The mourning moon...or wait the beaver moon? full frost moon?

So I missed the post about last nights full moon. yeah...I'm as sick as sick gets and under a lot of moving stress so you'll just have to forgive me, but I do have good news and info about last nights full moon so keep reading.

Last nights full moon I know of by 2 names, one name being the mourning moon and the other being the beaver moon.
The reasons behind the name mourning moon is because during this time of year before the winter solstice we have to look back and see our past selves. what did we accomplish? what fears did we face? did we gain or lose anything?

Needless to say most of what's been on my mind as of late has been my stress of moving to a new house and the stress of me being sick which causes me to be more sick (negative feedback loop). I have what we call a "giant ghost" in the making.

The other name being the beaver moon is quite interesting so I had to look it up. I've heard of the name before but never the reasoning so I read the farmers almanac (Canadian version) Where I also found out it was also called the full frost moon.

picture from http://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/category/beavers/

Apparently this time of year was/is the last time to set beaver traps before all the water froze/freezes over. Pretty simple but hey paganism is usually nature based and you don't get much more nature based than the animals and the seasons.









Now for moving.
We bought a house, We bought a house *does happy dance before tipping over coughing*
We have been looking for a while but recently found an awesome house with a large yard and enough bedrooms to either have a renter or start a family.
Buying a house is stressful and expensive, lawyers fees, insurance, down payment, moving costs, changes in address, condo fees (yeah we chose to live in a housing association part of town cause we couldn't find a non association house that wasn't falling apart). And we're doing this all in November/December...right before yule and Christmas.
It feels like we're yelling "lets throw around all our money shall we?!?"
So yeah I'm happy, excited and stressed about that but thankful that we won't have to live in this horrid piece of shit apartment ever again. And I get to plan out for my little veggie garden, live closer to family and friends and live in a much safer neighbourhood.
We take possession legally on the new moon of December but don't start move in until the day after so hopefully as the moon grows into becoming full again so will we grow into this awesome house and have things work out for the better. Sounds like perfect timing, no? well it wasn't planned at all, we chose the possession date and move in date without even looking at the calendar and based off my work schedule, a few weeks ago, I only realized this week what phase the moon was going to be in.

So now what's on my mind exactly at this moment?
"how many people can we get/con into move heavy shit in exchange for pizza and beer?"
"what should the layout for my new home office look like for my webcomic design space?"
"raised beds or tilled garden beds?"
"what am I going to grow in those beds?"
"what kind of puppy do I want?"
"OMG how the hell are we actually affording this?" (money wise w're actually doing good, I just don't know how we managed it).


Well here's for a busy and exciting 2 and 1/2 more weeks.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

Sorry I'm late again, Samhain and the hunters moon

Hey all I'm late I'm late I'm late, but I have work and personal issues in the way so you'll have to forgive me.

I'm lumping samhain and the hunters moon together in one post this year as they have come in the same week and close enough to affect each other.

The hunters moon came first on October 29th, I call it the hunters moon but I have also heard of it called the drying grass moon and the travel moon.

The hunters moon is named so because around this time people would be hunting to build their stores full of meat for the winter.

Oddly enough if you skip to Samhain, Samhain was also a time to slaughter and prepare for the winter (or maybe not odd?), Samhain falls on October 31st through November 1st though I have heard of people celebrating it October 25 through to November the 5th.
Samhain is also celebrated as the death night for the old year (the witches new year I've heard it called)
Samhain was often used for good celebration as well, people can and would tell fortunes about the coming year as well as some cultures bobbing for apples believing that the first apple caught would signify the first person to be married that year.

Samhain was/is also a time where spirits and ancestors from one's past can cross the veil and visit. People often leave out supper, or in the case of a serve yourself feist an empty plate would be left so the spirit could serve themself.
But just as a happy ancestor can come through the veil so can a murderer or other undesirable spirit so people must be careful. But hey that's where carving turnips came from. people use to carve turnip lanterns to light the way outside and to ward against malicious spirits. More commonly used now is the pumpkin which I am thankful for because turnips are hard to carve.
There are other stories about the carved turnip involving malicious fairies and also how people would leave food outside to gain the fairies favor for the upcoming year, but I don't know much more about that. I suggest any fairy work be researched elsewhere because I'm pretty clueless about fairies.
But here's a lantern for your enjoyment courtesy of wikipedia.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

Coming out of the broom closet

Hey someone mentioned to me the other day that pagan pride days has come and gone and so has the coming out of the broom closet day.
Now I don't really observe/ take note of these days because personally for me there is no point. For some people they might be great and all wonderful but I tend to see the dark side of these days more often.

For pagan pride day, or any pride day really, all I see people doing is rubbing other people's faces in things. No really, have all the pride in the world, it's good for you to take pride in what you love but if everyone had a pride day we would run out of days really quick. Not to mention that pride days tend to piss off people and lead to greater inequality and greater prejudice.
To find true equality we have to act like equals and expect equal respect. If someone turns to me and is prejudice, I try to educate them but if they're stuck in their ways like one of my elder neighbors, then leave them. Don't let them do anything to bring you down and get proper help if need be but in the same breath don't give them ammunition by being all uber out prideful and rubbing their nose in it just to spite them. Just realize that their mind is refusing to open and there isn't much you can do about it except damage control and to be ready to educate if they are to ever change their mind.

Now for coming out of the broom closet day.
I'm fine with it, maybe it gives people that last speck of courage needed to come out and show their true colours, which is basically what this day's about but I just hope that it doesn't push people to come out at the wrong time. I hope people have common sense to not come out in a giant family gathering of highly religious priests unless they have a few on their side for back up but I do know that sometimes peer pressure can make people come out at the wrong time because "that's what the rest of my coven is doing". If your coven jumped off a cliff would you do it?
Maybe the best time to come out was a week before, a week after, a few months or years after....or not at all for some people due to violent circumstances. The best time to come out is when you feel comfortable and safe.

Hell 8 years later and I'm still in the process, you don't need to wave it around or yell it from the rooftops.  Tell people you trust not to make a fuss first, then move on to harder and more stubborn targets, close minded people may need to be told while in a group of mutually supportive family or friends (please don't make the close minded people feel threatened, that makes it worse)  then when you run out of close family and friends then you really don't have to do much else except tell people if they ask or make assumptions.

Coming out of the broom closet can be huge like putting out a giant book series and letting the world know, to a gradual thing where only people who are interested will ever find out.

I fall in the second camp I think, if people want or need to know yes I will tell them and I wear my pentacle with pride but on the other hand religion doesn't come up in most daily conversations so not everyone I deal with knows yet and that's fine as well not everyone needs to know your brand of crazy just like you don't need to know everyone elses brand of crazy.
If we honestly need to know what every last persons brand of crazy was then I think it would be a pretty good idea to tattoo is on people or at least ask everyone to wear a shirt, but again that can backfire and cause bad things like genocide, so lets keep that can of worms well away from people who should not tempt it.

So broom closet, everyone has one but not everyone needs to come out of it.  It's all up to you and you're situation. 

