Well it happened. I thought I would never walk down this road again, but never say never I guess. While doing some research on different Beltane traditions for our then upcoming Sabbat Service for the Goddess Temple that we belong to, I found an interesting custom once honored in what is now Northern Italy. During Beltane, a young man would present flowers to one he wished to wed. If she accepted the flowers, then their engagement would officially began. So once I finally decided to do it and now I knew when and how, I just needed to add all the details. For several weeks, I worked on what I would say, and would I would have read at the service. I wanted to write up something for our friend Kathy to read, to describe this giving of flower tradition. I wanted everyone to know about what they were about to see when I did it. We usually have several readings at our services, describing the meanings behind the sabbat. And since Kathy is the one who introduced us a year and a half ago, and since it is not unusual for her to do readings, I knew she would be the perfect choice. But I also needed something for me to say. And right from the beginning, I knew I wanted to lead into my proposal with a poem. But not just a poem I found somewhere, I would need to write one. Not a small undertaking for this very non-poetic person. While working on all that, I was also frantically looking for a ring. I knew I wanted something with Celtic knot work and a solitaire. But where to find it? I looked around online and found lots of really nice rings. But almost all of them were made in Ireland and I didn't have much time left. I went to a local Irish Importer. They carry gifts, food and jewelry all straight from Ireland. Unfortunately they don't stock diamond engagement rings in their little store. I don't know why I thought they might. And guess where they get their rings from? Yep, same place as everyone else. They called the manufacturer in Dublin and they said there was no way they could do it in less than 4-6 weeks and I was down to three! So I spent another week of trying to figure out what do to. Then I found another website, based out of New Mexico. http://www.artisanweddingrings.com/index.php While they also said 4-6 weeks on there site, they did say to call if you needed it faster even if it was only a few weeks. Well at that time I was down to 2 weeks to go. I gave them a call and he talked with the artist (they are handmade) and they were just to busy to do anything better than 3 weeks. I was crushed. Do I wait and do it without a ring or do I settle for something I could find in time? It only took me about 30 minutes to decide I wasn't going to settle for anything this time. It was too important to get what she would really want and I hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed when they time came and I didn't have a ring. So I ordered this: Then I spent the final two weeks tweeking my speech, poem and Kathy's reading. The last couple days found me running around buying and hiding things like roses, champagne, goblets, etc. I also met several times with Kathy and other accomplices from our coven, working out my plans for the big day. Kathy and another friend, Linda, braided a temporary promise ring out of ribbons and I needed to give them all the stuff I needed to have, but couldn't let Sheila see. Finally the morning of the service was here. I kept telling people all week that I wasn't nervous and I really wasn't. But the closer that it got to the moment of truth the more nervous I got. I had practiced my reading and my poem a thousand times and I could do it without reading and without screwing up most of the time. It shouldn't be a problem, unless I freeze up at the last second. When we were getting ready to leave I got a call from Kathy telling me that the Pavilion that we have been using for over 6 months was already taken! It has a fireplace and it secluded and perfect for our rituals. Some group had grabbed it up early for a birthday party and they had all the tables covered with their stuff. We feel connected to that place and we were planning on using an existing tree on the site for our May Pole. All this looked in jeopardy. Not only was the whole pavilion taken but the ford across the river right before the pavilion was washed out and closed. This was not looking good. While we were trying to figure out where to move the service and how to inform everyone who was going and do it all in the 1 1/2 hours we had until our scheduled start time, I got another call from Kathy saying they talked with the birthday party and they agreed to share half the pavilion with us!! I was thrilled, but jokingly wondered if they knew who they just invited to share their pavilion with. :D They next obstacle was finding a detour (cause there were no signs posted) around the ford. And just before I got there the water receded and the ford was opened. Thank you Goddess! So after a rough start, things were back on track. We got there and had to stall with starting the service. Sheila and I had both invited our families (I told her my Mom, liked the last service for Ostara, and maybe her family would like to see what we do for Beltane) and they were running late. When everyone arrived, we started the service. First we had eight people walk out to the may pole (tree) and tie a flower to the end of each streamer to weigh it down and hold it out and untangled. Then we walked back and Kathy did her opening blessing and a reading about Beltane. Then when I realized she had gotten to the part that I had wrote for here, I really began to get nervous. I felt a cold sweat starting and my heart was trying to beat itself free. And then she finished and looked over at me..............It was on... I stepped out and said my first line and froze. Uh Oh. I laughed told everyone I had practiced this a lot but would feel better if I held the paper in my hands. I took out a sheet of paper from my back pocket and read the first line again, took a deep breath and folded it up and went on. I got through mine and Sheila's introduction, since this was a public service, I wasn't sure if everyone knew us. I also thanked everyone for being there because it was going to be a very special day. I told everyone that I had written a little poem that I wanted to recite. Here is the poem:

On this day, of long ago When Beltane fires burned so bright. The Goddess sang and danced with them, Her children honored the great rite. Flowers were presented For promises given. Handfastings cemented With ladies in waiting. Now comes this day, Beltane once more, As Mother Earth springs forth anew. I have come with a gift of roses and I do have a question for you

