magic all around

Celeste got new pajamas yesterday. Mmmm...more like a bathrobe, heh. It's really a fleece dog sweater, but it's about 2 sizes too big and fits her loosely. So it drapes on her like a robe. She seems to love it, though, and went to bed in it last night. Voluntarily. I couldn't believe it. Usually, getting her to go to her own bed is like pulling teeth, but last night, with her fleece sweater on, she went to her own bed and was out like a light. She slept till almost 9 this morning! Another miracle! She's usually awake and destroying things at 5:30, but this morning was a different story. I was actually expecting to find a shredded fleece collar hanging from her neck and the rest of the sweater scattered around the laundry room, but it was intact! When I went into see if Celeste was still breathing, she just looked up at me from her laundry basket and yawned. As soon as I took her PJs off, she sprang into action and leaped around the apartment like a horny toad, so I know she's normal outside of the sweater...maybe they're magic pajamas! Maybe they keep the monsters away, like Ms. Violet did.

I went to the artisan fair today in the big parking lot just a couple of blocks away. It's open through Sunday. Most of the vendors are from the mountain areas, and they sell knitwear, mostly, but a few also have herbs and herbal remedies, and some folk magic stuff. As I walked through the aisles, I noticed a few gallon jars of preserved snakes, monopoly money, copal incense, and various animal bones...all for casting spells to bring money, chase away the evil eye, protection against other spells and curses, and the like. I passed a booth that had piles of herbs and incense on it and heard bells and chanting coming from behind a curtain, heavy incense smoke filling the air. I wasn't allowed to peek behind to see what was happening, but I know that voodoo workings are still practiced in some areas of Peru, including parts of Lima. I can't tell how seriously people take it or how often they make this part of their lives, although I do know that Omar's cousin is currently employed by a company from Spain, to read tarot cards over the phone. This is the first place I have ever been where "eye of newt" would be an item that people would go shopping for, and you really might find it on the shelf.

I wonder why I didn't see magic wands. Is the wand a European creation, not included in voodoo magic? When I have gone to craft shows and eclectic stores in the United States, I always see those kinds of items, including wands.

Anyway, I came away from the fair with 2 beautiful sweaters, one all alpaca and the other probably an acrylic blend, a pair of hand-knit socks with matching mittens, a jar of very strong-tasting honey, a jar of carob syrup, and the first three Harry Potter movies for about dollar a piece - the extent of my magic for the day. I didn't buy any herbs or snake bits. I think the movies might see me through Saturday. Omar had a change of plans and has to return Saturday afternoon...he has classes on Sunday, so is cutting his visit in Trujillo short by a day. I'm glad. I know he enjoys visiting his family and friends there but I miss his presence here in the house.