Winter Solstice

Wrapped in a comfy robe, the tree lit aglow, a goblet of grog in one hand and a rum flavored cigar in the other. Welcoming the Winter Solstice but wishing for snow. Got more presents wrapped and under the tree for the family. Christmas is only but a couple of days away but its just kind of hard to believe since it still feels like its November in a lot of ways. Maybe it is because last year we had snow, lots of snow, and icicles hanging from the corner of the house. I think snow is part of what makes the holidays feel like the holidays. I have snowflake ornaments and icicle lights on the tree and that will have to do for now.
Been busy putting together and organizing lesson plans for my new apprentice. Lots of typing in my future for sure, and that is in addition to my usual writing I do for my main novel which is yet to be named, and Mandrake Manor, the second book I am writing. I got so used to using the talk to text feature on my smart phone sometimes I get frustrated and have the urge to press a button to use the same feature on my computer, which is nonexistent haha.  If that Dragon speech device for your computer was not $75-$99 dollars I would pick one up. As it is, I do not feel spending that amount of money on a speak to type feature is worth it. I also don’t know exactly how accurate it would be anyways.
I finally found a large blank book that I am happy with that I will use for my own book of secrets. I need to embellish the cover though. Thinking ornate metal hinges, flat pieces of metal filigree, if I can find a locking mechanism to somehow make work for the book that would be awesome too. Might incorporate some flat gemstones if I find the right ones… And some twisted vine branches maybe even. I have lots of ideas for this new red fabric covered book… but no design plan as of yet. I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things for myself. They need to reflect me and in a way I won’t feel like I should have done something different when looking at it later. I won't be writing in it until I finish the cover. Many more blank books will be found or created for a variety of different purposes. The red book I am speaking of has about 185pgs which is not enough to cover everything I want but enough to get me started at least. Yes, I am one of those people who would love to have one of those $500 500-700 page books that have blank parchment and a pretty green or some other color leather designed cover. I may just attempt to make my own one day if I learn enough about working with leather to do so. I know a few people who may be able to at least show me some basics.

So part of me is excited for winter and snow, and another part of me is dancing about getting antsy for spring and the beginnings of wildcrafting again. So I am focusing at least some of my attention to on herbs and making better plans for my wildcrafting adventures. I love sporadic outings but I missed out on a lot of things last year because I didn’t plan at least some of the outings out before hand. One of those, just barely made it out in time to grab a few things before the next phase of plants mature. So better planning will be made so Noel and I can get out into the wild wood and get our hands dirty while gathering wonderful leafy green things.

After the holidays I have to get back to working on new shop products and filling in ones that sold at the last booth. I have another booth at the Damsels and Daggers Fairytale Ball coming up on the 7th and I have a few things I wish to make before that day comes. Some of which requires me to go out and pick up some more supplies, so those will have to wait till after Christmas when I have more time to do them.

I need to make better storage for my desk area. I have a lot of ideas I need to put to good use at some point as far as better organization for ease of crafting. I also need to get something like a treasure chest at some point still to store my own treasures I make for myself. I thought I found a good option awhile ago but upon closer inspection the wood was too thin to hold almost anything and most every one of the large wooden chests had splits and cracks in the wood. That just won’t do. So the search will continue until the perfect one is found that will suit my needs. There was a large old  metal trunk I found that was interesting but I honestly really like the idea of having a wood one and the metal one would have taken a lot of work to fix it up. In the end it would have cost me more than I wanted to spend just to fix it and then embellish it. Not to mention a wooden one I can use a wood burning tool on for most of the design along with metal brackets and such.

So I finally got the last of the Christmas presents in the mail to distant friends that are like family to me as well as actual family. Got the last present I ordered online in the mail today and its now wrapped and under the tree. Did not think it would get here by Christmas from what the tracker said so that was a nice surprise. It was pretty funny actually trying to keep my younger brother from playing a new game his friend let him borrow for a few hours since we got him that exact game for Christmas. I am trying to keep him from playing it for the first time until he unwraps our present. Told him we needed to have family movie time and games could wait. Valarie, my sister, was busting up laughing because anytime I would leave the room for water he would express how annoyed he was about it and she knew why I was keeping him from doing it. He thinks she was just laughing because his annoyance is funny. Man is he going to be surprised when he finds out we got him some really awesome presents that were on his list he did not think he would get.

Now I just have food to cook and we will be ready to go.

But for now I think I might just try to find a good movie to watch and snuggle in for the night.
Happy Winter Solstice Everyone! ^_^