Sorry this was a little late. Last Saturday was Greg's Frey blot. He was looking forward to this for months. A couple of weeks before Greg and I dug an area in the backyard to create a garden. The flowers we planted were all perennials and they all have nectar bearing flowers to encourage bees. Greg and I are seriously considering getting a beehive for the backyard. After we dug and planted we went to a little river on the state gamelands and took out a ton of stones from the to build a cairn. Greg dug a huge hole to bury the hand made offering box he worked on all week.

At the blot people offered a toast to Frey and an offering if they had one. We sealed up the box, buried it, and then each participant placed a stone over the buried box. We all built a very nice shrine area. Greg topped it off with a flat piece of stone for a nice altar table.

The feast was magnificent. There was every type of food imaginable including a huge birthday cake for Greg. The only downer of the whole evening was poor chainsaw_larry. If anyone says you can't break a rib from coughing know that it's a lie.

We had two overnight guests. Dan and his wife Lee stayed. We were expecting the other two new guests Jessica and Nelson to say but we were a lot closer to them than they realized and were able to head home. In the morning after breakfast Greg took Dan, Lee, and hippiehoneybee up to see the bees. All in all a perfect weekend.

( pictures!! )

It was a pretty long weekend. Friday was Wonder Woman night. Posted on that before. Saturday we went to the Haukafell Ostara Blot. We don't get to see The Musons or the Radcliffs as often as we'd like. The kids were adorable. I always, ALWAYS get a kick out of the rabbit sacrifice. The discussion was great. We tended to get side tracked pretty often but it was a great discussion. I learned a lot about some of the food the came after the lean times and we did a bit of comparative studies. Fantastic.

Today the ladies and gents went up to the bee yard to clean and rebuild. fuzzy1313, eretik, mannie711, flying_draugr2, evlilvxn, and chainsaw_larry were all here bright eyed and busy tailed. Mads and I hung out here while they were working and then met them for lunch afterward. For those not on Greg's LJ, one of the colonies is hanging on. Greg found brood and larvae. Cross your fingers. They cleared enough area for about 30 hives if Greg goes that far (which he eventually will). He'll also have a good area to set up the electrical fence.

While they were gone I raked up the leaves and started to clean the garden bed. We're extending it in both directions so as soon as I can we'll start marking the grass to til. We're thinking about renting a tiller instead of hand digging. I like this idea. I've also decided to put a permanent altar to Aristeaus in my garden. Some of my plants and vegetables are pollinated by honey and bumblebees. Sees like an appropriate place. I was thinking about putting small amounts of honey in an offering pot every few weeks for the bees and other insects. Not sure yet. I'll at the very least libate some honey and mead.

I am very tired. The garage door people are coming to install it tomorrow. They'll be here anywhere between 8AM and noon. ::sigh:: I'll be sitting here for X amount of hours waiting.

Eyelids drooping. Going to bed.

I have posted pictures in a long time. I'll group them together.

Let me start with one above the cut. I got my engagement ring back. We were going to do the "two hand" formal photo since Greg's ring is all sparkly with goodness but I can't figure out when we'll do it. Sooooo.....here's mine!! That's my original diamond cleaned and put in a new setting. The diamond is "embraced" by a separate ring that has the two marquis cut sapphires and two small round cut diamonds. The two rings are soldered together to form one band. The band under is my newly rodiumed and polished wedding band. Greg's band was rodiumed and polished as well. They are quite spiffy. I'm simply in love. I didn't want to "upgrade" my diamond which is what is usually done after so many anniversaries. I wanted to keep the original one and enhance it some way.



Under the cut you'll see:

Vingolf's Odin Blot

Awesome carved pumpkins from Greg's work

Random very adorable cat pictures (which incidentally I need good LOL captions from all of you)

Maddie's family dinner birthday

Some "parent watch day" pictures from dance class.

( Random stuff pictures )

What a wonderful event. All hail Vingolf for a spectacular time! It was definately hot and humid this weekend, but it didn't detract from the fun and spirituality of the event. I enjoyed helping Greg run the archery and was satisfied to know that the three people I taught to shoot (who had never picked up a bow in their lives) were able to hit the target on their first series. I decided to step out of the competition because I had an pretty big advantage with my equipment and experience. I thought it would be more fair.

The Thor blot was quite incredible. The heat of the weekend was broken just before the event as it began to drizzle. It's really hard to believe there was a coincidence when the thunderstorm began just as we invited Thor to his party. thunderer's offering was (I believe) accepted quite emphatically with a large rumble of thunder as he layed it into the chest. Then shortly after, man_of_thor's offering was accepted with the sky being lit up with lightning. Beautiful. The blot itself was silent. One by one people walked up to the chest, held their offering up to Thor, and layed it within the chest while the rain gently fell on everyone. I was trying to describe my thoughts and it wasn't really clear, but I'll try to clarify here. It was dark and we could only see faces in the flicker of the light from the fire. There were only one or two umbrellas (over a few of the really little children). Most people stood in the rain unshielded or with blankets or hood over thier heads. As people walked up to put in their offerings, there was almost a feeling that we were acting exactly as our ancestor's did. It was if time had been forgotten. I have been to a lot of rituals in my life and this was one of the most extraordinary experiences I've ever had.

