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

A little less Christmas cheer

I recieved some very bad news today. I heard from my Aunt that my last living great grandparent died early this morning. My grandma Peachie was born in 1913. While I know she had moved on to some place better, it's still a little painful. She lived a very long, and very good life. She had 13 children, and out lived her husband by just over 32 years. And I will always remember her as the strong woman that she was. She was always smiling, and very patient with all of us grandchildren, and there were plenty of us. Come to think of it, I don't ever remember her getting angry or yelling. And since she lived in the middle of the country, I always remember the good ol' meals we had while we were there. Breakfast was usually biscuts, fried eggs, fried potatoes and sausage gravy. Dinners were things like ham hocks and pinto beans with corn bread. So, Saturday morning, I'm off to Southern Ohio to attend the funeral, and spend a little time with my grandparents, sisters, aunts, uncles, nephew and all the cousins.

In memory of Grandma Peachie 1913-2006

Time flies!

Life seems to have run me over. Next week is Yule, and I still have tons to do. I still have lots of hand knitted Christmas gifts to make. Also, next week is mom's birthday and I have no idea of what to get for her. For Mother's day I made her a pair of socks that she is leaves in a drawer, and for Christmas I am making her a Irish Hiking Scarf and matching hat in red. But, I guess I'll figure it out.

As for Yule, I can't wait to lite the fireplace next week for the ritual. I just need to figure out what I'm going to make. Maybe some Serendipity Bars, or some good ol' fashion almond crescent cookies. I'll have plenty of time to think it over, as I'll be knit during every spare moment between here and there.

As I have started this blog fairly recently, you don't know that at this time of year, we celebrate 3 holidays in our house. As the title implies, I am a kitchen witch. But as my Christian family is highly unaccepting of this, I do observe some Christian holidays. Christmas being one of them. And a few years ago I asked, "why should I be limited to Christian holidays while I practice my pagan holidays, and not observe any others?" I decided that we would celebrate Chanukah as well. Where I work, we had an older guy that worked with us who was Jewish. I asked him where I could go to buy a menorah and candles, and he told me to leave it to him. A few days later, he brought me a little brass menorah, a box of colorful candles and phonetically wrote out the Hebrew blessings for me with the english translations. My girls thought it was the greatest thing, to watch mommy light the menorah and say the blessing in Hebrew. Ever since then, he has brought me a box of candles and given my girls presents the first night of Chanukah. This year when I went to get out the menorah, I couldn't remember what box it was packed in. So, I gave in, went to Bed Bath and Beyond and found a lovely little silver menorah and pretty blue candles. This year when I pack down the Chrismas tree, the menorah is going in the box with the tree and my Yule candles. And since this Friday night is the first night of Chanukah, I'll post pics everynight of the lit menorah.

And to everyone:

Happy Holidays

Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas

Happy Chanukah

and

Happy Yule

No matter how you say it, may it be everything you wished for.

My favorite time of year

I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. The chill in the air, the leaves turning and falling, and my favorite holiday, Halloween (Samhain). I had to stop at Wal Mart the other night, to get Over the Hedge for the girls, and I came across some great deals. At first, I only had in mind to get the movie. But I was sucked into the bargin isle. I saw some funky shaped plates and bowls, and in the back of my mind I knew I was looking for something like that, but couldn't remember why. Two isles later, it hit me. I wanted a different shaped plate and bowl for rituals, so I could stop using the regular dinner ware. So, I turned myself back around and searched for what I wanted. I found a black, square shaped plate for $1 and bowl for $.75. I couldn't pass that up. And they must have been marking stuff down to make room on the shelves, because I found a set of four wine glass for almost half off. I got them for $2. I needed a new one anyway, as Moonie pushed the one I used for ritual off the kitchen counter and broke it. So, for less than $4, I got everything I needed. I am very proud of myself.

