February 16, 2011 · 5:22 pm

Countdown to Ostara……..

Merry Meet everyone!  I hope you all had a LOVE-ly Valentine’s Day.  Mine was very nice..hubby spoiled me and I spoiled everybody else!  I am having Spring fever big time for some reason.  I normally love Winter..as I’ve written here before…but something about this year has put me in the mood for Spring earlier then I usually am.  It might be that we are having some balmy weather right now for Ohio.  We have hit 50* today and 60* then next two days.  It rained this morning a bit, melting all that dirty snow, and the Sun just came out.  I actually just put my rosemary tree and my new gerbera daisy plant outside to enjoy the sun a bit….it’s warm enough to do so.  I also am seeing all the seed packages and pots and garden tools coming out at the local garden centers and I have already been looking to see what I want to plant this year.  So Spring is coming..hold on to that thought!

Along with Spring, comes the next Sabbat on the Wheel of the Year….Ostara.  Ostara is also the Spring Equinox…when Night and Day are again balanced  and the Earth swells with new life.  In ancient times, people celebrated the arrival of spring, and the Goddess Eostar, or Eostre, whose symbols were the egg and the hare, both representations of the Great Mother. “Ostara is a festival of fertility and resurrection, the union of sun and soil, a time of planting, mothering, and tending to young children and animals.  At the Spring Equinox, the God and the Goddess are now equals, and they dance together across the Earth.  Wherever they step, flowers appear and bloom beneath their feet, and sorrow turns to delight as the world is reborn.” *

This is the time of re-birth.  Animals are bearing their young, shoots are growing up from the ground, grass is greening, trees are sprouting leaves and our hearts feel lighter with more daylight and warm breezes and the smell of the rich earth as  Mother Earth wakes up.  Ostara is a wonderful time of year and celebrations are light and centered around the outdoors.  The Correspondences of Ostara are:

*Element/Gender-Air/Male

*Threshold-Dawn

*Symbolism-Greening, sprouting, balance of light and dark, The God comes of age, union of the Lord and Lady, fertility, birthing, beginning,

*Symbols/Tools/Decorations-Colored eggs, baskets, rabbits, lamb, shamrock, butterfly, cocoons, sprouting plants, violets, lily, spring flowers, new clothes.

*Herbs-Daffodil, jonquils, woodruff, violet, iris, narcissus, peony, acorns, tansy, cinquefoil, crocus,  dogwood, irish moss, ginger, honeysuckle, jasmine, rose, strawberry.

*Incense/Oils-Jamine, rose, strawberry, african violet, sage lavender, ginger, magnolia, broom.

*Colors-Gold, light green, grass green, robin’s egg blue, lemon yellow, pale pink, anything pastel.

*Crystals/Stones-Red jasper, rose quartz, moonstone, amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone

*Customs/Activities-Planting seeds or starting a Magickal herb garden, taking a long walk in  nature, coloring eggs, bird watching, egg hunts,  starting new projects, wearing green or pastels

*Foods-Leafy green vegetables, pumpkin, sunflower and pine nuts, dairy,  fish, hot crossed buns, sweet breads, hard boiled eggs, honey cakes, seasonal fruits.

*Gods-Green Man, Youthful Gods, Warrior Gods, Dagda, Cernunnos,  Pan, Adonis

*Goddesses-Eostre, Ostara, Maiden, Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, Minerva, Youthful Goddesses,  Faerie Queen, Lady of the Lake, the Green Goddess

*Spellworking/Rituals-Spellcrafting, invention, new growth, new projects, seed blessing, herb  garden, herb blessings

An ancient Ostara custom was to dye eggs red, the color of life-force and regenerations. Make “oracle eggs.”  Draw magickal symbols on hard-boiled eggs with paraffin or white crayon.  These can include astrological signs, runes, and symbological signs such as the pentacle, or a moon or a sun.  Fun to do with a grandchild 🙂  You can  celebrate Ostara with fresh spring flowers, bouquets of freesia, daffodils, lilac, and tulips, and herbs such as clover, lemongrass, and mint.  Collect rainwater  and steep it  overnight in the light of a full Moon.  Use it for your holy water or water your houseplants with it.  Play favorite childhood games.  Blow bubbles, play hopscotch and jacks, and jump rope.  Bring out your inner child and let her play.   Bless the seeds for your garden, and envision health, happiness, and prosperity growing for you in the warmth of the Sun.

