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Tag Archive: love

GAFilk 2017 Over

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Another fantastic, fabulous, love-affirming weekend in Atlanta with my best friends. About 95 showed up, with many more having weather or health issues keeping them away.

I’m just waking up. My best friend has just left to go catch his airplane, my beautiful wife is just climbing out of the shower, and now we get to pack and head for the car. Depending on weather, we may go a couple hours out of the way, for my love would like to see the Georgia Guidestones.

I did some nice performances, some of which I have physical evidence of (video, disk). I met some people I had “known” for ages, and some who have been friends-of-friends for ages.

Time to go home and tell my cats that I did not abandon them.

Hugs,
Me

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09

Jan

2017

Moving Right Along

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No, I have not kept up very well with this blog. I’ve been kinda busy. Ubering more hours than I’d like, trying to find the hours most likely to make money. Trying to get ready for my wedding/handfasting to the most wonderful woman in the world. Missing article deadlines. Working things out.

Know that all is well. We’re getting married on the 27th.

Hugs,
Me

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14

Nov

2016

Joyous Update

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For anyone who may yet be curious, my burgeoning relationship with the lovely and magickal Zia Lyllyth Terranova (or, to me, Suzanne) continues to be the best thing that has ever happened to me and threatens to continue happening beyond the foreseeable future. This being the case, I eagerly await marriage to her beautiful self, an event which will take place in a few weeks (just after Thanksgiving here in the US). She is posting tons of pictures showing our happiness; I just wanted to chime in and state that the happiness shown is real and shared. This is simply amazing.

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19

Oct

2016

What I Would Do For Love

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OK, based on my belief that my Passport Card will be here somewhere around the first week of October, and my belief that I need to earn my October money driving Uber, I have scheduled my trip to Canada to pick up my sweetheart, Suzanne, to begin October 25. I will take no more than 6 days, perhaps 5. No time for sightseeing, as I will have to do something or get someone to take care of my cats and will need to get back to work when I get back.

The trip is 19 hours of driving, plus stops for food, drink, peeing, and probably an overnight each way, and the holdup at the border each direction. From Blaine TN to Green Hill (aka Stanley Parish) New Brunswick. At least one night in Green Hill, so her father knows I’m not a serial killer, maybe two, and then the trip back, this time with company.

Capisce?

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29

Aug

2016

Major Stuph

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Saturday I drove to St. Matthews, SC for a housefilk at Larry and Deborah Kirby’s house. Had a grand time, might have been 20 people there but for the most part it was Larry, me, and Frank Parker, then Teri Wachoviak, and then Harry Coburn with a couple of other songs by others. Teri made my head explode with praise for my performances. I spent the night, and drove back Sunday.

Sunday afternoon Suzanne and I looked at how to go about getting her to move here on a Marriage Visa (K-1). Its going to cost $390 for the visa itself, but filing to get the process started is free, so I printed out the paperwork and filled it in. I made a copy, and was going to mail it Monday, but… noticed that nobody had proposed to anybody. So I called Suzanne and did so. She is now bouncing around the room up there in Longueuil, PQ.

So here is how it works. I have to mail this document to somebody in the government (have to look that up, but shouldn’t be difficult). After the initial document is approved, a case number is assigned, and the matter is referred to the US Consulate in Canada (the website says only the Montreal office handles these, but perhaps the Halifax office can, as by the end of this month she will be back at her father’s house in New Brunswick). Then after all the interviews and such, they bill me for the K-1 Visa and it goes through, and then I go pick her up and drive back to Tennessee. We have a full year to finish the task, and if not completed she can go back to Canada. If successful, she applies for permanent residency with the skids already greased.

OK?

Hugs,
Me

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22

Aug

2016

Treading water

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Well, GAFilk is over for another year. I had a terrific time as I always do (that’s why I keep going, y’all) but it’s over. I have no concrete plans for any other cons this year, although there are 3 cons I’m considering (ConCarolinas, OVFF, and Chambanacon, if you’re curious) depending on funds (of which I have virtually none and have run up too much credit card debt).

Even so, I have a high point every year to look forward to, and it’s not all that expensive ($50 or less for the con, $35 for the banquet, half a hotel room, and some food and parking money). I even wrote a new song this year (not a cheerful one, sadly) and got to perform it.

There were around 160 people this year, and I know and love probably half of that number and would say the same about the other half if I took the time to get to know them. It can also be said that, of the people I know and love and/or respect, 80% of them were or had been in that room this year and/or one of the previous four.

Only 51 weeks to go…

Apparently my position is being eliminated on the 21st of this month, although the company claims they have other positions for me. Until they offer one, I have no idea how that will work out, so it’s a bit itchy.

I don’t believe I mentioned that my new coffeepot (42-cup Hamilton Beach percolator) stopped perking after only 10 weeks and they are dragging their feet replacing it even though they have already charged me for the shipping cost. So, no coffee, have to go to Pilot for a while. Which saves me money on gas…

Hugs,
Me

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12

Jan

2016

Breaking the Silence

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Some of you already know this. I have been in transition with housing, moving to Sojourn, a cabin and a livelihood in Dandridge, TN, where I will steward the new growth of Triad Bardic College. This left my temporary housemate, Skycladlilith SaintMartha, in a tight spot, as she needs a place to go or a new housemate, but she knew it was coming eventually and I gave her lots of notice (and donated some of my things to her so that she might have a bit more money – by selling them – to take care of stuff).

