Deborah J. Martin's Blog, page 24
August 5, 2011
Opinions, Please …
A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post about changes in my life and mentioned that I was turning my writing attention toward fiction. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you'll remember that a couple of weeks ago, I had an idea for a short story that my husband decided was the beginnings of a novel. I switched gears and started working on that story instead of the original one.
As I also mentioned in that May post, although Pete is a good sounding board and usually objective, I like ...
August 4, 2011
To Sleep – Perchance To Dream
No matter how long I live in the South, I don't think I'll ever get used to school starting in early August. For me, summer's "official end" is Labor Day and school should start after that.
Today is the first day of school in our county and other counties around have either started or are about to. Kids will now have something to keep them occupied eight-or-so hours a day. Well, some of them. Let's focus on the little ones still at home. You need something to keep them busy, right? Let them...
July 28, 2011
Immerse Yourself!
I've been reading a lot about folks doing detox cleanses. They take pills or liquids, hoping to clean their 'system' out. These same folks seem to ignore another elimination channel: the skin. Cleaning the inside is all well & fine but help yourself out: take a detox bath, too!
Although Spring is when people normally think about detoxing, you can do it anytime. I find it especially helpful when I've been busy, stressing and not paying close attention to myself. (Stress blocks a lot of your...
July 21, 2011
How Sweet It Is!
I will fully admit to having a sweet tooth … especially anything containing that all-important member of the four major food groups: chocolate. However, I do feel a wee bit guilty for my over-consumption of sugar, which I know is bad for me.
There's a natural sweetener available to everyone: Stevia. Stevia rebaudiana was used as a sweetener in South America for centuries prior to its 'discovery' in the West in 1887. Because it is 'natural' and calorie-free, it's great not only for dieters but ...
July 14, 2011
Travels (Travails?) of a Witchy Herbalist
I'm back. At least my body is sitting at my desk. I'm not too sure where my brain is.
This trip was a most interesting experience. For the first time in decades of air travel (including internationally), my bag wasn't on the same flight I was on. No, the Comfrey charm I place in all my luggage didn't fail. Delta knew where the bag was, so it wasn't lost. It just didn't make the tight connection in Phoenix. (It apparently had to go farther than the three gates I had to walk?) It was finally...
June 30, 2011
Magical Travel
No, I'm not talking astral travel.
Some of you may know I'm a technician for the sport of fencing. (If you didn't, you do now.) I also occasionally travel for business. There is nothing anywhere close to our lovely mountain home, so this means I have to drive or fly & stay in hotels. Most of the time at tournaments and on some business trips, my husband is my roommate. But on occasion, I have a roommate who knows nothing about my personal life. I like to keep it that way, too.
So, how do I...
June 23, 2011
A Sticky Subject
I get a lot of questions about using herbs, both medicinally and magically. (Surprise?) A lot of beginners want to know which herbs they ought to start out with. I did a post on Top Ten Herbs but one of those, Myrrh, and a few similar herbs need some more attention. I'm not talking about flowers, leaves, bark or roots; today I'll focus on resins.
For the most part 'resin' and 'gum' can be and are used interchangeably, so 'Benzoin Gum' is the same thing as 'Benzoin Resin'. Resin is exuded from ...
June 16, 2011
Easy Everyday Magic
A thread on a forum got me to thinking. The original poster was asking how people manage to incorporate magic into everyday life. We're all busy … sometimes to the point of hectic; some days, there doesn't seem to be enough time to shoehorn a spell in sideways. Even though I'm self-employed and an empty-nester, my schedule is quite full. (A lot of people seem to think 'self' means 'un' and I have all the time in the world to do things. Rrriiight.)
I did have to think. I've been at this awhile ...
June 9, 2011
Computers: A Love/Hate Relationship
O.M.F.G.
I love computers. I really do. As an accountant, they've made my life so much easier. I never want to go back to the dark age of post binders & adding machines.
Without computers and the Internet, I wouldn't be able to easily communicate with all you wonderful folks. I remember typing newsletters onto bluish-purple paper and running them through a ditto machine to make copies, collating, addressing envelopes, stuffing, stamping. (Just writing that brings back the strange aroma of...
June 2, 2011
Pucker Up!
It's hot here in the Southeast. It got up to 93°F yesterday even here in the mountains. I finally had to shut up the house and turn on the air conditioning.
I don't know about you, but when the temps rise, lemonade is what comes to mind to cool me down. I'll admit to being lazy: I make mine from frozen concentrate but I also like it a little more tart than (apparently) most people, so I add the juice of a fresh lemon.
The use of Lemon Citrus limon goes back centuries. Although ...
