This Wonderful Weekend!
This weekend was so wonderful. It was cold, but wonderful.
So, on Friday evening my friend Nancy came over to my house and we went to dinner and she went with me to the grocery store to get some supplies. Then we were in bed by 10:30 so we could get up early and head up to Starbridge in Murrayville.
We got up at 6 and were out the door before 7am. We stopped for Coffee and eggamuffins. We arrived at Starbridge around 8:15 and went up to our campsite and set up the big tent by ourselves. We had some help setting up the canopy.
At 10am we were at the first workshop - playing with clay. I created a hera statue. She is a little stylized but I really like her. I am going to paint her and once I do perhaps I'll share a picture.
We attended a couple of other workshops on saturday - one on Loss and Transformation and another one on the Tarot. In the afternoon billwheaton and Susan arrived to share our camp site.
During the Tarot class, I saw someone walk up to the cabin that I was certain I was supposed to meet. I got up and ran over to her and it was indeed reikimaster. We hugged and then she said to me, "I have a favor." Mind you - this is the first we've met in real life, so I thought that was rather amusing. She had been asked to perform a pretty major part in the evenings ritual and she wanted my help. Since I love ritual so, I was happy to do so. So I made plans to meet her at the stone circle about 6:30.
Before that, Nancy and I helped cut apples for the ritual. Then we went down and prepared for it.
I arrived in the stone circle to find reikimaster and her very amusing husband preparing. The ritual was focused on the turning of the year so there were "stations" for each of the 8 holidays and people representing them. The three of us were representing Beltane. We were told we needed to keep the energy of Beltane up the whole time. Well, at 6:45 we still didn't know exactly what we were doing. We threw out a couple of ideas and at 6:55 (and the Ritual was starting at 7!) I was hit with it - to symbolize Beltane I was going to officiate a wedding between reikimaster and Doug to represent the great marriage of the Lord and Lady.
The ritual was fabulous. We maintained the spirit of Beltane throughout - to the point of being a teeny bit disruptive...but we couldn't help it. We were just having so damn much fun.
dancingwriter was representing Summer Solstice and right next to us on the wheel and we enjoyed some fun banter with her as well. I enjoy her company and don't spend near enough time with her.
After the ritual we invited the two of them and some other folk up to our camp site for s'mores and cocoa around the fire.
I went to bed around midnight, but it was *really* cold. I stayed bundled but slept in fits and starts. I would have the sleeping bag wrapped around my head like a mummy with just my nose sticking out and then my face would get cold and then the rest of me would get cold and I'd wake up. Then I'd go all the way under the covers and fall asleep perfectly warm but would wake up because I couldn't breathe. (how does Piglet do that?) Finally, it was light out and I got up.
I then met radiantbaby and justben down at the gate and, well...I'll let you read sunday's experience from radiantbaby's perspective: http://radiantbaby.livejournal.com/323316.html.
From my perspective it was very much the same. I was so pleased an impressed with the turn out and the feedback. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Yay us!
After radiantbaby and justben said their goodbyes, Nancy and billwheaton and Susan and I all went down for the Potluck in honor of Danae's birthday and watched Emerald Rose perform. It was an awesome event. And it was so wonderful for Danae to honor her birthday this way. And I am so grateful to her for allowing us to perform the libation and ritual.
After Emerald Rose played, we took down our camp and left, getting home about 7pm. It was good to be home. I took a shower first thing and got into my comfy pjs. Then I called oneandonlymatt and talked to him about his weekend in Detroit. I fixed myself a little dinner and finally went to bed with the cat at 9:30. I feel like I should have gone to bed sooner, though.
The only thing that was missing from the weekend was oneandonlymatt - I would have liked for him to be there to see the ritual and see our workshop. I've missed him. But, he'll be home tomorrow night and I don't think he is going away again for a while, if at all.
So, that was my weekend. Please forgive typos - I'll fix them if I see them but I am at work now so I was hurrying to get these thoughts down before I lost them all.
