This comes from Friday’s Feast:

Appetizer

When someone smiles at you, do you smile back? Yes, in general. Not always. Sometimes, I flat out ignore them, though, depending on how obnoxious they are, and how obnoxious I’m feeling.

Soup

Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix? 100% carpet. Even the kitchen and bathrooms. Ewww. Shag carpet in the back bedroom. Flat industrial shit in the kitchen, hallways, dining room, one bathroom, and ‘front room’. Regular ugly stuff in the living room, master bedroom, and one bathroom. Gugh. Hate carpet. Hate. Especially all the ugly stuff I have. Puke yellow shag. Purple industrial. Pinkish beige regular stuff. Blech. My grandmother’s style sucks.

Salad

Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name. … with K? Jesus. Kill me. Keep kamikaze kangaroos kissing kittens. Hey, give me a break, there’s only a handful of K-words in the entire English language!

Main Course

Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption? Yep. I know a family who took in three foster kids and adopted them all. Along with their three biological children, they now have a family of six kids whose name all start with T, ages ranging from 26 to 6. (Maybe 5?) I was there for the formal adoption of one of those girls, and we went to the adoption party afterward. And also saw another little foster boy I babysat about to be adopted by a new family, too!

Dessert

Name 2 blue things. Uh, the sky. And water. I’m feeling nature-y today. Especially since it rained all day yesterday, which is awesome, because we’ve had like, NO MOISTURE WHATSOEVER this entire year. Nice! We needed the rain so bad!

Haven’t done one of these in a while, so… here I go. This week’s Friday’s Feast.

Appetizer
If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

Celebs? Gosh, I don’t know. I have a vague phobia of the entire celeb ‘class’ in general and like to scoff at anyone like that… but I do think that being The Yarn Harlot would be kind of fun. Celeb status in a certain circle, but not too celeb for my tastes!

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?

Five, maybe six. I don’t really like to talk on the phone - it just happens to be the only way I can actually have conversations with certain people that isn’t either a) on the internet, or b) without major interruptions from other people.

Salad
Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).

This winter I donated (not much, granted) to Feed the Children, but have swiftly been irritated by their continual harassment for more and more money… and their religious slant.

Main Course
What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?

Cheese. And I DO eat it every day. Seriously. Or potatoes. In any form. Both together? Even better.

Dessert
Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

Nope! Not yet, anyway. Sinus problems, allergies, maybe a cold - yes. But the flu? No. And no flu shot, either.

Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? This week’s FF wasn’t really that inspiring to me, so let’s talk about something else. Like the fact that I’ve embroidered my first tea towel ever! And actually, it went faster than expected. (Certainly faster than my socks are going, though at least I got the first one done and have finished the ribbing on the second!)

I’ve been going through old Workbasket magazines, finding ancient history (Okay, since 1964 anyway… ancient enough, well before I was born, anyway) embroidery transfers (so cute!) and the ugliest knitted and crocheted and otherwise crafted things EVER. Fun to look through! And gah, the hairstyles! And, as A. would say, THE TEETH! (She’s a bit of a teeth fanatic, to be honest, and those unperfect, unstraightened, non-bleached teeth shocked her a bit, I guess.)

I’ve been sorting out the ones with transfers, wondering whether to use them (and risk destroying them, maybe? I don’t know…) or do some copying of them with tracing paper and a transfer pen before I touch them. Hard to say. But I’m anxious to start embroidering something else! Heck, this is an even more portable project than knitting - it doesn’t require me to carry around magazines, books, or copied sheets of patterns!

In other news, I’ve finally finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Great book, truly great, and it would’ve been finished ages ago if I could’ve put down the knitting long enough to read it. Erm. You might say I have a bit of a problem, yes? Anyway, though the author is definitely passionate about her family’s food choices (all local food, with few exceptions, for a full year) the book is really just the story of one family’s year of “living on the farm” with a little political and environmental data thrown in. It reminded me oh so strongly of the Little House series - one family’s living with nature, for better or for worse, part story, part inspiration, part instruction manual, part values. The best part? It describes the sort of life I want to live perfectly.

I’ve always been attracted to stories like Little House on the Prairie - stories about independence, a connection to the land, making do with what you have, creating something from nothing, survival, sacrifice, and warm, happy home with good, fresh food. Stories like that have always tugged at my soul - and in the past few years, the idea of living as independently as I can - growing food, raising animals, owning not just a house, but a home. I want that for myself. I want that life; I want those stories to be mine.

