Catching up: Back to the Altar

 So one of my earliest posts, and probably at least one post after that one went live discussed my Altare de Muse. Or my Altar to the spirit of inspiration. Let's revisit that. My own religious and spiritual beliefs follow a sense of divine polytheism, but that doesn't mean that your beliefs are the same as mine. This altar isn't about worship, it's about veneration. Not so much crediting a divine source away from the Creator, but a place to call up or pray for specific energy or guidance, in this case, the creative spark or Inspiration. I am an intensely spiritual person, and I have the drive to include that spirituality in every aspect of my daily life, with no exclusions, with writing being such a large part of who I see myself as, setting a specific place for prayer regarding it just makes sense for who I am.

Where I am currently, I don't really have anything that I would call personal space, so I can't really set up an office or writing room. This means that many of these comforts for my writing space are just unrealistic at the moment. No matter how much I love having my fun collections, what I have now is a single shelf that is everything that inspires my work. 

I do find that having something to draw my eye helps' to remind me that I need to get my writing done, but for the foreseeable future I have combined my relevant Sea Shift props in one place, that I can look to while working from my laptop. As Pinterest and other sites are filled with flashy shots and how-to guides for creating a Writer's Notebook. I thought that you might appreciate some more on this visual practice.

My shelf contains the figurine that I use to represent The Muse, Inspiration herself, something a nib pen and ink, an empty journal to represent all the words never written a token or nod to how frightening a blank page can be when you start something new. Then a journal with things that inspire me, and a few books that I love and am likely to reread at least once a year: JM Barry's Peter Pan, The Art of War, An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope (which I keep meaning to read, but keep on hand for Quotes), and the book my Grandmother wrote and published  "Drop Something?" by JAEDL.

The shelf has a purpose beyond being pretty, it reminds me of what I'm doing on those days when real life decides to remind me that I'm almost 40 years old and have wanted to be a published author since I first learned how to read. We all struggle, we all ask ourselves "Is it worth it?" or "why do I keep trying?" and the truth is we keep trying because at one point or another a book changed us, the dream within the words affected what we wanted for ourselves. The shelf, while not necessary is grounding it helps you shed the energy that comes with the doubt and reminds you that the dream is bigger than ourselves. It's not about fame or wealth, it's about crafting letters into words and collecting the words together in a way that might affect somebody else. It's about love and immortality that can only be achieved in the memories of others.

I have my playlist on Spotify for my current project, because music remains important to my process. Most of my writing remains a combination of Method and Creative, and I like to maintain an active voice in presenting either a story or technical information. My Cookbook is still in development, I keep getting distracted, let's face it, writing out and formatting recipes and instructions is a little tedious.

I'm Writing! Well, again, I'm writing again.

 I have always loved the gentle flow of words, in fact, I am rarely at a loss for them. Being a Bibliophile sort of forces a person to also love language, and words in general. To not love all three is like being a painter that is color blind and only uses a single brush. As it is with many who love books, it doesn't take very long at all for the love to shift from consumer to creator.

Across the decade that I have been recording my thoughts in this blog, in my opinion, I haven't changed all that much. I don't have as many friends, well not many who are geographically close; and from a perspective of geography, I have seen a lot of change. There has been a number of changes in my family life as well, while I am not physically close with my siblings we have discovered and made tentative connections with two long lost siblings, I have another brother, and *gasp* while I grew up an only girl, the discovery of all discoveries, I have a sister.. as a result, I also have four more nephews whom I have never met bringing that tally up to sixteen. There are seven of us. Both my parents have passed away, though I may have mentioned that in the past. My brothers have married, divorced, and been widowed.

In the last year, I have almost completed a book on Tarot, which I feel I will be able to publish very soon. I have taken on work as a beta-reader, and am in the process of contemplating a Stream. Though one of the things that probably won't change is my dislike for being on camera. I have also started writing a work of dark fiction, which I never thought I would even try, regardless of the reading that I most enjoy, my best writing is by far more technical than creative unless you count poetry.