Blessed Be

~Flaming

Magical Turkey Bird. Canadian thanks giving

Mabon/fall equinox and the harvest moon

Hey I'm back!
After 2 weeks of vacation, tonnes of work, and injuring my hand I am back.

First course of action Mabon which is today Sept 21 Saturday! 2012...well actually the calendar I have says that it's tomorrow but I'm doing my stuff for 3 -4 days anyways because I have Fri-Mon this week off . I work a 10/4 schedule where I get every second weekend off after working 10 hours a day for 10 days.

Mabon is kinda supposed to be the end of the harvest that was started Lammas, the day and night are now equal and now starts the decent into winter and shorter days. The God prepares to descend into waiting for he will die during Samhain and wait to be reborn during the spring, The Goddess knowing that she is pregnant with the Gods new incarnation will also start to feel the shortening days as she prepares to say farewell to her God and give birth to him once again.    
Nature, like the God is preparing for death by slowing down or stopping growth of its bounty and the earth waits for it's rest period when she can prepare to blossom once again in the spring.

Well here's the deal because of frost starting to become very real in the mornings where I live my tomatoes were done a week or so ago. The tomato vine is ~90% dead now with very little green left to it. I got quite a few fruit from that vine and my future in-laws are being buried alive with tomatoes so they sent us some. I know it's best not to store them in the fridge but they're ripening too fast for me to preserve them otherwise while working 10+hours a day. These are a mixture of beefsteak (the heirloom) and big beef (the hi-bred) Yes I do save my seeds for my largest and most delicious tomatoes using 2 methods as I am experimenting to see which will give me the highest fertility rate. I don't really care if I get hi-breds  as long as they are healthy and delicious, and as we know through in-breeding and the banana population too much of the same genetics can increase susceptibility to bug and disease. I will make another post on which methods of seed saving I use and maybe later when I do replant I will show my results...if I don't forget.

Like the inside of my fridge? I think I can see pickled wieners, eggs, tomatoes, home extracted coffee extract for ice coffee, a random empty bread bag and I'm pretty sure that's marmalade.

I also brought in my herb shelves so that I can cheat the system and continue my harvest of herbs all winter long.
Top left is basil which this particular is 2 years strong, top left is garlic which is great because every part from root to leaf is edible.
mid left is white sage also 2 years strong with rosemary on the right that just exploded this year after almost dying during year one.
bottom left is parsley 2 years also and hanging on, with oregano on the right which was doing fine a few weeks ago but looks like is starting to dies off a bit. The oregano is two years old and seems to follow a odd cycle of 3 months good, a month die off then very slow growth the rest of the year until it feels ready to expand again. Is that normal?

In the background you can see my strawberry plant going strong but soon I will have to start cutting it back so that it can survive the snow and come back next year.

Now for next weeks harvest moon on the 29th. Also called the corn moon and sometimes the barley moon because it is now a great time to harvest those two, I personally prefer to call it the harvest moon because I harvest many of my plants around this moon.
Now the harvest moon in the northern hemisphere acts strange, no not all the creeps come out. The moon usually rises later each night but during the few days around the harvest moon the moon rises very close to the same time night after night.  The almanac explains it better than I can ->  here .

Well I'm off to do some laundry, bake bread and just general cleaning around the apartment.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

The full moons a commin! The blue moons a commin!

And what am I doing for the Blue moon this weekend?
Trying to sleep because I have to wake up and drive early the next morning. That's right I need to drive across the province for my 2 week vacation/ wedding planning/ visiting relatives.
Hopefully my car will be fixed by then, because so far the shop is having a hard time finding the parts it needs.

That reminds me *note to self phone the shop for update on car today*

Well what will everyone else be doing? Well L is driving with me and C of ravens is looking after our animals. I have no clue who else is doing what though.

Maybe someone can leave a comment about what they're doing this weekend?

Blessed Be
~Flaming

fall gardening

Does it sound odd to you that I'm having a gardening post so close to fall. You know the non growing season?

Well don't be scared I'm not sowing my seeds just yet, but I am still preparing my containers for next year.

I don't want to be in such a rush to get things done in spring so I do what I can in fall to streamline things. And with a container garden this can be easy, though you can do some of these things in a regular garden as well.

I just got back in from filling some pots with compost and small organic material for next spring. As pots become available due to fall death and harvest I can add the old soil into a compost heap for over wintering and refill these pots with matured compost that I had going over the year. This accomplishes 3 things,
1) I don't rush to fill everything in spring so I need only to add seeds/saplings.
2)The rich soil gets to freeze in uncovered or insulated containers during -40°C winters. This helps kill any harmful bugs/virus/bacteria that may have gotten into the compost during the year.
3) Allows me to compost previously used soils with other organics to re-enrich them for the next year (is re-enrich a word?).

you know what else you can do in fall?
Buy cheap seeds.
Seeds are usually good for up to 5 years (some types are exceptions but meh those are usually good for 2-3 years). Just check the package date on your seeds and you can stock up on cheap clearance seeds for the spring. Other gardening tools and items are also on sale during the fall so stock up if you have space. Anything that needs assembly or preparation can be done in fall so it is ready to go come spring.

re-organize your space during fall for less damage to plants as moving your pots around in spring can damage or stress your plants causing them to lose their fruit/flowers. And again it lightens the load to move around empty pots.

Fertilize your pots in fall so that the soil is rich for your seedlings. This can also prevent fertilizer burn if done properly because you are allowing time for fertilizer to spread out in the soil instead of being concentrated in one spot.


See plenty of things out can do to make spring less busy.


Blessed Be
~Flaming

it's weird

it's weird when I wake up for work at 4 in the morning and see that I have 2 blogger visits already today.

learning new systems, taking your time vs. jumping head first

Before I start typing much of anything I'm going to have to admit this.
My teaching style is next to non existent. I believe than one should learn 90%+ of the material on their own and discover it for themselves while the left over 10%- should be questions that the person is truly stuck on and has exhausted most if not all personal options. This ~10% needs a push from a peer or "teacher" to get the ball rolling again.
Why do I think this way?
Well in many cases (I can't quote an exact #) people learn both faster and learn more detail about the stuff they find out on their own through their own research and curiosity while people who are forced into lecture tend to have info go in one ear and out the other (think high school).
As long as there is someone available to help in tough times and to guide a person towards a safe path then there should be no problem in the student learning through their own means.

Now here's the story,

C of Ravens bought a new tarot deck this week and has/had no clue how to use them. He came to me to be taught and honestly I know that he is capable of learning on his own, after finding the book that came with the deck in his pocket (which he swears he never put there) he just started trying to do readings on L and himself.
Now avoiding the celtic cross because of it's complexity and the fact the C never really tried to understand tarot before, I suggested doing one card a day to get to know his deck better and to build a relationship with his deck (you know a small suggestion here and there never hurt anyone). C then continued to do a spread for L that I honestly didn't pay attention to because I was reading a book on the next couch. That spread was a bit complicated for C because he had/has no understanding on what his cards are trying to say to him so obviously trying to read this spread took over an hour with minimal results.
But that's ok! still a learning experience and I done the exact same thing when I was learning the first time, but I had a contrary deck while C has what seems to be a more understanding deck.

