Spring officially "sprung" at 1:48 am on March 20th this year.
However, in my neck of the woods (south west Michigan), we had one last hurrah for winter in the form of a 6 inch layer of snow, just in time for the Easter weekend. Yeah, I know, I'm pagan and don't celebrate Easter.... well... yeah, I do. Only my Husband and I are pagan. Everyone else is not and so, Easter it is.
But really, the point of this post is Spring.
My daffodils are up about three inches, the Great Blue Herons are home again, canadian geese, Robins, and the bluebirds and indigo buntings have all been sighted and heartily welcomes home for the summer.
I didn't even mind that little snow storm because I could still see that soft greenish note in the treetops where the sap is running and the buds are swelling...
It makes me crave raw fresh veggies, things that look, smell, taste GREEN.
Green is the colour that gives me hope. It's the return of life. Green tends to be more relaxing to me than any shade of blue. mmmm.... laying on a blanket under a tree looking up at all the shimmery green leaves in the breeze with the sun dappling through (sigh)
It's also a time to start opening up the house again after being sealed against the winter.
We're supposed to be getting a 60 degree day next week and I can't wait!
The windows and doors are getting opened, bedding will be hung out on the line to be freshened (yes.. I do wash sheets and blankets, but I have a few down pieces that only get freshened when I can't get to the laundromat.)
A nice general cleaning will then commence and all the cobwebs that were missed, the dust that just floated from place to place... everything will be washed! This also uncludes some outdoor items, like the grill and our firepit up on MoonHill. There's also a large black plastic tub that will get filled in the morning with water and allowed to heat (it gets pretty warm in the sun!) and my Darling Husband Tom, will get the honours of giving the boys (our 8 year old beagle/bassett mix, Russell and our 7 month old English Pointer, Ralphie) their spring baths.... and do they need it!
I'm already trying to get a head start in the house: Cleaning out the frige and taking everything apart and washing it properly... getting the airconditioners ready.... touch ups on the walls.... cobwebs gone... and planning my strategy for getting rid of a lot of ..... stuff.
We're also talking about cleaning the garage one weekend and taking the stuff from the Garage attic too... this will all get sorted, cleaned and priced and put into a three or four day garage sale that will then fund some neat family adventure for a weekend this summer.
I'll be posting about our cleaning sessions.
Something I'm looking forward to sharing with you all is making your own cleaning products and the majik I use to make them more effective.
By this I mean to help them clean better, more thoroughly and to help keep things cleaner longer.
well...speaking of work to do, it's WAY past time for me to get a move on...
I'll be posting tomorrow with some great "green" cleaning recipes and that lovely chant I mentioned.
Maybe I'll even make up a basic itinerary for cleaning and post that too, just to give you an idea of what I do.
Be well in Spirit and Strong in Heart!
Shosha
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Coven Forming
Circle of the MoonHill
Age Range/Type: Adult
Located in: Berrien Springs, Michigan
Key Contact: Shosha
Spiritual Path: Ecclectic/Irish/Celtic/Shaman
Status: Group Forming
Community Support: Open Circles... Legal Clergy... Teaching Available
Group Overview: Greetings! The Circle of the MoonHill is reforming and is willing to take on new members.Our Mission Statement:The Circle of the MoonHill is dedicated to it's members and the Earth upon which we live.We aspire to learn always and all ways.To perform majik for the good of one and the good of all.To offer support to one another in our joys and in our sorrows.To better ourselves, eachother, and our World.Please contact me, Shosha with any questions you might have.
AIM: ShoshaAmonithil
Yahoo! Messenger: RealPaganWoman13
Telephone: (269) 277-6966
Email: CircleOfTheMoonHill@comcast.net
Age Range/Type: Adult
Located in: Berrien Springs, Michigan
Key Contact: Shosha
Spiritual Path: Ecclectic/Irish/Celtic/Shaman
Status: Group Forming
Community Support: Open Circles... Legal Clergy... Teaching Available
Group Overview: Greetings! The Circle of the MoonHill is reforming and is willing to take on new members.Our Mission Statement:The Circle of the MoonHill is dedicated to it's members and the Earth upon which we live.We aspire to learn always and all ways.To perform majik for the good of one and the good of all.To offer support to one another in our joys and in our sorrows.To better ourselves, eachother, and our World.Please contact me, Shosha with any questions you might have.
AIM: ShoshaAmonithil
Yahoo! Messenger: RealPaganWoman13
Telephone: (269) 277-6966
Email: CircleOfTheMoonHill@comcast.net
Circle of the MoonHill First Annual Summer Solstice Backyard Campout
When: Jun. 20th. 2008 - Jun. 22nd. 2008
Where: Berrien Springs, Michigan
We still have plenty of room! Sign Up! The sooner the better!
