. They weren't Tarot decks, more healers decks.

Past - Protection/Obsidion

Don't want to get rid of this, need to bring it into the future
Have been trying to protect myself from myself

Present - Sexuality

Needing to learn my sexuality as a woman, having it come from me, not from outside sources

Future - Squirrel

Need to centre
Need to take care of myself

We then asked for more clarity and one of the cards pulled out was the Storm card. When I explained to her what the significance of that card was, with Kim, she thanked me as this was the first time she was back doing healings after losing her sister in law around Mothers Day.

She asked her guides for ways to bring the protection into the future, and got images of me shrouded in mist, being unable to see through it all, which is my depression. She then said she was getting a prayer over and over in her head, the Hail Mary, which apparently she doesn't even know, and suggested that this would be a good thing for me to use.

There was no way she could have known that the last time I said that prayer was when we were sitting around Kim's body, just after she died and said the Rosary. It was like Kim coming back and saying 'You protected me, I'm here to protect you.'

She then invited me to her drumming circle that she holds on the First Monday of every month. The next one being tomorrow night. She said that she doesn't invite many people to it, but that a few of the other healers at the market go and its held in her house which is why she keeps it small.

I'm nervous but I think I might attend.

Red Tent Circle - Taurus

2010-05-14T23:14:00.003+10:00

Tonight was my first Red Tent Circle, held at the Serpentarius Healing Centre.

Words can barely describe how at home I felt, how right it felt, my whole body and soul were saying 'yes, this is it' the entire time I was there. I almost cried from relief a couple of times. I've helf back my spirituality for so long, and then floundered when I wanted to rekindle it, that going to this event with this amazing group of women and have it work and feel good and right and home that it is such a joyous relief.

We started by talking about the new moon in Taurus and expressions of this energy (positive: creativity, planning. Negative: overeating, overindulging) and then we did a meditation.

I saw quite easily and intensely the images of the meditation, the stars, the sand and the water. I could feel the warmth of the sand beneath my feet and heard distandly the creaking of the jetty as I walked across it. The clearing with Oshun was fairly enclosed, like a womb with the beautiful pool and waterfall in the middle surrounded by large bushes of jasmine. When we were told to float in the pool and look at the stars and then connect with our star selves I felt an intense rush of energy, power and connection. My whole body sang. The warmth of the pool soothed my sore leg and shoulder slowly.

After this we chose a card from the numerous Goddess decks around the circle. I'm not sure which deck I used but I got Artemis.

I am who I am
and I know who I am

Very fitting given how lost and disconnected I have felt recently. Its reassuring and a great affirmation to work with. Also fitting that she is one of the Goddesses I identified when I oiginally started working with Shamantic techniques.

I feel amazing right now. My whole body is tingling with energy, it has released knots in my neck and shoulders, my head is buzzing. I haven't felt like this for a long time and it is such a great feeling to know that I still can. I'm actually not sure I ever felt this spiritualy powerful before.

Samhain 2010

2010-05-02T08:15:00.002+10:00

The Circle was set up with the tea light lantern in the north, the incense from the cleansing in the east, and 12 tea lights in glass jars around the permeter of the circle. I didn't notice but at one point after the circle had been cast K's dog approached the circle but didn't come inside.

Casting/cleansing

Had two of the girls use incense to clear the place, and then the ball rattles to remove any stuck negative energy. I then took the rattles and walked the circle three times, the first two times shaking the rattles, the last time swirling them.

“The circle is cast
This space is sacred”

Quarters

I walked to each of the quarters, shaking the rattles, swirling them when invoking.

“I call to the East,
Sisters of the Wind,
Send us your wisdom,
Enter this Sacred Space.”

“I call to the North,
Sisters of the Flame,
Send us your Courage,
Enter this Sacred Space.”

“I call to the West,
Sisters of the Wave,
Send us your Intuition,
Enter this Sacred Space.”

“I call to the South,
Sisters of the Earth,
Send us your Strength,
Enter this Sacred Space.”

Goddess Calls

"Goddess, Great Mother, Wise Woman, your daughters call, attend our rite this night

God, Great Father, Old One, your daughters call, attend our rite this night"

Working

At some point during the next section all the trees in the west started swaying wildly, with the wind rushing through them.

"We come tonight to honour the change in seasons. The wheel is turning, the veil of the world is thin. The light has been eaten b y the dark. The year is in shadow. We are in shadow.

