Ok so life has been a little crazy around here. 

I was all set to buy my plane ticket south to spend a few days in the sun when I discovered that my finances were spread a little thinner than I had anticipated, and I couldn't pull together the plane fare. I might still be able to pull it off if I manage to sell enough stuff at fest, or if I can round up some paying customers for my tarot readings instead of the friends and family who all expect me to do it for free.

Still I am very disappointed.  Really blue for a couple of days as I had spent months telling myself not to count on going and not to look forward to it as it would probably not happen and then suddenly it looked good and I started to look forward to it.  Slam. Hopes dashed! Dammit!

Got Eve started at her new daycare yesterday.  It is a very nice place although not as convenient as the old daycare.  Still it was the only way we could keep the daycare subsidy.  Apparently someone at the old day care P*ssed off the powers that be in this city and they yanked all the subsidized daycare slots from the two daycares owned by them.  So they lost over 150 or the 200 children served by their two daycares and have had to lay off 25 daycare workers. Not pretty.

Eve seems to be settling in ok.  I think she misses the friends she made at the old place but she will make new friends pretty quickly I imagine.  Still I feel for her.  As a military brat I know what it is like to keep changing schools and having to make new friends every time.

Eve and her mother went out together on Canada Day.  Eve apparently went swimming in a city fountain and had her face painted.  Altogether she was exhausted but happy when she came home.

Classes are suspended for the Coven for the summer.  Three of the coven members are moving, and we have fest to work on so time is scarce. 

Still the sh*t hit the fan over the last few days anyway.  Swan is having issues with her partner, lots of fighting and emotional abuse and manipulation going on, and now days before the move, her son announced that he hates her partner (not without good reason) and he does not want them to continue living with him. 

It is about time he told her how he really feels.  Until now he has always just said he is happy if she is happy, which meant she could keep convincing herself that what she was doing in staying in this relationship wasn't hurting her kids.  Now she knows different.  Still, it looks like she is going to have to stay a little longer as with everything packed and needing to be out of the present house on Saturday, there isn't enough time to sort her stuff from his or to find another place to live.

My fear is that once she gets moved, she will persuade herself that things are going to be ok, which  they will be until the next time he grabs her or raises a hand to her and her son steps in and either gets hurt or he hurts her partner and ends up on charges for it.

I have done my best to talk to her and I have offered space at my home for emergency shelterif need by, although I have no real idea where I would put three extra people, two cats and a snake and lizard.  I do only have a three bedroom house with three adults and a child living here now. Why do I do these things?

I need a vacation and some sanity...anyone offering??

Animal totems- raven, dragonfly, owl, hawk, deer, frog, lynx

solitary or group- group

In the Broom Closet or Out- There's a broomcloset?????

favorite pagan holiday- Samhain

Deities- Cernunnos, Cerridwin, Mabon and The Morrigan

what element do you associate most with- earth with a hint of water....hmmmm that's mud

Do you perform formal rituals- absolutely

Do you read tarot- for over thirty years

cast runes- nope

work with crystals- occasionally

work with herbs- yes

Sacred Place you need to see- Ireland, or give me any old forest

Zodiac signs- Gemini

Birth Month- June

Siblings- one little sister

Children/grandchildren- 4 kids, multiple grandchildren but only one I know

Pets- cat

tattoos/piercings- pierced ears, four tats

favorite vacation spot- can't resist a road trip but KG is my main vacation most years

Talents- sewing, painting,

Are you a collector- Yes, witches

Do you sing, dance, play any musical instruments- sing and drum

City, Suburbia or Country- a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B

Favorite season- fall

Favorite month- October

Favorite exercise- does chasing a three year old count?

Favorite outdoor activity- Camping

Favorite boardgames- Hate board games

Favorite card games- solitare

Favorite Foods:  Thai

Mexican- anything

Italian- lasagne

Chinese- General Taos Chicken

American- Burgers with bacon, cheese and mushrooms :) BBQ, fried chicken, Roasted turkey...

Tea- good old orange pekoe

Alcohol- yes  please, Strongbow, mead

shot- not sure

herb/spice/seasoning- depends what I'm cooking. Love garlic

how do you like your eggs- poached on toast  or eggs benedict

What are your cooking specialties- Cookies and microwave these days LOL

I just have to share this story.

