I’ve recently revamped my home office/studio to make it a much more zen place to be. As such, I thought I’d post pictures of it here, for posterity if not for interest. ;)

The first picture is the wall to the left of the doorway when you enter the room. These pictures are behind the door when it is open. The artist is Lindy Van Den Bosch. I commissioned the pictures of the elements from her for use in my Book of Shadows. But eventually I just put them on my walls, as I liked them better. The other two paintings were gifts from the artist.

Picture two is of my aromatherapy nook. I have tons of oils, candles and incense, which I love to mix according to my mood. :) The fairy art you see is my own work, waiting to be sold. ;) The pink thing to the left is a four drawer plastic bin which is full of art supplies. You can also see my Book of Shadows on top of the pink bin, as I had left it out when I took the picture. And my big orange purse was a gift from my dad in the Spring of 2007.

The third photo is of my desk/workstation. The two framed prints are from John William Waterhouse. There’s also a pretty matted print between them, but I don’t know who the aritst is. On the left Waterhouse print are four photos of me and various family members. Below them is a greeting card featurin the art of Nedda Shishegar. There is also a picture of my neice, Megan and a business card for Divine Inspirations, a local psychic. The three necklaces hanging there are crystal necklaces (rose quartz, quartz and amethyst).

This first picture is of my window next to my desk. I used two pretty Indian scarves as a window treatment. On the windowsill are two candle holders, a wooden mushroom sculpture I bought in Reading, and two small “fantasy” scented candles. Behind them, you will notice three small art prints from Dawn Obrecht. To the left of the window is an original painting sent to me by Erin of Oh Honestly, Erin.

The second picture features the shelf to the left of the window. This features my bottle collection and various tools for pagan ritual. From left to right: TOP SHELF: Bottle collection, some of which holds water from the Upwey Wishing Well in Dorset, and some of which holds water from Chalice Well in Glastonbury. SECOND SHELF: A small pewter cauldron, my athame and boline, my handcarved wand, a large crystal ball, two chalices (one silver, one brass), two small clay jugs (one holding salt, one holding water), a larger brass cauldron and a wooden candlestick. THIRD SHELF: Two wooden boxes containing my crystal collection, several crystal eggs, crystal candleholders and plain crystals, a palmistry hand, a phrenology head, and a jug of powerful stones behind them. BOTTOM SHELF: a bag of tea candles, a box of further tea candles, a soapstone mortar and pestle, a small brass urn full of dried roses, a bell, a bottle of rose quartz, a wooden box with stuff in it, and an aromatherapy candle on its size. :)

The final photo is merely a closeup of my bottle collection. You can see the water in some of them. :)

The first photo is of the next shelf over, to the right of the window. The art above it is my own work titled, Winter Witch (a self portrait). Above that is a small Green Man, which I bought in Glastonbury. This shelf features a lot of my fairy and fantasy figurines. The rest of the pictures are all close-ups of various bits.

For reference, the framed painting on the second shelf is by Maria Van Bruggen, sent to me as a gift at Christmas in 2006.

The bottom shelf simply has some old candles, oil burners and broken figurines.

Another shelf, full of books on art, witchcraft, food and fiction. There is also a can I collect loose change in, some art supplies and old journals.

In the second photo, you see what is atop the shelf. These are all figurines which have been given to me at Christmas. The tallest is about 15 inches high. The fairy with a flower is actually a candle holder. This is the only one not given to me by my husband. It was instead given by his Auntie Sylvia, as she knows I love fairies.

My bookshelves have been located in my window alcove for months. It is a silly place for them, as it blocks out much of the natural light in my room, but they fit so well!! After this picture was taken, I actually removed the books and shelves to the guest room so that I now have a nice bit of sunshine coming in.

Second photo is of my yarn bin, where I keep my yarn and various projects I’m working on. Fun! Right now there are two manikins in there, begging for clothes. ;)

To the right of the bookshelves is a beautiful painting of me, which was commissioned from Nedda Shishegar. She’s made me much prettier than I actually am, but who am I to complain??

