Ready for the Economic Blackout

February 28, 2025February 27, 2025 Leave a comment

Hello! By the time this is posted, it’ll be February 28th, the date of the US Economic Blackout put forth by The People’s Union USA. While a few key companies are the targets, participants are being asked to pause all discretionary spending for the day or, if that’s not possible, to only support small, local business.

My Handsome Assistant and I knew this was coming up, but it didn’t really take much to prepare. It mostly entailed making sure we have enough food to cook for the day. It’s a workday and we work remotely, so we’re probably just gonna do what we do on most Fridays — pasta, video games, guitar, and books. Maybe watch a horror movie or two.

I did end up deleting the Nextdoor app about this. It already wasn’t great about sending me notifications about things I actually wanted to see (messages sent directly to me, for example), but unfailingly showed me every absolutely dipshit hot take about the blackout and I was a hair’s breadth from saying something actionable. I’m not trying to go to jail for fistfighting some pudding-faced guy named Duke in my front yard over his undying devotion to Amazon.
That’s just no way to spend a weekend.

A fangy-toothed cat sleeping upside down. — *I have no idea what image would be appropriate for this sort of post, but all of the blogging guides say I need to have one. So, here’s a sleepy chunk.*

My Handsome Assistant and I have also been paring back our spending in general already, partially because it’s become increasingly difficult to shop in good conscience, partially to prepare in case someone ends up out of work, and partially to avoid “lifestyle creep.” It’s been a whole Thing of deleting social media accounts, cancelling various subscriptions, and migrating to providers that are somewhat less objectionable. Inconvenient, yes, but I’m feeling pretty optimistic about it.
Even if I wasn’t, it’s just the kind of spite that I gleefully latch onto on like a starving lamprey, so I’m gonna feel all warm and fuzzy inside either way.

I’m not a minimalist by any means, though I fully support those who feel happy and fulfilled with that lifestyle. I do enjoy the challenge of No Buys, mainly because I really like developing new skills (and learning to make things is something that I feel like everyone should get more of). This year, I’m doing a clothing No Buy. I have items I actually do need, so I’m making an allowance for limited secondhand items like jeans and boots, but everything else I have to make (or repair, dye, etc.) myself. I have one or two very specific niche items that have been on my list since last year, and they’re handmade from small businesses, so they’re the only new articles that I may allow myself when the time comes. Otherwise, if I want something that badly, I’ve gotta learn the skills necessary to make it.

I want to do a No Buy for house things in general, but we’re moving a bunch of stuff around and have a whole other room to furnish into usability, and not enough other furniture to do so. So, there’s probably a bunch of thrift store hunting and scraping Buy/Sell/Trade listings in our future until that’s handled.

I’m also Project Panning all of my personal care items, mainly because I have a small bathroom and want to keep products to a minimum. (To be fair, my Handsome Assistant is a bit more of an offender here than I am. The man is absolutely Johnny Bravo about his hair.) This’ll let me see what I actually need, what’s redundant, and what manufacturers produce the products I use the most often. For example, I’ve found that I like Narayan Gel better than Tiger Balm.
I’m also not sure how to feel about the fact that I’ve become the kind of person who has strong opinions about muscle rub.

Even if you aren’t able to pause all of your spending today, there are things you can do to make your impact felt. You matter, and so do the goods and services you consume. The more you actively try to support small, local businesses, the more of your money stays in your community, supporting things that directly impact your daily life. Megacorps are cheap and convenient, but this is subsidized by the exploitation of their workers and suppliers. Bezos and the Waltons don’t need any more of your money, but your community does.

Happy (Very Belated) Yule and New Year! Sort of.

January 6, 2025January 5, 2025 2 Comments

Hello, I haven’t forgotten about you (collectively) or gotten bored with writing here or anything. Mainly I’ve just been massively preoccupied with carving little guys out of wood to the point that most of my fingers aren’t working as they should and typing has become somewhat of a challenge.

@holly circling: "Feeling so sorry for anyone who thinks art is just content made for consumption. Sorry you can't communicate in ways that aren't a conversation with your boss. Sorry you never made a little guy out of clay and felt his soul enter the universe through your fingertips." — I resonate strongly with this. In fact, I become intractable if I’m made to go too long without creating weird little guys.

The actual day of the solstice passed uneventfully for us, as it often does. It’s the shortest day and darkest night of the year, and, since it isn’t widely observed in the US, my Handsome Assistant (who has been assisting me handsomely by doing things like opening jars and turning doorknobs until my hands work again) didn’t have time off.

We did exchange gifts this holiday season — a kilt, a book he’d wanted, and a small sculpture for him, and a fancy new lyre and a small sculpture for me. We also followed our annual tradition of eating pie and watching horror movies.

Theoretically, Yule should be about anticipation. About hope. The shortest day and coldest night give way to gradually lengthening days as the sun makes its gradual return. It’s been kind of hard to feel hopeful, though, for reasons I probably don’t need to enumerate here. If there is, it’s in the form of a brewing tension before a crisis point.