It is in shadow that we face our darkest secrets and deepest fears. It is in shadow that we face the parts of ourselves we do not wish to recognise. It is in shadow that we cannot hide. It is in shadow that we are stripped bare. It is in the shadow that we are beaten down. It is in the shadow that we cannot breathe. It is in the shadow that we find the light inside. It is in shadow that we are transformed. It is in the shadow that we are reborn.

We come tonight to honour our ancestors. We honour those who have walked this path before. We honour those in whose footsteps we tread. We honour those who have departed this realm. We honour those our eyes can no longer see. We honour those who our hearts ache for. We honour those who make our souls sing.

The spirits of our ancestors are linked to ours, it flows through our veins, it is sacred, we are sacred, life is sacred. It is through them that we learn that we are all connected. There is no beginning, no ending, we move as one, through this life and the next. It is through them that we glimpse the bigger picture.

In this time of shadow, this time of introspection, this time of transformation, we ask our ancestors to hear us, to be present. We ask them to speak to us, to give us guidance, to give us courage, to give us strength, to give us comfort, to give us wisdom."

Libation

Held the glass of red wine up to the sky

"Ancestors, we honour you. Give us guidance, speak your words of wisdom to us and protect us this night."

Passed the wine around from person to person, each saying their own private toast.

Meditation

I instructed everyone to find a spot on the edge of the circle and face the outside. I then let them through a short meditation to connect with their ancestors and ask for guidance.

Tarot Card

The deck was shuffled and I approached each person instructing them to shuffle for themselves then take a card. Once they knew what card it was I placed it back into the deck, shuffling again before going to the next person. I got the 4 of Pentacles.

Dismissing

"Great Mother, Great Father, we thank you for your presence here at our rite. Until we meet again."

Shook the rattle at each of the quarters to clear them

“Sisters of the Earth,
I bid you farewell
Until we meet again.”

“Sisters of the Wave,
I bid you farewell
Until we meet again.”

“Sisters of the Flame,
I bid you farewell
Until we meet again.”

“Sisters of the Wind,
I bid you farewell
Until We meet again.”

Closing

Walked slowly around the circle in the reverse direction to the start shaking the rattles. Once I reached the beginning again I shook the rattles vigorously

“It is done.

The Circle is open.”

DIY Tab Curtains

2010-04-26T08:51:00.009+10:00

So our bedroom was lacking... something. We have wanted to redo it for a while, new chest of drawers, pictures on the wall etc, but while we lack the funds to do it all at once we thought that new curtains might be a good start. We went looking in Spotlight, for their pre-made ones, however none of the designs or even colours of the big block ones were what we wanted, so we started brownsing in the upholstery/DIY curtains section and voila! A fabric that we both liked.

I bought 4m for $40 and then, the next day, realised I needed more for the tabs along the top, so bought another 50cm. Total $47.50 ($2.50 for the thread).

First step was to cut the 4m piece of fabric in two. Cats don't help too much, esp as they chase the scissors. Don't be fooled by her innocent look in this picture.

I then took the 50cm piece of fabric and cut it into 15cm strips along the width of the fabric. These I then cut into 2. These are for the tabs along the top. Sew up one side with right sides facing and you have your tabs. I made 12 tabs, 6 for each curtain.

Sew up the edges of the big 2m bits of fabric, I left the selvidges on so made sure I had a little bit of the pattern turned over and sewed up both sides.

Then I turned the top over 5cm, pinned 6 at equal spacing points along the top, making sure there was one at the beginning and end. Then did a double line of stitching, one at the top, and one at the bottom of the fold.

Time for hemming. Folded the bottom up twice to form a heavier base to pull the curtains down and sewed along the top. Iron the seams and you're done.

Before:

After:

Closet Purge

2010-01-02T14:42:00.004+11:00

What better a way to start off 2010 than with a closet purge!

This was inspired by buying 3 pairs of shoes (all on sale) to replace at least 3 pairs of my old ones.

1 pair - work pair - had been wearing the old ones for 3 years, pretty much daily to work.
2 & 3 pair - Casual pairs - had bought them for when I went to Singapore, 5 years old.
4 pair - kitten heeled sandals - hadn't worn them in ages.
Unfortunately, due to the state of these I had to throw them out rather than donate them.

Replaced with 1 definate work pair, 1 black ballet flats (potential work wear) and 1 pair of black casual shoes, all have had 1st coat of water proofing, will do another soon.