Beneath the shelves is more of my “stuff.” The three drawer bureau has herbs in it! I love herbology, and it’s chock full of poisons and potions. Including some very nice salvia divinorum, which is nice to have in summer months, out under the stars! There’s a small pink bin beside this, which features various ephemera for scrapbooking. Atop the bureau is a makeshift hamper for my dirty garments.

And since my room has hideous 1970s carpet, I have a pretty area rug to cover it.

Finally, to make a full circuit of the room, we come to the wall on the right of the door. I have two large double wardrobes, which are separated by my dresser. The brown cupboard on top of this houses makeup and other such girly things as perfumes, lotions, hair product, etc. A vanity mirror allows me to put on my makeup. Behind the mirror are two overflowing jewellry boxes.

And that’s it. My room in pictures. To see the full set, you can also visit my flickr set.

Over on LiveJournal, I’ve noticed a trend lately of people blogging about “my song.” That is to say, each individual is blogging about the particular song that perfectly describes them or else bears an uncanny resemblance to their life. Some of them are funny, some are sad, and some are rare gems that hardly anyone has ever heard of.

As for me, I’ve racked my brains, and I do believe that there is a song which perfectly illustrates the way I truly know myself to be. When I take a hard look at myself, I realise that I live as The Queen. And the thought cuts me to the core.

Youtube won’t allow embedding of this particular video, but you can see it here.

The lyrics are as follows.

“The Queen & The Soldier”

The soldier came knocking upon the queen’s door
He said, “I am not fighting for you any more”
The queen knew she’d seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.

He said, “I’ve watched your palace up here on the hill
And I’ve wondered who’s the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why.”

Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down.

He said, “I see you now, and you are so very young
But I’ve seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I’ve got this intuition, says it’s all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?”

The young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, “You won’t understand, and you may as well not try”
But her face was a child’s, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan.

And she said, “I’ve swallowed a secret burning thread
It cuts me inside, and often I’ve bled”
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground.

“Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed
But I won’t march again on your battlefield”
And he took her to the window to see.

And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again.

And he said, “I want to live as an honest man
To get all I deserve and to give all I can
And to love a young woman who I don’t understand
Your highness, your ways are very strange.”

But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside.

Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangeling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on

Today is the 38th anniversary of the very first celebrated Earth Day, a day put aside by an American Senator, Gaylord Nelson, back in 1970 to demonstrate for the environment. Thanks to his efforts, Earth Day became a worldwide phenomenon, where people could be encouraged to spend at least one day of their year contemplating the plight of the world.

When I was a child, I remember Earth Day being a big celebration in school. Like Arbor Day before it, it helped children like me get involved in planting trees, flowers, grass, etc. Each year, the county would have a poetry contest to celebrate the holiday. My younger brother actually won it one year with a poem about anthropomorphised trees being sad at the deaths of other trees. It was a big hit.

Today is a day when we should be outside, admiring nature at her finest. Not just trees and flowers, but rocks and insects and birds and squirrels. This is a planet full of mystery and intrigue, and if you’re lucky enough to be here, you should think seriously about how you can give back.

I want to post some tips on how you can be more eco-friendly, not just today, but EVERY day.

* Buy or make a canvas (or other sturdy material) bag and use it to pack groceries or other items in during a shopping trip
* If your destination is a mile or less away, walk!
* Turn off the lights when you leave a room (television, computers, etc, as well!)
* Cook more meals in the oven rather than the microwave
* Spruce up your garden/lawn with plants
* Recycle!!! Not just bottles, cans and newspapers, but even scraps of food. Start a compost bin and use it to fertilise all the plants you just got!
* Craft - All those old clothes, buttons, tags, candle holders, broken glass, etc can be made into darling artwork for your home. Or, if you are more entrepreneurial, sell it on Etsy or Dawanda
* Choose a lower heat setting on your washer/dryer
* Buy handmade
* Buy organic
* Buy second-hand

There are a million things you can do to make this world a better place. Most things are totally free and easy, as well. Help the world. Do your part.