But how do I get there from here?

Thirteen Random Things

Wow, do I suck at keeping good habits going, or what? I haven’t done one of these since… OCTOBER. Jebus….

1. I want to make some pantaloons. You know, for that old timey prairie fashion feeling, because I bet they’d be comfy under my long skirts!
2. A couple months ago, I purchased the Stitch It embroidery kit, and last night, i sat down and actually got to stitching! Soon to be done with my first ever embroidery work! Pictures will follow.
3. My reading input has drastically taken a dive now that my knitting output has increased. Yikes. I’m nearly finished with Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and it’s an excellent read! Got it from my understocked library, of all places, and will buy it soon! But perhaps in paperback.
4. I declare March the meditation month, and though I’m five days late, I’m starting today - five measly peasly minutes of meditation no less than three times a week, preferably five. How hard could it be?
5. I finished Dad’s Dashing mitts! Woot.
6. Also? I need more aprons. The only one I have is very… gingerbready. Also, after wearing said apron, I also want one that’s a bit more… ruffly. You know, not as utilitarian. More flowing, less stiff. Need a new pattern, yo!
7. I got in one of two college applications after a trip to the doctor to pick up my immunization record. The lady there was rather rude. I walked up to the window and waited patiently for her to get done with whatever she was doing, and she looks up at me and goes: “Do you need something?” as if I’m just standing there for no bloody reason at all. I tell her that I’m just there to pick up an immunization record and it should be waiting for me. She glared at me like I’d just told her I was there to audit her damned taxes, sorted through a few envelopes, and handed me one in a huff. To her credit, it was a Monday morning, bright and early at 9 a.m., but still, I was irritated.
8. I made a pot roast that S-U-C-K-E-D. Not inedible sucked, but sucked just the same. Also, I made spaghetti that did not suck! Very good! (But it always is.)
9. I have no money right now - how can I possibly buy yarn?! I want to buy yarn. I NEED to buy yarn… One week and one day, and I’ll be paid at last - but not near enough. Never enough…
10. I have a mouse problem. One little mouse… such a big problem. You wouldn’t think a mouse could survive three cats and a set of sticky traps, but this mouse is a genius. Also, he’s running around under my stovetop. Like, under the DRIP PANS for the love of god, and not just once or twice. You don’t even want to know how I found that out, but I’ll tell you anyway - mouse shit has a distinct odor when ‘cooked’. *gag*
11. I made some homemade glass cleaner. And used it! And it worked pretty well. But not as well as I’d like on a couple spots. Maybe I needed more elbow grease. Or maybe I should’ve let it sit a tiny bit longer.
12. Picked up my quilted christmas table runner from Mom’s and started in on it again! Appliqué. Oi. I have a feeling I should’ve hand-stitched them down, considering all the twists and turns and little bits to it. Next time, though I cringe at the thought. And I really don’t know what I have against hand-stitching, considering that it would take me a lot less time to sew down some appliqué than it does to knit a pair of socks. Weird.
13. Speaking of knitting socks, I have all but the toe of one of my Serendipity socks done - but would like to throw in a lifeline before I knit the toe, in case I hate it or it doesn’t fit right. I forgot my needle at home. Grrf. So they’re on hold for the night! My hands could use the rest, though, really.

1. Di 2. storyteller 3. Sosunaolata 4. Britni 5. Briggie

6. badpuppydog 7. arlene 8. Joy Renee 9. Tissot watches 10. Music Downloads

11. phentermine 12. Michael Buble 13. Mp3 14. phentermine prescription 15. You're next!

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It’s officially 2008. Okay, it’s been 2008 for well over 48 hours now, but give a girl a break - I’ve got a life, and it’s not /all/ lived on my blog… or, eh, something like that. I rang in the new year at work, which wasn’t very exciting, but it was better than A, who spent the whole night puking her guts up, and not because she had too much fun, either. Flu’s going around, and I’m popping vitamins. Getting sick isn’t the way I want to start out this year’s 366 days. (Yeah, you hear that? 2008’s a leap year. You get an extra day to be good, or bad, or whatever your conscience calls for.)

I intended to do some sort of 2007 roundup of things I’ve done this year, most notably, in my knitting and all, but until I get around to that, here’s a survey I’ve seen flying all over the web in the last few years, most notably coming from All & Sundry. Did I do this last year? I forget. I’ll look it up once I’m through.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before??

