Be Kind to Your Fine Feathered Friends

From what I've been told I was bitten by a swan when I was a child. It must not have been very traumatic because I don't remember it and I adore most birds. My grandfather had a Martin house set up in the backyard before he and my grandmother moved to their current house. He has a pair of binoculars and a bird book right next to the large windows that overlook their backyard. It's a haven for wildlife, as small as the yard may be, and it's thanks to him that I've taken a liking to feeding the birds and squirrels in our own yard.

The whole 'grandparent feeding the small animals' thing isn't just in my family; apparently Grendal's own grandfather feeds them. What struck me as awesome was the fact that the squirrels and chipmunks would actually run up to him and pretty much ask for some peanuts. For the 6+ years Grendal and I have been together I hadn't seen it happen. One chipmunk had attempted to get to him but was frightened off by the crowd of people at the family get together. This past weekend, though, I actually got to witness it. Grendal found it amusing because I reverted back to a child when the chipmunk ran up to me and grabbed my finger, thinking I had something for him. He loved it even more so when his grandfather handed me some peanuts and I began to feed the little guy. The chipmunk would take three peanuts(one in each cheek and on its mouth) and then bounce off to its home, only to come back for more. Grendal's grandmother said they're usually nervous around other people but it seems like it warmed up to me rather quickly.

While I haven't gotten the squirrels or chipmunks to do that around here, Grendal and I have managed to gather a rather large community of birds:

I find myself sitting next to the cat by the window watching the birds, chipmunks, and squirrels eat. We have Goldfinches, Whitebreasted Nuthatches, Mourning Doves, Cardinals, Sparrows, House Finches, and Blue Jays flying around. My favorite are the Nuthatches right now. I just love how they shimmy down the polls, flip on the horizontal poll, and eat 'upside down.' I do love the Cardinals, especially in winter when their colors pop against the snow, but the male we had this past spring was constantly singing. Grendal said he was just expressing his joy, but it eventually rubbed him the wrong way when the bird decided to sing right outside the bedroom window!

I've seen other bloggers joining little blog parties before and it has piqued my interest many times. I've seen what goes on and I've thought about joining. Me being me, though, I've stopped short many times. Why? Because I'm so nervous and shy. Why should I be, though? This is the internet! Anonymity it supposed to give you courage to be yourself! I think it's more of the whole 'am I pagan/witchy enough' feel. My blog isn't dedicated to my witchy lifestyle but that is more of me still flexing those muscles. I am knowledgeable in my own right! I have no need to fear others looking this over and thinking that I'm not what I should be. I have been following this path for over 10 years! So yeah, I joined something: The Real Witches of Halloween. Hopefully I will meet new people, find new blogs, and expand my view even wider!

Sad times

Yesterday I was going to post something rather happy, along with a couple pictures, but the day went from wonderful to bad with a simple phone text. Turns out the family sheltie, named Pikala, had to be put down. Out of the current dogs at my parents' house she was the one I looked forward to seeing. I always gave he first greeting. Whenever I sat on the porch while everyone was out she would sit right next me and watch everything as well.  She was the only dog that would give me a kiss when I would give her one.

In essence she was like a younger sister to me. Grendal loved her dearly as well and was heartbroken by the news. Pika was young for a sheltie but had medical issues and had to be put down. What hurts the most was that it had been 2 weeks since we saw her, and at that time she appeared to be rather healthy. We never got to say goodbye and it hurts to wonder if she had missed seeing us one last time.  All we can do is be happy in knowing there is no more pain and that she has gone to a better place.