The children's crafts were a hit. Kudos to pzoet for her scultptey hammer idea!
That was the best. idea. ever. We were pretty organized and clean up was great. The animal masks were adorable as well. I had a blast helping Maddie make a macaroni penguin mask. Cats, snakes, and other animals but only my kid would insist on not just a penguin, but a macaroni penguin... It was great being the Mead Competition "gopher" cuz I was able to "unofficially" sip the entries. hehe The staff was fantastic, of course, and I had a great time talking to some of the ladies. They really enjoyed the gift basket I made and gave them the last day. The Heathen Hold'Em tournament was a fan-fucking-tastic idea even though I sucked badly and was the second out. I need to re-read a couple of sections on "tournament stategy." ::sigh:: I'll do better next year. Oh, and I won the art contest! YAY! My next post today will be a copy of the photos so those who weren't able to come will get to see. My only regret was missing the Hidey Hidey Ho. Oh well. I heard bits and pieces of verses (what could be reconstructed the next morning through hangover fog...hehe) and it sounded like you folks had a blast.

Alrighty...picture time! Since this program is so highly endorsed by man_of_thor (and the fact that there were about 70 pictures), I used flickr this time. Click on the tiny URL below and behold the ECT goodness!

http://tinyurl.com/2qf7y3

We had an incredibly full weekend right on the heels of a previously full weekend. Saturday was the Midsummer blot at our house which was wonderful. Sunday was the dance recital, flamingonizzie's birthday party and a visit with my great-uncle who was visiting the area to get an award from his alma mater Muhlenburg College. By the end of the weekend, Greg and I were exhausted. We collapsed in bed around 10:30 PM and that was all she wrote. I'm looking forward to NOTHING next weekend.

So, on to the pictures...

( clickety click for picity pics )

I hope everyone had a good time at the Mani Blot last night. oldsma, greenmanrn and I passed out pretty early at around midnight. slate1198 is still upstairs crashed out in immortallunaris's room. They stayed up late and watched movies (I think). I'm still not sure why they made a bowl of rice in the middle of the night, but then there are some things I just won't ever understand.

I'm sooooo happy everyone came! Especially good_dog_carl! The cats are still dealing with after effect facial tics and walking around the house going "What the hell WAS that?!". Hehehehehe. Don't worry. Their lives are pretty boring. A little household shake up is good for their souls.

So here are the pictures. I decided to leave them un-captioned so that y'all can create your own fun descriptions (if any are warrented). There were far fewer pictures than I wanted to take, but I was pretty busy all night and didn't get to be a shutterbug.

And anyone who doubts the abilities of the "wood wife", ask falcania to witness to the miracles of sugar and water as a hic-cup cure! LOL! I'm not sure if anyone would know what a "wood wife" is. They are also called "Hedge witches". It's the home maker that uses natural herbal remedies, wise living, etc... I think there was a poem in the Eddas from Odin called the Hávamál that dealt with that subject. I'm going to go refresh my memory.

( Mani Blot Pictures )

This is exciting. Yes, getting a live journal just happens to hit the top 10 things I've done today. Yes, that's pretty darn pathetic. I just put the baby to bed and the teenager is sitting in the disaster I call the basement. I'm there too because that's where the computer is. I would like very much to change the TV because it was left on the Hallmark Channel and "Walker Texas Ranger" is on. I can't find the remote control.

I figure that a live journal is probably the best way to stretch my writing arms. I've gotten the itch lately to start writing again. It's been many, MANY years since I've sit down and put pen to paper. There are some stories inside that are pushing to get out. Nothing that spectacular right now, but they could develop into works of art. I have a great idea dealing with different types of mothers. Each different mother is drawn from people I know; my friends. Sort of like a "Joy Luck Club" about moms and children in this day and age. The idea has been rolling around in my noodle for weeks. I think it's almost ready to start it's life as notes. If you see my with my Wonder Woman notebook you know what I'm doing.

Greg and I went to the Saga Blot last weekend. It was pretty cool. I'm glad I was able to come. It started early at a NJ park so I was able to bring the baby. I don't get to go to blots very often because they start so late. Madeline isn't a night owl so it's almost impossible for me to go unless I can find reliable baby sitting. Reliable being the key word. I enjoy seeing Greg's friends from Vingolf. I've never fully embraced Asatru however I do have a deep respect for it. I also seem very drawn to Frigga and Odin. It seems as though they are responsible for my current spiritual state. The more I read the more I realize that they have a great deal to do with my life. It's very fulfilling to feel totally connected to a God and Goddess(or multiple Gods). It's an incredible feeling of deep emotional and spiritual satisfaction.

OK, blah, blah, blah. I've got laundry and vacuuming to do. As soon as the baby goes to sleep, my second (or is that third) job begins. Can't take care of the house when a toddler is about. Destruction! Toys! Mess!