Busy times, an update on life in general and the Bucket List

It has been incredibly busy. My counterpart, the Hannah, has mentioned some of this business in her blog, but I wanted to recap it a little here. It's been sort of nonstop, go, go, go for a while and today being the Fourth and all I wanted to just slow things down a little and reminisce. We've sold the Jeep. Our friend has a tiny bit left to pay on it, but more than that I'm super excited for it to be alive again so that she doesn't have to keep renting Uhaul trucks to move her Kettle Korn stuff from place to place and also because I feel the Jeep is somewhat safer and more reliable than the old yellow truck that she'd been using before. So knowing she's safer makes me happy.

After selling the Jeep however, Hannah and I got a real wild hair to go and trade in the Kia but right now it just isn't going to work. We had a bit of a meltdown last Thursday about all of that. Being without my depression meds for a while certainly didn't help. On Friday we went with mom to Silverwood. I love that place. For me it is a clean slice of a different world: Victorian and elegant yet rugged and rustic. And I love all the flowers. I never noticed flowers before as much as I do now. I think being able to plant in the back yard has really changed my perspective on green things. My Kettle Korn friend calls me a Green Witch. I just might be. 

On Saturday Hannah and I went to our friend's house for soap making. Hannah made soap. I attempted to write for NaNo and ended up taking a much needed nap in a comfy as hell recliner. I worked the next morning (not too many issues) and then we returned to said friend's house for a round of gaming. I really enjoy this group of people and hope that I don't ever get too weird or obnoxious for them. I know that I often lack the 'okay you're going too far' self warning. I think as I get back on my meds properly I either won't A) be as obnoxious or B) won't worry as much about it knowing that my friends love me for who I am. 

Today I worked the Holiday at work and everything went very well except for the fact that the phones weren't working for about an hour. Even so it went very smoothly. When I got home though, I did something I regret a bit... I curled up on the bed in the bedroom and napped the fuck out of the afternoon. It wasn't particularly restful sleep but it was tremendously comforting because for the entire time that I was napping, Narcisa was right there with me. I think she knew I needed a nap companion and I think she knew I was a bit out of sorts. Tonight Hannah and I are going to watch a movie and enjoy Butter Chicken. I don't work until 8 tomorrow, which is awesome and also sucks. I love getting done at 4 but on the other hand I've been working from 7 until 5 for the past two weeks, so just doing a regular 8 hour day (with one hour for lunch) is going to be a real treat I reckon. I only have to make it through Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And then I can have some more fun this weekend. I'm trying to cram in as much fun as possible. Rest is great but going out and doing stuff, getting some Vitamin D, socializing... these things are helping me reboot for the work week more than anything right now.

Also, here is a quick update of the Bucket List for Summer of 2016: So far I've only managed to cross off camping and star gazing and one time for Silverwood. My goal for Silverwood is three. I'll be closer to that goal after this weekend though. I really do enjoy that damn park. It's incredibly nostalgic for me.

Into July with Work and Writing

Camped a weekend ago and it was marvelous. Just what I needed to get back in touch with nature. It was brief and it rained but it was lovely. This weekend started in a weird panic attack of adulting. I was supposed to go to the doctor's on Thursday but the appointment was cancelled. No big deal really except that I've been out of my meds already for a month (been cutting pills in half and skipping days here and there to keep myself somewhat normal). Also Hannah and I have been wanting to get a car and we did some serious budgeting the last few days and that resulted in crying. We will be getting a new car and we are fairly certain what type we want and from where but it will have to wait just a little while longer. That's been a huge bummer for us, but we can't do much extra right now. We're making it but not with too much wiggle room.

Yesterday Hannah and I went with my mom to Silverwood. We played in the wave pool and saw the magician, Nick Norton. That was about it. And that was pretty much perfect. She has a pass so we can go anytime we all want to this summer, so there wasn't that panicked must-cram-it-all-in-today feeling. After the park we brought home funnel cake, some coffee, and some chocolate coated espresso beans for dad. We did a belated father's day. We watched a German 'found footage' movie that kind of sucked and then went to our old favorite 'The Vicar of Dibley.'

Today I worked on some laundry and then Hannah, I and some of our friends all convened at De's house for soap making lessons. Well some of us got soap making lessons... I took a shower and then curled up in a comfy chair and tried to get a good start on Camp NaNoWriMo. I got about three sentences out and fell asleep. And snored. To which my friends reminded me that I really need to get a sleep study done because I definitely sound like I have sleep apnea. Which is one of the reasons I really wanted to have that doctor's appointment last Thursday.

