Beltane Blessings!

May all the blessings of the Lord and Lady be yours! As I had mentioned in one of my previous posts, my sister, Aurora Skye and I will be celebrating Beltane together! I will post a few pics from our ritual and such sometime over the weekend.

I have included a GREAT song by XTC called, "Green Man." I absolutely love this song! The words are so profound ... I hope you all enjoy it as well.

"Green Man" ~ by XTC

 https://youtu.be/HQXxB8SBiCI

 

BELTANE BLESSINGS & HAPPY MAY DAY TO ALL!!

TWL's Throwback Thursday Odds 'n' Ends

Happy Thursday everyone! Not too much happening here this week except that on Tuesday morning I had to have a root canal performed on one of my back teeth ~ it was either that or get it pulled ... not much of a choice to make if I can save the tooth, eh? Not a fun procedure by any means, but definitely necessary. I have to go back for more work on that same tooth and then all should be well again hopefully.

My temporary root canal filling until a pin is put in my back molar in a couple of weeks.

 Anyway, I had come across a few old pics that I had forgotten that I had and thought I would use them for my Throwback Thursday post this week ...

My nana Cora holding her favorite kitty," Puddy" circa 1963.

Me, hubby and my bro Kerry taken at the Hard Rock Café ~ New York 2008.

Rhiannon, me and Judy B. in 1992 after having lunch at Flanagan's Pub, Reading, PA.

My handsome hubby taken at his brother's wedding a few months before we met in 1994.

Have a fantastic Thursday all!

The Value of a Comment

Good day, my friends, hope all is well with everyone! In response to a recent post I have just read on one of my dear friend's blogs, I have decided to re-post an old one of my posts from March 12, 2012 which I had written about leaving comments on other blog members posts.  I hope that you all enjoy! ...

 

Those of us who have blogs know how much it means when our blogger friends take the time and care enough to leave a comment or two on our blog posts ~ and of course I am no exception.

But as wonderful as receiving comments from others is, for me, there is an even more important reason why I like comments so much. That reason is the fact that communicating through our post comments often gives us the ability to correspond on a more personal level with one another.I have noticed lately that many of my blog friends also hold little conversations back and forth through their blog comments. It's a great way to form friendships with our peers even if we never do get the opportunity to actually meet them face to face. Most especially with our friends who happen to be very shy or tend to have a difficult time meeting other people of like minds and interests.

Communicating with our fellow bloggers can also give us an appreciation for others who may even be a little different from ourselves. A kind of diversity of sorts among us all in Blogland.

 

"To me, diversity is inclusive of everyone, it is about learning from others who are not the same, and about dignity and respect for everyone."

 

~ Donna Garman

 

I have learned quite a bit from my blogger friends about so many different things. I have found much love, caring and support from others whom I have met through their blogs and that is where many of our friendships begin here.  And, I am indeed grateful to have had the chance to know them all!

It's All in the Family

For the first time in quite a few years, my sister Aurora Skye and I are going to be performing the Beltane ritual together. We have celebrated this sabbat before in the past in a group setting, but never only just the two of us.

And so, I have been adding the finishing touches on my seasonal decorations and re-vamping my Beltane Ritual for two in preparation for this coming weeks' celebration.

Me 'n' Aurora Skye in 2004

 

 

 





 Me, Waterfae and Rhiannon ~ Beltane 2002

 

Rhiannon with her very young son Richie (Page) in 2002

 

Draco (on left) and me (far right)

 

Draco and wife Rhiannon

 

A bit unlike our years of yesterday when all of my solitary friends and I gathered for rather large celebrations either at my home or theirs, Aurora and I will be enjoying a more peaceful, secluded Beltane this year ~ although I will always relish my wonderful memories of the past and would not trade them for anything in the world! But, regardless of whether you choose to spend this sacred holiday by yourself honoring the Lord and Lady or with others, the celebrations themselves will always have special meaning. 

 

Food for Thought Friday

Happy Earth Day!

EARTH DAY

I am the Earth
And the Earth is me
Each blade of grass,
Each honey tree;
Each bit of mud,
And stick and stone
Is blood and muscle,
Skin and bone

And just as I
Need every bit
Of me to make
My body fit,
So Earth needs
Grass and stone and tree;
And things that grow here …
Naturally

That’s why we
Celebrate this day
That’s why across
The world we say:
As long as life,
As dear , as free;
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me

~ Jane Yolen
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/241884

This and That ...

