Happy Samhain!

A new steampunk creation from yours truly!

Since my first "steampunk treasure trunk" actually sold on Steampunk Saints (my Etsy.com store), I was motivated to create another one. And here it is, for your viewing pleasure!



This time I got a little wild and added jewels to the clockworks and clock hands on the outside of the trunk... each of the four clock hands has a different colored jewel. The miniature brass padlock is functional and comes with three tiny brass skeleton keys. How steamy!




But best of all, I actually included TREASURE INSIDE this time! The phrase "tempus fugit" hovers meaningfully over a vintage pocket watch, affixed inside as a visual reminder of times gone by. I don't think it would be too self-congratulatory to admit that I really love this little box, and if anyone buys it I might just be a teensy-weensy bit heartbroken to let it go.

That being said, if you really like it - CLICK HERE.

Growing pains

Recently and somewhat randomly, I looked up someone who used to be my best friend from sixth grade almost through high-school.

The reason I remember the borders of that friendship so well is that what brought us together was her mother's death. My mother started a school library fund in memory of her mother, and I invited her to my church youth group. We became extremely close friends.

Then, in our junior year in high-school, her taste in friends took a swing toward the rich and snobby. She basically dumped me in favor of her new buddies, who drove to school in the brand new BMWs their parents bought them. One of my clearest memories of that time is her literally kicking my shin under the table at lunch for telling a story about a vacation trip she took with my family. She didn't want her new friends to know she hung around with me outside of school.

That's all water under the bridge, of course, and I guess I looked her up to see what thirty years going by had made of her. As it turns out, she is now an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church, as is her husband. She has three children, the oldest is 17, and she has been married for 20 years. She replied to my inquiry in a very friendly way, and we have exchanged a few emails so far.

I feel once again the faith barrier problem that so often happens, especially with people who knew me as the raucously zealous Born-Again Christian that I was when I was growing up. They fully expect me to be the same person I was then (only moreso), and I find myself trying to decide whether to just avoid the topic of spirituality altogether or to go ahead and get it over with, and watch the not-so-gentle decline into non-communication begin.

When I try to explain that I embrace their choices and support them in their faith just as much as I do everyone in their own spiritual path, I always feel as though I'm fighting an uphill battle. Because I came from a Christian background, I know the narrow minded viewpoint, the party line, the "there is only One Right Way and it's This Way" belief system, and I know that hoping for an equal measure of respect for the spiritual path I have chosen is basically pointless.

I think that my life, my personality, my relationships, hobbies, and viewpoints have merit all on their own, without having to be validated by the filter of religion. I have respect for and friendships with people of many differing faiths, Christianity included. But I seem to find reciprocal respect lacking from Christians in general, and Christians that I grew up with in particular. Which has always seemed odd considering some of the main tenets of the faith, such as "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

And so I continue writing to my old friend, waiting to see how long it takes before the old religion axe falls. She certainly seems to have come a long way from the girl I knew in high-school. Perhaps she'll surprise me.

Annnnnnnd guess what I did yesterday?

I was wearing my new jeans while I was out doing errands. When I came home, I decided to put on sweats for hanging around the house in. I walked to my closet, and I TOOK OFF THE PANTS WITHOUT UNBUTTONING OR UNZIPPING THEM!

First I did a happy dance, and then I realized that I just bought two new pairs of jeans that are now too big for me. Bear is losing so much weight lately that maybe I can give the jeans to him.



I just gave the jeans to him... AND THEY FIT! We are two weight-losing machines, yes we are.

Marketing FAIL

While cruising through my nonexistent emails this morning, I decided to visit my junk mailbox just to see what incoming emails would look like.

Amid the oilslick of spam emails was one whose subject line was "Viagra with a twist".

Great marketing, no? In addition to an uncontrollable woody, you now have the option to have your junk facing the wrong way! All alone? Screw yourself!

Something I forgot

In my excitement to get back into yoga-fit shape, I completely forgot about the pain barrier that comes with starting from square one again. Ow. My arms are weak and my body weight is higher than it should be, which makes "pushup position" agony. My neck and shoulders are in serious need of a masseuse. My inner thighs are tight as piano wire, and the stretches hurt like someone is running a razorblade up and down the muscles.