Speaking of Camp NaNoWriMo (NaNo for short) I'm going to spend this month finishing and polishing my Death Man novel. It's about damn time I finished it. Once it's complete I'll work on the sequel and then, if I can, I'll pump out my Dust Bowl story. I really love that one. I think it's a bit more 'literary' in a way than Death Man but that's not why I love it so much. I'm just very centered into the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. That time period speaks to me in the same way that WWII speaks to Hannah. I'm intrigued and inspired by those that left and those that stayed and how they managed to survive such an unrelenting period. But, just like getting a new/er car, the Dust Bowl story will have to wait. For now it's nose to the grindstone at work and get Death Man done.

Tomorrow is Sunday. It's D&D night for one of my and Hannah's campaigns. I like it because it's very flexible and we just sort of schedule it when we can all make it. The next day is the 4th of July. I don't know what Hannah and I are doing for it yet. We've been invited to the family thing at my Aunt's and we've also been invited to the lake with some good friends. Those things are possibilities but not highly likely - Hannah isn't wanting to leave home for some reason. I'm working in the morning but after that we're thinking of possibly having a small cook out at home. Or maybe we'll just spend it alone, just the two of us. We could watch fireworks on YouTube and just spend that time with the kitty. Maybe we'll do card games or tarot or something. No matter what, I just want a nice, safe, and relaxing fourth.

The Summer Bucket List

Yea, all things live forever, though at times they sleep and are forgotten. 

H. Rider Haggard

Several of my friends have made summer bucket lists for this summer and Hannah and I felt it a good idea to join. I think Hannah is going to post a bucket list on her blog and while many of the items on the list are things we are planning to do together, my list does have a few different things that are 'Amanda specific.' I shall notate those with an asterisk. Because noting with an asterisk is fun.

This summer I want to do the following (in no particular order):

1. Run through the sprinklers
2. Go to Silverwood (at least three times!)
3. Go camping
4. Star gaze
5. Be naked outside
6. Spend time in a cave
7. Complete my Camp NaNoWriMo goal of 25K words
8. Play in Lake Coeur'd Alene
9. Eat campfire food
10. Hike Tubb's Hill
11. Paint each nail a different color
12. Read one fiction book
13. Read one writing craft book
14. Do an ephemeral art project such as body painting
15. See a waterfall
16. Do the Yoga DVD
17. Learn how to fight (SCA style)
18. Go to a hot srpings
19. Test drive a car
20. Get my passport
21. Go to Canada
22. Spend the night ghost hunting
23. Go to an anime convention
24. Go to the Planetarium at SCC

This list is subject to some change. Finances may or may not be available for all of these things so I might put on an alternate to certain activities. But these are the things I really want to do this summer as it stands now. These are the components of "Summer 2016." I'm hoping to have a few of these marked off the list after this weekend and the next. Some of these things I figure I'll do multiple times but they are still worthy of the list as they still take me out of the regular norm. I've been a busy person the last several years (MFA stuff, work, moving, more job stuff) and now I'm at the point where creativity and imagination are starting to stir back up. I want to live life more fully and right now the best way to jump start that is to tackle this list. 

Aine of Knockaine

Believe something and the Universe is on its way to being changed. Because you've changed, by believing. Once you've changed, other things start to follow. Isn't that the way it works?

Diane Duane

Side note: I just came back from the pool and hot tub. While I did rinse off in the shower, I still smell (and apparently taste) strongly of chlorine and chemicals. For some reason Narcisa is crazy about this flavor. It never fails that when I return from a pool outing she finds me suddenly incredibly interesting. For about ten minutes now she's been sitting in the chair next to me gnawing on the skirt of my swim suit and, occasionally, my arm. It's the sort of lazy gnawing that speaks nothing of challenge or play, just pleasure. She's such a hedonist.

This Monday is the Strawberry/Rose Full Moon (a.k.a. the Mead Moon). I've offered to put together a small ritual to be performed at a relaxing shindig at our friend's house. After browsing Moon Magick by DJ Conway, I've decided to honor the goddess Aine of Knockaine. This goddess is Queen of the Fairies. She's a goddess of midsummer, of fertility, and of love. She is invoked in the forming and keeping of vows (especially magickal vows), as well as in punishment for sex crimes. In researching her a little online I came across several blogs with posts concerning the Fairy Queen (Voices from the Dawn, Journeying to the Goddess, and GoddessSchool.com) and have formed the opinion that Aine of Knockaine is quite the bad-ass. 

