This and That ...

Greetings everyone! Well, it is yet another holiday weekend ... yes, even for those of us who are not Christian many of us still have family who celebrate this contemporary religious holiday and therefore still choose to spend time with our families all the same. I am, of course, one of them. That doesn't mean that I do not also wish all of my friends out there a Blessed Easter because I surely do!

("Ava" the stray cat we temporarily named)

It has been a rather rough week emotionally for me. First, we had taken the stray cat to the vet appointment on Monday which we had scheduled for the kitty we agreed to try to take in our home on a trial basis only. The vet examined her and the good news is that she is Feluek negative; however, the bad news is that she is extremely malnourished and pregnant, and she is loaded with lice which means that she can not be treated without hurting the fetus NOR jeopardizing her own health since she is in such a weak state! The vet would not even give her shots at this point. He told us to give her kitten chow and as much as she will eat because it has more nutrience in it than adult food (she is at least 2 years old according to the vet) and so we took her home with us and I spoke to my friend as to what course of action we should take in lieu of the fact we got her via him. LONG story short, I called the HSUS the next day (and every other animal shelter I could think of) and they agreed to take her in temporarily and I told them that IF they felt they needed to euthanize her, CALL US FIRST and we would come get her rather than see her put to sleep! The woman sounded empathetic to our situation and agreed to note the file and speak to us personally when we brought her there. Lo and behold, my friends sister decided to stick her nose in the whole mess and did exactly what I told her NOT to do. She called HSUS and told them EVERYTHING wrong with the cat and they told her they would not take her now. 

So, last night we had no choice but to take her back to my friends house and, sadly, he had no room for her in his house being he already has five indoor cats and therefore he had to leave her back out to fend for herself! I spent the night crying like a baby and to make matters worse, my friends sister leaves me a very nasty message on my answering machine blaming me for the mess she helped to create and telling me that "I hope you (I) am happy now, the cat will die and it is all your (my) fault ... FU and never call (her) ever again" and so forth. Not a nice scene to say the least. All I know is we did the very best we could given the no-win situation at hand.

On a more positive note, I received a very thoughtful gift from my boss whom I told you all about whose house burned down last year and she and her husband had to rebuild. Anyway, I made her two large decorative wreaths for her new home and yesterday she surprised me with a 'thank you' gift for the wreaths. A special card and a gorgeous handmade mermaid bracelet ...

I apologize for the long post and thanks so much for listening, my friends!

Have wonderful and blessed weekend ALL!

Ostara celebration & Happy Sunday!

Good morning and Happy Sunday everyone! As planned, yesterday my sister, Aurora Skye and I decided to celebrate a rather "belated" Ostara. We added a couple of little things to this year's ritual. One of them was performing witches cords ...

Passing the cords and bags through the burning incense then hanging them up afterwards ...

We then decided to run to our favorite book store (or should I say the only book store left around here anymore), Barnes & Noble. There, I found a gorgeous new deck of mermaid tarot cards called the "Oceanic Tarot" which I can not wait to begin using!

After we got back we enjoyed a nice frozen drink I made for us. It is a vanilla-flavored rum topped with whipped cream and strawberry shortcake cookies ...

All in all, it was a truly wonderful day. The sun was shining and the temperatures were in the 50's. My kind of day actually - not too hot and not too cold. Enjoy the rest of the weekend all and Brightest Blessings!

A pleasant surprise!

Greetings my dear friends! I just found out that I won another blogger award. This one was given to my blog by the Pet Shop Life website for making the top 25 Wicca blogs. I ranked number 5 out of 25.  According to their site, this is how they chose the winners:  

These blogs are ranked based on following criteria

• Google reputation and Google search ranking
• Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
• Quality and consistency of posts.
• Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review

TOP 25 WICCA BLOGS WINNERS -

CONGRATULATIONS to every blogger that has made this Top Wicca Blogs list! This is the most comprehensive list of best Wicca blogs on the internet and I’m honoured to have you as part of this! I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world.

If your blog is one of the Top 25 Wicca blogs, you have the honour of displaying the following badge on your site. Use the below code to display this badge proudly on your blog. You deserve it!

Sincere thanks to Pet Shop Life for noticing my tiny lil ole wicca blog. It is very much appreciated!