Most notably, I raised chickens on a whim. Also, I knitted socks, bought ’serious’ furniture (you know, the kind where you go to a furniture store and spend a couple thousand dollars on something that might last a few years, instead of going to Walmart and spending a couple hundred on something that most definitely won’t…), played the Wii, and made all sorts of delicious new recipes in my very own crockpot. I’m sure there’s other things, too.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year??

Didn’t make any. Thank god. And no, I haven’t made any for 2008, either.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth??

No one particularly close to me gave birth. A couple cousins did, but I scarcely know them. A’s sister did, but I’m not real close to her either. I’ve never seen any of these babies, though of course, I wish them the best.

4. Did anyone close to you die??

No to that, as well, though we had a close call last March with Grandma R. I did have a few chickens get killed off by a fox, but I don’t think that ‘counts’ in this case.

5. What countries did you visit??

None.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007??

An acceptance offer for one of the tech schools in Montana, and enough money to go.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why??

April 9th - the day I was supposed to get my chicks.
June 28th - the day the sheriff’s office got shot up.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year??

Actually doing one of the things I’d been wanting to do (raising chickens) instead of just wishing and daydreaming about it. Fun, too!

9. What was your biggest failure??

Not even bothering applying for school because I thought it just wouldn’t happen. I was probably right about the outcome, but I should’ve applied, nonetheless.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury??

Nothing serious but for a while I had a severe cough that took three visits to the doctor, a useless ultrasound, an x-ray, and ultimately some allergy medication to clear up, a month later…

11. What was the best thing you bought??

My couch. Or maybe my dining table. Ooh, so hard to decide.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration??

Celebration? Uh, gosh. No one I know had celebratory behavior.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed??

Bush’s. *lol*

14. Where did most of your money go??

Aside from taxes and loans? Toward my new furniture. :) It was well worth it, too. And I spent an extraordinary amount on craft supplies (*cough*yarn*cough*) and on books and magazines. But I deserved it, dammit.

That said, I did pay off all of my credit card debt, have not yet missed a bill payment, and paid off nearly $3000 of furniture in just under two months, thanks to savings, a generous gift from my father, and a lot of dedication. So clearly, I am doing well, financially, and I don’t feel guilty about how I’ve spent my cash. I mean, face it, crafts and books are my ONLY leisure.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about??

Chickens. *laugh* And yarn!!!! And I was really damned excited about my trip to the waterslides with A. It was a ton of fun, too.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007??

Gosh, I don’t know. Maybe Saving Me by Nickelback, or If Everyone Cared or… I don’t know.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:? a) happier or sadder? ?b) thinner or fatter? ?c) richer or poorer??

I’m neither “happier or sadder” - these emotions just don’t cut it for me on the big, sweeping time scale unless you’ve just gotten married, had a baby, or lost someone dear to you, none of which happened to me. But I’m more satisfied, less depressed (not that I was overly depressed to begin with, but I’m less so this year) and enjoying more of my life. I’m fatter, but not by a whole lot. 10 lbs maybe? Thank you, birth control, and you, too, junk food. I’m richer in a way - I have less debt, I make more money, and I have more ‘nice things’ to show for it. But I have little actual cash on hand, much less than I did at this time last year, believe me. Last year I had this thing called ’savings’…

18. What do you wish you’d done more of??

Taken more pictures. Gone out of town more. That just never seemed to work out for me this year - every chance I had, practically, was foiled by something or other. Work or money or weather, or the lack of any suitable companionship having none of the aforementioned problems.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of??

Bitch. I did a lot of bitching last year.

20. How did you spend Christmas??

With family, and at work. It was nice.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007??

Not with anyone real. I may have fallen in love with a fictional character or two.

22. What was your favorite TV program??

Watched a bunch of JAG. Hey, it was on at an hour I could watch. I liked L&O: Criminal Intent… But really, my schedule at work gives me few TV options, and I don’t subscribe to any sort of television at home.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year??

No. Didn’t develop any new hates for people.

24. What was the best book you read??

So hard to choose. Harry Potter is an obvious one, so I’ll go beyond that and add The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and possibly The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. All of them were great.

As for nonfiction, I really liked The Circle Within by Diane Sylvan.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery??

Gosh, I don’t know. Daughtry, maybe.

