Anniversary Weekend

Greetings everyone! First and foremost, I want to thank ALL of  my very dear friends and followers who send their many condolences and caring hugs out to my hubby and I. I can not begin to tell you just how much that meant to us! You are all such a huge blessing!  

This weekend hubby and I were planning on celebrating our 12-year wedding anniversary. However, in light of our recent tragedy we have decided to postpone that for another couple of weeks or so. In the meantime, my hubby, in a good effort to cheer me up and change the overall somber mood in our household, decided to give me my anniversary gift a little early. It was a beautiful Willow Tree piece titled, "Together" ...

And so, I gave him his gift as well. A heart-shaped music box which plays the song, "Unchained Melody" and envgraved with this these words ...

“I give to you my continuing love, friendship, honor and respect.   I shall be there for you always as full partners, each to the other. Should one falter, the other shall pick them up again. Should one despair, the other shall comfort them. Should one lose their way, the other shall see them home again. Happy Anniversary, Love always ~ Kim"

These words were supposed to be part of our Handfasting Renewal vows which we would like to hopefully have performed eventually. The vows ring so true, most especially at this time. Nothing is perfect, and our marriage is not any different than anyone else's in that respect. We have weathered many storms and somehow have continued to get through them and be there for one another. I suppose that is the real definition of commitment.

Heartbroken ...

It is with such a heavy heart that I write this post. Last night, we lost Mr. Earl Gray not even 15 minutes after playing with him on our bed where he appeared to be feeling just fine. When I went back into the bedroom to check on him, he was gone! Just passed away for no known reason to us. In fact, "shock" does not even begin to describe what I felt!

We immediately took him to the vet to be privately cremated and the vet told us that she thinks he had a heart attack. Imagine, a two year old cat having a heart attack?? It makes absolutely no sense to us but, unfortunately, we have no other explaination for it. I can't tell you how much both my husband and I have cried so many tears of sorrow last evening for the loss of our beloved boy who came to us only a year ago and had been our sweet little house kitty since then. 

I will miss so many things about him. I will miss how he followed me around the house and snuggled with me at bedtime, I will miss his soft, sweet personality, and I will even miss him waking me up every morning insisting I feed him his breakfast. But most of all, I will miss the fact that he loved me so much. We may have given him a warm, cozy home in which to live and loving care, but he gave us back so much more.

A very special request!

I'm soo excited! I just received a call from a long-time dear friend of mine, Kiki (a.k.a. "Kiki-girl"). She asked me if I would do her a favor and officiate at her up-coming wedding next month. 

This will only be the second Christian ceremony which I will be officiating. Although I am of the Wiccan/Pagan faith, I am an interfaith minister as well. I have always loved learning about different religious beliefs and I respect a person's right to get legally married the way in which they wish to.

 Kiki loving on our kitty, and her namesake, "Kiki"

The ceremony itself will be a shortened version of the Handfasting ritual I normally use for Wiccan/Pagan weddings, using only the parts which may pertain to most religions in general such as the "Lord" as a deity.

My attire at least will be showing my more "conservative" side I suppose you could say?

Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to it and wish her all the best!

Mabon Blessings and Happy Harvest to ALL!!

Fun Friday and a tribute

Happy Friday! Wow, it sure has been a long week for me at work and I, for one, am looking forward to the weekend and celebrating Mabon!!!
 
It's been a little while since I posted a "Fun Friday," and so I thought I would share a video or two of one of my very favorite 80's groups, Men At Work. These guys just blew me away the first I heard them on the radio. I love, love, loved Greg Ham! Greg was such an awesome talent. He played, and played extremely well, multiple instruments. From the catchy flute riff on the group's hit song, "Down Under" (which won them a Grammy Award  for "Best New Artist" in 1983) to the sexy but jazzy saxophone solo in "Who Can It Be Now?," yet another of many number one hits during the span of this band's muscial career.

"Down Under" ~ Men At Work

http://youtu.be/FXO7TGLHZ4o
http://youtu.be/l8C7d_w_5B4

"I Can See It in Your Eyes"/"People Just Love to Play With Words"
 Men At Work live in Ontario, Canada where Ham showcases his talents by playing both the keyboards and sax at the same time
 http://youtu.be/RJ4Fm1HVQIk
 

In addition to the flute and sax, he also played the keyboard, guitar, and harmonica as well which, along with lead singer Colin Hay's distinctive voice, made Men At Work's music and style so easily recognizable. 