After this long spread he took it down a notch to a 3 card fan which worked a bit better, but by now he was noticing a pattern, so me and L injected the suggestion that maybe his cards and himself were speaking 2 different languages and that they needed to learn how to communicate with each other first before doing large readings.

Now he's doing the 1 card a day reading in the mornings to get to know his deck better.

Yeah it took him longer to figure out that the 1 card a day was a little easier system to get to know his cards better but he learned it on his own and he will remember it better from here on out.
Much better than doing homework and having the "what if's"

There is a difference between jumping head first and taking your time and while the vast majority of people would rather do it now, this approach tends to leave a lot of decks and other items gathering dust when the person deems it too hard to do.
and yes taking your time is usually better because you gain a greater understanding of the items you are working with.
But there are exceptions and I encourage people to try what ever may work better for them (under proper supervision of course, as some things may be dangerous).

Blessed Be
~Flaming

and I went missing, sorry

I got a job this month that has me working ~10 days at a time with more than 8 hours a day...That is why I missed the corn moon and Lammas.

So yes great news, I am working again. This change for this month will have me open to update every 2 weekends. Bad news? The job contract expires at the end of the month, so I might be out of a job in September.

Now about the last full moon and Lammas. I'll post another piece on that and see if I can change the date to a previous one instead.


Another thing happened this week...I overdosed on ginger. My monthly was taking longer than normal and in an attempt to speed things along I increased my ginger intake a bit too much.


How do you know if you've had too much ginger?
easy you spend the next 12 hours on the toilet defecating non stop.  Harmless but annoying and stinky.


well blessed be
~Flaming

Lammas and the corn moon

Lucky this year that Lammas and the corn moon landed on the same day.  roll everything up and work some powerful shit now because you have a lot at your disposal when two days like this collide.

Depending on where you live the corn moon can either be in august or September and it is pretty self explanatory. The corn will be ready soon.

For those of you who call this the sturgeon moon it's because they are easier to catch this month.

For those who call it the red moon it's because in some parts of the world the moon looks red in the morning due to the haze created when the sun rises.

And last but not the least in my mind is the name grain moon, similar to the corn moon the grain is also almost ready for harvest.

Lammas, well time for one of the harvest festivals I guess. Grain is the crop I will focus on because I love baking breads. various types of breads and sweet baked treats are delicious this time of year. This is a cross quarter between the solstice and the equinox. various places and people will be doing different things to celebrate while I'll be working.

All the seeds I have planted so far this year have come to fruit in the form of a new job. It's only a month long contract but it is still right on time. I need to thank the powers that be (gods and goddesses) for helping me in this and also celebrate with some good eats.


Oh and though I'm not growing corn or grains it is almost time to harvest my tomatoes.

Blessed Be

~Flaming

Favorite card spread

Hey
Well C is sitting next to me right now and is asking me to post here about my favorite card spread.

Well C...


Celtic cross for the more complex looks and 3 card of general everyday shit.


Laters and Blessed Be

~Flaming

MY WEB COMIC

It is up, online, advertised and the first page will be posted at 10pm my time tonight. after that a new page will be posted on the last page of every month.

                                                             Adventures in Silence


Blessed Be

~Flaming is dancing

where there's smoke, there's fire. And there is a lot of smoke

A bit creepy now but when I look out my window all I see is smoke.
Why?

Well over the last few days this city has had a lot of lightning which has set off a total of 5 news fires in the surrounding woodland, these add to the other 7 fires already burning in the region. Yeah a total of 12 forest fires are raging near the city now and the city is full of smoke.

This happened last year as well and we didn't have to evacuate, though we were very close to having to evacuate last year. I hope that this year is less smokey and that again we do not have to evacuate.

Wish me and this little city luck?

Blessed Be
~Flaming Pagan threatened by her own element.

html css and coding update

an update for here


so the schedule is completely out of wack because of my lack of knowledge and the fact that I forgot to add a few things to the list.
so here's an updated schedule


-contact page (working on it now just need to add email address/create a new one for the comic) done by July 12 (hopefully) Done
-build table for character page ( working on it but will be an ongoing project when new characters join) hopefully first drft posted between the 15-20th July)
-actually draw the portraits for the character page (see previous date) (in progress)  now typing Done and Posted on the site
-Extras page...I made it but I need to decide what to put in it and I need to  and I need to figure out mouse over dropdown menus (probably ongoing and its delay will not affect release date/ low priority) not doing drop down menu now. 
- fix bugs (on going)
-Buy the domain name and hosting (actually I'm debating using a free service at first to judge traffic before spending almost $100, will talk to L about it later this week)
-submit to top web comics by the 30th for voting and advertising (make thumbnail and all needed banners and images for voting)




again I may or may not accomplish this schedule but I'm trying




Blessed Be
~Flaming








edit IT'S DONE!!!!!

kitty

I will lie on your arm so you cannot escape. Bwahahahahaha!

Brilliant blogger award

That is all


... Thank you and Blessed Be

~Dancing Flaming Pagan

Basil

Hey
People probably already know that I grow a lot of edibles, it's not that uncommon in a pagan house/apartment to be honest so this update should be boring.

I have a pot of basil, it's been growing for a year and it had gotten to the point where over 3/4 of the leaves couldn't get any light anymore. So I pruned it for its own good.

It's still large but it can air out now and I have 2 racks of basil that I plant on drying in the oven. This way it'll last up to a year.

...with a still living plant I don't think we can use this much basil in a year, we were using it on a regular basis while it grew to the monstrous size that it did and it's still large enough to harvest small amounts from. So I need to start forcing basil on people again.

I use to force chives on people before but now I need to find those people (I think they're avoiding me because of the chives) and force basil on them as well.

This plant is awesome.

Grow basil, it's more than worth it.

2 racks of fresh basil after the washing but before heading into the oven.

How long will basil live anyways?




Blessed Be
~Flaming

Blessed, Buck, and thunder moon

The full moon is coming up soon (July the 3rd this year) and I figure I should write a little blurb on it because I feel like it...That's kinda what I do right?

Well I know this moon by 3 names Blessed or Blessing moon, The buck or antler moon, and the thunder moon.

I have no clue behind the story on the Blessed moon so I'll leave t at that but I do know about the other names.

The Buck moon also refereed to as the antler moon has those names for the same reason.
Many animals donning antlers either start growing or do the majority of their antler growth during this month. The bucks are maturing and growing their antlers. Switch the year around obviously for south of the border...add 6 months and that gives you a Buck moon in Janurary I think. But I'm north of the border, FAR north so this is my buck moon.

The story behind the Thunder moon is quite self explanatory, this month is more likely than any other month to have thunder storms, end of story...actually I heard thunder this morning, nothing now though only gentile rain.


ok now I have one more topic to think on then I have to go back to coding my website again...I don't like css *pouts*


Blessed Be
~Flaming

Photo found on googe images. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbechler/6106483849/

html, css, table, div and chairs OH MY!