I will be posting Ostara recipes, rituals, pics of my altar etc in the coming days.  A book  I highly recommend you read is written by Edain McCoy…its a plethora of information about Ostara..I really enjoyed it.

So my friends, Spring and Ostara are coming.  Soon the days will be longer, the rains will come, and Mother Earth will wake up and start spreading growth and warmth all around us.  We have almost made it thru another Winter!  Think about shopping for some new lighter clothes, get out your seed catalogs, go buy a bouquet of tulips, take a walk, gaze at the Moon…Watch Spring unfold before your eyes.  That is what I’ll be doing…right along with you!

I come, I come! ye have called me long, I come o’er the mountain with light and song: Ye may trace my step o’er the wakening earth, By the winds which tell of the violet’s birth, By the primrose-stars in the shadowy grass, By the green leaves, opening as I pass.
Mrs. Felicia D. Hemans

Blessings and Love, Autumn

*References…..Simple Wicca by Michelle Morgan and my own BOS.  All pics on this post are from the internet.

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February 13, 2011 · 10:41 pm

Happy Valentine’s Day…………

Merry Meet friends and Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope that you all have had a lovely weekend!  I know I did…lovely and busy.  One of the things I did this weekend was to do a bit of Valentine’s Day shopping for my family…just small gifts..tokens of my love.  Breakfast out this morning with hubby and daughter Sara was nice as well.  Hubby was sweet and brought me a box of chocolate’s from my favorite local choclatier and a beautiful Gerbera Daisy plant..dark purple.  So sweet. 

“Love doesn’t make the world go round,
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”
– Elizabeth Browning

Valentine’s Day is all about love tokens….be it flowers, candy, cards, dinner out..and if you’re really lucky..jewelry! LOL The History of Valentine’s Day is a little sketchy but most seem to agree that it’s named after a Christian martyr..a Roman priest named Valentine.  Claudius II, Roman Emperor in the third century, outlawed marriage for his soldiers.  He believed that marriage and children made them weaker as soldiers.  Valentine disagreed with this and secretly continued to marry young lovers.  When Claudius discovered this, he jailed Valentine.  Now the story is that Valentine fell in love with his jailers daughter who came to visit him.  Claudius eventually ordered Valentine’s execution.  Before he was, he asked for pen and paper to  write her a letter….signing it..From your Valentine.  How romantic.  The date that Valentine was executed?  Yes, Feb 14.  But it wasn’t until Geoffrey Chaucer, an English  poet and author, in the Middle ages, that romance was added to the day. 

For Pagans in ancient Rome,  February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Feb. 14 was a day to honor Juno, the goddess of Women and marriage. The next day, Feb. 15, was  Lupercalia, a festival honoring the birth of Romulus and Remus, the twin founders of the city. As Lupercalia evolved and time went on, it became a festival honoring fertility and the coming of spring. To begin the festival,  all the available women of the city would have their name put in an urn. The bachelors would chose a name out of the urn and be paired for the year with the name selected. This act was later outlawed by the clergy and deemed un-Christian. So to put a positive perspective over a bad tradition in 498 A.D. Pope Gelasius officially declared Feb. 14 St. Valentine’s Day

In the 18th century, Valentine cards first appeared according to Victorian Treasury.  Needless to say, printing companies saw this as profitable, and the Valentine card took off.  Now those of a romantic nature will most likely give roses with their card and candy.  Many may not give a thought to what color roses they give their beloved.  But in the language of flowers, the color is very significant.  Here is a list of some colors and their meanings:

Lavender — Enchantment and Uniqueness
Orange — Fascination
Pink (Dark) — Thankfulness, Friendship and Admiration
Red — Love, Respect and Courage
Peach — Modesty, Gratitude, Admiration and Sympathy
Pink (Pale) — Grace, Joy and Happiness
Deep Red — Beauty and Passion
White — Innocence, Purity, Secrecy, Silence, Reverence, Humility and (according to some sources) True Love
Yellow — Joy, Friendship, Jealousy, Hope and Freedom
Black — Farewell
Red/White — Unity or Engagement
Yellow/Orange — Passionate Thoughts
Peach — Modesty, Gratitude, Admiration and Sympathy
Pink (Pale) — Grace, Joy and Happiness
Yellow/Red — Congratulations
Rosebud — Beauty, Youth and a Heart Innocent of Love
Red Rosebud — Purity and Loveliness
White Rosebud — Girlhood
One Dozen Red Roses — “I Love You”
Single Red Rose in Full Bloom — “I Love You”
Tea Roses — “I’ll Remember Always”

Now while men are often the giver of the roses, women, like me, go to the kitchen and bake up something…something that looks fantastic and shows that time and effort and love was put into the mix.  For me, Red Velvet Cake is probably the perfect cake to make for Valentine’s Day.  Now I am a huge fan of Food Network and Paula Deen…and this recipe is hers…and perfect!  Give it a try..your significant other and your whole family will love it!  Oh and this recipe is for cupcakes…but you could make it into a two layer cake.

Paula Deen’s Red Velvet Cupcakes

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons red food coloring
  • 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 pound cream cheese, softened
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans, fresh raspberry or strawberry, or sprinkles.

Now this recipe is the RIGHT way to make REAL red velvet cake….the southern way! 🙂

Now I know many of you are single or unattached and Valentine’s Day may not have as much significance to you right now.  But I say that if you have a child in your life, or a grandparent, or a lovely neighbor or friend…Valentine’s Day can still be a beautiful day.  Show your token of love to them.  Also, you can make the day about You!  Treat yourself to a box of candy, a bouquet of flowers, a pedicure or a bottle of wine.  Love yourself..because after all, loving ourselves first is what makes it possible for us to give our love to others.  Ultimately, Valentine’s Day is about Love!  So Have a beautiful Valentine’s day my friends and may you have the love of family, friends, furbabies, and your Goddess/God on this day and everyday. 

Blessings and Love, Autumn

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February 10, 2011 · 9:22 pm

More Cleaning and a Sweet Treat………

Merry Meet friends!  Hope that you are all having a great week.  It is bitterly  cold here in Ohio..negative temps this morning and negative wind chill factor!  BRRRRR!  The good news is that the Sun came out today and that warmed up everything despite the cold 🙂  I was able also to see the quarter Moon last night and She was beautiful!  The sky was black as ink…twinkling stars…and the Moon was bright and misty, a beautiful sight.  Despite the cold I had to have a visit…I threw a blanket around me and went out and visited with Her..it was magickal indeed.  Even if it was for a short time 🙂 

So today I was home and had some time to get back to some of my Spring Cleaning..which is almost done.  I have enjoyed doing that so much.  I did my kitchen buffet, a tv stand, under my bathroom sink, and my bedside stand.  Here’s some before and afters….:)

Buffet before…..

And after………..

Bathroom sink before……………

Bathroom Sink After……..

I won’t bore you with the other pics, this is enough. LOL!   But I post the pics to inspire..as I was inspired by my daughters blog and her work! 🙂  I only have my linen closet left to do….that will be for another day when I have more time.  I really want to paint it…a gorgeous blue..just for fun! To open the door and see something besided white walls, so I may not post before and afters until I have time to paint it!  There is a couple of drawers in my dresser that need a bit of attention, but really, the most of it is done.  Yay!  The house just feels so much better and when I open a door or a drawer I just can’t  help but smile out how they look.  Go for it if you haven’t already…the work is worth it!

So Valentine’s Day is coming up and I thought I’d share a recipe with you.  This recipe is actually on my Gooseberry Patch calendar for February’s page.  I am making these this weekend, I think, so I thought that you might like to make them too.