On a more personal note, I not only appreciated Greg Ham's music, but as a teenager I thought he was sooo adorable (and he sure was, baby)! With those big bright blue eyes, blonde hair and pouty lips, he definately made me look twice  ~ LOL!  

Unfortunately, he passed away last April at the age of 58. Sadly, not only Australia, but the world has lost a wonderfully talented musical artist. Those closest to him have said that he was a "beautiful man" and "never judged anyone." As for me, I will miss him as well. In my opinion,  Greg Ham was the heart and soul of the group Men At Work. 

The "One Lovely Blog" Award!!

Greetings ALL! Over the weekend, I found out that I was nominated for the "One Lovely Blog" award given to me by Alice M.! I first met Alice about a year ago while visiting her amazing blog, "For the Love of Life: Alice's World!" I enjoyed her blog so much that I became a follower. She, herself, is such a very lovely person so please be sure to stop on over at her blog and say hello! Thank you so much Alice!

Now for the hard part. Trying to tell you all seven things about myself that you don't already know ...

1) When I began my Wiccan Life blog, I originally meant for it to be merely a teaching tool so to speak for those who were new to the religion/faith of Wicca/Paganism, but soon realized that there were and are so many other wonderful and caring bloggers out there many of whom I now call my "friends"! :)
2)  I have been a PA Notary Public for 23 years now.
3)  I love pretty much all kinds of movies, but must admit that I simply must watch both "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" every single time it is on the TV. (can't help it, I love Al Pacino and Ray Liotta) LOL!
4) I trained my very first bunny to use the cat's litterbox and to do a U-turn when I said his name whenever he misbehaved by trying to chew electrical wires, phone cords, etc. NO lie!!!
5) I enjoy going to see muscials and was fortunate enough to see "Chicago" with Bebe Neuwirth, "Evita," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Secret Garden," and "Phantom of the Opera" just to name a few.
6) I had the chance to meet and speak with renowned Wiccan author, "Silver Ravenwolf" at a local seminar she was having on Pennsylvania Dutch Pow Wow.
7) If I could live anywhere other than PA, it would most likely be Florida.

Here are my seven blog choices to pass this award on to:

Rasz Art

Cheapskate Blethering

Sandy Sandy'sWeb Log

October's November 

 Astarte Moon Pagan Goddess Spiritual Inspiration

Foxy's World

The Rennaissance Woman 

So there you have it, my friends and here's wishing everyone a great week!!

Happy Saturday! And the winners are ...

Good morning, my dear friends! I am now ready to announce the winner's in my "Countdown to Mabon Give-away" drawing. Of course, the cats happily offered to lend a paw or two to assist me...

Okay, here they are ...

The winner of the Mabon Wreath is Alice M. from her blog, "For the Love of Life: Alice's World!"

The winner of the Mabon Witch Bottle is Christine Fenner!

And the 8X10 framed "Painted Leaves" poem goes to Linda from her blog, "Moments in an Eye"! Linda , BTW, had asked me to pick a prize for her should her name be drawn. Linda, I hope you are pleased with the one I picked for you. ;)

Congrats to all of the winners and, again, many thanks to everyone who participated! As always, I would have loved to have been able to give you all something, but I am planning more give-aways in the near future. 

If the winner's could please e-mail me their address within the next three days at Ladycaer1964@yahoo.com, I would be happy to send you your gifts! As per usual, if I do not receive your e-mail claiming your gift within the three days, another name will will picked.  :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

The rainbow after the storm ...

Last night, we experienced a very heavy, but swift rain storm with heavy winds. But for us, it was well worth it because this is the beautiful rainbow we were blessed with after it was all over ...  :)

Just a small reminder ...

Good day everyone! Just thought I'd give you a quick reminder that the give-away drawing is this Saturday the 14th! Thank you to all who have decided to participate and for those who are still interested and haven't done so, please enter your name before Friday evening! 

Good luck to all of you and I will catch up with you on Saturday!!