HAPPY EARTH DAY 2008!

Green Grass by Raffaella Barker is the simple story of a neglected woman, mother though not wife, who begins to yearn for a life of her own without the responsibilities inherent in her “non-marriage.”

Laura Sale has spent umpteen years caring exclusively for the whims and desires of her partner, an eccentric and self-centred conceptual artist named Inigo. Though he’s never gotten around to making an honest woman of her, she has raised with him a twin boy and girl who are now 13 years old and almost as tired of their father as their mother is. When Laura suddenly comes into contact with a long-forgotten ex boyfriend from her teenage years, she realises her own desirability as a woman. She decides to rent a small house in the town she grew up in, near to her brother and the aforementioned ex-boyfriend.

Living a life caught between Inigo’s needs and her own, Laura finds herself in the extremely familiar state of “grass is greener” syndrome. Which life will she choose?

The book gives some very unrealistic, yet at the same time believable characters. Though Laura experiences things which most of us have no real idea of, the reader is able to emotionally relate to her confusion and worry.

This isn’t the sort of story that a normal 20-something singleton will usually sympathise with, however it should be required reading for those embarking on new phases of life. It makes the excellent point that just because something is exciting and new does not mean it is special or long-lasting. We all have to come to terms with our own decisions and take responsibility for the things in life which are not to our liking.

The only way to improve is to take the steps necessary to make the change.

Green Grass by Raffaella Barker 9/50 in 2008

This is the story of two different women whose lives are linked in strange ways. The first is Grace, an unlucky in love career gal working for a tiny publishing house in London. While she does her best for her authors, her life is becoming more and more tedious, a fact which is compounded by her completely unprofessional drunken one night stand.

On the other side, we have Belinda, a bitchy, nasty journalist who lies, cheats and steals in her quest to become famous. Unfortunately her dreams hang by a thread due to spending more time preparing for fame than actually doing the work that might make her famous!

Add in mega movie stars, interfering housekeepers and high maintenance mothers, and the book becomes one wild romp.

As a bit of guilty pleasure reading, this one ticks all the boxes for enjoyability. You will find yourself angrily awaiting Belinda’s demise and shaking your head at Grace’s repeated love klutziness. The only trouble with the book is that one may not ever want to admit to actually having READ the book!

Fame Fatale by Wendy Holden 8/50 in 2008

This past weekend, we had a guest down. Our friend Iain was visiting so that he and Ross could go to the O2 arena in London and watch the WWE tapings there on Monday and Tuesday nights.

On Monday, their seats were pretty decent, but they didn’t really get on camera. However, on Tuesday night, they were in the third row, to the right of the ring. And as a result, they were on TV a LOT for the ECW and Smackdown tapings.

While watching the ECW playback yesterday, we found it very funny to notice a specific segment. During the Divas Dance Off, the audience was encouraged to cheer for their favourite. Of course, it was always going to be Kelly Kelly who won, so the cameras fixed on various audience members to show reactions.

As soon as Tazz asked for cheers for Kelly, the camera immediately went to a crowd shot which showed a load of screaming fans and two very non-plussed fellas drinking beer.

Yes, that’s my husband with the beard, and that’s Iain next to him.

Tonight we’re going to watch Smackdown to see what else the camera caught. I would encourage all of you to do the same, as… well… this could be Ross’s 15 minutes of fame. ;)

I’m not sure I mentioned it, but recently my father retired after 20 years with the US Border Patrol. He’s now moved back in to the family home with my mama, and he seems to be keeping himself busy with various chores and sitting on the front porch in his rocking chair.

I’m not sure why, but I felt the need to commemorate his retirement with a portrait. I had thought I’d do a quick sketch or a coloured pencil portrait, but in the end, I decided to try my hand at acrylics!

I have used acrylics only once before, on a painting which came out pretty messy. But I had some spare canvas textured paper sitting around, and I thought, “Why not?”

