PaganBlogPrompts: Out with the Old..

Out with the Old!

http://paganprompts.blogspot.com/2011/12/out-with-old-in-with-new.html



for me its more like out with the clutter!  And I think that before the new year begins is a perfect
time to de-clutter. Most people do it in the spring. But I think now would be much better. Then I
can feel like I'm starting the year new and fresh instead of bringing over all the old trash with me
into the new year.

I'm trying to make life changes. I don't refer to them as resolutions. Thats not ever worked for me.
I don't stick to them. So, I'm trying to live a healthier more balanced life. And clearing out my clutter
is definatly a step in a healthier direction for me. I'm not good with putting something away when I'm finished
with it. But I want to be better about that. I want to have a pretty home and for it to feel warm and cozy. Like
an old witches cottage tucked away at the forests edge.

Today I am starting with my bedroom. Which is also where my wiccan altar is. Where I do my thinking, studying,
praying, rituals... My bedroom has always been the center of who I am and where I like to be. It's a personal space.
Not just where I sleep. All my magickal beings are there with me. So, its the most logical place for me to start.

Over the past 10 months I have been on a path of change, learning, expansion, spiritual knowledge. It can only get
better from here :)

KWW - Steamed Broccoli

Kitchen Witch Wednesday

Steamed Broccoli

Well, for the 1st time since I joined KWW I feel like I'm actually writing about something that I know about.

Today, I am steaming some broccoli. I am even thinking of getting creative and adding some chopped almond slivers and raisins.

Broccoli has many healing elements to it. I read about 4 years ago that it is believed to completely irradicate H-pylori. Which I have had before its associated with peptic ulcers. And causes people to be very sick to their stomach. Unless of course you have your broccoli on hand! Of course my husband will be non too pleased to come home and smell it. *hee hee*

The healing powers of broccoli is very fascinating.
I encourage everyone to visit this page:
http://www.holistic-medicine-works.com/broccoli-nutrition.html
to learn more.

Running off now to finish my yummy broccoli!
btw -- broccoli is not suppose to mushy and gross. If it is,
it has had all the important nutrients cooked right out of it!

Life as a city witch.: Boxing Day Blues.

I also go through depression and I think this a wonderful way of dealing with it, getting through it, and being constructive :)
yeeeah to Sue )O(




Life as a city witch.: Boxing Day Blues.: I used to always suffer with the Boxing Day blues. As my husband is non witchy and it is only recently that the DD's have become involved -...

Holidays over- Yeah!!

I am pretty happy for the December holidays to be over with. For the last several years I get sad at this time. And christmas had become meaningless to me. I know that Jesus was not born in the winter muchless on December 25th. And christmas is so commercialized. It's a buy me this, buy me that civilization. And material things just shouldnt be that important.

I was rather hoping this year would be different for me. I had plans of celebrating Yule for the 1st time. But then I got sick right before I was to start making my candles for my family and got down and didn't have any energy to put up decorations, or make
my special gifts I'd been planning for months, or to make my 1st yule log cake. And now that I have enjoyed christmas with my
grandkids and family. And the dark clouds have lifted. I'm very happy to be past this time. Theres also a lot of controversy around christmas. I wasn't expecting that. I learned a more new things. And even went a step further and expressed my thoughts and view on the subject. Which is pretty pretty rare for me to vocalize a view about something, especially on such a strongly religious subject.

Now I am looking forward to getting back on track with my meditation and dedications. I miss my morning dedications. And reading, learning, studies... So I'm looking forward to that and to learning about the next sabbat. I can hardly even believe I'm almost through a whole year of sabbats! I started with Beltane. Started on the path of wicca just about a month or so before Beltane. The ending of march.

Why Would...

why would a woman stay with a husband that is not there for emotionally. EVER! All the difficult parts of her life have been handled on her own. When she should not have had to be alone because she had a husband. Isn't that what marriage is about. Togetherness. Love. Comfort. Figuring things out together. Doing fun activities together. Growing, evolving as a couple...

Why would a woman stay when she does not recieve affection, comfort, support, togetherness.
Why would she? And for 24 years!

For love... Because she loves unconditionally. Because maybe someday things will change. Because maybe he didn't mean those things he said. Because she has a big heart. Because she is afraid of change. Because she likes the things she has accumulated as a couple from him making good money and while she was making good money....

