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

Countdown to Mabon Wiccan Life Give-Away!!!

Thank you all for your wonderful and very positive responses!! I truly love doing them and I so much appreciate the fact that you all seem to enjoy them so much!

So, without further ado I now officially announce my "Wiccan Life Countdown to Mabon Give-away!!!" So, why am I so excited to have another one this year? Well, there are two really good reasons to love the season of Fall and they would be  Mabon/Autumn Equinox and Samhain ~ not to mention my wedding was on one particular September Saturday afternoon on Mabon 2001! 

Okay, so here goes ...  I grabbed my handy little hobby case from out of the closet and went crazy! The first give-away prize is one of my medium-sized handmade Autumn Wreaths ...

 

 

The second, is my Large handmade Heart-shaped Mabon Witch Bottle scented with the essential oils and herbs for abundance and the season of Autumn ...

 

And the third prize is a print of my own Fall poem titled, "Painted Leaves" set in an 8 X 10 inch frame ...

 As per usual, in order to have a chance to win any of these gifts, you must be a follower of this blog and you must leave a message in the comment section of this post letting me know that you would like to be included in the drawing. The drawing will be held on Saturday, September 14th.

Blessings to ALL!!

This and That

Happy Saturday ALL!!! Hope everyone is well! Just wanted to share a couple of things with you. First thing is that I am thinking about having another "Countdown to Mabon" Give-away just like last years' where I make handmade autumn/fall crafts/decorations for Mabon for my friends and followers to win. Even if you are not Wiccan, these crafts are NOT necessarily Pagan specific i.e., Leafy Lanterns, Scented Bottles, etc.  Please, I would love to have your input on this!

And secondly, if you happen to be a friend on my Facebook page, you can see that I have been on a sort of 70's kick lately! For better or worse, I have always LOVED David Cassidy. He was and still is such a wonderful performer and awesome talent! One of few so-called "teen idols" who never quite got the credit he truly deserved! I saw this clip on You Tube last weekend and just HAD to buy the CD, "Cassidy Live ~ 1974!"  Even though Cassidy hated playing Blubblegum music back in the 70's, and after you listen to this CD (which includes the above song) you can definitely understand WHY he did, he later came to appreciate his "Partridge Family" music days. David was a real rock musician!

Have a great weekend ALL!!!!

Thought for the Day ...

 

"To love someone is to experience every other emotion outside of love and still come back to love"

~ Teresa M. Reiches

(picture taken by Brett Witycyak)

Sincere "Thanks" and an update ...

Good evening, my friends! First of all, I would like to send out my sincere graditute and thanks to ALL of you for your kind words and positive thoughts! I am very blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful and caring friends!  :)

Now, for an update on what has been going on. I went to see the Dermatologist this morning as scheduled. He asked me a series of questions i.e. had I had blood tests done to rule out medical problems such as thyroid,  diabetes, etc. He asked me if I had a family history of skin cancer or pattern baldness .... to all of which were negative. I explained to him about my traumatic weight loss (35 pounds in less than three months through strict dieting and vigorous excerise). He looked at my scalp and told me that my eczema is not the cause of my extreme hair loss and that he believes I have something known as, "Telogen Effluvium" which is when your system, for various reasons, goes into a huge shock and this affects your hair growth cycle. Hair falls out quickly, but grows back very slowly because it does not constantly grow out on a daily basis due to its' biological stages. This can take anywhere from 6 months to a year to correct itself to the point where your body adjusts to a new diet or even stress.

He informed me that my hair will continue to fall out, but will grow back (hope so!). He also gave me medication to help the growth along a little faster (albeit not instantly) and told me to continue taking Biotin, Zinc, and my Multi-vitamins. BTW, he said that Biotin is important because it is one supplement which is NOT found enough of in any foods we eat ~ including greens. Certainly not enough to help us or make any difference what-so-ever. I am also using a medicated shampoo three times a week for the eczema, but I was, of course, advised not to use any hair color until my systems cycle is "right" again.

Long and short of it, if he is correct, I will have to deal with being almost bald for a while but the good news would be my hair will grow back eventually. If that is the case, I can definately handle it! (Although I am getting kinda tired of pulling hairs out of my bra, clothing, arms, underwear, and butt!!) LOL!

Until next time, Brightest Blessings to ALL!

OMG, I am turning into my mother!

Good day ALL! Just a little update in regards to my current situation. I saw my family doctor this past Monday morning. He went over my blood tests from last Saturday. He said that my blood pressure was fine, my good and bad cholesterol was good, my thyroid was "perfect" but my sugar level was too high. None of which has anything at all to do with my horrible hair loss! Incidentally, he also put me on an even stricter diet than I have been on. Because of my high sugar, I am no longer supposed to have pasta, pizza,  or anything processed or "man-made" as he described it.

As you can see from the above pic, I have been taking A LOT of supplements from daily Multi-vitamins to Biotin to Vitamin D, zinc ... you  name it. Between my hubby and myself, I have had to make room on a shelf in our bathroom medicine cabinet for both of our over-the-counter "drugs."

He referred me to a Dermatologist thinking that my medical issue may have something to do with my eczema which I have always had, but never caused this type of problem before. He said that Head & Shoulders is good to use in the meantime because there is a chemical in it that helps your scalp. I am scheduled to see a specialist next Monday morning and, hopefully, I will finally be able to get to the bottom of it! Can't tell you how many tears of frustration I have cried over this, but I am still trying to stay positive. I also want to give a huge "thank you" to my sweet friend and fellow blogger, Stacy, for her wonderful support ~  You are THE BEST!!

With my dear friend Judy B.

 

 

On a different note, last night I had dinner with one of my long time dear friends. It was the perfect pick-me-up which I have been so much in need of with everything that has been going on lately.  Had a really good time!