HOT!!!

We have had no rain to speak of for two months - everything is dry and now we are having record heat in the triple digits - I thought I had moved away from Arizona!! 

Post PSG – where to begin?

What a week!  As you can see, I’m just now getting caught up and have my thoughts somewhat in order to post about my last two weeks.  PSG is always refreshing, rejuvenating, rejoicing, (and any other re you can think of!)  But boy howdy does it make you tired and sort of numb by the time you get home – especially for us since we go so early to set up the place.  We lay the foundations for the week – set the tone if you will for all that attend the gathering.  It’s a lot of work – a labor of love really – and we enjoy every minute of it!

Tuesday, June 12 – we set out in the morning toward northern Illinois.  We were spending the night at some friends of ours that will join us on Thursday at PSG.  This has been the tradition for years – this particular site we have only visited twice but we always manage to find someone in the area to stay with!  We stopped at our usual place in Springfield Ill to eat – Monicals Pizza!  Yes, we are crazy for it and stop every chance we get.  Then on to Sycamore Ill for the evening with good friends, good food, and good times.

Wednesday, June 13 – We got up and went to brunch with our hosts then bid them a fond farewell until the next day.  We went to Walmart and did our grocery shopping and such for at least the next few days.  We arrived at the park just after noon.  Our campsite that we had last year was not available since they put merchants in that spot this year and we were not merchanting.  So we scouted the area and found a new spot and set up our camp.  Dinner that night was out of a can but still something about eating outside while camping makes just about anything taste good!

Thursday, June 14 – To work!  We started laying out the merchant spaces, organizing the signs we had and making any new ones that were needed.  We also had to affix the merchant signs onto the boards that get affixed to the posts in front of each merchant site.  It’s a lot of busy work but at least we can sit in the shade at a picnic table to do most of it!  Our fellow setup crew arrived that day and set up their campsites.  At the end of the day we all gather for the ‘Carpenters ball’ at one campsite and pass around the mead, tell funny stories, pass out awards to those that came the further, have been coming the longest, etc,  And we also welcomed several new folks to the work crews.

Friday, June 15 – More work.  The setup crews are starting to put up the 10x20 shelters all over camp, and the place is starting to look like PSG!  We had more signage to do, merchant bags to organize, merchant information scrolls to roll etc…  Everyone tries to get a good nights sleep this night as some of the merchants that have been coming for a long time get to arrive tomorrow!

Saturday, June 16 – Merchant greeting!  That is what we did most of the day.  There was of course a mad rush about noon when they were told they could come in and we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off for a while but then it slowed down in the afternoon to a steady pace that we could all follow really well.  Tomorrow the gates open at 9:00AM!

Sunday, June 17 – We usually leave to go do laundry on Saturday but this year the gate was going to be closed at 7:00pm so we knew we would not get back in time.  So we got up extra early on Sunday to be out of the gate before 8:00 (so as not to have to fight the traffic coming in!) and went to town to do our laundry, go to the grocery and pick up anything we might have forgotten.  We also took a few orders from nearby campmates to fill.  We arrived back around noonish to find we had new neighbors!  While we were gone the campground really filled up!  Sunday evening was the opening ritual complete with sparklers (magic wands LOL).

Monday, June 18 – the beginning of the festival in full swing.  The camp next door had a baby that was teething – he woke us all up at 4:30, 4:45, 5:00, 5:15…. Yeah, I got up about 6:00 for good.  Bill and I were still on Merchant greeter duty and we also started working on getting all the merchants electric set up.  We had to tag their cords to make sure that they were plugged in to the correct box, and that everyone who had paid for electric had it.  That evening was the first of our nightly music concerts. 

Tuesday, June 19 – Our first day of somewhat nothing we HAD to do. Unfortunately the baby had crying to do at 6:00 in the morning so we didn’t get to sleep in.  I attended workshops, shopped at the merchants, and in the evening we both enjoyed the Spiral Rhythm concert until we had to leave to facilitate the Dark Moon Ritual. 

Wednesday, June 20 – Solstice!  We got up early to set up the labyrinth.  1200 candles (one for each PSG participant this year!).  We get it set up in record time – just over an hour!  Our work was done until 9:00 that evening when we met back to light the candles.  This year we managed to get most of the lit so the labyrinth was beautiful!  I saw it all lit up as I walked along the road in camp – seeing it through the trees and tents all laid out on the field below was breath taking – I wish I had a camera that could have captured that.  I suddenly realized that I had not heard the baby crying all day  – apparently the baby went to grandmas. 

Thursday, June 21 – Up early again to take the labyrinth down.  I love that you can still see the tracks in the grass the next few days.  All the people that traveled the path to the center and back out again – it’s just wonderful!

Friday, June 22 – OMG!  I woke up and realized that PSG was almost over!  But our weekend friends were coming in today so we had some new faces around the camp that evening!

Saturday, June 23 – last day of PSG – lots of hugs and well wishes and depressed looking faces toward evening.  One last concert, one last trip around merchant row and then we started to pack.

