A Confession

Well I have a big old confession to make, it may shock you, just a little. I do not nor have I ever known how to use a sewing machine...... Oh you were hoping for something a little more exciting? Sorry but that is my big deep dark secret for the day, I'm just not that wild of a person. I know, it's sad. But. I digress..... I have never learned how to use a sewing machine. We had to do a project in Home and Careers using one but I always cheated a little and after watching the teacher thread the machine once I always let somebody else go first so I would never have to thread the thing myself. Whenever there was a problem with it somebody else always fixed it for me and well that was the only time I have ever used one of those things. It doesn't matter that I made myself a ritual cloak and mended and had tons of sewing projects over the years. I did it all by hand, I am now rather proficient at hand sewing, but not using a sewing machine which is faster and easier. I'm a total scaredy cat about them so I have never bothered with them since that one project I had to do for school. Well until tonight. Now I have this cute Sew Perfect sewing machine that hopefully has directions on how to thread it still inside and I am going to get over my fear of sewing machines. It says it virtually foolproof and I am hoping that it's true otherwise I'm screwed. I am totally technologically impaired so if something can go wrong it will, I will find a way to break it or somehow mess it up. I'm just good like that! Wish me luck!

Just back from the fair!

The Erie Canal Village was having this wonderful thing that they called a Victorian Fair this summer. It turns out some friends whom I had been out of touch with for awhile were performing and invited me to come. I am so glad that I did! It turns out that I knew quite a few of the actors and it was so hard not to run around like a crazy person asking them a whole slew of questions that they wouldn't be able to answer because they were in character. It was wonderfully surreal. Little 'un made quite a few friends a dog named Charlie, two ponies, three horses and a nice lady who gave him a free popcorn. Queen Victoria gave him a commission as an Admiral in the Navy! Just a spectacular day and really hoping that next year I can be counted as one of the performers. Looking forward to getting back into a little acting. My next post will hopefully be longer, going to include some preparations for Mabon. (I know it's weeks away but I always get exited by the changing seasons!)

What a Day!

Been busy all week trying to catch up on the house cleaning that I fell behind on for the last two weeks, and today was no exception! Vacuumed the carpets, cleaned th kitchen top to bottom again, and did a load of laundry. Which wouldn't have been to bad but I was suddenly struck with mysterious stomach cramps for about an hour this morning which isn't that unusual for me, but made me get a little bit of a late start on the chores for the day.

We also had to take our wonderful cats in to see the vets. By Friday of next week they will not have to deal with going into heat ever again. I am thankful beyond measure! Bast was a bit too much to take with all her yowling! We met some really nice people in the waiting room unfortunately one couple was in to put their elderly dog to sleep. I just wish there was something I could have done other than say I was really sorry and try not to cry my eyes out. Totally in a funk now, and I didn't even know the dog.

Heres some things that I wish I could work on for the coming weeks:

1. Try not to complain so much, lately I've felt that the only time I open my mouth anymore is to say something that is wrong or went wrong in my life today. (See above) I am getting sick of it, I want to contribute more to the conversation than a list of my aches and pains.

2. Start a playgroup for stay-at-home moms in my area. The closest one is miles away and with the primary breadwinner needing the car to travel to and from work it would just be impossible to make it. So against my better sanity judgement I want to start my own playgroup to meet my needs. Also maybe start a non-for-profit to help people cope with the loss of their animals......

The Best Laid Plans!

I had every intention of putting up a nice post about my informal home school with my little 'un but as always my best intentions were put aside. Family just up and showed up in the middle of the week and will be here until this weekend. Then one of our tribesmen had a personal crisis and needed my counsel. All in all life just plain got int the way with my plans to post on my blog for awhile. However, whining aside, here is what I planned to post a week ago:

My Home Schooling:

1 hour a day of reading and looking at books (I break this up into 15-30 minute periods of time throughout the day)

1 Hour of mommy and me playtime

1 hour of independent play (at least thats what I am working up to)

10 minutes of chores each day

30 minutes of music

30 minutes of working with numbers

1-2 fun time activities

Now what do I mean by fun time activities? Well this is things that little 'un likes to do either by himself or with me. Coloring, playing with clay, running around outside, going to the library looking at books on his own, dancing/listening to some extra music (tapes or the radio), having a play date, going to story time, visiting family ect. This is what gives him a well rounded finish to his day. This ensures that he has a lot of things to keep him busy during the day and his attention will not waver.

That being said onto the next topic! My garden is right now overflowing with good stuff to eat! I did everything wrong and it still came out alright, in fact it is better than alright! I am very exited and cannot wait until next year when I will have more time to devote to the care and keeping of my garden. It might even get weeded more than once! Now that I know what does well in my soil and what doesn't I expect next year to be an even more bountiful harvest. Plans are in the works for a list of things to grow next year which if my best intentions are not thwarted again should be showing up on this blog in the not too distant future!

Long time no see!

Well I have been busy yet bored all this week. I am working on a post about my informal homeschooling schedule which should be posted by tomorrow! Nothing fancy but keep an eye out for it!

A Giveaway!

Yay! It's a wacky and wonderful giveaway from Mrs. B over at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom! This time around it is a lovely art tile of a flying kitchen witch by Brigid Ashwood. Very pretty and it almost makes me want to get a Twitter account just so I can get some extra entries. I really want to win this one. Hubby and I are renovating the kitchen in a few weeks and I would love to add this to our plans! I would say that anyone reading this should go check it out but then I would have more competition and well... I WANNA WIN IT!

Bits and Pieces

Well we celebrated Lughnasadh over the weekend with a few friends, grilling playing games and just generally enjoying the first harvest from my garden. I harvested enough basil to dry for winter and also made some herbal oils for cooking and ritual workings. Plus lots of very hot peppers and cucumber. I will wait until fall to pick some for pickling right now we are just going to enjoy them as they are. Little 'un and I were outside and running around before the flowers woke up that morning and we listened to the wind chimes and picked flowers (Queen Anne's lace one of my favorites!) and visited our fairy tree. The tree was nice enough to part with a leaf so that I could press and dry it and when fall comes and the leaves start to change color I can show little 'un how the seasons change. Then later that night after everyone else had gone to bed I did my normal solitary ritual in my little grove of elder trees. Very productive I thought and very soothing.

Little 'un still has a nasty cough leftover from his cold and can't seem to get over it. I'm giving him lots of extra baths still but he's back to his over active self. Though he isn't above an "I Love You" shouting match now and then. My poor kitten Bast has done something nasty to her eye and won't open it anymore, I will have to take her to the vets sometime soon.

And I would also like to leave you with some new things I have learned:

1. Despite my frustration with life sometimes I am really grateful for a lot of things in my life here is the list in no real order:

Crickets

Thunderstorms

Rain

Sun

Moon

Health

Family and friends

Stars

Trees

Grass

Flowers

Animals of all shapes and sizes

Books

Music

Food

2. Apparently waffles make me fat, I removed them from my diet and lost weight. I however did not exercise and ate more fast food than I care to admit to all while enjoying a reasonable amount of soda. So eating healthier isn't really necessary I just have to cut out carbs as much as possible.

3. Heres the thing, that is almost impossible for me I love bread, and muffins and cookies and potatoes and pasta. At least I can have whole wheat crackers and pasta but not potatoes and waffles and I have to start making that awful tasting honey whole wheat bread instead of my favorite Italian. This makes me a little sad.