As I finished my poem, my daughter and Sheila's sister stepped out with a dozen roses each to present to her. One with red and the other with white, the colors of beltane. Sheila then burst out in tears. Not just tears, full on crying. I heard several other sniffles in the crowd too. My Mom told me even my stepfather even had a tear in his eye. :) I then said a few special words to Sheila telling her what she means to me and how much I truly love her, and then in my black cloak and wreath of leaves on my head, I knelt down and asked her if she would" do the honor of marrying me, and being my Goddess forever" She didn't even wait for me to finish the whole sentence when, between sobs, she said yes! She raised me up and we hugged for a few minutes. Then Kathy came up and pulled the promise ring she had made for her from her pocket and gave it to me. I asked if she would accept it as a promise ring as her actual ring is still being made and won't arrive for another week. I did have a picture for her to see, though. She loved the ring that was made for her and has kept it with her since I put in on her finger. She never expected an actual ring right away, and is thrilled and surprised that she will have one soon. And she says it's perfect, just what she always wanted. Yayyyyy!!!! After all the hugging and congratulations we were crowned King and Queen of May and led the dance around the May Pole, intertwining the red and white ribbons all the way down the trunk of the tree. It was a perfect day! Sunny, breezy, and just beautiful. She loved the whole thing and I was beyond happy that I pulled it off and it made her happy. I did get my part on video, but it's not very good. I gave my phone to my brother, but he wasn't very close. If you turn up the sound you can here most of what I say. There were other people taping there, I will post those when I see them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxeo4rEu69A And here a few pics from the day. I will have more later of the two of us, when people send them to me. Sheila and her Mom Our Cake The Ring Arthur and Kathy Our Pavilion More Pavilion Pavilion Guess what? Sheila's Aunt The Happy Couple

So a few days before last weekend Sheila and I decided to pack up and go see the falls. Sheila had never been to Niagara before and I had only been there twice. Mapquest said it was 3 hours and 45 minutes. So we first thought we'd just make a day trip out of it, leave Saturday morning and come back Saturday night. But at the last minute we decided to stay the night and maybe see the falls all lit up after dark. So we got a room at the Holiday Inn in St. Catherines, a city about 10 miles North of the falls and the rest of the tourist traffic. We left Saturday around 8am. Weather was cloudy and threatening to rain, with a high expected around 45. It wasn't supposed to get real warm all weekend, but hopefully the rain would stay away. We crossed into Canada at Buffalo over the Peace Bridge at about noon. We went through customs without even being asked for our driver's license, much less my birth certificate that I took an hour to find. The last time I went to Windsor a few years back, I was almost turned back because I didn't bring a birth cert. Damn and I left all the contraband at home. LOL. After checking into the hotel we jumped in the car and headed for the falls. First stop was going to be the new Niagara Casino. It took us a few minutes to find it, since none of the buildings of the Casino and it's neighbors were there the last time I was visiting. But of course, there was not any reasonable parking any where nearby. We ending up parking about 1/3rd of a mile downhill at the base of the Skylon Tower. We hiked over to the casino to check it out. I haven't been to Niagara in almost 10 years, so the casino and all the other things around it were new to me to. There was a pretty impressive fountain and statuary inside at the casino entrance. We walked through the casino but didn't play anything. The tables were pretty full and neither of us like slot machines. We decided to save our money for food and souvenirs, instead. :-) The falls were nice, as always. It was still a little chilly. There was a lot of ice in the river below the falls. The jet boats and Maids of the Mist were all still in dry dock. We got a bunch of nice pics in and bought a few things at the gift shop. Then we headed back up the hill to our car. On the way to the parking lot we saw a line for the Niagara 3D/4D movie at the base of the Skylon. The movie was about to start so, we bought some tickets and got in line. The movie was in 3D, complete with the goofy glasses. But you could also feel the movie! Everytime we flew over the falls you could feel wind in your face and when you would go into the mist you could feel that too. I'm pretty sure we got crapped on by some seagulls somewhere along the way, too. haha. Well I've got more to share, including the huge Buddhist Temple and Stupa we found, but I will have to get to it a later. Ok, well I figured out my photo problem from the last blog post. I fixed all those pictures and have a bunch of new ones to add. Lets see, where did I leave off? After our walk around the falls area we decided to hit the hokey tourist area, other wise known as Clifton Hill. If you've never been there, Clifton Hill is a road on a steep hill that is just loaded with the cheesiest of all tourist traps, from Dracula's Horror Museum, to Guiness Book Museum, Ripley's Museum and scores and scores of t-shirt and trinket shops. We had to hit the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. It had the cooliest looking building. I can't believe we didn't think to take a picture of it. We bought our tickets for about $13 a piece and prepared ourselves to be amazed. :p While not that amazing, it was amusing. Here's some pics. This Buddha was made from $3 million in shredded bills and is supposed to be good luck to rub it......Yes, of course we did. :) In the stocks! Someone was a very bad girl. It's a little cramped but I think I could shoot the falls in this thing. And the obligatory unicorn. After the thrills and excitement of the Ripley's museum we strolled down the hill and checked out a few souvenier shops and bought some things for family at home. We even got yelled at for breaking the silly no camera rule at one store. Apparently they don't want their competitors to know they all have exactly the same crap. haha. Here is the offending image. By then we had been walking around for sometime and getting tired and hungry. We decided to get to the car and head back to the hotel and get some dinner. We had a nice dinner at a place called Kelsey's. It seemed like Canada's version of Fridays. But it was good and just across the street from our room. After a day of driving and walking we decided to stop being tourists for a while and go back to our room. :D Nuff said... The next day we got up early and headed down to the restuarant. We were the only ones in there at 7am on a Sunday, so it was nice and quiet. We had the place to ourselves! Breakfast was yummy. We finished up and then packed our things and checked out. We headed back to the Falls to get one last look and to make an offering to the river. We had a stick of insense (air) and a rose (earth) to add to the Falls (water) representing the three elements that created the falls and is still shaping them. Sorry we didn't take any pictures then either. You'll have to take my word for it, that it was very nice. After we said goodbye to the Falls, we drove down the road next to the river for a bit. I was looking for the Whirlpool I had heard was down stream a bit. We ended up not going far enough to find the whirlpool. But we did find a really nice souvenier shop. LOL. It had some great photo oportunities out in front of the store. The cuteformation booth: Throw her a rope! Little Squaw Sitting Pretty Squaw Cutiebutt looks for her Cheif. He's not up there. Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! World largest thimble meets the World's cuties girl. We were about ready to head back home when we found a Buddhist Temple with some amazing stone scultures. The gates were open so we wandered in, armed with our camera phones. :0 Well after all that it was time to head home. It was a fun weekend but it was just an over-nighter. We made it to the border and stopped to shop one more time and the duty free store. We made it back across the border almost as easily as we got out. It only took a few extra seconds as the officer actually asked us for ID this time. Next trip is a few weeks when we go camping. Pics and blog to follow.