A couple of weeks ago when Eve and I were out camping, another little girl there spotted bats flying around in the evening and immediately put the fear of the Gods into Eve over bats. Needless to say Eve had no idea what a bat looked like or why she should be afraid but if Kirra was afraid of bats, then bats must be scarey things.

So a group of we grown ups sat down with her and explained that bats were really just flying mice and that they ate mosquitoes, for which she has a real fear (silly but real to her).

So enough said.  A couple of weeks went by and Eve and I were out in my truck, heading for Walmart to get her new socks and underwear, when she announced from the back seat "I hear bats singing."

I started to giggle but responded with  "Really, wow.  How do bats sing?", fully expecting her to respond with a series of squeaks or squeals.

Her response was "Bats sing like this, (Long pause followed by a sigh) Ohhhhhhhhh Mosquitoes, I eat mosquitoes, I love mosquitoes.  Ohhhhhhh Mosquitoes!"

I almost drove off the road laughing.

How can you not love a three year old?

1. DO YOU LIVE IN A HOUSE OR AN APARTMENT? Townhouse

2. WOULD YOU SAY IT IS BIG OR SMALL? Moderate.  Seems small because there are too many of us living in it.

3. DO YOU HAVE A WELCOME MAT? No

4. DOES IT SAY SOMETHING?

5. DO YOU HAVE A DISHWASHER OR DO YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR DISHES BY HAND? Dishwasher.

6. HOW MANY PLANTS DO YOU HAVE INSIDE? 
 five

7. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE THAT YOU PUT YOUR KEYS? 
 Keep them in my purse or else I would lose them.

8. IS YOUR REFRIGERATOR STOCKED WITH ANYTHING? 
 Full right now.

9. WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR BREAD?
 In the deep freeze until we need it then on the counter

10. IS YOUR BATHROOM CLEAN? 
 Rarely.  Like I said too many of us living in the house.

11. WHAT IS YOUR BATHROOM'S THEME? 
 Ummmmmm wet?

12. HOW MANY RUGS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR DWELLING SPACE? 
 Carpet throughout most of the house but one rug downstairs in my room.

13. DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS? 
 Sort of.  On speaking terms with some of them.  My cat knows them all LOL.

14. IF SO DO YOU GET ALONG WITH THEM?
 Yes most of them.

15. ARE THERE ANY STRAY CATS AROUND? 
 A few

16. DO YOU HAVE A DVD PLAYER IN YOUR BEDROOM? No

17. WHICH ROOM WOULD YOU SAY YOU SPEND THE MOST TIME IN?
 Lounge room and bedroom

18. DO YOU HAVE A POOL OR JACUZZI WHERE YOU LIVE?
 Nope.

19. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DVD THAT YOU OWN? 
 All the Seasons of Six Feet Under

20. HOW ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE CD THAT YOU OWN? 
 The Best of the Guess Who

21. WHERE IS YOUR STEREO OR RADIO LOCATED IN YOUR HOME? 
 my bedroom

22. DO YOU HAVE A COFFEE MAKER?
 Yeah

23. DO YOU HAVE AN AREA DESIGNATED FOR ALCOHOL? 
 Nope

24. HOW MANY TELEVISIONS DO YOU HAVE?
3

25. DO YOU HAVE STAIRS? 
 Yeah, too many of them

26. WHAT KIND OF STUFF DO YOU HAVE ON YOUR WALLS? 
 Mostly my paintings.

27. WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR TOOTHPASTE?
 In the bathroom

28. DO YOU HAVE A DEN OR AN OFFICE? 
 I wish.

29. DO YOU LIVE CLOSE TO ANY STORES?
 Yeah

30. DO YOU HAVE A WALK IN CLOSET AND IF NOT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE ONE? 
 No walk in closets.  Come to that no closet at all in my room.

31. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING HA NGING FROM THE CEILING? 
 Ceiling fan and my witch collection.

32. DOES YOUR KITCHEN HAVE A THEME? Nope.

33. IS IT A PAIN TO DUST YOUR LIVING SPACE? 
 Dust, people dust??????????

34. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? bathroom scales and dust bunnies.

