my coffee table

(Maybe I should have taken a more flattering picture of my coffee table? Eh, too much work!)

I picked up my coffee table a few years ago at a thrift shop. It was, I believe, ten dollars. Or maybe it was five? Or maybe it was even free. Like I said, it was a few years ago. I got it because the one that I had before this one bit the dust when Camden happened to fall on it--it was pretty unstable. It was the usual darkish wood flavour of coffee table--nothing too outrageous.

About a month (or more) ago, I picked up a small can of oops coloured paint with the plans of painting my rather bland coffee table. And like any good DIY project, I waited for ages to get around to it. And today when Camden came to me, carrying the can of oops paint asking to paint the table, I realised I had run out of reasons not to. So we did. And... Why didn't I do it sooner?! I love it!

Except now I'm worried that it will further fuel my SFMA(serial furniture movers anonymous)... No need to move the furniture--just paint it! Because now I'm really wanting to paint my TV cabinet. And my desk. And my desk chair. But I think that much light grey/off white might drive me crazy. We'll see.

(In other news, I have another bedtime story to tell--hopefully sometime later this week. )

Smudge

(Photo not by me)
Many months ago, I made smudge sticks. My herbs were dyingstarting to die, so I figured I would harvest them and turn them into something useful.

Let me just preface the rest of this story with: I had never made smudge sticks before!

So I chop down my herbs (sage, lavender, mint), pull out my skein of white cotton yarn, and sit down at the computer. Get on google, search: how to make smudge sticks. Aha! So many hits. I picked one. (Likely the one from ehow.com, since it is A) the first hit and B) is the "visited link" color.) So far so good. I had the right supplies: plants to smudge with, string for tying them up, scissors for cutting the string, and the idea of a smudge stick in the first place. I mean, I could have just let them die out there, right? (Instead, they got to die a slow, eventually dehydrated, death, hanging upside down in my closet.)

So, anyway. I have the supplies. I read through the instructions; they all seem pretty self explanatory. I mean, really, you're just tying together a bunch of plants. But! There is one rule to follow: do not bind them up either too tightly or too loosely. And I didn't! I bound the herbs with just enough tension. Then I hung them up to dry. In my closet. No joke.

Enter today. (Okay, not today at all. Really, like a month ago when I first noticed this.) My smudge sticks are dry! And practically falling out of their binding. Ugh! But I followed the rules! Neither too tightly nor too loosely. Obviously someone sneaked in and retied my smudge sticks too loosely. Oooorrrr I failed to remember, when binding them in the fall, that when things dehydrate, they have a tendency to get smaller.

So, thanks a lot ehow.com smudge stick-making tutorial!

/humor

(I am tired and in a mood tonight. And felt like making fun of myself. And to further make fun of myself, please, check out this past post: What I learned today.)

Toad Houses

This weekend is Beltane! The beginning of Summer. Okay, not technically, but the growing season has begun and the warmth and sunshine (and thunderstorms) that come with it. And with Summer and warmth and sunshine and thunderstorms come...

Toads.

So to celebrate the oncoming toad-season, Camden and I will be making a toad house or two. My brother is going active duty in the military and is being transferred to a base in Tennessee (not deployed overseas, thank the gods) so Camden and I will be going to my parents' house to bid him farewell this weekend. Which means we'll actually have a place to put the toad house.

Fancy-schmancy toad houses	Less fancy, but still entirely serviceable

Cam and I will be making one (or two) of the less fancy varieties. They're pretty easy to make. Just decorate a simple terracotta however you will, then sink it into the ground an inch or two. It's also suggested that you sink a shallow dish, to hold water, into the ground so the edge of it is level with the ground. Or, one could make a door in said flower pot, then just set it down, bottom up.

I would like to do a May pole, but there are a few factors playing against me. Mainly that it's just the two of us, and I am almost 6ft tall and Camden is only half that. Although, now that I think about it, my brother's kids will be at the house at some point on Sunday... Maybe I'll attempt to fashion a kid's Maypole if the weather is nice enough to allow it.

Also, don't forget about my 100th post giveaway! I've only had two takers so far. Go here and leave a comment to win a (very adorable!) recipe box with recipe
cards, and the book The Goddess is in the Details by Deborah Blake.

Priapic wands and ... orbs?

Lots of pictures today, so my apologies in advance for those of you who might have slower connections.

Yesterday Camden and I made our priapic wands. Rather, I let him pick out the ribbons and beads, and I made them. If only he knew how to tie knots! And thanks to this, I have no pictures of the process. :(

But I did get pictures of the finished wands on my alter, posing with my Goddess-figure statue. This is the best:



Cam's been playing with his quite a bit. I hope that by the time Imbolc gets here, he'll still be willing to use it.

As for the orbs... I finally got the pictures onto my computer from x-mas and New Year's. In the pictures from New Year's, there is an orb floating around. I'm about 80% certain it's not just a speck on the lens, because it's not there in later pictures taken just a few minutes later.



Here, the orb is hanging out just under Cam's left hand.




In this picture, it's a bit more difficult to see. Find his left elbow, and go almost directly right. It's at the edge of the picture, just hanging out.




And this one is so easy to see, I'm not even going to mention it. :D

Imbolc activities!

Imbolc will soon be upon us, and since everyone else is posting about it, I figured I may as well, too. I found an activity that I think will be fun to do with Camden (if he decides he wants to participate!!)

Priapic Wand

Materials:
Small Tree Branch, Acorn, Thin Brown String or Thread, Yellow, Green, and Gold 1/4" Ribbon, Small Gold/Silver Jingle Bells.

Select a small branch about 1/2" to 3/4" in diameter. Cut top end flat. Approx. 1/2" below top score a groove (parents only) with a sharp knife. Take 1' long piece of string/thread and tie in groove. Take another 1' piece of thread and tie in groove on opposite side of branch.

Place acorn at top of branch (flat end) and adhere with some glue. Now pull the string up over the cap and wind once around acorn. Repeat with all 3 other pieces of string. Pull strings back down to the groove in the branch and tie off. This will hold the acorn in place.

Decorate the branch by wrapping it with the ribbons, leaving enough length at top for streamers. Tie gold/silver jingle bells to the ends of the ribbons. For smaller children, thread the bells onto the ribbon while wrapping the branch.

Tell the children about how the acorn-wand is a symbol of the Lord of the Forest, and how this magical wand helps the sleeping plants and animals wake up and prepare for Spring. Then walk about pointing and shaking it at plants and trees, invoking them to wake up from Winter's sleep to witness the union of the Bride and the Lord of the Forest!

So if you happen to see anyone walking around shaking a jingly stick at trees in the coming weeks... It's probably me!

Today Camden reached a milestone, which I thinks fits perfectly with the Earth coming to life and growing. He undressed and dressed himself! I was quite surprised, because he decided to do it and did it entirely on his own, even picking out what he was going to change into (Buzz Lightyear pajamas). I was also impressed, because in the past he's always had trouble getting his arms in the right holes to put his shirts on. So, yay! My little boy is growing up! Now if I could only get him talking!