Samhain

Today is Samhain; that's Halloween to those who don't "do" Gaeilge (Gaelic). Enjoy the costumes and candy and fun; it should be a day for celebration. It's a sacred day to my ancestors. This is the equivalent of the New Year, a turning point and a day when, even now, people use the phrase "the veil is thin."

What does that mean, though? That on this day in particular, we're on the verge of something deeper, more powerful, more mysterious than most of us realize? That on this day, a whole new and magical realm of possibilities open up? I should say so, if this is a day when people truly allow themselves to dream, and perhaps to touch something elusive.

Blessed Samhain. Happy Halloween.

Linked

I just put a link to Amazon through the cover picture on this blog. I'm not sure why I didn't think to do that before, but it's done now. If you click on the Warrior Wisewoman 3 pic, it will take you straight to the page on Amazon. Convenience is a beautiful thing.

Now I'm going to the dollar theater to see Eat, Pray, Love. I'm expecting a soul-feeding experience; we'll see how it stacks up.

On Order

Just found out our local library has a copy of Warrior Wisewoman 3 on order. Good for them!

When all else fails...

...use a dustmop. Apparently, I've discovered a new grieving response that I never had before. I've begun cleaning everything. My office floor, my kitchen, the spice rack, cabinets that I hadn't given more than a cursory glance at for several...well, for a long time. A beloved significant other told me once that in the absence of the ability to change larger events, I should change small things over which I really do have control. Like my spice rack, apparently.

My office still feels too empty right now without Moonshadow in it, so I'm not writing a lot yet--hence, the cleaning and my non-typical hanging out in the other parts of my house. I will get back to it as soon as I can. Right now, I'm still catching myself listening for the sounds he made as he navigated his way through the upstairs, and I'm still being careful where I step when the lights are out, as though I might trip over him.

Last night the dog was lying reluctantly on the rug in my office, while my daughter and I watched her watching something we couldn't see. Whatever she was looking at, she had the same alert posture that she always had when the cat was coming her way, and she was staring fixedly at the area between where she was lying and my office door. There was no spider on the floor or anything like that--we checked.

I think my dog sees cat ghosts. Would that not be ironically funny if my cat was actually now haunting my dog? Sort of poetic justice for the dog "invading" Moonshadow's home four years ago...and such a very cat thing to do.

Moonshadow

Tomorrow I have to say goodbye to my beloved cat, who's been with me for 18 years. His health is failing and we've decided that it's time to let him go before he becomes completely miserable. I'll miss him more than I can say, and I'm writing this post now while I can still hold him, because after tomorrow, I'll probably be a basket case.

He's been there for almost every novel and short story I've written to date, either lying on the floor or a chair nearby, or sometimes on top of my desk next to my computer. I remember how interesting typing could be when he insisted on lying right in front of the monitor, his tail or paws draped down over the keyboard and him batting at my fingers as I tried to type. He's been such a fixture in my life as I grew into myself and became the person I am now, that I'm having trouble imagining life without him. Blessings, Moonshadow, and thank you so much for being my cat. Come haunt me whenever you like; I'll always be here.