Category Archives: Family

January 1, 2013 · 5:48 pm

Happy 2013!!……..

We will open the book. Its pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year my friends…ready or not 2013 is here! 🙂 I have been so busy moving and setting up my new home, healing from a broken leg and of course doing all the things we ALL do for the holidays..I also didn’t get to send you all a Happy Christmas! I hope that you DID have a good holiday, that you were surrounded in Joy and Love, and that Santa was good to you!

A good Christmas was had here..though it was hectic and very different because of the move. My extended family, my siblings and parents, always come to my house for the holidays. This year, they took pity on me and my situation and decided for each family to celebrate on their own. Whew! It took a big load of work off my shoulders! Christmas this year was just my husband, my daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren and we had a lovely time. A simple meal, exchanging gifts, a fire in the fireplace and fun! It was perfect and so much less stressful. It was a good thing!

New Year’s Eve also was quiet. Just the three of us here at home relaxing. We puttered in the house..hanging new lighting and pictures. Hubby and I did a bit of shopping for breakfast bar stools and had lunch out. We watched the “Rockin Eve” shows on tv and just relaxed. At midnight it was hugs all around and off to bed!!

I for one am ready for a New Year..new beginnings…new possibilities! 2012 was a rough year at our house. Not that there weren’t many Blessings but there were challenges too..big ones. Like Health! I’m not one for setting resolutions….too easy to break them LOL. But I do set some goals for the next year. Things like taking care of myself better..being healthier. Keeping Life simpler, taking walks in our new neighborhood, eating right and doing the things I love to do more and things I don’t like to do…well, do them less! Things I love to do like time with family, reading, crocheting, journaling, finally completing that herbal course I signed up for, as always connecting with Goddess and Earth and my Path, planning my new gardens in my new yard, making time to be with my friends, etc etc….lovely things to do and focus on! That is my goal! Enjoy more and stress less! And oh yes, our family can’t wait for our new baby boy to come into the world any day now! THAT is a true Blessing indeed! A 3rd grandchild! ❤

Do you set goals or resolutions? My advice..make it simple and just one or two things. It’s easier to stick to it…and easier to accomplish. I talked about this before here on my blog. I read a book years ago…Change One Thing. It was life changing for me. What is that ONE Thing you would change? Maybe it’s to get up earlier and have quiet time to yourself, maybe it’s to go to bed earlier for more sleep? How about taking that class you’ve always wanted to take…or to start a new craft project? Organize your desk or closet? De-junk the house? Walk more, eat less? Read that classic you’ve always wanted to read or get a new job cause you despise your current job. The possibilities are endless and it’s just one thing 🙂 Try it!! I’d love to hear from you…what you might want to do different and how it works out for you!

I hope 2013 brings good things to all of us. I truly believe we are on the cusp of a world-wide awakening. A call for a change in humanity..in how we all look at our world and each other. Compassion, Kindness, Caring, Love, Positivity, Help, Acceptance…these are what Life is really about. A higher awareness of what the Universe, God, Goddess, Buddha, Spirit..however you view the Divine…wants for us. We can be a Light to others.. leaders in the movement to a world that was meant to be! I plan on working on that most of all. Being a Light..Being Love.

Many Blessings to you and yours for a most wonderful 2013…Make it a good year!!

 

A happy New Year!

Grant that I May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I’ve played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.
~Edgar Guest

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Love and Blessings, Autumn

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December 18, 2012 · 9:08 pm

Blessed Yule 2012…….

484259_565118623505289_1384182387_nMerry Meet friends!  I’m taking a quick stop from all the busyness of moving and preparations for Yule and Christmas to write a quick post.  It’s been a very strange Yuletide season for me this year.  With my broken leg hindering..well everything!..I am trying to do, our move, and the very warm, gloomy weather we’ve been having, it just hasn’t felt like Yule time to me.  However, we are semi settled in our new home (which we love!), the weather is getting colder and we may see our first snowflakes on Thursday, and well..I have to get busy shopping for food and gifts cause I’ve run out of time to put it off! LOL.

