I'm really so bad at this, you guys.

I'm pretty sure all of my updates are "long overdue" by the time they happen. Drat.

I finished Essential Asatru. It had a slower start, and there was a lot of history crammed into the first section of the book that made my head spin a bit. It almost felt perhaps too condensed? Otherwise, a lot of rehashing what I found in the Practical Heathen, but with some new insights which were nice to have. I'll have to apologize, as I've actually had the book done for weeks. ... heh. Which means, since we also did our Lughnasadh ritual last month...

I'M DONE! WOO!

I started on a book I wanted to read purely for the hell of it:

 Enjoying it so far! I started to set up my altar for Rune work, but I'm not terribly happy with it right now. It feels...cluttered and yet empty, and just not laid out the way I want it to be.

Luughnasadh was done very late into August, since we wanted to wait for it to actually feel like "first harvest" (one thing I read and agreed 100% with in A Witch Alone was that the sabbats were once based not on fixed dates but on seasonal changes and would have moved around each year with things like last frost and first harvest.) Here is the garden in it's heyday:

It is starting to peter out pretty badly now, partly due to colder nights, and partly because the plants are all far too big for the containers they are in. In some cases this is my bad--I was more successful than I thought I would be. In some cases, like the tomato from my grandmother, everybody who got one this year says they were painfully slow to fruit (and then to ripen) but got explosively big very fast. So now it's a bit of a struggle, keeping everything alive to ripen fruit as much as possible before things have to be picked regardless of readiness. My pepper plants actually have peppers on them, small and not red yet--I am hoping beyond hope that we get at least a couple before the frost sets in, but it's hard to say. Lesson learned for next year--start everything earlier, and buy bigger pots!

Our pumpkin is ripening--we technically have 3, but two are so little they're likely going to be decor rather than pie filling. The one big one though, is a lovely size and is ripening up gloriously. I can't wait to roast this little bugger.

 That's only about 3 days difference in ripening. It'll be ready in no time at this rate!

Tonight I started further work on my staff, did some of the initial woodburning. The "cords" at the top are to set a space for possibly writing runes, not sure yet. The spiral shells were just an idea I had which I liked.

 I have another big update/story to tell, but I want to do that separately, and probably as a video, as my wrists/arms are in a lot of pain typing right now because of work.

We're working now, Renee and Drew and Amy and I, on laying out the framework for the IDGAF Initiation ritual. which Amy and I and Renee will be taking part in at this time. We're also considering doing a coven initiation ritual for the four of us to take part in, since we have never formally done so.

Stay tuned.