Busy, busy, busy

Wow! It's been a long time. It's been a very busy year, so far, and considering it's November already.

I do believe that I have everyone that is interested in the PIF Exchange. If you are one of the people for that, and I haven't contacted you, don't worry, I should be doing that as soon as I can. I'm clearing out a few projects, finishing charity knitting, and help my room mate slowly move out, but the dust should settle soon.

Anywho! I did celebrate Samhain, even if it was small this year. We watched the Ghost Hunter's live special from Waverly Hills, and Katie prepared a pumpkin bread for me. Here's a pic of the offerings, as meager as they were:

The wine is from my mom. It's her 2006 Plum wine, made from Japanese Table plums from the tree in what's left of their small orchard. Too bad that tree is dying off, because it produced some great plums and some awesome wine. I still have a bottle of the 2004 that is waiting for a major life event before I open it.

Ok, if I drop off the face of the Earth (again) for a while, it's because I am finishing the charity knitting and starting my Yule knitting.

Blessed Be!

PIF Exchange

I got this idea from one of the knitting blogs that I read, and joined it on my knitting blog. I thought I'd carry it over to this blog. It's called the Pay It Forward Exchange. Inspired by this movie:



Here are the rules:

"Here is how it works! I'll send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange! I don't know what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week...LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that's a promise! and it will be something yummy!! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog..."

I will be taking the first 3 people that say they are interested. So, if you are interested, just leave me a comment with your e-mail address, so I can contact you for your snail mail address. And please remember, Lady Karma can be really mean, and if you don't follow through, she'll come back to haunt you, in a baaaad way.

Time flies quicker than a witch on a besom!

Boy, that month got by me! Where did it go? I have missed blogging about the full moon past, and Lammas. I did celebrate both, but forgot pics and posts. For my ritual dinner the menu was as follows:

Polska Kielbasa
Mashed potatoes
Corn on the cob (fresh from mom's garden)
Corn cake (which the girls love)

Nothing fancy, but very filling and yummy. I'll post the corn cake recipe to my recipe page at a later date, as it's just about time to leave work and head out into the blazing heat. By the Goddess, I hope fall gets here real soon.

Till later, Blessed Be!

Ok, Blogger won't let me add a title. That's new. But, that's blogger. Any, I thought I'd be a theif today, because I swiped the following from Manic Witch:

Your Name: Miss Tonia

1. Famous Singer/Band: Metallica

2. 4 letter word: shit

3. Street: Princeton

4. Color: Red

5. Gifts/Presents: Made by hand, with love

6. Vehicle: Mini Cooper

7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: shot glasses

8. Boy Name: Nathaneil

9. Girl Name: Mahala

10. Movie Title: Practical Magic

11. Drink: Margarita

12. Occupation: customer service

13. Celebrity: Orlando Bllom

14. Magazine: Interweave Knits

15. U.S. City: Salem, Mass

16. Pro Sports Teams: Dallas Cowboys

18. Reason for Being Late for Work: a Mc Griddle

19. Something You Throw Away: (i don't really like to throw anything away, would rather recycle)

20. Things You Shout: Fucker!

21. Cartoon Character: Hong Kong Fooy

Tag! You’re it!

Full Moon Saturday, Henna Sunday & Pic Spam Monday

Since Saturday was a full moon, it was the perfect time to start making my Full Moon Cornbread.
And what goes better with cornbread, than a big ol' pot of beans, pinto beans. Here is a pic of the cornbread, hot out of the oven:

Here is the pot of beans:

For the beans, I just used a medium size bag of pinto beans, boiled till they softened, added 1 ham hock and salt & pepper to taste. Some people add all kinds of things to their beans, but I love them simple. The only thing I was missing was some fresh green beans with a little bacon, salt and pepper cooked into them. And here is a pic of the cornbread cut, so you can see how it looks inside, since I use white cornmeal.


Now for Henna Sunday. Every summer, we love to paint ourselves with henna. We decided that yesterday was the perfect day for it. I packed up Annie, Katie went to her dad's, and headed off to Miss PJ's, with henna basket over my arm, sorta like Little Red Riding Hood. I took the left over beans and cornbread, and PJ made fried potatoes. Yum! Then, we got down to business. The first pic is of a Celtic Heart design. The arms belong to Katie, PJ and me:

Next up is my favorite for my left calf, crescent moon with clouds and stars.


Here, we have the design that we always have on our feet:


On my right calf is a Tibetan fireball (yes, I am that pale):


Up next is the sun design that PJ favors, and this time I added a Triple Goddess symbol to the center:

And last, but not least is the cherry blossom on PJ's palm.

We did several more that I don't have pictured, some of which was a small kitty on Annie's arm, Chinese characters on my left arm, and the same moon on Katie's leg, the only difference from mine is that she didn't want the clouds filled in.