I have been enjoying holiday shows on tv and holiday music too.  I’ve done most of my gift shopping online this year but I’m heading out  tomorrow for some stocking stuffers, gift cards and a few more gifts. Then I’m going to get lots of gift bags cause I don’t have much time to wrap!  Again..a strange year this year 🙂

I am mostly looking forward to Yule night.  It’ll be a quiet night for me..I’m going to be sure to make it so.  A solitary ritual with simple candle and greenery…some meditation and focusing on the longest night, spending time with Goddess and meditating on what I would like for the next year to bring.  Though it’s been a rough year for me I am more Blessed then not and have much to be thankful for.  I just know 2013 is going to be a good year for my family…especially with my new grandson who will make an appearance in mid January!

I am going to post a favorite Yule poem.  I’ve posted it before but I love it so much I’m posting it again.  It says ..for me..what Yule is all about.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

“So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive, And when the new
year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!”
–   Susan Cooper, The Shortest Da

I wish all of you a very Joyous and Magickal Yule.  May the Goddess and God Bless you and yours and bring you great Love, Peace and Happiness.

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Many Blessings,  Autumn

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December 3, 2012 · 10:41 pm

The Wheel turns to Yule 2012……..

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Merry Meet friends!  I can’t believe it’s December already..the Season of Yule and the return of the Sun!  I have been so busy for several months now preparing to move to a new home that the days are blending together in a big blur.  Selling our home then buying one…planning for all the home improvements we’re doing to the new house….packing up the old house which includes a huge amoung of getting rid of stuff since we have bought a much smaller home!…. Well, you get the picture.

On top of that I broke my leg!  Ends up what was thought to be a sprained knee turned into a broken tibial plateau…a serious injury and will take time to heal and time in a wheelchair.  The timing couldn’t be worse!!  Having said that I’m blessed with family and friends who have stepped up to help us pack, help me run errands, take me to doc appts etc.  Thank Goddess for them or we would be very behind!!   We move into our new home in less then 2 weeks!!  We will be settled in just in time for Yule!

Being that we are moving right before Yule..and the fact we’ve had such warm weather so far this Winter…I’m having a hard time getting that feeling of Yule.  You know, the sitting by the fire with a hot chocolate, watching holiday movies, planning a shopping day, kind of feeling.  I have had to do all my holiday shopping online so far as getting out for me is tough right now.  But I’ve done it.  We’ve not had but one fire going because it’s been warm or because we’ve been gone, out shopping for things for the new house like vanities, appliances, flooring, lighting etc.  (ok..that is VERY fun! 🙂   I’ve watched a few movies when I’ve had the time and listen to holiday music alot..but still..the feeling isn’t with me. It doesn’t feel like Yule or the holiday season.

Now, having said that, I realize there is a difference between the holiday commercialism and Yule.  When I think about Yule it’s a whole different thing.  It’s about the turning of the Wheel, the return of the Sun, days lengthening.  It’s about a quiet celebration.  When I think about it that way, I realize that I have been celebrating the coming of Yule.  The Full Snow Moon was amazing! For several days I was wheeled out to the porch to spend time with our Moon Goddess.  Letting Her energy flow over, around and thru me…allowing Her to heal, to raise my spirits, to accept that some things are just out of my control.  I have spent quiet mornings watching the Sun come up and the Sun Go Down…in quiet contemplation.  I have lit candles daily..as always…for those who need healing, including myself.  I have asked for a smooth transition to our new home and prayed the house is Blessed with an abundance of Joy, Love and Positive energy.  So…I guess in fact, I am celebrating Yule..simply and as it should be.