In addition to these 4 pairs of shoes, I purged:
3 tops - hadn't worn any of them in over a year
2 jumpers - hadn't worn them and 1 gave me hives
3 dresses - worn very little
2 skirts - a bit big for me
5 shirts - pete won't notice
1 pair of high heels - worn once. painful shoes. Not likely to wear again
1 pair of thongs - never worn, was given them in a show bag.
All of these can go to the Salvos and are now sitting in a large black plastic bag. I shall drop them off tomorrow when I have access to a car.

Now to create my must have list of clothes for this year to buy (basics basics basics and a little flair) and then I'm set.

I think I need to play in my closet a bit more, see what I have and what can go with what, cause I often find myself struggling with what to wear.

Garden

2009-12-13T10:59:00.005+11:00

Almost been a month since the last garden update.

The veggie patch is going well. Well most of it survived the unseasonably hot spell we had about a week after we put them in. Unfortunately the Spinach bolted and the peas shrivelled up. Too precious for the hot weather. The leeks (top left corner) are getting thicker. The Capsicum (back row) are growing taller. The Salvia (bottom left) are even flowering. And the Coriander survived which was a bit touch and go there for a while.

In their stead however we have planted some baby beetroots. Just yesterday. So they haven't had time to really take off yet. We shall see how they go.

The Grosse Tomato bush that we put in has grown a lot, as have the marigolds that were around its base to attract the aphids and other nasties.

Even the Apple Cucumber plant that Pete put in has got a flower on it. Wonder if I have to hand polinate it.

We've had this Rosemary bush for over a year now, starting from just 1 spring. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to have grown an awful lot this year. I feed it but it doesn't seem to do much. Could be too wet. I'll switch to watering once a week (if it hasn't rained) and see how it goes.

We also had some silverbeet and spinach growing in this pot, it also went to seed, so we ripped it out and put in this pretty Salvia. Its called Salvia Microphylla or Heatwave Blaze. Mum has heaps of them in her garden, she's a Salvia nut, but I must admit they look quite good.

The basil has taken off, so much so that I should probably contemplate making some pesto with it. Mmmm pesto.

The Tomatoberry bushes are going well, even have fruit on them, just need them to ripen now and we'll see how they taste.

And lastly our Lemon and Olive trees. The lemon tree had a stack of flowers on it, however it doesn't look like any fruit has formed. Probably a good thing as apparently a young citrus tree shouldn't fruit in its first year as it stunts the growth.

Tarot

2009-11-24T09:37:00.002+11:00

Inspired by my final astrology class I did a tarot reading for myself last night. The first in probably close to a year if not longer. It really didn't say anything I didn't already know deep down, just brought it forward and reinforced that everything was ok etc.

It was a Chakra reading:
7
6a 6b
5a 5b
4
3a 3b
2
1

So each card or cards had some messages about the chakras, messages from the subconcious etc. Was interesting, especially that I should be focusing on nostalgic memories.

I then followed this up wtih starting to read a book called The Circle which talks about creating your own spiritual practice, including devotions. So I did an evening one last night and a morning one this morning. Will be interesting to see how this goes.

A Veggie Patch

2009-11-16T10:30:00.003+11:00

... well 1/2 of one.

Our backyard gets more sun that we thought it would so Pete went and bought two 1.2m square planter boxes from bunnings that we assembled during the week. Yesterday we filled up one of the boxes (11 bags of soil + lucerene mulch and newspaper for the bottom to stop the grass growing up through it all) and got some plants.

We divided the box into 16 squares of 30cm square each.

Top row left - right: Leeks, Capsicum, Capsicum, Marigolds
2nd to top row: Leeks, Garden Peas, Garden Peas, Tomatoes
3rd Row: Salvia, Cucumber, Cucumber, Marigolds
4th Row: Salvia, Spinach, Spinach, Coriander

For this box it cost us:

$60 for the box
$100 for the soil and plants
Total $160

In the other box The Husband wants to grow Cauliflower, Broccoli and Cabbage.

It will be interesting to see how these patches go in winter when they get minimal sun. If it comes to it we'll grow a tonne of potatoes.

Meet Goblin

2009-10-10T16:54:00.006+11:00

Goblin was born on the 26th of August. We got her through a friend who knew someone who's cat had had kittens. She is tiny, weighing only 600grams.

But that doesn't stop her from causing mischeif. For example, hair is tasty and fun to catch.

So are pink things that are the same length as her body (almost).

And camera cords.

Bin surfing is lots of fun (if not a bit icky).

Lots of plastic that makes noise, and tissues that she can pounce on.

Getting down is also fun.

Garden - Old Plants

2009-10-04T18:50:00.006+11:00

And just an update on our existing plants - the ones that survived the winter and are now growning again.