Throwback Thursday - Witches Cords

I first learned about a Witches Cord back in 1998 when Willow and I attended a Wiccan community gathering in New Hope, PA. It was a Samhain celebration and one of the “party favors” in which they handed out to everyone in attendance was a rolled up scroll tied by three ribbons. The colors of the ribbons were black, orange and gold, the traditional colors of Samhain, and the scroll contained a Witches Cord sabbat spell or blessing. 

The Witches Cord, sometimes referred to as a Witches Ladder, is a very simple and effective magickal working. It can be done in a Coven or by a solitary practitioner. Cords may be used in any general working or can also be used in Sabbat celebrations as mentioned above. This is a very old method of cord working which involves much concentration and visualization. The cords or ribbons are traditionally 18 inches in length and three different colors, preferably the colors which correspond to the specific spell or wish. It is usually accompanied by a type of chant or prayer while braiding the ribbons together:

“By the knot of one, the spell’s begun…
   by the knot of two, it cometh true…
   by the knot of three, my will shall be…
   by the knot of four, the power is more…
   by the knot of five, my spell’s alive…
   by the knot of six, the energies mix…
   by the knot of seven, the future I leaven…
   by the spell of eight, the power of fate…
   by the power of nine, what’s done is mine!”

When finished, the cord should be hung up some place where you can see it everyday. Sometimes our Wiccan group, The Old Path Enlightener’s Circle, uses Witches cords in our Sabbat rituals. We make a sabbat wish as we pray to the God and Goddess for the good of all. They are very easy to make and we really enjoy making them.  Although it is typically a Celtic tradition to make a Witches Cord on Samhain night, (this is the Witches New Year) as an expression of what you wish or hope for in the year to come, we also perform them at other times of the year as well. The following is an example of how to make a Witches Cord:

A WITCHES CORD (for Ostara)

What you will need ~

3 cords or ribbons approx. 3ft. in length (Pink, Light Blue and Lavender)

Ostara Incense (jasmine, rose, strawberry)

Charcoal Tablet

Cauldron or heat-proof container

Herbs (honeysuckle, Iris, violet)

Stones (rose quartz, moonstone)

Bag to contain your herbs and stones

Fold one end down of your ribbon & tie together to make a knot. Make a loop so that you may hang your cord in your home. Braid the three strands of ribbon together. As you are braiding, concentrate and say aloud what you are wishing for. When you are finished, tie a knot. On your braided cord, hang your bag containing your herbs and stones then add anything that has meaning to you that would be appropriate for the spell ~ jewelry, coins, etc. 

Before hanging, charge your Witches Cord by passing it through the burning incense (over the charcoal) while saying:

“By the Divine Powers of the Lord and Lady,

  I charge this cord with positive intent and ask that my wishes be granted for the Sabbat of Ostara. So mote it be!”

Give thanks to the Lord and Lady by giving an offering back to the Earth.

A Wednesday post

Ahh yes, just as predicted, it is a snowy Wednesday ... it started snowing around noontime yesterday, stopped and then began snowing again overnight. By morning, we had snow mixed with freezing sleet and it has decided to start snowing yet again ... should be interesting to see how much we end up with after it is over. I had taken a vacation day from work anyway weeks ago in order to take my mom for an outpatient foot surgery which she was supposed to be have at 6:30 am this morning. Needless to say, we had to cancel it  and she must now re-schedule it for another time ...

And it is also a LAZY Wednesday as well ...

Goofing around with Sir Leo who loves to snooze on the bed.

Leo checking out the cold snow from his "man cave" in the catio.

Lady Tabitha watching the snowfall from the living room window.

Just a little 'shout out' to my blogger friends who are also dealing with the rather nasty (and sometimes very hazardous) lagging winter weather ...  PLEASE STAY SAFE!!!

This and That ...

BLESSED OSTARA TO EVERYONE! It is "officially" the first day of Spring; however, we have had snow here all day. It is supposed to continue snowing into tomorrow. My sister, Aurora Skye and I are planning our Ostara celebration together this coming Saturday - a couple of days or so later but perhaps by then we will actually "feel" as if spring has sprung? At any rate, we wish to get together this weekend.

