Category Archives: Winter

February 15, 2010 · 10:51 am

On another snowy day….

So Mother Nature is bringing on the snow again here in Ohio!  We have gotten about 15 inches thru the last two storms..this one is to bring another 6-9 inches!  I love the snow and Winter but I think enough is enough!  It IS very beautiful though and it makes me nestle in and work around my house and various projects etc etc.  Maybe it’s HER way of forcing us to focus inward and slow down and enjoy the beauty She’s giving us.

The Olympics have been wonderful and I have trouble tearing myself away from the tv..thank goodness for DVR!  I’m so proud of the American athletes, they are doing us proud for sure!  I love the figure skating and the pairs started last night.  Winning Silver in the Nordic combined for the first time was awesome, Apollo Ohno is so exciting to watch, the moguls were awesome!  Just so wonderful to watch! 

I finished Ellen Dugan’s book “The Book of Witchery”.  It was really an awesome book and I learned so much about my craft.  The power that is available to us everyday and the ability to use it to our advantage in our spellwork is amazing.  Today, while I’m snowed in, I’m going to start transferring what I learned to pages for my Book of Shadows…I love working on my pages, finding pics online to put on the pages, working out the style of the page, font, etc..so much fun and so personal to me.  She also has full moon (ESbat) rituals for the days of the week..such as if a Full Moon is on a saturday etc.  I learned alot too about the Gods and Goddesses that represent each day of the week and more about their personalities which made them go much more real to me.

Today I will be doing my Storm Protection spell not to keep the storm away but to keep my power on!  I don’t want to miss a minute of the Olympics!  LOL  I’ll have a fire crackling away soon and I made my famous chili yesterday so I’ll probably have that again..after all, it is usually even better the 2nd day!  I love to cook and need the power to do that too!  I think today I might make my no bake cookies and my mozzarella chicken!  Good comfort food for a cold day.

The next book I’m diving into is “Ostara” by Edain McCoy..as that Sabbat is coming up I want to refresh my knowledge and discover more about the Blessed day.  Ostara is much like the Christian holiday of Easter (it would be since they set it up to mimic it on purpose)..it’s all about Spring, bunnies, eggs, lambs, spring cleaning, and flowers!  I’ll be setting up my Ostara altar soon too and the spring cleaning needs to be started soon too!  I love to do that.  Purging, cleaning, organizing, simplifying the house makes me feel new and refreshed.  I’ll be blogging about my activities along the way, getting ready for Ostara.

Don’t forget if you visit my blog to click on the Social vibe charity box.  It just takes a couple of minutes and doesn’t cost you anything…it’s for the environment, the earth, Mother Nature so it’s the best cause in the world!

Have a happy Monday and Blessed Be,

Autumn

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February 13, 2010 · 10:49 pm

The Olympics…..

 

Last night I watched the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics!  Wow!  What a great show the Canadians put on.  The whole Nature theme was right up my alley!  The aboriginals were beautiful in their ceremonial finery.  When they made the Circle and then it widened and turned to the ocean with swimming graceful whales and fish it was so amazing.  My very favorite part was Kd Lang singing “Hallelujiah”  ….it was so smooth and effortless and beautifully melodic it really brought tears to my eyes.  As did seeing our proud young athletes walk into the venue.  My heart went out to the Georgian team too..you could see the pain on their faces from losing their young teamate.  Such a loss but the show went on as it should.  I look forward to being glued to the tv for the next 2 weeks so as not to miss one moment of the games…my DVR will be heartily used!

My poor little Kitty, Harley, has an injury to her left front paw and leg.  I took her to the Vet yesterday..luckily it is just soft tissue injury, nothing broken.  She is on anti-inflammatory meds for 10 days to help her heal.  She is staying quiet and laying on my lap alot (which I love!) and will be ok soon.  I hate when an animal hurts..its not like you can explain to them why and they can’t tell you whats wrong.  Poor baby.  The vet said she may have been stepped on, or jumped off of something wrong, or playing with my other cat, Jasper could have caused it..who knows.  I just know I’m glad she’s ok.  As I am a Witch, I of course did a spell..a healing candle spell..to help her on her way.  I believe fully that a burning candle, anointed with magickal oil and with my hopeful intention placed into it will aid her in healing.  It’s Magick after all!

We ended up with 14 inches of snow over a week and now we are hearing that we may get another 2-4 by tuesday!  Mother Nature is putting on her own show this winter to rival the Olympics!  Go Apollo!!  Sorry, he’s racing now and i love him!!!  OMG!  He almost got 4th…but two Koreans fell and he got the silver..JC the other american got bronze …whoo hoo!  Stunning race!  Ok..back to the snow, while I love winter and love snow, I have to say enough already!  Bring on the spring!  However, I will say too that I love watching the cardinals at the birdfeeder and resting in the snowy trees.  The Goddess blesses me whenever I glimpse it.

I bought yarn today to start a baby blanket in a soft lilac purple and I’m going to put a yellow ruffled edge on it.  That will give me something to do while its snowing.  I’m going to crochet this one instead of knit..its faster and easier and I haven’t crocheted in a long time so it will be a nice change for me.  I love making soft lovely baby items and my grandaughter is definitely partial to knitted blankets over any other!

