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~