Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year on and All!

The morning started off with clear blue skies and the moon visible above, I love seeing the moon in the daylight hours. This is my first moon photo for 2024

Today I started my Walking the Wheel of the Year journey with a walk at Silver Springs State Park. The first mile I walked is for  Day 1 of the Walk 31 miles in January sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

A few of the views I saw along my walk my feet with my cane 

A woodpecker beating a tune while pecking for insects, a found sweater, blooming flowers, standing stones. bright red camellias and a mermaid waiting for a face.

After my walk I started reading The Comfort of Crows for the 2024 Library Love Challenge, so far I am loving it.

Here is the link if you are interested taking part in the challenge:

 https://booksofmyheart.net/2023/12/02/2024-library-love-challenge-sign-up-giveaway/ 

New Years Eve 2023

 Here we are on the last day of December 2023, the year has had it's ups and downs for sure yet all in all a pretty good year.

I am taking part in a few stich a longs this year, the first is the Woven Wreath with Kathy Schmitz a designer I have admired for years.  I purchased the preprinted fabric from Spoonflower the moment I first saw the Instagram post and knew I wanted to start the year off with a simple project.

I will make one slight change and use Valdani 6 stranded floss instead of the Perle cotton, it's just a personal choice.

I will be starting the American Cancer Society's Walk 31 Miles in January.  I am looking forward to this walk not only to raise donations, I also want to increase my own walking ability.  Since the late spring I have had spine and leg trouble reducing my daily 2 mile walk to days I didn't walk at all to short walks.  I would like to be at 2 miles a day again by February.

Another challenge I'm doing is the 2024 Library Love Challenge, I did this challenge a few years ago. The first book I will read is The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl.

I will continue my Walking the Wheel of the Year journey in 2024 with plans for at least a weekly post. 

I wish everyone a safe and Very Happy New Year and look forward to see you here in 2024!

May the Goddess bless you with love & laughter to lighten your days,
and warm your heart & home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.

May the Goddess bless you with peace and plenty and bless your world
with joy that long endures.

May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Refreshing My Blog for the New Year

 We are less than 2 weeks from the new year it's a great time to refresh this blog. It has suffered for a while mostly due to illness and a few life changes and also for those that have followed my blog I began a Walking the Wheel of the Year Journey in 2023. Observing changes in nature in my own yard and neighborhood.  I had chosen a tree in my yard that I was documenting the seasonal changes during the year when the tree service I hired to take down some dead trees in my yard accidentally took down the Holly tree I was observing. I was blogging my wheel of the year on another blog As the Crone Flies. I had considered combinig the two blogs for awhile than about two weeks ago I could no longer upload my photos to the word press site, I believe the universe was telling me it was time to combine the blogs.

This year I'm planning to make changes to my wheel of the year journey.  

I will continue to add post about my hand embroidery which brings me great joy and a deep state of relaxation to an almost meditative state.

I follow a goddess path pagan lifestyle which I will continue to write about.  If you are new to this blog here is a link to my other blog As the Crone Flies to get an idea of what I posted there: https://deborahsasthecroneflies.wordpress.com/  

Mostly it's just what I am doing in my life, the usual ups, downs, ins, and outs of daily living.

Currently I am finishing these  2 little polar bear ornaments the hand embroidery is complete and I am putting them together.  By the way these photos were deemed to large for the other site.  The pattern came from an Etsy shop The Hoop In Hand.  

I am currently reading The Witching Year by Diana Helmuth, which I just started yesterday. And the Spirited Kitchen by Carmen Spagnola.

There has been so highs and lows in 2023 which I am planning to remedy in 2024, currently I have  ongoing back and leg problems which with the help of the Orthopedic center doctors I am hoping to repair or at least improve without surgery.  

I have always been an avid walker beginning each day with a 1-2 mile walk, the last half of the year my daily walks have been reduced to short walks and at times not walking at all.  I miss those daily walks and I'm determined to start them again. In fact, tomorrow I am going on a pack walk volunteering to walk a shelter dog around Silver Springs park in the morning, along with my son and daughter in law.

I just hope they have a dog that is as slow as I am lately. I will surely post about it here.

One change in my life this year include a change to my mostly healthy eating habits, by making even healthier choices including more plant based meals.  I say mostly healthy because sometimes I throw caution to the wind and just eat something not too healthy like a slice of pizza, or a hamburger.  I have several obstructed arteries so my fats intake are fairly low so junk foods are out of my diet, though if I really want it I will eat it.  I know my life depends on the healthy food choices but some days you just have to have what you crave.  I don't give into the craving right away I will usually put it out of my mind but if I still crave it a week later I will give in.

