Beltane Birthday Celebration

My birthday was on Saturday, and I mostly celebrated it by celebrating something else. Beltane (May Day) to be specific. The current core three members of Blue Moon Circle drove about 45 minutes to Robin's house to "get the band back together" for the day. (Robin was one of the original members and is still a part of the group, but lives far away enough and is so busy, it is hard for us all to get together often.) She and my goddess-daughter Sophie wrote and put on the ritual--I told them my gift was being able to just relax and take part, instead of having to organize and put it on. Then we had a wonderful feast, along with Robin's husband George and son Nate. I got a few cool gifts (gemstones! beer made by monks!) and Robin baked me a birthday honey cake topped with lavender and rose petals to go with Chris's home made ice cream. The rain even held off until we were done. It was a lovely day. (And then I come home and worked on revisions, of course.) Plus, we realized it was the 14 year anniversary of the first ritual we all did together, which was pretty amazing!

Some of my favorite people

Ellen with pal Bailey

Sophie and her new kitten, Chris and her knitting

The ritual by the firepit

Our crafty Beltane pots we made and blessed for each other

Birthday honey cake

Corn for the feast!

Yum!

Nate and Sophie!

Me and my favorite kids

Our traditional GRRRR picture

Presents and a cute card (inside is says something about gray hair making you cute)

Blue agate wind chimes

more gemstones

I also got lots of lovely birthday wishes on Facebook and Twitter--thank you!

They Say It's Your Birthday--Hitting 55

I usually tend to associate the number 55 with the speed limit in some places. This year it means a little something different.

On Tuesday the 28th, I am turning 55. I know--I'm not sure how that's possible either! I could swear that it was only a couple of years ago that I was an adorable little kid. Jeez.

Even then, I was all about the books.

55 seems to have a kind of "Here there be dragons" feel to it. Mind you, I don't have a problem with getting older. (It sure beats the alternative.) I didn't have a crisis at 50. In fact, I had such an amazing birthday that year, thanks to my incredible friends and the terrific folks at Llewellyn Publishing, I ended up saying, "Gee, if I'd known turning 50 was going to be this great, I would have done it sooner." And this year I'm mostly not doing anything at all except my yearly lunch with friends Ellie and Bobbie (whose birthday is May 1st) and  possibly bringing cupcakes to my book signing at Imagicka in nearby Binghamton.

On the other hand, there is something about that number that gives one pause. For instance, in theory, I am ten years away from retirement age. (Feel free to insert hysterical laughter here.) Unless I miraculously become a bestselling author, I will probably never actually be able to retire, but still, I'm suddenly much more focused on getting my financial ducks in a row.

And then there's the body. Oy. I don't so much mind the silver strands in my hair that have, in the last couple of years, become silver streaks. I just tell people it is nature's highlighting, or that I am going blonde one hair at a time. I think I look pretty good for my age (thanks, mom and dad--really appreciate the good genes!), but I'm starting to feel the effects of spending the last few years mostly sitting in a chair in front of a computer. I've been saying for ages that I was going to get back to exercising. Looking 55 in the face seems to have motivated me to actually do so.

Mostly, it makes me think about priorities. Nothing lasts forever. At 55, I have to acknowledge the fact that my parents are getting older. (They're like, 60 now, right? They had me VERY young.) My nieces and my nephew are getting on with their own lives. If I want to spend time with these people, I'd better get around to it.

My maternal grandmother lived to be almost 100--my other grandparents died much younger. Even if I want to take her as the best case scenario, I am now over halfway through my life. That's okay--big huge swaths of the earlier years stunk out loud. I plan to make the rest of them count. Starting with this one.

Mostly I'm just kind of amazed by that number. But hey, it's just the speed limit in some places. Nothing to get all worked up about, right? Please pass the cake...if you dare.

Don't forget to enter my 55th birthday 5 book giveaway HERE -- it's on until Monday the 27th at midnight, EST.