I've added a few new recipes to my recipe page, go have a peek.

Ritual Night

Ok, so things didn't go as they should. But, then again, they never do. I didn't get the cookies started last night, like I wanted to, because I didn't get in until 10 o'clock. Plus, when I went to get the stuffed shells that I wanted, the closest store didn't have any. S, I got some round cheese ravioli (for the Goddess aspect), and some square beef ravioli (for the God aspect), some 3 cheese marinara (the Triple Goddess aspect), and some strawberry wine (for summer). And I didn't get to make any fresh bread, so Texas toast it is. Below is a pic of the meager offerings.


Hopefully the next Sabbat ritual offerings will be more plentiful and season appropriate.

Happy Midsummer to all!

Happy Summer Solstice!

And may it be a good one for you! Today, here at work, it seems to have flown by without me. I guess that's what I get for leaving my broom at home again. Hee hee! I won't be able to preform my ritual this evening, as we have a softball game. So, on the way home from the game, I'll stop off at the store to pick up the few items that I need, and prepare anything that needs to chill when I get home. Then, as I have taken the day off of work tomorrow and Monday, I'll have plenty of time to run my errands, make dinner, and do rituals after dark. I have decided that I will make the almond crescent cookies and some Litha Sun cookies, as well as a pasta dish with marina sauce, and some home made bread. So, tonight's shopping list will consist of lemons, wine, and what ever I need for my pasta dish, which I think I'll make stuffed shells. That may make a good representation off the fertile and pregnant Goddess. I'll figure it out by then, as I still want to look through my recipes.

Speaking of recipes. I did start a page for my favorite recipes, it is Ramblings & Recipes of a true Kitchen Witch. I have already added a couple of recipes to the page. Have peek, and keep checking back. You never know. You may find something you like.

I'll post tomorrow after I'm done. And after that, I'll be relaxing until about Tuesday, as my birthday is Saturday, and I want to do nothing but relax and see what Mr. S has in store for me, since he's keeping most of this weekend's events secret. Darn him!

Happy Solstice (again), and may the Goddess and God smile favorably on you and yours!

Wow! Two posts in one month!

Well, I'm trying to stay in the habit of posting on this blog. I have been very neglectful lately, but I have noticed that seems to be the same for some other pagan bloggers. I guess that we, as a collective group, get distracted easily by everyday life. Well, that's my problem, anyway.

I have been preparing for Midsummer. I have looking through my recipes to see what I can make out of the cupboards, as I am really poor this week, and for the next several weeks. So far I have decided to make some of my famous almond crescent cookies, and I think I can spare enough change to get a lemon and make some sun cookies. The girls will love all the cookies. It's not often, anymore, that mom makes cookies. Granted, I used to, along with a monthly full moon corn bread. I really need to get back into those good habits. We seemed much happier then. Granted, we now have to allow for a busy sports schedule (read: softball games at least twice a week, Mondays & Thursdays). So, let's see what we can do about fixing that.

Speaking of recipes, I may add a page of my favorite recipes, with references of where they came from, and in the new label area at the bottom of the posts, I will reference which holidays I use them for.

And again, I'll leave with some Pagan Humor. All you cat lovers/owners will love this, and strangely identify with it. This one is courtesy of Silver Wolf's Lair:

How to Give A Cat A Pill
1) Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2) Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3) Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4) Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5) Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
6) Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7) Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8) Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
9) Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10) Retrieve cat from neighbour's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11) Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12) Call fire department to retrieve the cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.
13) Tie the little bastard's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of steak filet. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.
14) Consume remainder of Scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and remove pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15) Arrange for RSPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
How to Give A Dog A Pill . . .
1) Wrap it in bacon

Long Time, No Post

(picks up laptop, dusts off blog, clears cobwebs out of the corners)

Wow!

What a year this is shaping up to be. After my last post, we had an unfortunate run in with 5th disease. Annie brought it home from school, and I was lucky enough to catch it. After that, it all becomes a blur. It doesn't really seem like that much time has passed. But the short of the long is... I have started dating again. Or I should say, I was sorta forced to sign up for a dating service. But, something good came of it. I have met a man (Mr. S) that encourages me in anything my little heart desires to do. He understands and encourages me in my faith, and even makes sure that what ever he wants to do does not interrupt any rituals or observances. And better yet, he actually enjoys doing things with me and my children, like attending Katie's softballs games as his schedule permits.

And of late I have had horrible migraines, partly the side effect of medication and partly from stress. To counter the horrid pain that I have been going through, Mr. S has encouraged me to go back to meditation, rituals and chants, basically anything to relieve the stress portion. So, next week approached Midsummer and my birthday. There should be lots of celebrating going on. Well, at least next weekend. So, in the spirit of the up coming Soltice, I'll leave you with a little pagan humor, courtesy of Pagan Path:

You Know You're a Witch When...