Sunday, June 24 – Up early to pack out campsite as the forecast calls for rain.  Bill had promised one of the ladies from Spiral Rhythm, PJ, to help her get her 10x20 down and loaded up so he went to do that.  Once Aubri and I had everything we could pack in the truck and trailer we called him back to finish it up and then we all went to finish packing up PJ.  We had bought a 10x20 from one of the other merchants so we helped take that down as well then into the truck and away we went.  Stopping of course in Springfield at Monicals on the way home!  (And no rain!)

Monday, June 25 – Aubri commented on the way to the grocery that it seemed hotter in St. Louis than it did at PSG even though the temperature was lower.  Then she realized that she was wearing a lot more clothes at home!  (Her outfit at PSG most of the week as a bikini and sarong.)  It’s nice to be home but I miss hearing the drums at night and the heralds during the day telling you what is coming up.  I miss seeing all the beautiful faces of people I only get to see once a year.  I miss the tie dye.  The one consolation is that we don’t have to miss the music – all of the performers had CD’s to purchase and we are all keeping in touch on Face Book but it just isn’t the same.  And thus begins the 51 week supply run (50 weeks for Bill and I)

Goings On

Normally I call this the weekend roundup but it spilled over into yesterday so I’ll just call it the goings on.



Erik and his girlfriend Meghan at her graduation on Saturday.

We had dinner with her father’s family on Friday night at Olive Garden and with her mother’s family on Saturday night. Everyone seems to like Erik and I got lots of compliments on what a fine young man he is. :)

Then yesterday we had a storm.



Hail started out the size of grapes and was pretty intermittent, then all of a sudden we had golf ball size and it was pounding the windows! I was worried that it was going to break the kitchen window. This storm came out of the north so my car was not protected by the house as it usually is – I have to call the insurance today and file a claim for the damage to my hood and roof of my car. My poor auto body guy – he is getting to know my car intimately!

The one good thing about the storm – my garden is up against the south side of the house so it was spared. The trees out front were thrashed pretty well but all that happened in the garden was the hail bounced in a bit but all the plants are fine.

And this little fellow here….



Was supposed to be a green bell pepper… I think the nursery mixed that one up! I cut it off and ate it in dinner last night. It wasn’t hot yet but I’ll lay odds that if I had let it ripen, it would have been.

What's Cookin?

Bill will be in town on Wednesday so that we can drive up to my sister’s house to be at the closing of my mom’s house on Thursday – yes, I’m hopeful that it will go through this time!  So we will be eating on the road on Wednesday night at my favorite pizza place Monicals!

<b> Monday: </b>       Hamburger Helper and cob salad         

<b> Tuesday: </b>       Blackened Salmon, pasta salad

<b> Wednesday: </b> Monicals Pizza

<b> Thursday: </b>     Grilled Kielbasa, cole slaw and corn

<b> Friday: </b>          Country Ribs, cole slaw, baked potatoes

<b> Saturday: </b>      Bacon Wrapped Shark, rice pilaf, grilled veggies

<b> Sunday: </b>        Hamburgers, chips and hummus, grilled veggies

As usual if you want a recipe just ask. 

I leave for PSG in a week!

It’s getting busy and excited here getting ready for our annual trek to PSG (Pagan Spirit Gathering).  We set up a community of like minded folks for an entire week with workshops, music, drumming and dancing.  It’s a camping festival so Bill is home right now getting the trailer ready for the road and making sure we have everything (camping wise) packed and ready to go.   We are on the Layout Crew so we will be arriving 4 days before most everyone else to start laying out the town and vending spaces.  Then the setup crew will arrive the next day to start setting up tents, signs, bonfire circle, etc for the infrastructure of the festival.  So we will be camping for about 2 weeks!   I’m washing festival clothes and making lists and reading the workshop listing on the PSG site.

Here are just a few of the workshops I’m interested in attending:

Born in the USA – a history and discussion on home birthing options in the US today. 

Midwifery – by the same presenter goes into more details about midwifery in the US and options.

Building a Tiny House – this couple lives in S. Carolina and have built a tiny house and are living off grid.  Sustainable living and off grid options.

Elements of Rituals that Rock! – putting together rituals that people will be talking about for years to come!

GoYa – pagan yoga – specific to those who are of ‘Goddess size’ and who have not been exercising

Guided Meditation – just what the name says – learning how to present a guided mediation

Into the Depths – Facilitating Trance Journeys – like the guided meditation workshop this one is to teach you have to present trance journeys.

Interpersonal 101 – recognizing your psychic gifts

Journey amount the Spirits – another journeying workshop

Love, honor the underworld of Welsh Myth – discussion of Welsh Mythology.

Bill and I will be facilitating the building of the candle light labyrinth on Wednesday.  The meditative labyrinth of 1000 candles will stay lit all night from dusk till dawn.

I’m hoping to be able to post small updates while at PSG again this year but we have been advised that WIFI will be limited so we’ll have to wait and see how good of a signal I can get.