In other news, we have agreed on a trial basis only to take in a stray kitty who was found by a friend of mine. He has been looking for  homes for at least two outside cats since he already has five indoor cats, he can not take anymore at this time. He thinks she is a little over a year old (not exactly sure of her age), she is long-haired and looks much like a tortie in her coat color. She is not thrilled about being in my house and since we can not get her into our vet to get checked for Fe-Leuk (Feline Leukemia), her shots, take care of any parasites she may have from being outside in the wild, etc. until next Monday evening, we have temporarily set her up in a large dog cage downstairs away from my other cats until she is given (hopefully) a clean  bill of health.

Should she get the okay from the vet after her examination, the next step is the difficult task of gaining her trust (as you can see, all she wants to do is hide in her litter box) then try to acclimate her to her new life with my other two house cats. I have to say, she is not an easy case so far, but we are trying and will give her a bit of time to get used to us; however, the choice is ultimately hers in the end. We are thinking about naming her "Eva" (I also liked the name Pandora), but we shall see.

Moving on, I had decided to add a witches cord to our Ostara ritual this year since it has been quite a while since we performed one and I truly do enjoy them as part of our celebration!

The witches cords: Lavender, pink and light blue ribbons (3 ft. long each) and a bag for gemstones, herbs associated with the sabbat holiday , and/or personal items you  may wish to use.

The snow has all melted
And winter has gone, 
Now Nature is singing
Springs’ most beautiful song;
As we honor the Goddess -
The Devine Eostre, 
While she breathes her life
Into the birds and the bees;
She's fertile and loving
Ancient Mother is she
From the youngest child
To the oldest tree

 ~ Lady Caer Morganna

A Sunday smile

St. Patty's Day post!

Happy St. Patty's Day to those of my friends who celebrate this day. I am not Irish but, after spending the morning at the dentist and then cleaning the entire house after I got home, I decided to make myself one of these ...  :)

And dress a bit festive ... 

My sister Robin and her hubby are having fun chilling with the crowd at Flanny's Pub. ...

I, myself, much prefer to hang out at home rather than deal the the huge crowds, drunk drivers on the road, and having to wait 20 minutes or so to get a drink, so I will gladly stay home and relax with my fur babies! 


(Just as an aside, my favorite Irishman, folks!) ...

Guess who???? (still the most adorable smile in the world)

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!

(I "borrowed" this cute pic from CJ & Ink blog ... THANKS, CJ!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARK ELF (aka, Peri)!!

A real "Rain Man"?

Who has not seen or at the very least heard of the academy-award winning film, "Rain Man"? Well, I have a little story I would like to share will all of you. You see, my husband's cousin has a teenage son who is considered a "high functioning" autistic. I have heard stories about him from the family, but never actually had the chance to meet him in person as they live in New Jersey. I finally had the pleasure of meeting him for the first time. 

His name is Mikey and ever since he was a small boy, he had a talent with numbers! His father told me that he would spend hours and hours just reading calendars. Yes, I said the plural form of that word. I felt much like I was in a scene from the movie, "Rain Man" after his dad asked me to tell Mikey my birth date and Mikey could tell me what day of the week my birthday fell on this year. I told him, "February 23." Mikey responded, "It was a Friday." Was he correct? YUP! Then he proceeded to tell me what day of the week my husband's birthday would be on this year - December 4th. Mikey quickly replied, "It will be on a Tuesday." Right again! Still not convinced? His dad asked what day of the week the next leap year in 2020 would be on and I googled it ... yup, he said "on a Saturday" and he is correct!

How he has this unbelievable ability to do this is simply astounding to me! I did find an interesting article on this particular subject. Please click on this link to read more on this.


Another example of how incredibly high functioning some individuals with autism can be, one only need think of the amazing talents of the following people ... as I said, UNBELIEVABLE!

Kim Peek

(For more about Kim Peek, please click here)

.
There is also Derek Paravicini, who is both autistic and blind since birth. One of my favorite books entitled, "In the Key of Genius" written by Adam Ockelford (Derek's music teacher who also specializes in working with special needs children) tells the story of Derek's amazing journey. Here is a link to a short video to learn more about this inspirational book.

(For more info on Derek, just click on his name here: Derek Paravicini)

Derek playing two pianos at the same time!

.

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to finally meet Mikey after all this time. He is quite amazing to me!