Some of you may know that I am a slightly talented artist....very slightly 
and well I have been toying with the idea of putting up a webcomic for some time now, so I went ahead and started drawing pages...that was a few months now, I have enough pages to last a few months (think of it as a buffer) and well enough is enough.
I have to actually now sit down and code the darn webpage and post everything online...It has nothing to do with paganism though it has many magical elements in in.
Why am I posting this here, well I need to post a finish date somewhere so that I have someone or something other than family that is holding me to a date. So my blog is now holding me to a date...but not only a date but a schedule!


By July the 2nd I want to have the last tweeks to the cover done
By July 6th I want to have the basic overall coding done, This is taking more time than expected
By July 7th I want to have the cover page up
July 8th day of rest...that and my family will demand attention, I'll even post here to tell you how far I am along.
July 9th a contact the author page coded working on this now and even added a "extras" page
July 10th designed and drawn character page
July 11th  character page coded and up along with the first page on or before now. And a schedule made for updating. 
By July 15 I want to submit my link to topwebcomics, shouldn't be too hard because family will only demand attention for most of the day...right?


Yeah so hopefully by the 15 the page will be somewhat functional and I'll post a link to it then. I may edit this list but I should take no longer than July 25 to complete the list.


~Flaming Pagan needs a nap




UPDATE!
OH MY GODDESS I am so behind.
this update is July the 7th and I'm seriously debating if I should just hire a coder.
What I have done is highlighted in fuchsia and what I'm stuck on is in yellow, but in all seriousness I'm almost done the basic overall coding.

And on a lighter note, the code is less likely to mess up when I'm coding in my PJ's.

paying for services.

I've seen in the last few days people have started talking about paying for services rendered, mostly from what I've seen everyone falls into one of 3 camps. Obviously 2 extreme ends and a happy middle world, I think I belong somewhat to the middle world but people have the hardest time judging themselves so I may be wrong about this one.

The first group of people believe that it should all be for free...no these are not just the people seeking these survives, there are clergy and teachers that fall into this category and it seems like this category is one of the more accepted ones.  There are clergy that will officiate for free as long as their calendar is accepting of the time, teachers and covens that will teach anyone who comes by for nothing more than the occasional gift.
This is all fine and dandy on the small scale but it can be quite costly for the clergy and teacher once you add in supplies needed and travel costs (gas).

Then there are those in the middle category who don't charge for their services but will require to be reimbursed for the cost of supplies and travel cost. I personally fall into this category as when I do teach I often go through at least double the supplies than I normally would alone, sometimes having to use supplies that I normally do not use is another cost, and if we have to travel to a place that I normally wouldn't travel to is also costly. It all adds up. I don't charge for my time, just for my expenses. Though a gift of food or something is always welcome ;)
For those who don't wish to pay me for my costs they can easily contact me and I can give them a list of things needed for that particular time and lesson so that they bring the required materials themselves. Honestly I prefer that option because it not only allows students to find a better deal but it stop the cash transaction and teaches the students where to look for things and how to identify certain items.

Then there are those who charge for services rendered, these people usually have a set cost or a cost per hour and on top of this they sometimes ask to be paid back for operating, supply and travel cost. This seems to be from what I can see, the least accepted and most lonely group.
I have even read on other article and blogs to avoid these people completely because this group has been infiltrated with people who are looking for cash with little to no knowledge or effort.
Now some of the people in this group might be looking only for the money but we should avoid painting them all with the same brush. Time is money and if these people are always getting request on top of request, then this system might be just the thing they need to keep everyone organized and everything running smoothly.
I know I don't get anywhere near this many requests where I feel like I have to charge for my time but some more popular people might get just that many requests for their time.

 Well that's pretty much my understanding on all this,

Bless Be

~Flaming

Just a quick question.

I've been asked the same question by all manners of people and strangers, so I need to clear something up in my head.

Apparently my dragons look like a cross...yeah it does a little until you get close and realize it's a pentacle with 2 dragons wrapped around it, but some people even after a close look still believe that it's still a christian cross.

I just don't see it but maybe you might...and yeah I took it off long enough to take a picture because I figured that although some of you may like a gratuitous boob shot, not everyone would. That and I'm not showing you my boobs.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

The summer solstice

Did I forget about the summer solstice? nope I had a quiet night with L and stayed up as long as I could to try and see the sunrise (didn't happen, I'm a pansy and need bed early) but I did talk to a few friends on the phone about their plans and we were pretty much all in agreement. We all tried to stay up to see the sunrise which should have been easy as we only had maybe 2 hours of dark...possibly 3 hours of dark.

I failed miserably and fell asleep at 10:30 hours before the sunset
C saw the twilight before the sunrise at around 3am before falling asleep
and T was on night shift so he saw the entire thing because he didn't really have a choice.
T isn't pagan he's more of an atheist or agnostic...I'm not sure which but I'm not too worried, he's a good guy  and that's all that matters.

Well now the days are going to get shorter and shorter until the longest night in December which makes me a little sad, I need the sun to keep me happy it seems. during the winter it is the complete opposite of now. now we only get a few hours of dark and I tend to go to bed before the sunset but once winter comes and the longest night approaches we might only get 32-3 hours of daylight.
I swear if the stereotypical vampire was real then they would not be able to survive here, it would be a nice winter home but they would starve during the summer.

I've eaten some of my strawberries and have only 3 left to wait for, they will ripen soon but just not yet. My tomato plant has a few little yellow flowers on it but not enough to make me confident that we'll have tomatoes this year...last year we had more flowers and only came away with 3 small tomatoes due to birds and constriction people.

I like summer, I'm not fond on the heat as it can get up to 42°C but I love the light and the safety it brings. I live in a rough part of town and summers are when I feel the safest going out for a walk.
My birthday is also in summer. This Wednesday actually, I'm having trouble waiting.
I know about one gift that I'm receiving, my aunt all but forced me to open the gift that she gave me last week, mom has something up her sleeve and I just have no clue, and my sister has admitted defeat and so has offered to take me shopping.
L is giving me a website...no kidding, my own little piece of the web so I can have my own url and a place to put up some of my book I've been working on the last little while. I'll still need to code it and find a host but the name is a desirable name considering the books title. I might post a link for it here once it's finished even though it really doesn't have anything to do with paganism.
It's my project and I want to show it off to the world even if it's not that good.

Well I best be off to try and find new topics to post about, I'm getting lazy and my brain doesn't want to do much more thinking today.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

Picture found on google

No one is allowed to pick on him/her except ME!

picture linked to source

No one is allowed to pick on him/her except ME!
Sounds like something an older sibling might say about a younger sibling, or even the other way around in some families. It's not a strange concept either, this way of thinking has crossed countries and cultures without the need for some kid union, newsletter, or pre-birth conference.
Kids just think like that. Why?