Raspberry Swirled Brownies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

16-oz can chocolate syrup

4 eggs, beaten

1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3-oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup raspberry preserves

1 cup unsweetened raspberries

Garnish:  whipped cream, fresh raspberries

In a bowl, mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add chocolate syrup and eggs; mix well.  Add flour; mix well. Beat in cream cheese and preserves until smooth; gently fold raspberries into the batter.  Spread in a greased 15″ x 10″ jelly-roll pan.

Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes.  Cut into squares.  Garnish with whipped cream and raspberries if desired.  Makes 2-1/2 dozen.

Sounds delicious doesnt’ it!  Can’t wait to make them!

So Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday.  Yes, I know its a romantic holiday..made for lovers and spouses.  Flowers, candy, romantic dinners.  That all sounds lovely indeed.  But for me and my family, well it is all about fun with the kids!  Making construction paper valentines, heart shaped cookies with icing and red sugar sprinkles, heart shaped pancakes or PB&J sandwiches.  Cutting out paper heart chains to hang in their rooms.  Stuffed red teddy bears, chocolate marshmallow heart candy.  It just doesn’t get any more fun then that.  Remember the excitement of trading valentine cards…the little cheap cartoon ones..making your “mailbox”.  It was a big day for sure.  Keep this in mind with your children or grandchildren…it’s something you never outgrow!  I did it with my kids and now I get to enjoy it with my little Lily.  I love sending her cards and stickers in the mail..she loves getting mail!  Every holiday can be made special with just a little bit of effort. Put a little magick into all you day and the day will be special for your loved ones..you will have made a memory!

When I think of love …

I think of roses and red hearts …

quiet walks …

and very soft, tranquil music …

I envision an eagle taking flight on a crisp fall morn …

the first snowflake in the winter …

and the sound of the first robin in the spring …

I envision a glorious sunrise …

a spectacular rainbow …

and stars brightly shining on a summer night …

But most of all, I envision you …

your eyes radiating warmth, joy and vibrance …

and the tender feelings in my heart

from your friendly smile.

Author Unknown

 

Much love and light to you all, Autumn

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February 7, 2011 · 9:50 pm

A Book review and signs of Spring……….

Merry Meet friends.  It has been quite  a week ..weather wise around here.  On Imbolc Eve, we got a huge ice storm…lots of heavy ice, slippery roads, trees cracking and breaking from the weight of the ice, and power outages.  Yes, we had a power outage..the lights went out about 11:30pm that night.  We lit candles, brought in a kerosene ceramic heater to warm the lower floor rooms and hoped for the best.  By the next morning..power outage looked like it was going to last for awhile.  We ended up heading over to my daughters for the day and stayed warm and had a lovely visit with my daughters and granddaughter.  Lights came back on at about 5pm and life got back to normal.  It was Imbolc…my ritual ended up being very simple as I was so tired from lack of sleep LOL…but I threw open the doors and invited in Brighid and it was a Blessed Imbolc after all.  I hope yours was too!

A couple of months ago..a facebook friend of mine..Tracy Jeffery..from Australia…posted a link that caught my eye.  I went to look at it, and discovered that she had written a children’s pagan book…called “Kite Magic….A Tribute to the Element Air”.  I looked at it, thought that I would order it for my granddaughter and then, you know, I kind of forgot about it.  A couple of weeks ago, she posted a comment here on my blog and mentioned the book and that she would love for me to review it here.  So I promptly contacted her, ordered the book and I received it, read it and loved it.  So Tracy, thank you for your delightful book and I can’t wait til the other element books are written.

Kite Magic is about a little girl named Alana, 4 years old, who receives a rainbow kite for her birthday.  Her Nanna takes her to the beach to fly her kite. (Now I am called Nana by my precious Lily so I loved that right off ! )  Nanna wears a shawl and a sunflower hat (which I love!).  But despite Alana’s best efforts, she can not get the kite to fly….there isn’t enough wind.  She is taunted by 3 boys because of it.  Alana becomes sad and discouraged..her rainbow kite just wont’ fly.  Now her Nanna..a wise crone…tells Alana that she can make it windy by calling on air.  Alana does just that..with her Nanna’s help ( a beautiful charm here too).  Their magick blends together and spirals upward and Air answers in a delightful way.  The descriptive words of the magick wrought were delightful to me and I think any child would be entranced as well.  Those boys who taunt her…well they get a bit of Karma as well in a very funny way!  I thought this book was charming..filled with magick and vivid images.  I also loved the illustrations by Danielle Rawnsley-Galistan..bright colors and attention getting for a child.  I can’t wait until the next books come out.  I highly recommend the book..pagan books for children are pretty hard to come by.  For this book visit www.paganchild.com.au

