Happy Halloween!

Had some Halloween fun tonight, went over to a friends place and hung out, watched Army of Darkness, and handed out candy. W was in his stormtrooper gear again.

 I didn't get too much in the way of kid pics, it was a solid stream, and we were busy handing out candy and talking to the kids.

 

MIB and a movie starlet

 

TMNT

 

 

The neighbors had a badass setup, fog machine, animated zombies, the works.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

The one in the back was robotic, very cool.

 

Not sure what's with this werewolf, looks like he's bursting out of the ground.

 

There was a cool strobe face in the window that didn't show in the pic.

 

This looked much cooler in the dark.

Happy New Year's Eve!

So, I'm sure you are thinking "Wow, totally in the wrong month!"

 Nope, today is Halloween, by the the Julian calendar date, which coincides with our holiday, Samhain.

 Samhain is the Celtic Pagan holiday of the end of the year, the time when the veils between the world of the living and the dead are the thinnest. It is also the last celebration of the harvest before Winter closes in. As the Wheel of the Year turns, we are reminded of death, not in its finality, but the sleeping death, to return in the Spring. The day after Samhain was for the slaughter of the livestock that would be preserved to see the people through the winter.

 On Samhain Eve, we hold ritual, along with a prepared feast. A plate is filled and set at the table for our departed ancestors to come and share in the season's bounty, and we invite them to join us in celebration of a good harvest. And we dance, to show our defiance in the coming of the cold, and to honor our departed loved ones.

 This year, we have a special reason to celebrate. As of tomorrow, my underpreist and dear Brother will be finally changing his name from the name that his adopted family gave him, to his true Name. We are very excited, he is casting off the remains of his shackles of the people who tortured and abused him when he was young. Tonight we dance to celebrate the rise of the House of Rama!

 My dear Brother in the Goddess, I have seen you come a very long way from the scared boy you were, to grow into a man of Power. Words can not express how proud I am of you, that you have been able to follow this Path one slow tortured step at a time, but always forward, no matter the odds against you. You have been my true friend and Brother, and have been there with me through many adventures and heartbreaks, and have never wavered on your support. I hope this coming year brings you all the things you deserve. I love you Brother, never forget that. 

Yes...

I am angry. I am angry that some woman thinks she can do my husband dirty, and then try to be my friend. Not happening sister. No, I shouldn't have said those things, and I took them down. I was angry and hurt that someone would do this to a happily married couple, and cause all kinds of drama that caused issues with our marriage.

 You had NO business coming to Austin to meet my husband. I should have been more forceful about that. That is my fault for not telling you up front that I knew who you were, what you did, did not like you, would never like you, and will never be your friend. I was hoping S would handle it, but he didn't, and now there is a rift in our relationship, because on YOU. You have NO business being 'friends' with a married man whom you have a past romantic relationship. Your judgement is poor, to say the least. I find it hard to believe that you actually cared for S, if you had, YOU should have ended any contact with him when you were married, and certainly when he was. You are BOTH at fault here in that aspect.

 And now you are having your friends come and troll my blog. Real smooth. I suggest you stop it now, before you dig yourself into a hole that you can not get out of. Your 'friends' are only getting you deeper into trouble. Not a good idea to make threats to someone with seven law enforcement officers in the immediate family. Everything that your friends post is being recorded to be given to the police, should the need arise. I do not put up with this kind of bullshit attempts at bullying.  

Trust

 Trust is a very delicate thing. In someone who has been betrayed over and over, it is precious. When it is violated, it is nearly impossible to get back. It is bad enough when it is someone you don't really care about, but when it is someone you love, it is a dagger through the heart.

 

 There is no feeling in the world like that sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you find out your trust has been abused. Especially when it is from someone who KNOWS what you have been through, and yet continues on the path they are following, despite being told repeatedly that this is damaging to the relationship.

There is no coming back from something like this.  There is only forward, and the hope that there is enough strength to save oneself. 

Austin ComicCon!

  I survived ComicCon 2012. I feel like I have been run over by several dozen virgin geeks in too-small Star Trek costumes. I forgot my staff, and didn't have a cane in the car, so I managed without it, and am paying the price today. Add on top the drama of S's ex gf being there, plus working up till time to leave for the con.

