Boreal Witch

Perhaps I shouldn't be admitting this, but I used to be a very good Wiccan. When I first converted, I practiced all of the holidays, Sabbats, and Esbats. I religiously watched the phases of the moon and star-gazed on the roof of my parent's house. I collected herbs and plants along the Coastal Trail and not only knew the names of every single one of them, but also what magickal properties they contained. I conducted rituals and rites - for myself only (after one mishap I never could perform another rite for anyone else). I had not one but two Tarot decks and I made my own runes from rocks I collected on the beach. I even meditated on a regular basis.

Sometimes I wonder if that gung-ho Wiccan is gone for good...but then I remember that maybe it's more important I have found a religious philosophy I agree with than just blindly following. I've always thought that people who just go to church because they feel they have to are no better off than people who don't go. I'm comfortable in this Wiccan shell.

Because of that, I have decided that I'm going to start meditating again. I always complain that I never have time to myself and that I can never just BE. I always have to be doing something. Maybe it's because I have another kid on the way or maybe it's because I feel as though I want to know myself better as a spiritual being, but I feel as if I am drawn to meditating again because it is the one part of being Wiccan that I really miss. I miss the way it made me feel and I miss the way that it seemed to comfort me when I was troubled. Everything else is just a tool - Tarot, runes - but meditation really seemed to help me cope with all of my teenage angst.

The other day, I felt blocked. Something inside me needed to come out. I did some meditation while Robinson was putting Arthur to bed and after about 3 minutes I couldn't contain my tears. I just started sobbing. Obviously, I was still grieving over my grandmother's death even though I haven't openly cried in several months. It certainly made me re-evaluate how I was grieving.

For now, I'm going to try and meditate twice a day for no specific length of time. I want to get in the habit of doing it before I fully commit to any length of time. Eventually, my goal is to meditate for an hour a day, broken up into two half-hour chunks. I'm hoping that in doing this I will be better able to look inward and become an even more spiritual person.

Blessed be.

Arthur had a long day. It involved lots of driving and no nap (his choice, not mine). We picked up Robinson from work and Arthur fell asleep in the car. When we got home, Robinson took him upstairs where he promptly woke up. Robinson put him on the floor where he crawled a few steps and then passed out.

Sadly, this will in no way shape or form convince Arthur to take naps any more than I can convince the cat to leave me alone while I'm cooking dinner.

Blessed be.

Nana visited us this weekend. We had a lot of fun with her, especially Arthur. He loved having someone completely devoted to him and I think Nana was happy to oblige. They played trains and danced and had a blast.

We also told Nana that Arthur was going to be a big brother in March. I think the way that we had done it was pretty creative (I'm all about telling people big news in unusual ways). We were on our way to a friend's house and I asked Nana to read "Digger Man" to Arthur on the way. The book is about an older brother who wants to teach his younger brother about diggers. On the very last page, the older brother and the younger brother are sitting in bed together and reading a book about diggers, so I put two stickie notes on the page, one above the older brother that read, "Arthur" and the other above the younger brother that said, "Arthur's younger sibling, due Mar 2011." It took Nana a moment to figure it out, but she got really excited.

Arthur was pretty sad to see Nana go, especially when he's stuck with Mommy and Daddy who don't always get on his level and just play, play, play with him. Nana said that she'd probably come back around Christmas. Arthur will be thrilled.

Blessed be.

Robinson's been working on a project for a while. It all started earlier this summer when he and Arthur were throwing balls against the garage and trying to catch them as they fell down. Robinson had decided that he was going to make a basketball hoop.

I was a bit skeptical because he wanted to hang it from the top of the garage - a place where Arthur would not be able to reach and probably wouldn't until he was about 10.

Little did I know, Robinson was planning on making his hoop and purchasing one of the office hoops and putting it on the rungs of the ladder. It worked perfectly! Arthur loves his basketball hoop and the weather has been pretty nice lately - great for father-son bonding time.

Blessed be.

Last year, I didn't do anything with the arugula I planted. It just took up space in the garden. This year, I was determined to make something - anything - out of it.

I did some research and discovered that people actually make pesto out of arugula (which isn't very surprising since I've made pesto out of basil and spinach before), so I decided to give it a shot.

I found a Martha Stewart recipe and modified it. The resulting pesto was pretty yummy. Even Arthur enjoyed it.

Arugula Pesto
Makes about 1 cup pesto; about 2-4 servings
2 cups arugula, packed
1/4 cup walnut oil + 1/4 cup olive oil (or 1/2 cup olive oil)
2 tbs. walnuts
1/4 Parmesan cheese, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. sea salt, or more to taste

Place all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth.

Blessed be.

Every year when the leaves begin to turn yellow our family goes on a fall drive. It's a bittersweet activity because we love seeing all of the leaves change color in the hills but it's a reminder that winter is coming (whether we like it or not).

Last year we drove and stopped at another overlook. After we got out and stretched our legs for a bit, we tried to get back in the car and Arthur didn't want to. Then we spent about 10 minutes trying to wrestle him in the car.

This year we went a different route and ended up at a scenic overlook at Washington Creek. Arthur loved it. He enjoyed touching the water (brrr - was it cold!) and throwing large rocks into the creek. He wanted to go back and forth from the creek to the waterfall. He wanted to go up and down the hill leading from the gravel pad to the creek. It makes me happy to know that he's really taking an interest in the natural world and that he will eventually learn how to take care of it as well.

He loves watching the snowshoe hares, voles, and chickadees in our yard. He loves playing outside. It's always a challenge to convince him to come in. Still, who knows? I anticipate that this boy will love and respect the outdoors, but for all I know he could become the CEO of BP or some logging company that doesn't practice environmental sustainability. I hope not. Still, anything is possible.

Blessed be.

When Robinson told me that he'd be taking Arthur with him to Valdez, I was so excited. I thought for sure I'd be able to have a nice, quiet weekend to finish cutting all my fabric scraps and maybe even get some quilting done. I have a baby quilt that has just been sitting here since May or June (I honestly can't remember), waiting to be quilted.

Then Arthur didn't go. So he and I have spent Labor Day weekend together. Being a stay-at-home mom I spend everyday with him, so a few more wouldn't really make a difference, but I will readily admit that I had many moments when I wished that I was alone. Well, just me and my sewing machine. I fantasized about taking numerous naps, eating candy without having to hide it, and maybe even getting some take-out.

Still, I did take several naps, ate candy after Arthur went to bed, and went out with a friend for Chinese, so I suppose I really did accomplish all of those things I set out to do if I was alone anyway. I even canned 11 jars of rhubarb-strawberry preserves. Perhaps now that Arthur's in bed I'll be able to work a bit more on cutting all of my fabric scraps. It's quite the job. I'm about half-way through and sometimes I feel as though I'll never finish. But I will!

Hope you had a productive (or relaxing) Labor Day weekend.

Blessed be.