3 1/2 oz coarse oats, nuts (peanuts are a good choice), dried fruits, seeds (sunflower seeds)
Garden Wire
Old tennis ball or similar, sliced in 1/2 & with a small round hole cut out of the top. Resealed by wrapping a length of wire around the ball and twisting the wire ends together, securely.
Garden String
Directions:
Put the lard in a saucepan & melt it gently over low heat, mix the dry ingredients together seperately
Add handfuls of the dry food to the melted lard and mix them toether. The dry ingreidients should be well-coated in the lard.
Insert wire which is a little longer than the mold into the center of the mold. Pack mix in around the wire.
Leave the seed mix in the molds to cool completely, then remove the molds, attach string to the wire and hang up high.
Remember if you start feeding birds that they will believe you will continue, so don't do it if you don't plan on continuing to feed them throughout the year. Hang high enough that squirrels and rodents can't get to it but the birds can. There are bird feeders available that sense when the weight is too heavy for a bird and will drop the squirrel.
You can also try any of the awesome ones on Pinterest (so many different ideas). This is a great way to start off spring, helping out
**Please note this isn't my recipe, I have had it in my collection for a few years and the journal I had it in was damaged so I don't have who the recipe came from. If you know please leave it in the comments and I will add the attribution. **
With over 400,000 sellers on Etsy, how can you make YOUR shop stand out and increase your sales? This is a key question for many crafters and artists who are selling online these days. Now here are all the answers and much more from author and Etsy seller Derrick Sutton. Based on his self-published guide, and drawn from his practical experience, you will learn how to boost your Etsy sales, attract more customers, and expand your online presence. Derrick shares his proven online sales and marketing knowledge in an easily accessible format, complete with simple actions steps at the end of each chapter. Learn how to completely optimize your Etsy shop, website, or blog, and much more.
My Review:
My sister is a businesswoman and she has been pushing me to make my scarves and sell them for years now. Before I jumped into the fray I decided I needed to know more. This book is great for those who have never used Etsy before and wanted to know how to use the craft site and promote your products without going to a website developer.
I have personally played around with Etsy for a little while. I was once going to start selling my crochet crafts but decided to focus on finishing school first. Maybe one day I will go into selling my stuff online and because of this book I will be well versed in how to get it done and done well.
The books is very easily laid out. The author is well informed and makes using Etsy extremely easy. The author shared so many great tips on how to maximize your viewership & search ability as well as your optimization of your website. Along with how to link and share with others your site, how to get your name out there, how to add other features onto the site and even how to make your pictures of your products look great. I especially liked learning how to use the stats section of the website, so you know who is viewing & what they are looking at, which helps with product productions and sales. I also especially loved learning more about apps I already use but haven't completely taken full advantage of for instance Google's Document Section. This gave me tons of ideas for regular use, not just for the suggested options in the book.
Everything you need to know to START an Etsy is in this book, but for more detailed business aspect information you will have to look at other books, the author does give some great resources wit the book on finding more information and how to expand your brand. But of course no one book can give you everything.
I would highly recommend this book for those looking to jump into Etsy, as it's specific to Etsy but it's also great for those who need some information on selling crafts online. It's a crafter's resource, especially because it's set up artistically as well. Many of his suggestions are great for us bloggers as well. So when you see changes around here, you know where some of it is coming from.
Book Title: Crochet One Skein Wonder Author: Judith Durant
Publisher: Storey Publishing Format: ebook
Cost: $10.42
Pages: 288
How I got it: Netgalley
My Rating:★★★★★ Erotica Rating: N/A Synopsis:
Finally, a One-Skein Wonders book just for crocheters! Edie Eckman and Judith Durant offer 101 great crochet projects--from jewelry and scarves to bags, hats, dresses, and home dec items--that each use just one skein of yarn. Whatever your experience level, you'll find something here to delight you!
My Review:
Hello my name is Aisha and I am a yarn addict. I love yarn, the feel the smell of fresh wool, I love moving my hook and watching a new project forming. I love creating scarves, hats, baby booties & afghans, crocheting works way faster than knitting (although I love that too). I have seen so many one skein wonder books, but when I saw one for crocheting I had to jump for it of course. And I don't regret it, I will have a good ten more projects on the hooks by time I get this book in hardcover.