The lemon and olive trees that Katie & Andrew gave us are continuing to grow, the lemon even has flowers on it!

And the rosemary which hasn't grown much in a while but I'm hoping the fertiliser that we got today will help with that.

Interestingly, last years parsley and chives are still going strong (well maybe not strong, but are definately still going).

And the rose that we got given when Kim passed away got a trim and is now flourishing with growth again. Can't wait for the flowers. It was getting attacked by Aphids though, so we bought some pest spray today to help it out.

Garden - New Plants

2009-10-04T18:25:00.012+11:00

Well its now well into spring and after an unsuccessful trip to the animal shelter (we wouldn't have suited any of the dogs) we went to Garden World. Ahh Garden World, so big! And inspiring! And full of lots of people doing exactly what we were doing - finding new plants for their gardens for spring and summer.

First find was a Cat Snacks pack - Cat Mint, Cat Grass and Cat Nip, all in one container. We have it inside sitting on a plate so that the water doesn't destroy the floor. Whiskers loves it and whenever we go near it she comes running over to inspect whether we have destroyed it. It was on the ground for no longer than 30 seconds before she was quite happily eating the cat grass. Consequently this photo is with the grass a fair bit shorter than it was originally.

Mum always has a pot with Lettuce going for summer salads so this year we figured we'd do the same. This pack had Lettuce, Silverbeet and Spinach. Yum! The pots were on sale for $20 each and looked a lot like cauldrons.

Next was Tomatoes. We saw a new variety on Better Homes and Gardens on friday night, a kind called Tomatoberry, little tomatoes but apparently with a lot of flavour. So we got 2 of these to use with last years trelice. Last years were a bit of a fail, I think we only got like 10 tomatoes from them. Hopefully this year will be better.

Included in the salad pack were parsley and chives so I included them in a long pot with 2 strawberry plants and 2 garlic plants. Should be interesting to see how they go. I have never grown strawberries successfully so this shall be interesting.

We also got mint, which got awarded its own special pot due to its take over nature.

And for a bit of colour we got some pretty colourful flowers that will theoretically be hanging somewhere - once we figure out where.

C25K - Week 4

2009-09-24T13:01:00.002+10:00

I started C25K week 4 last night. Didn't quite manage to do it as planned.

5 min walk warm up
Run 3 mins, walk 90 sec
Run 5 mins, walk 2.5 mins
Run 3 mins, walk 90 sec
Run 3 mins (was supposed to run 5 mins here but just couldn't do it)
5 min walk cool down

I will build up that last run though. Burnt 400 calories in just under 1/2 hour doing this, which is a quite good calorie burn for me.

I stuck at week 3 for about 3 weeks so chances are I'll be at week 4 for that long. Either that or I need to be more consistent in my training.

Craft Projects 2009

2009-09-22T11:35:00.003+10:00

To follow off from last years craft projects here is that updated list with a few new items:

To do:

Original Quilt (Created back in like 2002 - 2003, the top is all together, just have to do the backing quilting and binding)
Cross stitch given to me by K (Haven't started it yet, was focusing on the Enchantress one)

Half Done:

21st Quilt - Combined the squares and it looks good. Now to do a border and then quilt it together.
Enchantress Cross-stitch - Have not touched it all year. Unlikely to touch it again before the end of the year.
Crocheted Amigurami - Need to do her shell and she's done.
Finish off the dress I'm making for myself. It was going to be a template for the ball in Oct, however as I found The Perfect Dress the urgency to finish it isn't there anymore.

Completed:

Mum's Christmas present
Crocheted a hat and scarf and gloves. They were fun.

Lemonade Scones

2009-09-20T13:16:00.006+10:00

I haven't baked scones in a very very long time. At least 6 years I think. I was inspired to do so because K and A are coming over for afternoon tea.

I had the option of choosing my Great Aunts recipe or use a Lemonade Scones recipe from Taste.com.au. I chose the new recipe because I've never used lemonade in a scone recipe before so it was kind of exciting. As I'd been raised on my Great Aunts recipe, when I heard that you could make scones from lemonade I knew I had to try the recipe, if only because of the novelty factor.

The mixture made about 9 scones, I used a glass to cut them into circles. They were quite delicious if I do say so myself.

21st Quilt

2009-06-15T19:23:00.003+10:00

So this is my 21st quilt placed together. Only been 5 years but its all good.

Theres a row on blank ones all around the edges then up the top you can kinda see my idea for the border: Longer strips of each of the colours all the way around the outside.