It's the most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's already September, which means it's close to my birthday and closer to my favorite season: autumn! I never really experienced the color extravaganza that come with season when I lived in California and Georgia. Sure trees changed but it's nothing like what I've seen here in northern Illinois. The first time I saw such a lovely display was actually in the backyard of my grandparents' house(my father now owns it). I'm not too sure what type of tree it is but every autumn, for a few days, the leaves are a beautiful crimson. After a point, though, they turn brown and fall. :P

One of my favorite places is a stretch of road not too far from a community college. Trees create this nice tunnel effect as they loom over the street, and once autumn hits the place looks similar to this, but with more reds:

When the sun begins to set the whole place seems to glow! It always takes my breath away. I love the place so much that it inspired an area in my novel-in-progress. The forest always has autumn colors, which just makes it a dream place in my head.

Grendal's father had gone around the yard last month looking at the oak trees in the yard and decided to figure out what kind we have. From what I've been told we have three different kinds, which makes the whole lot of us happy. I've also taken notice that they're producing a nice amount of acorns and have decided that I'm going to try and harvest some! While it seems too early for me to start feasting on nuts, I can't help but want to harvest them. Acorns, walnuts, chestnuts, and almonds, all in their shells, was something my mother bought me every winter when I was kid. We had a nutcracker that I was able to use to crack 'em open, though I stopped using the poor guy when I noticed his jaw was loose(I also liked watched The Nutcracker, so I I thought mine came to life at night and wouldn't appreciate a wiggly jaw). When we moved up here to Illinois my little winter tradition stopped mainly because I couldn't find that array of nuts together and for a reasonable price. So I'll be keeping an eye out for the right harvesting time and the grocery store whenever they get their own nut harvest.

On the mead front, its drinkable and yummy!! Grendal and I are happy that our first batch came out so well and we plan on not only making another small batch but saving up money so it can be our drink of choice at our joining/handfasting/wedding thing. I think we had agreed on two 15 gallon jugs. The big thing is figuring out flavor. We've thought about spiced mead and even a berry kind but nothing is set in stone yet. I think I'll nab a book on mead making before all of that gets underway.

Other than that not much has happened in my corner of the world. I'm trying desperately to save money but it seems to be harder than I thought, mainly because I've had to empty my account twice to help pay the electric bill. This coming Friday, though, I will be getting that money back since the electric bill isn't really what was agreed upon when it came to me paying for stuff. It also helps that Grendal's father has gotten a job, so there will be a little more money coming into the house! Grendal is still trying to focus on the home business but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, which frustrates everyone. Grendal has mentioned that there needs to advertisement and his mother shunted that responsibility to him, which probably wasn't the best of things. He's at a loss on what to do and that seems something like his mother would be a bit better at accomplishing.....to some degree. All that really needs to be done is create a flyer with the phone number and the etsy site url, along with a brief description of what they do! Put it up around town and business bulletin boards and there you go. Online advertising, though, might be a little harder.

That's it for now. I'll be back whenever something exciting happens! ;)

Fire Hot

Fire indeed hot! (woot, for murdered Futurama quotes)  Seriously, though, when doing a spell with fire remember that one can be burned in the literal sense. :|  Had a nasty flare up and lost some hair on my arm. Slight burn but nothing aloe could take care of.  Yeah, made a mental note on how to 'properly' work with fire.

Anywho! Serious life things have been serious. Quick run down: Job going well(coworkers love me!), financial situation of the house is looking slightly better but still bad, my student loans are coming in which means I gotta start paying them off next month(ick), summer is too damn hot, I'm making mead, we have an etsy shop(click the RyallWay image on the side bar to check it out) and Grendal proposed about two weeks ago!!! :D

After nearly 7 years together he proposed.  He had been thinking about it for a while, we had talked about it together, and then it just happened.  Grendal felt bad that he didn't have a ring but gave me his necklace that has Mjöllnir on one side and a dragon on the other.  He was also slightly unhappy with how the proposal went but I think it was memorable. Grendal took me to a local forest preserve and we sat and looked at the lake. Sadly we weren't alone: there was a gentleman fishing a few yards to our left as well as two different groups on other parts of the lake(one being a rowdy group of 20-somethings).  There was also one annoying bird, but we were lucky enough to see a crane fly by.  We sat together just looking over the lake, enjoying our time. I started getting eaten alive by mosquitoes (I'm rather allergic if I start to scratch them) and the 20-somethings were getting louder(one of 'em shouted 'ITS A TRAP!' which cracked me up). I said we should head out because I needed to get some benadryl.  Grendal hugged me and said that this wasn't how the proposal was supposed to go.  O^O  I was stunned, got teary eyed when I noticed the serious look on his face, and said yes!