I am mostly at Sojourn now. We held a dedication of the site a week ago, to much joy and revelry. We moved most of my furniture (except one bookcase and the stuff being left behind) yesterday. I still have a lot of unpacking to do, and I still have a lot of stuff in Blaine to move (mostly books, and then cleaning up the place).

This could, and by design should, be my last move. I have a smallish cabin, with about 7 acres of woods with walking trails. I will be hosting Triad events here every month or four, and doing teaching from here. The site is also a beautiful place for people to get married, and we have lots of clergy from a variety of spiritual traditions available for the purpose.

As for my own music, I promise to finally get my CD published (as a physical object — the music is for sale in downloadable MP3s now). I have purchased a new guitar, which is beautiful and sounds wonderful and has a pickup so I can play more venues. I expect to be playing at many events in 2016, starting with my annual trip to Atlanta in early January.

I got a new job a few months ago; this move more than halves my driving distance. It also puts me within 4 miles of my closest friends, who are now also my landlords. I have a friend in White Pine I’ve been wanting to spend time with, and that is now only 11 miles away.

As for my personal romantic life, it’s still me and Nan, and Nan is still in Hendersonville NC and unable to leave there at the present time or foreseeable future. It has been this way for a long time. I can live with it, and also wonder how I could shoehorn her into this cabin.

So that’s about it. My health has been all right, although when I cast myself far afield for Gatherings I have not been well. A lot of that is stress, a lot of that is “sun poisoning” (I *must* remember to take a hat), and perhaps some of it is as yet undiscovered.

Special hugs to my Family, and my family. My favorite cousins know who they are and know that I love them. I tend to love everyone who lets me, which has gotten me in a lot of trouble over the years but has helped me grow into what I am today, and I expect that growth to continue.

Blessings on you all.

Hugs,
Me

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29

Jun

2015

Yule Party

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Friday night was the guys’ Christmas Party, thrown by the company I work for, RHA. It was some fun, some very much not fun, as my guy can’t take crowds for long and can’t handle anticipation (gifts after dinner — as soon as dinner was over he was moaning “I don’t get none”). I did manage to keep him calm enough until he got his box, but pretty much had to get him out of there after the presents were over.

In the end, I worked an hour of overtime, as we didn’t get home until 8:30 and I still had to get him ready for bed, wash his socks, and administer his meds.

Meanwhile, my own Family’s Yule Part was underway and I was itching to get there. I am proud that I put my job over my own needs this once (as my guy’s needs are very real and that’s what I signed up for). But as soon as I could get to the car and leave, I did. I still had to stop off and get some wrapping stuff for my shared gift (we bring one gift, and draw numbers to pick whatever gift looks intriguing — I took some expensive incense, I got a pine bottle of Mtn Dew mead brewed by 5). I’m jumping ahead, as the gift tree was Saturday night.

I took Rosaleen, my harp, on Friday night, as well as a bag of my hats to give away. Had a good time, got unwound, had to drive home. In all, I might have been there 2 hours before I found myself getting tired enough to need to leave. I got back Saturday morning, just before noon. Early for me.

Great day yesterday. So many of the people who loved me were there, some people I didn’t know well (in a small enough setting that I got a chance to know them better), etc. I think I stayed until 11 pm — there was frost I had to scrape/melt off the car, I think that was the first time this Winter. I got quite a lot of good comments about my harping (I also allowed Will and Alianna to play it, which really got them lit up with glee).

When I woke up this morning, I remembered a dream, and it had to do with taking care of my guy, JM. I posted it to my dream notebook. Suffice it to say that I have rarely dreamed for the past couple years, had one I didn’t remember long enough to write down a week ago, and this is certainly the first time I dreamed about my guy and this job. I’ve had the job since May 2013, must be sinking in to my subconscious.

Hope you all have a good holiday season whatever you celebrate.

Hugs,
Me

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14

Dec

2014

Grassroots for Peace

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You want to see the way things ought to work in the world?

Several years ago, I donated $35 to a campaign called Project Asset. This project took the daughters of sex workers in India and taught them computer skills so they had an option that did not mean following their mothers’ line of work. While Project Asset is now a multi-million dollar effort, that is not the measure of its success. The measure of its success is the dozens of college graduates and hundreds of high school graduates who would not have had a chance if the program did not exist. It is even the cooperation of local criminal elements, who completely left undisturbed the training centers which were built in the middle of the worst parts of the worst towns despite containing thousands of dollars of computer equipment.

One of Project Asset’s partners, Kailash Satyarthi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is the effect we are having.

Project Asset was started by a student at a major Arizona university (sorry, I don’t remember whether it was Arizona or Arizona State). Her father chipped in a little. I chipped in a little. Some of my friends chipped in a little. Eventually, they attracted larger donors, and in the past few years even started getting funds from nations and even the UN.

It doesn’t take much to fix the world. It starts with caring.

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05

Dec

2014

More Music

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I’m getting ready for my trip to Pittsburgh, where I just found out I’m going to have a 90-minute concert. Wow. Can’t remember the last time I was given more than 30-45 minutes. Gotta practice more… something which I am not doing…

And now I got invited to perform this September in Dillsboro, NC, at an organization related to the Canary Coalition. And I’m still gearing up for my November performance in Charleston, SC.

It must be 15 or 20 years since I had 3 major concerts in a year. I feel so blessed. People are listening to my music and lifting it up, not putting me down. My most triggering (and most healing) songs are being listened to and seen as positive (which is what I wrote them for).

I’m still having trouble writing new stuff. Even my article writing seems to have ground to a halt but I’m trying to push through that. Hopefully the blessings of performance and a positive reception at those performances will move me forward.

Hugs,
Me

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14

Jul

2014