hello september...

august has passed and it did so rather quietly. that is always a blessing to me. i think we might even be making friends, august and i.

we spent the month with long walks, lots of moon gazing, garden tending, painting and even a finished knitting project.

i woke this morning to very chilly winds and it was a wonderful way to start the morning off with a walk.  i even had to wear my hoodie. :-)

september is here and i am excited.  i love that we are closer to sweater wearing and cozy candle light evenings. color changing and falling leaves, apple everything and, of course, pumpkins. 

what do you love about september?

thanks for being here...

love & magicks

~*~

ps...i won't be around much in september as i have some things happening and will be offline. (everything is fine)  i'll be back soon as i can. xo

 

blessings on lughnasadh...

 

the first of august.

to me, the beginning of autumn.

yesterday, i refreshed my altar (really, i took it down and completely redid it) and set it up for the autumn season.  i'm not sure why, but the first harvest on 1 august (lughnasadh) has always felt like the change of season.  i'm that way with all the seasons.  to me, winter begins on the first of november (samhain), spring on the first of february (imbolc) and summer on the first of may (beltane).  four of the eight pagan sabbats.

the other sabbats: yule, ostara, litha and mabon are all mid-points between seasons. it's just how it has always felt to me.

so...autumn season decorating, planning and celebrating have begun here.

at sunset last night, i lit the middle (orange) candle on my altar and will leave it burning until sunset tonight.  then i will light it for a little while each day all through the autumn season, as a way to acknowledge the harvests that i have reaped this year.

today, i made a third recent attempt at this recipe. i've been making it for years with no problems, but the last two times it has been an epic failure.  as you can see from the second photo, today was a success. (although, i did forget to cut the x into the top so mine didn't bloom)

after sundown i'll take a chunk out to the trees and leave as an offering.  i'd put it on my altar but currently i'm under an ant invasion and don't want to give them more reason to stick around.

on sunday i spent time with the art witches and completed the painting in that last picture.  i was just playing around but really enjoyed it and am happy with it.  while i was working i came to the realization that every painting does not have to have 5 layers, or complex images, etc.  simple can be fun and beautiful. 

i did another painting yesterday in the same theme and will probably share it later. 

for now, i wanted to say hello to august, and to you.

wishing you and yours a blessed lughnasadh.  may all your harvests be plentiful.

thanks for being here,

love & magicks

~*~ 

 

all the autumny goodness...

 

happy October wishes to you...

as i'm currently in quarantine, self-imposed - which i will explain later, i can't get out to take pictures of this beautiful autumn first of October day.  so, i dived into my photo archives to find some October pictures for this post.  above we have 2020, 2014 and 2009.

i'd meant to post long past in early september, but the month got away from me.  so much happening and so much to tend to.

i'm hoping to share it all here over the coming weeks.  as well as, bringing some new things to share.

and so it is October... and you know what that means around here.  all the autumny goodness to be delved into.  even if it does still feel like summer here in the south.  my mind is all in for cozy blankets, lighting the fireplace, crunching leaves under my feet and lots of warm soups and stews. and we can't forget the spooky season.  my little witches are all itching to come out of their cupboards and visit for the month.

yesterday, while working in my studio on an art piece, i had the thought that if i go all out with decorating for halloween, i might just leave it up through xmas.

then i discovered that not only will i be hosting thanksgiving, but i'll be taking over the xmas holiday hosting as well. so...halloween will come out, and will have to go up before thanksgiving.

well..that's alright then.

i have a serious craving for pumpkin bread right now and hope to get to that today or tomorrow.

i just wanted to pop in quickly to say hello, welcome October and wish you all a happy autumn season.

i hope to be back very soon.  i have so much to share!

thanks for reading...

love, kisses & magical wishes...

~*~

 

september...