26. What did you want and get??

Chickens!!!

27. What did you want and not get??

A spinning wheel, or even a drop spindle. Maybe this year.

28. What was your favorite film of this year??

Harry Potter? The Bourne Supremacy? Did that come out this year, even? I saw so few movies this year I can’t even remember them.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you??

I did practically nothing for my 25th birthday, which was a bigassed letdown, since I’d intended to take a vacation to The Big Big City with Mom or something, but Grandma got sick and ended up in the hospital and… yeah.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying??

A million dollars. Hey, it’s true. But honestly, my year was pretty darned good.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007??

Uh, practically nonexistent. *lol* I’ll call it “Walmart Style”.

32. What kept you sane??

Tea. Really. I needed it.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most??

None come to mind at the moment. I don’t, as a general rule, fancy celebs, except in that casual: “Wow, he’s hot” sort of way when I’m watching a movie. But they’re too distant to me to really fancy them at all.

34. What political issue stirred you the most??

Gugh. Which didn’t? Can we say that Everything Bush Does stirs me up? But I’ll say that lately, I cannot believe that in these modern, enlightened times, living in America where we, the good democratic people of the world, are supposedly so much “better” than our worldly peers, are actually debating over whether waterboarding is torture so we can determine whether or not it’s okay to use it on people we have declared enemy combatants so we don’t have to declare them prisoners of war and treat them fucking humanely as per the Geneva Convention. The fact that public polls on the subject are split fifty-fucking-fifity is even more outrageous than our politicians discussing this, and frankly, I am ashamed to be an American right now.

Ashamed.

35. Who did you miss??

All the friends I hardly ever see. :)

36. Who was the best new person you met??

B, my neighbor who moved in across the street from me, and who’s done so much to help me out.

Wow, is that the end of it? Well, here goes.

I stole this meme, and the cute title, from The Chaotic Crafter.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Wrapping paper! Gift bags are mostly a cop-out, in my opinion. They have their place, but honestly, they’re not as pretty, they’re not as mysterious, they’re not as fun to open… The only thing they’ve got going for them is that they make wrapping ‘easy’.

2. Real tree or artificial?

Artificial, baby. I’d love to have a real tree… in my fantasies. In reality, real trees suck. My fake trees, granted, aren’t the cream of the fake tree crop, but at least they don’t shed pine needles all over the place. Nor are they a huge fire hazard. Nor do they cost me an arm and a leg every single year. And most of all… real trees here are like, limbs off a tree, okay? They’re piddly, they’re weak-limbed, they’re total Charlie Brown trees. Pathetic in every way. I hate.

3. When do you put up the tree?

Usually get it up within the first week of December. I always want to get it up Thanksgiving weekend, but it never really happens.

4. When do you take the tree down?

Last year, mid-January. The year before, it ended up hanging around until nearly Valentine’s Day. *lol* I love my tree, what can I say?

5. Do you like eggnog?

I like it all right, if it’s spiced. Spiced, people. Not spiked.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

The My Little Pony Palace. It was my dream for years. And I finally got it. And it was good.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

I have one, but I didn’t put it up this year. It’s a Precious Moments nativity, and quite dainty and cute. Not my religion, but I can sort of, uh, mold the myth to fit my own thing. But this year… I just didn’t put it out. Nowhere to put it, really, and it just doesn’t fit with my theme all that much.

8. Hardest person to buy for?

My father. Or my brother. Either one is difficult as hell.

9. Easiest person to buy for?

A, usually. She likes tons of stuff, and needs tons, too.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

My grandmother has given me some pretty awful gifts in the past, but the kicker was the cheap polka-dot purse with a pack of 8 crayons and some of those fluffy pony-tail-holder things. When I was 13 or 14. Wouldn’t have been quite so bad, but my brother scored a sleeping bag and a golf bag that same year. Wtf, anyone?

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Mail. But this year, I sent nothing. For reference, I HATE emailed cards, 99% of the time.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

Ohh… that one about the reindeer that gets hurt and lost and the little girl cares for him. What the heck was that called? Prancer? Could be… In general, though, I’m not a fan of Christmas movies. Too sickeningly sweet.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

November, usually. Sometimes I’ll make something in advance, or buy something in advance, but all the hardcore things get purchased in November or early December. But after last year’s post office snafu, where Denver got dumped on with like ten thousand feet of snow, and all the mail was stuck there for weeks on end, I try to shop early, since most of my shopping gets done online.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

I don’t recall anything specific, but probably.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Cookies. And ham. Or whatever. I like to eat everything, all the time, really.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

I’ve always used clear, my themes usually being red/white or blue/white, but someday, I’ll do a multi-colored tree, and probably will use colored lights then!

