The End of Mercury in Retrograde is upon us! :D

It is 1:38 am as I write this now, on the 26th of August, 2011.  Mercury in Retrograde is now over, and there was even a sense of it coming on.  My partner looked up at me lovingly as we were ambling out of bed in the afternoon and said "Did you know it's National Kiss and Make-Up day?"  Then he gave me a kiss and I looked at him knowing what was coming to an end, and kissed him back, how appropriate, the fates certainly have a sense of humour.  I feel better and so far so good, no bickering, no mean, no constant threat of attack.  I feel like I"m more in tune with my own life now too.
I also have discovered that if I want to get anything done, I will have to keep notes and my own form of Daily agenda that includes my magical data, phases of the moon, mercury in Retrograde, Sean's schedule, and any upcoming events.  On bad days with Sean, I don't get an opportunity to get to my lappy as often as I may need to, because he's being so needy and demanding, micromanaging my every movement when he has his I am King of the Universe spells going on.  By keeping a copy by my bed, I can plan what needs to be done next and when to redo something; it's not a big deal unless I make it one.  I have started to use this and it's working well, at least so far.  I'm getting ahead of the mayhem and the mess, and my stockpiles are going up.
Today I am working on my wands, as Sean watched me, he started to rummage through his tools, since I was using an emery board for my nails to sand my cedar wand.  The next thing I know he's handing me a file, a mini saw and a whetstone for my knife so I can sharpen it.  I thought that was so sweet, so as demanding as he might be, he is also loving and one of the most supportive people I've ever had in my life.  This is why I stay, because the bad stuff we work through and unlike most guys, he's willing to work through it, and his good stuff is excellent.  All in all when weighing the good against the bad, the good wins out every time, besides he looks so damn cute in his security guard outfit.
And now back to my wand-crafting before bedtime.

On the bottom is a cedar branch with twigs and bark removed.  On the top is a more polished version, sanded and more smooth.  I still have a lot of work to do, but you can see that it is one step closer to completion.  I think what I will do, is continue to smooth and round off each end, then I'm going to draw on some embellishments as the Muse guides me, and perhaps practise my carving skills, with some embellishments as well.  This is my first real attempt at wand making, and I want it to look good and still work.