I am getting very excited about our Book of Shadows arriving any day now..I hope!  I’ve been working on pages for it and will spend some time tomorrow doing more I’m sure.  It will be a blessed day when my sister, daughters and I can all sit down with our glue sticks and spells and information pages and start putting our books together..I can’t wait!! 

Wishing everyone a very Happy Valentines Day and my wishes for you are that you are loved by many!

Blessed Be, Autumn

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February 11, 2010 · 9:36 pm

and then there was Sun!

After two back to back Winter storms…about 4:00 this afternoon the sun came out!  It was beautiful.  The skies cleared and turned blue and the snow was glinting in the brilliance!  I was soooo happy to see it!  I love Winter as I’ve said before, but the dreary gray heavy skies can really get a person down.  My spirit was lifted as soon as I saw the bright ball in the sky again.

Today I had lunch with my daughters and grandaughter at Fridays..I love  love love their sweet potato fries!…then we headed off to Barnes & Noble to have coffee and purchase various books.  With Valentines Day coming,  little board books were bought for little Lily, crochet books for Willow and I, and some gifts that I won’t mention here so as not to give anything away!  While we were there I took Lily back to the Children’s section to run off some steam and play.  They have a little table set up with a Thomas the Train set for the kids to play on.  A little boy about 5 years old was playing there.  My grandaughter became absolutely giddy about another child there playing and immediately started interacting with him.  She laughed til she was weak kneed literally everytime he said anything or made an “engine” noise..she kept grabbing his arm to touch him and stay connected to him.  Bless his heart he quickly realized he had her rapt attention and took advantage of it quickly..playing with her.  It was sooo adorable, I wanted to laugh with her in her joy, and cry at the love I felt for her.  I will never forget it…ever.  She is just 14 months old but seems so much older..an old soul, I believe.  She is very special, but of course I’m her Nana and would think so wouldn’t I??!!

Tonight we are in the “dark moon.”  The new moon will be on the 13th…I am trying to decide what I want to ask The Goddess to aid me in during that night.  The new moon is for new projects, personal growth, healing and drawing abundance, money and success.  I will ask for all those things in some way..I don’t have a new project planned as of right now so I will focus on the others.  I love when after 3 days of the dark moon that the silver sliver shows up again in the sky and all seems right with the world.  Tomorrow I’ll be going to the health food store to get the needed herbs and oils to do my spellwork.

I’m almost finished with “The Book of Witchery” by Ellen Dugan and again, I strongly suggest it to those interested in Magickal Daily Correspondences..the information is invaluable and really helps me to be grounded and feel prepared for each day of the week.  I’ve picked out the next book I’ll be starting on next.  More on that yet to come.

Have you seen the new show “Past Life”?  It’s a good one, I highly recommend it.  Whether you believe in reincarnation or not.

I’m off to watch the show and do more reading.  May you have a Blessed, restful night.

Autumn

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February 9, 2010 · 11:42 am

On a snowy day….

I’m sitting here watching the snow fall softly and gently but in great amounts!  We’ve gotten about 4 inches so far with the possibility of another 5 inches or so.  Tomorrow it will be very windy with drifting snow.  It is Mother Nature in all her glory!  Perhaps this is the last blast of Winter before Spring rears her lovely head.  I love days like this when I don’t have to go out..I can sit by the fire, drink my coffee, listen to good music, read, knit or work on projects around the house.  I’m going to make it a blessed day.

My sister Teagan has come early today..brought by her hubby in his 4 wheel drive.  You see, my oldest daughter was injured in a terrible car accident 21 years ago at the age of 6.  She is paralyzed and breathes with the help of a ventilator so she required some nursing care.  My sister and my other daughter also help me take care of her.  When the weather is bad, I can’t count on the nurses to get here, so Teagan came to help me.  She’ll be here at least today and tomorrow and is spending the night “just in case”!  Thank Goddess I have her to help.  We enjoy our days together working on our Book of Shadows, knitting, reading etc. 

I have done a Storm protection spell to try to keep the storm from doing any damage or the power going out!  I really hate when the power goes out.  With my daughter relying on a machine to breathe we need power.  She has batteries that keep her running for about 12 hours but then we must be able to charge her back up again.  Two years ago we spent 9 days in a hotel because of a huge power outage…not that much fun!

Today I’m going to start working on the Correspondences for the days of the week.  I’m getting the info from Ellen Dugan’s  book “Book of Witchery”.   The information is amazing and so helpful…it will be nice to know how specifically I can make each day magickal..from what color I wear, what incense I burn, what I do at my altar, crystals, candles etc etc.  I love it!  Practicing my Path everyday helps me to feel centered and connected to Goddess and God.  Makes me very happy.

I love music..all kinds…and my Ipod is one of my favorite possessions.  Today we are listening to celtic music.. I especially love Secret Garden, Loreena McKennitt and Enya.  Celtic Woman is also wonderful.. I highly recommend them to you.  Beautiful voices, beautiful meaningful songs.  Perfect for a day like today.