It has an easily adaptable kindle cover project that I have started on as quickly as I started reading the book. I am deeply in love with this and can't wait until I purchase more yarn and different varieties so that I can actually make it through the book. I never realized that there were so many different kinds of yarns, I have gone into a local yarn shop and fell in love and stayed and stayed until she had to kick me out so that she could close. I haven't enjoyed so much yarn and the different textures in forever and I'm now going through my yarn at home and looking at it like "your not worthy to be on my needles, I need REAL yarn" Bamboo silk recycled saris, Goddess I have never been so in love with skeins, hanks and roving oh Goddess the roving, a spinning wheel, and and the wonderful wonderful yarn that flows through your fingers and makes you want to dive into the pile. Yep it's official I am now a yarn addict.
I'm so excited. Please get a copy if your a yarn lover and crochet fanatic. It's well worth it.
**FTC regulations require that I state I received this book for free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review**
Yeah I said it. Don't gimmie those looks, it isn't easy confessing this mess. When I lived at home, I ate organic, recycled never used plastic bags, heck I even taught several girlfriends all my nifty tricks that helped save the environment and them some serious cash. And who doesn't love keeping green in their pockets??
Well now I have different priorities, paying my bills, keeping a roof over my head those take precedence over purchasing high priced organic over the cheaper stuff, and to be real I kinda just got lazy. It's true, without friends who loved the green lifestyle, or books, or movies, or even tv shows that validated my feelings I begun to fall back into old rhythms. It was easier to just take the bags at the grocers since I would use them as trash bags as well, but eventually even I had to admit defeat beneath the onslaught and back to green bags I went.
Because I'm a crafter and I would find any excuse to use my yarn stash, I was so excited when I saw a pattern for a market bag in my yarn magazine. I loved that idea so much that I made small ones to get the fruits and veggies that normally go in a clear plastic bag. I used Lily Brand Kitchen (cotton) yarn, which is easily washed and reused as often as you need it. This of course save plastic bags from going into the landfill and the added benefit of some awesome looking groceries.
Don't have a crafting bone in your body?? Love your plastic bags too much?? How about saving the bags in a container, like another bag, or a old lysol cleaning bottle like this one:
You can wrap it with your favorite wrapping paper to hide the label. Place plastic bags inside and pull out new bags when you need them. This makes it easy to carry in the grocery store.
Want to get rid of some of those bags?? Don't toss them in the trash, take them with you to the grocery store, many of the larger chains have a recycling bin set up right at the front door, just dump your bags in there and they send them off to recyclers for you.
Many stores also now give you money back for having your own bags, and a few (at least here in CT) are now starting to charge for bags, so save that .05c and bring your own. That adds up fast.
So there, that's how I have started to kick the green slump I have been experiencing. How do you do green daily?? Share in the comments please.
Welcome back to another week of Kitchen Witch Wednesday, Make sure to stop my our host blog. Mom's a Witch to see her post for today.
I was a youtube vlogger before I became a blogger. I found a great community on there that shared so many great things & gave great advice while motivating each other on our chosen paths.
One of the many great friendships I formed on there was with MsSophiaDawn (she's no longer on YT & she took her videos down). Sophia was a Southern woman who loved to explore her faith, her magic & her garden, & boy could she craft up a storm. She shared this little recipe with us and I have been using it ever since.
Ingredients:
1 cup boiling water
1 large glass dish
Parchment paper (as much as you want)
Newspaper
1 Tablespoon Saltpeter (vester)**** EXTREMELY FLAMMABALE ***** Use with caution
(optional) Essential Oils
Directions:
In glass bowl pour boiling water, add in the tablespoon saltpeter. Mix well allow to dissolve, then allow to cool. ( at this point you may add essential oils if you want). Note 1 tbsp of vester to 1 cup water, if you need more, make sure it matches this way)
Put paper in the cool water and let it soak well
Hang to dry about 1 hour. (away from open flame) ******DO NOT PUT IN OVER******
Welcome back to Kitchen Witchin Wednesdays. this week I'm sharing with you the tool I use to keep my hair clean. I have locs and I can't use the regular (I mean I guess I could but I don't like to) shampoos and cleaners for my hair. I don't always have the time or the funds to purchase the super expensive ones i love either, so I have gone back to basics with my most basic of hair supplies. And you probably have them in your kitchen already.
Doing hair rinses helps to promote scalp health & help to prevent further damage that is done by UV rays, pollution & our hair products. Since the scalp is maintained by blood vessel that supply it with protein & other nutrients, the best recipes will work on the scalp itself.
When I was younger I learnt that if you had light colored hair( blonde) that using lemon juice on your hair will bring out your highlights. I have since learnt that it's great for helping eliminate the extra oil from your scalp as well.