And, much like life, the only answer is to push ahead, keep on doing it, get through and past the pain, until my arms muscle up again and lift me fluidly from pushup position to upward facing dog to downward facing dog. Keep pushing until my torso folds forward over my outstretched legs with ease. Keep unrolling that mat, keep breathing through my nose, keep going until the mental and physical blockages are cleared and my body starts working like a well-oiled machine once more.



Oh, yeah... I got on the scale this morning and I'VE LOST FIVE MORE POUNDS!!! FOR A TOTAL OF 15 POUNDS LOST!!!

Excuse me while I do the happy dance and pat myself on the back.

Regarding goals, kicking ass, and rewards

Admiral Adama and Kara Thrace
Battlestar Galactica

Meet my new inspiration - Kara Thrace, callsign "Starbuck", of the battlestar Galactica. She kicks ass and takes names. She screws stuff up, gets knocked on her ass, and gets back up again. There's something about her that makes you pull for her even when you know she's going down a long hard road and it's her own fault. She's my mental kickstart for this diet and new way of living I'm becoming accustomed to.





I have taken off enough weight now - a little more than ten pounds - that the new pairs of jeans that I bought to wear in Italy are now hanging around my hips. Pretty soon I will be able to take them off without unbuttoning them. I can see my ribcage emerging from the layers of softness I accumulated the past ten years. I can bend over and grab my feet again without a roll of fat making me feel like I can't breathe.





I have a ways to go, yet. My goal is not all about weight. I need to start training. Getting toned and fit again. I can't afford to go back to the gym, although that is where I need to be. So I am going to start by picking up my yoga training again, which I can do at home. With the weight of my body as resistance, I can tone my arms and abs and legs a good deal. I'm hoping that since our town is in the middle of building a brand new YMCA directly across from the gym I used to go to, either the new YMCA will have fantastic rates or the gym I used to go to will drop their rates to remain competitive... either way, it's going to take some time before the new gym is finished, so I need to stop whining about it and get going with my yoga practise.





As with every performance-oriented goal, it's nice to have a reward waiting at the end. I've decided that my gift to myself when I reach my college weight / fitness level is going to be a new pair of tactical boots. The ones I wear now are more than ten years old, and the leather is so worn that it's green instead of black. This reward fits my warrior soul, and will look great with the black BDU pants I'm also planning on acquiring.

Here are the bootsch:

I think my goal reward is pretty modest - only $64 - especially considering the one that Katee Sackhoff (the actress who plays Kara Thrace) got for herself...

Today

Pine forest, Cumiana, Italy

I spent the entire day in the microcosm of my back yard. Sweeping and cleaning, finishing the reclamation of the slate circle. Bundling my potted trees together for the winter in a sheltered place where they will stay warm enough to survive. Brushing sand between the patio bricks where the ants had removed it all. Trimming twankers off the shrubs. Putting mulch down like a thick brown blanket in anticipation of the coming frosty nights.

In neighbor Edoardo's garden, Cumiana, Italy

After all the chores were done, I sat on the almost indecently clean patio and watched the birds and the squirrels enjoy all my hard work. The sun was shining, the breeze was gentle and cool, and the wind chimes were singing a lazy, cheerful tune.

Some of Edoardo's prize fuschias

As the sun went down, I put on a heavy hooded sweatshirt. Bear came outside and we lit a fire in the brazier, and celebrated the arrival of the stars.

My hair still smells like wood smoke.

She's got Bette Davis' eyes

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Jazz music is an intensified feeling of nonchalance,” said playwright Francoise Sagan. Keep that in mind during the coming week, Sagittarius. Whether or not you actually play or listen to jazz, do whatever's necessary to cultivate intensified feelings of nonchalance. It's extremely urgent for you to be blithe and casual. You desperately need to practice non-attachment as you develop your ability to not care so much about things you can't control. You've got to be ferociously disciplined as you transcend the worries and irritations that won't really matter much in the big scheme of things.

Uplifting

Chiesa di San Michele, Italy

Last night I wore my SKINNIER JEANS to work! Not my totally skinny jeans, but my next step down! WOOOOOOOOT! And I breathed all night and everything!

October rust

It's October, my favorite month of the year, and when I should be traipsing around in pumpkin patches and smelling the falling leaves, instead I find myself once again in lockdown mode.