In one story, the King of Munster rapes her but during the act she manages to bite of his ear, thus causing a deformity that makes him unfit to rule as King and pretty much ruining his life. As with most folklore/myths this story is an allegory: if you rape the land by taking what isn't yours to take, it will come back to destroy you in the end. I love this. I love the justice of it. Treat the earth with the respect she deserves. She is all we have on this plane. She is just as much a part of us all as we are all a part of her and it's nice to meet Aine, an avenging/Karmic angel, who defends herself and her lands.

For my ritual I'm going to include a variety of elements. Since Aine is the Midsummer Fairy and since the Solstice is the very next day I'm going to honor the Sun in addition to the Moon. And since I'm also focusing on the Strawberry and Rose aspects I'm going to make my own version of Shabartee Gulab (which is a rose and pineapple drink mentioned in DJ Conway's book) and this will serve as the ale part of 'cakes and ale.' For the cake part I'm debating on a sweet treat or fresh fruit. Also I'm going to use an onion in the ritual. I have missed group spirituality like this and can't wait for Monday night. I'm writing little pieces of the ritual here and there, though overall, I have found that just speaking from the heart in the moment is much more satisfying. Still, I'll probably have a few phrases and invocations to share here tomorrow. Until then, Blessed be.

Dancing, Feasting, and Calling Down the Moon

True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked.
Erich Segal

I stayed late at work. When friend Rachel picked me up from work today I was angsty and upset and ready to have a little bit of a break down. She let me vent and by the time we got home I felt much better. This friend of mine, she is the Kettle Korn maker. Her business is Black Fire Kettle Corn and she recently made an Oreo batch. Delicious. Or, as they say in Japan, umai!

After we got back to my place, Rachel, Hannah, and I headed over to Mission park for a much anticipated induction into the Society of Creative Anachronism. The local group is the Barony of Wealdsmere in the Kingdom of An Tir. I want to do fighting with this group but just for tonight I did dancing and chatting. It was pretty goddamn exhilarating seeing all the people suited up in armor and beating the shit out of each other. Honestly it was like organized chaos and everyone was welcoming and happy that we were there. We ran into several friends. Hugs happened. Court dancing happened. Grand plans for drinking happened. Which leads me to now:

Here I sit with a wine spritzer beside me as Rachel watches over the foods in the kitchen and Hannah watches historical Chinese make up routines on YouTube. We're going to drink the rest of the blush tonight (it's a two-third full jug of bliss) and then maybe watch a movie, or wax philosophical. It's been a hell of a ride the past eleven days and I just want to relax with my crazy ladies and not think about anything having to deal with work. Except, uh...

The article about Danielle's Stitch and Witch group hit the paper today. It's a pretty neat article and I'm happy that our paper covered a Pagan topic. We have a huge "Religious Calendar" section filled with nothing but Christian events and services, but today we paid homage to our Mother. And I'm thrilled about it. I'd like to see more coverage. In fact, I'm contemplating writing an opinion piece about my religious experiences since finding my path and finding my Spiritual family here in Spokane, Washington. But that will have to wait. For now I'm focusing on the Rose/Strawberry Moon. Hannah and I have been invited to a friend's house on Monday. We'll be celebrating the full moon with food over the fire pit and fellowship. I'm going to lead a small Strawberry ritual, totally relaxed, and call down the moon. I've missed the Moon. I've missed focusing my energy on her.

Last thing: I learned about this thing called a Glitter Bomb. You can actually send an envelope full of glitter to an enemy (or friend) and when they open it up they'll enjoy a fucking mess to clean up, A mess that they'll find traces of for next several years. Glitter, as I have heard it called, is craft herpes: use glitter in the home once and you'll be stuck finding bits of it everywhere forever. Apparently there is also a way to send gummy dicks to your enemies. Less messy, but more kinky. And honestly I have a lot of friends who would love getting gummy dicks in the mail randomly. At the moment I'm pondering if sending everyone an anonymous bag of gummy dicks for Christmas would make Christmas shopping a total breeze. >_^