Sisters...

For the longest time after my friendship with "Angel" ended, I thought perhaps I would never have such a friendship in my life again. Angel's frustrations with my behaviour (and her serious lack of knowledge regarding mental illness) led her to attack my character* and verbally vomit every single character flaw that pissed her off. Struggling with depression and self-loathing at the time, I took it all to heart, and for a while I truly believed that I was incapable of being a good friend to anyone. *Now here I must pause and address the fact that although Angel attacked my character, she did it directly to me. From what I can gather from bits and pieces of information that I learned over the years, I truly believe that she NEVER talked smack about me to other people behind my back after the fact. I recently had an e-mail conversation with a mutual acquaintance, Fleur, who has remained very close to her over the years. Fleur didn't even have a clue that Angel and I haven't spoken in years.

I still longed for female friends, and I also longed for a local coven to practice with. I finally found the Silver Roan Circle and went for coffee with MoonRaven (Créations Jessy) and WestWinds. We clicked instantly, but even after that I had a final struggle with depression that I had to get through before I would finally attend a Full Moon Ritual with them in the Spring of 2011. It took some effort on my part to get past the depression, and even on the night of the ritual I almost didn't go...I am so glad I did. As I began to practice regularly with them and get to know them outside of circle as friends I in turn began to blossom. In the summer 2011, another beautiful soul, Canu Sidhe, came into our lives and into our circle, and the bond with her is equally strong. I am so happy that I bit the bullet and fought through my depression to attend that first ritual even though I didn't feel like leaving the house because these women have become Sisters to me in every way. We have known each other for only a very short time, but it's as if we've known each other forever...it's hard to even remember what life was like without them!

Rambles and Miscellany

So I've pretty much been in deep-hibernation mode for the better part of this winter! I celebrated Yule and Christmas at Mom's. My sister and her husband were in from Michigan, and I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could, so the kids and I stayed at Mom's for about a week and a half. The kids and I returned to our house on December 28th, which is when my deep winter "slumber" really kicked in. Since Dec. 28th I've only been away from my home a total of 4 times - and only because those outings were for Dr. appointments, and to help Zach with a presentation at school!

The good news is that despite the fact that Old Man Winter is still holding on tight, I am starting to feel like a human being once again (as opposed to feeling like a big, grumpy grizzly bear). I think my Spring Fever has started to kick in a little prematurely -- I'm dying to be able to get started with the gardening. I would like to start some more seeds indoors, but I really don't have a suitable place with adequate lighting to keep the flats. Eventually, I'd like to get a proper shelving unit designed for incubating seeds and young seedlings. But for now, I need to either come up with a creative (inexpensive) solution, or wait until it's safe to plant the seeds directly outdoors.

"Old McDonald..." according to Mykah

So, Mykah has his very own version of the song "Old McDonald":

"Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O!
...and he had a cow... moo-moo, moo-moo-moo...
...and he said YEE-HAW!"

Needless to say, Mommy ended up doubled-over in hysterical laughter.
Gotta love kids.

Possible new addition...

We may be getting a new addition to our family. Her name is Charlotte , and she is an Irish Wolfhound mix. I met her today, and she is such a sweetheart. She's very calm, very friendly. Also, she totally looks like a wolfhound, but she's about the size of a Golden Retriever. We're going to foster her on a trial basis before making the decision to adopt her. I'm so excited.