Work began early Friday morning for both Bodvarr and I, as we began the long process of making Kanelbullar (Swedish cinnamon rolls). As per SOP we made a double batch of these delicious sweet treats to not only give as offering in our Charming of the Plough ritual but also to share with our kinsmen at gathering.
After a long day of baking and recording the process for our Kindred Vlog, Bodvarr went out in the shop to begin re hafting an axe that had just recently broke and needed the handle replaced before gathering as that is the axe that lives out in the Ve.
While he was busy out in the shop, I continued my work in the kitchen but this time I focused my efforts into making a homemade mac & cheese for the next days gathering that would keep overnight in the fridge and leave me free to do other things. Lastly I pulled out and started dicing up all kinds of fixings for homemade personal tortilla pizzas for dinner this night. I must not have been thinking when I decided Friday nights menu and looking back I wish I would have just bought a couple of take & bakes to make it easier on myself.
Sindri was the only one able to make it out the day before gathering and shortly after he arrived I began putting the pizzas together. Bodvarr our Gothi of all Trades, had finished the axe handle and quickly went to work sharpening Sindri's tools of his trade...his set of butcher knives. There is nothing better than a fresh edge on your butchering knives when you have a weeks worth of animals to slaughter for other peoples freezer. While they were out in the shop they gave their shop wights Earl & Maurice (who's visiting from the butcher shop) a little attention with an offering of their preferred adult beverages...whiskey for Earl & brandy for Maurice.
Once those two very important shop foreman's were taken care of and 3 sheets to the wind we all gathered together in the kitchen to enjoy our pizzas. After dinner was finished we grabbed Egil's girl Kayla and gave her a quick lesson on the game of Euchre and played a couple of hands before bed. 
Gathering morning dawned and with it came the news that our kinsmen Anthony was not going to be able to make it due to a family member becoming ill, we sent positive healing energy and well wishes his way. Our other Kinsmen Leif and his lady Aurie showed up shortly after that sobering news and after we got a couple cups of coffee into us, we all got off our butts and got to work.
Once the pie crusts were made Sindri got to work making the filling for the minced meat pies. The filling consisted of beef cubes, dried apricots, dried cranberries, green apples, brown sugar and a whole cup of brandy!
After a quick story of Egil's Saga we all went out to the Ve and collected firewood and set up the table for our tools of the trade. Once that was finished we went back to the house and got ready for ritual. Because this was a Disa blot and they were traditionally lead by women, I led the procession to the Ve and opened the four corners and invited the Disa, the feminine spirits to join us and hear words spoken in their honor.
David drummed the procession out to the Ve and Leif sounded the horn.
Once the Disa were properly attended to and thanked with stories of their presence in our lives, I passed the torch so to speak over to Gothi Bodvarr who would be leading us through the Charming of the Plough ritual.
In this part of the ritual our tools are blessed for the coming year. These can be tools of our trade or any items that we would like to be more proficient in. In our kindred we have blessed musical instruments, new craft tools, gardening seeds and we've even blessed some high school sporting equipment. Many honored tools were blessed with mead and with words of guidance to the respective deity and other beings in their field.
The folk were very generous with their offerings, in addition to mead and fresh flowers we had Kanelbullar, thumbprint cookies, chocolate mushrooms, personal mincemeat pies, and an assortment of nuts.
There was also a very special offering to the goddess Freyja herself with a bobcat claw and a bonded pair of crystals by our kinsmen Leif.
After all the tools were blessed and all the offering made, Bodvarr handed the ritual back over to me. I closed out the blot by thanking the Disa for their presence today and also gave them an invite to stay with us longer and enjoy feast and kinship with the folk.
We all headed back to the house for feast feeling grateful and with a renewed sense of purpose going forward into this year.
Feast was a delicious assortment of savory dishes with the minced meat pie being front and center, accompanied by smoked bbq chicken and homemade mac & cheese. Once the feast was blessed and the god plate was filled we all dug in with great enthusiasm.
With the end of day and the awakening of night, gathering day was coming to a close but we had one more activity to enjoy together before we all retired to bed. Bodvarr has offered to do one rune reading a gathering if time and festivities permit. The choice of who gets their runes read are of course chosen by the runes themselves. Each person who would like their runes read will pull out one rune from the bag and lowest rune wins the reading. Once that person is chosen all the runes are put back in the bag and the runes are drawn by the person and read by Bodvarr.
This brought to an end another successful kindred gathering.
In frith,
Skogul Allensdatter
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