___________________
___________________

how many of us women do such stupid things for love. Sacrifice our own happiness in the name of love...

KWW - Sugar Cookies!

Merry Yule!

An old favorite for yule time for me is decorating sugar cookies!!

    

I will be baking my sugar cookies with a very good friend. That will make it twice as fun and twice as special and twice as memorable. I am so excited.
I even bought new cookie cutters too! *big giggles*

Since I'm learning about pagan and wiccan traditions. I thought that I would provide a link to the history of cookies. Maybe that will be a fun read.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CookieHistory.htm

Other Stuff

I also got a brand new toy today!

Kitchen Witch Wednesday - YuleLog

I always look forward to the holiday cooking.
I try to keep them traditional as much as I can. It's not always easy finding those recipes. There is SO much available online.

I've never made a yule log before. But this recipe sounds good to me.
So keep watching for me to post more yuletide recipes that I will be making.
And as always photos will follow!

 

Yule Log Recipe

 

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1 can (16 ounces) coconut-pecan frosting
• 1 can (16 ounces) milk chocolate frosting, divided
• Large marshmallows
• Baking cocoa

Directions

• In a bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla on high until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in chocolate and water until blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well.
• In another bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in a greased and floured 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle a kitchen towel with confectioners' sugar. Invert cake onto the towel. Starting from a short end, roll up cake in the towel. Place seam side down on a wire rack to cool completely. Unroll cake; spread coconut-pecan frosting to within 1 in. of edges; roll up cake without the towel. Cut and reserve a narrow diagonal slice from each end of the cake. Reserve 2 tablespoons chocolate frosting for mushrooms. Attach diagonal cake slices with a little of the frosting to opposite sides of cake with remaining frosting. With the tines of a fork, make strokes in the frosting to resemble bark on a tree trunk.
• For the mushrooms, half marshmallows widthwise. Flatten half of each marshmallow for cap of mushroom; roll other half between palms of hands for stem. Attach caps to stems with the reserved frosting. Dust tops of mushrooms with cocoa; place around the log. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 610 calories, 30 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 106 mg cholesterol, 337 mg sodium, 80 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Originally published as Yule Log in Country Woman November/December 1995, p54

Kitchen Witch Wednesday ~ Coffee Cake

Home made coffee cake!

I have been thinking about my dad's home made coffee cake all day long today. I think I'm excited to make some. So, this week for Kitchen Witch Wednesday, I will share my family's recipe for our creamy coffee cake.

This is adapted from my great grandmother's recipe. I'm thinking the part that changed is the dough. We don't make the dough from scratch. But I'm thinking of adding something more homey and crafty to it this year. so maybe I'll find a good recipe for making sweet dough. So, in the modern age we buy 1 box of sweetroll mix.
1 large sour cream (16 oz I think)
                                        1 pint of heavy whipping cream
a drop or two of either lemon juice or white vinegar

Prepare ground cinnamon and sugar (heavy on the cinnamon) in a small bowl that you can easily shake/sprinkle from.

In medium mixing bowl stir together your sour cream and heavy whipping cream and lemon juice or white vinegar. Cover with towel and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl prepare the sweetroll mix as directed on the box.
Shape into ball. Leave in bowl, cover with towel to let rise a bit.

In a large cookie sheet with a tall edge on it, pour out your sweetroll dough. Start to softly shape it into the pan. It will take some time to get it all spread out to all of the edges. I just kind of push it with the base of my hand and keep working it softly and gently. When its spread to all of the edges
you will go around the edges the edge of your hand using it like a hammer to form an edge (crust) around it. And make it look like a swimming pool. *lol*  Cover with towel. Let set for 5 minutes.

Then go back and this is the fun part! -- fold your fingers down and use your middle knuckles to punch little knuckle divits all over the dough. (not the crust though) Punch, punch, punch... Not so hard to tear it though.

Let set 5 minutes.

Go back and do it again, the dough will be all nice a puffy and make sure your just getting it all punched down with dents.

Take your cream mixture and carefully pour it in the center. It will fill the pan right up to the crust.

Now take your cinnamon mixture and shake it evenly all across the top and all over the crust too.
Let it soak up the cream and have a nice even coating of it over the top.