@deziner02 via SXC.hu
Highlight Rinse Recipe:
1 lemon with 1/4 cup water in a glass jar, shake well.
Use:
After shampooing, rinse your hair with this recipe then allow to stand in your hair for five mins. Rinse out with cool water.
Beer rinse for body & shine
Of course the most rumored & well known rinse of course is the beer rinse. To add body & shine to your hair, you can use a flat or stale beer to rinse your hair once a month. The smell won't last long so don't worry about smelling like a brewery at work ( you could also do it on say a friday night or the weekend so by monday the smell will be gone). The beer will add B vitamins & natural sugar to your hair which is what gives it the added shine. Ehow, has a great how to guide for making your own beer rinse & explains the science a little more.
Split End Prevention (do this 2-3 times a week)
Olive oil, use a few teaspoon of oil on your hair ends to seal them & leave on overnight. You can rinse out in the morning if you need to.
Use coconut oil on the scalp to help with hair growth & to help release hair so it won't tangle & will be less likely to split as well.
Sub Damage Prevention
Apply Sesame oil to help protect the hair. The sun can cause serious damage to the hair, especially during the summer months when we are running from ocean/pool to parties or a BBQ without covering out head. The sun can dry out hair making it prone to being brittle & breakage. Use the oil before going out, by massaging a few teaspoons (based on hair length, longer means a few more, shorter means a little).
Hair rinses:
Make hair rinse much like making herbal tea. Pout boiling water over a teaspoon of the herbs, steep for 10 mins, then strain. Massage into scalp as evenly as possible, allow hair to air dry. (You don't have to rinse the hair out) Use the rinse AFTER shampooing!!
Sage Rinse: helps to reduce oil buildup & promotes healthy hair. Use this rinse after shampooing for 3 weeks. Birch Leaf Rinse: Helps to promote a healthy scalp & is believed to help prevent hair loss. It also softens the hair & adds shine. don't use on blonde or gray hair, it will darken the color, Chamomile Rinse: Using the flowers, this rinse soothes & heals the scalp & gives hair a healthy shine, Can also be used to lighten blonde hair. Linden Flower Rinse: Best for dried out hair, especially for hair taxed by repeated dying or bleaching and is now brittle. Promotes scalp health & circulation. Use for six weeks for best results.
Deep Clean (Purifying Cleanser)
For a deep clean of my hair I use a apple cider vinegar rinse, the recipe I found here:
Can I say I was much like Chesca, shocked at how much gunk was still in my hair even though I washed it only a few days before. What she didn't say and what I learnt later is that you should wash your hair after doing the treatment. Since this treatment strips your hair you should only do it a few times a year. Chesca suggests twice a year, when i first learnt about it I did it every three months, by time I did it that last time my locs weren't in such a deep need, because of the next 'shampoo'.
Even if you don't have locs this is like using a clarifying shampoo on your hair, it cleans out the buildup of product that takes place over time. Once I really learnt about loc maintenance for myself I started doing apple cider vinegar rinse every time I washed my hair. And that's a simple recipe as well.
You simply need apple cider vinegar & baking soda.
Directions:
Many people I know will coat their locs or hair with the baking soda allow it dry a little (first make a paste with water)
then fill a bucket or tub with the hottest water you can stand, then pour in about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cider vinegar (base this on the length & thickness of your hair, for longer hair go for more)
then starting with the ends of your hair dip then in the mix and continue adding more of your hair, the baking soda will pop & fizzle, once it stops add more of your hair, keep going until you feel all the baking soda is gone and no more reaction is taking place, make sure to get the front & back of your head as well.
Rinse, with plain water, then shampoo/ or co wash as necessary (co-washing is using conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo, some claim it prevents the stripping of hair & helps with growth.)
Information gathered from many sources, including my own experience. The herbal rinses recipes & information from the Complete Natural Healing group 7, card 15
So there you have it. These are some of the recipes in my arsenal for healthy hair. Have you done any of these before?? Have a favorite recipe?? Share in the comments.
It's Valentine's Day for many, that means, candy, flowers & doing all the sexy tricks they save for special days. There are many ways to get into the mood if you have a partner, & I'm going to be sharing a few of my favorites here with you.
For the Kitchen Witches among us, how about charming your food?? Here are some Charmed Honey Recipes.
Kris Bradley shares a really great recipe in her book " Mrs.B's guide to Household Witchery" for a great little love dusting powder. She says to brush it on your hands or clothing before meeting up with your lover for some alone time. I would say dust lightly.