But I have also become more comfortable with expressive writing outside of poetry, and enjoying some exploration dabbling between first person and second person narratives without diving into a vignette style or lecturing the reader.. otherwise known as exposition.

I have noticed that while many writers appear to have an issue with prolixity, my vocabulary has made obtaining high word counts a struggle as I tend to be more frugal in my choices and more exotic in the application. Though with all that I have returned to keeping a pen and paper journal, well several of them and I have to say that my "Voice" is more clear than ever.

As I find time I will likely be revisiting some of my much older posts from this blog to discuss topics and discoveries in better detail. But until then, I hope that this personal update finds you all well,

COVID-19: Quarantine, Social Distancing and other Restrictions...

 So a bit of a catchall post, I had about 6 more Quarantine posts that were eaten by the internet or the software that I used to create them. But to summarize it was a lot of the same as the stuff I already reported. On Day 18 my First Responder RN sister-in-law developed symptoms and was quarantined away from my brother and their children in a hotel while she was tested, and kept there until she was symptom-free.

Pfizer had their COVID-19 Vaccine approved for human use on 20 Nov. 2020. Though the order to restrict business occupancy, business hours, social distancing, and the mandate for the use of PPE continued through June 2021, unless an individual was fully vaccinated.

I have not yet had the vaccine.

I currently have two friends under Quarantine who tested positive for the virus just before July 4th.

In Michigan of the more than 1,000,000 cases, there have been more than 600,000 deaths. COVID-19 continues to have a mortality rate of close to 60%.

The two-part vaccine has been received as a mixed blessing. Many are relieved that it is finally here, while others fear its side effects because it was rushed to market in almost half the time that a vaccine usually takes to be developed, approved, and administered.

I don't fear the Vaccine, though I admit I haven't rushed to get it either. I don't like being the first, particularly with things like this, though I plan on being vaccinated by September. After a year we should know more about the vaccination side effects.

I wait because I have questions. Primarily, most vaccines have an effective window, and immunity doesn't last a lifetime. Like MMR, Tetanus, Pertussis, and a few others with their 10-year immunity. Pneumonia with its 5-year, or Influenza A with its yearly... With this virus being as fast to mutate and as aggressive as it is, I wanted a window of time to pass so that when people who have been vaccinated start being susceptible to the virus again, I won't be in the first wave.

I also wonder if those who have had the vaccinations will have to face a yearly antibody test with their annual blood work?

Quarantine Day 11: Zombies or Vampires?

Today is Saturday, so I'm staying away from most of my online groups, taking the day off for myself in order to try to stay in the right headspace, at the beginning of this mess the media was like watching the prologue of "28 Days Later" if you haven't seen the movie I really recommend it.

Now, admittedly, I am slightly less than normal, I don't think the way most people do, I'm just wired differently.

I am seeing memes and reading reports on medical shortages. As always there are people looking to our political leaders to cast blame and get an answer, people on the left are casting shade on President Trump for the measures he is taking to provide care to the public, and on the right, they are swinging just as hard in the other direction. That he was sent to us by God to save this country.

The fact is that President Trump is a businessman, he is politically, and religiously conservative, he is donating his Salary back into other parts of the government, because to be absolutely, unflinchingly honest the country hasn't been solvent since FDR drafted his New Deal. We don't have a Budget, we have a Credit Card. He is doing his best to bring us into the black after a century of redline spending. With that, in a medical crisis, most of his decisions and orders are from an economic position with the attempt to keep COVID-19 from pushing the country back into the dark days we say following Black Tuesday. Is he always right? No, he's human. Is he always wrong? Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day, but economically speaking he has done everything he has promised up until now. News Outlets are phrasing some incredibly inflammatory headlines from innocent statements and factual responses. They do this not because of "Fake News" but because as we all know; drama, sex,, and violence sell. And unfortunately in this time of "TLDR" most consumers never read more than the headline and base their opinions on things that are one word away from being Libel. And it's not the divergence in opinions that irritates me so much as the lack of educated response, on either side.

