From The Farmer’s Almanac:
Full Snow Moon – February Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February’s full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.
It is a bleak and damp February 1st, today, and I’ve been writing from bed all morning, unwilling to venture forth even for tea, or to shower, the latter of which I really must manage to do before the day is out. The nice thing about working from home is that I can engage in all those unhealthy writer/artist behaviors that involve sleeping when I want, writing at all hours, and stretching the limits of how often I have to wash my hair, although, as most of my friends know, I can deal with tired, hungry, cold, wet, thirsty, or having to desperately pee, but I hate not feeling clean, so my limits are much smaller, in this area, than one might think.
Tomorrow is the full moon for February, called the Snow Moon or the Hunger Moon, both references to the horrid weather that the agrarian communities in the USA generally suffer at this time of year. I find that my creativity tends to wane about now, as well, and while I don’t really have SAD issues, the bleakness tends to grate after a while. I love stormy weather, but it’s appreciated all the more when interspersed with bright sunny days.
Fuzzy’s father celebrates his birthday tomorrow. We will make the ritual phone call asking if he’s seen his shadow, which is hardly original, but is expected. There’s comfort in such familiar behaviors, they become tradition, but they also become mile-markers on the calendar of life.
My mother’s birthday is in three weeks, which means her present needs to go out before I leave for California next week, so it has time to get to her in Mexico. (I add this line as a reminder to myself.)
Today, I will shower, and drink tea, and write, and perhaps make some banana bread, if we didn’t throw away all the old bread pans. If we DID, I suppose banana muffins will be the order of the day. We shall see.
I’m out of books again, and hungry for more. Suggestions, please?
Given your interest in scents lately, how about “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” by Patrick Suskind.
Also, I got an imp of Hungry Ghost Moon last night: On the 14th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the Gates of Hell burst open, and ghosts pour forth from the Nine Darknesses into the sunlit world. To placate the dead, Hell Money is burned, offerings are made, and paper boats and floating lanterns are set out to give comfort and direction to wayward spirits. Though many spirits simply seek out the comforts of their former homes and the company of their loved ones, rancorous spirits also roam the streets, seeking revenge on those who have wronged them, before and after their deaths. Offerings of ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost’s perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe. This scent is tapered by the presence of seven herbs, woods and resins used in the purification of the spirit and the purging of earthly concerns from the soul.
I’ll try it tonight and let you know what I think :-)
Sounds cold! And here I am in California complaining about the cold…now I feel silly. Good thing you can work from home instead of heading out in the cold mornings.
Thanks for stopping by, and yes, those are melons in the cart.
Okay well in the books department…I am an avid fan of a great imspirational writer, Dave Pelzer. He wrote, A Child Called IT. If you have not read it, please do. It will pull at your heart strings BIG time! He has written others and as of yesterday I fould a book by his brother, Richard B Pelzer called A Brothers Journey. I read it in about 3 hours. I could not put it down.
There’s a full moon outside? Hmm… You know, I don’t really want to check. heh. Too cold. I can’t believe how much snow we’ve gotten already this winter.
Books… I’m not certain what you read. I’ve seen a lot of romances, but ironically I got burnt out on romances from Middle School to High School. heh. Laurell Hamilton being my guilty pleasure and exception to the rule.
I preordered HP7 yesterday…. do you read HP? Everything else I’ve been reading is pretty old, been out for a while, except Robin Hobb’s newest series. Mostly fantasy. Amazon usually has suggestions and new books they’re trying to promote… or you could browse a library. You’ve probably read the books I’m about to mention… but J.D. Robb has a series out you would like, with romance.
Other than that you could check the best seller list. Have fun. :)
I have no clue what types of books you like to read but I am on the last book of Paul Auster’s New York Triology and all of the books have been amazing. I highly recommend them.
Here via Michele’s
How funny. My dad’s birthday is on Ground Hog day, as well!
Have you read the book Enchantment Inc. by Shana Swendson? It’s light, fun, funny, and a fast read. And if you like it, the second book is already out and the third comes out sometime in the next couple of months.