Full Wolf Moon

Last night was the Full Wolf Moon. 

No matter what time of year it is, the moon always brings me back to the mystical, mysterious feelings that I associate with autumn & the Halloween season.

I spent part of my evening meditating, reading Tarot, and drinking tea. 

Do you feel a connection to the Moon? Do you have any special practices related to the Full Moon or any of its other phases? 

 

New Nic Cage horror joint

Sign me the fuck up for pretty much any movie in which Nicolas Cage goes HAM on something-or-other. Personally, I think Cage is at his most unhinged and brilliant when he's in a horror film. 

Finding out about Willy's Wonderland made my day! Can't wait!

New horror 2021

A few new horror films I'm looking forward to in 2021:

PG: Psycho Goreman

The Vigil

Vicious Fun

Thanks to iHorror for the drawing my attention to these!

Longest night of the year

I love wintertime in the Pacific Northwest. 

It's peaceful, doesn't get that cold, and doesn't snow much, at least where I live.

My partner and I decided to celebrate the Winter Solstice by getting up before dawn to see where the morning would take us. We've caught sunrise on the solstice for the past few years, and unfortunately for us this was the first time it was too cloudy to catch the first rays sunshine. 

It didn't diminish from the beauty and peace of our morning, however. We started by heading to our favorite park in Tacoma, to spend some time in the blue haze down by the waters of Puget Sound.

...And to watch the ferry cross silently to Vashon Island.

 

Then we hit the road as the day took hold, headed north to Seattle. Along the way, the sun broke through the clouds a few times, sparkling gold, with a faint rainbow guiding us.

The city lights through a blurry rain smeared windshield are no less beautiful.

The hardest decision we made all morning was which amazing breakfast sandwich shop to choose. We went with Biscuit & Bean because of their incredible biscuit & egg sandwiches.

Then we meandered our way through the hilly Queen Anne neighborhood to find the mini Rosebud Motel (of Schitt's Creek fame).

Later in the evening, we lit a ton of candles, spent time enjoying the darkness, did a Zoom chat with friends, and generally had a very relaxing time. My only disappointment is that the skies weren't clear enough to see the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Next time, perhaps? I wonder what eyes will be looking to those future skies.

Ho-Ho-Horrible Holiday Collection

Now that Xmas is officially one week away - 

If you're tired of all the same old holiday crap, I've compiled a playlist of quirky, odd, unusual, kitschy, and some downright BAD Xmas tunes, videos, and miscellanea for your festive listening pleasure (???).  I'm always adding to this, so if you have any weird crap to add, let me know!

Merry Scary Xmas

 The geniuses over at Stiltbeast Studios posted a video tutorial to make a Christmas tree costume so you can scare the bejeezus out of unwitting passersby - watch til the end to see it in action!! Brilliant!

New scents for the dark winter months

 Although I kinda have a love-hate relationship with Xmas, there are definitely aspects of it I love unapologetically. One is Xmas lights (no matter how gaudy, tasteful, or anything in between), another is holiday-themed scents. Of course, this means I indulge in candles, soaps, fragrance oils, etc. with my favorite cozy smells. 

Earlier this week I swapped out my autumn-themed soaps for winter ones: Bayberry from Ocean Shores Soapworks (made in Ocean Shores, WA) and Fir Needle from Amy's All Natural (in New Braintree, MA).

I got the bayberry soap shortly after New Year's this year, when my partner & I took a meandering day trip out to the coastal areas of WA. The soaps at Ocean Shores Soapworks are a bit pricy, but they did have discounts on buying multiple bars and a freebie if you spent a certain amount. The bayberry bar was my choice, and I'd been looking forward to using it all year. It's very fragrant and lathers fantastically!

I purchased the Fir Needle bar from Amy's All Natural a couple months ago when ordering my annual Harvest Bar soaps. As with her other soaps, this one is SUPER creamy and lathery, with a soft pine scent enhanced with little specks of real peppermint leaves.

I highly recommend both soaps, and both companies have online stores. This year, I think it's more important than ever to support small business, so give them a try! I've linked to their shops above.

Shudder exclusive - 'Porno'

Partner & I couldn't decide what to watch last night, but ended up with this - it's been hyped as a dark comedy, plus the promise of gratuitous gore, sex, and demons sounded fun.