I am not one to ever speak poorly of our leadership, I do have some very strong opinions on matters that if voiced will immediately start an argument. I am more conservative than liberal, but I am a moderate and categorize myself as an Independent: and how I vote reflects my opinions and not the opinions of some antiquated societal expectations. I was raised by parents who emphasized personal education and the importance of not getting involved in something without first educating yourself. (Politics were always on the table in my house).

And because I need some time off from all the Leftist propaganda, hate, and recirculating of unfounded, biased, and libelous journalism, as well as a break from the Right and their profoundly Christian Ethos. I am letting you play in Piper's brainpan today!

My very fun thoughts on the Virus!

Based on what China is telling us, the Virus originated in Bats, and we know that Trump has authorized using the blood of Survivors (recovered patients) to treat the infected, We also know (I haven't talked about this one much) that there are 2 identified strains of the Virus, type L and type S, but in Iceland alone they have discovered among there 600 and change cases that there are over 40 molecular mutations of the Novel Corona Virus.

I think, just playing in my little writer's brain that these strains and mutations could open things up to Real Life Vampires (Those dependent on blood for survival evolved from Bat DNR/RNA affecting Virus), and possibly Zombies (System inflaming species hopping Viral Infection). Then because of the DNA/RNA mutations we could even theorize the possibility of something like Lyncanthropy.. Werewolves if we wanted to. While we have no real basis of the later effects of these fictional illnesses, in the creative mind of the writer it opens up plenty of factors that contribute to building a fantastic story, things like government and military response, social and economic effects, legislation and prohibition, suspending of personal rights and so forth.

What do you think? How would you write it? Please comment below!

Quarantine Day 10: Fresh Air!!!

Admittedly its harder for me to keep up doing this whole journal thing. Today I got out of the house, drove an hour to check on my best friend's mom. Her cat was missing presumed dead, so I packed up the dog to go have a play date with her dog and drove. The weather was beautiful and the roads were almost empty, except for a few big rigs and people that I can only assume are "essential personnel" or like myself, out checking on the elderly.

The cat was fine, just hiding under the lady's bed.

Besty's mom's dog, however? He needs some serious training. We are waiting for the restrictions to lift a little so we can get him in to be neutered.

Home again I made a batch of chocolate pudding from scratch and took my dog to the park. I was really surprised to see several kids at the playground, and not just young children, 11, 12 and 13-year-olds were there too.

I have some thoughts for a couple of my stories and I hope I can get some writing done.

Spiritual Note?

I drew a Tarot Card asking about Covid-19 and came up with the 10 of cups inverted. Basically, the spirits are saying that something is misaligned and out of balance and the Virus will keep doing what it does until the balance is restored.

I lit a pink candle to bring Harmony and Balance to my home and it burned bright and tall the flame dancing on the wick.. which tells me that the spirits heard me, but there are obstacles to come.

About the Virus?

According to the CDC medical masks and gloves are in extremely short supply:

PPE shortages are currently posing a tremendous challenge to the US healthcare system because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare facilities are having difficulty accessing the needed PPE and are having to identify alternate ways to provide patient care.

President Putin (Russia) gave the US a significant discount as a foreign aid measure, selling us some much needed medical supplies. Spasibo!

The Captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt was fired by the Secretary of the Navy in response to his open letter regarding the quarantine of his ship, where he pleads for help.

Ohio has extended its Stay at Home order through May 10th, as predicted following Virginia's lead. with Whitmer possibly being Biden's potential running mate, I don't think that bodes well for Michigan job security.

50% of the global population is now under a stay at home order.

Sources inside Wuhan (Virus's origination location in China) say that we are sadly underestimating the virus if we think this will be over in just a few weeks.

Quarantine Day 9: Science...

Its no April fools joke, a truck driver hauling thousands of rolls of TP fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his rig, the rolls caught fire and scattered all over the highway. Just what you want to see during a shortage, am I right?

Anyway...