I hope in this time of crazy busyness, massive shopping, dealing with problem family members and worrying about every little detail to make Christmas “perfect”….you take the time to realize that what the Season is truly about is Love and Joy.  Find simple ways to celebrate with your family.  Take a walk on a snowy, star-filled night.  Have a quiet candle-lit simple meal together.  Skip the gifts and give to a favorite charity, adopt a needy family, or give money to an animal shelter.  Start a fire in the fireplace, cauldron or just a simple candle.  Write down your wishes for the next year and burn them in the fire.  Just keep it simple.  The first thing I did when we got the keys to our house this past Thursday..was to hang an evergreen wreath on my new front door!  It was all I needed to remind me of the season. Made me smile 🙂

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I’ve not got much time right now to write a lot of blogs but I’ll do my best to be back again a time or two before Yule.  I hope that you all are having a wonderful Season so far!  Blessings to you and yours!

Autumn

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November 21, 2012 · 4:31 pm

Blessed Thanksgiving 2012……

Merry Meet my friends.  Hope you all are enjoying your Autumn…late Autumn now. I know for so many it’s your favorite time of year..mine too!  Here in Ohio, all the glorious color is gone now…just stark trees.  But the skies have been blue, the weather mild and it’s been a wonderful Season!

I have been a very busy woman!  Packing up a large houseful of stuff…preparing to move to a smaller home has been challenging….but gratifying!  I LOVE letting go of the overabundance of stuff that a larger home can hold..and that accumulates over time.  It feels good to unburden myself of china rarely used, too many sets of wine glasses, books never to be read again, clothes outgrown or unliked and not worn, home decorations that no longer cause a smile etc.   It’s freeing!!  I recommend it to everyone!  I am going to have one huge garage sale this Spring at my new home! 🙂

Packing has become a bit more of a problem however because I took a bad tumble down our stairs and messed up my knee and tailbone pretty badly.  I’ve been in discomfort and crutches and very little mobility for 10 days now and I’m frustrated that there is no improvement.  The injury couldn’t have been at a worse time too!  I am finally having an MRI on monday and ortho doc will be able to tell me what’s wrong on tuesday..so we will go from there.  I’m doing my best to not get panicky about all there is still to do and me not being able to do it like I would have been.

I’m coping however the best I can with my faith in my Goddess and the calming influence of my family and friends who are helping me when they can and assuring me all will be well.  My hubby has been a trooper too!  This all brings me to the purpose of my post today.   Thanksgiving….not the day but the attitude of it.

Those who know me on facebook, in my everyday life, and read my blog know I’ve had a rough year this year.  Between my brain surgery in March and that recovery, the problems my daughter Sara has had, and now this..well it’s been challenging to say the least.  To stay positive and upbeat and not sink into a depressive state has been hard..but not impossible..as I’ve done it fairly well.  Most days!  Something I learned a long time ago…when a car accident changed our lives forever…is that we get out of Life what we put into it.  We can pull up our bootstraps…make the most of it..and move on.  Or we can wallow in self-pity and live a dismal, sad Life.  As a family we have always chosen a good Life..a joyful Life..a glass is half-full, find the silver lining Life.   We can’t fathom any other way of living.

I see it over and over too from others who I admire and love.  I see so many of my facebook friends who live with daily pain, have injuries or losses or financial troubles,  and yet, they keep on posting positive things, aid others when they need it, offer prayers for others, leave a hug or a heart on someone’s page…I find it heartwarming and gratifying and I try to do the same thing too.  I see the opposite too..on facebook and in my everyday Life..those who never can see the good thru the bad, can’t find empathy for others thru their own pain, or think the world just sucks and Life has treated them unkind and unfair.  It’s knowing people like that in my Life that made me want to be sure that I don’t ever go there!!

I have kept a journal for about 15 years now..pretty faithfully.  I first learned of the importance of having gratitude from a book I read..many of you probably read it too.  Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach.   It changed my Life.  Even though I always had a positive attitude in Life, I started journaling things I was grateful for each day. I don’t care how bad of a day I was having, I found something..or a few somethings..to be grateful for.  I wrote them down in my journal.  Sometimes I had to REALLY think about what had happened that day I could have thankfulness for..and soon…I realized that there was always something..no matter how small..that I could write in my journal.  It taught me not to just be a positive person, but to have an Attitude of Gratitude always.  To be Thankful to what Life and the Goddess gave me every day.  The small, simple things.