Based on other reviews I've read, people seem to either love or hate this film. I'm about right in the middle. It had some funny moments, some great gore FX, a few moments of hypnotic occult visuals, and it definitely went some places I didn't expect, so it wasn't entirely predictable - but the pacing was a bit strange, and I feel there was a bit of filler as well (the group of characters getting split up and looking for each other, over and over again, etc.) 

Would I recommend it? Hmmm. Maybe? I definitely do not recommend if you're squeamish about mutilated male genitalia. It definitely has its worthy moments. I'll let you decide for yourself. Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 jackos.

[ 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 _ _ _ _ _ ]

Turkey day weekend

I know 2020 Thanksgiving was supposedly gonna suck because we'd all been asked to socially isolate within our own households and not gather in big groups for the holiday, but I gotta say. I enjoyed myself a lot and I can't remember a more relaxing and chill T-Day 4-day weekend. 

Picture this:

Super easy dinner, it's just the two of you. Instant, canned, and/or frozen-cooks-in-bag fare. Nothing fancy, but decent enough. I mean, as long as there's stuffing and green bean casserole, right? Plus, there's leftovers.

Pickles the cat doin' a THANK

"D'ya eat yet? No? Lemme fix you up a plate."

Then Saturday night Friend night: meta-dinner with the BFF - video chat + virtual sushi dinner in Second Life + real-life sushi delivered + Netflix watch party (Hannibal, for the 2nd time). 

What a time to be alive.

Then, hopping in the car with your partner & chasing around fog til the wee hours in the muffled night, because why the hell not.

 

Then finishing this book, which you finally got around to reading, in the even later hours of the evening, and waking up tearfully and dreaming about Patti Smith & her life all night long, as if she made a psychic visit with you in the dream world.

Then waking up peacefully, and sharing a simple breakfast with coffee & some fancy pastries from a bakery in Seattle that your partner picked up the day before. And lounging around, and eventually making your way to a local park to walk around in the magical sunset mists.

And then, deciding to pick up a few groceries at Fred Meyer so you can come home, make a simple dinner, then watch a movie.

And then, deciding to take a pit stop at the cemetery where your partner's mother is buried, because it just feels like an opportune time and mood to do it.

And watching the foggy sunset over the town below, as Mt. Rainier watches all.

And then the moon rises, and that's something that the mountain & the moon have in common, is that you'll never cease to gasp in wonder whenever you see them. Even if that means you're a sentimental and/or romantic old fool.

* * *

I have very mixed feelings about this holiday - especially this year. But I am still grateful for many things. And I really enjoy winter in the Pacific Northwest and I'm looking forward to it this year.

 

Anaconda

For some reason we watched this last night and it was even more ridiculous than I expected. 

Best part: J-Lo punching Jon Voight in the face, 10/10.

Rest of the movie: 6/10

[ 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 _ _ _ _ ]

Sleepy Hollow hearthside vibes

This brief video shows how to make ginger cakes similar to ones that may have appeared in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as they would have been made in the early 1800s. They sound like the perfect sort of thing to make for autumn and winter holidays. 

Although, you should stay safe and celebrate at home this year with your quarantine companions rather than risk contacting/spreading Covid. Anyway, baking is one of those pandemic hobbies, right? Enjoy!

Spooky story for a rainy day

 Halloween itself may be over, but we're still in the thick of the darker half of the year. Cuddle up with a cozy sweater and a cup of hot coffee and enjoy this ghost story, narrated by the legendary Jackie Torrence.

Halloween 2020 wrap-up

 Well, it wasn't the ideal Halloween, but it certainly wasn't my worst one.

(screencap from "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown")

Where I currently live, I'm already very limited on what I can do, re: decorating & stuff, anyway. We're in a small apartment near busy roads and we don't get trick-or-treaters. My partner likes Halloween, but not to the extent that I do. It's something I tend to revel in, while my partner just kinda goes along for the ride, but wouldn't put any effort into it otherwise.  

Friday night I spent some time with friends back east on a Zoom chat to have a mini long distance Halloween/Samhain party & read Tarot.

On Halloween itself, we had beautiful weather; my partner & I got sandwiches and coffee and went for a walk. 

Stunning foliage in Wright Park, Tacoma WA

The mountain was out!

Other stuff that I did over the weekend:

• Carved a pumpkin
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Made a jello-mold brain
• Stared at the full blue moon for a few zillion hours
• Made barm brack bread
• Lit LED candles on my ancestor altar

And that's about it for my Halloween weekend 2020.

I'll still be posting here, tho less frequently during the off-season.