There is no set date, though I suggested June 21 2013. It's a Friday as well as midsummer, so it works out. Grendal seem okay with that and we've agreed to make a BIG batch of mead for the celebration. We do know our 'wedding' won't be traditional. Most likely we'll be doing it in his yard. It'll be more like a big party then anything else. Food, music, friends, family, and a bonfire once it gets dark! One of Grendal's cousins said he's legally capable of marrying us, which would be great. I don't know where to find a person who could do a handfasting, let alone how much it would cost(we're goin' the cheap route). :I

So yeah....that's my update for the time being. Haven't been spiritually 'active' in the sense that I had been a while ago. I'm still trying to get used to working and my energy is slowly catching up with me. Plus I'm still doing some soul searching in that department. It seems like once I think I may have found something, something else pops up and get my attention so I MUST investigate. Either way, I'm learning, living, and growing so much!

Chopping off my Feet

Haven't posted in a while but I have good reason: I'm employed!  I finally got a job at a grocery store about a block from the house.  Not the most ritzy thing(I work in the deli) but I'm getting money which is something that is in demand.  I've been working for the past week, putting in about 30 some odd hours.  Turns out I need new shoes, too.  The ones I have are bad on slippery floors and my feet kill me at the end of the day.  :I   Not good.  So, after taking my cat to the vet and seeing if there is anything I MUST do first, shoes will be bought!

Renny is moving on Monday.  He'll be about a 2-3 hour drive away now.  I'll miss him but for the past week Grendal and I have been rather irked by the boy.  Grendal has is reasons and I have mine(warning, slight rant ahead).  My problem is two part.  Renny has been writing a memoir/journal of sorts about his time here in the Rockford area.  Sounded interesting enough.  I've been reading it and it's nothing new.  Then the comments started popping up from his other buddies.  They were complimenting him on his writing and saying how he has a writer in him.  This floored me.  Being an aspiring author for the past, oh, 17+ years, writing mountains worth of stories, and attempting to go through the process of being an English teacher, I had to disagree though I didn't 'say' anything.  The writing is on par with SMeyer of Twilight infamy, something Grendal pointed out to me.  He also said that Renny had been a big fan of the series and it also appeared that many of his friends were in the same boat.  It made me feel a little better, though a little worse.  I've been working on my novel for nearly 2 years and can't get a person to read it and tell me what they think.

The other part of my agitation with his writing is the fact that Renny has MAJORLY down played his relationship and interaction with his gaming group.  We've spent Friday afternoons for the past 2-3 years geeking it out video game style, followed by Sunday night Dungeons and Dragons for much more than that.  He glanced over the bit where he played D&D with us and has yet to mention our Friday endeavors.  I feel slighted.  Talking to Grendal about it he feels the same way.  If his next two updates don't bring any of this in, I'll suggest a better title to him and tell him, in the nicest way possible so he doesn't shut down, that I feel rather insulted and upset about it.  I don't care if he wants to go on about the 3 years he spent pining after a girl he dated for 1, and the hell he put himself through because of it.  End of rant.

That being said, everything is looking better in my world.  Let's hope it stays that way!

Lots to Do!