A Popular question has been "Do I have to spend the night?" The answer is "no, you don't have to stay over night." Just let me know that you're not going to stay, but that you'll be here on Saturday.
How To Sign Up: This event is technically by "invitation only" as it's at a private residence.
We have limited space for parking so the invitations will be emailed to you on a first come first served basis.
RSVP by May 20th, 2008, Invitations will be sent to the first 15 invitation requests and Invitations will be emailed no later than June 1st, 2008.
Just Put INVITATION in the subject line. and let me know the following info: Your name, how many people you're bringing.
PLEASE! NO PETS.
We have enough of our own.
You can also contact me at:
AIM: ShoshaAmonithilYahoo!
Messenger: RealPaganWoman13
and (269) 277-6966
Email: Circleofthemoonhill@comcast.net
Where: Berrien Springs, Michigan
We still have plenty of room! Sign Up! The sooner the better!
A Popular question has been "Do I have to spend the night?" The answer is "no, you don't have to stay over night." Just let me know that you're not going to stay, but that you'll be here on Saturday.
How To Sign Up: This event is technically by "invitation only" as it's at a private residence.
We have limited space for parking so the invitations will be emailed to you on a first come first served basis.
RSVP by May 20th, 2008, Invitations will be sent to the first 15 invitation requests and Invitations will be emailed no later than June 1st, 2008.
Just Put INVITATION in the subject line. and let me know the following info: Your name, how many people you're bringing.
PLEASE! NO PETS.
We have enough of our own.
You can also contact me at:
AIM: ShoshaAmonithilYahoo!
Messenger: RealPaganWoman13
and (269) 277-6966
Email: Circleofthemoonhill@comcast.net
Friday, March 14, 2008
Laundry Soap
I just made 2 gallons of no weird-stuff laundry soap.
I paid $8.82 for the bulk ingredients and The batch cost only about $1.98.
Here's the recipe:
1 cup of grated Fels Naptha (about 2/3 bar)
1/2 cup Laundry Soda
1/2 cup Borax
2 Tablespoons Glycerine
In a large pan (one that will hold about 2 1/2 gallons... like a stockpot) put 2 gallons of water and bring nearly to a boil. Add everything else and cook and stir until the Fels Naptha is dissolved. You might need to whisk it a time or two. Once it's mixed as you like you can start laundry!
Use 1/2 -1 cup per load... I use a full cup for 5 pairs of work jeans. They have stuff on them like machine grease, coolants, graphite residue, and tiny tiny metal shavings and grit.... they come out CLEAN!
Happy Laundry Day!
~Shosha~
I paid $8.82 for the bulk ingredients and The batch cost only about $1.98.
Here's the recipe:
1 cup of grated Fels Naptha (about 2/3 bar)
1/2 cup Laundry Soda
1/2 cup Borax
2 Tablespoons Glycerine
In a large pan (one that will hold about 2 1/2 gallons... like a stockpot) put 2 gallons of water and bring nearly to a boil. Add everything else and cook and stir until the Fels Naptha is dissolved. You might need to whisk it a time or two. Once it's mixed as you like you can start laundry!
Use 1/2 -1 cup per load... I use a full cup for 5 pairs of work jeans. They have stuff on them like machine grease, coolants, graphite residue, and tiny tiny metal shavings and grit.... they come out CLEAN!
Happy Laundry Day!
~Shosha~
Pagan At Home's First Blog Ever!
Hi! I'm Shosha, Pagan At Home's editor in chief. I'd like you to know me a little better and understand just what I'm hoping for in this blog.
When I'm not blogging here, I'm a housewife. I have a husband and two daughters (nearly 21 and just shy of 18.) I live on about 4 acres of land in South Western Michigan and I'm nearly surrounded by the fruit trees my husband and I have planted since we moved here October 31st, 1999.
By this time, I was out of the proverbial Broomcloset.
I've subscribed to several pagan/wiccan/witchy-type e-groups, news letters and the like but none of them helped with the information I was looking for. I wanted to know how to "be pagan" all the time. Not just at festivals and gatherings or Rituals. I tried to sum up what it meant to be pagan... in general by concensus, to different representatives of various groups/factions/whatever you want to call pagan "denominations" and more so, what it meant to ME.
Over all, Pagans in general, greatly dislike being generalized about.
Pagans, in general, also seem to be extremely fond of doing things in very old fashioned ways... Much like the Hippies of the 60's and , Later when they got into their mid/late 30s, Back to the landers... the ones who went over board with "Little House on the Prarie." (I know these people well because they were my parents. My Mother was way into making anything and everything she if it could be made cheaper than buying it. I am still. I just finished a 2 gallon batch of Laundry soap that cost me only 1.98 to make.)
