Food for Thought Friday ... (and a Lughnasadh poem)

Sunflower

In the field she blooms,

But once a year

This luscious sunflower ~

So sweet and so dear

The love she shows,

The kindness she shares

Our Mother's fruit ~

The seeds she bears

Both yellow and bright,

This sunflower grows

Then leaves us again ~

When winter's wind blows

~ Lady Caer Morganna (revised on 7/31/14)

Lughnasadh Blessings!

Happy First Harvest to all! I wanted to add a little something to this year's post which I thought you all might enjoy! So, here are a few sabbat recipes to try!

Lughnasadh/Lammas Oil

2 drops peppermint
3 drops pine
1 drop fir
1 drop hazelnut
Use 1/8 cup corn oil for base

Lughnasadh Incense
1 part basil
1/2 part cinnamon bark
1 part coriander
1 part heather
1/2 part rosemary
2 parts dried apple blossoms (or sweet Annie if you have it)
1 part yarrow
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 Corn on the Cob with Basil-Parmesan Butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  2 tbs. finely chopped fresh basil
  1/2 tsp. salt 
 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  1/4 tsp. crushed garlic  
4 ears of corn, husked

In a small bowl, mix together butter, cheese, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Brush about 1 tablespoon of seasoned butter over each ear of corn. Grill directly over medium heat until browned in spots and tender for approx. 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally. Serve warm with remaining butter.

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Spiced Apple Cider 

2 quarts apple cider

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tbs. sugar

2 tsp. whole cloves

3 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup Captain Morgan Spice Rum

Warm up all of the ingredients, except for the rum, make sure to add the rum last as to not cook the alcohol out of it. This makes several mug servings.  ;)

 ENJOY!

My little "Minnie Me"

Today was very special because I had gotten the chance to spend some quality time with my god-daughter, Kyli, or as I always call her, my little "Minnie Me."

I can honestly say that she is the sweetest, most thoughtful little 8-year old I have ever known. She is kind, very respectful of others, and she always helps her mommy every chance she gets. From cleaning up the house to helping to look after her two younger siblings, she is one very special gal and I just love her to the moon!

Why do I call her my Minnie Me? Hmm, well let's see, for starters she loves cats a lot, she loves to watch figure skating, she enjoys working with her hands and she is very artistic! She really likes to surprise me with her handmade bracelets like this one ...

We spent the day in my craft room creating wreaths and decorating scented bottles ...

And I made another Lughnasadh wreath for the house ...

It was a wonderful day and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful. We have such a great time together and I always jump at any occassion to spend time with her! I love you my Kyli-girl!

 

Cuddling up with Mr. Midnight

Food for Thought Friday ...

Famous Cat Quotes:

"Time spent with cats is never wasted." ~ Sigmund Freud

"What greater gift than the love of a cat." ~ Charles Dickens

"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have never forgotten this." ~ Terry Pratchett

"Of all God's creatures, there is only one that cannot be made slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." ~ Mark Twain

"Never try to outstubborn a cat." ~ Robert A. Heinlein

"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through." ~ Jules Verne

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." ~ Albert Schweitzer

"I like cats a lot. I've always liked cats. They're great company. When they eat, they always leave a little bit at the bottom of the bowl - a dog will polish the bowl, but a cat leaves a little bit. It's like an offering." ~ Christopher Walken

"I love cats because I enjoy my home, and little by little, they become its visible soul." ~ Jean Cocteau

"I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed. These things, to me, are expressions of love." ~ James Herriot

"I take care of my flowers and my cats. And, I enjoy food ... and that's living." ~ Ursula Andress

Here's wishing ALL a wonderful weekend!!!

~ Lady Caer Morganna

Moving forward ...

Lots of things have been happening as of the last few weeks or so. First off, we were finally able to secure another car for me to drive back and forth to work while my hailstorm-damaged Honda Civic (hereafter referred to as "Dimples") is being processed through the state in order for it to become "legally" drivable again after I receive the Salvage Title certificate in the mail. Then, it has to be re-inspected at a "state-approved" Enchancement Inspection Station. Honestly, is it any wonder why, as a Pennsylvania Notary Public for the past 18 years, I refuse to handle anything which deals with PENNDOT (PA Dept. of Transportation) such as car title transfers, etc.?? We also found a good deal on a replacement car for my hubby since his was having way too many issues ...