 

i love september...

i love the turn in the air that brings cooler weather. i love the shorter days. i love the scent of the air.

i love pumpkins...

here in my part of the south, september is part summer/part autumn and really the best mix of both.

today i'm trying to decide if i want to bring out the halloween decor.  i'm mostly a stick to the month decorator when it comes to holidays.  for example, i decorate for autum (normally) starting september 1st, bring out halloween on oct 1st and go back to just autumn nov 1st.  winter decor comes out dec 1st with yule/santa stuff going back in storage a few days after the 25th.

this year feels different.

i started putting autumn decor out on aug 1st. maybe i'll wait a few days then hunt up the halloween stuff.

i just realized i've not been to the farmer's market at all this year.  that is very depressing.  i'm going to try to go tomorrow or friday.  i'd love some fresh local corn, and apples...oh and PUMPKINS!!!  

the photo above is actually from september 2015.  i don't really have one autumnal from this year, yet.

well, that's all for my ramblings today.  do you have a schedule for your holiday/seasonal decorating?  are you ready for autumn, or are you a spring/summer person?

thanks for stopping by for a read...

love & blessings

~*~

ps...i appreciate the comments and suggestions from my last post.  i know that therapy doesn't wholly work without all the information...so yes, i know i didn't help myself during those therapies... thanks again  xoxo

where did September go...

Is it really the end of September?  How did that happen so fast?!?

I really did have plans to be here.  Where did the time go?

Most of September passed in a migraine haze.  Oh well...I'll just go on from here.

I'll be back here soon with stories of my trip.  And my favorite time is around the corner.  I usually start celebrating on the 1st.  

I hope you had a wonderful September.  Is it autumn weather where you are?  We are still experiencing 90's in the temps here.  The weather channel says the autumn weather will be settling in here on Saturday.  I can't wait!  I really want to wear sweaters, wrap up in cozy blankets and sip hot tea and cider!  

How is your autumn going so far?

Thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~

Hello, September...

September 1st - in my head it is the beginning of the Autumn season.  I know it isn't "officially" Autumn until the 23rd this year, but...

August for me is very hard, as you know if you've been reading here for a while.  This August started just as bad as they usually do, but it ended...oh my how it ended.

Those pictures above?  Well...I did a thing.  Something so far out of my comfort zone that I couldn't even see the zone anymore.  In fact, I was two time zones away from home.  I took a trip.  Such an adventure!  I'm going to tell you about it, I promise.

I have so much I want to share about my trip and my time away.  Things that happened, things that didn't happen.  I took over 650 pictures.  Crazy, I know...

But it seemed like every time I turned around the sky changed the way the land looked.  So amazing!  And the night sky!  Oh how I wish I'd had a camera that could capture that night sky!  I have never in my life seen so many stars!  And I saw the Milky Way! (no, not the candy bar! haha)

Truly, it was a magical, mystical experience that I'm pretty sure will stay witn me for the rest of my life.  

But for now, I wanted to say hello.  Welcome, September.  I'm so happy to see you.  I can already feel the change in the air and see the change in the light at dusk.  

How was everyone's August?  

thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~

 

Ahhhh...

Do you feel that?  The slight change in the air.  A new gentleness in the light.  Ah...Autumn.  

I love this time of year.  The trees changing colors, a coolness in the breeze.  Everything seems to be calming down, instead of the rush of summer.

We've had cooler weather (in the 70's) here these last several days and my windows have been open wide letting in that fresh air.  I'll have to close them again for the weekend and turn the A/C back on as it is to hit 90 on Saturday.  But, then the temps drop again and I've a feeling that will be it for hot weather.

I've spent quite a bit of time outside, puttering around in my little garden.  Everything is settling down and going to seed.  I keep thinking of planting a few collards, but I haven't done it.  I'm not sure if it is too late or not.  I'll have to look into that.

I have several projects going on around here.  Mostly I'm trying to collect supplies for this years Red Thread Retreat.  I'm so looking forward to going.  It is less than a month away.  