Well probably the same reason why many groups act this way. We don't all voice it like our children do, children are rather straight forward and blunt when they want to get a point across. We poke around in the corners and hide this way of thinking because to many this way of thinking is; old school, entitled thinking or just plain wrong. But for the most part the human species has thins way of thinking buried within it's subconscious constantly turning the cranks.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, this can be a variation of "Protect you own"

Many groups pick on sub-groups or even individuals with-in their group relentlessly until another outside force threatens the group. Miraculously all of a sudden the bullies and the victims gang up together and work together to eliminate a common threat. But as soon as that threat is over the old status-quo takes over again.

This happens in politics within and between countries, within religious communities, even the LGBT community.
But why do we do it?
For children it is often a family entitlement, annoyance and love situation.  "yeah I love my sister, but sometimes she can be annoying. I pick on her on occasion, but you're not allowed to pick on her, I'll hurt you if you do!"
But for those of us who aren't related but are a part of a loose knit group, what are our motivations? This way of thought completely defies some bits of logic but validates others. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." can be taken and applied for both sides of the argument. But who is the enemy and who isn't completely depends on the circumstances, and do we favor one enemy over the other? Or do we see others of our loosely knit group as more like annoying siblings?

I for one am completely confused. All I know is that if you hurt one of my own then you prepare yourself. I may pick on them but only out of jest and I make sure that they know it.


Blessed Be
~Flaming

No going veggie is NOT a requirement!

I don't mean to offend people but this has been bugging the hell out of me for a few months now.

I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, I like my meat medium to medium rare and love bacon. I tried to be a vegetarian once and found out about a few new food sensitivities that I didn't know about before that prevent me from getting certain nutrients from a plant based only diet. Maybe one of these days when I have enough money to hire a dietitian I might try again but for now I'm not worried about it too much and other people shouldn't be either.
Other people also shouldn't feel the need to push bias, false, and offensive into my face about my own belief system either.

I'm a happy omnivore like many animals out there, the human digestive track is capable of digesting meat. As long as the meat that I eat comes from humanely treated animals than I'm happy.
This does not mean that I am a hypocrite or that I'm just trying to be popular with claiming to be a type of pagan. I've been some type of pagan or another for almost half my life, I'm pretty sure it's not a phase.

Being vegan or a vegetarian is NOT a requirement for becoming most types of pagan. There may be some trads out there that require it but most don't.
If you are a vegan or vegetarian then I support you, you have a bit of hard work to start by figuring out the nutrition intake and all that but it's a healthy life to live if you are doing it right. I kept a few of my vegetarian recipes because they were healthier that some of my go to favorites and have increased my health a lot by making a few simple changes, but because of how I was born, it is not possible to switch to a complete vegan or vegetarian diet at this time of my life.  

What brought on this little rant of mine?
A bus buddy that I haven't talked to in a while.

I don't take the bus often anymore but a few months ago I use to take it daily and I met a person by pure chance who loved to talk about religion and compare religions as much as I do, if not more. Also by pure chance this person got off at the same bus stop as me.
Good enough we had many interesting debates about differing religions and picking out both the good and bad of each. We even debated Christianity and the differing types of paganism.
He didn't know much about paganism or christianity so I pointed him to a few books and websites so he could catch up and we could continue our debates...I don't think he touched those sources but that's ok, he wanted to do his own research.
Now I don't mind research, I think everyone should research things that interest them or things that are important in your daily life so you can get a good understanding about those things.
He disappeared for almost a week but when he came back he was a changed man. How?

Apparently he was in the process of converting to christianity. Great I congratulated him on finding something that he liked, and then we started the debates again. for the first week it was basically me debunking what he had learned about christianity (he went on quite a few trollish websites), I tried to do this as respectfully as I could and even gave him the name of a pastor I know who is very open to questions. He was impressed and by the end of the week he was under the impression that I was a christian. And in turn very shocked to find out that I left christianity after being in it for roughly 15 years.

Then the following week we started on paganism, again I assume he went to some bad websites because he was under the impression that paganism falls into 2 camps. Those that worship satan and do blood sacrifices and those who live in the trees and are one with nature. (the complete extreme ends of the spectrum.)
I then tried to educate him of the hundreds of types of pagan and told him that there are hundreds if not thousands of trads that I don't know about. He was very resistant to learning about paganism and was very adamant that his information was the right and that what I knew was a fairy tale. This obviously bugged me and I told him that as a pagan I was slightly offended but some of those stereotypes that he insisted were true. This was only day 3 into the pagan week and things turned around right quick. First he tried to convert me, and when he found out that it wouldn't work that way he then proceeded to put me and my beliefs down and claim that I was a wife of the devil and such.
the main points he brought against me were the typical points that I've heard before
*you're going to hell
*satan has tricked you
*you must be sacrificing small animals on weekends or full moons to get what you want
* you throw curses all willy nilly
ect

This obviously pisses me off but I can let it bounce off me, all I have to do is change seats.  He followed me to my new seat and then hit hard a few times with his words.
(remember his 2 extreme ideas on paganism)
"You can't be a pagan, you eat meat and you live in the oilsands. Pagans are supposed to protect nature, not destroy it by eating meat, torturing animals through farming, or standing idly by while destruction is happening through mining. How can you call yourself a pagan? Your not just lost to god, you can't even follow your own perceived morals."

Now I've seen what happens out on site, is it good? no. is it as bad as people show in the media? no is it as bad as people want to believe? no
is the land recovering? yes, slow and steady but yes.

I walked through 40 year old reclaimed land and didn't know it was reclaimed because I didn't know mining had happened there in the first place. I took those courses and seen first hand what happens, was critical about a lot of it but the end result is eventually achieved and animals do come back and thrive.

I know that the destruction is happening in a controlled setting and that mother nature isn't having any problems taking back the spend land. Do I agree with it? no I have seen things that I didn't like but what can I do about it other than life my life to the best of my ability and help others to so the same. I can't shake a magic wand and stop all the mining.
But this guy assumes that just because I can't stop it means that I'm choosing not to stop it and therefore going against my beliefs all together.

I covered the fact that it is not possible at this time for me to become vegan or vegetarian and be healthy but because I can't afford the proper person to help me to build a diet around what I can and can't eat then that must means that I'm an evil bitch that tortures animals for fun before eating their children alive.

Now I haven't spoken to this guy in a while but what was said those few days were just burning in the back of my brain and making me mad at the weirdest times, but what really set it off today was another persons blog response on a different blog that I read.
No I refuse to link it or say anything to compromise the person because they are entitled to their ignorant opinion. No matter how mad it makes me.
There is a poster that insisted that if you claimed to be a pagan without being a vegan then you are a fluffy bunny that doesn't deserve to be acknowledged among the community, and that the vegans are sick and tired of always being harassed because they are vegans and are only informing people about the fact that they are fluffy and unhealthy because you are not a vegan.    

