The Holidays have begun and Nano is over !!!
End of NaNo WriMo 2020
Nano is over! I won.
I actually finished 2 days early and was able to write 50,000 words on the ethics of Witchcraft in 28 days. WITHOUT FALLING ASLEEP!
That gives me 6 months worth of weekly blog posts give or take a week. I know, I know… NaNoWriMo is called National Novel Writing Month to encourage writing a novel, so why the heck am I writing blog posts. ON Ethics of all things!
Because I want to. I’m a rebel that way. It’s cool. There’s no Nano police that will ticket me for using my words in other ways.
Now that it’s over, I get the joy of editing 50,000 words into blog posts. I’m not doing that all at once. I have roughly 30 posts and plan to edit and schedule one a week. The First on is here. I promise, it’s not as boring as it sounds!
The most important thing about running a blog is providing original content to share on a regular basis. It’s always been my issue in the past.
There are some weeks when my words just don’t flow. Sometimes, life gets really busy. I’m hoping this is my remedy.
So be on the look out for the Friday morning posts.
A word on smudging
Before I begin the Tale of the Village Holidays, I have a few words to say about smoke cleansing.
I wrote about smudging or saining a few months ago. I’ve got my pins on pinterest to share. (You can follow me here!)
I suppose that particular title is a bit sensational. I blame my ovaries. They’ve been very irritable lately. However, I stand by my practice. I don’t think there’s a wrong way to clean negative energy with smoke, also known as smudging or saining.
The reason I’m bringing this up is because someone took the time out of their day to comment on all my pins to inform me that I was wrong.
She wrote: “Smudging and saining are not the same things. They are not interchangeable and shouldn’t be conflated as being related. Both are actually specific and distinct practices with specific and distinct purposes. Notably, smudging belongs to a closed practice and is not simply “buring herbs”.“
She typed this out on all 5 of my pins. Well, more it’s likely that she typed one then copied it to all. Each had the same typos.
First of all, I feel like that would have been better left on my blog as a comment so we could have a discussion.
Second, I feel like she doesn’t quite understand the purpose of my blog. I doubt she even read the article
And thirdly, I don’t believe that this is about correcting a mistake but more about stroking an ego.
So what do we call it?
Smudging and saining are similar. Smudging is part of a closed practice. She’s not wrong there.
The problem is that its the most well-know word we have and until we can find a better term and educate the public, it is the word we use.
Words are funny things, they’re flexible. They can be twisted. Their meanings change over time. They go in and out of fashion. I’m perfectly willing to use a different word. But right here and right now, smudging is the most commonly used word for smoke cleansing with herbs. So that’s the word I use publically to draw people into the conversation.
The purpose of my blog is to share my organic and intuitive practice with people who are new to the craft and are afraid to make mistakes. The biggest mistake we make is believing that there’s only one way to do anything.
I don’t believe there should be rigid rules. I don’t believe that only certain people who have initiated into certain practices and learned the ‘one right way’ should be the only ones allowed to used the herbs to clear the negative energies. Everyone should be able to learn the basics and create their own way. I don’t believe that we should make things so complicated that it deters other people from trying.
If you want to be part of a specific group and you have access to it, time to spend on it, and are actually welcomed, then AWESOME! Go for it!
Learn as much as you can, develop the practice that works for you. Share your knowledge if you’re allowed to. Then remember, that you don’t get to tell other people that they’re doing it wrong. Its not wrong, its different.
The Holiday prep story you’ve been waiting for
Now that I’m done with that rant, let me tell you about a few other thing that left me scratching my head as we prepare for the Holidays.
The Holidays are in full swing, but not without a few glitches.
After winning Nano on Saturday, I took Sunday off to breathe and collect myself. I needed to refocus. I spent all of November writing 4-5 hours a day and a lot of the daily home management slipped.
Not to mention I promised the kids we could start decorating for the holidays on December 1rst.
I needed lists and plans.
Monday, I jumped into prepping for the holidays. After packing away the fall decorations, I started rearranging furniture to make room for my skinny holiday tree.
What I failed to realize was that I am awesome at hiding clutter. I have baskets of toys, piles of books and project bags tucked in corners, on shelves, under tables. There are tools and supplies for knitting, crochet, sewing, and spinning on trays hidden here or there. As well as on shelves covered by table cloths, on end tables in corners.
