Weekend To-Do, Sick, Preparing for Halloween

August was so incredibly busy. The second September began I tried to apply the breaks but things just seemed to speed up even more. I put together a party for Hannah's graduation and it was a screaming success. Damn I am a such a stress case though. I was on the verge of panic for the first two hours or so of prep and getting the party started. Thank you to my humans who helped so that I could relax a little. Overall it was so nice though. A nice start to the mass of parties we are going to be having as we slip into a Autumn full of celebration. We'll be attending as well as throwing Halloween parties, pulling together for full and new moons, and even tossing in a few birthdays.

First thing's first though: I need to get some things in order. For this weekend I have a very small but very 'must do' list. This has become slightly more complicated however since I'm also sick. I didn't go to work today or yesterday. I was so out of it this morning I couldn't even call work to let them know. My supervisor called me. I will have to apologize extensively on Sunday but this year has been horrible for my immune system. I thought I would be doing better since being exposed to new germs via bus riding but that doesn't seem to be the case. Seasonal changes have always been hard for me, but my lungs and sinuses aren't even following the seasonal schedule lately. They just sort of say 'fuck it' whenever they please and suddenly I'm wiped out.

So, that being said. I'm going to try and accomplish a few things amidst getting lots of rest and drinking lots of fluids. Firstly, I want to make a few smudge sticks for Halloween. That should be fun and totally easy since I can do it sitting at the kitchen table. Secondly, I need to read over, edit, solidify and resend out my short story to various places. Thirdly, I need to decide exactly what I'm going to submit for the Inkshares contest and make a plan to have that done and submitted by next weekend. Fourthly, I need to get the laundry under control. (The last one would be easier if my lungs weren't burning but we can't always have it the way we want it, can we?)

As we move into fall and Witch's New Years, Hannah and I look forward to hosting a Halloween party. We're working on the theme today. We are so geared up and ready for Halloween - our house is already decked out with spooky wall decor and cute/creepy figures on the mantel. I've got four pumpkins growing. Two will be for cooking and the other two will be mainly for show. I had hoped to have more but I'm happy that I seem to be growing anything. It's my first time doing any serious gardening and I've been quite happy with my yield. Even if it's meager.

Letting it Go; Helping it Grow

This was the pumpkin plant as of the 23rd of June. And I thought he was so big!

I sat down yesterday at work and wrote about the things I need to let go of. Firstly, I need to accept the loss of two of my favorite rings. They were both opal - lab created for one and most likely fake for the other - but they were important to me. One signified my engagement and the other was a beautiful gift to Hannah from her grandmother. I'm very sad that they are gone but at the moment there is nothing I can really do about it other than try to call all the pawn shops in the area to try to track them down. But today is not for wallowing in loss. Today is for a rebirth into the hot months of summer and then into fall. So we're going to rearrange things and clean things. 

This is the pumpkin plant now. I had to replant him into the ground instead of the blue tub.

I also had to move the tomato plants! Little pumpkin plant took over.

Secondly, I need to let go of all my email trash. I need to clean up my inbox (sort and delete as necessary) and make it place where I can keep track of things better and be more efficient at responding.

Forget-Me-Nots - when they were first starting to bloom.

Thirdly, I need to go through everything in the spare bedroom and continue getting rid of things that no longer serve the Hannah or myself. We are doing a pretty good job of that but alas my Bowie room remains a complete catastrophe of excess and has yet to become a true office. 

The first of the Marigolds to show their beautiful faces this summer.

And this leads me back around to my plans for rearranging. I'm going to create an office in the bedroom. I would love to go in there and work on writing. It's quiet and cool and there's gorgeous tree and plant life right outside the window. Also I could go in there and work even when we have guests over if I wanted to. The trick for me would be to get a comfy seat and a little pull out table. I might pick another one up today at the store. 

So many beautiful Marigolds now. Took this photo today. They just keep blooming!

Life is really busy. I've learned recently that, religiously speaking, I prefer interacting with the divine through nature and deity acknowledgement. I guess you could say I like being a totally typical pagan. My lifestyle is a combination of Witchery and Heathenry but religiously I'm a total 'go with the goddess flow' kind of gal. I had thought perhaps I might be more Jodo Shinshu Buddhist but... while I love and wish to live by much of Buddhist philosophy, the religious aspects imparted by the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Priest I spoke with a few weeks back do not really jive with me. At least not at this moment. But in the future who knows!? That's what Buddhism is all about: impermanence and a life full of 'nows.' I love the idea that we only have the now and should spend our time making the now as happy as possible. Tomorrow I may feel differently and that's alright. Each now builds on the last and continues to shape the person that I am in the moment. And I want to work toward being the best person that I am able to be in each now.

A Bachelor Button. It was one of the first. We've had
blue and purple and pink ones off and on for the past month.

That being said I want to speak about my garden some more. I'm really finding an inner peace in working with the plants. The other day I thought about Masuru Emoto's experiments with water crystals. How water (an allegedly non-sentient element) reacts directly to positive and negative energies. I thought about how soil and air also must react these energies. I want to give 'happy' water to my garden and plants. I want to share my love of growing things with the soil and air so that the green things growing there are imbued fully with the happy water, happy earth, happy carbon dioxide, etc. I think about the sun and wonder if our energies are strong enough to make it to the center of our solar system and the answer is - why not?

And here is one of our vertical garden survivors: the proud and flowering Catnip!

And here's who loves the Catnip. She loves it fresh but I want to dry some
so she can have it for smelling and playing in later in the year.

This whole planet used to worship the sun and the moon and the earth and all the things that made up life. And in return for that worship, weren't people rewarded? Why can't a rain dance actually bring about rain? How can we live in a world now that is so disconnected from the reality of energies and intention? You get out of life what you put into it. You have to put love in the family recipe or it doesn't taste the same. You have to thank the sun for giving us warmth and life and you have thank the moon for giving us cycles and tides and the push and pull of emotions and deep dark beauty. And you have to love and honor the earth for every single day you're alive. I think the most aware I am of life and energy is when I spend time with the green babies in my back yard. It's nice to feel that connectivity and it's that understanding that will help me let go and live in the moment and rearrange my house. And make the most of my day. And my life.

And a final look at the large pumpkin plant. It's probably taking up twenty feet now.
I love this plant and I like to think that my love is part of why it's so huge and healthy!