So on this Thanksgiving, while you are enjoying time with family and friends, take some time between bites 🙂  to be grateful for the good things in your Life.  This will be a very different Thanksgiving for me this year.  I am the oldest daughter of 4 children and I have held all the holidays at my home for many years now.  This year, half the family is on a cruise together, and half are visiting with relatives on the other side of the family this year.  So, it is just Sara, hubby Jim and I this year.  My thankfulness?  With being laid up and my house a mess from moving, I can throw a turkey breast in the oven, rest my leg, read, crochet, watch the Macy’s day parade and take a day off by the fire, from packing and even thinking about packing, for one day 🙂   Now that is a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

While I’m on the subject, I want to thank my readers..well, for reading my blog 🙂  I appreciate it so much and love getting to know many of you thru facebook etc..who have become my friends.  Thank YOU!!   I wish all of you a Blessed Thanksgiving..to you and yours!  Make it Merry…and filled with gratefulness!

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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October 31, 2012 · 3:59 pm

Blessed Samhain 2012…………..

 

 

Merry Samhain evening my friends!   It’s here….the night Witches wait for all year long…The most magickal, spell-binding, veil-walking night of the Year….Samhain!

The weather here fits the night!  Gloomy, drizzly, windy and cold!  A perfect night for a fire, lit candles, warm food on the stove or in the oven, and a nice glass of belly warming wine..or two.  I’ve had the feeling for a while….you know what feeling I’m talking about.  Some say  “like someone is walking on my grave.”   That tingly, sure feeling you get..that knowing that someone is with you…not of this world.  Tonight, the veil opens all the way. To allow our ancestors to be with us….to converse, teach, guide and to just share love with us.  All we have to do is quiet ourselves, breathe…..and listen!

A place will be set at my dinner table for any guest from the other side who cares to join us.  I have smudged the house, swept out the old and negative and left room for the positive for the New Year.  I feel content and Blessed and ready for all the exciting things coming my way for my family, friends and I.   I hope you all feel the same!

So raise a glass on this night of Samhain, the Witch’s New Year….this magickal night of Nights and send Thanks and Love to the Goddess for the blessings of the past and the blessings yet to come.  Have a very Blessed Night!

 

 

Samhain is here, cold is the earth,

as we celebrate the cycle of death and rebirth.

Tonight we speak to those through the veil,

the lines between worlds are thin and frail.

Ghosts and spirits in the night,

magical beings rising in flight,

owls hooting up in a moonlit tree,

I don’t fear you and you don’t fear me.

As the sun goes down, far to the west,

my ancestors watch over me as I rest.

They keep me safe and without fear,

on the night of Samhain, the Witch’s New Year.

-Author Unknown to me-

Love, Autumn

Sources….Poem was in my BOS and I’m afraid I don’t know who wrote it.  Altar pic is my own.

 

 

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September 17, 2012 · 7:20 pm

The Wheel Turns to Mabon 2012………..

Merry Meet my friends! I am late posting a Mabon post this year but I have good reason!  My Life has been crazy busy.  We have been working hard on getting our house ready to sell.  Also, we went on vacation last week!  To Panama City Florida…my whole family…hubby, daughters, son-in-law and grandbabies.  Took two friends with us as well to help care for my daughter Sara.  We had a fabulous time….My Sea Witch Self re-emerged.  Resting, relaxing, good eating, beautiful Sunrises and Sunsets, and a waning crescent Moon all made for great magick on the Beach!  A good time was had by all..much needed with all we had been through this year.

We were thrilled to see we were coming home to beautiful, Autumn weather.  Signs of Autumn are everywhere I look now.  Windows and screen doors are open during the day and nights are cool.  Leaves are starting to turn, gardens are losing their color, critters are busier, birds are flocking, stores are filled with Autumn and Halloween decorations.  Mums, pumpkins and Fall flowers are showing up at garden centers.  My mind is turning to my slow cooker, baking, cider and apples.  My clothes are changing over to long sleeves and light jackets or sweaters..and yes..even flannel jammies 🙂  Wood is piled in the fireplace and outdoor fire pit..ready to go.   Ahhhhh….I am maybe..just maybe..starting to forget (a little)  how miserable Summer was with it’s sweltering Heat LOL.  My soul soars at this wonderful time of year!

