(I just liked the way that titled rolled off my tongue.)

This year is the first year I’ve ever planted onions. I didn’t set out to grow them but my father-in-law gave me a couple dozen red and yellow starts so I found the room. They were unceremoniously sandwiched beside the cherry roma, purple haze carrots and green snap beans and for the most part ignored after that.

Recently I noticed (while out drooling over my soon-to-be-ripe cherry romas) that the tops of my onions were drying out a bit and then over the course of a couple days they all fell over. Oh no! I killed them! Or so I thought… After a little research I discovered that this is perfectly natural, it means I can harvest them soon (yay!) All I have to do is step down on the tops (done!), not water them for a few days and then pull them up and let them cure some more in a dry ventilated area.

Wait. Not water them for a few days?!

But what about my tomatoes? My beans? My carrots? My dill, basil, cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, ground cherries… All my raised beds are covered by the same sprinkler and it is 90F out, they need water. I’m sorry but I am not sacrificing my tomatoes for a few onions! This year’s raised bed lesson, onions need their own segregated area.

I am not overly worried, I don’t intend on storing these for the winter by any means, they’ll probably all be eaten within a couple weeks. This raises the question, do I really need to worry about having them cure properly? Should I try to cover them when watering the rest of the bed (one of my friends sugguested inverting a bucket over them while I water), or just pull them up and let them cure on a table on the deck for a few days?

What would you do?

EXHIBIT A:

Toddler. Bored Toddler. Loki Spawn. Mischievous Toddler.
Resist the cuteness, RESIST!

EXHIBIT B:

Air intake vent for central air. It doesn’t open (the wall is conveniently built over it) and has one inch holes.

Guess where everything Damian could find that is an inch or less in diameter can be found? Art markers, nail clippers, Damian’s toothbrush, two sticks, Cheerios, paper, my brain, three spoons… Obviously the answer to preventing this is to never let anything smaller then an inch touch the floor (haha!) But the question of the hour is how do I get the stuff down there out?

Ideas?

A question for my bird loving friends. I am designing a character that I want to be part avian (and part human.) I am looking for a bird that is orange (surprise!) or has orange markings on it’s body (not head.) If possible, I would like it to be a fruit eating bird (mmmm fruit.) I’m looking for one that really stands out.

Any suggestions?

I have horrendous pain in my back today. I am use to aches and such but this is something else, kind of reminding me of the intensity of the sciatic pain I had in my third trimester. It is in the middle of my back though, the part behind my diaphragm and in front of it too actually. It feels like I picked up something wrong (Damian?) and “sprained” my chest and back. Is that even possible? When I touch that area it feels tender and bruised but looks normal.

I don’t want to take pain killers (with breastfeeding the ones I could take are ineffective anyways.) Besides that it hurts enough I am pretty sure I would hurl if I tried to swallow something. I have been doing cat cows which helps… until I stop then the pain returns. If I lay on the floor and brace my legs on the wall with my knees bent at a right angle it feels better, again, until I stop. Also Damian thinks I am a jungle gym then too. I just want to cry, not a normal thing for me. If I get too upset, Damian gets distressed and cries too. Poor guy. He doesn’t understand why I can’t play.

So I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for me? (Crawling into bed with a heating pad is not an option unfortunately. To start with, I don’t have a heating pad and secondly I need to watch my very adventuresome almost 7 month old, He-Who-Thinks-Power-Cords-Are-Better-Than-Sliced-Bread!)

Michael brought this plant home from his work the other day, they were giving them away (they give away the ones too dejected to sell.) I know it is some kind of pepper/chili but I am not sure what kind, it had no tag.

Michael says there was a sign by them that said “Do Not Eat” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is not edible, it just may have been treated with a bunch of chemicals. It might be some kind of ornamental though.

Peppers are an annual right? I might dry these peppers for decoration…

Does anyone know what variety this is?

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is? It is right outside our townhouse door.

I love the clusters of vivid orange berries that is has. The birds don’t seem to touch them though.

Tree Identified: European Rowan

Even more of a reason to love it, it is a sacred tree in Scandinavian myth (the first woman was made out of the rowan) and in Aegean lore the first rowan came from where the blood of an eagle fell on the ground.