Well, stay warm and stay safe bloggers.  If you visit me, live a comment..would love to know about you too and how you found me.

Blesses Be, Autumn

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February 8, 2010 · 4:39 pm

Well, we no sooner get over one winter storm and here comes another!  We’re expecting another 5-7 inches starting tonight and going thru wed. evening…I love snow but this is getting ridiculous!  I’m more and more hoping for Spring to come very soon!  Starting to feel cooped up and that I need to get out and get some exercise and fresh air.

This morning I had a huge flock of Robins!  yes, Robins!  at the bird feeder.  They are huge and fat and a wonderful sight to see.  Maybe thats a sign??  I’ve got to get my better half to fill the feeders again tonight before the storm comes.  This morning also I noticed deer tracks going right across the backyard..sure wish I would have seen the deer.  We are very lucky here to be in the country enough to have herds of deer and we very often see them right in our year.  We have  a large acreage of woods behind our home and the houses around us that they shelter in..such a beautiful sight to see.  I feel such an affinity with them, they are so majestic.

Today I’m going to run some errands before I’m stuck in again for the next couple of days.  Luckily I don’t have to go to the grocery again and fight that chaos LOL..I did such a good stock up last week, I’m good to go.  Sure enjoyed the Super Bowl game last night and i’m happy for the Saints.  My favorite part was after the game, the cameras panned in on Drew Brees with his baby boy.  He was completely focused on his son and had tears in his eyes and it was so precious..my heart filled from seeing it.  Drew definitely has his priorities straight..knows what is important.  Just lovely to see.

I have signed up to take Ellen Dugan’s online class “Hearth and Home” based on her Cottage Witchery book.  Gonna start on it today I think.  I loved that book and have read it twice now..can’t wait to see what she is going to teach me more about.  My home is important to me and the more magickal I can make it the better.  We all should make our homes to reflect ourselves, to bring comfort and peace to ourselves and our loved ones.  I’m often told my home is comforting and thats what I want to hear.  One of the errands I need to do today is to buy some candles..My yankee candles are gone and I’m missing their delicious smells..hum..wonder what scents I’ll come home with today??  My hubby is partial to the ones that smell like food..his favorite being the hazelnut coffee.  I like those too for the kitchen but for my other rooms I like natural scents like jasmine, lavender, vanilla etc.  Yummy.

I’m enjoying blogging very much and get excited when I get some hits..still learning how to use the site..if anyone has any suggestions for my site I’d be happy to listen.  I want to learn how to post pics..haven’t figured that out yet.  Don’t forget to click on charity link..its for the environment which I’m passionate about..doesn’t cost you anything..just a couple of minutes to do a couple of tasks..thanks in advance for that!

Blessed Be, Autumn

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February 7, 2010 · 6:45 pm

Day two of writing on my blog.  The midwest Winter Storm is over.  Things are very cold, very snowy and very beautiful.  The snow hanging on the trees is awe inspiring.  The wildlife is out and about..the bird feeder is very busy with cardinals, blue jays, little birds,  squirrels and chipmunks.  They are all very busy collecting to get thru the rest of the winter. 

I’m looking forward to the Super Bowl game.  It should be a very good game..not a blow out like usual.  The Colts are my 2nd favorite team (the Bengals being my first..Who Dey!) but I have to admit that the Saints winning would be pretty awesome..we’ll see what happens.  I’m going to make Baked Ziti and Pineapple upside down cake..good comfort food for a cold winter day.  Yum-O.

This week I’ll be looking for those special Valentine gifts for my daughters and grandaughter.  At 14 months old she is old enough to enjoy a heartshaped cookie or a cupcake with pink icing and red sprinkles!  So much fun.  She loves books too so Barnes and Noble here I come!  My daughters love gift certificates and witchy items..I just got a wonderful new mortar and pestle..rough granite and very big..I’m thinking that would make a great gift!  My husband is happy with eating out so I’m sure thats what we’ll do.

I love to knit, especially small projects like scarfs, mittens, little sweaters for my grandaughter and small baby blankets.  I haven’t had a good knitting day lately.I’m thinking today would be a good day for that too.  As I mentioned before too, I’m reading Ellen Dugan’s book “the Book of Witchery” which is excellent.  It gives the week of the day correspondences and magickal influences.  I highly recommend it and the information is definitely going to go in my book of shadows.

Speaking of book of shadows, my daughters, my sister and I are all anxiously awaiting deliver of our huge, beautiful, leather bound books from Witches Moon.  We ordered them in August and are trying very hard to be patient.  From what we can tell, on average, it takes about 7 months to get them..they are completely handmade by a husband and wife with great love.  They are very special and will be a true “keep forever and hand down to future generations” item!  We’ve been given a tentative shipping date of the 17th..so I’ll let you know when they come! (wriggling with excitement and anticipation)!

Well, I’m off to make that cake, light the fire in the fireplace, light some candles and settle in with my book or knitting. 

Blessed Be, Autumn

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