Mabon…the 2nd Harvest festival…is Saturday the 22nd.  I love all the Harvest Sabbats and this one is no exception.  I am planning a great meal, an outdoor by- the- fire ritual, and will be decorating my house for Autumn as well.  For me, Mabon is the time to reflect on the coming dark Season.  To finish up harvesting our gardens and herbs and putting our gardens to bed for the Winter.  Putting the last of the bounty up..by canning or freezing.   I start looking for projects to keep me busy as we come indoors more….like crochet, home projects, and of course Verbena Lane Botanicals is keeping me busy too 🙂  I also read more, journal more, work on my Book of Shadows etc…things that I can’t settle in to do during the Summer.  Cooking and baking!  This is my favorite time of year to cook….I’m perusing my recipe books like crazy already!

To get the Mabon Correpondences and recipes I’ve posted the last few years…just do a search in the archives.  I don’t think I can top the recipes I posted last year but  I’m searching out one or two more to post in the next day or so for you.

Mabon is a wonderful Sabbat….so much you can do to celebrate it.  Go for a walk and see what treasures from Mother Earth you can find….acorns, feathers, pine cones, stones, nuts, berries, colored leaves…bring them home and throw them in a beautiful wooden bowl with a brown, red, or rust pillar candle in the middle.  A beautiful centerpiece for your table or altar.  Have a soup party or Oktoberfest party.  Go pick your own apples and bake lots of yummy things with them.  Take the kids to the pumpkin patch. Rake up the leaves and jump in them!  I like to press beautiful leaves … then put them in a book, or frame or my Book of Shadows.  Mabon is a great time of year to banish the old and tired and bring in the new…new projects, new energies, new abundance, new thought patterns.  Learn something new….try something new!  You will have more time to do it…well…hopefully 🙂

“Leaves fall,the days grow cold.
The Goddess pulls her mantle of Earth around Her
as You, O Great Sun God, sail toward the West
to the land of eternal enchantment,
wrapped in the coolness of night.
Fruits ripen,seeds drip,
the hours of day and night are balanced.”
–   Mabon Sabbat and Lore 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and would love to hear YOUR plans to celebrate this Sabbat.  I am off to get out my favorite cookbooks and see what I can find 😉  Happy Moon day and Mabon Blessings!

❤ Autumn

 

 

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August 30, 2012 · 9:27 pm

Blue Moon Blessings………

 

Merry Meet everyone and Blessed Blue Moon!  This is just a quick post as I have been very busy with lots of things!  Seems everyone I know is really busy right now.  The Wheel is turning, Summer is winding down and Autumn looms ahead (Thank Goddess!).   My family and I have been busy preparing to put our house on the market and to get ready for vacation to Florida.  Verbena Lane Botanicals has been busy enough too.  The best part…that while I’m busy…I feel great too..a real blessing!

So tomorrow at 9:58 am it is officially the Full Blue Moon.   There won’t be another Blue Moon until July 31, 2015!  So I encourage you to make the most of the amazing energy and power found on this special Full Moon!  The Blue Moon is a great time for for setting high goals and intentions.  Use this power on the big stuff…health, prosperity, love and happiness,  protection and healing for others.   I’m sure most of us have a goal in mind that this Moon’s energy would help us bring to fruition.  It’s a great night for ritual, ceremony and spell casting!!

A couple things I’ll be doing.  I like to write down my goals on scraps of parchment paper…people I’d like to send healing to (including myself),  my wishes for prosperity and happiness for my loved ones, protection for those who are in harms way etc.  I write them down.   Under the Moon, I light my cauldron and burn my wishes..sending them off in Fire and Air into the moonlit night.  You can also bury them in Earth or float them away on Water..whichever you choose.