Ingredients:
4 parts dried apple peel, & red rose petals
2 parts cocoa powder
1 part cinnamon
When I moved into my new home, for my bedroom I created a charmed wooden plague, that encourages love. It's made from oak (hard wood, enduring,) It's a Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Symbol, many people make them into quilts I loved wood burning so I made this. I bless it each year, with full moon water & hang it where i can see it to remind myself & my partner that we are in this together. I added in colors to correspond with the intent as well.
If your flying solo today, but want a partner, please remember the Golden Rule, even if your not Wiccan, it's not polite ( and it will backfire I promise you that) to manipulate others. When casting spells for love, don't mention one particular person, that's taking away their free will. Do however ask the universe/cosmos/Goddess to send the one(s) for you. Try out my updated version of the Practical Magic Party Post (True Love, Amas Veritas). There are several ideas on how to a spell to draw your love one near.
If your not looking for love, but want some loving for the night You can make Desire Dust and spread it around your room along with all the candles. Taken from Marian Singer's Magick for the Wild Woman this dust actually smells pretty awesome ( u never made the one to attract a woman, so I can't speak to that ones effectiveness, but if you try it let me know please). As a floor dusting I used baking soda instead of baby powder, but a body dusting I used the baby powder, it's mainly down to personal preference at this point.
To attract a man: a pinch of ginger powder, jasmine oil, and or lavender oil
To attract a woman: vetivert violet, or patchouli.
Mix well allow to dry, shift to get rid of clumps. As your creating the dust, focus on your intent, you can chant a charm over it as well.
When I feel the need for some new ideas I love to look into Silver's Spells for Love by Silver Ravenwolf, I have had a lot of success using her spells & ideas and I sugget y'all check 'em out. I have of course improved them to suit me, & you can do the same.
This is a part of the Kitchen Witch Wednesday Blog party, I'm posting on Thursday sorry. but I promise these recipes are worth it. Happy Valentine's Day my loves
Well it's another day into October and even though i haven't quite made my home the way I wanted to I have gotten quite a bit done this month. This idea is for something I once made many years ago, when I first came into the craft I made one of these and then promptly forgot about it, then my Mom "cleaned" out my pagan items this was one of the first ones to go. Since then I haven't really needed it, but now I have advanced enough in my craft to not only want one & also need one.
I went back and found Silver's guide to creating the scrying mirror, then got Flora's visual and her info about using the mirros & I thought I would share with you here. As well as my images of making my newest mirror.
Here is what I have been doing:
Supplies:
Small mirror
black paint
small sponge brush
newspaper to catch any spills
yarn to be used to make a holder or bag
frame to put it on (optional)
Directions: **Takes about two hours to paint & allow to dry.**
Make sure to clean the mirror before you start. I used a vinegar and water mix then prayed over the mirror before starting.
Layer paint and allow to dry between each layer. What I did was allow it to dry then paint in the opposite direction so that no site of the actual mirror was left.
You can meditate and concentrate on the purpose of the new mirror,
Once dry you can mount onto a wooden block, using either wood glue, or a glue gun.
I am going to crochet the bag later to hold the scry mirror, the white yarn is to protect the mirror itself and the black is to reflect any negative vibes away.
I am going to also do a blessing before I use it on Samhain. When I made my first scry mirror as I painted it, I said a prayer as I added each layer, it was a pretty powerful mirror, even if it only got a few uses before it was destroyed.
One of the things I have done differently as well is to cleanse it and keep it on the altar so that the Goddess and God know it's a new tool and will help keep it from being used in adverse way. You can wash it with moon water or solar water depending on the energies you want the mirror to have.
This is one of my favorite holiday traditions, It's a great way to kick off the Holiday Party and it's a great talking piece for you and your 'crafty friends'. Have fun making this; I love to make this to hang up in door ways for Holiday Open Houses, or parties we have. It's a Kissing Ball (literally). It's easy to make and shouldn't cost more than $12.00 and maybe a half hour of your time.