17. Favorite Christmas song?

My favorite song tends to be God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, in almost any flavor.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

Stay home!! But only because all my family is right here, I imagine. I certainly wouldn’t travel to some vacation spot at Christmas, anyway. Not so cool, I don’t think. Christmas is a homey-time.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen; Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen! And do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer! *sings it* The only way I can remember it, really.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Never liked angels on tree-tops. And I’m not too fond of most tree-topping stars, either. They’re so… gaudy most of the time. I have been using those giant tree-topping bows for a few years now, and I really like that!

A really disliked it the first year I used it. Too… materialistic and secular or something for her taste. Perfect for me, though!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

We generally open gifts Christmas Eve. In fact Christmas Eve is really our “Christmas Day”. Always has been. We had our family dinner that night, we visited relatives. The next day was our ‘relaxing’ day, and our second family dinner with the other half of the family. But we always open gifts Christmas Eve.

But honestly, when I have kids, I might make them wait till Christmas Day, except for maybe one gift… Well, we’ll see. Maybe, when I have kids, we’ll all open gifts on Yule instead. Hah.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

Bellringers. Hands down.

23. What I love most about Christmas?

Everything. The weather (hopefully snow), the merry-making, the gift-giving and prettily wrapped packages perched under trees, the good-natured spirit, the festive lights, the decorated trees, the scent of cookies, the mystery of Santa Claus… I could go on for pages, but I won’t.

Speaking of Santa Claus… does anyone actually ever give their kids nothing or coal for Christmas from Santa if they’ve been bad?

So, I was indirectly tagged by the Chaotic Crafter for this, a whole ten days ago. Indirectly, because she tagged everyone, so it almost counts! ;-) I didn’t steal this meme (like all the others), I swear, Ma!

Crazy 8’s

8 things I’m passionate about
~Writing
~Linux
~Knitting
~Civil Rights
~Child abuse
~Spirituality
~Books
~Yaoi (covers face in shame - is it bad to be passionate about that?)

8 things I say often
~Fuck (often? Try ‘way too much’)
~SEBASTIAN! GET DOWN! (yelled to cat)
~Hmm. (in a suspicious tone, usually directed at A.)
~*lol* (is it bad that I consider “say often” to mean “type often”?)
~What the fuck?! (online, and off)
~I got (insert number here) eggs today! (… farmgirl …)
~Stop biting yourself. (To… an unnamed person.)
~I’m not mad. I’m irritated. (*sheepish*)

8 books I’ve read recently
~Good Omens (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman)
~A Lick of Frost (Laurell K. Hamilton)
~Julie of the Wolves (?)
~Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
~The Circle Within (Diane Sylvan)
~Naked in Death (J.D. Robb)
~Danse Macabre (Laurell K. Hamilton)
~Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (JK Rowling)

8 things I want to do before I die
~Go to Europe
~Go back to Japan
~Be a mom
~Live a lot more years
~Write a novel (that’s published, preferably)
~Own a house
~Have an orange and white kitty
~Have a job I love

8 songs I can listen to over and over again
~All These Lives (Daughtry)
~Photograph (Nickelback)
~Better Days (Goo Goo Dolls)
~Stay With You (Goo Goo Dolls)
~Can’t Not (Alanis Morisette)
~Further on up the Road (Bruce Springsteen)
~Unwell (Matchbox Twenty)
~Wake Up Call (Maroon 5)

8 things that attract me to my friends
~Sense of humor
~Shared Interests
~Creativity
~Intelligence
~Shortness (Seriously, most of my pals are under 5′4″… Coincidence?)
~Geekiness
~Social-misfit-ism (Why are the vast majority of my friends complete social outcasts? Or at least, were complete social outcasts at the time of my befriending them?)
~Honesty

8 things I’ve learned in the past year
~All about chickens.
~That time goes by faster every year.
~That our government’s justification for the war in Iraq was partly based on misinformation gained through the illegal use of torture.
~How to knit socks, for real.
~That I am one suckass gardener.
~That my grandmother has Alzheimer’s.
~That yes, bad things (psychos shooting up the town, for example) can happen here, too.
~Where Scorpio (the constellation) is.

