bloodteethandflame

A life in threes

Ornament

So, the other day, I got my Yule tree – a fresh Frasier fir – in preparation for the holidays. While I usually don’t get a tree this early in December (the 9th!) because keeping a captive evergreen alive in this humidity can get dicey… I’ve had quite a *time* this year, and I think I needed some holiday cheer just that much earlier than usual this year!

Today – December 12th- I went out to purchase some new blinky lights – as the ones I had been using for trees past had become unfortunately unsalvageable- I was surprised to see that my local Target had all of their holiday decor ON SALE already 😲

What?! Christmas is still nearly *two weeks away* and they’re already thinking about Valentine’s Day?!

What indeed, but there I was, picking through their sad little aisles, and this festive fellow caught my eye, lying in a bin of felt ornaments:

And honestly, though I am not a fan of snails or slugs, what I really love about this one is their colorfully curled shell…and that mysterious expression – that saucy upturned smile, those furtive eyes.

I thought, This snail is going places.

Or maybe, this is not a colorful snail at all.

but a pale pink slug or worm who has cleverly stolen a fruit roll-up (or perhaps several fruit roll ups!) and is trying to make a getaway with their sweet prize rolled up neatly upon their back!

Either way, this sly fellow is well on the way to becoming my favorite ornament.

It’s the eyes, really.

They’re getting away with something, and they KNOW it, hence why they look so saucy about it lol

May we all be as successful and confident as this little thief in 2023!

feelings.

11/11

‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.’


‘For the Fallen’ | Robert Laurence Binyon 1914

November

Error.

I woke up in error…but the error was not found 🙃😉

Spooky season is here!

*squeeee*

Happy Autumn Equinox!

A surprise night visitor.

Much like the rest of the country, the weather around here has been unbearably hot (even for August!), with temperatures reaching close to 87 degrees at 3 AM.

So, as I am prone to do when it’s that hot, I have been sleeping in the living room under the ceiling fan (because my husband is one of those people who cannot seem to sleep ‘while a cold breeze is blowing on [him])’ — which is fine by me.

So, a few nights ago, that’s where I was – trying to sleep on the living room couch – when I was suddenly awakened by the sensation of something landing on the side of my face.

Suitably freaked out, I opened my eyes, and involuntarily swatted my face, to see *a white frog* land on the coffee table in front of me.

It looked very similar to this:

This is a Pinewoods Tree Frog

The fact that it was white struck me as a bit strange, as I did not know that frogs could be white, as I had assumed that most frogs around here were of more camouflaging colors, such as green, brown, or gray.

And how it got into my house, much less onto my face seemed a mystery too – though once I thought about it, I figured that it must’ve gotten in earlier in the evening. (Perhaps it had been hiding between the cushions of the couch, only to climb out soon after I laid down. Who knows?)

So I got up and opened the slider door (which is a scant three feet from the couch) in hopes that it would simply hop back out on its own before any of my four cats noticed its presence…

But it didn’t budge.

So, figuring that it would realize the situation soon enough and make its escape, I left the slider open and I laid back down on the couch.

I even closed my eyes.

But then, this frog did an unexpected thing: it jumped onto my face again.

Surprised, I involuntarily sat up and the frog tumbled limply into my lap…and simply sat quietly in the folds of my night-shirt.

And it sat there for a solid 5 minutes.

It didn’t look hurt or scared – or even that bothered to be sitting on my lap.

Silly frog, I thought to myself, you’re so odd. And we are lucky that none of the cats are around.

Then, cradling the frog in my shirt, I slowly stood up and walked through the open slider and into the patio.

Once outdoors, I crouched down at the edge of the bricks, and I dropped this weird little white frog gently onto the grass.

And still, it sat there – looking like an unbaked dinner roll in the shadows of the grass of my backyard – several moments before it hopped away.

Weird.

*laughing nervously*

Well. OK then…

Continually brave in weakness.

This meme tile just came across my social media feed:

Usually this would not mean much because I will admit that I’ve been scrolling through social media much more often than is usual for me lately…

But what really made me sit up and take notice was that

upon reading its message

I immediately and distinctly felt

You

As a sensation of nearly imperceptible fingers

brushing across the nape of my neck

a singular awareness of You, whispering

Look!

Look.

Hail Loki ❤️