How to make this sweet treat (hahahha I crack myself up) You will need Hershey's Kisses: 2-3 Large bags, base this on however many balls you will be doing) Glue gun and glue sticks 6 in foam ball wire edged ribbon about 3 yards 20 gauge florists wire Couple sprigs Mistletoe Directions:
You can get the holiday coloured Kisses, pull all the little tabs out
Determine where you want the top of the kidding ball to be and mark it,
Heat your glue gun and apply small lines of the glue
attach your kisses until the foam ball is covered MAKE sure to leave some space at the top of the ball which you marked
Create your bow with the ribbon making it as elaborate and ornate as you like
Leave a loop to hang
attach the florists wire to hold the bow shape, create it into a spike and attach at the top of the ball (where you marked)
Push in the mistletoe, either real or fake and let it hang
Rules of the Kissing Ball
Each person who is under the Ball can get a kiss or forfeit for a real kiss with the person they are standing with.
Remind everyone not to pull too hard the kisses should come off pretty easily.
Resources: Idea came from 30 Gifts under 30 minutes binder
You must be wondering what this is about, I'm trying to find a new way to knock out the Bucket list, since I'm relocating to a new town which is a lot more fun than the one I live in right now, so I will be able to complete more than I have been previously able to. I have done three different things from my 101 list which is listed on the side bar. And it's not even 10 days!!
I got my moving boxes from here, yes I know you can get boxes for free from craigslist or even freecycle, or hell just going to the store, but i like supporting small businesses and this is a pretty cool idea, you choose a size and they send you a variety of boxes, all of which are previously used and they are in pretty good condition. I only purchased one set and have used them up already. Check them out instead of purchasing new boxes which used virgin materials please.
I completed coasters as well, I decided to do some crocheting because I have the yarn, it's cheaper and I get to have something personal in my home, something I created, not just purchased. It's also greener, no new materials were used just what i had on hand, some of it reclaimed yarn that was pulled from older projects that didn't quite work out, here are the images.
I also completed the placemats!! I go the pattern here, a link I found through CrochetpatternCentral.com i'm also thinking of doing coasters and napkin rings to go along with them.
I made these pretty qucikly and have enjoyed creating something for my new home which I will be able to use and display and didn't even have to puchase because I had the yarn already sitting around waiting to be used.
I am working on the sponges, and will be doing a ton more of those, because they are easy to work up. I have already have ten, now I won't have to purchase any sponges to clean at all. It's all nice and green!!!
I want to make potholders, but I only have one color cotton yarn which doesn't match the kitchen scheme, so I will be purchasing new yarn for that any excuse to feed the addiction. Many of the patterns state that acrylic will melt under the heat and I don't which to test that theory at all, so cotton it will be.
That's as much as can be done for now from the list. See you on the next check up
There are a new crop of babies coming this spring, and so many different gifts to make. Here is one of the blankets I have made for one of the only little boys in the whole group.
The Mom's theme of course is green and brown and so I made a blanket to go with it. The pattern is called the Circle of Life pattern, by Smoothfox, I have talked about her a lot because I test patterns for her pretty often.You can purchase the pattern on her etsy store for a small fee.
Check out my ravelry page as well, if your on there link to me, so we can be friends.
Hope you liked the view of my blanket, Have any projects your working on? I'm actually working on a project now also by Smoothfox for my best friend's daughter who was born last year
Why not share about it in the comments section.
Be Blessed, Be Loved
Today in the Northeast has dawned bright and dreary with ice storms and sleet raining throughout the day. As a ‘weather maven’ or follower of weather patterns this for me means that winter only has a few more weeks of a hold. I don’t need the Groundhog’s prediction to let me know that. I simply followed the rhyme:
If Candlemas be bright and fair
Winter will have another year
but if it be dark with clouds & rain
winter is gone & will not come again
Traditional Edwardian Saying
Today is a good day to pull out and bless all your candles for the year. Last night, I placed a Bride’s Bed with the God’s wand which I made in front of the fire place, I also did a small releasing spell and a meditation. I started at midnight and ended close to one, (the Goddess loves to talk). The how of making these items and the little installation ritual came from the Llewellyn Sabbats book.
To make the Bride Bed you will need:
blue and white cloth
blue and ribbon
some yarn
corn husks
cotton balls
a basket or shoe box top to make the bed
white cloth to act as bedding
beading for the goddess
wand or branches for the wand
Follow Patti's directions here on how to make your doll. My corn husks were fresh because I just purchased corn to make soup. I started at 1130 making the doll and finished just in time to go to the fire place by midnight.
To Make the Bed: I placed the white cloth in the bottom of the box lid, then placed extra fabric at the head to make a pillow. You can decorate it if you feel like with blue and white paint.
