While going through boxes that had lived 15 years in our rafters, we found the other half of my vintage Breyer horse collection! Yah!

CNN reporting:

Eleven people plus an attacker were killed and 31 were wounded after a gunman opened fire at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, a Fort Hood spokesman said.

The gunman was a soldier, and two other soldiers have been detained as suspects, said the spokesman, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone.

clipped from www.ksat.com Texans gave overwhelming support to a proposition that limits the government's power of eminent domain. Proposition 11 had 80 percent of the vote favoring it, and 20 percent against, after more than 300,000 votes were counted in Tuesday's election. It was the last of 11 proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot, but it was the among those that got the most attention. The Texas Farm Bureau, Gov. Rick Perry and his Republican primary rival, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, all campaigned in favor of it. The amendment bans governments in Texas from seizing private property and giving it to a private developer to boost the tax base.

I was feeling funky this past Friday; co-workers said I looked pale and not well overall. Started running a low-grade fever in the early evening; when it started to quickly rise, we headed straight for the Doc in the Box (aka, Texas MedClinic). Diagnosis: H1N1, aka swine flu.

Quarantined myself in a bedroom for Saturday/Sunday. Now, I've had the regular flu before, but this was weirder. Only my joints ached, no muscle aches. Except for Friday night, I didn't feel SICK sick, but I was just EXHAUSTED by the smallest exertion. Low-grade fever (99 through 100.7) for both days; it broke Sunday night.

This is the first day I've been up and about for more than a few minutes. I've had exactly one bowl of Ramen noodles, a pork roll and some jello in the last three days. I think I'll be able to hold down something light by evening.

Poppy has been stuck to me like glue. When we closed the bedroom door, she whined and scratched at the door until I let her in. She knew something was wrong. Poppy also figured out that to stay near me, she has to behave and not get all playful and step on Mommy's face when Mommy is trying to sleep. ;)

That's about it; in a nutshell, the swine flu for me was fortunately milder than it could have been, but it sure was no picnic either.

And that's the news for today. I'm going back to bed, after briefly touching base with the outside world.

Tags: health, swine flu

The boss has an automated wind chime right outside her office. It's a happy, welcoming sound. Since we have no windows anymore in our new offices, the wind chime is a nice Feng Shui addition. It makes me feel good every time I hear it.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/slideshows/Day_of_the_Dead.html

Police just found the body of a small child in a landfill near where that 7-yr-old was abducted. A police statement says, "We hope and pray that it's not the body of Somer...."

I know what they mean, but if it's not Somer, it's someone else's child. Is that more OK? The statement just rubbed me the wrong way.

This question was posed on Clipmarks for discussion. Below is my response. What's yours?
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"I choose my belief system because Wicca, while having dogma and a structure that defines it as a whole, leaves a very flexible internal structure that can can suit highly individual personalities. I like how it puts nature into a spiritual context, with the masculine and feminine having equal footing."

Went to HEB the other day, and the eggnog is already out on the shelves. It's barely past mid-October. The whole point of holiday food is the anticipation of the limited time it's available, which makes it that much more enjoyable. AAUUGGHH!!!!!

A question was posed on my San Antonio Witches Meetup group, asking members what "types of magick" were out there (they knew things like Fairy; Dragon and Herbal/Hedge, but were curious what others there were). Below is my response.
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"I don't use any particular "type" of magick; mine tends to be pretty spontaneous. I feel the energies rising up when I'm contemplating a particular situation or need, and go with the flow. My method is pretty much a water-based one; not literally, but philosophically. It moves through me, usually channeled through a small silver bowl, and is sent out as needed.

This is done sans casting a circle; the magickal influx tends to be pretty immediate. I do put a circle of protection around myself, in the color that comes to me feeling appropriate for the moment and the working."

Trying to eat a bee is not recommended. You were lucky this time since you missed.

I have a feeling we may have elders showing up at a later date, since Boni's questions were the more probing, philosophical kind and a bit beyond these young ladies. Mr. Logical strikes again.