Happy Grapes and Apples Day!

I don't have my own garden -- haven't in a couple of decades or so, a situation I should rectify at some point. And I live in a small city, just far enough in that I have to make a point of driving a few miles out of the way to catch a glimpse of the familiar soybean and corn fields that surrounded me for the first 3/4 of my life. Because of the chilly weather we've had all summer, I haven't even been making the rounds on my usual late-night drives -- sadly, there's not been one single perfectly rainy, hot August night amongst the corn fields to be had this year.

Still, I find a certain amount of comfort in marking the milestones of the year. Especially when they're delicious milestones.

Today is the second of the three Neopagan harvest holidays: Autumn Equinox, Mabon, Harvest Home, Mid-Harvest ... like a lot of recently created holidays, it has quite the roster of names. I use Mabon just because I like the way it sounds, but to me, it really does just boil down to being the Grapes and Apples Harvest. Today would be a good day to visit a local vineyard or orchard ... grapes, wine, apple butter, apple cider, apple cakes, apple pancakes, grapes and apple slices with cheese ...

Hm. Is it me, or is it hungry in here?

This is also the time of year I begin to feel the baking bug again, and apples and pumpkins are almost entirely to blame for that. I don't really do much in the way of cookies and pies and that sort of thing, but oh, how I adore the loaves -- beer, zucchini, apple, and pumpkin bread -- as well as apple cake. Auzumel has agreed to show me how to make pumpkin rolls sometime in the next couple of weeks, too. Since it seems to involve some degree of finesse other than throwing things in a baking tin and setting the oven, I guess we'll see how that goes. :)

Tea starts to creep into the repertoire again this time of year, as well. Specifically black tea with just a bit of vanilla, cream and honey. My grandma always made it with milk and sugar instead of cream and honey, and called it Cambert Tea. I have no idea where the name came from, but it is apparently a staple in several branches of the family, and predates the current generations.

In other news, I'm looking forward to seeing the Tokyo String Quartet with Edige this Friday. Looking over the playlist earlier, I recognized Bela Bartok as a composer that I enjoyed quite a bit back when I was taking piano lessons so many moons ago, but I'm less familiar with Schubert and Mendlessohn. They exist in a nebulous zone of generic classical music with others who failed to catch my attention. Still, free tickets, with a wine and cheese reception afterward, should we feel the need to stay and chat with anyone. It should be a nice change of pace, if nothing else.

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Fröliche Walpurgisnacht!

Happy Beltaine ... Vapunaatto ... May Day Eve ... whatever you'd like to call it. I'd really love to attend a bonfire all-nighter sometime, but this year I'll be celebrating with a bonus Changeling session. That works for me, since I really shouldn't stay up until dawn if I have to come into work. Grr. I would so take the day off if it wasn't my assistant's last day with us.

This week has been full of weirdness, both good and bad. The bad: temper flares and spots of petty possessiveness, having the bus driver look right at me walking up to the door and then drive away, hearing the hateful messages left for my boss because some rightwing nutjobs feel the need to spew their venom about the President's impending visit, and oh, the big-ass prop-plane banner that's been circling campus for the last few days (an anti-abortion ad that's basically a ginormous picture of a 10-week fetus).

Also, I had to submit a proposal to "justify" hiring a student assistant to replace the one who's graduating. I was polite. But oh, the fury.

The good: the campus flowers are in full bloom, and they're loving the pleasant, drizzly rain we're having today. (So am I. It's a little chilly out, maybe, but it finally smells like spring.) Lilies of the Valley will be up soon. :) Oddly, I've been in an Otep mood the last few days. Not that I'm particularly angry anymore ... okay, maybe a little (I'm glaring at you, work. Yeah, you heard me.) ... but there's something a bit wild and terrifying and fierce in a Kali-Ma kind of way in all that power and fury. Some days, I just need a little of that fire.

Also good. No, scratch that. Also excellent: my brilliant and amazing friends. I'm riding one hell of a creative buzz today from all the insanely good stuff they've been writing.

It never ceases to amaze me how infectious your friends can be, for good or for ill. If you surround yourself with petty, high-maintenance, selfish people, it just tears your soul away, bite by bite. If you surround yourself with creative, cooperative, encouraging people, you just can't help but laugh and wonder why it took you so long to figure out the big secret.

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Spring? Hello?

Deadline week, now with added arbitrary deadlines! Argh.

We're halfway through April and it feels like we're still peeking around the corner at March. The weather has been cold and dreary, with few exceptions, and I'm caught between equal bouts of cabin fever and just wanting to snuggle up on the couch and write. Or play that horrible Animal Crossing game. Normally by this point I'd be dying for a good drive, but other than this Sunday, the weather just hasn't been very conducive so far this year.

Speaking of Sunday, Easter/Ostara/Bunny Day was pretty laid back and nice this year. Mom went to a banquet with Middle Brother and his girlfriend, so I accompanied Will to his parents' for the first steak cookout of the season. It was the first time I've spent any real time around his family (other than meeting his parents for five minutes or so when he first moved in) and they're pretty funny. Also, there was Jolly Rancher wine, and his brother spoke actual words! Overall, I'd call it a win.

What else...

I'm waiting patiently to begin more Changeling game-related writing with Cher Mere. Are you jealous? Yes, of course you are. She's a lot of fun, and I enjoy our characters immensely. (And I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to her Passover dinner this year ... hopefully next. I've never been to one before!) Will and I are tentatively working on something for the same game as well, but we'll see where that ends up.

I have discovered MJK of Tool and A Perfect Circle fame has yet another musical effort out: Puscifer. And damned if I'm not addicted to a couple of the songs already. (I'm looking at you, "Momma Sed" and "Queen B"...) Now, I like Tool, but since Opiate and Undertow, they've been a bit too overwrought for my taste. I recognize the talent, like the sound ... but my brain relegates it to the realm of really good background music, and by the time I've reached the end of the CD, it's all bled together into some strange musical miasma. APC is a different story altogether; that was, and is, instant love. The music's much more accessible and insidious in that brain-burrowing way that keeps it in the braintape loop for days after hearing it. I've only heard a few Puscifer songs, so far, and of the ones I was able to pay attention to, one I actively despise, and three have landed squarely in the loop. And soon, very soon, I will give in and buy some MP3s to assist with the burrowing process.

Speaking of adding to the loops, I managed to infect Edige with the Serj Tankian bug. Win.

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