They also, in general, like magic, magick, magik, and my personal favourite: Majik. They talk about it a LOT. but no one seems to DO it much. That was another thing.
When you read about the "old days" of pagans (witches) you hear of them casting this spell to ensure that... or that spell to keep such and such from happening... or not happening, depending.
Books are loaded with spells... most of which seem to need a lot of.... stuff to go with the little rhyme. And talk about overboard... with all the do taht on a monday, but only if the moon is in the 3rd quarter and Mercury is in retrograde, unless it's in August when you have to do everything on Sunday at High Noon.... and face that way and.... well.. you get the picture.
I understand that the more you put into a spell (by spell I mean ANY majik doing) the better it is... and sure all that stuff can give it an oomph, but honestly, who but Ms. Teen Witch has that kind of time? Goddess bless her heart. I wish I did, but with kids, and Hubby, and two dogs, three cats, 5 dozen chickens, a garden the size of County Cork (gotta feed everyone!) when do I have time to look up all the whens and gather all the whats?
I'm even taking forever to write this because I'm also doing dishes, laundry, and baking bread at the same time!
So here's what I'm hoping for:
I'd like Pagan At Home to be a kind of "Mother Earth News meets Family Circle meets Pagans" e-Zine-type blog.
I WANT you readers to comment... add things... Write "articles" anything it takes.
Tell me some good everyday spells. How do you go as green as you can where you live without breaking yourself and your bank? When you clean... do you chant to help keep the grunge and clutter from coming back? does it help? Would you share your chant? or if you don't... why not?
What's your favourite recipe? Not just for incense, but for bread pudding... or pie... or maybe a sugarfree chocolate cake that folks scarf down like no tomorrow....
Tell me thing... Tell eachother these things!
May Blessed Be You All.
~Shosha~
When I'm not blogging here, I'm a housewife. I have a husband and two daughters (nearly 21 and just shy of 18.) I live on about 4 acres of land in South Western Michigan and I'm nearly surrounded by the fruit trees my husband and I have planted since we moved here October 31st, 1999.
By this time, I was out of the proverbial Broomcloset.
I've subscribed to several pagan/wiccan/witchy-type e-groups, news letters and the like but none of them helped with the information I was looking for. I wanted to know how to "be pagan" all the time. Not just at festivals and gatherings or Rituals. I tried to sum up what it meant to be pagan... in general by concensus, to different representatives of various groups/factions/whatever you want to call pagan "denominations" and more so, what it meant to ME.
Over all, Pagans in general, greatly dislike being generalized about.
Pagans, in general, also seem to be extremely fond of doing things in very old fashioned ways... Much like the Hippies of the 60's and , Later when they got into their mid/late 30s, Back to the landers... the ones who went over board with "Little House on the Prarie." (I know these people well because they were my parents. My Mother was way into making anything and everything she if it could be made cheaper than buying it. I am still. I just finished a 2 gallon batch of Laundry soap that cost me only 1.98 to make.)
They also, in general, like magic, magick, magik, and my personal favourite: Majik. They talk about it a LOT. but no one seems to DO it much. That was another thing.
When you read about the "old days" of pagans (witches) you hear of them casting this spell to ensure that... or that spell to keep such and such from happening... or not happening, depending.
Books are loaded with spells... most of which seem to need a lot of.... stuff to go with the little rhyme. And talk about overboard... with all the do taht on a monday, but only if the moon is in the 3rd quarter and Mercury is in retrograde, unless it's in August when you have to do everything on Sunday at High Noon.... and face that way and.... well.. you get the picture.
I understand that the more you put into a spell (by spell I mean ANY majik doing) the better it is... and sure all that stuff can give it an oomph, but honestly, who but Ms. Teen Witch has that kind of time? Goddess bless her heart. I wish I did, but with kids, and Hubby, and two dogs, three cats, 5 dozen chickens, a garden the size of County Cork (gotta feed everyone!) when do I have time to look up all the whens and gather all the whats?
I'm even taking forever to write this because I'm also doing dishes, laundry, and baking bread at the same time!
So here's what I'm hoping for:
I'd like Pagan At Home to be a kind of "Mother Earth News meets Family Circle meets Pagans" e-Zine-type blog.
I WANT you readers to comment... add things... Write "articles" anything it takes.
Tell me some good everyday spells. How do you go as green as you can where you live without breaking yourself and your bank? When you clean... do you chant to help keep the grunge and clutter from coming back? does it help? Would you share your chant? or if you don't... why not?
What's your favourite recipe? Not just for incense, but for bread pudding... or pie... or maybe a sugarfree chocolate cake that folks scarf down like no tomorrow....
Tell me thing... Tell eachother these things!
May Blessed Be You All.
~Shosha~
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