Greetings, my friends! I have been keeping pretty busy for the last couple of days working on my spring cleaning and putting the finishing touches on my home decorating. As with so many other of my decorations, there are some which I have kept for quite a few years as they have special meaning to me.

This beautiful set of three heart candle holders were handmade by a very talented artist friend of mine years ago for her art faire.

A gorgeous ceramic Green Man set ...

My Beltane altar for 2015 ...

And, of course, I couldn't pass up purchasing a few new pairs of shoes for springtime. After all, a gal can never have too many pairs of shoes for every occasion ...

Now the down side as it were to it all, it appears that during the past couple of months or so, I have put a few more pounds back on since I have slacked off on my serious diet and exercise. Fortunately, we have a new treadmill downstairs as our skier equipment that I had used to lose all of my weight a year ago had broken down months ago. Yep, it's time to get back on track again!

Brightest Blessings all!

"Books are Fun" Day!

A couple of times a year, a company called, "Books are Fun" travel to my place of work and set up all of their fabulous books and other great items. I always find a few things to buy throughout the year to put aside as Yule and Christmas gifts for family and friends. Here are some of the things which I had found at the book faire ...

 "Off the Beaten Path ~ Pennsylvania: A Guide to Unique Places" and "Friends are Forever" by Marci <3

 A box of various colored marbles

Now, what do I want with marbles, you might ask? Well, I love to use them to decorate my glass candle holders and since I have just begun to bring out some of my Beltane decorations for around the house, I thought I would utilize the different shades of green, clear, and white marbles ...

Of course, I haven't quite finished my decorating as of yet, but I will perhaps post a few more pics along with my Beltane altar when I am completely done.

Have a wonderful weekend all!!!

It's finally Spring!

Yup, spring has finally begun and here is how we know it to be so in our house ...

Every year around springtime, the cats behave just a little crazier than usual. Other than the obvious fact that they are constantly lying in the windows churping at the birds and such, they madly run around the entire house and have so much extra energy that they actually get on each other's nerves sometimes ... LOL!

Tabitha loves her favorite pastime ... looking out of the WINDOWS!

Haley (lying back in the corner), Midnight and Tabitha checking out the cardinal in the front yard.

Midnight 'n' Leo are becoming quite the buddies.

Midnight cuddling up to Haley

Have a great week everyone and enjoy the beautiful weather!!

Easter

To all of our family and friends who celebrate it, we wish you all a very Happy Easter holiday!!

Such is Life

“True magic is neither black, nor white. It's both because nature is both ~ Loving and cruel all at the same time. The only good or bad is in the heart of the witch. Life keeps a balance on its own … it's part of a basic spiritual truth said in many ways in many faiths: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."    ~ Lirio (“The Craft”)

This has always been the concept of which I have believed in and lived by for many, many years now. For nature is indeed ‘both cruel and loving all at the same time.’ Let’s think about it for a moment: We are born, we live and then we die someday … period.  Sometimes; however, it is extremely difficult to accept this truth about life. Most especially after the loss of a dear loved one, be they a human family member or a beloved family pet.

For me, this has never been truer than after the recent death of my beloved dad ~  a man of whom I can only hope to be as strong and good-hearted as he  had been for the rest of my natural life here on this earthly plane. I have always strived to be the kind of person he was and, in some ways, have been simply because of the values he had instilled in both my brother and myself as children.

As is the case with most of us, I have my “good” days and my “bad” days. My husband told me the other day that he hopes to be as strong as I was when the time comes to say goodbye to his own parents. I told him that the only reason I had been able to show the strength which I had was because I loved my dad so much that I felt he did not deserve to feel badly about the fact that we couldn’t bear to lose him. And, I also knew the harsh reality that we were going to have the rest of our lives to mourn his loss. And, believe me, we shall.

I have always known in my heart of hearts that this basic rule of nature as it were was the “balance” of which we were taught about life in general ~ as if it were that easy. Unfortunately, we who are left behind those loved ones whom we have lost to the “cycle of life” so to speak have little choice but to carry on and to remember all of the precious memories they gave us throughout our lives. This, my dear friends, is all we are left with in the end.

Please do not misunderstand my words, I am and will forever be grateful for the fact that I was blessed for so very long to have those loved ones to share my life with even though my life will never again be the same for as long as I live. And, perhaps it shouldn’t be. Maybe that truly is the meaning of life after all ~ to learn to appreciate what we have through living and to be the best person we can possibly be throughout it? No matter what; however, I know that my dad will always be with me each and every single day ~ watching over me as always.