Day 38: more knitting

This is the gift bag I knitted for Lisa's baby's things. I made it up myself, because none of the patterns I saw were big enough. I have not yet finished the hat.

Day 37: an exercise in flashing

Walking around some more ... this picture is without the flash ...


... and this is with the flash. Anyone know why the flash made it darker?


800 S, at 900 E:


More of my sad, denuded trees/bushes ...


And some macro-greenery, growing out of a rock.

Day 36: coffee and walking around

So, I went on a date, and we got coffee. Specifically, he got coffee, and I got chai, because chai is yummy. Here's our cups:


Then, later, on my way home, I noticed that my trees and bushes where I've taken so many pictures (the pyrocanthus, the squirrel) had been pruned. It was crazy, we were walking along the street, and in mid-conversation, I just stopped, staring at the trees. I'm not sure I'd have noticed if I hadn't taken so many pictures here.


I really like this picture:

Day 35: more baby stuff

Lisa requested little mittens so baby Aurora won't scratch up here face. So here they are:

I swear, these are the most precious things I have ever seen in my life! I dunno why. Hopefully, Day 38 will be the hat, and Day 39 (which is Sunday, when I see Lisa) will be a picture of Aurora wearing all her new things ...

Day 34: that's a crocus

So, sometime in October (I think? Whenever the Farmer's Market ended), I planted some bulbs. I bought (on the last day of the Farmer's Market) daffodils (my favorites), crocuses, and something that looks like bluebells, but I'm not sure if they are ...
So, this is the patch where I planted them (don't mind the plastic and stuff, we're trying to kill the grass so the backyard can be a garden):


And here's some new green stuff, I don't know if they're anything I planted, or just plants coming up, but still:


And this is definitely one of the plants I planted, not sure which yet. But I'm so excited!!


February, by Dar Williams:
And February was so long that it lasted until March
And found us walking a path alone together
You stopped and pointed and
You said, "That's a crocus."
And I said, "What's a crocus?"
And you said, "It's a flower."
And I tried to remember, but
I said, "What's a flower?"
And you said, "I still love you."

Day 33: more imbolc

More Imbolc altar, but this time with candles lit for Imbolc and my Brighid's cross necklace:


This is my Brighid's cross. I need to learn how to make a real Brighid's cross out of straw ... or rowan branches, which was the idea I got during my Imbolc stuff. I may, sometime, try to actually make a Brighid's cross out of rowan branches, but I really think it would be a cool tattoo.

Day 32: imbolc/brighid/candlemas

Today is Candlemas, and tomorrow is Imbolc, so here I present pictures of my altars.
This first picture is my "Source" altar. The Mists of Avalon states "All the gods are one God, and all the goddesses, one Goddess, and there is but one Initiator." The Source is the Great Mystery, the Initiator, that which I refer to when I say "God". Mostly it's just the candle and the little angel, which was called the Angel of Wonder, which I have renamed the Spirit of Wonder, because that's how I see God.
Also on this surface you can see the little divided plate on which I put little elemental things: a tealight for Fire, a couple stones for Earth, a cone incense dish for Air, and a shell for Water; also, my Medicine Cards: these I drew for my Totem Animals, and I got Eagle, Wild Boar, Crow, Deer, Lynx, Turkey and Black Panther. There's meanings behind them all, but that's way too much typing for a photoblog ...


This is my Goddess altar. I used to have God and Goddess and all the elements on one altar (plus the Source candle and the Spirit of Wonder, etc.), but it was getting crowded, so here I have the Goddess candle (in the middle) and Water on the left (it's kind of in the back, towards the West) and Earth on the right (North-ish). There's other stuff there, because my room is really crowded. Not important.


My God altar, and originally my only altar, with the God candle (note the phallic rock leaning against the candle ... someday maybe I'll smooth down the bottom so it can stand erect), and Air to the left (again, in the back, for the East) and Fire to the right.
You can see my staff in the background, to the right of the altar.


And the awesome thing about my altar is that it's two-tiered, so the bottom space is my "working space" ... I use it for decorating for the Sabbats (as pictured below), as well as for "workings" (spells), etc.
It is currently "decorated" for Imbolc, hence all the candles and the orange. Unfortunately, that's all I've got, by way of Imbolc decorations ... I'm kinda working on it, but Imbolc, even with Candlemas as a Catholic Holy Day, doesn't have near the amount of easily accessible commercial decorations that, say, Samhain, Midwinter and Spring Equinox do (due to the corresponding holidays of Hallowe'en, Christmas and Easter). Even the other harvest festivals (Lughnassadh to some extent and the Fall Equinox even more) can make use of Thanksgiving decorations, or at least some of them ...
But alas.


Anyway, happy Candlemas/Imbolc, and I love you all!