Something else I’ll be doing tonight…I’m taking a crystal..a blue one…a lapis.   I’m going to consecrate it under the Blue Moon…cleanse it and charge it with the power and energy.  Fill it with all the intentions and goals I’m setting for myself.  Then I’ll carry it with me.  Keep it close..keeping the power imbued in it close, until my goals are realized to my satisfaction.  You can also do this with a special talisman or piece of jewelry…whatever you like.  It’s a great way to remind myself that I must work towards those goals..I must MAKE them come true…with the help of the Goddess of course 🙂

Whatever you do..be it a simple thing of just basking in the energy..or a full circle ceremony…I hope you have a Blessed night and that She shines all Her love and energy on You!!

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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August 1, 2012 · 9:07 pm

Blessed Lughnasadh (and some recipes) 2012………

Merry Meet everyone!   Blessed Lughnasadh/Lammas to you and Blessed Full Corn Moon!   What a night we will have huh! 🙂  I always love when there is a Full Moon on a Sabbat…the magick is palpable!  It makes everything we do to enjoy this wonderful Harvest festival..even better!

I have been a busy Witch today.  My plans completely changed today when my day at home turned into a fun day with my daughters and grandkids.  We had a lovely lunch and talked and played with the kids.  After she left..my hubby, who is on his last day of a small vacation…had an early dinner and ran a couple of errands.   Once home, I harvested my herbs…which I’m very pleased with!  I have had to baby these herbs along this year because of our extreme heat and extreme dryness.  I watered and watered and almost gave up..but with the help of a bit of rain last week..and more watering..I have some herbs hanging happily in my kitchen and scenting the whole house with the most wonderful smells :))   Here’s a picture!

I spent some time this evening putting out my Witch’s protection bottles, some wards around my property, smudged the house and am now writing here to you all 🙂   In a while, I’ll be outside, celebrating the Sabbat and the Full Moon with a simple ritual and just bask in Her amazing energy and light!

I found a couple more recipes I thought you all might like…I am anxious to try them myself as they use fresh herbs and wonderful late Summer produce!

Lemon Balm Bread

3/4 cup milk

1 cup plus 2 tbs fresh lemon balm

1 tb fresh lemon thyme

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 – 2 tbs lemon juice

Combine milk, one cup lemon balm and thyme in a saucepan; gently bruise herbs to release the oils.  Bring to a boil then remove from heat; cover and let cool.  Strain and reserve liquid, discard herbs.  Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs one at a time.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture, a small amount at a time, alternating with reserved milk.  Chop remaining 2 tbs of lemon balm and add to batter; blend in lemon zest.

Pour batter in a greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake at 325* for 45 mins or until wooden toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then continue cooling on wire rack.

Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice, mix until smooth and pour over cooled bread.

Basil and Tomato Soup

1 large onion, chopped

2 tbs oil

2-3 tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 lbs squash, chopped

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup fresh basil, minced

Garnish:  fresh basil

Saute onion in oil over medium heat until tender.  add tomatoes and continue to cook until they become soft, about 5 mins.  Stir in squash and chicken broth; bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 15 mins or until squash is fork tender.  Spoon mixture into a blender or food processor and puree with buttermilk until mixture is smooth.  Sprinkle in basil and stir.  Serve and garnish.

Fajitas and Grilled Vegetables

1 lb boneless sirloin

3/4 cup salsa

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs lime juice

2 tbs tequila

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large red pepper, halved

1 large yellow pepper, halved

4 red onion slices

1 small zucchini, cut lengthwise

1 small yellow squash, cut lengthwise

8   7-in flour tortillas, heated

1 cup mexican-blend shredded cheese

Place meat in a large plastic bag.  Add salsa, oil, lime juice, tequila and garlic.  Close bag securely; turn to combine all ingredients and to coat the meat.  Add vegetables and coat.  Marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours.  Remove meat and vegetables from marinade. Reserve marinade.

Grill beef and vegetables 4-5 inches from heat for about 5 mins per side or until beef is medium rare.  Remove to carving board; slice beef and peppers into thin strips, squash into slices and separate onion into rings.