I'm sorry but fluffy? I'm fluffy? 
If you feel the need to put down what I do and believe be prepared for the repercussions. I refuse to let you go spreading hate and ignorance around unchecked. I will take action to inform others about how wrong you are and respond to your post in a polite and informative fashion so that others who read it will know that I am not trying to start an argument but to inform people about your common misconception. 


I do not engage in fighting but I will make sure that people see both sides of the coin. If you choose to fling names and insults then it is you that is invalidating your own argument. I refuse to lower myself to flinging insults over the internet over simple ignorance.



Now if you will excuse me I need to go blow off some steam by running down to the game store and destroying my friends in a game of pick up Pathfinder,VTM, or D&D.  Plus I head that there's a sale today.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

Living in a multi-faith family is doable, my story.

Hey guys,
This is a long post but emails and questions recently have proven that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. It's a common issue and it involves family tension. I'm going to skim as much as I can allow to avoid exposing people but other than that it's all true and relevant. If you want to know how to combine multiple faiths then maybe my story will help.


As some of you may or may not know, I come from a catholic family. While yes there are other forms of christianity mixed in with my family, the mass bulk is catholic. Now it doesn't seem like a big deal to me now but early on in my teen life up to a few short months ago I was petrified at the slight chance that someone in my family would figure out that I switched teams to join up with at first wicca and now general eclectic paganism.

I hid and I hid well, I give credit to the fact that I'm a spiritually lazy person and tend to also be a wall flower at family gatherings.
The entire family (except dad) was dragged to church every Sunday morning and we all had to play our part, which although I didn't realize it at the time, made me look like the model catholic school girl sans short skirt. What I did realize at the time though was that I could learn more about christianity so that I wouldn't be too harsh on it after I left the church. What better way to learn the religion than to read the book, and what timing too as the catholic church in my town was looking for lay readers. (a lay reader is a person that reads the bible in from of the congregation,  there are 3 passages read during the service, the first 2 can be read by 1 or 2 lay readers while the third must be read by the priest. Lay readers are supposed to be only male but some churches have changed that rule because male tend to not volunteer) I was a lay reader for 4 years...I think reading the bible more than once all the way through done me some good in learning what the rest of my family believed in, but it also made my fear worse.

In college I opened up a bit more as I met more religions and what not. I eventually set up a small portable alter in my room and although I couldn't burn incense I still did a few things to show my dedication. (note that I was still living with my parents at the time)

My mother knowing that I was into weird stuff anyways, that I was deeply into fantasy art, and knew that I  loved to study other religions (my excuse was to be able to understand people better) figured that it was just a weird set-up to give me inspiration for a drawing while I studied some dead or fantasy religion.
I didn't tell her for 5 years after I graduated high school, and I had to tell her twice. Once in front of friends (mainly because she found my books) and once at brunch with one other relative...this other relative proceeded to piss me off with her uneducated views of the world and it's "one religion". I don't know if mom cares or if she's still just in shock...it's been a while but I'm still not sure because she really hasn't really said much about it yet.
(I love my mother and I believe that I get my absent mindedness from her, even though I still find that extremely funny that I could have went on worry free and mom would have forgotten that day completely)

My Dad...Well he has yet to say anything but I think he knew anyways or at least had an idea, he didn't bat an eyelash when the alter was set up and even made a few very well hidden but sweet comments about were stuff like that could be bought around town...yes the first metaphysical shop I found was suggested by my not so religious father. I never actually came out and told him and the topic has yet to come up but I know that he knows, I mean I don't hide it anymore especially around him and he's so obvious now that I would bet money on it. And my sister agrees.
(My dad is awesome, never underestimate a quiet person, especially if they're short and small)

My sister was the first person that I told outright. As soon as I found out that she wasn't going to church anymore (I had stopped going when I went to college) I asked her what was up and we told each other our religious changes. Her to Agnostic and myself to paganism, she was cool with it and apparently was toying with that same idea herself for a while. She was worried about what mom would say about it, we were both petrified by the idea, and she figured that Dad probably already knew because for some weird reason he seems to know anything and everything before the involved person(s) even knows themselves.
(my sister is pretty laid back, it's easy to talk to her if you manage to find her.)

Now I live on my own engaged to a wonderful man who is not really religious...but then again I'm still lazy spiritually as well a lot of the time, so it evens out.

I still see my family on a regular basis and we just act as if we were normal. (what is normal anyways? ) I don't think trying to BBQ steak on a gas grill in -40°C on the patio is normal but we tried anyways.
(You thought I was going to say something disturbing? Sorry that would have given away too much info, that and what has been seen can never be unseen *shivers in disgust*)

Now to present day I still interact with my family where we compromise to make everything work with the two religions.
We have Sunday feast which is family tradition, yeah originally it was tied to the christian sabbath day but over the generations it's mostly an excuse to get together, stuff our faces, and poke fun at each other.

It's all in good fun, Christmas and other holy days?

Well look around at Christmas, it seems more about Santa now than anything. But we worship separate then get together to exchange gifts and again; stuff our faces, and poke fun.
Easter? same thing but with more chocolate.

It's doable, very doable and considering most holy days are around the same time anyways (give or take up to a week) it's not too bad for convenience.

And if there is one thing christians and pagans have in common, it's our love for food and celebration that revolves around family. Merging the two is easy as long as no one decides to dis-agree or take offense.

Just try to break the news softly to very religious relatives just in case and it's always good to get the idea that paganism isn't evil out there first for a while to soften the perceived blow.

I know people who just out right and stated it matter of factly at a family gathering, who were promptly kicked out of the family the the family priest.
It happens so proceed with caution if you have a very religious family, but remember that no one will blame you for not telling them. Especially if telling them will put your well being at risk.


I hope this clears up a lot of the questions

Blessed Be
~Flaming 

Bit of a dry spell

These last few days seem like a bit of a dry spell.
I'm getting plenty done around the apartment, and reading all kinds of story books, I've even managed to rope in a phone interview for a new job.

But I don't feel productive at all spiritually this week.

Views are down which is no biggy for me, but normally when this happens I hit up various sites and coffee shops to get some inspiration on what to write next. I do this in hopes that I don't get forgotten I guess, that and I want to be interesting.

I'm thinking about joining up with the pagan blog project, just to get some inspiration on what top write during these dry periods.
I was resistant to the idea at first because everybody seems to be doing it and I want to be somewhat unique and not flood the internet with identical ideas every week. But now that I am going though this dry spot and thinking about it more, the more it seems like a good idea.
I mean yeah the subject might be similar and all but different paths and different people have different brains and thought processes. It's all organized so that people are posting at least once a week and people can get to know the inner workings of their fellow pagan bloggers.

So I might look at the topic for this and next week to make my final decision but at the same time, welcome others to add in their 2 cents so I can think on it more.


Blessed Be
~Flaming

Linky just to show people what I'm talking about

venus

So I'm a bit late in typing this, but not for lack of knowledge. I've been busy doing sketches, fighting deadlines and doing important errands so I honestly thought that I had more time to post this.