I have been looking for signs of Spring..to no avail around here.  We have had one of the snowiest winters I can remember.  Not so much in huge amounts, but in constant amounts..keeping the ground white all winter long.  Today, more snow.  But recently, I have had visitors to our koi pond in our yard and just had to snap a few pictures.  Signs of Spring?  I still think so…but they are around here all winter long now…but seeing them makes me smile.

Lovely birds don’t you agree..I love the grumpy look on the one looking right at me! LOL

Then this morning..more visitors…7 deer walked across our yard…it was so magickal.  I feel such an affinity with them.  I see them as so magickal and majestic…my heart soars when I can be that close to them!  Here’s a  picture  I caught before they went up in the woods.

Sorry for the misty pics but well, it was a misty morning! 🙂  I have heard many of my facebook friends talking about signs of Spring around their homes..so I know that Spring is coming soon.  To feel the Sun warming the Earth, to see shoots peeking up thru the brown earth, morning bird song, the smell of the grass greening….I can’t wait for those days.  I know you all look forward to those days as well.  Spring is Hope Eternal!

Blessings of Love and Light, Autumn

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January 30, 2011 · 6:15 pm

Imbolc Altar and my Book of Shadows……

Merry Meet my friends!  Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend.  Imbolc is just a few days away.  As I have posted here, I have been busy with my cleaning and organizing and getting ready to invite the Celtic Goddess Brighid into our home and to celebrate the coming of Spring.  Monday, I will do the more “everyday” cleaning like dusting and sweeping and wiping down bathrooms etc.  Tuesday I will smudge the house good.  Wednesday..Imbolc..which is also the New Moon by the way….I will spend time celebrating with my family.  That night I will be doing a ritual and lighting candles all over the house..and throwing open the doors to invite Brighid and all the good that Her coming brings. 

When I posted about Imbolc on a previous blog post, I wrote all the correspondences for this Sabbat.  When I put together my altar..I kept those in mind of course.  My altar cloth was a simple white cotton cloth.  I threw a green scarf across it to represent Brighid’s Mantle.  I then put all the tools that are always on my altar, my athame, wand, cauldron, elemental representative of candle, incense, salt and blessed water.  My pentacle tile and statues of Gaia and Greenman which are definitely appropriate for Imbolc. 

I then added my Goddess/God candles..red and my Fire candle is also red.  I place crystals of  Amethyst, bloodstone, garnet, onyx, moonstone, and red jasper. I have a gorgeous cherry quartz point in the center of my candles.   I have a bit of sunflower seeds and some healing herbs there as well.   I have a printed picture of Brighid in her Maiden aspect..beautiful as I picture her.  A poetry book to represent her being the Goddess of poetry.  Silver candlesticks and celtic symbol to represent her being the Goddess of smithcraft and honoring her being Celtic (as am I!).  My potted daffodils and   cakes and ale will be added when I’m ready to work at my alter.  I’m making the Lemon Poppyseed Bread I posted here..and I’m going to have spiced wine to drink.  I also have added 7 tealight candles in red and white…those are for  one of the rituals I’ll be doing Imbolc night…along with some special sisters of mine.  I look forward to working at this beautiful altar which I find magickal and beautiful. 🙂 After looking at this, I realize I forgot my lamb statue..I’ll add that in also..remember Imbolc means  ewe’s milk. 

I have been spending time when I can adding to my Book of Shadows…it seems to be a never ending process.  I am always adding information from books I’m reading, or from my facebook friends or from groups I belong to on facebook, and from the internet.  I DO use my computer to make up my pages.  Now I know that can be a controversy…many will say it should be all handwritten.  But my BOS is a very beautiful, fairly expensive book..and I have terrible handwriting…I want not only for me to easily read what is there..but I plan on passing down this book to my children and grandchildren and  I want them to be able to read it as well.  I love being able to change the fonts, the print size, add pics and flourishes.  There is some of my handwriting in the book..I make notations, add info etc in my own hand. 

