We had a lovely Equinox ritual and feast last night. I got to be Spring. :)

We had a fairly large crowd, with friends old & new, and a couple of surprises: one person who had moved away and back again came with her new husband, and the news that they're expecting! There was much squeeage (sorry if I broke anyone's eardrums!).

I stayed overnight, and this morning, sea_dark_wine and justjanus took me to an old cemetery nearby for a photo walk.

( old gravestones )

After leaving the M towns, I headed over to mom's to visit. I got the lowdown on my niece's performance this weekend of The Laramie Project. The Westboro Baptist Church folks did indeed show up to protest, but the citizens of Canton showed up by the hundreds to counter-protest.

( proud auntie )

Mum loaded me up with goodies from her sizable freezer, as always, and I hit the road for home. Hit some traffic between Worcester and Sturbridge, but the trip was otherwise uneventful.

Very glad to be home. Bed early tonight.

What adventures have you had this weekend?

I actually slept in until 8:30 this morning, but then I was up well past 11 last night watching the BSG finale. When you factor in DST, it was actually my usual sleep schedule for a Saturday morning. *sigh*

***Spoilers! LJ cut isn't working for me at the moment. Sorry!***




( thoughts about BSG: spoiler zone )

***end spoiler zone***



Tonight is the coven Equinox ritual ("I come! I come! You have called me long," says Spring). I have to think of something to make for the feast (theme: Primavera). I think I made couscous last year. Must dig through the larder to see what I have to work with.

Tomorrow, I'm heading over to mom's for a visit. She has promised me homemade bean soup and other goodies. Hopefully I'll also get to see my sister, who had her knee-replacement surgery last week. She's in a rehab center right now, because she lives on the third floor, so getting up there would be quite difficult.

I would dearly love to take a nap, but then I wouldn't sleep very well tonight. I should go for a walk, but it's rather cold today. *sigh* I should get off my butt and do something, I suppose!

I should be arriving at the covenstead right about now, but due to the snow, I thought it best to sit this one out. I believe this is the first time I've missed Yule, which makes Samhain (I think) the only sabbat I have never missed with the coven. It has been snowing lightly all day, and the roads are not great, so I'm glad to not be on the road.

Our Yule ritual is joyful, celebrating the birth of the young god who will grow up to be the Harvest Lord. Everyone then follows him through the increasingly long birth canal formed by the legs of those who have gone through, with the danger of rugburn and sore knees also increasing exponentially. *g*

We also have a tradition of gathering the next morning for brunch, and the annual reading of A Child's Christmas in Wales by justjanus. I will miss that as much as the ritual.

Have a wonderful Yule! Oh, and happy birthday to resourceress! I hope you're having a wonderful time on your trip.

It's a very cool and clear morning here in Massachusetts, and it definitely feels like Autumn. I can see bits and blots of red and orange in the trees, and my feet are itching to get outside and do some exploring, which I will indulge as soon as I've had some breakfast. I'm waking up with some Godiva dark hot chocolate, which warms the tummy and pleases the taste buds. Yum.

I'm getting together with Cymbri later today, who is moving away to the Land of Lincoln very soon, and I most likely won't see her again until next July at Brushwood. That makes me sad, as she is the only Wiccan in the area with whom I have regular contact, and a good friend. I enjoy discussions with her, as well as just hanging out. She has a nice energy about her. I wish her well in her new adventure. Her sweetie just couldn't find work around here, and his father is gravely ill, so they've decided to settle in the land of his birth instead of here in New England. I suppose that now I have two more reasons to visit Illinois someday.

This unfortunately means that I will miss the coven Equinox this evening, which is a bummer, but I will see them at Samhain (and some of them perhaps sooner).

The crows and blue jays are quite vocal this morning, some of them right outside my window. I think they are calling me out to enjoy this day. First, I must eat.

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

I got out of the house and down to the park this morning, which is a good thing because it's raining now. I feel badly for my coworker, whose daughter is getting married today and is scheduled to have her pictures done in said park. Maybe it'll stop raining before then. One can always hope.

I overheard a woman telling her two little kids that this was where she & daddy got married. Right here, she said, we promised to love each other and blah blah blah. The kids seemed disinterested; they wanted to see the dinosaur footprints! It was cute.

Mom called me first thing this morning to wish me a happy birthday. Tomorrow is hers, so I returned the favor. :)

I'll get to celebrate with the coven this evening at our Lammas festival. I think I'll make sun-dried tomato pesto with pasta for the feast. That sounds yummy, and I really should use that pesto.

I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!

I made it out of the house and to the covenstead without forgetting anything and without any disasters. Win!

The mushrooms turned out well. I could have cooked them a wee bit longer, but I don't like them mushy, and I didn't want to dry out the stuffing. The rest of the feast was delicious, as usual. Plus we had strawberry shortcake! With whipped cream! Yum.