Also, for the upcoming holiday, I am preparing for my week of ritual fasting. However, I don't go the complete week without. I do daylight hours only. Sun up to sun down. A few people raise an eyebrow at me when I do this, but everyone else if used to it. And one of the main reason why I do this is to pay homage to the several times in my life that I have had so little food, and still survived. Also to clear my mind, and cleanse my body for the rituals that I have planned. I think I'll also do some clutter cleansing, and space cleansing this time around. Granted, I got rid of a ton of crap when I moved, I can stand to get rid of more. I guess I'll just have to see how motivated I get, huh?

Until later.

New direction needed

After reading Angel's latest post, I have remembered exactly what I have been forgetting for the past several years. Positive thought, focus and meditation. As I told her, I kinda got side tracked by life. And not in a good way. I honestly can't remember the last time I sat down to meditate. I can't remember the last time I focused on a goal that I really want. And positive thoughts have been in short supply, except when it comes to my knitting. It seems that I have let life run away with me. I have been so wrapped up on failed relationships, my children growing up too fast, money problems, and a myriad of other things. I feel as if my life has left me behind. That has resulted in depression. And in my depression, I have let so many things go. For one, I have gained back alot of weight that I worked so hard to get off and keep off for several years. And I have turned into the other "itch" word, the with the B and not the W. And I mean with a high, royal, capitol "B". That's not me, and that's not who I want to be. So, over the next several weeks, I will take the opportunity to plan for Samhaim. I will plan a really good cleansing ritual, and a good spell for a better new year. I also think that a ritual fasting is in order. That always seems to help clear my mind. So, if anyone would like to join me, in your own way, from where ever you are, let me know. 'Cause the moral support and postive thoughts always come in handy.

Apples & Eggs

Merry Meet! Happy Mabon to all! This is how my Mabon day started:

Beautiful, huh? Too bad I was on my way to work. And this:

Sorry about the little black dot in the middle of the sun. I didn't put that there intentionally, it just showed up. On my way home from work, I stopped and got a bottle of apple wine for my rituals. When I got home, I started by giving the feline population of the house baths. Most people are horrified by this thought. Giving a cat a bath? Welp, mine are used to it. They get atleast 2 a year. And since they were messy kittens, I had to bathe then regularly, they are used to it and don't fight, much. They don't claw me, they just try to grip the side of the bath tub. They have learned that resistance is futile. So, without futher ado, here are my very pi$$ed off kitties:

First up is Mr. Vinny. He is a goofy Siamese mix that is just a little over a year old. He came to live with us because I couldn't stand to see such cuteness die. He has since attached himself to Katie.

Next we have Miss Moonie (short for Anksunamun - named after the evil villianess in the Mummy movies). I got her from Amy's mom. She was the only black kitten in the litter, and I have such affection for black cats. I am the only person she loves, she tolerates the rest of the human race, but only when she feels like it. She is just over 5 years old. I got her when Annie was just 4 months old. And there must be a connection there, because Moonie has let Annie pick her up and haul her around in some very awkward postions since Annie was able to pick her up. And moving on.

When I was done with bath time, I cleaned up and went into the kitchen to bake an apple cake. Amy had this cake mix from Simply Tasteful (one of those home party things - like I'm one to talk, I used to sell Party Lite and Tupperware). It was called Nana's Apple Cake Mix : Just add apples and eggs. That's it? There has to be more. Right? Nope. Just apples & eggs. And boy did it come out great. Here is a pic of the cake:

Here is the ritual pic:

It's a little dark, but I like the effect. And yes, the ritual wine is in a margarita glass. That's because my vindictive familiar (Miss Moonie) broke the only wine glass I had unpacked. I'll need to either unpack another, or by one before Samhaim. After this, I went out to the front yard to freak out the neighbors again - Sorry - I meant, sprinkle the offerings of cake and wine in the yard. After I was done, Amy pointed out that I had another witness, besides her. There was someone walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. The story he'll have to tell at school tomorrow.

So, here's hopeing your Mabon was pleasant. Goddess Bless!

What a week!