Here is my BOS and a few examples of some of my favorite pages………

These are just a few of the pages I’ve done….I am getting more creative as I go along 🙂

When I look at my altar and my Book of Shadows…I feel so much pride and inspiration.  I try to live my life everyday in a way that speaks to my soul, that makes me happy, that honors the Divine, Mother Earth, the Elements.  I am proud of my path! Being a Witch, discovering my true self…has been Goddess sent…I am soo blessed to have the joy of all that this path I’m on entails.  I know so many of you know exactly how I feel.  When my day isnt’ the best day, or my mood is poor, or I feel overwhelmed,  all I have to do is have a sit at my altar, or go outside.  Light a candle, or grab a crystal.  I can read one of any beautiful inspiring quotes or poems in my BOS or just connect with the Goddess by sitting quiet and listening for Her message.  And then there’s the Moon! Ahh the Moon…how wonderful that we are so aware of Her mysteries, Her energy, Her power.  How wonderful to be a Witch!

Blessed Be, Autumn

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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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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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January 23, 2011 · 9:15 pm

Days 2 & 3 Cleaning & some of my books………

Merry Meet everybody!  Hope that you have all had a nice weekend.  It is VERY cold here…negative chill factors, high of 15* but it’s been sunny and I have been enjoying seeing the Moon Goddess the last few nights.  Yesterday I worked on my Book of Shadows and my sister was here and helped Sara work on hers as well.  I love working on it, seeing all the information I’ve collected for years coming together to make something I not only will enjoy having and using, but can pass down to my daughters and grandchildren.  Soon I’ll post a few pics here and talk about how I have gone about doing my BOS.  Today, my hubby and I had breakfast out, bought stone tile to redo our shower, grocery and then home for football and hanging by the fire.

Yesterday, I was having so much fun working on my BOS I did not get any of my 14 days of cleaning and organizing done.  So today I did double duty! 🙂 I started with a kitchen cabinet that had everything from recipe boxes to supplies for making my herbal remedies.  Here’s the before pic……

Sorry about the blurriness..not sure why.  This was fairly easy to clean up..but where was I going to put my herbal supplies?  Here’s what it looked like after….

LOL  this is my kitty Harley..a stray that came to our back door about 6 years ago..and stayed 🙂  She thinks it looks good.  I have room for more stuff now!  I took all of the herbal remedy supplies and put them in the space in another cabinet I had cleared some time ago for that purpose..looks like this:

Hummm got room for more supplies too 🙂  Next I cleaned out a drawer in my parlor coffee table..I had to find some place to put all the pretty papers I use in my BOS, and my granddaughter Lily’s coloring books and crayons.  Before:

Afterwards:

Ok..these were all pretty simple.  Now, I was on a roll so I tackled our entertainment center in the parlor.  This cabinet has our tv and other components, but it has these great hidden shelves where I keep my printer, printer paper, and lately..I have been shoving my witchy books in there too..the ones I’m studying from, the ones that are new and I haven’t read yet, and the ones that I refer to often.  Here’s the cabinet before..its bad  LOL..

I am almost embarassed to show that…really bad.  But I worked on it and came up with the idea of doing away with the CD racks on the 2 shelves on the left and turned them into flat shelves that would pull out….Perfect for holding my printer and easy access.  Here is the after:

I am sooo pleased with this job.  Before I go on to talking about my books a bit..if I know all you witches out there..you want to see what books I have..Right?  LOL  I am that way, always scouring peoples bookshelves..even the ones in pictures.   Anyway, this 14 days of cleaning is coinciding with my daughter Kate’s blog and I wanted to participate …but I am reaping so many benefits from it.  A feeling of accomplishment, drawers and cupboards I don’t mind if somebody looks into..and I’m getting my house in order for Imbolc cleaning!  I also am getting rid of junk!  Taking things out of here that aren’t needed, used, loved..well its a good thing.  I take them to goodwill where it becomes someone elses treasured find!  It really only takes a few minutes to do this…a drawer or two, a cupboard, a closet…and by the end of 2 weeks..I am going to throw open everything, give it a good smudge, and I am ready for Imbolc! 🙂  You should think about doing it too..you won’t be sorry.