The Birthday Weekend Report

I hadn't really planned to do anything special for my birthday this year--let's face it, turning 53 (gasp!) isn't exactly one of those big exciting occasions. But then people kept saying, "Why don't we...?" And somehow I ended up with plans for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

None of it was very fancy, but all added up together, it really made for a stellar birthday.

Friday, my friend Ellie (who runs The Artisans' Guild with me), took me and our mutual friend Bobbie, whose birthday is May 2nd, out for a shared birthday lunch at the wonderful Cajun restaurant down the street from the shop. I had this insanely good burger topped with bacon and sauteed onions and apples...

Ellie also bought me one of the best, most appropriate cards I ever saw...

 On Saturday, my fabulous blogger pal Rebecca Elson, from The Magical Buffet, came up from Clifton Park (about 2 hours away) with her husband Jim, who is an absolute sweetie. As was the amazing cake they brought with them from a local bakery, Dolce and Biscotti. It was a Guinness stout chocolate cake with Bailey's buttercream frosting. OH MY GOD. They also took me out to lunch at The Farmhouse, a terrific restaurant about 3 miles from my house, and then we just hung out and talked and talked and talked. It was a lovely day.

Then on Sunday, the actual day of my birthday, I spent the morning working in the garden with my best pal Ellen and then in the afternoon went to the movies with my friend John to watch Tom Cruise blow things up in Oblivion. Neither of those activities were particularly birthday oriented, but being with friends was the thing that made them great. Well, and John bought the popcorn :-)

All in all, it was a wonderful low-keyed three day celebration, topped off with lots of lovely birthday greetings both online and off. It made me feel all happy-shiny to know I had such great friends. There is no present better than that.

Final birthday report and Beltane pics

Last Saturday I had the final installment of my extended (and amazing) 50th birthday celebration. Blue Moon Circle (minus some folks who had other obligations) met at Robin's house near Binghamton and went from there to share the collected local covens' Beltane celebration. We try to go every year, although we don't always make it. Although we love our small group, sometimes it is nice to share a holiday ritual with a larger gathering. And these folks are a great bunch of people.

I got to help chop down the tree for the maypole (usually the guys do this, but part of the ritual had to do with role reversal--very enlightening and empowering) and then we all did the Maypole dance.

Beltane celebrate fertility and sacred sexuality, for those of you who didn't know--it is always a riot to dig a hole and put the pole in it...much smutty merriment always ensues...

Here is a picture of the beginning of the dance:


Afterwards, we returned to Robin's house for Blue Moon Circle's feast, Beltane bonfire, and part 3 of my birthday celebration (combined at this point with circle member Bobbie's birthday, which was the following day). My adorable goddess-children Sophia and Nate joined us, as did Robin's wonderful hubby George. [I married Robin and George and was there for the birth of both kids, so as you might guess, we are pretty darned close.)

Robin made an amazing cake, which tasted even better than it looked:


Sophie was very excited by my mystery present, which was a huge heavy box...



The box turned out to be a CARTON of printer paper...for printing out my prospective best-sellers. Apparently, she Robin and George expect me to write very fast! No pressure...

At the end of the evening, we relaxed by the bonfire and talked about those things in our lives that had already come to fruition, and that we were grateful for. I was grateful for my new agent, of course! But also for all the people who had been so wonderful, and gone out of their way to make my 50th birthday so memorable. You know who you are, and you all rock :-)

Review, Birthday thanks, Upcoming appearance

Check out my review of the urban fantasy BLACK BLADE BLUES on @TiaNevitt's Debuts & Reviews http://www.tianevitt.com/weblog

Tia Nevitt has kindly invited me to be her go-to reviewer for Urban Fantasy (since she doesn't like most of them, and I do). I'll be posting a link here whenever a new review is posted.

Many thanks to all who helped to make my birthday so memorable. I have a stack of books to sign and send out to all those who ordered/preordered. You guys rock! I'll probably do something special when the next book, Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook, is released in July. [OMG--that's only 2 months away!]