Last week there was drama golore! I was in a car accident. Nothing too serious, but enough to be very upsetting. Here is what my poor little car looked like after impact:

But, I think the other person got the worst end of the deal. But considering that she turned left infront of me, she deserved it. Here is her vehicle looked like:

Not bad for a little Kia, huh? The cop that showed up didn't site her for causing the accident, leaving the scene of an accident (as she walked off and he had to go get her), or for not being able to show current proof of insurance. However, her own insurance company found her to be at fault, but for only 75%? WTF? Apparently, I'm responsible for 25% becuase I couldn't channel Miss Cleo from behind prison bars to see what she was about to do. All that happened last Wednesday, and by Friday I had to go to the doctor's because my shoulder swelled up where my seat belt jerked me back. But it was good thing I was wearing my seat belt, or I would've kissed the windshield. Ouch! So, I'm on anti-inflammitories, muscle relaxants, an exercise program and I have to return next week. I dropped my car off to the body shop yesterday morning, and they are supposed to have it until next Monday, but they told me that they would try to have it done by Friday.

But, my week has gotten better. Today, I got a card from Meow who is Austraila. Thanks, it comes at a time when I need some cheering up. Also, I won some wonderful yarn from a fellow knit blogger, and I never win anything. So things are looking up. Maybe the Goddess has decided to smile on me once again.

Fall is on the way!

The weather has been picture perfect lately. It is cooling off, the leaves are starting to get a hint of color change. It's great. Now, I just need to plan the up coming Mabon picnic, and try to make sure everyone can attend. Also, maybe I should look up a spell for opening the line of communication to a certain someone, but, I don't know, we'll see. Maybe I'm just meant to be lonely. Atleast it feels that way lately.

Finally, Henna Pics!

I finally have the pics from the night we did henna. Here they are:

My left palm.

The back side of my left hand.

The design on my feet.

The design I put on Miss Amy's leg. Not bad for free hand, huh?

I forgot to get pics of my right palm and back of hand, oops! I have been busy knitting lately. If you want to see that, you can visit here.

A long week

The henna I was waiting for hadn't shown up by Thursday, so I went and bought more on Friday. I mixed it that night, and I did do some on Saturday. I just haven't pulled the pics off of my camera yet. But it figures, the pack of henna that I was waiting for showed up on Monday. On Tuesday, I was called on to help with a situation that maybe should have had help along time ago. Granted, my part was small, but still I'll help out when and where I can. That, and it was domestic violence/mental health issue. I'll absolutely help with that, after years of watching and being in similar situations. I am stressed out over something I'm not ready to talk about yet, as I may jinx it. I have lost my knitting mojo, and decided that I wanted a new book to read, so I bought one. I bought "The Virgin's Lover" by Philippa Gregory. So far, so good. Now, if I could just get my nerves to stop, I'd be good, 'cause I've heart burn this week, and I never get heart burn. Oh well.

Trying to catch up on sleep

After being on vacation (a.k.a - getting out of the office before someone dies), I am having trouble adjusting back to the work schedule. Normally, I am asleep no later than midnight. Lately, I haven't been dropping off until sometime after 1:30 am. I have to be up no later than 6:30 am, and that's just insuring i get a shower, get clothes on my body and get out the door, hopefully with children in tow. So, this is going to be a short post, so I can start recording a movie for dad, and still get some sleep.

Oh, and no henna in the mail yet. Hopefully it will be here by Friday, that way I can mix it and use in Saturday.

Night!

Happy Lughnasadh!

Today was a trying day, for mundane things, anyway. Besides the heat being unbearable, everyone just seemed to aggraviate me. But, anywho.

Happy First Harvest! I forgot to ask mom to make corn bread, and I didn't make Full Moon corn bread. I did make some corn cake, though. I had to run to the store for few final ingrediants and a bottle of wine, but I did celebrate a holiday in a somewhat proper way. See:

There is my corn cake, a piece each for the Goddess and God, a glass of wine and my lit candle. After saying my incantation over them, I took a pinch of each piece of corn cake and the glass of wine out to the front yard to make my offerings. Let's see if the neighbors complain about the batty girls next door. Especially after the "trying to take a picture of the full moon over the neighbors house across the street" episode.Yeah, that was interesting. We actually heard him lock his screen door to keep us wierdos out. Hee hee! But with Miss Amy's girls living with us, I forgot what it was like to have to explain what I was doing and why. My girls just know, because it's the way it's always been. But her girls are catching on. When I mentioned Mabon for next month, Renae asked what that was, and when I asked her if she remembered the picnic in the park last year, she got very excited. I love sharing these kinds of things with all the girls. Annie actually begs me to let go on the Gingerbread Grandma's site to play. I think it's great. We get to read the stories together, pick out recipes, and activities to do.