Ok..here are some pics of my books:

What do you think?  Pretty good books huh!  I can’t wait to read all of the ones I haven’t yet.  This is not all of them either..I have two shelves full in my bedroom as well…ones I have read..well mostly!  These are more of the newer ones I’ve gotten recently or the ones I’m studying from..like the runes and the tarot books.  I love when I get a new pagan book or discover a new author and I often ask the question on my facebook page..what are you reading?  To get great ideas for books I need to read.  I keep a list in a notebook and refer to it often.  I also visit our half price bookstore for some on my list at great prices.  I have always loved to read, but I especially love to read while I’m LEARNING!!  Its just the best thing ever!

So after all my great cleaning and cooking and busyness today..I’m going to curl up by the fire with one of these books……and read.

Blessings and light, Autumn

*Sorry about all the pics but I’m working on learning how great my new camera is too…LOL

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January 21, 2011 · 10:21 pm

A Big Thank You!……

I just had to do a quick post to thank my readers soooo much.  I have exactly 5000 hits on my blog just now!  What a wonderful thing!  I also now have 61 subscribers.  I am sooo appreciative and excited that what I write is getting read by someone! 🙂  It’s encouraging and helps me to keep writing, to keep exploring, to keep researching about what I write.

Thank you again and Blessings to you all! Autumn

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January 21, 2011 · 4:59 pm

Day One of 14 Days of Organization…….

Merry Meet friends!  Today the sun came out and the skies cleared up and the snow is shimmering..it’s just a beautiful day but very very cold!  Tonight I should be able to finally see the Wolf Moon just in time before she starts waning.  I’m so glad!  I could really use the connection and seeing her makes it so much better! 🙂 

My daughter Kate writes two blogs..both of which are linked to my blog.  Just Chasing Moonbeams is her witchy blog, Living the Vintage Life is her non-witchy blog…you know……muggle friendly! 🙂  On her Vintage Life she has started a wonderful idea….of organizing your home in 14 days.  Here is the link so you can read about it………

http://livingthevintagelife.wordpress.com/

I have decided to participate..basically you clean out drawers, cupboards, closets, bookshelves ..whatever needs done.  You take before pics of your daily project..then  pitch what needs to be pitched, give away what you don’t want, and organize what you keep.  You should pick one closet, a couple of drawers or a cupboard or two each day.  Then take an after picture to show how great it looks!  I love this idea…makes me look forward to seeing the great results. AND…it helps me to get ready for Imbolc!  Imbolc is all about cleaning and getting rid of the old junky stuff!   Be brutal in what you get rid of…if it isn’t useful anymore, or you haven’t used it or worn it in a year..its time for it to go!! 

So today I decided to clean out the 3 drawers in my foyer dresser.  Now this took me all of 15 minutes…I pulled a trash can right up to me, pulled out the sweeper to sweep out the crumbs and got busy.  Here are the before and afters for each drawer……

Drawer #2

Drawer #3

Looks great doesnt’ it??   I decided that as that had gone so fast I would do one more quick thing…right around the corner, a cupboard that was a real mess..had everything from river rocks to soap making supplies…time to clean it up!

There….much better!  I need to get a small plastic basket to put the oils for the soap making supplies into…and a long flat basket to put my taper candles in…but otherwise, I’m happy with my work.  I took me about 20 minutes in all…easy peasy.  Humm ..wonder what to do tomorrow??  I’ll be back and continue to shoe my progress!

If you want to follow along, feel free.  Take your own pics and past them into a spiral notebook or post them on your corkboard or refrigerator.  It’ll inspire you to keep going!  Happy Cleaning! 

*I apologize for the small pics….but the bigger ones didnt’ fit on the page!  LOL  Get out your magnifying glass! 🙂

Blessings, Autumn

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