8 people to tag
I don’t even know eight people! *hides face* Anyone who’s reading this is officially tagged!

Tsuki says: “What do you think you’re lookin’ at?”

Thirteen Things About Witches

Last year, I posted a TT on Samhain. Read it here. That done, here’s some information on witches!

1. I am a witch. Or so I like to think. Some days, I’m more of a bitch than a witch, but I like to think of that as just ‘part of the package’.
2. Though some beg to differ, not all witches are Wiccans, and not all Wiccans are witches, though most Wiccans are witches, and quite q few witches are Wiccans. How’s that for a mixup? Here’s how it works: Wicca is a religion. Wiccans are followers of that religion. Witchcraft is a practice, like, for example, prayer. Christians pray - but not all who pray are Christian. Some are Jewish, some are Islam, and some are Wiccan. Likewise, Wiccans often practice witchcraft, but not all who practice witchcraft are Wiccan. (For those who want to know, there are even Christian Witches.)
3. Witchcraft generally involves magic. Any type of magic, really, but practitioners of specialized magic (chaos magic, ceremonial magic) may or may not call themselves witches - they often refer to themselves as magicians, and their craft as magic.
4. Witches cannot fly around on brooms, but most of us would love to learn.
5. Witches generally do not distinguish between ‘white magic’ and ‘black magic’ the way movies and certain pathetic books exclaim. Witches are not automatically beings full of light and love, and witches can - and sometimes do - practice darker flavors of magic. Most - but not all - witches view witchcraft and magic as simply a tool that can be used for either positive or negative purposes.
6. Many - but certainly not all - witches do take a moral view of trying to do the least harm in every situation. Hence, most witches don’t lightly cast spells to harm another.
7. Not all witches believe in karma, or the Threefold Law or any of that. But almost all agree that there are consequences - seen or unseen - to every action we take.
8. Both men and women prefer the term witch. Warlock is generally not in use. Originally, this term meant ‘oathbreaker’, and most male witches cite this as the reason not to use the term. Considering the general population “knows” that ‘warlock’ means ‘male witch’ and this supposed taboo has to be explained to everyone, I’ve come to the personal conclusion that they just find the term hollywood-style-silly. And in this, I agree. Nonetheless, if you meet a man who considers himself a warlock, assume he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about until proven otherwise.
9. Witches don’t have to wear black. Honest. It’s not a rule.
10. There are different types of witchcraft - some of the most commonly heard being “elemental”, “kitchen”, and “green”. Elemental witches typically focus on the elements (air, fire, water, earth, and possibly spirit) and tend to be somewhat more Wiccan in nature. Kitchen witches tend to focus on simplistic home magic - literally infusing everything from food to mopwater with magic and blessings, and often tend to be much less formal in their spells and rituals than others. Green witches are often more focused on nature and herbs and the like.
11. Witches generally love Halloween, and most don’t have any problems with the evil witch stereotype that goes along with it. Despite a couple schools evidently banning Halloween activities as a ploy to be politically correct toward witches, most have no problems with the traditional green-faced wart-nosed hag. Some, however, take offense, and to those people I say ‘go sit on your thumb and spin a while’.
12. Witches often have a large supply of herbs and resins and such. Usually, they have names like: sage and basil and mugwort and frankincense and sandalwood and holly. Not ‘lizard tongue’ and ‘eye of newt’ and ‘bat wings’.
13. To set the record straight, ten million [or whatever number seems to be popular at the moment] witches did NOT die during The Burning Times. Not /all/ that many people died during the Inquisition, and most of those poor saps were just lonely old women who had the misfortune of being an outcast - and there may not have been a single actual witch in the bunch. This isn’t to say that witches haven’t been persecuted, then /or/ now. We are still persecuted today to a degree even in the States [yes, people have had children taken away for being pagan, have lost jobs, etc.] but there’s really no need to inflate the big ol’ persecution complex here.

1. Christine 2. Hootin' Anni 3. Tilly Greene 4. Jon Tillman 5. Hugs N Stuff 6. Daisy

7. marcia v. 8. Babystepper 9. delilah 10. Kat 11. Diane Neer 12. Working at Home Mom

13. Christy 14. Xakara 15. Donica Covey 16. TorAa 17. Anne 18. You're next!

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15 Words of Wisdom »

Monkey One, Meme Two

Filed in Memes & Meta, Knitting
on October 12th, 2007 @ 6:05am

Okay, so the socks aren’t finished yet. But number one is! But… I forgot to upload the pics from the camera, so, that’s that. I’ll maybe post later tonight with a picture of that and the latest shawl photo!