We got to sing bawdy songs after the ritual because there were no kids there this year. Woo! We also sang "The Rattlin' Bog" all the way through, which is a very long song. It's in the tradition of "There's a hole in the bottom of the sea" and "The little old lady who swallowed a fly," with escalating verses that test your memory. A challenge when you've just drunk wine on an empty stomach. *g*

resourceress gave me the rest of season 2 of Torchwood. Woo hoo! Thank you! I shall have a marathon one of these days.

I decided to stay overnight, because with the way my luck's been going, I really didn't fancy being stranded on the Pike or locked out of my apartment in the middle of the night. Especially in the rain. I was awake at the crack of dawn, as usual, and since I couldn't get back to sleep I decided to head for home. Even with the rain, the trip was pretty quick; there's not a lot of traffic on a Sunday morning. I was home by 9:00. I hope the rest of you slept well!

I've had breakfast, and now I think I'll go back to bed.

I should still be asleep, but as usual I'm up anyway. There will have to be nappage later, or I will be a zombie. o_O

Last night's Equinox celebration was very nice, and we had a decent crowd after all. I found myself covered in small boys, as Justin & Alex decided I made a fine jungle gym. I don't know what it is, but children and animals find me irresistible. Perhaps they sense that I have refused to grow up. *g*

sea_dark_wine asked Justin (who is ten) to cast the circle with her, and he took his duties quite seriously. Justin is one of those scarily precocious kids who can as easily discuss the finer points of Doctor Who (old school, no less) and Egyptian deities as he can be silly and playful. As his father is Evil Uncle Walter, that is not surprising in the least. *g*

We had a yummy vegetarian feast; the theme was 'Primavera,' and there was quite a variety. The couscous came out well, and I have leftovers, which I will most likely not neglect like I usually do. It has baby corn, artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and pecans. Yum!

resourceress and sunastria surprised me with several Torchwood DVDs, as well as one of Being Human, which I had wanted to see. It's about a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost sharing a flat. It sounds fun. There was much squeeage. Thank you!

If you celebrate, Happy Easter to you!

Tonight is the coven Equinox celebration, which is likely to be small since about half the coven is either sick or otherwise engaged. I decided to make the couscous dish that Lakshmi used to make, and which I am making from memory. Really, how hard is it to mess up couscous? I made a quick run to the store because I decided that I didn't have enough things to throw into it, and I had forgotten the pecans. I combined that with a stop at the post office and the library (where they didn't have the next Harry Potter on tape in stock, but the cute guy behind the counter offered to put a hold on it and call me when it comes in). There was a cashier with bunny ears on at Stop & Shop, and someone in a bunny suit in front of the florist. How nice of them to celebrate the Equinox! *g*

Today is Imbolc, the feast of Brigid and the halfway point of winter. It's been overcast all day, which according to folklore means we'll get an early spring. It's a good time to clean out the old, so to speak, and is probably the origin of spring cleaning. I'm definitely feeling the urge to clean out; all I need to do is find the time! And, of course, the ambition, which is just as hard to come by.

Tonight is the coven celebration, along with the Comfort Foods feast, for which I am obligated to make meatloaf. This is not a difficult obligation to fulfill, as I do love a good meatloaf. justjanus has promised to make mashed potatoes to go with.

I came across an interesting article about the newspaper industry and its problems; unfortunately, it doesn't offer much in the way of solutions, except for what the industry should have done. 20/20 hindsight and all that.

Anyhoo, happy Imbolc, or Groundhog Day, or just February 2nd!

I finally got into the holiday spirit last night as I was driving to the coven Yule. Downtown Westfield looks very pretty, with all the buildings outlined in white lights, and the trees on the common all covered in white and multicolored lights. I was listening to the audiobook for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and when the tape finished I listened to A Prairie Home Companion instead of popping in the next tape. They did a fabulous version of the Powdermilk Biscuits song with the carol "Gloria" in the middle (and I had a flashback of our choir director telling us to pronounce it like 'eggshells'), and I realized that the only thing I really miss about being a Christian is Christmas Eve midnight mass. I really loved when we'd pass the flame on our candles down the pews, they'd dim the lights, and we'd sing "Silent Night" a capella. We really need to do something like that for Pagans at Yule, you know?

Anyhoo, the ritual was very nice, and we had a larger crowd than usual. We had too many desserts and not enough main/ side dishes (I'm glad I didn't bring dessert!), but everything was yummy, and we had leftovers for brunch this morning, including french toast made from the leftover baguettes. I got to see a couple of folks I haven't seen in a while, and I managed not to get rugburn too badly on my knees. That's not nearly as naughty as you think, and neither is the fact that I haven't had that many people between my legs since, oh, last Yule. Hee! I'll give you a hint: Solstice is about the rebirth of the sun.

I managed to fill a large shopping bag to overflowing with clothes I don't wear anymore for my donation, and I could probably fill another. There's a new Goodwill store here in town, which will be getting a donation from me hopefully soon. Since I have another four-day weekend next week, I plan to do copious amounts of laundry and sorting. Must remember to get quarters this week!