Venus is tracking across the sun today, this evening actually and won't be happening again in our lifetime...unless people find the fountain of youth or extend life so we can live over 109 or so (which may be possible)
My calculations
Seeing it at 4 years old for the first time and remembering it at 109 when it happens again in the year 2117. And if this person is very lucky and lives to be 117 they can see it again in 2125.
That 4 year old would be extremely lucky to see it 3 times in his/her life.
I also chose 4 years old because most adults only have sporadic memories before that time and those over 4 have a higher chance of remembering it.

The planet Venus will be so dwarfed by the sun that the planet will look like a tiny dot (blackhead?) on the sun. You'll need special glasses if you want to see it though. Or look at it online during a live feed, unless of course you are looking to go blind in the very near future.

Anyways I have to run again

Blessed Be
~Flaming

                                                                                                               


Picture source
https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTFI 8fsiWnkqsKQAIcdgkCdr8vBEeYFS1KBtOWcFNe22TDWu0z

spaghetti sauce

yum yum yum, I'm one of the very few people that I know that will make spaghetti sauce from scratch, and no not from canned tomato paste but from actual tomatoes (or canned sliced if I'm too lazy to pick up fresh tomato)

what you need
-tomatoes 1-2 per person
-bell peppers
-basil
-garlic
-thyme
-sage
-salt (optional)
-peppercorn (or ground pepper)
-roughly a pound (give or take for preference) of ground beef or tiny beef chunks, or meat balls yummy
-what's in your fridge that might taste good (lol)

-spaghetti

Most of this is to taste as I don't actually have a recipe for this, it's basically a way for me to use up what veggies I can from the fridge and have something different each time.

Fry or bake or boil (I like frying) your meat until cooked

-Squish your tomatoes, or puree or blend, toss in a pot on the stove and bring to a simmer

-Add; basil, thyme, and sage. (add to taste but remember that this taste may increase over time, start with a small amount as it is possible to add more later but impossible to subtract later)

-Stir often and let simmer until it starts to thicken (max I have seen it go is 40 minutes if you want to speed it up then corn starch or a little flour can help)

-Add you chunks of bell peppers and either slice, grind, or add whole the garlic.  (add to taste but remember that the taste of garlic will increase over time, start with a small amount as it is possible to add more later but impossible to subtract later)

- Right before serving but while still on the stove add meat then salt and pepper to taste.

I'm sorry I couldn't give precise measurements for this RHY but honestly it changes based on mood and what's in my fridge and what spices are on hand...though I can tell you that marjoram will make it much hotter when combined with garlic.

I plan on making this either Monday or Tuesday.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

feels naked

Well I had to drive L to work early this morning so since I was out I decided to head to Mac Island early ~10am to read and drink coffee until yoga at 11. I got into mac island parking lot then I felt it, I felt naked. Why?

Because I didn't put on my necklace this morning. I usually take off my pentacle and dragon necklace when sleeping for 2 reasons. 

1)the chain isn't all that sturdy

2)it's pointy!

So yeah I felt naked.

But that's ok because I'm home now.  Yoga it turns out was cancelled by the instructor because she's sick. 

I was still drinking coffee and reading for about an hour between 10 and 11, the coffee wasn't the best because their machine has been down for almost 3 weeks now and they have the pump thermos canisters. I'm not a big fan of those, I find they make the coffee taste off. 

And I also returned a bunch of books to the library today so I'll have to update my list on what I've read and what is next. 

Apparently there's a read-a-thon going on at the end of this month. 

I might join it though I have a few things personal going on around the same time...my birthday and all won't leave much time for reading. Though if anyone wants to check it out then go to

Just a heads up the banner won't link right away because I suck at html... 

Blessed Be

~Flaming

Partial lunar eclipse

Just a heads up guys that on June 3rd and 4th there will be a partial lunar eclipse that will be visible in north america. Fully visible in Alaska and Hawaii, and only partially visible for the western and parts of central north america.
So us here in the western part of Canada and the states should be able to see a partial view of both the penumbral and umbral eclipse (sp?) 


I don't know much more about this but I figured some people might be interested in the info.


Blessed Be
~Flaming

The strawberry moon AKA rose moon, sun moon, or hot moon

So since it's roughly 5 days until the next full moon  I figure I should say my little part on this up and coming moon. For those living in fort mcmurray the time I believe will be 9:36 at night this Friday the 5th. For those outside of town the times will vary, if you need help finding the time reply with your area and I'll see what I can do.

I know it by 4 names but I only know the story for 2 of them. So if anyone knows the story of the hot moon or the sun moon then go right ahead in the comments and tell me about it.

The strawberry moon story is fairly simple, the native tribes where strawberries grow knew to pick the strawberries after this full moon as the fruits would be just ripening hence the name strawberry moon.

Sadly I live far enough up north that the strawberries won't be completely ready but I am grabbing a strawberry plant from a nursery tomorrow, maybe even a tomato plant as my plants last year didn't fair so well from seed.

For those in the European countries where strawberries are not native, roses usually are native and are starting to show/bloom. There is where we get the name rose moon.

Blessed Be
~Flaming

Peppered steak a day late

Sorry RYH
I couldn't think of anything to cook last night so we had leftovers, But I do plan on making peppered steak in the next few days so I'll give you the recipe here.

The basics
-Crushed mixed peppercorns (you can buy whole and crush them yourself with a hammer and a few plastic bags)
- 2 steaks or like my mother uses when she's stuck stew meat
-garlic
-olive oil (or any oil really)

On the bbq?
mix your peppercorns and oil together (you can add water as well to make it less oily ) and then crush garlic into the mixture, rub on both sides of the steak and let sit for no less than 10 minutes. Then BBQ time.
Seriously that easy

fried on stove with stew meat or cubed steak? What I'll be making
Cut your meat into chunks, make the same mixture as above and mix with the chuncks, let site for no less than 10 minutes. fry on stove in pan.

add more?
-bell peppers or any other pepper.
-corn on the cob
-potato
-rice
- you can marinade your steak overnight for better flavor
-mushrooms
-onions
-celery
-beans
-anything in you fridge almost can be added



Oh yeah and salt and pepper to taste (though I normally don't use any for this recipe)


See ya in a few months RHY!

~Flaming


edit: I forgot you wanted a picture from last week

New toe shoes and socks! (personal review)

In case people haven't read my post on grounding in my KSO's I'm just going to say. If I can't go barefoot I find it easier to ground my energy when I feel the ground beneath my feet and vibrams are usually perfect for that as they simulate a barefoot feel with the added protection. Yes other minimalist shoes will probably work just the same but I own vibrams because I like them. The website for vibrams is here.
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm

My new Jaya's from vibram fivefingers came in yesterday as well as my smartwool toe socks from sportschek and I have to say I'm loving the socks but the shoes are going to take a little getting use to.

I've been wearing my KSO's for about a year now and with the strengthening of my feet I have actually outgrown them somewhat. I stretched them so I can still squeeze into them but they are tight. Remeasuring my feet again I am still surprised to have found that I went up 3 vibram sizes.
So I bought the Jaya's in plum/pink/white,  L said to try a new style and they're not bad.

