We finally got out to the lake on Saturday.  The pop up tent that I bought just for this activity held up great against the strong winds.  I swam with my long finned flippers for about 1.5 hours.  My legs are sore, but it was great resistance exercise.  Normally it's hard to get me out of the water--I can be in from dawn to dusk, and on into the night.  My summer nickname was Orca for a reason.  But after swimming with the flippers, I was out after 2 hours.  Honestly, the only reason why I took the flippers off was because I could feel blisters forming on the tops of my feet, and I didn't want to risk an infection from the lake water.  I was the only adult and the one who had to drive home (6 minute drive, but still).  Hoping to go back at least once this week. My 13-yr-old and I had an interesting conversation.  He said something that I already expected, as he's always been more scientifically minded.  He's an Atheist.  ...

  Happy Vestalia (June 7-15th)!  Hail Vesta and the Vestals! On the 9th, a red fox crossed my path, which was very cool.  Then later that night, I had ritual with my online grove.  Although Tuesday was a bit of a struggle, by then I still hadn't reworked my ritual and I was battling a headache.  We've been having a lot of storms lately, and it's normal for me to have one until the storm arrives. However, my joints haven't been hurting!  For about a month and a half, give or take, I've significantly cut down on my sugar--minus the good sugars found in fruits.  I haven't gone cold turkey because that rarely works for me, I just cut more than half down on what I was eating and drinking.  Boy, have I been losing weight!  I haven't even started swimming regularly yet!  Less weight = less joint pain.  I haven't needed my cane in a couple of weeks.  I've also been eating more fresh raw veggies, too.  Gotta replace that processed ...

Around noon, a thunderstorm rolled in.  Hard and heavy.  I gave an apple to Thor for protection and galdred runes over our leaky-too-small-for-frame-screen-door that maintenance installed not too long ago.  In return, Thor instructed me to collect some storm water.  My eldest quickly put a bowl outside for a few minutes, and then collected it.   I brought the bowl into the kitchen and asked for Thor's blessings over the storm water.  He did. I dipped a Mjolnir pendant into it 9 times, and set it on my ADF altar to dry.   I traced a Mjolnir with this blessed Storm Water on myself, my cat, and my kids. I poured most of it into a bottle, with a label, and Thor showed me one of my plants to pour the remainder. Now I have some Thor Blessed Storm Water to be used....soon, I imagine.  It won't keep forever.  Storm Water is very potent, and good for protection and cursing.  It can be mixed with other waters for a boost. Guess we'll see...

Today I sat outside in the sun.  For about a month, I've been working on turning my pastey white skin tan...or trying to.  Once the lake water is warm enough to swim, I'm going to be spending a lot of time there, and I'd rather not turn into a lobster.  Anywho, when I do go outside, I greet Sunna, set an intention, set a timer on my phone, and either meditate/trance or read.  Today I chose to read: Edda by Snorri Sturluson.  Not my favorite author, but an important one to read (I'd rather be reading Dr Jackson Crawford's translations of Snorri).  I'm familiar with the stories and mythology, as it would seem that every author who writes about Norse Paganism and Magik has to talk about the mythology.  Can't have one without the other, which is kind of annoying to be honest.  But, hey, makes a book go faster when you're skipping parts that you've read multiple times. As I sat there, soaking up Sunna's rays with the intention of healing and protecti...