Backyard Design

2009-06-14T16:34:00.004+10:00

I downloaded and installed Google SketchUp which is a free image design tool. With it I produced my idea for the backyard, which was a good idea apparently as once Pete looked at this he was much more open to my idea. Yes this will involve some concrete cutting and paving but I think it looks great.

The green columns will be Lilly Pillys (or neighbours begone) seeing as we have the 4 story building next door. These'll be in raised garden beds to add extra height to them. The red column is a Japanese Maple in a halfwine barrel (which Pete is desperate for).

The black box is the BBQ. The wooden thing on the right is the table and chair setting. On the left hand side will be the water tank and worm farm (if I can convinve Pete of this. His exact words were I'm not touching it or going near it).

Long time

2009-06-01T11:14:00.003+10:00

Well there has been a big delay in between posts, almost 3 months. But I have to admit that these 3 months were probably the toughest of my life.

On the 15th of April my baby sister passed away from leukemia and the time leading up to and since then has been so hard. It wasn't unexpected but the actual occurance was a shock, we were as prepared as we could be but it was still nothing short of devestating.

This is Kim and I at her early 21st party last december. She died 10 days before her actual 21st birthday.

This is Kim and Dad at our version of Easter Camping. She was too sick to go so we had our own fire in our courtyard. This was 3 days before she died.

13 days after Kim died, my Grandmother passed away. Again this wasn't unexpected just really bad timing. I have a theory that she needed someone to show her how to do it. Also if she'd died 2 weeks before Kim it would have been impossible for us to go to her funeral as we wouldn't have left Kim.

This is Mum and Giama at my wedding in March 2008. Thats the last time I saw her and I prefer to remember her this way.

On the 1 month anniversary since Kim's death we had to put down our cat who had gotten FIP from the cat shelter before we got her. FIP is incurable and its looking like our other cat has it too though is not showing symptoms as yet.

Onyxia before she died.

So in short its been a hellish time. We've had more than our fair share of death in this last 7 weeks and the world seems less bright without them.

Soft Tam Beret

2009-03-05T09:51:00.003+11:00

This pattern was used from

http://creativeyarn.blogspot.com/2007/10/new-soft-tam-beret.html

Took me maybe 2 hours, was so easy to do.

Renovations the first

2009-01-18T11:03:00.001+11:00

For Christmas, Pete's parents were very generous and gave us the wood to put down our own floating floorboards. Here is the start of putting them down. We started at the front door and are working our way across. The benefits of these are we can put stuff onto them straight away (or at least thats what Pete tells me). The downside is that we've realised the house isn't exactly built square which leads to small gaps which no one but me with my perfectionism would notice.

This picture has made me realise how white the living room is. I suspect I need to put some pictures up or something. Oh just had a thought. Doing the cross stitch I did for Mum, but instead of putting each pattern going verticle, how about going horizontal. Would be different and I think it would work... Hmmm...

Cooking and Gardening

2009-01-18T10:59:00.001+11:00

Well its been a while since I updated so I figured I'd post a couple of photos of what has been happening.

I had a 2 week break over Christmas, which wasn't as long as you would think with the preparing for Christmas and then recovering from Christmas. Here is the Ice Cream cake I made by melting down tubs of ice cream, adding things, and then putting into a spring form cake tin. Was definately a high light and has been requested again since.

A friend made a facebook status update saying he was eating ANZAC cookies, and what else was I supposed to do but get a craving for them and make my own.

And finally, here are tomatoes grown exclusively in my backyard. Very proud, though all of them are quite small, must figure out how to remedy that.

Mum's Christmas Present

2008-12-24T16:16:00.000+11:00

I finally finished it and framed it!

Cat Shenanigans 2

2008-12-24T16:14:00.001+11:00

Pete trying to turn her into a gamer

And lazer pointers are very useful for getting them out from behind the fridge

Cat Shenanigans

2008-12-24T16:13:00.001+11:00

Yep... Crazy

Sitting there wondering why her head was getting wet

Tattoo of Awesomeness

2008-10-20T18:01:00.001+11:00

So Kim is terminal. She has between 2 weeks and a couple months left. One of the things she wanted to do was get a tattoo and she and Mel had been discussing it for a while and when they told me I decided I wanted one too. Mel was a bit thingie about me getting one as well, but explained that it was more from a selfish perspective rather than anything against me.

I wanted it because I didn't really know Kim before she got sick and I'm not as close to her as Mel is. I was scared of forgetting her which is completely illogical but it was there and it was a way for me to be close to her, even in 20 years time.