You can make a jelly out of the berries too, but shouldn’t eat large quantities of them raw. According to Wikipedia various parts of the tree can be used for throat problems, bowel and vaginal irritations, eye problems, cramps and to remedy diarrhea.

I have a few clusters of berries that the tree let me harvest. I am drying them to add to my Autumn wreath.

I ran across this postcard on PostSecret:

Does it look like the Valley View Fire to you?

The maintenance people for our townhouse complex killed my rosemary. They were out spraying the other day and apparently the don’t know the difference between weeds in ground and a potted plant on my steps. Two days later the weeds and my rosemary are completely dead.

Arg! I’m pissed! That was my most used herb.

Anyhow, Tracy Holeton… I received a package from her with an adorable baby outfit in it but there was no note with it. The return address baby outfit from her, no note or anything. The return address is to a Tracy Holeton of Unico Inc. in Franksville, WI? I don’t know any Tracys.

Anyone know who my mystery woman is?

I was working on putting all the information I have on Lughnasadh together in an understandable order when I ran across this feast blessing. I have always rather liked it but I have no clue what the original source was. Does anyone recognize it?

Now is the Time of the First Harvest,
When the bounties of Nature give of themselves
So that we may survive
O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain,
Grant me the understanding of Sacrifice
As you prepare to deliver yourself
Under the sickle of the Goddess

And journey to the lands of Eternal Summer
O Goddess of the Dark Moon,
Teach me the secrets of rebirth
as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold.

I partake of the First Harvest,
Mixing its energies with mine
That I may continue my quest
For the starry wisdom of Perfection
O Lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun,
before Whom the Stars halt their courses,
I offer my thanks
For the continuing Fertility of the Earth.
May the nodding grain loose its seeds
To be buried in the Mother’s breast
Ensuring Rebirth in the Warmth of next Spring.

[EDIT: A commenter informed me that it originally appeared in "Wicca, A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham.]

My dad will be arriving in Spokane to visit on Lughnasadh, hopefully we won’t scare him too much, hehe.

Some people have asked me if I will be raising Damian in my spiritual path, the answer is yes and no. I have no desire to hide my spirituality with him or exclude him from the traditions Michael and I have formed (such as celebrating the sabbats.) I think family traditions are important and give a child memories to look back on later in life, much the way I fondly look back on Christmas and Easter now.

This will be his first Lughnasadh and he will be present for our celebration of course. As he grows I will explain as much of our beliefs to him as I feel he is ready to absorb. I also intend on teaching him other belief systems as well, and ultimately the choice if what he wishes to practice is his. There is no such thing as too much knowledge. When he is older, if he chooses to continue to follow my path, so be it, if he is called to another, so be it.

I have a question for mothers who have breastfed, what kind of nursing bra did you use?

I bought a cheap one from Walmart awhile ago (the only type that they had) and it is really uncomfortable now (I loath underwire and I don’t believe it really makes a difference.) I use to be a 36B cup but now I am a 36C. From what I understand when the baby is born my breasts will get even bigger? (Sweet.) My breast tissue is rather tender lately as well and going braless is not an option because I already need to wear breast pads almost all the time.

I don’t have a lot of disposable income so it needs to be reasonably priced. I don’t need it to be cute or lacy (never thought I would be saying that…) I need it to be effective. I put a few different kinds on my Amazon Baby Registry (scroll to the bottom) that look comfortable – has anyone used any of those types? What did you think of them?

Any other suggestions would be welcome too!

My parsley, basil and chives have all sprouted! The parsley was the last to come up, which was expected, but it is already taller then the basil. I am waiting for secondary leaves. I am not sure if I should thin the chives, aren’t they suppose to grow in clumps? (If you cannot tell, I’ve never grown chives from seed.)

I am still waiting for my morning glories to come up outside, but its only been 10 days.

I was also chopping a yellow bell pepper for my pasta salad today. When I sliced it open it was filled with mini green bells peppers.

I had to take a picture to ask if anyone had ever cut into a pepper and had it look like this? It still tasted fine so I just finished chopping it up and tossed it all in the salad.

Speaking of peppers, I may be banning myself from browsing Taste Spotting, it makes me drool way way wayyy too much and give me bad pregnancy cravings. I found this recipe for Pimientos de Padron, which I haven’t had since I lived in Spain. I waaaaant!