35. DO YOU HAVE A GAME SYSTEM?  No

36. HOW MANY TELEPHONES ARE IN YOUR HOME? two home phones and four cell phones

37. DO YOU HAVE A FIREPLACE AND IF SO DO YOU USE IT OFTEN? Nop

38. WHAT KIND OF MICROWAVE DO YOU HAVE? No idea

39. DO YOU HAVE ANY FIGURINES OF ANGELS AROUND? No.

40. DO YOU LIKE TO OPEN THE BLINDS OR CURTAINS OR KEEP THEM SHUT. Open during the day and shut at night.

41. HOW MANY COMPUTERS ARE IN YOUR DWELLING SPACE? 
 3

42. WHAT COMPANY DO YOU USE FOR INTERNET ACCESS AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? Rogers and I work for the company so it's cheap.

1. Do you think you were raised well? 
 Well lets just say I wasn't raised badly.  A little on the disfunctional side but nothing major.

2. Do you have a secret that you've never told ANYONE?  Probably

3. How do you handle stress? I clean if I can and I tend to snap at people over things that have nothing to do with what is bothering me.  Yeah I can be a b*tch.

4. How would you spend your last day alive? With friends and my kids and Eve.

5. Do you hide things well or do you have a guilty conscience? I couldn't lie to save my life. I show every emotion in my face.

6. If there was true love on one side of the street and a million bucks on the other which one would you pick? The money. Even true loves can let you down.

7. If your parents got divorced and you had to pick mom or dad to live with who would you pick?  Can I say neither.

8. If you had to choose between having one family member or 5 of your closest friends die who would you choose? Not answering this one, be careful what you think.

9. Do you think you could ever forgive someone who murdered a family member? No.

10. What is the worst thing you've ever done that your parents DON'T know about?  I have done any number of things they wouldn't approve of but which I didn't believe were wrong.  I am inclined to think cheating on my third husband would be up there.

- The Love Stuff-
1. Do you think you know the meaning of true love? Yes.

2. The last time you kissed someone...was it someone you see yourself with? Last night and no they were no more than a friend.

3. What's the most important part of a relationship in your opinion? sharing

4. Are you the one who talks about everything? I am the one everyone talks to about everything.

5. Your most recent ex... you guys still friends? Not still friends but rather friends again.

6. If your parents didn't like the person you were dating, would you lose them? No.

7. Do you see yourself ever being with someone you've been with before? No.

-The This or That Stuff -
1. Die in a fire or drown? Neither, die in bed at the age of 110

2. Be with someone cute and a jerk or ugly and kind? neither

3. Eat fried worms or chocolate ants? Chocolate ants.

5. If your boyfriend/girlfriend didn't like your best friend and told you to be with him or your best friend, who would you choose? Lose the boyfriend in a hurry.

6. Would you rather be ditched or live with ditching someone? Ditching them hurts less but I never walk until I have to.

7. Kids then marriage or marriage then kids? I've done it both ways, either works.

8. If you had to choose between being blind or deaf which would you pick? Deaf

9. Would you rather live in a tiny apartment with 5 other people or alone in a huge house that you thought was haunted? Haunted house!

-The Random Stuff -
1. Do you kick it with the same people always.. or new people? Mostly the same people

2. How many piercings do you have? Just my  ears and only once

4. Do you see yourself as a "good" person? Yes, most of the time although I know that I am not some of the time.

5. Do you think best friends can be replaced? Yes, they change as we grow and change.

6. Name 6 people *not family* that you can tell ANYTHING to: Sammy, Greg, Elisa,Kristin, Kat and Mike.

7. Are you the type that would rather stay at other peoples houses or have them at yours? Stay with them.  I hate people invading my space.

8. HONESTLY- Have you ever wanted to watch a scary movie with someone JUST to have an excuse to be close to them?' No but it is an interesting thought.

9. Is your family the "eat dinner at the table" type or the "get your food and eat wherever you want type" ?
 When i was a kid we ate at the table. Now that we all work on different schedules, we tend to eat together when possible but most often each to their own and where ever they like.