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Fill November with Gratitude, Day 2

On November 2 in 2017, I crossed off my number one bucket list item, which was to meet my favorite musician, favorite living artist in general of all the fine/performance/literary arts, Tori Amos. She was warm, attentive and kind.

In addition to the M&G that day, I also ran into people I knew, including Annie Finch, and I spotted Amanda Palmer In the lobby before the show.

Tori remarked that I looked very pretty (omg omg omg 🥰), and I asked after her mum, who had recently suffered a massive stroke. (Sadly she passed away a couple years later.)

We also talked about my dad and Led Zeppelin. I told her how the Encomium album changed his mind about her and all my faves at the time--it made the musical lineage from his classic rock to my alt rock clearer. I told her how his death day was coming up and that the last time I saw her play at the Orpheum, a few days before my dad died, when sometimes he couldn't remember his own name or mine, he said clear as a bell when I asked him to guess who I'd be seeing in concert that night, "Tori Amos."

***

It's been a week since my former, beloved city of residence experienced a mass shooting. I taught high school in Lisbon when I lived in Lewiston, 2 decades ago, right after I graduated from college. One of my former students, who was such a good person, was killed in this stupid, horrific, senseless attack. He was not one of the many who I've kept in close touch with since I'd left, but he was a conscientious, mature, down-to-earth person, even at age 14 & 15.

I've been in shock-mode over the violence and terror this incident has brought to the area. Today, I finally want to feel the grief and start to process the emotions. Today, it was finally time to put together a playlist of Tori Amos songs. From familial love, to anger because of violence, to the trials of the formative years, to smashing the patriarchy, to saying goodbye, Tori has songs to address all those facets of life. It's a public YouTube playlist, taken from a lyric to her song, "Seaside." It's titled 'Flowers Mowed Down"

[notebookwitch]

Fill November with Gratitude

30 Days of Posting Things um Grateful For To Beat The November Doldrums

Historically I have come to greatly dislike November—the colder in weather; the end of daylight saving time; Seasonal Affective Disorder rearing its mojo-stealing head; plus all the days that remind me of deceased loved ones, whether it's a Death Day or Birthday.

This year, though, I've decided to embark on a mission to love November and fill this month with Gratitude. So here is Day 1's post.

As #Samhain drew to a close I went for a very leaf-strewn hike in the woods. I'm grateful for the leaves on the ground and how they'll become nourishing mulch. I'm grateful for late autumn colors of rust, evergreen, brown, and the blue sky which you can see more of with fewer leaves on the trees. I'm grateful for pops of color, like on the Winterberry Bush. I'm grateful for accidental photos of a ravine that look all trippy modern art-ish. I'm grateful for the brilliant colors of sunset.

Once again, #HappySamhain and #HappyBeltane for Southern Hemisphere pagans. Also #diadelosmuertos #dayofthedead and #allsaintsday and whatever else is getting celebrated around the globe today as we recognize the turn in the season.

[notebookwitch]

I freakin love this meme.

[notebookwitch]

Cleaning and Organizing in the Midst of Global and Historical Chaos

I spent most of my Monday holiday doing nothing. I listened to an audiobook and dallied on my phone. Then I napped and had a weird lupper-ish "girl dinner" type meal.

After that I finally had some motivation to clean my bedroom and get the stand alone closet to its permanent place. I know from the final photo (picture 1) it just looks like the same place (picture 3; the "before" photo) but it actually moved around the room to three spots 🙄🤷‍♀️

It's now been 13.5 months since I moved upstairs and I'm still not fully set up. 🤦‍♀️ I'll get there eventually.

My living room (photo 5) is all finished and has been for a while. I received the compliment that it looked like it would be the living room of a fortune teller in a Wes Anderson movie. High praise!

Picture 3 is the "during" photo with heaps of things that were in my mom's closet downstairs that made its way up to my apartment instead. (Last weekend I helped my mom clean her bedroom. This weekend I took care of mine.)

Not pictured: my sorrow and fear. Because the whole time I cleaned, I listened to news and podcasts to get caught up on the current events from Israel/Gaza. I also thought about how today is Indigenous Peoples Day & the constant horrific thread of occupation, domination, war, usurpation, and terror inflicted on people throughout history whether colonizers, Nazis, religious extremists, etc. All part of the kyriarchy.

I think cleaning one's own small corner of the world while thinking about all this is helpful and grounding. This order amongst so much chaos can be a spell, a manifestation of sorts. When things are in order in my home, I can have the energy to fight for what's right outside my home. I can't make much effect on the other side of the globe, but there's plenty to be done locally to work for equity, peace and justice. Having all my literal sh1t together can help me fight for those honorable causes.

