Into the Wild Wood and Home Again

It warmed up (!) during the night; I went to bed and it was 29, got up at 5:20 and it was 36. Weird. But hey, this week is supposed to have some very warm days. I'm glad I have a few more days to putter around-- we still have outdoor stuff to attend to. And I'm scheduled to get winter tires put on Friday afternoon. In the meantime, though, the prediction is for 72 degrees on Wednesday. Wacky. But I'll be glad, so we won't use pellets or oil much at all this week. I grew up parsimonious, but I'm now bordering on cheap when it comes to fuels. What else can we do? Today, my sophomores will be presenting their medieval projects-- an odd assortment of weapons, maps, slideshows about plague, etc. I'm wearing my plague doctor tee shirt. Just trying to get in the mood...  And the juniors will continue their small research papers. What a grand variety they are working on! Everything from "forever chemicals" in our water to climate change and the ocean's eco...

Good morning, it's November, it's daylight, and I already have a beef stew simmering on the stove for dinner tonight. Which is to say, I have had sleep. Amazing. We are going to the later Mass this morning, so I have time to get a few things done.  That all said, who knows what the rest of the day will look like. It's All Saints Day, and Holly is supposed to go with us to church dressed as St Brigid of Kildare, but I just got a message that she's getting difficult about it. We'll see what happens. I have hope.  Last night, we had a modest number of children for Trick or Treat, which is to say, there's a ton of candy and pretzel packets left over. And as always, all of the hot cocoa packets went first. I need to get more for us, now. It's funny that, given a choice, kids always pick the cocoa. It was quite chilly last night, too, so it tracks that they want the cocoa for after their tricks.  And here we are, All Saints, and tomorrow is All Souls. The shades o...

All Hallows Eve! Here's a recipe for you (and let's not create it, shall we?!). Have a safe and amusing day.  I'll be back chatting with you tomorrow. C Macbeth , Act IV, sc. 1 (Folger Library) Thunder. Enter the three Witches. FIRST WITCH   Thrice the brinded cat hath mewed. SECOND WITCH   Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whined. THIRD WITCH   Harpier cries “’Tis time, ’tis time!” FIRST WITCH   Round about the cauldron go; In the poisoned entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Sweltered venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ th’ charmèd pot. The Witches circle the cauldron. ALL   Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. SECOND WITCH   Fillet of a fenny snake In the cauldron boil and bake. Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork and blindworm’s sting, Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. ALL   Do...

Half day at school-- ostensibly, to get grades caught up and so on, but also to allow for folks to go to the playoff game (boys) that is way down on the bottom of the state--they are headed to Epping. I may try to watch the livestream.  This all means I'm out at noon. Which, to be honest, is going to be great. I have been too busy of late, and a little time --yes, merely an extra hour-- is more than welcome. Add to that, I've decided we are going out for dinner. I'm not on strike, but I would like a moment's peace. It will be a busy-ish weekend, so why not?  I will collect my thoughts on the loss of Sir Patrick Stewart. All of the online tributes are apt, of course, but no one has yet mentioned his deeply affective version of A Christmas Carol, and that is where my thoughts are trending. Yes, Picard. And yes, X-Men. And of course, all of the stage plays. Add to that, his iconic " Ice Bucket Challenge " -- he was pure class, with a wry sense of humor. And one ...

Thursday, 28 degrees. The girls' soccer team won, so both of my school's teams advance. The season goes on... which is a good thing but it does shake up the schedule a little. At least these games are Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.  I am hopeful that I can/we can get some outdoor things done today after I pick up Holly from school. The weather is glorious, but my time has been so limited. G put away two full tons of pellets yesterday. It's nice he took a vacation week now, so things can get "buttoned up" (as he would say) for the coming winter. And he's supposed to set up the dragon today-- which is always a lot of fun and fuss, in equal measure. Holly is excited about it. I am too-- it's kind of fun to look out in the darkness and see a nine foot animatronic dragon with fire in its belly flapping its wings, glaring balefully at all passers-by.  That must say something about me. As does my actual excitement that three of my sophomores have chosen...

Eighteen degrees. Yes, it's clear that autumn has settled in. I'm still working/thinking about a poem that reflects this time of year, and it's eluding me. It's a pretty thing, but that's not what it needs to be-- I need to capture the dark, the darkening. So, it's a draft. Cool. I fuddled my way around signing the contract/agreement for Kelsay for my new book. I hate this whole digital signing thing-- the signature is a messy thing, and does not look at all like my own. Seriously, who could even use it as a justification for anything legal? It looks like a 7 year old scrawled. That said, I had a photo of my actual signature from another time, and I appended it to the reply email as well. I have my pride, I guess.  And so, we wait for the next step. I'm excited, but I'm also resigned-- this process takes a while. I've learned a lot about the world of smallish publishing with my two journeys with Finishing Line Press, and I have a couple of poet frien...