Now lets bake her at 350 degrees for about 20 - 25 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.

Now, my dad advises me not to eat it right away and burn myself. *lol*
But I will say it is best all warm and gooey! Whats a little scalded tongue....

I hope you will enjoy your wonderful Clayton's Coffee Cake! (my maiden name)http://momsawitch.blogspot.com

A Lot Going On...

wow lots going on again. I've been doing rituals for job success. And I recieved a wishing bracelet in one of my 'new witch' kits from Under The New Moon. The note with the wishing bracelet said to put it on. Make my wish & before the string on the bracelet wears out, my wish will manifest. Indeed!

On Thanksgiving day, I got a call asking me to help care for someone's mother. Who used to be a resident at the retirement center I used to work at. She is actually my mother in laws patient. And my m.i.l. is on vacation right now. And there was an emergency with the husband. So, I went out that evening and got her ready for bed. And have been going out every morning and some days staying until after lunch & going back in the evenings
on some days. Just depends on who is there that can help.

It's really really good to be working again taking care of people!! I'm a C.N.A. (certified nursing assistant)
And I've been out of work since mid June. So, close to 6 months.
And now the husband had to have emergency kidney surgeries. And is going to be starting
chemotherapy also.

I've also been working on my forum a bit more.
The Witches' Garden
http://thewitchesgarden.ning.com
I'm really hoping that I will be able to keep it. I'm on a free trial of it right now.
And the middle of December I'll be billed $25.00 a month
So, I'm hoping to keep working even after my MIL gets back to work too w/ our patient.
She works 3 days a week. And I have been offered to pick up the other 4 days.
Which was actually a dream of mine. *giggle* - to just work 4 days a week. :D

And I've also got a lil sale going on at my shop -
Sacred Oaks Alchemy
http://faerycharm.net/sacredoaksalchemy/index.php

Here we are headed into December. But it doesnt feel like christmas to
me at all!

KitchenWitchWednesday-01

::: My 1st Kitchen Witch Wednesday :::

A kitchen witch blessing as you stir your food with love and contentment.

Stirring round and round with my power hand
Goddess Brighid please guide me now
Through love health and work all is grand
This to you I vow...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I love writing quatrains. I'm not saying I'm actually good at it. But

it is fun & creative. I hope that with time I will get better at it, and the
right words will arrive on my lips.

Join Emerlyn Rayne in her Kitchen Witch Wednesday as I have.
Originally started by Emberlyn Rayne at Mom's a Witch

The College of the Sacred Mists Online Wiccan College

I felt compelled to speak of The College of the  Sacred Mists wiccan college today. I can no longer attend because of my financial woes - of being out of work. Which is only $25.00 a month to attend. Not a huge amount and good price for all that they offer.

But I just want to send out a huge compliment to all who make the college a wonderful place to be. And also I love the teaching system they use. I was only there for a short time. But I utilized a lot of the extra courses. And they are valuable tools to me that I use everyday.

The exercises they teach. What all is involved in the homework. I really value the knowledge and experiences gained through Sacred Mists, on an everyday level. I loved the deity research at the end of each lesson in addition to the homework. And it is the shielding teachings that I use everyday that I am particularly fond of. The visualization that I used on my sheilding experience is still with me. And I call on it often.

I do not know how many people this will reach. Or even how many it will reach who attend or teach at Sacred Mists. If it even reaches one person I think that will be enough for me though. That means there is at least one person in the universe who knows my thoughts, gratitude and love I have for Sacred Mists. I miss it dearly. Maybe someday I'll be able to go back...

New Candle!

New candle added to My Etsy Shoppe yesterday

November Rayne

This candle is poured with parafin wax with out any color added to the wax.
It has silver and green glitter added throughout the candle.
It is crafting in modern chunky style in the ways of the olde craft
using correspondences for love, prosperity, and protection.

Orange chunks from my 'Alluring Autumn' candle were added which
has the scent of warm honey and melted butter. Brownish/Wine colored
heart chunks also add to the creativity of this candle. The hearts are from the same
wax blend as my cinnaberry candles (scented with cinnamon & hollyberry).
A few green wax chunks are also added, as well as shavings of non-colored
parafin wax. Giving this candle a special pock/chunk look. As well as a couple
of secret ingredients...