So there might be something wired differently in my brain. Last night I dreamed I followed the low-frequency noise that we have been hearing at night, the noise led me through heavy fog and ended at some green-light. Whatever that means, I woke up and what clung to the edge of my conscious mind was the formula for a bacterial growth matrix (the goo they put in Petri dishes before tracing a sample), and Isotonic, Hypotonic, and Hypertonic solutions. And a sense of urgency. Weird night, when you consider that I'm not a scientist.

The noise, however, is real, we are hearing it from about 9 pm Eastern time until almost 3am. It sounds like a vacuum cleaner and when I walk my dog, there is no isolating the sound, at first we thought it was southeast, but it's not. Something to look into on another day.

I had plans to do a Zoom Tarot Reading exchange with my friend Jeff, unfortunately, his father experienced a medical emergency and our date had to be postponed.

Nothing new on the homefront lets check out that Virus.

Documented and confirmed cases have doubled in four days, globally surpassing 1 million. That's with China lying about its cases, which we all know are higher than they are willing to tell us based on the way the virus has impacted other, less populous countries.

With over 52 k dead, that means that 1 in 20 people with the Virus will die from it, less than 2 weeks ago that number was 1 in 65.

That's all I've got today.

Quarantine Day 8: INTERMISSION!

Today I'm probably going to have two posts, I told a friend that I would give some instructions for Sour-Dough-Starter, and unfortunately, Social Networking is a little restrictive. So while I drink my coffee and get my early morning day-dreaming out of the way I thought I might as well type them up.

A note on the apocalypse: Shortages are everywhere, hoarders and their ilk have depleted venders of staples, you cant find many canned goods, sanitation products, and food staples. Even though I have 80 lbs of flour (not hoarding, just a hobby baker) there is no Yeast to be found in the city, and I can't violate the Lockdown Order just to go chase my tail looking for it.

So I remember, my mom would make sourdough bread, and she used the starter for a variety of different things, from waffles to homemade doughnuts (Trying to get those recipes from my siblings as we speak).

There are many ways of making sourdough starter, in the last few years it has become popular to quick start the sourdough starter by adding a teaspoon of dry active yeast.

This is UNNECESSARY.

All you need is a clean container, flour, and water.

You want to dechlorinate the water so that it doesn't stunt bacterial growth. You can do this by filling a pitcher with tap water and leaving it on the counter overnight, chlorine evaporates VERY quickly. You can use bottled water if you don't trust your culinary water. But again open the bottle and leave it exposed to air for a while. Again YOU WANT THE BACTERIA.

I use a Quart sized canning jar, cleaned, and set aside, I keep the ring and set aside the cap seal, and I use a piece of muslin, you can use cheesecloth, but you want a few layers of it.

There is a huge benefit to using canning jars, first, they have measurement lines on the glass, and second, when you "discard" you can actually divide your starter and feed both halves, double value for your work, or right now? The Starter makes a great gift.

Your Starter base:
3 tablespoons whole rye or wheat flour. (all-purpose is fine, but the richer whole-grain flour adds flavor)

Enough water to make what looks like cake-batter

Stir to mix and let it sit out, loosely covered, for 24 hours (best temperature is about 70°F my house is a little cooler in temp.). I have cats, so for me, I place the cloth over the mouth of the jar and secure it with the O-ring lid, minus the cap.

After 24 hours - Stir your starter and take (1/4 cup) of the sourdough starter, discarding the rest (or split it to another jar), and mix it with (1/4 cup) of water and (3/8 cup) of flour (People that can't math 1/4 cup is 4 Tbsp, 1/8th is 2 Tbsp or 1 shot glass, so 3/8th is approximately 3 shot glasses or 6 Tbsp).

Repeat this process every 12 hours for 4 to 6 days (Because my house is usually closer to 65°F it can take a couple extra days). By the time it’s obviously alive (slightly bubbly and smelling distinctly acidic) you’ll have succeeded in creating a Levain (starter).

You can jump straight to baking (from room temperature) in the section below (Recipes pending my siblings) with this the new starter or store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake.

Note: I may edit this post to add pictures, as my Starter matures.