On Saturday we went and got Mel's done, because Kim needed a doctor's cert to get her's done and by the time they'd done Mel's we needed to leave so that Mel could go to a hen's night. Sunday we all went back and Kim and I got ours done.

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, its a little red now but all in all it looks great. Kinda weird getting used to the idea of 'me with a tattoo'

Goals of 2008

2008-10-14T13:46:00.003+11:00

At the beginning of the year I put down a list of goals for the year. Sad to say I haven't really done any of them.

1. Finish a cross stitch - This one will still be done by the end of the year as its a present for my mum. Its just it wasn't the cross stitch I had in mind when I said I'd finish one.

2. Write an astrology paper on Neptune/Uranus/Pluto - Had to pick one for my astrology class, wanted to do all 3. Have just done Pluto to day.

3. Read Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park - Have not managed any of these. I tried but couldn't get into them. I did try though.

4. Write 3 short stories - none to date

5. Get a new computer - did this one! Yay!

6. Eliminated Credit Card Debt - definately not managed this one. I'm about $6k in now, partly cause of the wedding etc.

7. Lost 10kgs - Nope, I'm about the same as I was in March, going up a little and back down again.

Now I feel as though I've done nothing this year so maybe I should create a list of what I've done just so I don't freak out...

Gotten Married
Got a House
Got 2 kitties
Coping with Kim being sick
Quit WoW
Watched

Stargate Atlantis
Supernatural
Lost
Heroes
Fringe
Gossip Girl
Some of McLeod's Daughters
Sanctuary
Grey's Anatomy

Started running again
Worked lots

Doesn't seem like much still...

Craft Projects

2008-10-10T10:26:00.002+11:00

So its come to my attention that I haven't actually completed a craft project since before I went to Singapore in 2004. I have 5 craft projects on the go at the moment and I really shouldn't start a new one until these are done.

Original Quilt (Created back in like 2002 - 2003, the top is all together, just have to do the backing quilting and binding)
21st Quilt (My 21st was in April 2004 and all the blocks are still blocks. I really should combine them)
Enchantress Cross-stitch (Working on this one for AAAAAAAAGES)
Mum's Christmas present (Needless to say this needs to be done by Christmas. But its about 1/2 done at the moment so another couple days of sewing should finish it)
Cross stitch given to me by K (Haven't started it yet, was focusing on the Enchantress one)

I really need to get back into the habit of sewing while watching TV and given that we're watching at least one episode of supernatural a night at the moment thats a good 40 minutes of sewing time.

The quilts will be a little harder as they require sewing machines or me figuring out how to quilt (or machine quilt as the case may be).

Garden

2008-10-09T18:53:00.001+11:00

Well our grass is kinda growing a lot and as we don't have a whippersnipper to cut it yet theres not that much we can do about it. Kinda amused at how quick its growing though considering it is supposed to be a drought!

Theres a rose bush in the back garden but I have no idea what kind of rose it is so I took a picture of it. Maybe Mum can tell me.

I planted tomatoes! Now to watch them grow. The ones in this pot supposedly grow up and need the additional support.

While the ones in this pot are supposed to trail along the ground.

Random Universal Messenger Guy

2008-09-29T20:26:00.002+10:00

Last Thursday, after visiting Kim in the hospital I jumped on the tram to head home. The tram driver saw me running for the tram which was nice of him, and then when I got onto the tram, a random guy gave me his seat. He ended up sitting next to me. He was the Random Universal Messenger Guy. We started talking and he was in really happy mood, which he explained was great because this was the first time he'd felt so good in about 5 months after breaking up with his girlfriend.

So we get onto the topic of Kim being in hospital and crystal healing. By the end of the trip he'd told me the names of 3 stones and the store of where to go to get them. Turquoise to draw out the cancer, Onyx for fighting infections and Blue Howlite for fighting nightmares. And the store was just off Swan St in Richmond.

Then that night I had a fairly major meltdown, with about half an hour of crying and I think it was me just releasing a lot of the emotions and stress that had been building up inside me. I felt pretty comatose afterwards. Friday I felt fairly battered and bruised by the whole thing.

However, I figure it was the Universe's way of putting out a huge arrow and slapping me up side the head.

I went to the store on Sunday and while the store was your usual new age fair, and the woman who ran the store wasn't that awe inspiring, I still got the stones and they felt good. They're now with Kim in the hospital.