Okay, new mom question here…

I am organizing the nursery today and I noticed I don’t have crib sheets or bumpers. Then I started to wonder, how exactly do you layer all that stuff in the crib anyways? My baby books tell me everything that shouldn’t go in cribs but not what should. How odd is that?

So I looked it up online and now I am just utterly confused.

The crib mattress I have is waterproof, so do I need to get waterproof pads or do I just use sheets then? Do I need to get crib bumpers and why?

Help!

This is a photo of the front door of Michael and my townhouse.

I love my yellow tulips, they are so cheerful! Michael brought them home for me last week. I don’t know if I will be able to transplant them after the blooms die though. I have read mixed results of doing that as the bulbs were probably forced in a greenhouse before shipping to retailers.

Regarding the title of this post though, mornings glories. Am I asking for trouble if I plant a morning glory vine under that window? It will have a window box outside it shortly. I remember my parents having morning glories when I was growing up and they were so incredibly beautiful. However I remember them getting enormous and unruly.

So, if I plant one will it be impossible to control or will I be able to keep it on a trellis? My front door is west facing and I live in a zone 4 area by the way.

I’m not sure what else I am going to plant in that little bed yet though I like plants that I can eat (I am open to suggestions here.) I mights have a rather prolific amount of basil, parsley and chives shortly as I decided to grow them from seed. (If you are local you might be getting seedling gifts from me for awhile…)

I have a separate question too, still flower related though. What are these?:

I saw them in a raised bed in a parking lot today. They were a thick carpet of the most beautiful tiny purple flowers (the photo does not do them justice.)

I have a feeling most of my favorite flowers might be weeds…

EDIT: The purple flowers are called Creeping Phlox. Thank you for the id Aunt Ruth!

Does anyone know what this type of beading is called? More specifically what is the technique called to attach the beads with links of wire like that? I want to look up what kind of wire I need for it.

I have four wooden kitchen chairs (like this one) and I love them very much (not only are they pretty, they were free!) However they are not the most comfortable things for extended sitting, and since I sit at the kitchen table when I use my laptop, I do more extended sitting then I care to admit.

I want to make cushions for them that are like this. I can’t seem to find a tutorial online that gives me basic information on doing that. (I don’t want to buy cushions when I can make them for cheap and have them match my kitchen.) I am thinking of just tracing the seat of the chair, allowing a bit for seam allowance, then cutting two pieces that size, sew together, stuff, add buttons and voila, cute seat cushion?

Am I on the right track here?

(If they play Love Song by Sara Bareilles on the radio one more time… Can we say over played? Not even the baby likes it anymore, when it comes on he kicks so hard my whole belly moves! He likes Red Hot Chili Peppers though.)

(From Two Lumps which eternally reminds me of Windigo and Aos…)

A question for cat connoisseurs…

Windigo is obsessive about cleaning not just his own fur, but also Aos’s. He will clean himself and Aos to the point of throwing up some pretty scary solid hairballs. Some of you might remember last year he got a bowel obstruction (which was passed after a couple days at the vet) it turned out to be a hair blockage of his own making.

Now the weather is warming again and he is starting the obsessive licking cycle again, the hairballs are also just beginning to start again. I brush him, but honestly no hair comes off with the cat brush. Is he pulling his fur out? He doesn’t seem to be going bald anywhere, maybe his tongue is more efficient then my brush. I use a natural hairball formula which seems to work okay when he gets it once or twice a day.

Has anyone else experience this problem with one of their cats? Could I be doing anything else? I really do not want this to turn into another $500 vet bill.

Someone I know at work sugguested that I get some cat grass from Petco, she said it would aid their digestion. Do you think it would help? Windigo and Aos are indoor cats, so they don’t any roughage from the great outdoors. (I am not against letting cats outdoors by the way, we just happen to live 20 feet from 29th Avenue which is a main road in Spokane.) Aos doesn’t get the hairballs Windigo does, however that is probably because he lets Windigo clean him instead of doing it himself…

Poor George has spider mites… He is my little cypress tree who stays near the front door. (Yes, I name my houseplants.) I don’t know how I didn’t notice the infestation, now his branches are dry and brittle. George’s rootball is really tight in his pot so I am going to try repotting it, as well as doing the water thing (a strong water stream to the underside of the leaves will knock off/drown mites.)

