Let's Give This a Shot...
I've not felt much like journaling the last few months for a variety of reasons, but in some ways it comes down to getting out of the habit. Habits never change if we don't try to break them, so...
My productivity over the last few weeks has shot through the roof. I think trying to organize all my projects into folders really helped me see where my priorities needed to be. One thing about freelancing that I'm learning to appreciate is that the results directly come from your own efforts; if you don't keep organized, it's hard to know where those efforts should be spent. In an effort to get my own business presence together, I've registered the domain, bought a hosting plan, and have sketched out the website. I'm still teaching myself AJAX to use a few places, but so far the books and online materials have made the learning pretty painless. The main issue for me is the look of the site - clean, a bit spartan, and well designed without looking too "designer-y" is what I'm going for. I don't want my portfolio to be obscured by the site.
Our monthly Grove meeting this month turned out to be a dinner party for four. We had three events in so many weeks scheduled with the meeting being the last, so I think people wanted a Saturday night when they didn't have to venture out into the cold. drubear and I went out to buy some new dishes so we'd have 12 place settings that matched, and we bought a few other pieces to coordinate, too, including two large serving bowls and dessert/salad plates. I made a chicken casserole Strawberries and Cream Bread Pudding (which we practically inhaled - this one's going in the cookbook, definitely), and Barbara, Anne, Chris and I ate dessert while watching The Wicker Man. Anne had never seen it, so we all had a lot to discuss from it, mostly how the witch community at that time responded when it was released.
That movie always reminds me thematically, at least, of The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, equally maligned by witches of the day, if I recall. I think Thomas Tryon's book was a very fun read, and the movie tried to be a good mystery as well as a bit horrific. We discussed the fictional idea of sacrifice in these movies contrasted with how most modern Pagans honor the Gods without blood sacrifice. It was an interesting if brief discussion that I wish the rest of the Grove had been in on.
Speaking of the cookbook, I think I have the layouts nailed down. We're going with eight sections - a mini-rite and prayer for each holy day followed by one of the eight sections. Since our Grove is so into food (why we all don't weigh 500lbs a piece I don't know), we seem to have an abundance of recipes. The challenge might be to determine what we leave out!
My productivity over the last few weeks has shot through the roof. I think trying to organize all my projects into folders really helped me see where my priorities needed to be. One thing about freelancing that I'm learning to appreciate is that the results directly come from your own efforts; if you don't keep organized, it's hard to know where those efforts should be spent. In an effort to get my own business presence together, I've registered the domain, bought a hosting plan, and have sketched out the website. I'm still teaching myself AJAX to use a few places, but so far the books and online materials have made the learning pretty painless. The main issue for me is the look of the site - clean, a bit spartan, and well designed without looking too "designer-y" is what I'm going for. I don't want my portfolio to be obscured by the site.
Our monthly Grove meeting this month turned out to be a dinner party for four. We had three events in so many weeks scheduled with the meeting being the last, so I think people wanted a Saturday night when they didn't have to venture out into the cold. drubear and I went out to buy some new dishes so we'd have 12 place settings that matched, and we bought a few other pieces to coordinate, too, including two large serving bowls and dessert/salad plates. I made a chicken casserole Strawberries and Cream Bread Pudding (which we practically inhaled - this one's going in the cookbook, definitely), and Barbara, Anne, Chris and I ate dessert while watching The Wicker Man. Anne had never seen it, so we all had a lot to discuss from it, mostly how the witch community at that time responded when it was released.
That movie always reminds me thematically, at least, of The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, equally maligned by witches of the day, if I recall. I think Thomas Tryon's book was a very fun read, and the movie tried to be a good mystery as well as a bit horrific. We discussed the fictional idea of sacrifice in these movies contrasted with how most modern Pagans honor the Gods without blood sacrifice. It was an interesting if brief discussion that I wish the rest of the Grove had been in on.
Speaking of the cookbook, I think I have the layouts nailed down. We're going with eight sections - a mini-rite and prayer for each holy day followed by one of the eight sections. Since our Grove is so into food (why we all don't weigh 500lbs a piece I don't know), we seem to have an abundance of recipes. The challenge might be to determine what we leave out!