The result is a very LARGE (as in, the head in the painting is about the same size as his ACTUAL head) portrait, which you can see below. I’ve no idea whether he’ll like it or not, but he’s pretty decent at making wooden frames, and I figured that this was something he could make into a project.

I look forward to the day when I can do one of my mother. But as she’s recently gone through a pretty drastic physical metamorphosis, I don’t feel confident painting her until I’ve seen her in person!

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, a painting which I simply call: My Daddy.

This will be sent to him as soon as I have two pennies to rub together.

My 101/1001 list has had its first finisher!

97. Get another cat as a companion for Muse

This one was able to be crossed out yesterday, as Ross and I got a lovely new 3 year old cat off of our local freecycle. Her name was Inca, but we have renamed her Gypsy, which she responds to nicely. She is an incredibly shy and affectionate cat, a complete opposite to Muse in her behaviour and demeanor.

While Muse is very tiny, but sort of fat, Gypsy is very long and very lean. She is incredibly curious about her surroundings, while Muse is pretty well settled to her environment. Gypsy will not jump onto or lay on humans, and she doesn’t seem to like to be held, whereas Muse is difficult to put aside, as she is always climbing or jumping onto our laps and demanding attention.  Gypsy is used to be an outdoor cat, while Muse is an indoor cat. That is something Gypsy will have to get used to, as Muse is very very allergic to fleas, so we can’t let Gypsy outside where she may bring them back inside with her.

All in all, Gypsy seems like she’ll be a very nice addition to the family, however at the moment, she’s having a hard time adjusting. I think she thinks her old owners will be coming for her and if she just hides, she’ll make it through until they get her. She’s made us realise just how UN-kitty-proof our house is, as we had to tear apart the kitchen cupboards in order to find her. We’ve also had to move the washing machine out from the wall, as well as an ENTIRE wall unit in the dining room, as she has hidden behind each of them, to her detriment. When we returned home earlier this afternoon, she was so well hidden that it took three of us searching each room SEVERAL times before we found her!!

Anyway, it’s only been about 24 hours, and the chaos has been immense! But she’ll be okay. And our little family grows bigger every day.

Pictures will be forthcoming once we figure out how to get her to stop hiding for five minutes! ;)

When she comes
With the ghost of a smile
And she runs
Through his eyes for a while
Days turn
There’s empty ground somewhere
Bring the gods
Line them up one by one
Turn the coin
Sound the fife and the drum
Rake it down
Till kingdom comes back here

There’s a rise, there’s a fall
Where the light hits the wall
Spins a Shadow
There’s a rise, there’s a fall
Where the light hits the wall
Spins a…

Cut him down
From that old poplar tree
Break the cord
But he’s looking at me
There’s a cold wind
Blowing down through the meadow
He’s the dark
Where the day has been bleeding
The ink
This place has been needing
You close the door
But it still casts a Shadow

There’s a rise, there’s a fall
Where the light hits the wall
Spins a Shadow
There’s a rise, there’s a fall
Where the light hits the wall
Spins a…

Even gods do
Even gods
(There’s a rise, there’s a fall)
Even gods do
Even gods
(There’s a rise)
There’s a rise, there’s a fall
Where the light hits the wall
Spins a Shadow
There’s a rise, there’s a fall
Where the light hits the wall
Spins a…

Thea Gilmore - Even Gods Do

Rather excitingly, I have an Etsy shop. It’s not much, but maybe it’ll help me actually make some cash!!

Vyktoriah’s Shop

Definitely not a book I would have picked for myself, this was a gift from my husband around Valentine’s Day this year. His assertion of “It looks like something you’d read. You like that historical stuff…” would have put me off of it immediately, except that… well, it was Valentine’s Day, and my husband had just bought me a present. Why would I tell him that it looked like something you’d read in a dentist’s office?