To serve, divide beef and vegetables among tortillas.  Heat remaining marinade to a boil and drizzle over beef and vegetables.  Sprinkle with cheese; roll and serve with marinade on the side.

*Add sour cream if you’d like!

and of course something light and sweet :))

Lemonade Pie

6 oz can frozen lemonade

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 drops yellow food coloring

8 oz whipped topping

9 inch graham cracker pie crust

Mix together lemonade and milk.  If desired, add food coloring for a lovely lemony color.  Fold in whipped topping, and pour into crust.

Refrigerate a few hours or overnight.

“Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
    Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing 

Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn.”
–  Michelle L. Thieme


Well, I am off to enjoy my bread and my family and then some  time outside.  I wish all of you a very Blessed Lughnasadh/Lammas and a very Blessed Full Moon.  May you have a life filled with Joy and Abundance…always!

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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July 18, 2012 · 9:28 pm

The Wheel Turns to Lughnasadh 2012………..

Merry Meet friends.  Hot, Humid and Dry.  Pretty well sums up the end of June and all of July here in Ohio..as I know many of you are experiencing the same thing where you live.  Those who know me, know I’m not a fan of Summer…and this oppressive weather makes that even more true. lol.   I’ve heard so many talking about it being the hottest, driest Summer they can remember for a while..and I thought the same thing.  Until I went back and read my Lugnasadh post from last year at right about this same time.   What was I talking about?   How hot and dry it was!   Just goes to show how quickly we forget from year to year.  So I will wait this out, try to find something good about it..and keep sweating and lagging along til it cools off. 🙂  We are expecting some rain tomorrow..that will go a long way to making things better!

I have really struggled to keep my flowers and herbs alive this year.  Despite watering constantly, they are not all lush and green like usual.  Water from a hose just is not the same as a good fresh rain.  Our grass….pretty well looks dead…but with a good soaking I’m sure it will come back.   I feel so badly for the farmers and their crops and the poor animals who must be struggling to find water.  I have put out big bins of water..keeping them filled…and I’ve seen everything from birds to groundhogs and possums to deer drinking from it.  Seeing deer drinking from it…amazing!  Made me feel good to see it….like I am doing a good thing 🙂

I can’t believe it’s the middle of July already.  Lughnasadh is not far off..August 1….and tonight is the New Moon as well.  I will be doing a small ritual ..for new beginnings on my new project.  Well kind of new.   I have started an online business…something I’ve wanted to do for 2 years now…and something has kept me from doing it for that long…my own hesitations..and my recent illness..but I have finally got the show on the road.  Verbena Lane Botanicals is my herbal products business.  I make bath, beauty and healing products.  Right now we have a facebook page and we are selling from it  (we being my daughter Kate and I).  She is very busy being a mom of 2 little ones, studying medical billing and coding, and being pregnant with baby #3 :))) Yes, I’m going to have another grandchild in January..I’m thrilled!  Anyway I digress LOL.   So I have taken over the business pretty much for now.  I’m listing new products each week and orders are coming in nicely and keeping me busy.  An etsy shop will be our next step as well.   Check it out if you’d like 🙂

https://www.facebook.com/VerbenaLane

I’ve received some wonderful messages asking how I’m doing.  I’m happy to say that just in the last couple weeks, I am feeling much much better.  My energy level is returning, my headaches are better,  and I continue to improve some of the cognitive problems I was having.  I feel sharper mentally.  I still get tired and am still remembering what I told all of you…to put myself first more often..to take care of myself…to rest when I need to etc.  I thank you all again for your prayers and well wishes.

Back to Lugnasadh.  There is not much more I can say about this first Harvest Sabbat that I haven’t said in previous posts from the last 3 years.  It is one of my favorite Sabbats simply because it is the first Harvest one!  Harvest..what a wonderful word. It implys the end of the Summer. Coming soon, my favorite Season of Autumn.  Harvest..meaning farm stands will be full of produce, grown by Mother Earth with the help of hardworking farmers and gardeners.  Harvest….time to cut my herbs, dry them, and enjoy my own harvested work.  Harvest..reminds me of my grandmother, canning and preserving all the bounty from her own gardens, with me by her side, doing what I could and watching her, learning.  Harvest..animals gathering, nesting, hustling.