Ketosystem - Day 1

2008-09-23T09:24:00.001+10:00

So my naturopath recommended that I go on this Ketosystem diet to kick-start my digestive system and hopefully weight loss as well. It seems very similar to the South Beach diet but this time its supported by a herbal tonic, a multivitamin, some cerillium husks and fish oil. It also requires me to pee on a stick to see what my fat burning level is. The diet involves next to no carbs (though as many veggies as I want that aren't potato) no sugar (not even fruit juice) and a hell of a lot of protein.

As I had already bought all the food for the week and planned the menus I'm going to be half starting it this week. Substituting my usual toast with nutella for an egg omlette this morning etc. Though I had already pre-made all the lunches for this week with a pasta base so thats out. Oh well, it'll give me time to get used to it, to start taking all the herbs and tablets and to get into the swing of it slowly.

I had my herb tonic this morning, it tastes disgusting so I was glad I was using up the fruit juice to get rid of the taste. No idea how I"m going to get rid of it from now on though as the juice is gone and I'm not buying more. I'm getting the rest of the products today, another $100 worth of stuff. *sigh* why is it so expensive?

Also need to bump up the exercise apparently, so while doing the C25K program is good, thats only 3 days a week, I need to be doing stuff 6 days, even if its just a walk rather than a run. Which is possibly a good thing but with Kim in the hospital for at least another 3 weeks I'm kinda wondering when I'm going to get time. Her solution was to go for a walk at lunch but most lunches I'm ultra busy anyway so *shrug*

Trying not to take this as a 'punishment' and trying to tell myself that I'm 'blessing my body' this way. But its hard, at least for now.

Ostara

2008-09-21T09:25:00.001+10:00

Last night we celebrated the spring equinox, or at least I tried to. With everything going on at the moment it was too much to be there, even after Jacq's fantastic Reiki attempts. We ended up waiting for 2 hours for one of the girls who was organising the bulk of it, and by the time she got there I was just a bit too raw to cope with everyone, even though their intentions were the very best.

I don't know how the night ended up, I hope it went well for them.

Meet Onyxia and Whiskers

2008-09-21T09:19:00.002+10:00

We got adopted by two gorgeous girls. We went to the AAPS down in keysborough looking for a kitten. They didn't have any kittens at the moment, but invited us to look at their cats, so we did. Most of the cats in the place ignored us completely however Onyxia and her sister were like 'pick me pick me.'

They were found in Noble Park together, and therefore needed to be rehoused together, which put me off initially at first but they are both so lovely that we couldn't refuse. They're about 9 months old so still pretty kitten-ish.

Onyxia

She was the first one to come up to the cage and demand to be patted. In fact she's sitting my my lap right now kneeding me with her claws. Wait, she's stopped and is sitting contentedly... for now. She's also the more adventurous of the two, quite happy to go exploring or come and sit with us.

Whiskers

She's a little timid this girl, which is understandable as its been a big couple days for them. She has so far hidden out in the study, and is now under the couch but at least theres sun getting to her, and she did come upstairs on her own accord last night. She just needs some time to adjust to having a forever home. Oh and she sounds like a bird when she purrs and meows at the same time. Very cute.

Gardening

2008-09-14T14:57:00.001+10:00

In the midst of all the crap thats happening in my life at the moment, I've felt a strong pull towards gardening. It could be the warmer weather, it could be the fact that now I have my own garden, it could be that I need an outlet, it could be that I need to connect to the earth more. Regardless, I spent a little bit of time outside in the sunshine today, soaking up the sun.

Below are the beginnings of my own garden. I have 2 planter boxes hanging over the stairs railing, a rosemary plant that will be transplanted into a bigger pot soon, and I just noticed a couple of bluebells in the garden. I love bluebells. Almost as much as I love sweet peas. That will be my next trip to bunnings, sweet pea seedlings and a pole for them to climb up.

Moving

2008-07-18T14:56:00.004+10:00

The move is progressing slowly. Though our home is slowly getting into the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) stage where there a lot of boxes everywhere. Thankfully the bed is free, the couches (well one of them) and the computers.

I started the whole move process by dividing up the new house into zones and then when we pack we say what goes where. e.g. most of our books and DVDs will be in the study rather than the living room. So on each box of books (there are a lot) I've written Study and a general list of whats in them, my books, Pete's books etc. So that if we have to find something in a hurry, its not a big deal.

I arranged a connection service to connect our gas, electricity and water and also called Telstra to move our connection. Once Telstra give us our new number I'll set up the net to transfer as well.

