It has been forever since I “tumbled,” even though I love the idea of my little blog.  Part of the point of it was supposed to be to keep me writing, but with a new tradition to build, I have actually been doing plenty of writing.  The other part of it was supposed to be to force me to open up a little more, come out of my shell, and share more about myself…which I have pretty much been sucking at.

As mentioned, I am working - once again - on tradition building.  Due to what would best be described as irreconcilable differences, what was once the Tangled Woods Tradition has split into two groups, going their separate ways and pursuing separate paths.  This has actually turned out to be an amazing thing.  Though I always had a love for the Tangled Woods, I can’t even describe the sense of personal investment and pride I have in our new little fledgling tradition - the Well of Shadows.  This new development has really given me and the other founders an opportunity to put an even sharper focus on exactly what it is we’re developing, which I think has made all of us feel a stronger sense of connection to the path we’re building and the members who are a part of it.  It is keeping us busy, though, because in many ways, we’re back at square one.

From a “making a living” standpoint, it’s a time of pretty dramatic change for both me and the hubby.  He has quit the job he has been at for the past couple of years in order to play music full time, which I can only describe as a blessing from the Gods.  I truly believe it is his destiny and purpose to create and play music, and this transition has been a long time coming.  It does mean he’ll be in two bands, along with whatever other projects he works up, so he’ll be busy.  But it will be a much more worthwhile type of busy that is much more appropriate to who he is.  He’s out on Hellfire Revival’s first tour right now, and he’ll be starting with Hillbilly Casino next month.

As for me, I’m doing whatever I can to put wheels in motion to get Dead Man’s General Store re-opened in Nashville.  We’re hoping to pair up with a friend of ours who also has a shop, if everything plays out right, so that both shops can share a space, and therefore help one another out with the bills, watching the place, etc.  But before any of that can happen, we have to build up more money, and that’s what I’m working on now.  I so desperately want to make this happen asap, so I’m getting a bit shameless with it.  Seriously…if anyone out there wants to buy something or make a donation, it would be a major help!  Just check out our website.

On the crafting end of things, I recently made my first corset, and am making plans for my second.  I am making them for myself first, wearing them and trouble-shooting them, and figuring out everything I need to about how to get it right.  If I begin to feel confident enough about it, I may start making them to sell along with other Dead Man’s General Store wares.  I actually really enjoyed the first one, and can think of so many ways to get creative with them.

On a more personal, whimsical note, I have a newly developing interest in tribal fusion belly dance.  The last few belly dance performances I have seen have just struck such a chord with me and left such a lasting impression on me that I finally decided I was going to learn myself.   I started by ordering a dvd by a dancer whose performances I liked, and I’m quickly getting hooked.  It’s hard though!  The first thing that struck me was how leg oriented it was.  The moves I’ve been working on so far do involve several isolations of the muscles in the abs and chest, but the legs are the foundation of so much of the movement, and keeping them properly bent for a long enough period of time takes some stamina.  I felt like my legs were pretty strong, but I have been waking up muscles that apparently rarely get used!  So I am also working on muscle strength and stamina.  But I am seeing improvement each time to I do the dvd, and I am determined to do it and do it well.  I have even had an old and dear friend reach out to me with a possible opportunity to learn with a group, so we’ll see what happens with that.

I’m going to have a pretty fair amount of alone time this week, so I plan to work more on making items for Dead Man’s, getting more of our inventory listed on our website and Etsy shop, writing materials for the tradition, etc.  When one has so many interests and activities, one always has to try to be productive!