Would people prefer a contest giving away a copy of the book, or a straight "buy a signed copy from me for a couple bucks off" deal? Let me know, so I can start plotting and planning now...

Up next, the 50th Birthday Report, Part Three! With more pictures, a May Pole dance and the coolest cake EVAH.

And if you happen to live anywhere near Oneonta, NY please stop by and see me this Saturday at the 6th annual Spiritual Arts Fair at the UU Church 12 Ford Avenue. I'll be there from 9:30-5 selling and signing books, and doing mini-tarot readings at my table. Sitting right next to me will be fab Pagan author Gail Wood, who will be doing the same. There are also great workshops, vendors, readers & healers. Come say hi!

50th Birthday Report, Part Deux

Thanks so much to everyone who sent me birthday wishes on Wednesday. I was positively overwhelmed by the outpouring of love. You all ROCK. Heck, if I'd known it was going to be so much fun to turn 50, I would have done it years ago :-)

On Wednesday evening, three of my best pals took me out to a wonderful dinner. Here we are:



That's Bobbie, Ellie, the birthday girl, and Chris. We had a fabulous time (even though the waiter knocked over the wine!)

Here is my beautiful meal:



The girls gave me some amazing prezzies:



The roses are from Chris, and Bobbie made me the adorable frog prince (so I'd have a date).



Chris also gave me a lovely assortment of "foodie" gifts, to go with the fabulous local beer one of my artists gave me. And Bobbie knitted this gorgeous scarf.



Ellie, who is my "partner in crime" (she and I started The Artisans' Guild together) is a potter, and gave me some pottery of hers I'd been eying (in my usual subtle fashion, she said pointing and nudging)



After dinner, we went back to my house and shared a bottle of champagne, some wonderful dark chocolate-chili cookies Bobbie made, and watched a hysterical tape of a Robin Williams HBO special from a few years ago. We laughed until we cried.

In the end, we had a wonderful time. And we may have gotten just a little silly...



All in all, it was the best birthday I ever had. Thanks to everyone!

Happy Birthday to Me!

A GIFT FOR ME

Yes, today is my birthday. My 50th, to be exact. So people are making a much bigger fuss than usual...which is turning out to be a lot of fun.

Yesterday I got a mystery package from my publishers, Llewellyn. On the front it said : DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOUR BIRTHDAY. Argh! Torture. I rattled it...nothing. But I was good, and waited until this morning to open it.

Woke up to snow (ah, upstate NY in April), but this cheered me right up!

Here is the front of the card I got--



And on the inside were SIXTEEN signatures and personal messages, from all the folks I've worked with--editors, publicity folks, the lots. I almost cried!

And here is the present that was inside --



And here's what was inside THAT --



50 pieces of chocolate, a wonderful and heartwarming (and only occasionally snarky) A to Z of me, and a cute little kitty.

Not bad for a day that started with snow!

Thanks so much to Elysia Gallo, Becky Zins, and all the other wonderful folks at Llewellyn for making me feel so loved and appreciated. What a wonderful gift!

A GIFT FOR EVERYONE ELSE

I am so overwhelmed with the amount of love I've received; gifts, and cards, and emails, Twitter and Facebook... I decided I want to do something special for everyone who has been so supportive of me. So here's a birthday gift for my readers and fans (you know who you are):
Anyone who goes to www.Llewellyn.com or Amazon and orders one of my books, or preorders one of the two coming out this year--and comes back here and tells me about it--can get a signed copy of Circle, Coven & Grove, my first book, for $5. I'll even pay for the shipping myself. [USA only, please.] You can pay on paypal, so it's easy. So if you've wanted a signed book but haven't been able to make it to one of my events, here's your big chance.

Happy birthday to me, and thanks so very much to everyone for the good wishes!

Check back tomorrow for reports on the rest of today's celebrations,and a link to my guest blog for Candace Havens at GenReality.