Some pretty good things have been happening as of late! I had an interview at a local grocery store and, if my friend Renny is correct(he works for the same company), I got the job!  I know there is a chance that I don't but I want to feel good about something. :P  Grendal's father also has a possible job lined up, which is wonderful!  The group of us are also going to be having a craft booth at a local cruise night.  Grendal's parents are buddy/buddy with the owner and the guy was apparently more than happy to let us have a small booth.  This means the guys need to make some awesome wood items and I have to work on some jewelry by the 26th of next month.  That means I need to work on my macrame and beading some more.  Plus Grendal's father is going to fashion some nifty wooden items so I can make earrings. :D

I mentioned my whole gardening thing before and I'm still working on that.  Grendal tore out some old stumps so there is even more room!  I need him to take out a few roots(too big for me to handle without hurting myself) and another stump looking thing.  There are two plants growing, one is a thorny thing and another already has yellow blossoms.  More than likely I'll keep the flowering plant since I believe that was something Grendal's mother had planted a while back.  That and flowers are always nice to have!  With the possibility of a job I can make sure I get some good seeds as well as some starter plants to increase the likelihood of have a good harvest.  We're thinking about adding some sunflowers to attract even more birds and squirrels, which is awesome!  We have a cardinal and his mate who have made a nest near by, and the male is constantly chirping/singing/talking/whatever.  So much so that I now can pick out the sound of a cardinal where ever I go.  We also have some Blue jays nesting in the yard somewhere.  They show up randomly, more specifically to confuse the poor squirrels so they can have the peanuts I toss out.

Grendal and I have taken up a new hobby.  We're in the process of joining a local 'chapter' of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism)!  I stumbled across the group when I decided to look up Medieval Reenactment groups for Grendal.  He's been into the idea of reenactments but doesn't like the whole World War and Civil War type stuff.  So when I found this group and that there was one in town we quickly made it a point to contact the group and make sure they're still together and that we can just show up.  Last week was our second time going.  Grendal was going to try out the heavy weapons fighting but had hurt himself removing stumps, so he couldn't.  Renny was with us and ended up trying his hand at fencing(he loved it).  Grendal, Renny, and one of the fencers are trying to get me to try it out too, but I'm not sure.  I'm way too shy for my own good, so it'll take me a while before I can get the courage to do it. XP  What I do want to do is more of the Arts and Sciences that the SCA have.  Stuff like bardic arts, beadworking, brewing, dyeing, and herbcraft.  The idea of being a bard, though, is awesome.  I could tell some awesome stories!

Another awesome thing is that Grendal and I get to pick personas.  Its really no surprise that we're both going Norse.  He jumped at the idea of being a viking and, well, since we've been together for nearly 7 years and I've been getting into Norse history I thought 'why the hell not.'  I've done more research now, getting ideas for names and costumes and what we can do.  This'll be awesome!

That's it for now!  I get to take it easy thanks to the threat of rain.

Gardeing....Ain't my thing

I have a black thumb, I swear. My mother told me banzai plants were hearty and they were hard to kill. I got myself one, pruned and watered it, even kept it in a nice spot. Sure enough it died. D:

For years I've wanted a garden, one that thrives with all the veggies and herbs I could want! They always die off. One time I asked Ba'al to aid in the fertility of my plot. Turns out I should've been a bit more specific because EVERYTHING went nuts. The weeds couldn't be controlled and then the prairie plants sprung up well over my head. To make matters worse, my parents' garden thrived like no one's business. :I

So, once again I'm setting out to garden. There is a nice bit of soil that is black compared tot he sandy dirt in the rest of the yard. I believe it was to thanks to the fact that no one touched it and the weeds and prairie plants grew. So I've been pulling up the dead stuff, getting rid of the small weeds and what not. Hopefully the seeds I've found are still viable, because we're still in a bit of a financial bind and every bit helps. Growing our own veggies, while not an immediate saving will help.

The big thing will be keeping the animals away, people(mainly children) from tromping through, and making sure no one takes my harvest without asking ME first. I have no problem sharing with Grendal's sister and her family, but I find it rather rude that they assume they can just take it. I've been debating about doing a ward or something, and the big reason is because of the financial situation. Who knows. That will all depend on if I can make something grow.