April showers bring death

This is a sad day.

I found out that an old friend of mine from the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism–Medieval Re-enactment group) died yesterday. The person who told me had just lost her husband a couple of months ago, and now it was her sister. Another friend just lost her 92 year old father a week ago.

Why these deaths hit me right now–Jon and Nora were both on dialysis. Nora couldn’t walk anymore and lived in Florida. Judy’s dad scares me because my father is getting up there. He’ll be 81 this year.

I’m not worried about their afterlife. It might be selfish of me, but I will miss them because I no longer can get to talk to them. That is what makes me sad. The Death card in tarot means a major change, a rebirth, That is what I believe. You go to the afterlife you expect. And then you come back. Maybe not here on Earth, maybe somewhere else in the galaxy or another time.

Pluto is also a planet of death. I keep trying to figure out if my husband’s chart shows his death day. You usually can’t predict death in an astrology chart. For example, my chart these last few years has Pluto in the first house, which, in some books, show hard times and come this short of saying death is predicted. At 102 years it may return to its position at my birth. I’ll be gone, physically or mentally, by then.

I think on my own mortality more often than not, at least since I’ve been on dialysis. Now that I’m no longer a candidate for a transplant, I’m stuck with going to dialysis three times a week for four hours at a time. Seven if you want to include the travel time when they bring me an hour early and I leave two or more hours after I come off the machine.

Their deaths mean to me that they live in my memories and dreams. I think of Jon whenever I want to be the curmudgeon, Nora when I see my SCA garb, and Dad–well I hope that he doesn’t go anywhere except back up here because if something happens to him in Florida, I don’t know what I’ll do. And my death? I can’t. I just can’t. I have too much work to do, people depend on me.

Buyer’s Remorse

I said to myself that I’m not going to talk politics in this blog. I have Opinions ™ like everyone else. But I have no where else to put them.

I voted for Trump three times. I’m not a MAGA Republican, though I’m a registered Republican in a very, very blue sanctuary city. Don’t get me started about sanctuaries. Though I voted for him this last time, I now have buyer’s remorse. This guy is clueless.

I am an America First Republican. As soon as he went after Venezuela, I thought “foreign war, foreign war”. I agreed to pull out of NATO. I agreed even to kick out the UN. I agreed that Europe needs to put its two cents in. But as soon as he hit Iran, he lost all foreign credibility for me.

Domestically, even though I don’t have a car, gas prices effect me with higher grocery and Uber prices. Although I’m a Republican, I’m not Conservative. I’m not fiscally responsible and don’t mind the debt. I’m not Christian. I’m pro-choice. Although I’ve found myself at the end of sexual harassment (such as it is now), I’m not into the whole Me Too movement.

I think Progressives are just crazy. I don’t want biological men playing in women’s sports. And don’t get me started on trans in general–okay, so I’m Republican when it comes to that. I’m not sure of Socialism; since I’m relying on the government for my health care, I’d be a hypocrite if I said I was against it.

Speaking of hypocrite, back to Trump. There’s nothing we can do except attack at the ballot box. Even then, the people who are running are crazy left or Puritan right. No ICE? More ICE? WTF? Nothing in between, and that’s what ticks me off. All politicians are liars and cheats, out for themselves, especially Trump.

Who is clueless.

Spiritual, and religious

I’ve been pretty spiritual lately. First off, I’m a pagan, but not Wiccan. I follow the tenets of the Old Gods, of different pantheons as needed. For example, the above picture is my altar which is above my computer.

Apollo is on the left. He’s my go-to for healing and prose. Persephone for renewal, perseverance, and love or hope in the depths of despair in the middle. Thoth is for the discipline of writing (we haven’t had much communication lately). Between Apollo and Persephone is a tiny statue of Fortuna. It’s tiny because I can’t find a big statue of her that resonates with me. The brass censer is in the middle, and that’s where I do my offerings in the mornings or as needed.

Back to being spiritual. I want to give thanks fo the Goddess for giving me comfort and healing. Although my back constantly hurts, with Tylenol, it’s tolerable. Some days it’s more tolerable than others. Some days I have to lie down for a couple of hours to ease the stress on it. I thank the Goddess (and Apollo) for helping me realize when I need to stop and rest. “Self care” is one of those buzzwords that I never understood. I do now.

I thank the Goddess for giving me the blessings of my son. Yeah, some days, he’s a PITA. But a lot of days, he’s the best kid I could ever ask for. He helps me when I’m down, figuratively and literally. Yes, he had to pick me up off the floor a few times. He always makes me laugh, and he always tries to make me feel good. He worries about me, which keeps me going.

I thank the Goddess for the roof over my head. We were going to move, but it seems we’re stuck here because otherwise, I’d lose Medicaid. I would get a lot of money from this house which would go to a mobile home, but I wouldn’t be able to afford the HOA, or rent on the land. As it is, I can barely afford property taxes and house insurance here. So I have to deal with a 10-room colonial with stairs, and live on the second floor. It’ll cost an insane amount of money to fix this house: I need to fix the porch, the driveway, the floor in the bathroom, the second floor bathroom…dear Gods, this place needs work.

I’ve cracked open a some books that I read when I’m spiritual. Scott Cunningham’s Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. The Koran. The Bible. DBT for Bipolar Disorder. A Jungian Reader. I try to meditate–try being the operative word. I’m too anxious to meditate effectively, so I end up falling asleep. I read more about Tarot because I’m always learning with those cards. (You all know how crazy I am about cards…)

To the world, I’m Unitarian Universalist. Whatever you believe, all the more power to you. Just don’t make us (my son and I) believe it too. Yes, my son is a Norse Pagan, and I’m so proud of that.

Selling the house

Today I have a realtor coming to talk about selling the house. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of years now. I plan to sell this 3 bed, 2 bath colonial house and go into a mobile home that is more handicapped accessible. I almost fell down the stairs yesterday. That’s a sign.

My problem is that my credit score is so bad. It’s REALLY bad. Even though I’ll be able to pay cash for a mobile home, the parks need me to have a certain credit score to get in. I need to go with a credit repair company.

The house can be sold, there is no doubt. I need a place to go. I will not go into a condo (they’re usually two floors) or an apartment. Yeah, I’m being a jerk, but these are things I need. If I’m going to live somewhere, I might as well like it.

Reading.

I’m trying. I’m really trying.
Sci-fi is not my jam, but I pulled this up after hearing the author passed away and that this is considered a classic. I wanted to read one “classic” book a year, and this one was it.
But boy, oh, boy, is it a slog.

My mantra in life is “Life’s too short to read bad books.” This is probably not a bad book. But I just don’t like it. I haven’t even gotten out of the Prologue (Yes, I’m reading the prologue, a pet peeve of mine). Is Hyperion dated? Should I try a different “classic”? The other ones are the Lord of the Rings but I don’t want to slog through the first book for the third time as a refresher. I’ve read the Dragonlance books, Ted Williams’ books, and other classic fantasy books. Jim Butcher writes classic fantasy.
I don’t know what I’m looking for. My 300+ TBR pile is calling, but I’ve tried Oldest book first, random selections, Newest book first and I’ve finished only two books this year. I’m not counting the books and stories I’m editing. Maybe I should.