As the move is in 2 weeks, I figure next weekend I'll be packing up a lot of the kitchen. I'll have figured out what I'm cooking that week by menu planning so will be able to generally tell what we'll need to use and pack the rest.

Slowly but surely its happening and kinda getting scary with becoming a reality.

July = No Buying Lunch Month!

2008-07-01T11:12:00.003+10:00

My challenge for myself this month is to not buy lunch.

There will be one day (this friday) when I do because a colleague is leaving work, but that is acceptable to me in terms of being an exception.

This will test my meal planning and lunch grocery shopping skills and it will be interesting to see whether I just have sandwiches the whole time (which will be boring and painful) or I actually have some variety.

If I buy lunch I spend about $10. Even if thats once a week its $40 a month. Last week I bought lunch 3 times. And then after work drinks. Prob spent $70 that week on food/drinks. It adds up so quickly.

The Weekend

2008-07-01T11:03:00.002+10:00

This weekend was pretty productive, but at the same time I don't feel like I've gone very far.

Saturday morning was a successful shopping trip, though we still managed to go about $20 over our weekly budget. And then on Sunday I had to go back because I had forgotten the items I needed to make a Raspberry tort.

Saturday day was spent, after the shopping, playing World of Warcraft for the most part, though managed to stop that at about 4pm. Consensus is that I need better gear to Off Tank in Zul'Aman. Working on that at the moment.

I then put a roast chicken on for dinner, fully intending to use the left overs from it for chicken burritoes for dinner during the week (tonight in fact) however the ants, that attacked while we were eating it, had different ideas. While the chicken was in the oven I made a yummy soup that I'm having for lunch today.

Sunday was more baking in the morning, put our sheets on to wash as it was very windy outside, a little bit more WoW and then an Undercoverwear party for one of Mel's friends, and a pointless trip to Cranbourne. We were supposed to pick up a couple of couches from a girl from highschool who was giving them away, but she wasn't there. Found out later she was at the doctor's at the time with 2 sick kids. Understandable I suppose but an sms would have been nice.

In terms of FlyLady I thought I did well planning and pre-cooking some meals for the week. I did my House Blessing on Saturday with the sweeping and wiping and emptying of bins. Didn't do my pamper mission on Sunday though, would have been nice to do a face mask and just chill.

FlyBaby

2008-06-27T14:59:00.002+10:00

Last night I spent 15 minutes in the bedroom cleaning up the shoes that somehow always manage to get left out, same with the clothes, and then dusting the book shelves. Then I got a bit sidetracked and de-cluttered my photos.

I had printed out a bunch of photos from Cambodia and they were still sitting in the same packet that I picked them up from the photo lab. Then I had an album that I've been keeping for quite a while, but had lots of photos of just random scenery from traveling with family when I was younger. So a lot of those went out as well. Then I also had a lot of the cards from our engagement party which was over a year ago sitting in a box, and they went out as well. Loved the sentiments in them but they were literally just sitting in a box gathering dust and taking up space.

Planned the menu for next week too, and the thing I noticed this week was that I didn't plan this week very well and have bought lunch 3 times this week which is just not good budget wise. So the budget is planned, the shopping list written all ready to be bought tomorrow morning and I've got a rough plan of what I'm cooking when, as a couple meals need to be cooked on the weekend purely from a time perspective.

The Beginning

2008-06-27T09:28:00.003+10:00

My life has seemed to be a constant struggle to balance my spiritual side with the more mundane every day things. I would get caught up in one side of things and the other would get out of whack.

A bit of background about me. I'm 25 years old, married to a wonderful man who is still trying to find his place in the world of work, I've been a practicing witch for 10 years with increasing interest in Shamanism, I am a computer geek, working as a test analyst breaking computer programs, I play computer games with the most regular one being World of Warcraft, I eat too much, carry too much extra weight and am regularly sidetracked.

3 months ago I got married and it has been a wonderful 3 months. However, the housework wasn't getting done, or when it was we fought over it, I didn't have a place where I could be spiritually so that got left by the wayside too. So basically my house was a mess, my mind was a mess and my spiritual practice was non-existent.

Then one of my friends introduced me to FlyLady.net and it has opened my eyes. Small routines I'm finding help so much with just getting the house in order, and I'm working through the Body Clutter book right now to try and deal with some physical order. I'm hoping that once these all get in place, I'll build on them slowly and live a more balanced life.

I accept that it'll never be perfect and you know what? That quest for perfection stopped me doing anything! So now I'll take baby steps, build it up, if it doesn't work I'll change it, if I have an off day I won't kill myself and all in all, things will get under control.