Howdy, my besom-buddies!

Well, this past Monday ('cause I wasn't about to deal with the bloody tourists!)
me and my mom drove all the way down to Pella [Iowa] for the afternoon a couple
days after the end of the Tulip Festival (missing my dog, Abby, the whole time,
because she had to be left at home...and, I'm such a worrier, anyway, 'cause
she's my baby, after all!). So, at Pella I took skags of pix., and shopped a
bit as well. At one store, in particular, called Funky Junque on Franklin St.
(in downtown across from the Verneer Windmill, on the *apposite* side of the
street) I found one of the coolest items, *ever*: a ceramic Cauldron with a
metal hanger resting atop a lovely metal tripod!!! I knew, at first sight, that
it *must* be mine! (Hmmm...I wonder if a Witch can actually own *too* many
Cauldrons?) I've simply never seen anything like it, before! I just wish that
I knew a method or two to clean the bit of rust from the hanging do-dad, and the
slight "tarnish" from off'a the tripod "thingy". As soon as I get my new PC
I'll definately post a couple pix. with my new find at the foreground of my
Altar to Morrighan. :o) It was also, here, that I found a lovely pewter vase
(or so I was told, anyway), of about the perfect height (because I didn't want
anything behind Her that took any attention away from the Holy idol of the
Goddess). As soon as I got home I walked to the old residence of Granny and
Poppy (my great grand parents on my mom's side, long-since gone) and cut several
boughs of lilacs to flood the vase; so, now She has a lovely spray of lilacs
behind Her, framing Her, and perfuming my entiure bedroom! Ah....it's simply a
divine fragrence. *G* Though, when my newly bought crimson red Echinacea
blooms, She's be surrounded by a lovely Otherworld red flowery flame!

I only spent $21 on the Cauldron/tripod, and I'm fairly certain that if I had
bought it anywhere else that I would have paid at least 3 times that amount.
Not sure what to do with it, yet, other than "looking pretty"! LOL! Right now
I've got a yellow pillar candle in it, in preperation for Midsummer. And,
hopefully my calendula will be ready to cut so that I can place it in my new
vase, too, for the celebration. Can you imagine how lovely She would look for
Midsummer with gold candles about, a spray of yellow flowers behind, and a
lovely yellow pillar candle at the forfront? :o) *le sigh* Though, when mom's
stargazer lilies are up again this year (it's their third year; in fact, they
have gotten so huge that many of the stalks are as big as a freaking septre!),
they'll look gorgious at Her altar as an offering, and will probably impart such
a heady fragrence that my room is bound to become pleasently nauseating. Heh
heh heh... Of course, I must remember to clip the stamens so they won't
accidentally stain Her idol! That would be an unfortunate mistake!

I also bought my Dad a chocolate eclair for his birthday (which was last Sunday)
from a brilliant bakery that's been around since the very early 1900s, if I
recall correctly: Jaarsma Bakery. An item that I bought for myself was one of
their Poppy Seed Almond Cream Cakes. YUM-O!!! It had the PERFCT "crumb" (as
chefs would say); fluffy and delectible; the perfect flavor (not too sweet...it
was JUST right); and it was so pale for something having been baked; there was
no brown coloring on the outside to even lead one to note any baking signatures!
It was so delicious, in fact, that I'm seriously considering asking them for the
recipe, if they wouldn't mind. It would be PERFECT and oh-so-appropriate for
the Rites of Autumn! *drool* Mom bought herself something like a cinnamon role
that was, she said, just like Granny used to make (she was, apparently, an
awesome baker): it was buttery and, like my own treat, "not too sweet".

Hey, speaking of food, I can't wait until my lemon balm's mature so I can start
cooking with it! I already have two ideas in mind: lemon balm short bread
cookies, and white chocolate-lemon balm ice cream (if I can find me a cheap
electric ice cream maker!). What do you think? :o) Never thought of white
choc. ice cream, before. *shrugs*

Sadly, we ran afoul a wee bit of misfortume while shopping. We went into a shoe
store, 'cause I've been in desperate need of some new shoes for a very long
time. Well, I found a nice pair of shoes that neither me or mom could think
cost more than $20, though I would have gone as high as $40 (max.!). Well, I
should have known that something was amiss, because there were absolutely NO
prices listed for any of their merchandice, because when we got to the register,
my shoes ended up costing $100!!!!!!!!! DAMN!!! I nearly had a heart-attack
right then and there. Now, according to someone my mom works with at the
nursing home, all of Pella's very common necessities are drastically over-priced
without any prices usually being listed, which is rather unusual for a college
town! Mom's co-worker told her that she needed some new socks quit badly while
she was visiting, and picked up a pair of the plainest and most simple socks you
could imagine, and found that they were $15 when she brought them up to the
register! Again, I should have suspected something when I noticed how fine and
expensive-looking even the buildings of their local gas station and McDonalds
were. It seems like a horribly expensive town, especially when compared to Des
Moines and other local cities. And here I was, meandering about, thinking what
a beautiful city this would be to live in, and study at, until I saw the bloody
cost of living. Yikes!

At least I found some great, and inexpensive stuff, though. Funky Junk also had
an actual antique old Victorian apothecary bottle for sale for what seemed like
a reasonable price: $21. I wasn't about to buy it, though. Don't get me wrong,
I love items of that style. However, I wasn't about to pay that price for a
single bottle. Besides, I need several identicle bottles/ jars for my store of
herbs, extracts and tinctures, etc.; this one was simply too large; and it came
with a portion of an original lable from the period that I wouldn't have had the
heart to remove or cover up. Oh, this store also had some fabulous antique
toasters, too! They're the kind hat are sort of triangular-shaped and you
simply plop the bread into the sides of it. If I'd had more money I might have
bought one, regardless of mom telling me that they catch fire easily. I could
surely find someone to "modernize" its wiring, etc. in this regard, I'm sure.

So, we walked around town, and as the day wore on, I got a slight sunburn
(pining, in retrospect, for some calendula/ marshmallow-infused vinigar, after
the fact), and the sun became so warm that it made me a little ill. I just
became extremely nauseated and queezy in the stomach. Thankfully it did not
cause a full blown attack of Meniere's Disease! Whew... At least I got some
kick ass pix. in the end. Near the end of June we're going to the Trek Fest in
Riverside Iowa (the future birth place of Cap. James T. Kirk of the USS
Enterprise). They're going all out, this year, having a huge Trekkie festwith
stars from the original: the actors who played Chekov, Ulhura, and Sulu (the
latter, you may recall, is openly Gay). Unfortunately, I found that you have to
buy a ticket and pay a fee to be able to get a signed autograph, or to have a
pic. taken with one of 'em. What a rip off! ;o)

Okie dokie, kids, I must get back to some serious TV-watching, now. One of my
favorite movie's on: Snow White: A Tale of Terror. I love that mirror! The
medieval Germans (even to this day) have always been brilliant wood carvers.
And, who knew that Sigouney Weaver could sing? It's a huge leap from her most
famous line (it's a fav. of mine, anyway), "Get away from her you bitch!" LOL!

Take Care,
Wade