Dressed with a light olive green organza ribbon tied in a bow binding the
love, prosperity, and protection to this candle.
Dried rosemary and roses are sprinled throughout this candle.
Infusing it with love, harmony, protection, prosperity, joy, and an uplifted spirit.

This candle would be perfect in a ritual or to scent your home...

Samhain-November 1st 2011

HecateGoddess of Witches . Associated with Isis . Thought to give
instruction to the arts of alchemy . moon goddess . triple goddess .
Associated with magick, witchcraft, crossroads, walls, gates, and doorways .
torch . sword . dogs . thunder shrieks yells and barking dogs are heard upon her travel...



I had a wonderful ritual last night on the eve of Samhain. I'll get to that later. 1st I must say how enlightened I am to have just learned the truth of Hecate today. I (and I have no idea why) thought she was evil. I don't have a reason for thinking that. Now that I have learned of her history I have the overwhelming feeling that she is deeply sacred. An extremely important Goddess. I want to know more about Hecate and Morrighan...

Now for last nights ritual. Interesting! I used what words came to me. I'm not huge on planning. So, I didn't write out my ritual word for word. I'm a wing-it sort of person. *lol* Drives my sister insane. Guess I truely am a hedge witch. *hee hee* I also used parts of Scott Cunningham's samhain ritual from his renowned book: Wicca - A guide for the solitary practitioner. And also borrowed from Ann Moura's samhain ritual. I didn't cast a circle. But I think that I will tonight. I had also decided that it would not be necessary for me to do a naming ceremony. But then all of a sudden at the end of my ritual, I was gazing into the flame of my black candle that I created myself with different shades of orange dripping down it. All the words just came to me. And I claimed my name bestowed to me through dream.

For my rememberence of the dead part of my ritual I spoke to my grandma. I let her know how much I love her and how proud she would be of me if she were here to see all that I've done and all that I've become. Continued on to say that if she would like to come through the doorway just for tonight for a moment, she is welcome to do so. Then I sat silent for a moment with my eyes closed memories of her and I swirling around in my head. Just then I started to hear this loud crackling sound. I tried to not break my visualization. But I did look. And a dried rose i used to decorate my samhain candle came into the bottom of my candle. How I have no idea. Since I didnt put any roses near the wick. But it was so perfect since my grandma Jennings loved roses. She had a rose garden. And my grandpa picked a fresh rose for her everyday and brought it in and it was put into a special goblet glass of water.

I also said good-bye to the past year of bad thoughts, terrible experiences, sadnesses. Wrote down on a piece of parchment paper the thing I would like to rid myself of most. And welcomed the new year, new joy, new experiences, new knowledge in the coming year and welcomed happiness.

I also incorporated samhain correspondences such as black and orange candles. I had another candle on my altar which I also made and it turned out w/ an image of a black cat on 1 side. It was suppose to just be a swirly design with dark candle coloring. *lol* My altar cloth was black with gold triple moon in the middle. and a pentacle in the center. I made my own incense. Not so sure I'm very crazy about the scent though. It may end up in the trash. *lol*
Ingredients: broom wood, red sandalwood, mugwort, patchouli, rosemary, yarrow, myrrh resin, flax seeds, frankincense resin, 11 drops of cedarwood oil, 2 drops of ylang ylang oil.

My ritual was performed at 12:30 at night. Wind blowing. A cauldron in my window burned an orange candle. Which when it was extinguished the wick kind of has a crescent moon shape to it. And the glitter inside the candle all went to 1 side to also make a crescent moon shape. ??
I also had candles in other windows in my home to guide the spirits.
Today is perfect. cold, somber, snowy/rainy dreary! Very calming and comforting.



Some of my Samhain / Halloween Pics:

My 1st Samhain
October 31st 12:30 a.m.
Samhain Altar
Stones: moonstone, carnelian, garnet
candles: black and orange - handmade by me

Samhain Candle Cauldron
placed in my bedroom (magickal space) window next to my altar.



Cauldron Candle
I thought it was interesting how the wick shaped like a cresent moon
after being burned.



Then I noticed how the glitter all went to one side forming
the shape of a crescent moon too. As you can see the
glitter started out all over the entire candle.
(look around the edges)

The next few pics are of my grandkids Evey (11) & Dante (7)