But for now, a stolen meme from Chaotic Crafter.

What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now? Some citrus smelling green bar of mysterious origin that I received from my boss as a Christmas gift. I’m hoping it’ll last till the end of the year, because I stole developed a new custom last New Year’s on ridding myself of all (most) of the disposable products like that at the end of the year, and starting fresh at the beginning! Hate to do that with a fresh bar of soap. Though, I have some shower gels I keep just for the hell of it, mostly, that I could use if I run out too soon, though. I really prefer bar soap, though. Wow, I’m tired - what a long answer on soap, of all things.

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? Gosh, no. Not at this time of the year.

What would you change about your living room? Currently, and most likely to change in the near future, my ‘curtains’. I say that with ‘ ‘’s because what I have now is a very grandmother valance over a dropdown shade, and I’d really like a not so grandmotherly valance. After that, a television bench, as opposed to the gigantic entertainment center that doesn’t suit me anyway.

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? That is a very good question.

What is in your fridge? Lots of leftovers. Tons of bagged herbs I just cut yesterday and need to work out how to dry. Cheese. Apples.

White or wheat bread? White. Don’t get me near that brown shit, please. I don’t care how healthy it is.

What is on top of your refrigerator? A teapot. My recipe box. A couple empty cookie jars. Occasionally, a cat.

What color or design is on your shower curtain? White background, pink/purple/green/blue dragonflies.

How many plants are in your home? None, currently. I used to have a ton. Then the spidermites came… That sounds ominous. And believe me, it was horrible.

Is your bed made right now? Naw. I hardly ever make my bed.

Comet or Soft Scrub? *cringe* Neither, please. Too much evil harsh bad chemicals for me.

Is your closet organized? Vaguely. Not real well. None of them are organized real /well/.

Can you describe your flashlight? Sure. I can even describe where it is, thanks to a lesson learned during a very long power outage in the middle of the night, during which I tried valiantly to find them and could not. Blue flashlight, heavy and solid plastic, sitting next to my computer monitor, where I will probably /be/ when and if the power goes out. Got a second flashlight by my sliding door, black, with a white button, and ridged.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Plastic for water (only because they’re my largest glasses), glass for everything else.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? Sadly, no. Until yesterday, I didn’t have any room in the fridge. Now, I still don’t have room in the fridge.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered? ‘Cluttered’ is too mild a word for my garage.

Curtains or blinds? Depends on the window.

How many pillows do you sleep with? Four. I surround myself with pillowy goodness. One under my head, one on either side of me to… prop me sideways or cuddle or whatever, and one for my knees.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night? No. But I sleep in the daytime, so my room is definitely not dark, despite all my efforts to block the light from the room. Yes, it’s a bitch. A real, real bitch.

How often do you vacuum? Not often enough, but more often than I used to. How’s that for evasion, boys and girls?

Standard toothbrush or electric? Standard - electric ones scare vibrate, and I don’t like vibratey things.

What color is your toothbrush? I think it’s a faint clear purple, but I could be wrong. Might be a faint clear blue instead.

Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? No. I don’t welcome people into my home. *snerk*

What is in your oven right now? Not a damned thing.

Is there anything under your bed? Cat hair. Perhaps a sock or two. Maybe a cat.

Chore you hate doing the most? Toilet cleaning. Dishes. Cleaning the kitty boxes.

What retro items are in your home? Eh. I don’t collect much ‘retro’, but I’m sure I’ve got some retro stuff. Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? No. Since I live on the computer, that would separate me from the rest of my house for 99% of my day.

How many mirrors are in your home? Five large ones. Probably some small ones.

Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? Usually, but it’s gone by the end of the week most times.

What color are your walls? They are all the color of ugly. Textured wallpaper, 30 year old wallpaper in the kitchen, poorly painted paneling, more ugly wallpaper…

Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home? No. Not /as such/. But I know right where my pointy knives are.

What does your home smell like right now? Nothing in particular right now. Generic ‘cat’ scent, perhaps.