The Jaya's are large enough to fit with the socks on but not too large to be uncomfortable without the socks, it feels weird but I quickly got over that feeling after I realized that I wasn't getting sweaty like I normally do.





Surprising enough the smart wool socks act just like their packaging said they would. Kept me cool during the midday heat when the rest of my body was roasting and now early in the morning when I'm freezing they are keeping my feet relatively warm. I hand washed them so I could wear them again today for Yoga in a few hours (That studio gets freezing). The price tag was a bit out there so I might start to look for cheaper alternatives if I feel the need to get more toe socks. (about $25 Canadian for a pair yikes!)

I was warned that the Jayas were a bit different in that the bottoms were meant for inside use, looking at them now I see that the white stuff is a foam like material and the plum disks are a harder type of rubber which is meant for grip. I'm not very fond of the foam but it does make them very light on the feet I forgot I was wearing them last night, though I prefer the feel of the ground which was a little muted when in comparison with my KSO's. Maybe after a wear down period they will have a better barefoot feel but as of now I'm not that impressed with the bottoms of these.
Lighter than KSO's but not as sensitive.

The colour selection of these is fantastic, normally I can only say that I like 1 or 2 of the colour variety when it comes to vibram but the Jaya's are the exception. I love the style though was a bit sad to see that the vibram website did not have any in my size, I had to order through sportschek. I have small feet but I still would love it if they restocked their north america site more often.

How are they to expect to sell more product if they don't restock is beyond me but I watched their site for 2 weeks (nearly 3 weeks) before going to sportschek and this is not the first time I have noticed or people have told me about vibram not restocking.
(hint hint, Vibram you have people wanting to buy but can't because you never have stock!!!) *snickers* I doubt vibram will look at this blog anyway, just google them and see the massive amount of blog posts they have mentioning them.

Putting these on was an easy task in comparison to putting on the KSO's which seemed like a chore in itself some days (worth it though). I have yet to find any hotspots on the Jaya's and hope to soon wear them down so that they are more flexible. Don't get me wrong, they are still fairly flexable but I'm use to year old KSO flexable where I could roll them up and stuff them in a coat pocket. I can't fit my Jaya's in a coat pocket yet.

All in all I'm left with a good impression on the socks and an ok impression with the Jaya's.
The Jaya's are meant for indoor activity and I will probably use them as a lounge wear and for quick outings to the store or friends. I will probably wear them to yoga today as well.
However since the pricetag on vibrams is so high I may have to wait 6 months to a year to buy my next pair to replace my KSO's for more active outdoor wear.


Yeah disclaimer time
These are personal opinions, smartwool and vibram did not pay me or supply me with anything that I did not buy myself. I spent over $120 so now I'm kinda broke for now.
All pictures are of my own feet while sitting at my computer.


Ah and yes I do remember that today I'm supposed to post a recipe of the week for RYH. I'm working on that, I just don't know what to make I'm just lazy today.



Blessed Be
~Flaming



Big edit after Yoga
these Jaya's are excellent for yoga, better than the KSO's
good grip without ripping into the mat and less foot sweat.

recipe of the week. meat&potato casserole

The first recipe of the week as requested by my friend RyH who wants my cooking across a Provence.
ok first I'll explain the basics and then give other options to add to the meal.
Sound good?
Awesome.


Basic meat and potato casserole as made by me when I'm lazy.

needed

-ground beef (about a pound)
-condensed cream of mushroom soup (a can)
-potatoes (4 cups sliced)
- onion (1 cup chopped)
-salt&pepper
-water

First fry the ground beef on medium until no longer pink, keep stirring or it will burn on. Add salt and pepper to taste (a few shakes).
Chop up your onion thinly and mix with the mushroom soup and roughly 3/4 cup of water.
Then mix in 3/4 of the mixture with the beef. Add               this beef mix to the casserole dish.                                  
Peel the potatoes and slice them.
Mix the potato slices with some mushroom and onion mix then add them to top of the casserole. an even layer is preferred.
Bake covered for an hour at 175 °C (or if you prefer 350°F), then uncovered until browning starts (~10 minutes)

There should be enough for 4 people.

now for the options!

-celery chopped can be added with the onion (1/2 cup onion 1/2 celery)
-chicken or fish can be used instead of beef
-chicken broth can be used instead of mushroom soup and milk instead of water to maintain the creamy(ness)
- you can add garlic to the mix or use garlic salt instead of regular salt.
-peas can be added as well as bell peppers
- most veggies chopped can be added experiment with taste.
-basil, rosemary, chives, and other herbs can be successfully used (add to taste)
-you can use different types of onion to gain slightly different flavors.
-mix the potato in with the beef then use pie crust for the topping
-add cheese to the top or throughout
-after completing the basics there are literally hundreds of new combinations to experiment with.
-tomato slices, chunks and sauce can work as well

Want more difficulty?
you can still make the cream of mushroom soup.

Have fun!

~Flaming

Burning ring of fire.

I fell in to a burning ring of fire
I went down,down,down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns,burns,burns
the ring of fire
the ring of fire.
( Johnny Cash Lyrics Ring Of Fire Lyrics)

 

image link

I love that song and what's happening this Sunday May the 20th 2012 reminded me of that song.
This Sunday coming is the rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse.
Sadly with the weather here lately I might not be able to see it naturally, and even if I could at my latitude I would only see between 40-60% of it though for some of our neighbors in the southern United States , Japan and some parts of China the view will be 100%.
Why is it called "the ring of fire" solar eclipse?
Because the distance and angle of the moon is just far enough away from the earth that the moon will not be able to completely cover the sun. This results in what looks to be a "ring of fire" in the sky when the eclipse is in full swing.
To find out how much you will be able to see, I suggest going here and for those who are unlucky enough to be at a latitude or live where the weather will hinder you view that link also has sites where you can view a live stream.

Now what are my plans for Sunday?
No not a ritual though one that combines both the god and goddess might work well, or some sex magick.
I plan on doing one of 2 things.
Either I'm running a pathfinder game with L playing his holy paladin escorting the princess across strange and dangerous lands, I might even add in the eclipse because it would fit into the story line oddly enough.
Or L is going to run a game with me and C with both C and I playing our evil characters trying to find a dragon werebunny of doom called miss hophop.
I'm secretly hoping for the hilarity of miss hophop, because it brings more people together and I can taste the innuendos our dirty minds will inject into the game about the "ring of fire" eclipse. A bunch of pagans with dirty minds can be a fun thing at times, though not appropriate for here.

Anyways I'm off to find a recipe and will be posting again today as I have promised a friend to try and share one recipe a week to help her learn to cook.

Blessed Be
~Flaming



Sources
the image -> https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQLDXdpbLxj958fqeQwYKuZamvKlVvREaK4iMYujfNrZUjsOJ1_
the lyrics -> http://www.lyricsondemand.com/j/johnnycashlyrics/ringoffirelyrics.html
the info -> http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11746807-how-to-see-the-eclipse-anywhere?lite