I read you can cut the water 50/50 with rubbing alcohol too and spray it on the underside of the leaves to kill mites. Has anyone had any experience with that method?

Damn you spider mites.

(I drew this last February, I was originally going to henna it on the head of my dream but I found out my drum is treated, so it won’t take the henna. I need an untreated drum…)

I do not know when I saw my first snake but since I can remember I visualized snakes when I was scared. Because of this I see them as a protective power animal. When I was upset the image of myself covered in snakes would come to mind, they would all be hissing at whatever bothered me. Oddly it was not until recently that I had too much of an interest in the different species of snakes, maybe because I was always covered in a variety of snakes until the past year or so.

I had two snake dreams last night:

I was trying to find my glasses [this happens occasionally in my dreams] and instead I found two snakes. One was red and black banded (kind of like this one – thanks for the picture Kyrss!) and the other was black and red with a yellow band between the stripes (Kyrss said it might be a coral snake?) I was surrounded by mirrors in this dream.

I didn’t get much of a closer look as I couldn’t find my glasses and the dream began to fade.

The next dream actually happened while I napped this morning:

I was standing under the World Tree and there was a large snake hanging from one of its branches. I had my glasses in this dream I guess and I saw the snake quite well as I was only standing a couple feet from it.

[It was greenish/brown, more green then brown, with egg shaped yellow eyes and round pupils. It's scales were quite well defined because each one seemed to have black line around the edge. It was moderately skinny snake that was maybe 4 feet long. I am thinking it might be a boomslang?]

The tree was beautiful, it had branches that were in all seasons and I could hear the calls of various animals in its branches. Both the sun and the moon were high above, stars were out in one portion of the sky. I recognized one of my guides, a white raven on a branch near by as well as a green mamba. They did not seem to notice me in the dream though, so I returned focus to the first snake. He did not speak to me in the dream but I felt at peace with him near. I also got a strong mental image of a snake being my backbone and the pathway between my chakras.

The snake is one of my favorite aspects of symbolism. I wrote about it in my diary awhile ago:

In ever culture you will find legends of the serpent. It is a creature who cannot leave the ground, therefor tied to base desires and material matters. But it is also a creature about to shed its own skin and because of this, it is a powerful symbol of resurrection, rebirth and self-awakening. These two factors give the snake its dual nature, linking it both to the Heavens and the Earth.

Since becoming pregnant I have found myself more drawn to the snake as my totem. In my dreams she often appears as the blue eyes bringer of wisdom, as well as a birther of creation and manifestation. In a lot of ways her dyadic nature is reflected in another of my totems, the white raven. I wonder if there are any ties between the vulture and the snake? Weren’t they both on the Pharaoh’s crown?

In the past year I have noticed three reoccurring snakes in my meditations and dreams. The first is the green mamba, the second is a black and white sea krait. Both these always have blue eyes, though in the physical world there eyes are different. The third snake, and most recent is this black/yellow/red snake or red/black, which has only appeared fleetingly since I have become pregnant.

Any thoughts on possible meaning of either of these dreams? I have my own thoughts but I would like to hear yours first.

If we didn’t eat anything they link to cancer, aging, diabetes etc, we would all starve to death! No salt, no carbs, no sugar, no red meat, none of these fish, no dairy… (I am sick and cranky today, so pardon the mini rant.)

Whatever happened to “everything in moderation”?

Sometimes I want to punch these dietary Nazis I run across. On the news today, they had one (not as bad as most) talking about how sugar (any kind, from refined to fruit!) is bad for your skin and causes aging. You know, this guy makes me want to eat more sugar because he had horrible skin! It was stretched over his bones like a zombie (of course that may be the face lifts, so healthy…)

Of course fruit is my favorite food group too, so that may be the source of my annoyance.

Currently I love grapefruit drizzled with a little honey, sometimes I will eat several a day, but I am decently sure that is a pregnancy craving since it only started a few weeks ago. Otherwise I adore soft fruit, nothing done to it. Just organic and picked when sun ripened. Peaches, strawberries, blueberries, yum! I love pomegranates too, especially made into a dressing over a fresh spinach salad.

