Gym and Faeries

Friday:  Went to the gym; decided to see if I could get through presses and rows if I added five pounds to my weights.  Didn't die.

Saturday:  The Child's favorite magic shop and novelty store is closing for good, so we drove up to Vancouver and visited/hung out with some friends.  For whatever reason, it didn't turn into a photo day, but we did do some other shopping in other shops.  There was one new-age store that I've been returning to to see if I could pick up a copy of the Froud/Macbeth Faerie Oracle, and after many tries, they actually had a deck in stock (I'd always been intrigued by the deck after having a reading a while back which featured the card, "Undressing a Salad").

While we were away, there were at least three lightning strikes in Eugene.  One hit a tree and closed River Road for upwards of twenty-four hours.  Driving back through Coburg we experienced a downpour of Biblical proportions; the thick rain couldn't drain off of the interstate fast enough, resulting in some scary mini-lakes.

Sunday:  Very sleepy morning.  Recovered from an errant burrito.  Sat on the couch reading through the Faerie Oracle book and pondering its differences from more traditional tarot decks.  I should have expected the slightly twee tone of the book.  I like the logic of the cards and the deck has a refreshing departure from more traditional tarot decks; it also isn't a "choose your power-animal" deck.  The cards have challenges associated with them, and tend to ask questions or suggest self-discussion topics -- so there's less "you will be disappointed by an offer of marriage" types of meanings and more "why do you suppose your marital status affects your mood so?" ones.

I am trying to decide what I think about the art.  I love Brian Froud's art... and this deck is very northwestern European (i.e. white), heteronormative, and leans toward the bodacious babes end of figure portraiture.  Seriously, the fairy cheesecake to beefcake ratio is seriously out of kilter.  There's a blank card that one is supposed to drawn one's own Faerie Guide on, and I'm tempted to paste in a photo of David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King.

Went to the gym and repeated Friday's workout -- the gym will be closed this week and I didn't want to loose ground.