Shit feels a bit fucked, really. If you haven’t exactly been filled with Yuletide wonder and hope, you aren’t alone. But that’s okay. In the words of a friend of mine, “hope is poison. Spit it out and fight.”

If you don’t have the energy for all the “new year, new me” stuff, you’re not alone either. Save it. There are enough other battles to fight. Sow an edible plant. Reskill. Learn to make one inexpensive, shareable meal really well. I know I kind of harp on it, but these are very small things that contribute to the resilience of you, your family, and your community.

Here’s hoping for a return of strength and light to all of us, as the days grow warmer and brighter. I’ll return with a much more fun post about finding weird little mushrooms tomorrow.

life · Neodruidry · Witchcraft

Frederick Pagan Pride 2023

September 11, 2023September 10, 2023 J.Leave a comment

It’s just this past Saturday, and my Handsome Assistant and I pull up to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Frederick, MD. The friendly young people attending the lot tell us there aren’t any parking spaces left. We’ll have to go to the lot a mile down the road, they direct us, and take the shuttle.

Personally, I’m shocked. It’s only a quarter past ten, how could the lot be full already?

A rustic pendant made of copper, quartz crystall, and azurite malachite on a copper chain.

They weren’t kidding, though. Even the other lot was filling up, and the shuttle was almost completely full as we rode back. The grounds themselves were ringed with vendors, information booths, and more — there was Tempered Raven, who hand-forges beautiful blades There were so many booths of jewelry (I bought a beautiful quartz, azurite malachite, and copper necklace from Unclaimed Treasures). There were herbs, incenses, soaps, pottery, handmade brooms and whisks, woodcarvings, altar supplies, and amazing desserts. There was even free coffee, tea, and cold brew from the awesome people at Stone Circle Council (check them out — they do some very cool things).

A handmade ceramic watercolor palette with eight wells. — I also picked up a handmade palette. It’s intended for watercolor, but I’d like to see how it does with casein. Casein paint dries out so fast and softens up with a bit of water, so working with it is a bit more like gouache than acrylic. I’m thinking a glazed surface will be perfect!

There were also loads of workshops and live music. It was busy, it was vibrant, it was great. I always regret not taking more pictures of the event itself, but I always feel a bit odd about snapping pics of people unaware. (Sure, there’s no expectation of privacy in public, but something being legal doesn’t preclude it from being a bit of a dick move, you know?)

The busyness was at once a wonderful sign, and an unfortunate one.

On the one hand, it’s great that events like this are attracting a bigger audience. Aside from vendors of beautiful crafts and delicious food, there are lots of tables for different Pagan, metaphysical, and mystical organizations. If you’re looking for a path to call to you, or people to network with, this is the place to find that thing. In an era where social media has allowed — even encouraged — the proliferation of misinformation that’s unhelpful at best and dangerous at worst (and don’t get me started on AI generated books), it’s really nice that there’s still a wonderful variety of actual organizations dedicated to study and practice.

Last year, I got a little emotional about how events like Pagan Pride make me feel about community, aging, and tradition. It’s a feeling I hope everyone gets to experience at least once.

On the other hand, a big part of the reason for this large audience is that two other Pagan Pride events — the one in DC, and one in Manassas, VA — effectively no longer exist. A friend pointed out that they’d even contacted the coordinators of the DC pride event and hadn’t heard anything back at all. As if the email address was going unchecked. I looked up information on Manassas everywhere I could, but it was pretty scarce. The last event seemed to be in 2019, and the 2022 event was cancelled. According to their Facebook, they weren’t able to hold one in 2023.

A lot of Pagan community organizers seem to be either getting burned out (with everything else going on right now, who can blame them? Add the often-thankless work of organizing to the struggles everyone else is dealing with right now, and it’s completely understandable) or just aging out of their roles. All of the organizations I know, even the ones I’m a part of, operate on budgets that would make a shoestring look luxurious by comparison.

It’s something I’d love to help with, but I’m not really sure where to start. I’ve often said that, if I were handed enough money to live off of for the rest of my life, I’d put it into a small house on a large piece of property. I’d rewild as much as I could and put it under a conservation easement. Some, I’d want to guide into operating as a permaculture food forest (I have tiny fantasies of adopting a rescue donkey or small pony, having them carry a basket, and walking around with them to pick fruits and vegetables). The rest, I’d want to make into an event space for musicians, dancers, and events like Pride. I have no heirs, so, when I died, I’d will it back to whatever Indigenous group formerly held it. In the meantime, I’d want it to be a place for community members to interact — flora, fauna, and human alike.

I mean, I feel like I’m basically describing a two-person commune, but I feel like you get the gist.

I suppose what I’m saying is that it’s a shame that the world has done us up all wretched, and I wish I knew how to take on some of the burden of organizing and setting up events like this with the resources that I already have. (A tiny yard, most of which is steeply uphill, an even tinier bank account, and massive social anxiety).

In the meantime, support your local Pagan organizations and artisans, yeah?