I had an idea. (Look out world!) If anyone still reads this (I hope someone does), I was wondering if anyone would like to join a Yule/Solstice exchange. Just a something to let everyone exchange a seasonal or ritual item, and make more friends. Maybe set it up like a "Secret Santa" swap, where you know who you are sending stuff to, but not who will be sending to you. If anyone is interested, please leave a comment, that way I have time to get everything set up. If I only get a few people who are interested, not really enough to do a swap, maybe we can just arrange a gift swap between us.

Happy Lammas!

Life's Distractions

That title is an understatement. I have been caught up in all kinds of things lately. Last week I took a so-called vacation to get away from work. We really didn't do much, as I am really broke right now. We hung around the house and Miss Tammi's, watched movies, and went to the beach. I did have a small disappointment last week. I bought a couple of small henna packs, as I have had a great urge to "line up my freckles", as Miss Amy calls it. When I mixed the pack as directed, and I have been using the same brand for almost 6 years, it didn't come out right. I double checked the instructions, and finally set it aside. I later found the label that had the company's web site listed, and then the phone number. I called, and had to leave a message, but they called me right back. We went over what I did, and have found out that the instructions may have been faulty, as it should have been 2 teaspoons of water and not 2 tablespoons as it said. The lady I talked to took my address, and told me that she would be sending me 2 replacement packs for the 2 packs that came out wrong. How great is that? I can still have my henna fix, as soon as it arrives. I'll take pics and post them. I kinda regret not taking pics of some of the creation we have come up with in the past 6 years. Some of them were just fabulous. I've had the Celtic Tree of Life on my back, as big as a dinner plate, as well as several other great creations. As a matter of fact, the real tatoo that I have on my lower back was a henna stencil out of one of my books. I tried it out on my back in henna for several months before I made up my mind and let fade, to be done for real in ink. It helped me determine the size and the placing.

Anyway, tomorrow is Lughnasadh. The first harvest festival, and the festival of corn. If I can't get mom to make corn bread for dinner, I may just to come home and make a Full Moon corn bread for the occasion. I would also love to have some mead with it, but I haven't brewed any for several years. I may just to fix that. Nothing is better for rituals than a a good honey mead, flavored with leamons and/or oranges.

Blessed Be!

Happy Summer Soltice!

I know that I haven't updated this blog that much lately, but life seems to be passing me by spiritually. Today being the Soltice, maybe I can sneak in a little ritual time after the kids go to sleep. I want/need to do a ritual to draw energy back to me, so I can find the motivation to do the things that I need to do (like lose all this extra weight). I really need to cleanse my room, and get rid of this headache that I have been lugging around all day.

As, I have found the motivation to write again. Inspiration has hit me at almost every turn. Maybe I'll find enough of it to finally write the novel I know is trapped in my brain. Here's hopeing, cause I could use what little money it might bring in.

New Post Card

I got another post card yesterday, I just haven't had a chance to scan it. Not to mention that our modem is down at home. We should have the new one tomorrow, the cable company is dropping it off tomorrow, so I'll be able to post in after that.

I have had a very quiet couple of days. My mom took my girls camping. It's given me plenty of time to catch up on my knitting. They'll come home either tonight or tomorrow.

Stop by my knitting blog if you'd like to see pics of out hike for Saturday.

Guess What I Saw Today!

I went across the dock this morning to let one of the drivers in, and he pointed out a tiny little toad. Here it is:

And just to show you how tiny, here it is on his finger:


Don't worry, we released him where he wouldn't get hurt.