So, on Friday evening my friend Nancy came over to my house and we went to dinner and she went with me to the grocery store to get some supplies. Then we were in bed by 10:30 so we could get up early and head up to Starbridge in Murrayville.
We got up at 6 and were out the door before 7am. We stopped for Coffee and eggamuffins. We arrived at Starbridge around 8:15 and went up to our campsite and set up the big tent by ourselves. We had some help setting up the canopy.
At 10am we were at the first workshop - playing with clay. I created a hera statue. She is a little stylized but I really like her. I am going to paint her and once I do perhaps I'll share a picture.
We attended a couple of other workshops on saturday - one on Loss and Transformation and another one on the Tarot. In the afternoon billwheaton and Susan arrived to share our camp site.
During the Tarot class, I saw someone walk up to the cabin that I was certain I was supposed to meet. I got up and ran over to her and it was indeed reikimaster. We hugged and then she said to me, "I have a favor." Mind you - this is the first we've met in real life, so I thought that was rather amusing. She had been asked to perform a pretty major part in the evenings ritual and she wanted my help. Since I love ritual so, I was happy to do so. So I made plans to meet her at the stone circle about 6:30.
Before that, Nancy and I helped cut apples for the ritual. Then we went down and prepared for it.
I arrived in the stone circle to find reikimaster and her very amusing husband preparing. The ritual was focused on the turning of the year so there were "stations" for each of the 8 holidays and people representing them. The three of us were representing Beltane. We were told we needed to keep the energy of Beltane up the whole time. Well, at 6:45 we still didn't know exactly what we were doing. We threw out a couple of ideas and at 6:55 (and the Ritual was starting at 7!) I was hit with it - to symbolize Beltane I was going to officiate a wedding between reikimaster and Doug to represent the great marriage of the Lord and Lady.
The ritual was fabulous. We maintained the spirit of Beltane throughout - to the point of being a teeny bit disruptive...but we couldn't help it. We were just having so damn much fun.
dancingwriter was representing Summer Solstice and right next to us on the wheel and we enjoyed some fun banter with her as well. I enjoy her company and don't spend near enough time with her.
After the ritual we invited the two of them and some other folk up to our camp site for s'mores and cocoa around the fire.
I went to bed around midnight, but it was *really* cold. I stayed bundled but slept in fits and starts. I would have the sleeping bag wrapped around my head like a mummy with just my nose sticking out and then my face would get cold and then the rest of me would get cold and I'd wake up. Then I'd go all the way under the covers and fall asleep perfectly warm but would wake up because I couldn't breathe. (how does Piglet do that?) Finally, it was light out and I got up.
I then met radiantbaby and justben down at the gate and, well...I'll let you read sunday's experience from radiantbaby's perspective: http://radiantbaby.livejournal.com/323316.html.
From my perspective it was very much the same. I was so pleased an impressed with the turn out and the feedback. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Yay us!
After radiantbaby and justben said their goodbyes, Nancy and billwheaton and Susan and I all went down for the Potluck in honor of Danae's birthday and watched Emerald Rose perform. It was an awesome event. And it was so wonderful for Danae to honor her birthday this way. And I am so grateful to her for allowing us to perform the libation and ritual.
After Emerald Rose played, we took down our camp and left, getting home about 7pm. It was good to be home. I took a shower first thing and got into my comfy pjs. Then I called oneandonlymatt and talked to him about his weekend in Detroit. I fixed myself a little dinner and finally went to bed with the cat at 9:30. I feel like I should have gone to bed sooner, though.
The only thing that was missing from the weekend was oneandonlymatt - I would have liked for him to be there to see the ritual and see our workshop. I've missed him. But, he'll be home tomorrow night and I don't think he is going away again for a while, if at all.
So, that was my weekend. Please forgive typos - I'll fix them if I see them but I am at work now so I was hurrying to get these thoughts down before I lost them all.