 

Lugnasadh for me is baking homemade, grain-filled breads.  It’s making herb infused oils and vinegars so I can enjoy my herbs all Winter long.  It’s enjoying the last hot, hazy days of Summer…family cook-outs, family vacation, tending gardens and herbs, making some jams to go with that great homemade bread, time outdoors, porch sitting,  and starting to think about cooler days. I love to pull out my Autumn cookbooks…start perusing recipes I want to try this year..putting me in the mood for Fall and good hot meals…and lets not forget mid August brings back football!!   (Go Bengals!)

I hope that all of you have some plans made for Lugnasadh.   I usually light candles all over the house in the evening, enjoy a glass of wine and dream of bright colored leaves falling from trees, pumpkins, mums, woodsmoke and fires, good foods made with apples,  sweaters and crisp air.  Lugnasadh reminds us that the season will be changing soon 🙂

I will come back soon and post a couple of recipes from those cookbooks I was talking about.  In the meantime, I hope you have a Blessed New Moon!

“Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing
Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn.”
–  Michelle L. Thieme,

Love and Blessings, Autumn

*Pics of bread, oils and jams are my own. 🙂  *ok..for some reason the oils and jam picture won’t post…I’ll try again tomorrow 🙂

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July 4, 2012 · 3:55 pm

Happy 4th of July 2012……….

Merry Meet friends!  Thought I’d write a quick blog post before I head off for an evening celebration of our Independence Day with my family.   The Heat….well…we are something like 8 days straight of near or at 100* temps with at least another 4-5 days expected of it.  We had a huge windstorm come thru here and many other nearby states on friday evening, that caused lots of damage and lots of power outages….including a short power outage here at our house….others were not so lucky 😦  Some have been out for 5 days now.  In this heat, that has to be just miserable and my heart goes out to all of you who have that situation.

We got a small amount of rain that night but otherwise we are dry, dry, dry!!  Our grass is brown and dead..trees have leaves turning brown and dying off, and it’s all I can do to keep up on the watering, trying to keep my herbs and flowers alive!  We could have a week straight of rain and it wouldn’t be enough! I’ve been seen performing a rain dance under the Full Moon recently LOL.  I’m pretty sure a lot of my witchy friends are doing the same thing.  🙂

So today is the 4th of July…I will say this..the Summer is flying by fast..and I say ..Bring on Autumn weather!!   I’m more then ready!  But back to the 4th….I was thinking about today…about the meaning of it.  I know that it is about America’s freedom, our Independence, pride in country  etc.   A good friend of mine pointed out this morning on her facebook page (Thanks Deb 🙂  that not ALL  Americans have freedom.  I agree with her…there are still those who can’t marry who they love because they happen to be the same sex,  those who suffer contempt due to their choice of religion, those living in poverty, animal abuse, racism, elitism, etc etc…. and none of that is good…and needs to be fixed!  Remember…it just takes one person, then another, and another and so on to help fix these things.  Having said that..I am still very grateful that I was born here in America and have a good life here.

Now, for me though…the 4th of July is also about family traditions.  The day is a day to celebrate family as well…a day for cook-outs, water fun, feasting and gathering, watching fireworks together…that feeling of togetherness and pride in family in country.  The family…no matter who it consists of…is what holidays are all about. Being together, enjoying a day off work, a day off from the daily grind…..and just enjoying a simple meal, talking, playing..and of course the OOHHss and AAHHs…of watching the fireworks!  Don’t forget the kids catching fireflies, popsicles and running thru the sprinkler…that is a must!  Make it a fun day…make it a tradition…I have great memories of the 4th growing up with my family..then of raising my daughters and our traditons..and now watching my daughter and her hubby carrying that tradition on to their kids.  It’s magickal!

So today..I hope that you are all with your families..having fun…and making a memory.

Happy 4th to all my friends and family!  Have a wonderful day!

Autumn

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