So as not to hurt his feelings, I started the book within a day or two, determined to give it at least a few chapters to get my attention. While it was not the typically engaging story I generally go for, it did have some merit. Most interestingly, the book would have to be classified as an unashamedly MALE oriented story. In the whole book, there are only two women. The first dies within the first ten pages, and only her memory continues on through the book. The second woman shows herself briefly a few chapters in and doesn’t re-emerge until the last quarter!

The actual plot revolves around an ex-monk named Petrus who is framed for a murder he didn’t commit and becomes a shipmate for a band of kind-hearted thieves. Together they wind up entwined in a plot involving the Pope, a pauper Prince and The Vault of Bones, which holds the entire history of Jesus Christ.

It is not an easy book to recommend, and the twisty plot doesn’t lend itself to easy reading, but as a bathtub or bedtime book, it is a good read.

The Vault of Bones by Pip Vaughan-Hughes - 7/50 in 2008

I have been really getting in to Neil Gaiman lately. I remember various conversations over the years with various people who recommended reading Neverwhere to me, but I suppose I associated him with comic books I had no intention of reading, which put me off.

One day, last October, I was sent to London for work, taking with me a co-worker who had never had the pleasure of using the Tube alone. I didn’t particularly get on with this gal, and I wasn’t looking forward to trekking across the city with her in tow. I was especially not looking forward to an entire day at Emirates Stadium sitting with her working at a job faire. My reservations proved accurate, as by the end of the day I could have thrown her onto the tracks with no qualms. However, sitting in Highbury & Islington station, the girl made a comment which proved to be the best thing about the day. She remarked, “I can’t ever see the Underground the same way after reading Neverwhere. Everything seems so much more magical here.”

My incredulity knew no bounds, as everyone knows that London is a dirty filthy place, and the underground is like the colon of the city! Could there really be a book that would make it all bright and shiny and full of pixie dust? If so, it would be worth reading. I mentally earmarked the book for future purchase. However, it wasn’t until I saw Star Dust at the cinema that I really started to wonder about this Gaiman fellow.

I bought and read Neverwhere in January of this year. I literally read it in a day, as I was absolutely enamoured with the characters. Door is quite possibly my favourite new literary heroine. She’s got spunk! She walks the line between being a damsel in distress, needing poor Richard Mayhew to help her out of sticky situations, and a kick-ass, take-no-prisoners Woman.

The book is filled with quintessential characters of good (Door and Richard Mayhew), bad (Croup and Vandemar) and ambiguous (The Marquis de Carabas). It keeps you guessing until the very end, and even then, when the book is read and put away on the shelf, you start to wonder if there isn’t more to it.

Neil Gaiman expertly navigates the reader throughout two co-existing worlds in this book, and I know that the next time I’m in London, I will definitely see things very differently.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - 6/50 in 2008

The book known as “The Golden Compass” in the US was something I hadn’t heard of until the movie came out. To my shame, I became one of those pseudo-well-read gals who needed Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman to get her interested in a book.

Having seen the trailer at the cinema a few months ago, I was interested in the story, as it reminded me of other such fantasty-based stories as Narnia, Lord of the Rings and The Wizard of Oz. And though I tried to get back to see it before it left theatres, I never actually got around to it. So I did the next best thing. I happened upon it in the local Tesco.

Though the book started out a bit slowly, I was enamoured with Lyra from the get-go. Her character charmed me, though perhaps that is because in her simultaneous tom-boyishness and complete female-minded logic reminded me of my own childhood. The book could have been an endearing story of one child’s imagination, and I think I would have liked it fine. But Pullman took it one step further, incorporating themes from every major fantasy one could think of, including themes originally found in The Bible.

The book is a richly woven tapestry, each thread, no matter how tenuous, becoming part of the incredible tale. There is major conflict within the book, not only between warring tribes, families or characters, but between worlds! And most incredibly between children and adults.

The book is definitely a must-read, and I can only look forward to the next one. I can only hope that when I eventually get around to seeing the movie, it does justice to the novel.

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman - 5/50 in 2008