[notebookwitch]

[notebookwitch]

The Farmer's Daughter in South County, Rhode Island

Here's some of the cute little "stores" and displays at this South Kingstown perfect fall destination. It is Autumn in New England, for sure!

The Witch's House with "notions, potions, devotions, herbarium, apothescary." It was a little creepy but also cute and kitschy. That green figure in the little garden was sufficient scary.

And the other little rooms of things for sale, especially the Halloween room, was really fun to look around.

I loved, of course, the growing flowers. Those will be in my next post. 🙂

[notebookwitch]

MisAdventures with a Black Walnut

I stepped on something during my after work walk the other day & was like, "hey what's this?" I opened up the not-quite-apple-like thing and used PictureThis plant ID app to find out it was a black walnut seed.

I mean, it looked like a walnut for sure on the inside, but it's always good to double check. Anyway.

Beware! That bright yellow "juice" becomes POWERFUL dark brown STAIN of all stains.

My palm was stained for a week. No amount of cleaning product (I tried them all) or scrubbing got it off. Just time wore it away.

Live and learn. Fascinating though! 😊

[notebookwitch]

Mabon Nature Walk

Late Summer/Early Autumn flora, fauna & fungi from my nature hike to celebrate Mabon. As a solitary eclectic a solo walk in the woods on the eve of Autumn was my way to celebrate this pagan holiday. Happy Mabon 3023! 🪶🐝🍄🌳🌻🍎🍯🌿🌾🍁🍂 #sweddawetha

[notebookwitch]

My After-Work Walks

Snapshots from my after-work walks this week, at the ponds near both campuses 🌞🦢🌱🐝🌳 Plus some scenes along Route 122, when I decided to take the backroads home instead of the highways 🐄🌄🌾

Right at Lughnasadh, about 6 weeks ago, I had an epiphany. Fact 1: Traffic when I get out of work doubles my commute time. Fact 2: I need more daily exercise. Fact 3: There are beautiful walking trails near both the campuses where I work 🙌🙌🙌 Eureka! I will take a walk after work to wait out traffic each work day! Duh!

Sometimes I do a solid hike deep into the woodsy trails. Sometimes, like yesterday, it's more of a plant walk, where I stop every couple minutes to identify wild flowers and plants. (I'll be doing a plant walk post soon, I think!)

Its been an excellent way to skip the traffic. I can't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner! I already have a headband lamp a la Jamie Tartt, a poncho, and a set of snowshoes for when the weather turns and the day gets darker sooner.

[notebookwitch]

A Collection of Mushrooms I Have Seen During My Daily Walks

🍄🥰🚶‍♀️Shrooms, man 😆 Aren't they fascinating??? And so cute 🤭

Here's a few photos of mushrooms I've spotted during my daily walks. I take a walk around a pond near work. I also park far away from the entrance at work (weather permitting), and the grounds are very pretty, so one can find some fascinating fungi if they're on the look out.

Mushrooms are fascinating things. The sporing process (is that the right term?); the nutrients in them; the way they form and grow; the whole subculture of mycophiles (people who hunt for wild edible mushrooms)... fascinating!

# # #wildmushrooms #mycophile #mycophilia #fungi #fungus #fungusamongus

[notebookwitch]

Wellness Rituals

ICYMI 🗣 Self-care is ✨MAGIC✨ So! I have some daily wellness rituals I try to focus on.

One of them is having a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables a day. One way I do this is by making "trays" for lunch and breakfast. Like the tradition of a bento box 🍱 I fill my tray with half f/v's and then whole grains and or proteins.

The other daily wellness ritual I strive to complete each day is 9 hydrating liquids a day. My morning is usually 2 cups of water mixed with one cup of juice and a half serving of chia seeds 1 1/2 tbs). And then a large cup of tea. That's half my liquids! 🫖💧🧃

My AM tray is usually a grain and fruit & the drinks. Lunch is usually some combo of yogurt, granola, cheese, nuts, rice cakes, veggie snacks, and fruit. 🥜🥗🥕🍅🍇🍎🍊🍌🧀🥖🍽

I plan to take pretty pictures of my meals and post them regularly for accountability's sake ☺️

#5aday #selfcareismagic #wellness #wellnessroutines #wellnessrituals #hydrate #tearitual

[notebookwitch]

The ultimate twitter experience.

[notebookwitch]

Why the Name Notebook Witch?