My grandma use to make jam business, all natural products and it was delicious. More then the jam though I just liked sneaking handfuls of fresh fruit from the storage bins… I am sure she knew I took them, the blueberry stained lips must have been a dead giveaway.

Sooo, what are some of your favorite foods?

OMG the Golden Compass comes out Friday *le fan spazz!* I can’t wait! Hope it does the book justice, though I have heard that they downplay the book’s Gnostic themes. I feel they are not anti-religion but rather invite readers to think about their faith (which cannot possibly be a bad thing.)

Anyhow, fangirling aside, my lower back in killing me, totally throbbing pain, I don’t even want to move. So I blog instead, obviously. And I have a question for any of my French food connoisseurs blog readers:

When I was little and lived in France I ate this dish made with cheese and potatoes. The cheese is melted in this special little heating machine (that can sit on a table) on these little lipped spatulas and then poured over tiny potatoes and eaten. The cheese was pale yellow and quite softly and it tasted oh so good – I think it had lots of peppercorns too. So what is this food called?

Cuz I am so craving it now.

EDIT: Raclette, that is what it is called!

I seem to be breaking my habit as of late of no talking about my dreams. I have always had quite vivid dreams and I have a rather keen memory of them, I even remember one I had when I was as young as five. A lot of people say they are simply pregnancy dreams, and I know a lot of them are about my pregnancy but they are just as vivid as before. Maybe it is the pregnancy that is making me want to share them though! Still, I am coming to like outside perspectives on my dreams. I do not know why I am so nervous about sharing my dreams, maybe because I do not know anyone who dreams as vividly as I do, or maybe it is because they all just feel so personal.

So anyhow, I had this dream last night:

I am walking among ancient overgrown ruins, the sun dimly lights them. I can feel the sacredness of the place resonating deep in my bones and I walk in almost total silence. I find myself standing before a wall of rubble, in the middle of it is a stone doorway, the door has long rotted away. The wall and doorway is covered in soft moss with thousands of vivid tiny red flowers. I heard a hissing sound and look through the doorway, there is a huge vulture standing there. It spreads its wings and hissed again, I feel drawn forward, as if the vulture was beaconing me to enter.

I want to explain this bird as well as I can, if anyone recognizes it as a particular species I would love to know. Maybe it has some kind of indigenous significance. Of course maybe the bird is a creation of my dream mind too.

I am pretty sure it was a vulture as it had a bald pink/yellow head and neck. There was a ruffle of feathers at the base of its neck, initially all the feathers I could see were silky black. The black feathers made me notice its feet in particular as they were really light gray and quite contrasting to it’s feathers. It’s feet were not webbed and had long talons. When the bird spread its wings to beacon me forward there was a large white stripe on the underside of each of them, its wingspan was enormous, much wider then the door, I bet they were 9 or 10 feet from wingtip to wingtip (the dream may have over exaggerated this.) The bird had a bald skin “pouch” on its chest too. The only sounds it made in the dream was a kind of hissing sound, which was unnerving at first but became kind of comforting.

I reach the threshold of the door and the vulture turns and walk/hopped forward. Beyond it I see a pool of water. The water is an opaque green and seems to swirl around as if it has a mind of its now. I know that it is a bottomless sacred well. The vulture stops by the side of the water. I approach.

When I reach the edge of the pool I sit cross legged beside of it and instinctively run my fingers lightly over its surface. A gray mist rises from the water and takes the form of two women. They step from the mist to the ground beside me, the vulture bows with his wings half open and I rise to my feet. I feel a little surprised/frightened. One of the woman is old, not hunched and crippled, but ancient tall and proud. She is a wise crone. The other woman is a chimera, she has the body of a woman and head of a vulture with huge black eyes. She had a silky white feather ruffle at the base of her next and some down her arms. She was wearing a golden necklace with this symbol on it (sorry for it’s roughness, I made it quickly in Gimp.) The vulture stands beside the vulture woman and she rests her hand on it’s head.

The vulture woman reaches out and touches me between the eyes and the crone says something. I find myself in the desert, I am flying as a crow. I look down and see a dead woman, vultures are eating her body. The vulture from the ruins flies past me and lands near the body (he is much larger then the other carrion eaters) the other vultures scatter and maintain a respectful distance while he eats. The vulture eats the body’s heart and womb and takes flight, I follow him as he returns to the ruins. It is now night.

