Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

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  • A New Dawn…?

    Today is the inauguration of Joe Biden as our 46th President. I have never been happier to see a President voted out of the White House than I am to see 45 go. And yet, I am still trepidatious about what is to come. I think there is a feeling that this leadership change will fix all of the ills in this country and that is such a fallacy.

    There is so much work to be done in America toward equality and equity. America’s health care system needs to be gutted and overhauled. White Supremacists and Fascists need to be routed out and shown that there is no place for them in our country.

    I will go into this new administration with hope for tomorrow, but cautious optimism. I will absolutely celebrate our first female Vice President, Kamala Harris. I will try to be the face of change in my world. We have work to do, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

  • 2020 is Finally Over…2021 Has Begun

    2020 is Finally Over…2021 Has Begun

    I have chosen my word of the year for 2021…Badass.

    Amazing bracelet I bought from CynicalRedhead on Etsy that says badass.

    This came from several instances in the past year when someone referred to me as badass, several of Seth’s coworkers, a random friend, etc. After the third or fourth time I started thinking, hmm…am I a badass. Maybe, but would I like to be more of one, absolutely. So I decided pretty early in 2020 that my word for 2021 will be badass.

    Then for a 2020/2021 Tarot Challenge on Instagram by @Lionharts I needed 3 keywords for the challenge, so I added to badass the words transformation/ transformational and revolution/ revolutionary. That is a lot of energy for 2021 but I am liking it. I want this to be a powerful year. I am turning 40 this year. I just started a new job. I am working on finishing my Master’s Degree. I am hoping to write more, skate more, laugh more. This is my year of more. Safely more.

    So let’s make 2021 as badass as I am trying to be.

    Did you set a word, or intention for 2021? What are you looking for in the coming year?

  • On The Third Day of Blogmas:

    It’s that time of year…when I watch copious amounts of holiday movies and shows. Here are some of my favorite new holiday offerings.

    Dash & Lily (Netflix) – Based on the YA book Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn (which I have not read) the series follows Dash and Lily as they pass a red journal back and forth in a series of getting to know you entries and interesting dares. Set in a magical holiday New York the series features mochi classes, underground Jewish punk shows, The Strand, and red majorette boots. I have watched the full series 3 times.

    Holidate (Netflix) – Emma Roberts stars in this rom-com about two people who agree to be each others holidate, a person you are not dating but take to holiday events so you can avoid the awkwardness of the holidays. Kristen Chenoweth makes an appearance as Emma’s perpetually single and serial dating aunt and is hysterical. The movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it is a good time and made me laugh.

    The Happiest Season (Hulu) – I had high hopes for this queer Christmas story. It had an amazing cast, director and writers, but something in it just didn’t sit completely right to me. Dan Levy and Aubrey Plaza shine, and Kristen Stewart is grounded and charming, but I am not sure how I feel about the resolution. All I know is that Jane is the best thing, and she deserves better. Watch it, but be prepared to dislike some of the plot and how it plays out.

    Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix) – This is a fun musical journey with amazing costumes and an interesting plot. I was impressed with many of the singers and greatly enjoyed the whole experience. The very thirsty mail woman is a fun standout and a power house singer. I have a crush on Forest Whitaker now.

    Have you watched anything new this year? Have you watched any of these? What did you think?

  • On The Second Day of Blogmas:

    On The Second Day of Blogmas:

    What is your strangest Holiday tradition? Mine is that for the last several years (I seriously don’t know how many.) I have been carving stamps to print my own holiday cards. I can remember doing a Yule Log, Snowflakes, Ornaments, Cookies, Mistletoe and I am sure there are a couple more. I try not to reuse or repeat a design.

    This year I carved two stamps to create my cards. I wanted to be able to easily use multiple colors. I am not going to spoil my card since they haven’t gone out in the mail yet, but I am really excited about them. I am mailing out 85+ cards this year. Once they are in the world I will reveal the design here.

    Do you send out Holiday Cards? Do you like to receive them? Is there a particular design you prefer?

  • On The First Day of Blogmas:

    On The First Day of Blogmas:

    Happy December!! The year is almost over. The holidays are upon us. I am looking super festive today while working from home.

