Mother Machree

 

Mother's Day. Hum. I got a few cards from various friends, mostly saying, “Even if you don't have a child, this day is for you.” That's very nice. The daughter I helped raise called me, first thing, to talk about major changes in her life, and to wish me a happy day. Not every mother had to go through pregnancy and labor to bring forth an offspring. Some became a parent by default, like I did, some became an inter-species mother (are you listening, Rufus?) and some became, due to age and wisdom, in loco parentis. I have had that honor as well.

My furry kid ( or “fid” as my sister says) woke me with a ton of kisses, then went back and licked his bum. What he was doing before my kisses...I don't really want to know. I haven't received a gift yet but, before the day is through, I'm sure he'll be leaving me a present somewhere in the hall.

 

Happy.Happy.Joy.Joy.

Most of today I spent visiting with Claude and discussing the Para-X show in October. 

I know it's early, but I have a lot of craft work ( small “c”, not capital “C”, although I have a lot of that as well) to do to prepare. I wanted to get the items for my “swag bag” printed up front (business cards, broomstick pens, and other goodies given away free as promotional items). This year, I wanted to emphasize Graven Images Oracle, a predictive deck created by Natalie Zaman and myself a few years back. I also decided to create a GIO bookmark for the swag bag.

I took the name image from the book which accompanies the deck, and wanted another graphic for the back. Thankfully, Nat had taken a great shot of the cards fanned out with the book and pouch, so I went on Google Image to suss it out.

 

  Imagine my surprise when I saw many of our cards popping up on a lot of separate sites – mostly blogs. Checking a few of them out, I saw that people were using them in creative ways, and really digging down into the interpretations. As the gal who wrote that portion, it was very gratifying. Some people even followed the writing careers of Natalie and myself. That was nice...maybe a bit creepy...but flattering. One person even used some of the most positive cards to do a personal collage.

That's the best reward: when something you did with love, passion and lots of time/effort inspires someone else.

In the long run, I downloaded images, spoke with the print company about tweaks and corrections, and the final product is pictured below. I asked the company if they could drill a tassel hole in the top. That service was $50. Wha...? Gary picked me up a Staples single hole punch for $4. The above and a colorful skull bead and I had one fine, hand-assembled bookmark. Come on out for the show in October and get yours!

 

I will also be using – and selling – Ogham rune sets. Easy, accurate, and they come with a hand sewn pouch and instructions. (Ogham are Irish runes.) 

 

 

 

There will be Pagan prayer beads, other hand made goods, and some Halloween items from my personal collection. It's going to be a great show.

Here's another bit of happy news: Broomstix is back in it's new, blog format.

For now, Natalie is posting some of the material from the old e-zine twice a week. Some material is also appearing as part of Pagan Square, hosted by Pagan & Witches Magazine. Come December, new material will be going up. To follow the Broomstix Blog, go to: www.broomstix.blogspot.com . There is a link on that site which will bring you to Broomstix on Pagan Square!

More happy news: My poem “Circle” is appearing in the current issue of Circle Magazine.

It's a small poem, but significant (for me). I haven't written poetry for a good 15 years, and it's nice to re-discover my muse. (The goddess-chick just up and left me...wandered off , then came moseying back smelling of incense, mint tea and Chipolte. Oooh, Chipolte..)

Finally, someone sent me the following video. Since I had mentioned inspiration and creativity, I think it's a great example of what the human mind is capable of achieving if the passion is strong. Enjoy.

This is a new little friend that Claude bought for me as a cheer-up gift on a blue day. I have a thing for the bumbles. He's wishing all you Mothers out there (pick your own definitions) a bee-utiful day.