Well, I just wanted to pop in and say a quick hello, and welcome to Autumn.  I hope you are having a wonderful week.  

thanks for stopping by!
love & blessings
~*~

ps...if you follow me on Instagram you'll know I've been a bit obsessed with the skies lately.  hence the top photos :-)

Blessed Mabon

Hello Autumn, I'm so glad you're here!  I hope you are all having a wonderful Equinox, be it Autumn here or Spring for those on the other side of world.  I'm so glad that Autumn is here and I can enjoy spending time out of doors.  The heat of summer has said goodbye, mostly, and everything is turning up pumpkins!  :-)

I appreciate your comments on yesterdays post.  It means a lot to me.  I intend to keep coming here and sharing and hopefully you'll keep coming back.  

Since there was nothing to harvest in my own little garden, I went to two farmer's markets today.  First stop was the little one in the town I used to live in, my favorite.  I wasn't planning to purchase anything but ended up with a nice bunch of green beans and those four cute little white pumpkins on my mantle (first photo).  At the second market I found a couple of small pretty mums, and some pansies, plus more pumpkins.  If you hadn't noticed, I'm a bit of a pumpkin nut.  I tried growing my own a few years ago and but it was a big bust.  I've only grown one pumpkin successfully in all my growing years.  But that's okay.  So long as someone out there is growing them, I'll be buying them.  

Tonight's sunset was just stunning.  I really wish my photos were better.  It started out orange-y and turned sort of cotton candy pink. So pretty!

I haven't worked on my shrug in a few days, but I'm quite pleased with my progress.  I had to frog it twice.  The first time I realized that I'd somehow knit up the edging incorrectly.  Once I fixed that and was starting on the main part, I discovered somewhere at the beginning I'd added an extra stitch. So, rip, rip, rip again.  Now I've got the hang of it though and am moving along.  The next four days call for cold and rain, weather-wise, so knitting may be just the thing.  And soup.  I'm going to try this one that I've seen both Alicia and Amanda talk about.

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?  Is autumn making an appearance?

thanks for stopping by, 
blessings
~*~
 

Welcoming September

 

Hello September, I am so very happy that you are here.  I have started my autumn decorating, leaving the Halloween things until October 1st.  Despite the high heat that has returned, I'm excited for autumn and I just know the cooler air and falling leaves are on their way.

Yesterday was a miserable day for me, physically.  I spent most of it in bed.  Today has been a day of catch up so far.  Laundry, mail, etc.  I really don't have a lot to share today, but am busy thinking of things to share about in coming posts.  I hope that you have a wonderful day.

Are you ready for autumn?  Do you have any special things you do during this time?

love & blessings

~*~

just saying hello

 Hello and Happy Autumn and pumpkin season!  There has been so much going on around the cottage that I've been unable to get here as I've wanted.  I have managed to keep up with my favorite blogs, thank goodness.  You have no idea how much help your blogs are to me.  Seeing the beauty that my online friends here in bloglandia are making/creating/growing, etc just helps keep me alive. 

I "planted" the little window box, above, with pumpkins and fall leaves for autumn, instead of trying to keep actual plants alive.  I've had two showings so far and a good showing at the open house.  I'm hopeful that there will be more viewings soon as I'd like to get move on from this part of my life as soon as possible.  I went to look at a few townhouses today.  Amazingly enough the third one I saw is "the one".  It is in a nice quiet area, with lots of growing space in the back (but not enough to make it too much for me) and the inside is just wonderful. 

 I said goodbye to the jungle my garden had become.  The pumpkin patch has been cleared and seeded.  The volunteer trees cleaned up and everything looks nice and manageable right now.  Thank goodness winter is coming and I won't have to do much except maybe mow one more time and rake some leaves.  

 Just before the crew came to tame my garden jungle I went out to harvest what I could.  I ended up giving all of this away and anything else they could find in the garden to the workers.  It made it easy on me to not have to cook any thing.  I'm trying to keep the kitchen clean (I'm horrible at doing dishes and make a huge mess when I really cook or bake) and so have been eating a whole lot of microwavable meals.  It's not very healthy, but maybe I can get better at it.

For the open house, I went and bought some pretty mums for the porch.  This one keeps falling off the table it is on, but it is so pretty.

