Category Archives: Photography

January 27, 2011 · 3:59 pm

Day 7…My Pantry….

Merry Meet my friends.  Hope this Thor’s Day finds you safe and warm and happy!  If you are in the East of the USA I know you are getting walloped with snow and have been for a few days.  We still have snow on the ground but you can see grass peaking thru now…however we have fresh snow coming this evening, but only about an inch or so.  Our weather hasn’t been too bad as far as being cold, but it has been very gloomy..no sunshine for a few days.  Though I love Winter, I love it more when the sun is shining! 🙂

So, today was a stay at home day for me.  I took advantage of it to get my pantry cleaned and organized…Day 7 of my 14 days of cleaning.  My pantry is lovely.  Its a nice size with great shelves and a pegboard but I haven’t given it a good cleaning for a while now.  So I rolled up my sleeves, put on some great witchy music (more about that later) and boogied my way into that little closet and got busy.  I had picked up some storage containers in pretty colors and they came in very handy as well.  So here are the before and afters……

Before……

After……………..

Before………

After…………….

Before………..

After………………

Big improvement!  Now this job took me about 2 hours really…but that was because I went thru every can and box etc checking expiration dates..you would be surprised how old stuff creeps to the back of the canned goods LOL.  It also took me a little time to decide what I wanted on what shelf…but I’m very happy with the outcome.  Good thing the trash pick up is tomorrow as well…4 bags of trash!  I also have a dozen or so items to go to Goodwill and a couple of things I’m passing on to others.  So….another day of cleaning done and I still have the evening to enjoy reading, crocheting, relaxing…while feeling that I got something BIG accomplished.

Now as I had said earlier, I put on my “Witchy” music while I was working.  I have an Ipod and I have a playlist that is nothing but music that I feel inspires me, or is actually sung by Pagans/Witches or by artist I think MIGHT be witchy! 😉  Some of these artists are Inkubus Sukkubus (one of my favs), Loreena McKennitt (Another favorite), Enya, Evanescense, Within Temptation, Wendy Rule, Kelliana (who I just discoverd and love) Jenna Greene (Hi Jenna!), Lisa Thiel, SJ Tucker, Celia, …and some instrumental music.  Of course the soundtrack to Practical Magic and some Stevie Nicks as well!!  There is Nightwish, Blackmore’s Night.  I am always looking for more, so if you love someone I’ve missed..please let me know!  There are others on my list I can’t think of right now as well I’m sure.  I love the pretty music and I love the music that makes me get up and dance!!  The more upbeat the better when I’m cleaning too.

So tomorrow, I’m going to tackle something simple as I won’t be home part of the day.  Oh yes, I also redecorated  our guest bathroom just for fun.  My hubby has kind of taken over it, so I “manned” it up a little bit for him 😀   Got rid of the flowered shower curtain..brought in earthier colors…he’s going to be very surprised! 

I am planning on picking up a potted bulb flower ..hopefully a daffodil or tulip in yellow.  My Imbolc altar is finished other then that..and of course the “cakes and ale” which always comes to the altar the day of.  I will post pics and talk a bit about why I chose what I did to place on it.  Imbolc, in case you didn’t  know yet, is also the New Moon…so the magick will be strong.  I wish you all a wonderful evening..Be safe, stay warm.  May the Goddess wrap Her arms around you in love and may you feel the comfort She brings.  Curl up with a blanket, a fire, a good book..relax!

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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Filed under Cleaning & Organizing, Music, My Favorite Things, Photography

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January 24, 2011 · 10:12 pm

Day 4…..more cleaning!

Good evening lovelies!  I had a nice day today…very busy and productive as well.  I had some errands to run this morning and I hit Target and got new bright green storage containers and some new olive oil/vegetable oil bottles for my stovetop.  I bought fresh oils…organic of course..and filled them and they look great!  The storage containers will be used in different areas..some I used today, the rest will be used in my linen closet when I get to it.  I sure hope you all aren’t getting bored with my cleaning posts.  Blogging about it and posting pics is part of the program my daughter is doing and I want to do it as well..and its sooooo motivating for me seeing the before and afters pics. 

So today, all my work was in my kitchen. I had planned to do under my sink and a drawer but ended up doing quite a bit more..took me about 40 minutes maybe.  So here are the pics..they speak for themselves.

After….

Before……

After……

Before…..under kitchen sink….

After……

Before……medicine drawer…..

After……

Before…..baking drawer….

After……….

I actually did my dishtowel drawer and a cupboard where I keep my teas, seasonings etc…but didn’t take pics so as not to bore everybody…so I was pretty productive today.  I also wiped down the fronts of all the cabinets and of course wiped them all out.  As I said, this took me about 45 minutes..and I just love opening the drawers and seeing how great everything looks.  I’ve never had super messy drawers and I’m pretty good about cleaning them out..here and there…but doing this project has been great and getting so much done at once is great!  I’ll be so ready for Imbolc very soon! 🙂

I have to show this pic as well…this is my kitty Jasper…now you will have met both of my beautiful fur babies…..