Favorite candle scent? Spiced scents - like cinnamon and pumpkin and autumn spices and stuff.

What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? Claussen quarters. Mmmm.

What color is your favorite Bible? My favorite Bible? The heck?

Ever been on your roof? Nonononono.

Do you own a stereo? Not no more.

How many TVs do you have? One. But it’s not hooked up to, you know, tv or anything. It’s just there for decoration, mostly.

How many house phones? Two.

Do you have a housekeeper? I wish.

What style do you decorate in? I’ve been aiming for Asian, somewhat, but mostly, my style is “cluttered”.

Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? Solid, mostly.

Is there a smoke detector in your home? Supposedly. I’ve just bought a new one, but have yet to put it up.

In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? Cats, and if possible, I’d seize my main computer, slide open my huge living room window, and toss it out to safety, too. Not necessarily in that order. My cats are cowards, and I’d have better luck saving the computer than seeking out and trying to grab hiding kitties. Practical, but true.

2 Words of Wisdom »

Chickenblogging ~ TT #27

Filed in Chickens, Thursday Thirteen, Memes & Meta
on October 11th, 2007 @ 4:44am

Thirteen Things About Chickens

1. There are hundreds of breeds / varieties of chickens. Big chickens, little chickens, chickens of all different colors, chickens just for meat, chickens just for eggs, chickens for feathers…
2. Chickens can lay brown or white eggs. The color of the egg depends on the breed of chicken, and you can tell which color egg it will lay by looking at its earlobes. White earlobes mean white eggs, brown earlobes mean brown eggs. There’s no nutritional difference between the two.
3. Actually, chickens can lay blue or green eggs too. The shell, that is. But only a special breed of chicken does this - naturally, it’s called “the easter egg chicken”.
4. Chickens eat everything - bugs, grass, weeds, fingers, toes… well, they would eat the last two, if you let them.
5. Chickens can fly. Not far - perhaps twenty feet - but they can. And do. But most of the time, they strut around on the ground.
6. Handling chicks frequently makes them friendly. Mine follow me all over the place, though only some of them allow me to pet them. I didn’t handle mine /quite/ enough.
7. Chickens lay an egg approximately every 25 hours. Many of the breeds bred to be great layers will lay an egg a day for many days in a row, before they skip a day and start over. Some breeds only lay an egg every two days. It also fluctuates depending on the time of year, health and food quality, and age.
8. They begin laying eggs at approximately 4.5-5 months, and will lay very small eggs at first! Then they gradually get bigger.
9. Egg production is dependent on light. In the winter months, without supplementary lighting, chickens may stop laying eggs altogether, as they need a good 15-17 hours of daylight a day to produce eggs. This mechanism is what prompted chickens to lay eggs in the spring and hatch them when the weather was favorable, and stop reproduction in the winter, when chicks would most likely die of exposure. Supplementing light (just a lightbulb will do) will keep them laying through the winter, though the cold may slow production a bit.
10. Chickens do not need a rooster to lay eggs. Egg production happens whether there’s roosters around or not - they just aren’t /fertilized/ eggs. (Rather like a woman menstrates every month, whether she has sex or not.) There’s no nutritional (or visual, or taste-ual) difference between fertilized and unfertilized eggs. The only difference is that if incubated (either in an incubator, or under a hen’s warm body), a fertilized egg will hatch into a chick. Most commercial chickens never see a rooster.
11. A hen is born with as many egg yolks (tiny, undevloped yolks) as she will ever produce. If she uses those up, she’ll never lay an egg again.
12. A hen will lay her best in her first year of laying. Then her production will slowly dwindle.
13. 22 chickens provides way too many eggs for a single gal and all her neighbors, too. *drowns in eggs*

1. Dorothy 2. Nicholas

3. Working at Home MOm 4. Games,Video 5. You're next!

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3 Words of Wisdom »

Unconscious Mutterings #244

Filed in Memes & Meta
on October 7th, 2007 @ 9:32pm

I feel like I need a bit of unconscious inspiration in life. So here we go. Go here to play.

1. Cluster :: Fuck
2. Announcement :: Important!
3. Respect :: Is Earned
4. Incident :: Critical
5. Accordion :: Bad
6. Drunk :: Bar
7. If :: Only
8. Dexter :: Psychopath
9. Wedding :: White
10. Gambling :: Problem

Clusterfuck. Heh. I need to use that word more often.

1 Word of Wisdom »

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