 We thought we had missed the STTNG cast, but S read the sign wrong, and they came back to the floor after their panel, which we did totally miss. While I have no $$ to get autographs/pics, I did get to at least see them all. Marina Sirtis looks amazing! She is still beautiful. Gates McFadden looked good, but being a natural redhead, she was almost transparent, she was so pale. Brent Spiner has aged the most, and Michael Dorn, who's bald as an egg these days. Sir Patrick looked like he was having an ok time, I had to wait for the sea of virgins to thin out before I could see him. LaVar Burton looked pretty much the same, with a bit it of gray, but don't we all. Wil Wheaton seems to have gotten over his assholiness about cons, and even tho he was sick according to his FB post, he loooked like he was enjoying himself once the meds kicked in. Jonathan Frakes has put on a few pounds, and his beard's gone all gray, but he is still a good looking somebody! I spent most of my time standing next to his booth, and he made eye contact and smiled at me with teeth and everything. Still SO cute! I would have liked to seen Colm Meany, and of course Denise Crosby was washed out of the cast after her Playboy spread. (Gene Roddenberry was a huge prude, even tho he was in a long term triad with Barret and Nichols.) I was in so much pain I did not get to go to any of the panels, and Walker would have expired if he had to sit through something like that. Hopefully next year he can find a little herd of friends to go with him.

 And speaking of friends, I ran into an old friend from many years ago. We had lost touch, and I'm glad we reconnected. We chatted for a few, and he asked me if I did gluten free when I told him I had a bakery. Looks like I might have to try it again, since several people have asked.

 W seemed to have a good time. He still gets easily overwhelmed by that many people, but he did really good. He got to see the 501st Stormtrooper legion, "Vader's Fist". He got pics with several of them, one guy actually approached him and talked to him, and asked to get a pic with him. He was also "recruited" by the Sith Shadow Council of Texas, a group that does charity events, their founder is on dialysis, so much of their fund raising goes to kidney research. W is thinking of joining, but we'll have to get a better costume. Luckily Mom here did 10 years in theater, most of it in the costume department, and I can sew, plus armoring and other stuff. We'll see if he really wants to or if it is just a Con thing.

 Today is rest and relax, and back to work tomorrow. With any luck, next year will be not nearly as stressful, and hopefully I'll be in better shape, or at least have an old person scooter to ride around on.

Back from the dead!

I was able to scrounge around and find enough stuff to put together my costume for Comic Con. I was also able to pick up a pair of Steampunk-inspired glasses at Costume World for $6. We're going Weird West, got a back story and everything. I'll post pics later this week, and hopefully bunches from CC!

Old Girlfriends and New Business

 We are counting down to Comic Con this Saturday. I wasn't going to go this year, I was just going to send the boys, until I saw that this would be the first ever reunion of the entire cast of STTNG. Tickets are bought, costumes, however, are at a standstill. At least mine is. I wanted to go with a Steampunk Egyptian explorer, and second guessed myself into Weird West instead. Now we're down to the wire, and most of my costume either doesn't fit, or doesn't look right, and after paying to have S's car fixed, I have no $$ to buy anything else. Bah. I didn't want to go in the first place, walking around all afternoon after 3 days on my feet at the bakery is not a fun prospect.

 S has an old gf he keeps in touch with, and this did not bother me until she started flirting with him openly on FB. HE says they are 'just friends'. I have no issue with a casual lover being just friends, or being friends with a woman he just met, but this is someone he had a relationship with, and I assume hoped at one point to have a future/family with. The woman in question is newly divorced, and talks about how S helped her through the divorce, how she LOVES talking to him, blah, blah. Now, down here in Texas, we don't take kindly to that sort of thing, as it usually means the divorced woman is planning on trying to latch onto the 'helpful man'. Being older than S and much, much more experienced in these matters, this makes me a bit wary. And now this woman has decided to fly down to Austin for Comic Con. To 'meet' S for the first time irl. Uh huh.