    Picture of me wearing a green sweater with a red undershirt, a red and green jingle bell headband, christmas tree earrings, green eyeshadow and red lipstick.

    It is the first day of Sockmas for me on Instagram so if you are interested you can check out all the socky goodness over there.

    Today I wanted to share my Holiday trees for 2020 which went up this past weekend. In my foyer is a 9ft pencil tree with blue and white lights which is holding our “special” ornaments which are a mixture of our collectibles and the various ornaments we have gotten from ugly ornament exchanges over the last couple of years. This year my little sister surprised me with two new Muppet ornaments from Hallmark one of which is from my birth year! (1981)

    In the living room is my Pink and Glitter tree, inspired by the song “Pink and Glitter” by Tori Amos. I ordered my incredibly bright pink tree from Michaels. Some of the ornaments I owned and some came from Target. The owl tree topper was found at Joann’s. I am madly in love with this silly tree.

    I hope you enjoyed my tree tour! See you tomorrow!

  • November Finally Ends…

    November Finally Ends…

    I had such great hopes for November. I would roller skate. I was going to write a poem a day. I had just started a new job and I was learning my new position well.

    And then I was diagnosed with Covid-19. I spent a little over two weeks in quarantine and 10 days in complete isolation. Covid made me so tired some days that I would barely move. I lost and regained my sense of smell and taste. It was an unusual time and other than watching an inordinate amount of tv and movies on my laptop and reading a couple of books I did not accomplish anything during this time. I wrote a couple of poems for school, but none just for me. It was not my most productive time.

    And now November is over and December is about to begin. On December 1st I am going to begin Blogmas. I have a couple of weird challenges for December that I am planning to participate in on Instagram and then I want to share the best of December here.

    Here’s to a better December than November. See you Dec 1!

  • Covid Chronicles: Diagnosis, Shock and Early Symptoms

    Covid Chronicles: Diagnosis, Shock and Early Symptoms

    I tested positive for Covid-19.

    On Wednesday I woke up with what seemed to be sinus drainage, typical for this time of year and not at all unusual for me. By Thursday it was falling into my chest and I had a wet sinus drainage cough, which is again not unusual, but because of the current issues I was sent home to contact my pcp. She thought all signs pointed to sinusitis, but ordered me a Covid test because it is basically required if you report a cough.

    So… Friday late morning I went to a drive thru testing facility for my pcp where they tickled my brain with a swab (this is what it felt like, weird but not painful). I was notified by my pcp that I had tested positive for Covid late on Friday night.

    I cried quite a bit and immediately went about contacting work, family and friends that I had tested positive. I also shut myself up in our master bedroom away from my husband and our pets. Seth went Saturday morning to get tested as well, and he was negative which made my full quarantine even more necessary.

    So, today is technically day 4 since my diagnosis, but day 7 since my first “symptom” began. I still have a bit of a cough. I have also lost my sense of smell and taste. I took a bath with a witchbaby bathbomb which I know smelled amazing and I couldn’t smell anything. That is disheartening to say the least. Especially knowing that it may never come back.

    I am in quarantine for at least 10 days, possibly more. Right now it seems like I have a mild case and I am hoping it stays that way. I am resting, a lot. And I am watching too many Christmas Movies because they make me feel better.

  • Completed: October Things To Do

    Completed: October Things To Do

    I successfully completed everything on my October To Do List. It was a wonderful month and I am going into November with new goals and expectations. I decided to do NaNoWriMo but I am doing it differently this year by commiting to a poem a day for the month of November rather than a word count. I will still track on the site, so if you are interested in following along I am BetsySnowWhite.

    I have other plans that will solidify over the next couple of days that I will share when they take shape.

    Thank you for sharing Blogtober with me!