"Dimples"

Our "new" used car #1 (2007 Subaru Impreza Station Wagon)

 Our "new " used card #2 (2000 Toyota Camry)

Moving on, I have decided that, as is also the case with some of you as well, I have had enough of the strange weather we have been getting around these parts this year and so I have begun putting out my Lughnasadh decorations a bit early in anticipation of the upcoming fall season ... :-)

Fall has always been my absolute favorite time of the year (with Spring a very close second) and so I thought, "why not?" LOL! Besides, I love to decorate anyway because it is so much fun and it always makes me feel so much better!

Brightest Blessings All!!

Nature's beautiful light in the Sky!

Oh, lightning bug you fly so high
I sit and watch as you go by
Your warm, bright glow leaves much desire
And sets the night time sky afire

~ Lady Caer Morganna       

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Not too many people know that the "firefly," or, as we commonly know them as here in Pennsylvania, "lightning bug," is our designated Official State Insect . Yup, in 1974, a group of Highland Park Elementary School students from Upper Darby, PA had petitioned state legislators to have the lightning bug/firefly officially declared our State insect and the bill was subsequently signed by Governor Milton J. Shapp on April 10, 1974. 

The funny thing is, I was in Girl Scouts at the time and I vividly remember our troop leader explaining all of this to us on one of our field trips, and, it is one of those things which I have never forgotten.

 

Their scientific name is photuris pennsylvanica (ironic, right?) and they are not a fly at all, but actually a beetle. They emit both yellow and green colored light flashes. All the same, I know of no one who does not hold a wonderful fascination for these beautiful insects. Here in PA, we are inundated with them and you can  literally see them cover the fields in the distance as they fly above them.  Although, there is nothing more romantic to me on a Midsummer's night than relaxing on the porch watching them light up the sky. Truly a wonder of Nature! 

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies

And here on earth come emulating flies

That though they never equal stars in size

And they were never really stars at heart

Achieve at times a very star-like start

Only, of course, they can't sustain the part

~ Fireflies in the Garden by Robert Frost

Hooked on the "Game"

Has anyone been watching the mesmerizing television series, "A Game of Thrones"? I so love this show!

The Game of Thrones television series was created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of the fantasy novel, “A Song of Ice and Fire” written by author George R. R. Martin, the first of which is titled “A Game of Thrones.” It roughly follows the multiple storylines of “A Song of Ice and Fire” and is set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The series tells the story of the difficult and violent dynastic struggles among the realm's noble families for control of the Iron Throne.

The characters and plot content are derived from much of European history. Each of the show’s characters have their own individual story lines which are brilliantly intertwined within the plot and all are extremely complex.

Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark, who is played by Sean Bean, is the head of the Stark family whose members are involved in most of the series's intertwined plot lines. He and his wife Catelyn “Lady Kat” Tully (Michelle Fairley) have five children. 
 

Ned's old friend King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) shares a loveless and betrothed marriage with Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) who has taken her twin, the "Kingslayer" Sir Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) as her secret lover. She loathes her younger brother, the clever dwarf Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage).  Cersei's father is the famously wealthy Lord Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), and her oldest son is the cruel Joffrey (Jack Gleeson).

Across the Narrow Sea, siblings Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) are the exiled children of the king overthrown by Robert Baratheon  and are on the run for their lives while trying to win back the throne. Daenerys has been married to Khal (King) Drogo, played by actor Jason Momoa, the leader of a nomadic Dothraki tribe.