Brightest Blessings,

Kim
)O(

Remembering the Fallen

 

Today marks the 12^th anniversary of that fateful day on September 11, 2001. A day that held such tragedy that for most of us it be will forever embedded in our minds and hearts. And, like many other Americans, I remember where I was and what I was doing as if it were only yesterday. I heard the news at work while listening to a co-worker’s radio. It was Howard Stern whose talk show was being broadcast live from New York City. As we all sat glued to our seats and stunned beyond belief while he reported as it was happening American Airlines Flight 11 crash into the World Trade Center, we couldn’t help but to wonder if this was some kind of horrible joke!

Then, 57 seconds later a second airplane, United Airlines Flight 175, also crashed into The Trade Center. And, as if that weren’t horrifying enough, two more airplanes were reported hijacked by terrorists that morning - American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into The Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93, en route to The White House in Washington D.C. also to be targeted by the hijackers until its’ passengers bravely tried to intervene, crashed into the ground near Shanksville, PA. This tragic event was reported to have claimed the lives of approximately 2,977 victims which included 411 emergency workers who tried to rescue people and fight fires, 340 lost firefighters, and 23 NYPD officers. 

I also remember sitting outside on my porch steps that evening after lighting a tall white while praying for strength for the families of those who had fallen earlier that morning.  And so, just as I had so many years ago, I once again light a white candle ~ only this time it is in honor of those who bravely and heroically gave their lives in order to selflessly save others and to let them know that both their sacrifices and the tragic events of that day will never be forgotten.

Countdown to Mabon: Sliced Apple Pudding

Here's a yummy little "Hay Creek Festival" recipe I found and just thought I would share with you all. It is easy to make and a great treat for the coming Fall season!

You will need: 

6 tart apples, pared, cored and sliced
6 eggs
2 cups milk 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 small cup of melted butter
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
A dash of nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Toss apples with flour, sugar, salt and butter and place in a 9x9 inch baking dish. Pour enough milk into dish to come almost to the top of the apples, but not cover them. Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes, until apples are tender. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon to taste.

Hay Creek Festival ~ 2013

Well, it looks like yet another great year at The Hay Creek Apple Festival held at Joanna Furance! The weather was gorgeous, they had a huge crowd, and everything was just fantastic!! We love this event and never miss it! There is always so much to see and do from the special handmade crafts to the antique and classic car show ...

Musical entertainment both on stage and off

 

 

"Twinkles Animal Rescue Candles" sold by The Animal Rescue League

 

 

 

 

Homemade Applesauce

 

Glassblowers exhibit 

 

Scented Gemstone jewelry by Sculps Hill Herbs

 

 

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup & Chicken Pot Pie

 

 

 

Miniature ponies

 

And I met a very nice Hedgewitch/Herbalist named Linda Kerlin who lives in Elizabethown, PA. She owns a large Victorian Home and every year she invites the public to her Samhain/Halloween celebration! For those guests who are not Wiccan/Pagan, she explains the history of the Holiday of Halloween itself and the meaning and symbolism behind it. As for those of us who are Wiccan/Pagan, we already understand the ritual she is performing, but I think it is a very good idea since it educates those who have many misconceptions about witches, and Paganism in general ...

 

 Linda Kerlin

 

 

All in all, pretty awesome day! Have a great Sunday everyone!!!



A very thoughtful surprise and more crafts

  Happy Wednesday, my friends! Yesterday after I came home from work, I received a very sweet little surprise in the mailbox. It was a beautiful "thinking of you" card with a crow on it and enclosed inside was a gorgeous wallet sized aceo of a Mer-Crow called, "Mer-Crow Dancing!" This special card and gift came from a very special gal, my good friend and talented artist in her own right, Stacy from her blog "Magic Love Crow"!! ...

Thank you soo much, Stacy!! You sure know how to put a smile on my face, my dear sister!! Ironically, the same day I received the card, I had sent Stacy's birthday present out in the mail to her in Ontario, Canada. SHHHH, I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you that I made her present specifically with HER in mind! Sure hope you like it, Stacy!!  ;)

Also, I thought that since I was "in the groove" after making the give-away gifts, I would make two more wreaths. The first one is called, "The Four Seasons of the Cat" and the second is, "The Wheel of the Cat" because it is more Wiccan/Pagan looking ...

Well, that is about all the news for now. Have a great rest of the week everyone!!

Brightest Blessings to you ~

Kim