Kelsey sat on her bed flipping through the photos in the digital frame and trying to remember when they were taken. There were a couple of pictures that she felt she should be able to place, and a couple of them she recognized the place but not the situation. One of them was taken near the second classroom building but she wasn’t sure she knew who it was who was with her, and a lot of them she couldn’t place at all which disturbed her given it was a frame in her side of the dorm, which meant that it was hers, especially as she was in several of them, but it was as though she was looking at a stranger.

She sighed, and set the frame down. The mood Dionne was in she wasn’t going to ask her to help clear up the matter. They’d had another blazing row just before her room mate had gone to class, this one involving Kelsey’s purported change of heart about hosting a party that weekend. She had a test the following Monday so she didn’t want to have a huge crowd of people over and she’d thought Dionne would understand, but to Dionne this was the final straw and she’d had enough. They seemed to be doing nothing but argue lately, about stupid things like dishes, and other chore rotas. A ton of little things that were just mounting up. She found herself more and more seriously considering Isaac’s offer, but she didn’t want to move in with him purely to get away from Dionne, that wasn’t a good reason to move in with someone, and with all the things which were happening with Dionne she wasn’t sure she should subject Isaac to them. She didn’t want to risk the relationship that way. She didn’t want to put him through whatever was going on with her memory. She wasn’t stupid, so why was everything slipping through her mind like this, or was it? Still, this seemed an inordinate length to go to for a practical joke and Dionne wouldn’t have the patience for it.

I like a few elements of this but not the majority. For a free-writing exercise it served it’s purpose, but I think it’s too confusing. I need to get a bit better grounding in the situation.

We’re not really doing a big thing today though because it’s just a few friends who will be here for the normal weekend gaming. Next weekend we’ll have more people around–not sure what we’ll do then. We can’t have a cook out in the fire pit because there’s a burn ban on right now, so unless it gets lifted before next week we’re stuck on that score. Perhaps we can still do cook out food, and maybe put a mini fire in the BBQ and cook marshmallows around that. I haven’t used the BBQ because it was left over from the previous owners and is rather rusty, but just putting fire in it for marshmallows should work better than trying to cook burgers or hot dogs on it.

We’ll have to see what everyone thinks. I miss the fire pit. We used to light it up to get rid of rotten brush from the various trees and from time to time we’d use it for ritual pyres, which have always been great fun, and such a wonderful smell too when you’re burning sage on camphor.

He says he’s not worried about it; but I can’t help but feel outmatched on this score.

He’s not the sort of guy who really likes sports gifts, and while I probably will get him a video game it seems like a bit of a “cop out”. I remember having people on forums actually extolling me as a perfect girlfriend because I’d bought my husband the SPAWN video game one Valentine’s and they’d received plush toys or scented body wash. If it’s what he wants I shouldn’t feel as though I’m not doing so well with it. I think I screwed things up for myself getting him a punching bag when we were first going out. I really don’t have to try and out do myself or him…I think it’s just performance issues.

My brother-in-law and his future wife, are pagans as well, but they celebrate a more Nordic tradition to my Celtic, so we’ve been sharing with each other different traditions and some I think I will be adopting for future events, especially the blessing of the meat tradition.

I generally give a minor thanks when cooking something, but what they did was before the “roast beast” as we call it went in the oven anyone who wished gathered around with their hands over the meat, and each of us gave a pledge of ways we were going to try and make our environment better and asked for some thing back in return. It’s sort of a give/get scenario. This is what I’m going to do for you in the hopes that you will thank me in return by allowing something to happen.

So, we each went around, my BIL pledged to be more proactive in recycling and thanked the gods for allowing them to keep their jobs in the unstable financial industry and we went around. I pledged to actually FIND our recycling bin and sort out when it was supposed to be picked up and to make a start on the garden that Kore and I have been planning, in the hopes that I would be thanked by being able to find a job.

I’m going to introduce this tradition at our next “feast” which will be on Christmas Day itself. I’m doing a roast beef, rather than ham, but it’s still an offering from the Gods, which can be an offering to the Gods as well.

We joke that perhaps someone died upstairs because there was a suspicious stain on the padding and all the carpet had been ripped up, but you never know if that might be right or not, so we made sure to do lots of cleansing rituals when we first moved in. We’re going to do another one once Kore gets back from her mini vacation as we get things set up and painted and can even put some protective symbols on the doors and windows. It’s a long process but it’ll be worth it in the long run.

I AM THANKFUL:

For the wife who says it’s hot dogs tonight,
Because she is home with me and not out with someone else.

For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato,
Because is home with me and not out in bars.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes,
Because it means she is at home, not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party,
Because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug,
Because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work,
Because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,
Because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government,
Because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,
Because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill,
Because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key,
Because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing,
Because it means I have clothes to wear.

For the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,
Because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,
Because it means I am alive.

What are you thankful for?