 Now to the dilemma: She is a reviewer, and is working Comic Con. She also gave the bakery a nice plug, and ordered a substantial order. (Which also contributes to my not wanting to go, I am going to be beat after completing this HUGE order.) Had I not needed the $$, I would have refused this order. However, I can't, and now I'm stuck having to go and be all happy and cheery to this person.

Sigh

 Saturday is going to suck.

Week 3 and finer than frog hair!

Well, here we are halfway through week three. Business is fairly steady, definitely getting a feel for what people are interested in or not. Scones and bread have been the biggest sellers so far. Fliers have started going out as well, and more people are hitting the FB page. After Comic Con, I'll be able to really slam the advertising, and hopefully attract some new customers. At least if the inventory doesn't sell, we can eat it, so no waste!

Heading slowly into the 21st century.....

So we got a Twitter account for the bakery. Still not sure just how to operate the thing, but we will be working on it between batches of goodies.
 If you are a Twitter user, you can follow it here. Not sure what all we will be posting, definitely bakery updates, like when we have a fresh batch of things going out.

 Pinterest is also another thing I'm trying. I am totally baffled by it. Here's the Pinterest page, not much on it yet, but I'm working on it! Yet more things to take up that annoying time between midnight and 5 a.m., when I'm wasting all that time sleeping!

A pretty good first week

 Day three, and the end of the bakery work week. I have had business every day so far, and handed out a couple more cards. Working on fliers to go out next week, then I'll be spending the weekend and the first part of next week working on Job #2, the arts studio. Hoping to get at least two more items made, once I had 8 or so I'll post them on the Etsy shop.

 The first week open has been fairly good, just a few hiccups here and there. The business plan is solid, the food is great and not the usual run of the mill stuff from the grocery store. With the holidays coming up, there will be much more over the next couple of weeks to choose from in the studio. Gift certificates are also available.

Peasant Bread

 

Have a great weekend, and happy eating!

 

Open for business!

Day #2, and things are finally starting starting to come together in the new shop. Today was apple pie apples, something clients have been asking for all summer. Cooking seasonally does have its drawbacks. Scones and bread tomorrow!

Today is the big day!

So, for the first time since 1999, I will have a brick and mortar shop again. This one is going to be a bit more low key than the previous one, Inner Sanctum, which was an occult shop down on North Loop, one of the busiest areas of the north end of town.

 Sugar³ is the culmination of many, many years of wishing and wanting. I have tried different jobs, teaching in public school (A NIGHTMARE for Aspies!), working in the medical profession, a fiberglass manufacturing facility (Ikk. Hats off to my sister who made it 30 years in that hellhole.) and various other things. My very first job in high school was working at Mr. Gatti's slinging pizza. I had been taught to cook by my grandmother and mother from the time I was big enough to stand on a chair. I did a few things here and there after that, and returned to food, working at Karmelcorn for a couple of years. Every time I would leave the food industry, I would realize that I just was not happy doing anything else. Growing and selling vegetables was ok, but then the drought hit, and that totally tanked. So once again I was casting about, looking for something I liked to do and I could do to actually make a living.

 I had worked as a personal chef awhile back, and while I liked the work, I was never comfortable being in someone else's kitchen/home. The nanny state food laws don't permit cooking for others in your own home. A friend and I had visions of a 'speakeasy' restaurant, I would cook and he would serve. That never got off the ground as he moved to California, a bit far to commute to Austin.  Working in a full blown restaurant was out of the question this time, as age and disability have caught up with me. And I don't work well with others, so I needed something that I was going to be able to do with part time help from my wonderful partner.

 Texas bakers had finally had enough. Thanks to school and church bake sales being busted by local idiots, the Texas Baker's Bill came into being, you can read more about it here. So, it is now legal to have a small bakery in your home. Squee! This was what I had been waiting for. Like everyone else, I had been selling a cake here and there, but with the change in the cottage food laws, I was finally looking at something that I could do, and have wanted to for many years.

 So Sugar³ came into being. After years of a nebulous wanting of my own bakery, it has finally become a reality. The nanny state is still out there, hoping someone will become sick off a cottage bakery so they can shut the whole thing down, but we, the Cottage Food Producers, will continue the fight. We are hoping to expand to other products, but for right now, baked goods and preserves are pretty much all I need.