    • Magical Days, Madrigal Nights – Final Weekend: Wearing my new witch hat and having a blast with my friends.
    • Spooky Basket Exchange #1 – finish up and mail out: I need to finish a craft, box everything up and mail out.
    • Medieval Monster Mash at The Forge: Social distanced and monster themed. Our table is Witch themed. And Jameson’s Folly will be performing.
    • Spooky Basket Exchange – Duchess Edition: The ladies of the Duchess Squad will be exchanging baskets. Mine is purchased but needs assembled.
    • Give out candy for Beggar’s Night – Safely. I will figure it out.
    • Hallowest 1: Virginia West and Krystal Something Something co-writing and starring in the first Halloween performance at District West.
    • 2020 Witch Walk : My friend’s Kristan and Susan created this event a couple of years ago. We meet up at Goodale Park and then walk through the Short North dressed as witches.
    • Lady Gang Halloween at Carol’s: It’s Halloween and the Full Moon. We can’t let this go past without celebration.
    (more…)
  • Witch Walk 2020

    Witch Walk 2020

    On Halloween around the stroke of Noon, witches descended upon Goodale Park in Columbus Ohio in order to make merry and celebrate the Day. After grabbing a group picture we began walking down High Street in the Short North wishing a Happy Halloween to all we encountered. We stopped at Prologue Bookstore for some of our witchy companions to purchase tomes, and then at Roaming Goat Coffee to get a Mocha Latte for myself. We continued across the street to Rocket Fizz for old fashioned candy and novelties (I bought a racing possum!). We passed a salon where we waved to a fellow witch who was giving a blow out to a client.

    We stopped to grab a bite at The Eagle where I ordered a Grilled Cheese that features three kinds of cheese and apples, yum! It came out in the shape of a heart. Aww! Next a trip to Torso where I purchased a mask that says “Witch Please”, a gorgeous rhinestone mask and a bracelet that matched my witchy garb. A quick run back to prologue and then we made a stop at Bakersfield for a Margarita and a $3 shot of Hornitos.

    We witches can make a day of it!! Happy Haunting my friends until next year!

  • Hallowest 1: District Of Darkness

    Hallowest 1: District Of Darkness

    On Friday Night, we ventured down once more to District West where we passed through the cobwebs and curtain festooned hallways to enter into the haunted world of Hallowest 1: District of Darkness. This show was a coproduction of Virginia West and Krystal Something Something, and as always it did not disappoint. It was 2+ hours of non stop entertainment that ranged from campy to scary to just straight up hysterical.

    The opening number featured Virginia, Krystal, and the full cast as Zombies. Riley Poppyseed gave us a magical striptease as a conjure man. Selena T West as the scariest of all horrors, a Karen. Then after being served a PSL by an unsuspecting Barista she evolved into Mega-Karen, complete with onscreen level up graphics. Robyn Daculture was a masked demonic prom queen. Virginia gave us the Kiss of the Spiderwoman. Krystal and Cast were Zombie Strippers to Living Dead Girl.

    Bootsy Lefaris, a former protegee of Virginia who was in town to preform in The Sanderson Sister’s: Witch Perfect the following night, sang Sweet Transvestite from Rocky Horror in a guest spot. The absolutely beautiful Bianca Debonair paid tribute to The Bride of Chucky. Amanda Sue Punchfuck (one of my favorite drag names) was the fly on the VPs head. Virginia West as Nurse Ratched with her cast of nurses and doctors danced through “Blood in the Cut” by k.flay. Followed by Brent Fabian belting out Metallica as Pinhead from Hellraiser.

    V. Master Chad rocked their Trick R Treat themed segment. Followed by Terrence Brown as the (Sweet Sugar) Candyman. Krystal Something Something was a murderous teen in a Sleepaway Camp parody. The amazing, but super active so it was hard to get pictures Boyonce led a Sabrina the Teenage Witch piece. Then the W Girls danced their way through Wonderland, but were also difficult to photograph. I did catch a shot of the amazing Maria Hypes as the Red Queen showing off her flexibility. Sexy werewolf Alexander Chang-Reavis rocked out with his pack.

    The Bride Virginia and Brent’s Frankenstein Went through some of Streisand’s greatest hits. Brent’s facial expressions were killing me. Krystal got exorcised, and Eris Grey channeled Kathy Bates for an Annie Wilkes piece. The final two Sanderson Sisters closed the show with Tammy Spanx singing “Creep” by Radiohead and Tina Burner, complete with Rhinestone pea soup vomit, preformed an Exorcist based piece.

    The quality of the shows by the West Family never ceases to astound and amaze. I cannot wait for the next one!