The wonderful job that Bear had is no more. Apparently they lost a major contract and had to cut down on employees, starting with the most recently hired. He was so surprised, hurt, and knocked flat by this turn of events. All his coworkers and managers had been telling him what a great job he was doing, he was helping the company improve by implementing more organized plans for getting things done, and from my side I can tell you what a blessing it was to have two good incomes supporting our household.

Now, when the job market is nearly non-existent (unless you count working at a video store part time for eight bucks an hour), the holidays pressing in on us from every side, he is frantically searching for work. I feel so bad for him, because I know how demoralizing it is to lose a position, even if it "wasn't personal" and due to "downsizing" rather than getting out-and-out fired. And he's overqualified for most of the jobs he applies for - he's like a goldmine of ability and experience, and nobody has a shovel.

Quite frankly, I'm a little pissed off at the cosmos. Which doesn't make any sense, but neither does this constant run of crappy luck we've been having for oh, the past... eight years? At every turn, just when we're starting to get our noses above the water line, the rug gets yanked out from under us and we're flailing again. I've started to get bitter, I can feel it. Any time something good happens, I have the urge to sit back, put my boots up on the coffee table, chew on a toothpick, and say, "Yup, so when's the piano gonna fall out of the sky?"

Outside the hilltop monastery of St. Valeriano

See, maybe I tipped the scales by going on a trip to Italy with my mom. It was just too much fun, too good. Something bad had to happen to make me pay for it. I know that's ridiculous, but that's how it feels. I don't understand why some people are born just rolling around in money, some people get paid millions of dollars for playing a ball game, while others have to bang their heads against the wall their whole life to try and get by, sometimes failing altogether.

I know life isn't fair, but it sure would be nice if things took a big, unfair turn for the better. Just for a change, you know.



Not to leave this post completely on a downer, Bear and I are having good success with the South Beach Diet. Due, in great part, to Bear's wonderful ability to cook delicious food that stays within the boundaries set by the diet. We've got a freezer full of delicious stew, and he just made a batch of chili that would knock you down it's so good... and there are fresh salads, and all sorts of yummy stuff!

He's lost around 20 pounds so far, and I've lost about ten. My trip to Italy set me back a week, so I'm a bit behind him... but we're both looking and feeling better than we have in years. The waistbands of my jeans are learning to breathe again! Soon I will have only one chin! Hurrah! I can finally stop Photoshopping all the pictures of me! 8-) Yes, I do that. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity...

A warm fuzzy

Torino, Italy

At work last night, I handled a flight that was supposed to go across the ocean. They first had problems with their altimeter transponder, and then a short time later reported a generator failure. They requested a deviation to Canada.

At this point in the proceedings, my heart rate and blood pressure did a climb, because while these things in and of themselves do not necessarily mean the pilot would declare an emergency, it could easily turn into one if additional malfunctions or weather came into play.

With the help of my team leaders, I assisted the flight in getting their aircraft information to Canadian customs, delivered a weather report to the pilot regarding their new destination, and handled a phone patch directly from ATC to the flight deck, which allowed the pilot to describe the mechanical problems directly to the head honchos. Everything went smoothly.

To my surprise, as the flight was nearing its new port of call, the pilot called me and asked if he could have my first name, as he wanted to write a letter of thanks to my company. I was completely surprised, but very pleased. I got the okay to give my first name over the air, and did so.

Historically, people who say that they are going to write a thank-you letter usually never do. But that doesn't matter. Being appreciated felt so good, even though I did nothing out of the ordinary. I was just doing my job - but it's nice to know someone on the other side of the microphone thought I did it well.

I'm ba-a-a-ack!

Flying into Torino, Italy

Still slightly jet-lagged, just got through harvesting and storing over 800 photographs taken on my journey. I had a wonderful time, and I am SO glad to be home with my Bear and my keetums again!

We ate sinfully delicious home-cooked meals the entire week (all but one), and hiked in the mountains almost every day to a different castle or chiesa (church) or ruin of some sort. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to visit the church of St. Michele, which was featured in the movie "The Name of the Rose".

The church of St. Michele

Honestly, I've still got a lot of work to do with the photos, so I won't try and cram a bunch in here just yet... I just wanted to say "Ciao!" to my blogiverse friends and let you know I'm still kickin'.

Oh - and some good news! I made my first sale on my Etsy.com website! I sold the Steampunk Treasure Trunk!! WOOOOOT! Full steam ahead!