We adopted Jasper from a humane society about 6 1/2 years ago…Harley and Jasper are good friends, play hard at night, and love to hang out in my altar room when I’m working there..which I love!  They also love to stay close to us and they lay on my daughter Sara’s bed with her very often..which she loves.  I love dogs too though we have lost both of our dogs now..at the age of 15 and 13.  But I have to admit that I feel such an affinity with cats..and I’d have more if my hubby would let me 🙂  I’m working on that! LOL

Today I recieved another witchy book in the mail I had ordered recently…Doreen Valiente’s “An ABC of Witchcraft”…I have not read any of her books yet and I’m anxious to dive into it!  I had to buy it used..but its in great shape..has that good old book smell! 🙂  One of the things I’m going to be adding to my blog is book reviews.  As I finish a book, witchy or otherwise, I’ll talk about it here.  (Thanks for the idea Owl and Tracy!) I think one of the things that all witches and pagans have in common…is that we all love to read and learn.  We all love books and knowledge.   If you quit reading and learning, or think you “know” it all and don’t need to read anymore..well, in my opinion, you stop growing.  So I plan on reading as long as there are books out there I haven’t read! LOL

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
And all the sweet serenity of books.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Thanks for putting up with my cleaning pictures…I won’t post them everyday…I promise!

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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Filed under Books I'm reading, Cleaning & Organizing, Photography, Quote

January 9, 2011 · 6:42 pm

A Winter Sunrise Morn……..

Merry Meet friends!  I hope that you are all having a lovely Sun day.  Sun day is my favorite day of the week.  It is usually a stay at home day for me.  I spend it puttering in the house, cooking a yummy breakfast or dinner or both (like today!)  watching football or movies, reading, crocheting, hanging out by the fire.  Sometimes I will spend time working on my Book of Shadows or mixing oil blends or incense blends, or spending some time at my altar or studying something like runes or tarot.  Just laid back and wonderful!  Today I was actually busy..made breakfast, then took a drive to have some me time, then grocery, then made up two dishes of baked pasta!  By 4:30, I finally sat down to catch up on facebook and write in my blog and relax. 🙂 

My day though started off in a most beautiful way…which is what I’m really here to write about.  This morning there was a gorgeous Sunrise that I was most blessed to be up in time to see.  There was ice on all the tree branches and the beauty took my breath away!  I grabbed my camera and snapped these pictures…

I am really getting into photography and I got a little better camera from my hubby for Yule.  It is the first step towards getting the ultimate camera I want…but it’s a good one and I will enjoy it for awhile!  I was most pleased with these pics..almost as pleased as I was with the real thing! 🙂  I was so inspired too by my experience that I wrote a little poem….now I have very rarely written a poem.  I am pretty good at writing spells and charms etc but poetry has always escaped me.  So be kind and don’t think too harshly of my poetry writing…but it comes from the heart and expresses what I felt and saw this morning!

Winter Sunrise Morning

by

Autumn Earthsong 

 

I know before I’m completely awake that it is very cold

As I lay, I see a slight shimmer starting to show on the snow

I jump up with coffee in mind, when I see ice shining bright and bold

On the bare, dark trees, glittering from a beautiful sunrise glow

 

I grab slippers and camera, and head out  to catch this beautiful sight

 Out to the porch I go, when  cold air hits me, and my breath leaves me

I stop,  and my eyes  take in the Sun’s pink and orange light

Just coming up over the horizon,  in time for me to see

 

Through the camera lens a magickal world appears

Of white snow and dark trees and Sun and ice

My heart swells with the beauty that is so near

I snap a picture, once, twice, thrice…….

 

I shiver and watch the Sun rise higher a minute more

Then I give thanks  to the Goddess  with  a full heart

For the gift of this glorious winter sunrise morn

Then indoors I run, to coffee and warmth,  my day is off to an excellent start!

Now again, its ok if you don’t like my prose, but I’m pretty proud of myself for even attempting it…much less posting it here!  🙂  So my word of advice for today is…get out and see those sunrises and sunsets.  Taking the time to do that, yes even if you have to get up early, is sooo worth it.  It really does help me to connect with Mother Earth, Goddess, God every day.  Thats all it takes to connect with the Divine.  After all, the gift is there to take..so take it! Relish it!  Take pictures of it!  Dance and sing!  Whatever you feel inspired to do!   Just don’t let it pass you every single day..

Love and Light, Autumn

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Filed under Goddess, Mother Earth, Nature, Photography, Poem, Sunrise/Sunset, Winter

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