Because I have a zillion notebooks 😊

One reason I chose "Notebook Witch" is because I hand write in notebooks all the time.

Call me a 2018 basic b*tch, but I still avidly bullet journal using a traveler's notebook with 4+ inserts.

I also write Morning Pages every day. And I write every other line on every other page so I go through notebooks quickly.

I keep a notebook for my political organizing endeavors, for organizing the Boston Poetry Marathon, and one as a grimoire.

I also have a small traveler's notebook with three half size inserts that I use for a separate bullet journal for work.

So! When Dollar Tree came out with a bunch of stitch-bound heavy-feeling paper notebooks and a bunch of whimsical folders and composition notebooks, plus cute 2024 calendars, I added quite a bit to my collection 😬🤷🏼‍♀️📓

I have always been enamored with stationery, from my Sanrio Hello Kitty collecting days as an 80s kid 🐱 I know these will all get used, too.

I also keep a calendar in every room and on every work table I have because it helps me remember appointments. I even keep all appointments in a Google calendar but truly, the only chance I have of retaining everything I have to do and keep track of is to write appointments out digitally AND analog.

Thus, Notebook Witch is my moniker, and notebooks—blank and filled—take up much shelf space in my study 🤓

[notebookwitch]

Birthday Celebrations

The weather cooperated by the late afternoon for a beach day 🏖️ on my birthday 🥰 This Cancer-Scorpio-Scorpio ♋️☀️♏️🌜♏️🌅was literally in her element to ring in her 45th year 🎂

My mom and I got mani-pedis on Thursday (her treat 🥰) and delicious savory crepes on Friday at a Victorian coffee house in Franklin, MA. Then I headed to Charlestown RI for my first dunk in the ocean 🌊 (finally!) & a super indulgent peanut butter cup sundae—balanced out later by a plate full of sautéed garden veggies for dinner.

I gifted to myself 3 new-to-me books on Surrealism (as a poet, I'm on a Joyce Mansour kick these days) that I bought from Better World Books 📚 PLUS I got a plethora of perfect presents including an owl vase, mug, & crystal statue, #TedLasso candies, a Wicked Plants coloring book (to go with the original book, which my sister gave me for Xmas a while back), the cutest little cat shaped gum holder, and that hilarious candle 🕯️

And, most importantly, I heard from so many people with texts, pics, Snaps, FB posts, & DMs — I felt the love 💗 for sure 🥰 It was a very happy birthday indeed! Plus, there's more to come during my birthday staycation. More beach trips and meetups in the coming days 💕🙏😊 Thank you all!

[notebookwitch]

Screenshot Grimoire

I swear I take a screenshot of all your informative posts with the intention of writing it down somewhere as well! 📓 (Because writing it down is how I retain things best ✍️) Instead I just keep finding more interesting things to screenshot and never sit down with all my beautiful screen-capped content 🤷🏼‍♀️

Maybe what I'll do is have a folder in my photos that's called "Grimoire" and look through that and really read what I've captured, to help me retain it — instead of scrolling around as too often as I do 😆

[notebookwitch]

Happy Litha

I posted this to my other social media but forgot to add it here on Tumblr. Here are Litha graphics you can use on your social media to mark the sabbat.

Story, square and 16:9 dimensions. Feel free to use. Please credit Notebook Witch, if you can.

[notebookwitch]

Kaftans for Tori

Tori Amos had on a beautiful yellow kaftan with white embroidery in a beachy social media post. I shopped for one similar to hers but in different colors, to wear at her Boston concert this past Saturday.

The set list has a nautical theme, with the show at the outdoor venue Leader Bank Pavilion on the Boston Harbor. It was a magical night.

The Pre Show meetup I organized ended up drawing a crowd of 40+ people. It was so fun to meet new Tori friends and see ones I've made from past shows. People wear awesome outfits at these shows. I seriously wish I could start a social media account dedicated solely to outfits of Tori Amos shows.

And my friends from high school and I stayed overnight in Boston, a city we had all lived in, and grew up 20 minutes from (w/o traffic).

The hotel, Hampton In. At Boston Seaport, was very nice and super busy. On the way home we noted that while we enjoyed visiting, we weren't Boston city mice anymore. I love my Providence, for sure.

I did all this on a crutch with a sprained calf, no less. My leg still hurts and I just messed it up again after spilling some tea and trying to catch the mug from falling off the counter. Anyway, the more important thing to say is that a Tori show and all the ritual around it--going early to drop off letters, chatting with Tori friends, being in the city, it's very invigorating. But then after I'm wiped. How does Tori do it day in and out on tour?