(“Daenerys” as played by the lovely Emilia Clarke) 

My personal favorite; however, is definitely the character of Daenerys deemed “The Mother of Dragons” and a Khaleesi (Dothraki for “queen”) who, although starts off very timid and easily intimidated during the first season, quickly proves to be one of the show’s many strong and empowered female characters. In short, she is the daughter of King Aerys II Targaryen and is one of the last survivors of House Targaryen. She was forced into marriage to Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord, by her brother Viserys who had hoped to "buy" Drogo's Khalasar (army) to conquer Westeros. Daenerys soon learns the Dothraki language and customs, and gains enough confidence in herself to oppose her brother. 

She eventually conceives a child believed to be the long-prophesied Dothraki conqueror. After Drogo kills her brother, Viserys, for his constant cruelty to and outright disrespect of Daenerys whom he calls, “the moon of my life,”, she realizes for the first time that she is a true heir to the Targaryen dynasty, and; therefore, responsible for reclaiming the throne for herself. 

Shortly thereafter, Drogo is badly wounded in battle and Daenerys requests Mirri Maz Duur, a priestess of a temple the Dothraki have conquered, to heal him. She agrees to do as she is asked, but warns Daenerys that there will be a price to pay in turn for saving Drogo's life. Upon Daenerys' urging to heal the Khal no matter what the cost, she then summons the forces from beyond to save him. When Daenerys insists on seeing Drogo in the midst of the conjuring, she effectively places her unborn child in the middle of it all, and, subsequently loses him. The priestess essentially saves Drogo and, also in revenge for Drogo's crimes against her people, places him in a catatonic state leaving Daenerys little choice but to smother him so that he may rest in peace. She has a funeral pyre prepared for him which included three unhatched dragon eggs she had received as a wedding present. She then walks into her husband Drogo’s funeral fire emerging the next morning from the ashes unharmed and with three hatched dragons of whom she named Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion ~ hence earning her the title “The Mother of Dragons.” Drogo's Khalasar, witnessing this, swear allegiance to her.

Hubby and I began watching this series right after the first season had started and had to download the episodes. But, once we began watching it, we were completely hooked! Not only is it a fascinating story but, believe me, this series never lets up and you will not want want to miss a minute of it!

Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones (1996) A Clash of Kings (1998) A Storm of Swords (2000) A Feast for Crows (2005) A Dance with Dragons (2011) The Winds of Winter (forthcoming) A Dream of Spring (forthcoming)

Last Night's Super Full Moon

Last night, hubby took a few pics of the Super Full Moon. This is when the Moon is closer to the Earth than at any other time ~ making her appear much larger in the sky. Scientifically speaking, the Super Full Moon is called a Lunar perigee. 
 
This was the first of three Super Full Moons this year ~ the other two will take place on Aug. 10th and Sept. 9th. As always, She sure was beautiful! Here are a couple more of hubby's pics ... BTW, can you see "The Rabbit on the Moon"?  ;)

 

Sam's New Bunny Bedding ...

For many years, I used pine bedding in my bunny cages. My very first rabbit, a black & white male Mini Lop named Sir Barney, was a rescue from the apartment of a woman customer who had abandoned him, (along with two adorable flea-covered kittens) leaving them without food or water for at least a few days, when my boyfriend at the time found them. When we took him in, I knew absolutely nothing at all about rabbits other than they wiggled their noses and hopped around a lot ... LOL!

So I decided to purchase a book on how to take care of rabbits and temporarily used cedar bedding ~ that is until I later read in my bunny care book that the dust causes very bad respiratory infections! At that point, I began using pine bedding as I was told that it was the better choice for both the indoor bunny's health and odor control.

Recently, I was doing my usual weekly pet food and supply shopping at Pet Smart when I came across a new brand of paper bedding in the "small critters" isle ...

 

 Kaytee Clean & Cozy Lavender Scented Animal Bedding

Kaytee Clean & Cozy Animal Bedding is made from paper material that meets FDA standards for food contact, is 99.9% dust free and offers guaranteed odor control. It is safe for small pets, comfortable, and 20% more absorbent than other leading brands of small pet bedding and litter. It's also great for guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, domestic rats, and other small pets.

And, it is fairly cheap as well ~ definitely cheaper than the pine bedding I had been buying. So far, so good!