Hello all. I have really been slacking on my blogging lately. I just got back from vacation and have a lot to share. No time right now, though. For now, I uploaded some new pics in my gallery. More and stories to follow.

 

 

Hello, bright blessings and merry meet to all. It's great to see lots of activity here. It's always good to have another source of like-minded people to chat with.

I recently went to Convocation in Troy, Michigan. for my first time with my good friend Sandpiper. What a great experience. So many good workshops and so little time. LOL. I wasn't able to get off of work on Friday, so I didn't arrive until about midnight on Friday. Met up with some friends from www.pagannation.com and went out and had a few drinks and then played in the drum circle until it finally broke up after 1:30 or so. The circle was great. A bunch of good musicians and lots of belly dancers. :-)

Got up the next morning (well, more like late morning) and took an Instant Drumming workshop. There was at least 50 people taking the class. Which was basically a facilitated drum circle. I loved it, I can't get enough drum time in.

I also attended a workshop on Intro to Runic Divination. I had an idea to paint some protective bind runes on my bike in a special glow in the dark paint. They would be invisible during the day, but glow green at night. I had no previous experience with Runes beforehand, though. I quickly ran down to the vendor area and bought a set of hand painted hematite runes and got to the class just in time. Class was great. The person hosting it was Rodney Cox and he was very easy to understand and even stayed for a little while afterwards to answer some of my dumb questions. Thanks Rodney. I have continued to study the runes on my own since then. I am reading Edred Thorson's "Rune Casters Handbook, The Well of Wyrd". I started out just wanting to get an idea of what kinds of symbols to paint on my bike and now I can do amateur reading with them.

Made it to a few more great workshops that day and hung out with my friends at Pagan Nation's suite. At 8 o'clock, Chris Penczak lead a Sorcerer's Initiation Ritual. For lack of better words, it was amazing. I have no idea how long it was, because time was meaningless. The ritual even included several short plays to help illustrate the points of the ritual. It ended with a guided meditation through Chris' words and drum rhythms. When it was over my body from the waste down was vibrating like crazy. Funny thing was, when we went up to thank Chris, I heard Sandpiper tell him the same thing! It was a very moving experience.

The rest of the night was kicked off with One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer. With Sandpiper, AJ Drew and myself. Actually it was like a triple shot of Bourbon, triple shot of Scotch and glasses and even walk them to the room). We actually got it all on film too. I don't have the file so I can't upload it here, but you can see it on pagan nation: http://video.pagannation.com/show_video.cgi/parse/70

After the shots and beer warm up we stalked (ie stumbled) around the hotel videoing other acts of silliness. Some never to be seen in public again. lol And dancing, lots an lots of dancing.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend with the best of company. If you can only do one thing in a year, well go to the AJ Drew's Real Witches Ball in Columbus, Ohio. LOL but if you can do two things then you should also go check out Con, I would highly recommend it. Thank you Sandpiper for inviting to yet another awesome experience. Your the best.

Well that's all for now. Until next time. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again.

 

 

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