1. Your BOS has spots on the pages from spilled brews.

2. When cleaning house you have to specify. "Where is the broom? No, not the broom, where is the one to clean the floor with?"

3. Candle wax has dripped on your keyboard.

4. There are more jars of strange smelling plants in your cupboards than there are cereal boxes.

5. Friends know they can always give you candles and incense as a gift.

6. When watching old re-runs of Bewitched, you find you side with Samantha's mother Endora.

7. When travelling, stranger and stranger strangers tell you their problems.

8. You find yourself making corn dollies in the checkout line at the grocery store (well, I thought about it).

9. You ask for Halloween off, because it's a religious holiday.

10. You start answering the phone with "Merry Meet".

Blessed Be!

Belated Imbolc post

Friday was a very busy day. I had little time to myself. I was unable to accomplish my ritual and light my candle, but I did get an amazing shot of the sunset with my new camera. Have a peek:
Please excuse the dirty windshield. Since it's been rather cold, they have been putting down plenty of salt and brine to keep the roads from freezing.

Happy, late, Imbloc!

That old, familar, creepy feeling

Have you ever gotten the feeling that there is something in your house that shouldn't be? That's been happening lately. My room mate and I have been seeing shadows lately. And my cat Mr. Vinny has been acting weird. He's been running around the house, ears pinned back, like he's running from something, and then stop short like he's trying not to run into something. I have seen other cats do this, but only in houses that supposedly have spirits in them. Granted, I grew up in a house that had a spirit in it, so the feeling is nothing new, but this spirit is new. We have lived in this apartment for almost a year, and it's only been the usual, family spirit. This one is definitely new, and lurks all around the house. It almost makes me want to find out why it's there and where it came from, almost. If it keeps creeping us out and doesn't move on soon, I'll find a way to gently push it out. And if it doesn't want to go quietly, well, let's just say that the lease will be up and the end of February.

Have Faith and She will provide

A number years back, I bought a small wooden box to keep my favorite deck of Tarot cards in. Inlaid on the lid was a brass Pentagram. After being recently separated from my former husband, and have difficult financial times, I had about $3 in my pocket. I picked up that box, took the $3 out of my pocket, closed my eyes and said, "I place this money in this box with the with the faith, Mother Goddess, that as long as it stays in this box, you will always provide for me. You will always see to it that I have the money I need for me and my children. So mote it be." I put the money in the box, set it down and walked away. Ever since that moment, She has seen to it that I have what I need. Even when my house was broken into in '03, and they took everything I had of value, that money remained inside of that box. They never touched it. A year after that, I placed another dollar in it, again with the same chant, and walked away. Once again, She has provided for me. Every year at this time, the company that I work for asks the employees to take a one week, voluntary, unpaid vacation to help cut costs in the slow months, and they give us 4 comp days to use later in the year, and they let us choose up to 5 pay checks to have the monies taken out of. I opted to do it again this year, and I always take the week between the girls' birthdays. But lately, money has been tight, after moving into a more expensive apartment. I was worried about how to make sure I still have gas and food money. Once again, She has provided for me. Remember my little car accident in October? Well, my shoulder was strained from the seat belt, and I had to go see the doctor. After the first visit, the doc gave me an exercise sheet to follow for it, and had me come back after 2 weeks. When I came back for the 2 week visit, she released me and sent me on. Then today, I got a call here at work. The person asked for me by my first and last name. That's unusual. Granted, I work customer service and take tons of calls all day, but no one ever asks for me by first and last, unless it's one of the girls' schools. Turns out that it was the other person's insurance company calling to settle my bodily injury claim for my shoulder. They asked to settle and offered me a small chunk of cash for my trouble. Being that it was only a sprain, I settled. Most of my worries have been laid to rest. So, have faith and She will provide.

Blessed Be!

Time got away from me again!

Boy! With the death of Grandma Peachie and the holidays, time just slipped away. I completely forgot to blog about the Soltice and Chanukah. I even forgot to take pics. Fore shame on me! What made me realize that I totally missed blogging was the fact that I picked up my Sabbat Entertaining book to plan Imbolc. I did have a lovely time, lighting the fire place, doing the planned ritual, lighting the candles and baking. Then came Christmas eve, and as I baked cookies, I burned myself. Which post-poned knitting and gift wrapping. But, all in all, it was a lovely holiday season.

Now with the New Year, let's see if I can get myself back on a schedule. But, I'll elaborate on that later when I have time. Right now, I'm off to read the ok parts of MJD's Undead and Unappreciated to Katie.

BB