Catching Up

It’s been a (long) while since I’ve posted anything here. Quite frankly, I haven’t had a lot to say but thought I should at least let you know I’m still alive.

Apart from the clickety-punch (which is never-ending), I’ve kept myself busy:

• Bemoaning my garden. Last year was a horrid year because of the drought. This year is just as bad in the opposite direction. We’ve had about 150% of normal rain and everything is drowning. The beds are pools of mud. (It’s pouring as I’m typing.) About the only thing growing well is the grass, which I’m being hard-pressed to keep out of the beds. On the bright side, I don’t have to fill the fountain!
• Having some things done around the house. The writing tent is no longer a tent but has a permanent roof. (I have to come up with a better name, now.) I’d post a picture but see the above statement about it pouring. There’s still a bit of staining to do so it completely matches the house but again, the rain… My handyman has a list of things I’d like done (next up is making hard surface walkways from the house to the garden steps and over to the compost bin so I can avoid chiggers) and he’ll eventually get around to it all but the rain…
• While fiction is still on the back burner (but not off the stove), I’ve been researching for the next herb book. Not certain of the title or format, yet, but it’s going to be a look at herb use through history. It’s been a fascinating (and sometimes frightening) read thus far. It’s also been a sometimes difficult read. English spelling wasn’t standardized until about the eighteenth century so I have to “translate”. There’s also the “fun” of reading that same non-standard English printed in blackletter.
• Preparing to do my first show in many years. I’ll be at the Appalachian Renaissance Faire October 14-15. While I won’t have nearly as many products as I once did (mostly my books and oils with a few other odds and ends), I have to revamp some things to fit the “new” shop.
• Still trying to learn the Herbal Tarot. It’s not going well. I can tell you if I’ve pulled a card before but what the meaning is? Still have to look, even seven months in. Rune reading is far easier for me, and I’ve been doing that for people.
• I got pulled into the time-suck of genealogy research. I’d started maybe a decade ago and tabled it but my kid’s interest prompted me to go back. The really fun thing about it? I’ve always wondered where my witchiness came from. While I believe anyone can be a witch if the propensity is there, my gut feeling was there was one in my family tree, somewhere. I knew it wasn’t my maternal side – I know that side well and someone who was “not right” would have been talked about. (I mean, apart from my gay great-uncle who was only spoken of in whispers, when they spoke of a man who “chose not to marry”.) Last week, I was able to trace part of my father’s side – of which I know nothing because the asshole wasn’t around. Got to my 2nd great-grandmother, whose family photo was posted by another person on Ancestry. There was something about her, y’know? While I was musing, I heard, very faintly, “ye found me, child”. I sent thanks, then let out a whoop loud enough to scare the cats. I’ll never know much about her but just knowing she’s there is good enough.

So, as you can see, I’m still here, continually caffeinating to keep up with it all – and our crazy cats. You can generally find me posting interesting snippets of my research on Twitter or Facebook.