Installation Ritual: Place the bed before the fireplace or on your altar. Light the two white candles and your incense. When I placed the Goddess in the bed I repeated the words found in the Sabbat book:
"Welcome the Bride turned from Mother to Maiden
to rest and prepare fot hte time fo the seed
Cleansed and refreshed from the labors behind her
with the promise of spring she lays before me"
Then place the wand beside the Bride and say:
"How soon comes the Lord
how quickly he grows
the season will turn
before we know"
For my little releasing spell, I made the following: incense: equal parts: benzoin, sandalwood, and lavender powder Scented parchment paper: each paper was scented with lavender essential oil and peppermint essential oil.
On one paper I wrote all that I wanted to burn away in the fires of the forge, and the other I wrote all I wished to manifest this year. I burned the first list without reading it and told them goodbye. Then I summoned the Goddess as witness as I read what i wished to manifest then i added that to the fire, and let it burn.
In all my years I have never really worked with the Goddess Brigid for anything other than inspiration at this time of the year, but for the month of Feb I wish to work with her and get to know her a little better, since I haven’t gotten any visitations telling me to back off from her I'm guessing Morrigan is cool with her.
Meditation So I decided last night to do the regular meditation of visiting the forge, but this time the Goddess took over and man she wasn't what I expected. i sat infront of the Bride's bed, one of the candles seemed to dance more in the 'wind' than the other, and the incense smoke danced and wove it's way around the flame, as I gaze inside i found myself walking through my backyard in the snow, and before me was a bridge, below was a spring river with water so clear I could see the fishes as they swam, beside me were hooks and rope with netting, I knew this is were I placed all my wordly worries and fears. I placed them in the netting, hooked the netting to a line and lowered them into the water, where they would we washed away, and the heavy ones would be lightened for when i return. I turn to walk and noticed that this side of the bridge isn't a frozen tundra like the other-side behind me, there are green shoots, and small spring flowers, crocuses are pushing up from the soil, even with the small patches of snow. I can hear the birds within the deep forest and walk the path that seems to be laid out for me, it's a dirt path the goes deep within the thick woods, where massive trees guard the sides.
Soon I can hear the clang of the metal being worked and when I walked into the forge the heat hit me, and i saw a tall person wearing the gear of a metal worker, they had long blond hair braided back into a ponytail, and wore the thick heavy gloves, apron and boots of a blacksmith. The body shape from the back was the only way to tell that the blacksmith was in fact a woman (that and her blue ribbons around the white leggings, like the bows on a ballerina's legs), we are alone in the forge, and I walk closer. She turns with a huge flaming piece of metal to the anvil and starts working it. After a while she acknowledges me, tells me to grab a hammer and work the metal with her, i follow the rhythm she has set, she plunges the metal back into the fire, then into the bucket of water, and then works it some more. She doesn't talk as she works and I follow her lead, after awhile I stop working as she is now doing something more intricate and doesn't need my help. I realize she is carving something into the metal, as I lean closer i realize it's my name.
I stand up as she does the last letter, and puts aside her tools. She looks at me and I quickly tell her why I am there, she cuts me of and finishes with my hearts deepest desires what i wouldn't have said, not yet, when I stare, she laughs, a deep rich laugh, and I smile I can't help it. She talks and when I make a comment she interrupts and tells me " I'm not a child or a genie, I am a Goddess, I cannot be commanded or bent to your will" ohh oh, I look into her eyes, and feel the weight of her age, she looks young but she is older than time itself, there is something alien there in those blue eyes, something that has never been human, and sees way deeper than I wanted her to. it is then I notice the clangs of another blacksmith, and look up and see the God, his back is to me, but his forearms and shoulders flex with muscles, and a fissure of desire runs through me, she turns and smiles as she sees him, there is a fleeting expression across her face, I attempt to step closer to see what he is working on, she cuts me off. "You aren't ready to see what is there, yet". She then turns and leads the way out the forge, I walk beside her, her longer legs eat up the ground and she pulls ahead of me, as I walk I notice the changes around me, the green is brighter, the birds sing louder, the trees are beginning to breathe deep again and there is a warmer breeze. I realize She is bringing Spring as she walks, I run to catch up, knowing I have to keep up, somehow we are back at the bridge again " We have much work to do to complete your project, it may take a lifetime, but it will be done.." (she says more things I wish to keep close for now), but then commands me across the bridge, as I go to retrieve my line, she tells me to leave them there, as those worries are no longer relevant. I walk across the bridge and return to my backyard, enter my home, walk to where my body sits waiting and sink back in.
I have much work to do. How has your Candlemas been so far? Happy Imbolc!!!