By the way, I do know where everything is…usually.
In the process of rearranging furniture, I needed to store a few pieces of furniture in the kids rooms. Which meant I no longer had my hiding places. I did my best to reorganize all my stuff but not without panicking about it.
By the time the Renaissance Man got home that night I had worked myself into a tizzy.
He walked in and immediately noticed the wild look in my eyes. He wisely moved slowly and spoke quietly as he asked how my evening was.
I could only reply, “I need a craft room!” my voice was a little too high and my eyes glistened with tears.
The Renaissance Man nods in understanding. He walks down the hall and call the witchlings out of their rooms. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll be bunking together. You mom needs a craft room.”
They looked at him, unaffected and in unison said, “No.” Then turned around and went back to their respective rooms, shutting their doors behind them.
He looked at me and shrugged, “I tried”.
They made me laugh and that made things a little better.
My favorite problem solver
I explained my predicament; with all the decorations for the holidays coming in from the garage, I had to put all our regular stuff away and I didn’t know where to put it. It couldn’t go to the garage because I’d need a lot of it for making holiday gifts.
I didn’t want it in the kids closets because that would be inconvenient and our closet was already full of hidden gifts. The only option I saw was to rearrange and re organize my craft closet but that will take at least a week. I don’t have a week to spare.
The Renaissance Man started pondering. He looked like he was really thinking about it. He insisted he would help and make things better, he just needed a little time.
My Knight in Buffalo Plaid
The next morning, as I sit down to do lessons with the Padawan, The Renaissance Man informs me he has a plan. He just needs to go to Menards to get a few things.
Two hours later he comes back with those ‘things’.
He’s bought a new ceiling fan and light fixture for the living room.
Now don’t get me wrong. It’s been on our list of things to replace since the fixture broke 2 years ago. I’m just not sure how it fixes my organizational issues, right now, during the holidays.
It didn’t take him long to hang it and when he was done, he called us all in for the big reveal.
TA-DA!
We can all see now.
Awesome, because now I can see all the dirt as well as the clutter.
It’s not horrible
A few days later, as I was weeding black vinyl off the cricut mat, that light came in real handy. I apologized for being a little testy about the new ceiling fixture and agreed that it was a good idea.
I did point out that the ceiling fan was a completely self serving project. He felt out of control in his attempt to address my holiday clutter issue so he ‘fixed’ something he did have control over.
He hates when I psychoanalyze him.
We still haven’t found a solution but I’m focusing on other things. Things I can control.
My juju’s been off all week!
Let me tell you about my own absurd blunders. Like when I went to start laundry. Threw the load in the wash, then turned on the dryer. I had to wait an extra 40 minutes for the dryer to finish only to discover there was nothing in it.
Or the day I started the second pot of coffee but forgot to put coffee grounds in the basket. That was disappointing. It was the second pot. I would have understood if it had been the first pot. Everyone knows you don’t think clearly before coffee.
I also spent too much time on cricut projects using the wrong transfer tape. I didn’t know it was wrong at first. There’s a lot to learn about the cricut and its tools. I accept that there is a learning curve, but it really messed with my head.
When I vented to the Princess, she said, “Mom. I think you need to clean your house first. Everything runs smoother, when the house is cleaned.”
She’s not wrong.
Transitions
I forgot. I was so focused on the next thing and the hurry-up-and-get-it-done, that I forgot to end November and my Nano adventure before starting December and my Holidays.
There was no real down time to reflect on what I’d accomplished in November or ponder what I wanted for December. I usually take more time before jumping into the next project. I didn’t this time. Instead, I just went full speed ahead.
Yes, stopped everything to clean, not as much as it needed but enough to reset my energy. I journaled my wins and loses over the past week and connected with my Goddesses and Ancestors. We create our own beginning and ending rituals. It helps us transition from one phase to another. I skipped mine, and I payed for it.
A re-start on the Holidays
I’m still finding new places for all my stuff and I still want my own craft room but the holidays are in full swing.
We’re 90% done decorating and shopping. I’ll spend the next two weeks finishing the crafted gifts and begin the wrapping.
Then the last week before the holiday, we’ll start our baking marathon.
