Well, it's Friday, and I said I would post, so here it is. I slacked (a lot) on the exercise this week. And by that I mean I did a couple exhaustion tests with one of my friends on Monday so that we could gauge were we are for a fitness program (yeah, bodyweight exercises). Beyond that, I did about five minutes of yoga while watching old episodes of Buffy last night. So, the fitness train has currently been delayed.
In other news, my family has a puppy! We are now the owners of a 9 week old Irish wolfhound. And I get to see him tonight. Which means you all get to see him in my next post. I'm thinking about taking the puppy for a run tomorrow to see how much I retained from my few weeks of regular workouts.
On the subject of working out, my body is doing this weird thing of losing fat but not changing weight. It's strange and I have no idea how to deal with it, but I enjoy that my clothes fit better now. At least things are changing.
This past Wednesday was Lammas, Lughnasadh, what-have-you. Feast of the grain harvest, beginning of the harvest season, and the shift into the declining half of the year (declining rather than dark, Earth-centered rather than solar). Here, we eat of the grain god/dess and start setting aside reserves for the long nights ahead. We decided to celebrate together potluck-style over at Nymphaea's place. There we had a feast of savory delights (all centered around grain). I brought a spicy Asian-style honey-chicken dish served over rice, Nymphaea cooked red beans and rice, her roommate cooked corn, there was pie and bread and green beans and beer. We ate with our ancestors, our gods, our community, and the land itself as we took place in this ancient rite, feasting in a place that is just slightly beyond the ordinary.
Everything was wonderful, the cats were adorable, and the only bad part of the night was saying goodbye. Everyone there wanted it to continue forever, but the time came when we had to bid our spiritual guests farewell and step back into our normal lives. It was bittersweet, with much affection felt from both sides, and promises made to meet again soon. It was as profound and moving as could be expected, but it was even more meaningful in its simplicity. We came together as friends and family to share our food and our warmth, and all of the spirits there wanted the same thing, the warmth and laughter and food all around. I'll try to get some pictures from Nymphaea, but if that's not possible, I'll let you know when she posts them.
Until next time, my friends.
