Whiskers on Kittens

Saffy is 12 this year... I'm not too sure how that is possible!!! Lately she has started to look a little older too. She doesn't eat very much and is getting a little thin. She sleeps a lot. She purrs A LOT! She's a happy kitty, but an aging kitty.  I want to get her into my scrapbook more this year and celebrate her lovely energy.  Here's a page I just made and uploaded to the Studio Calico gallery.

Thanks for looking!

Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I've made the decision to switch to an Apple computer and I am soooooo excited about it!!! I'm hoping that the ease of it will inspire me to re-connect with this blog so I've signed on to Bloglovin' as some accountability.

Hello December

December 1st means one thing to me as a memory-keeper - the start of December Daily/ Journal Your Christmas.  I have been journalling the stories of my December since 2010 when I first discovered Shimelle's wonderful Journal Your Christmas project and class.  If you have never heard of this and you are a Scrapbooker, I can really recommend it.  It is really reasonably priced and you can keep doing the project year after year with fresh prompts each December.  I discovered Ali Edward's December Daily project a few years later and since then I have combined the two approaches to document my December.  Ali focuses on one story per day and Shimelle uses prompts to inspire you to write about traditional Christmas things and Christmas memories.  I am going to heavily lean towards the one story per day approach this year BUT it wouldn't be December if I didn't look at the JYC prompts at all ... plus this year Shimelle is releasing a short video each day focussing on one 3x4 card...and I LOVE her videos!
As December starts I am aiming to create a day behind ie. to live the day and all it's stories and then to create in my album to remember one of those.
The stories of today include:

• A day spent at Birmingham Library for the Library Toolkit training course.  The library is new and beautiful! Described as a marmite library as you either love it or hate it! I loved it and want to go again to have a proposer look around.
• Spending time with Natalie travelling to and from the course - and also shopping in Birmingham together afterwards.  I have so few friends who live locally to me it was so nice to spend some social time with a kindred spirit!
• Twinkle lights ... I just love them! They are the best part of December for me!

Are you documenting your December? What methods will you be using to capture the stories and images if you are?

Family time

Today I have counted my blessings that I am part of the wonderful family of my Beloved.  When he and I had what we affectionately refer to as 'The Blip' in December, I thought I had lost all links to this extended family.

The forgiveness of my Dear One, and theirs, has been a gift I never thought I would receive.  In turn it lead to wonderful family afternoons like today...

Altar time

Effy blogged about witchcraft yesterday. It was a really good read, so anyone who hasn't read it and thinks they may be interested pop over to her blog (using the link above).  She used the blog as an opportunity to 'come out' and say she is a witch and not just a pagan.  For me it is the other way round, I have called myself Witch for many many years now but have only relatively recently been embracing the general pagan side of myself. A side I was 'schooled' to think was fluffy. What a school of thinking indeed! Nonsense! I love being a witch and I lvoe being a pagan. I love doing Crafty things and I love doing lighter pagan things.  My altars are a part of that.
There are people from my past who would hate by altars (strong word, but how I knwo they would feel.) They would think I have sold out, that they aren't witchy enough etc. Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. I love my altars, they make my home feel special, Beloved. So today I cleansed them and tidied them up a bit.

Spring altar

The above is the main altar that I try to keep in tune with the seasons. Its right next to where I sit on the sofa and opposite where I sit at the table, so its very much in my vision, and in my mind.
Recently my Other Half has taken a keener interest in my Path and has decided he wants an altar to the Lord in our home too *swoon*! So here is his altar:

Altar to the Sacred Masculine

Recently we each pulled an Animal Oracle card.  Kei's was Boar. So when we were in Glastonbury at the weekend he stated he would like "something boar-ish" for his altar. I was expecting a little boar statue etc. and was quite surprised (and well proud, to be honest) when he came back with a boars tail from The Wild Hunt shop! You can just see it resting on top of the wooden square at the feet of Herne.

Well, that's a little glimpse into our pagan home. Yay to Effy for coming out and inspiring this post!
Bye all
x

Not feeling too great

I'm had a cold on-and -off for a few weeks now. Its nothing major, but still quite debilitating because it zaps my energy.
I feel like a bag of snot (nice!) and am sick of coughing all the time.
I had a shamanic healing when I was in Glastonbury at the weekend which seemed to help but I'm yuck again at the moment.
So not alot to say today other than that. Blah!
Sorry!
Byeeee

Waves from me and the fur baby x

Filter love

Glastonbury Abbey

I love taking photos with my iphone. In fact it is pretty much the only way I take photos now. I do have a DSLR which I love but have never really spent the time bonding with. What I love about iphonography is the filters! How you can take a simple photo and with a few clicks you can create a completely dramatic and different version of the same photo!
These photos were taken yesterday using the wonderful Hipstamatic app.  (ps I have an Oggl account if there are any Oggl users out there. My user name is @stryx .  I don't use this as much as I do Instagram (same user name on there guys if anyone Insta's :-) I think the reason I don't Oggl very much is the community thing again. Although there is a vibrant Oggl community, I don;t feel part of it, so I don't Oggl. Silly reason, I should enjoy my solitude and just post pics!

 

 Anyway, a quick question for you...

 

Which filter do you prefer fpr the ruins photos? The one above or this totally different one below.#

I have a preference but I'd like some opinions.

 

Have a great day.

Byeeeee