Compartmentalization vs. Consolidation

For those who know me personally, know I am as anal as they come.  Everything has to be organized and have a certain place, even if I am the only one to understand that organization.  Well, I had begun to do that with blog and have aquired three different blogs, on three different subjects; one Pagan, one homemaking, and a new one on cheap scrapbooking.  I thought this would make it easier for me to keep things straight, but in all honesty it makes it harder.  So, I had an epiphany today, why not just have ONE blog that does everything?  Kinda a duh moment.  I mean, the blogs are about pieces of me, so why not "showcase" all of me in one place?  So, from now on, all of my posts will be here at Homemaker Homestead.

Last night I took an online quiz, Pagan Tradition Selector (http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=PaganTraditions).  I got the result of Old English Heathenry (a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon Heathenry).  Kinda outta left field, so I did a little Googling and WOW!  So many beliefs I have always had that never seemed to fit anywhere in mainstream Paganism fit perfectly in Anglo-Saxon Heathenry.  Not to sound cliche but I have found my spiritual home.  Granted I need to do a LOT of reading and learning, not the least of which is Old English.  I have a teach-yourself-book on its way that comes highly recommended by scholars (and was only $5 with shipping from www.Alibris.com).

I started Northern Magic: Mysteries of the Norse, Germans, & English by Edred Thorsson last night and "finished" it tonight.  I say "finished" because I skipped a good amount that pertained mainly to the Norse (as does most of the book) and not the Anglo-Saxons.  I enjoyed the book and it did give me a foundation and point me in a direction of where to move to next. 

Oddly enough I had one of the books Thorsson lists in the bibliography, Gods of the Ancient Northmen by Georges Dumezil, which I bought over eight years ago at an archaeology conference for $1.  From the title I am going to assume it is mainly about the Norse, but I might be able to garner some little gems from it like I did from Thorsson's book.  I learned that the Anglo-Saxons had their own version of the Elder Furthark Runes, but with 33 runes instead of 24.  There are a few books on the subject that I have to either find by Inter-Library-Loan or save up some money and buy second hand -- and they don't come cheap being scholarly texts. 

Speaking of money, another development in my life is my new-found obssession with extreme couponing.  I learned the ropes at www.thefrugalnavywife.com.  So far I have saved more than I thought possible!  Yesterday I bought 4 50ounce jugs of Purex laundry detergent, 3 75ounce jugs Cascade dishwasher detergent, and 3 composition notebooks for $23.23...and saved $26.29, plus got a $1 off coupon to use on anything in the store for later use!!!  I have enough detergents to last about 3 months, maybe more.  The night before I saved almost $18 at Harris Teeter, spending only $22.  And I barely have any coupons, imagine when I really get going.  Sooo excited.  Maybe if I save enough money I can afford some books :-)