Another change in my life is to put in a garden, most likely raised beds because of my back, right now I have a few potted plants but my heart wants to garden. While I may not have the dream garden below this year, I think it's something to hope for in the future.  Right now a raised bed or two would be enough.

I do dream of having a garden like the photo above but right now I will settle for a garden like I had back in Spring of 2013.

The winter solstice has passed so each day will grow a little lighter, may your hearts be warmed by the rays of the sun.

Right now the hour is getting late and I have some stitching to do.  Tonight's Christmas Eve Eve moon is shining brilliant over my roof top.

I welcome you to leave comments, ask questions and follow along on my journey.

Winter Solstice Blessings and a very Happy Yule.

 May this Winter Solstice and the Turn of the Wheel bring you Love, Peace and Good Fortune in the coming Year. Let us Welcome the returning Sun with Hope and Joy. It only gets brighter from here!

Brightly burns the Yule log tonight,

Magic dances in firelight.

Hold my hand and join the song,

Raise the Sun King bright and strong.

Dark is giving way to light,

As brightly burns the Yule log tonight.

“So the shortest day came, and the year died,

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

To drive the dark away.

They lit candles in the winter trees;

…They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive,

And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, reveling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us – Listen!!

All the long echoes sing the same delight,

This shortest day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

Welcome Yule!!”

– Susan Cooper, The Shortest Day

Samhain Blessings and Happy Halloween to All!

 

Welcome Mabon!

 

The fall equinox aka Mabon, the first day of autumn arrived on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 02:50 A.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere.

Yes! Autumn has arrived in north central Florida with the morning a cool 60 degrees at 7:00 a.m.  I love stepping out my door when the air is dry and cool it actually feels like autumn, though in a few hours it will be 85 or so but my walk this morning, though slow and painful filled my thoughts of cooler days to come.

I am set for the spinal injections on Thursday morning and believe me I have been counting the days down, it's been a very painful few months so I'm hoping this treatment will be effective.

I wish everyone a Blessed Mabon and a Happy 1st day of Autumn.

Here is a Little Besom/Broom Magic for Mabon.

You will need:

A broom or besom Don’t worry if it isn’t a traditional besom, any broom will do as it is always intent that is important. If you have no broom collect a bundle of twigs and tie them at the top with Twine or ribbon to make a hand broom shape. The besom/broom is a potent symbol of hearth and home, found in some form in almost every household. It is a traditional magical tool useful for everyday charms as it has the imprint of its owner firmly on it. Sweeping is a natural gathering gesture.

Ribbon.(A piece of green ribbon (for abundance), a piece of gold ribbon (for prosperity and gathering) or ribbon in harvest colors would be equally suitable.)

A Spring of Mint. Ideally a sprig of mint from your garden (but you can get this from any supermarket), or dried mint – put it in a pouch. The mint represents abundance and plenty.

Take your broom and tie your ribbon around the stave or top. Tie in your sprig of mint or securely fasten your pouch. Take your broom outside, place both hands on the stave and focus on your intention – gathering in your harvest for winter. Turn slowly three times in a clockwise direction then start to sweep towards your door saying:

By one, two, three and four, sweep Mabon gifts to my door. May abundance be a constant friend, by my hearth till Winter’s end.”

Repeat this three times, then take your besom/broom back into your house and put it in its usual place. You can leave the ribbon on for as long as want to, for a lunar month, or until winter is done. If you have made your own broom you can place it where you consider the heart of your home to be. The mint can be returned to the earth with thanks.

If you do not have an outside space you can sweep from your front door inwards to either your kitchen or hearth using the same charm.

The broom I made last year at a local broom making workshop, I plan to take it again in October.

Welcome September

 

I am not sorry to see the month of August end, it's been a very long hot month ending with a hurricane. Luckily Hurricane Idalia blew through quickly with a light steady rain most of the day.  By evening the clouds passed by enough to give view of the super blue moon hanging high above my rooftop.

Not the grandest of photos but in person she was brilliant and a welcoming sight after all the rain we had during the day.  In fact, for the 2 days after the hurricane we had more rain during our afternoon showers than we had during the storm.

This morning while the sun was rising once again the moon was hanging in the sky, shining brightly waiting for the sun.

I completed the hand embroidery on my Mabon piece and just need to add some buttons and the fabric backing.

The pattern is from a coloring page I purchase from an Etsy shop I changed out the center motif which was an apple and replaced it with a goddess.  She will be holding a pumpkin once I add the button.  Originally, I was going to have her hold a sunflower but after showing the 2 choices in a Facebook group as seen in the photos below, the pumpkin seemed to be the way to go.

Later today I will add the buttons, the sunflower will be placed between the two cornucopia motifs.