I’ve never witnessed the future to be so unknown and so in need of “shields up.” I don’t know what 2017 will look like for the nation or the world. Some of it’s going to be heart wrenchingly bad, red vision Cuchulain madness, but I feel that there is also going to be amazing goodness and creativity and love outpouring in response. We didn’t learn with Bush so now we need a sterner lesson. It’s gonna smart people, like a good bandaid ripping. Owiezowie. But here’s the good news.

The answer to every single event is love. I believe that with all my heart. Does that mean we shouldn’t march, write letters, picket, fail to participate? No. You know the answer.

Love.

We’ve got to bite the leather strap and hang on and LOVE when it’s the last thing we want to do. When you write Trump or your Congress person, remember as you write it that you’re doing it for your love of the people who suffer under their regime. Remember that those *cough*assholes*cough* have someone on this planet who loves them for one reason or another. Hard to believe I know but it’s true.

If we give in to them, to their hatred, if we respond in kind or let them bring us to despair, they win.

To paraphrase, in her first novel, The Fifth Sacred Thing, Starhawk’s heroes say to the people who want to end them, kill them, over water and resistance…

“There is a place at the table for you, please join us.”

Some of the soldiers just broke down and started crying. Some shot some people. But the people kept following the soldiers, all dressed in white saying in peace, “there is a place at the table for you, please join us.”

Standing Rock did that. They know the secret. We must learn it and learn it fast and practice, practice, practice.

Feeling all reflective on this cozy winter night as the sun gains strength and the new year holds promise. Promises of what I don’t know, but I’m not letting these fuckers get me down. Because this hasn’t my strong suit when dealing with oligarchs and fools. I either fight them or have an anxiety attack.

I’m going to play this year and the next three if necessary. It’s create or die

Wayne and Garth, in one door installer body, are really enjoying their day as my final renovation step completes, bedroom closet doors. Finally doors. This is so first world. Ooooh my dooooohhrrrrs. Wayne and Garth singing and whistling and dancing through his job. Syria in my facebook feed.

Schwing!

fast train
Lonely days are gone
Imma going home
My baby, she wrote me a letter
Bumbumbumbadadum….

Schwang!

Loving and hugging each oootttherrrrrrrrr

Every daaaaayayyyyy

dadadadum, mumbleharmoniously
mmmmmm love another squeezing another
He’s tearing you apart
Its your turn to cry

Should I join in?

Awesome dude! Sang some Nananananana
Nanananana

Journey made his wife cry when they saw them last.

There’s probably 30 years between us but if you just listen you will find something in common with every human on the planet. Darn it. Means you gotta like them if only just a little.

Joyous Holy Days (aren’t they all really?) To ALL my friends and supporters, on or off Facebook. My love to you and hearty, warm wishes for a prosperous, equal, loving, joyful, justice filled New Year.

Big plans coming for 2017. I’ll be re-opening the blog in the next week or so. I’ve begun working on designing, creating, and plotting inventory for the re-opening of the Etsy shop. That will happen after I return from spending Halloween and Samhain in Salem, MA experiencing several historic places and visiting with friends I’ve not seen in decades and one I’ve yet to meet in person after over 20 years. I won’t be taking commissions but I do hope to have a variety of witchy and non-witchy offerings in many price ranges that will appeal to all my supporters and bring some of it into the everyone can have an Cynthia Long piece.

See you soon!

After much thought and in the spirit of downsizing my life into a voluntary simplicity mode, I have decided to close Stitch Witch Cottage. It feels like a good decision. I don’t know what my path is any longer and due to new health issues (first fibromyalgia, then cancer, and now atrial fibrillation) I really feel that I need to spend more of my time taking care of my health, body/mind/spirit, and my personal artistic endeavors

I’ll leave the site up in case there is something useful for you here but I won’t be posting in the foreseeable future. Foresight has never been my forte (I’m more psychic in the moment and in the past) so you never know but right now it looks like I’m moving into a new phase and place in my life.

May you always have many blessings in your life.

So Mote It Be.

When I was first diagnosed with cancer, after all the panic and tears and research and questions and appointments and tests and FREAKING OUT, I started work on an art project.

This is a tree of life and it’s pretty large, big enough for a large throw pillow. There is oak for strength and long life, pomegranate for a juicy, passionate life, vetch (wild sweet pea) for tenacity and because I hate peas as much as I hated chemo, and blackberry vines, also for tenacity, for juicy goodness, and healing.

I got this far before the chemo ruined my finger tips and  made it very difficult to hold something as small as a button or a needle.

I don’t know if I’ll pick it up to finish or not but when it was time to think about tattoos I happened to have this close by.

I have see-sawed back and forth about whether I would tattoo my double mastectomy scars or leave them be. I’m also a little afraid of doing anything else that hurts in that area. I have had enough pain and it still isn’t gone. I have some bad pain days still. My boyfriend could care less about tattoos and why have something no one would ever see?

My first tattoo was years old and while it was a dedication to the Goddess at the time I got it, it was a bit worn out and sad looking. Partly due to time and age and partly due to the fact that back then tattoo ink had nickel in it, which I am allergic too. I decided that covering it up wouldn’t change the original intent and this would actually add a good magical boost to it. I would design the tattoo based on this embroidery I may never finish so my cover up tattoo is really a microcosm of the tree of life.  These are phone pictures (I really need to start keeping my camera close to hand again for better quality photos) so apologies for the fuzzy-ness.

Oak leaves, vetch, rose, bleeding hearts (no lie), pomegranate, lavender. I decided not to do the bee. I don’t know why as I LOVE bees.

Hee “I’m so fucking happy!”  I do sometimes make random notes on my sketches. I was momentarily happy because of this sketch and that wasn’t something I was used to feeling recently.  Worth taking note.

I love my new tattoo. The central rose was really difficult because it was covering almost total charcoal. It was hard to figure out the colors and have them be bright with that underneath but after this healed the colors deepened and brightened. I’m really happy and looking forward to warm weather to show off what may be my last tattoo. Oh! But wait. I have four little tiny dots where the radiologist marked me so they could align the radiation beams 150% accurately. No mistakes could be made (not like okay with radiation ever) because I had a tumor that was inoperable under my sternum and the angle brought the beams so close to my heart they had to be even more careful than their usual 125%. I still lost 25% of my right lung but the left lung fills up the space so most of the time I don’t get too winded and between 2 lungs I really only 12.5% total lung capacity. Anyway. Those dots are now covered with little magenta hearts.  THOSE are probably my last tattoos. Except maybe I will need to add bees.