The vulture throws up a dimly glowing orb at the feet of the vulture woman and returns to her side. The vulture woman picks up the orb reverently and gives it to the crone. The crone looks at me and begins to speak something along the lines of:

“I am the bearer of the flames, I give light to their darkness. I guide them as they go to the source and return. I am the keeper of this Mystery, this process that the Infinite cannot touch.”

As she speaks the orb rises into the sky and becomes one with the light of the moon and starlight, the moon is wanning. As she continues to speak the moon passes from wanning, to new, to waxing. As the moon waxes a new brightly shining orb returns from the sky, it is as bright as a star. As the moon reaches full the orb comes to rest in the crone’s hands.

“We are all of the source, we are one and many, we are connected and the connection. I am one aspect of Creation, that of wilderness and woman. I am the tomb and womb, I am the midwife of life and death, I am healer and nurturer, as are you. The threshold is a sacred point of life.”

As this point she hands me the orb and I feel it enter my body. I know that my baby had just received it’s soul. I feel the vulture’s head under my hand and I look down, its is comforting.

And that was the dream. Woke up with a massive migraine, gotta love that.

In other news I think when I find the money I am going to buy a blank scrapbook so I can document my pregnancy. Maybe I will turn it into our newborn scrapbook too. I keep reading I should get an acid free one. I am hoping they say that on the packaging in Joanns…

~~~

EDIT:

(Photo from Wikipedia.)
I am nearly certain the bird in the dream is a California Condor (Thank you so much for the id Atara!)

Neat little youtube video about them. I like the shot of the three sunning their wings.

The California Condor is an 11,000 year old species of vulture that currently only lives in the western coastal mountains of the United States. The California Condor are the only surviving member of it’s genus (Gymnogyps) and is critically endangered. This vulture has the largest wingspan of any bird found in North America (10 feet!) and is one of the heaviest. They are one of the world’s longest-living birds, with lifespans of up to 50 years. I found this picture of the size comparison between a condor and a 6-foot man:

Holy crap that’s big!

Condors were poaching and poisoned nearly to extinction, until the United States government capture of all the remaining wild condors in 1987 – only 22 birds! In 1991 they were reintroduced into the wild. As of November 2007 there are 302 individuals living, 155 of them in the wild. You know I didn’t use to be so fond of vultures but mu opinion is changing a bit, these guys are quite majestic. I wish I could fly at 15,000 feet for 150 miles for a day…

Condors were considered sacred to some Native American tribes and capable of providing communication with the supernatural world. The Chumash tribe believes that if the condors become completely extinct, so will the tribe. Some people also believe that the Thunderbird is actually the condor.

~~~

EDIT #2:

Ok, more commenter thanks going out – thank you Jett! He suggesting the Egyptian link of the circular symbol in the dream.

I looked into it and found this site. Apparently the symbol is called a Shen Ring, it was “a stylized loop of rope with each end visible” and commonly seen as a symbol of eternity.

Not only that but it was carried by the Egyptian goddess Nekhbet, a vulture goddess who was the patron of Upper Egypt as well as the guardian of mothers and children.

(Pretend that I actually have red or green tapered candles in those silver holders…)

I suppose I should post some kind of update, I’m still alive and kicking. Making lots of candles and pulling out Yuletide decorations. Do you prefer silvers and golds or reds and greens, or all of the above (like me!) I don’t know what it is about this year but I am in the festive mood earlier then usual. It is not even Thanksgiving yet after all. I am putting together a Yuletide newsletter for Temple Free Spirit; reading the contributions and writing my own article (about the history of gift giving) are definitely putting me in the holiday spirit.

Now we just need some snow!

What else… Not to much else that I am willing to publicly talk about it going on other then the usual baby ramblings. I hardly had any morning sickness today. Yay! I am tired a lot. Not so yay! And I am prone to random spells of bubbly excitement interspersed with tears. I also have this nagging feeling that my uterus is slowly but surely absorbing my brain…

Anyhow, back to candles. I am designing some holiday sets, I hope they look as lovely in wax as they do in my head.

Should the skeleton stay by the door through the Winter season?
Would it be too morbid to leave him up but put a Santa hat on him?