Which Came First . . .

Had an interesting discussion with DH yesterday, regarding wood stoves.  Now, understand that we do not have a wood stove at the moment, nor even a wood fireplace.  But I dream of a studio over a garage heated by a wood stove. 

"Why?"  you ask.

I just find them terribly romantic, even beyond their incredible efficiency.  And the idea of banking them at night and then having them waiting for you in the morning. . .delicious.

The discussion was over whether to start gathering wood, and then acquire the stove, or to get the stove, then start saving wood for it.  It seems like it would make sense to get the wood, then the stove.  Otherwise, you chance having a stove you have to buy wood for all winter. 

Problem is, we, and I in particular, have a terrible habit of buying all the "stuff" needed to accomplish a project, whether it's a home repair project or an art project, and then not actually doing the project.  It's very frustrating, a great way to accumulate a house full of things you don't need, a horrible waste of money, and irresponsible to boot.  (We are getting better about it, though.)

Of course, this is a moot discussion unless we can actually sell the house this fall and buy a farm/homestead.

Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends

I know it's old news, but 2 days ago Prop 8 was once more declared unconstitutional.  (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/prop8-gay-marriage.html)  Who hasn't heard about this?

I bring it up now because my feeling about it had been, "Yeah, yeah.  So what.  The RB's (as DH and I call the extreme right, for religious bigots) will just ignore the blatant fact that the issue is unconstitutional and put it on the next ballot again, just as they've done so many times in the past." 

I was actually pretty down, thinking about it.  But a friend of mine maintained that changes like these take decades, and she, for one, was going to be optimistic about it.  I decided she was right, and I would once more apply myself to positive thinking.  (Thanks, Turtle.)

This is a huge victory, and THIS time, law, rationality, and sanity WILL prevail.  They will.

Sticks and Stones. . .

You may or may not have noticed that I changed a word in the description in the header of this blog.  (Don't feel bad if you didn't, it's hard to see, and, for the most part, it's the same every time you visit.)  It's a small change, but an important one for DH and I.  Instead of reading "two witches", the description now reads "two Pagans".

The capitalization really isn't that important--more of a correction.  I should have had "witches" capitalized as well as "pagans".

What IS important is the change from Witches TO Pagans.  Thanks to a post on another blog (Adventures in Witchery:  Reclaiming Warlock) and an article by Storm Faerywolf entitled "Crafting the Warlock", my DH has realized that he was never really comfortable being called a witch (and, truth be told, I was never really comfortable calling him one).  As a result, he no longer sees himself as Kitchen Witch Don, but as Warlock Donald, until he finds his magickal name, at least.  (He did consider many other titles:  Sorcerer, Mage, Wizard, Magician, Wise Man, Cunning Man, but, for various reasons, none of them had the same appeal.) 


I think it's a bold move, and one that won't be popular with many people.  He'll have to fight a lot of prejudice associated with the title, perhaps even more so than with "Witch".  And he'll have to explain even more often that no, he doesn't worship Satan--to Pagans and non-Pagans alike, and maybe even to those who DO follow the Left-Hand Path.  But to me, the switch makes it sound likes he's grown-up in his practice--made a conscious, THINKING choice, instead of simply following someone else's rules.

Welcome, Warlock Donald.