I know there are a lot of blog parties coming up for the Halloween season and I wish I could participate, but mums and a few pumpkins on the porch are about all the decorating that is going to happen here in the cottage.  I have to keep things simple right now, not just for the showings in hope of selling the house, but also because of my health.  I just have to take things easy for now.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
blessings
~*~

Autumn wishes and a general update

(this is an old photo from 2008 - I haven't been taking any photos lately)


Autumn arrived today and with it I feel better than I have in months.  I don't know if it is the change of season or going off some very heavy meds, but I do feel better.  For the past month I've been like the walking dead.  I've slept for anywhere from 14 to 20 hours in a day.  I'm still dealing with the requisite withdrawal (nausea, no appetite, etc.) but I do feel better.

This zombie like life has put a halt to plans for the cottage sale.  We have all but three rooms to go, the kitchen, laundry room and my studio (which will require the most work).  My mum had her cleaning lady come in yesterday and today and clean the rooms not mentioned above.  She's a lovely lady and very sweet, but after she left today I found a letter from her where she basically told my that my health issues are because I practice witchcraft and that if I renounce it and turn to Christ, I'll be healed.

This is why I don't allow people in my home.  I can't imagine what type of letter I would have gotten had I not already taken down all my altars and shrines.  Oy vey...

Tomorrow I will push through, I hope, and finish the kitchen and laundry room and then Tuesday I hope to tackle the studio.  I've decided to let mum have a landscape crew come in and just fix the yard and garden so it looks good for selling.  I did tell her no to having the seed the big pumpkin patch with grass, because if I'm still here next summer, I'd like to try again.

So if all goes well the cottage should be on market by the end of the week.  I'd like to get it settled before I go to hospital a week from tomorrow for wee procedure.  I had one back in 2008 and remember being awake for it, but they tell me I'll be sedated for this one.  So, that makes me a little more nervous.

Alright, I'm signing off for now but hope to be back soon with maybe some art or something fun and good.

I wish you all a wonderful Mabon and wonderful Autumny feelings. 

(Maybe I'll go buy some pumpkins this week for the porch.)

just like the leaves of autumn...

i keep falling... and falling... no matter how many different places i get raked to or piles i get swept up into, i take my punches, take my beatings and fall, farther and farther... i keep wondering where the bottom is... and just how far i have to fall before i find it...

blessings
~*~

gone too quickly

october is going by too quickly for me... i want more fall days (i know november will have them but they just aren't quite the same as october fall days...)

the past two weeks have been a blur...hospital was not a pleasant experience...i had a male version of nurse ratchet who insisted that he had to push down on the incisions at my groin every 15 minutes...i swear i wanted to rip his arms off or better yet a lower portion of his anatomy. the surgery was a bust, as the pressure gradient was in the quite normal range and so no stint was placed. this leads us back to the drawing board completely and makes me very sad. i must admit i placed all my hopes for any relief on this stinting happening and clearing up the flow and thus relieving the pain...

my neurologist has given up now and turned me over to the other neuro-specialist that he recommended me to whom i can't get in to see until early december...i've called their office and practically did i beg for them to see me sooner or at least prescribe something! i am off on tuesday to the optical specialist to see about the other issues that have been discovered throughout this process that are "unexplainable"... i am quite seriously sick of doctors and tests, aren't you?

a few days of recovery at home after hospital and i was whisked off by my mum with a couple of her friends for a few days stay in our mountain home. it was wonderful to go and be there, i know i've expressed before my absolute love of those mountains and our home there. the weather lovely (i could have done with a bit colder during the day) the nights were fabulously chilly and allowed for roaring fires...



leaf turning peak is a big deal up there and we arrived near to peak, i believe



we spent several days shopping...going from store to store and town to town. i was so exhausted each night but instead of getting to rest, we played games until late at night. the last night we were there i went to bed early (around 10:45) and was awoken at 1am to the sounds of something crawling across the ceiling...seems the day before when we'd had the handyman come round to patch some holes in the fascia at the roof he ended up trapping a raccoon in the attic! it sounded HUGE and PISSED! i removed myself to the downstairs and stayed on the couch until morning as i just new it was going to claw it's way through my wall right at my head... but it seems s/he made an escape between the wee hours of 4am and 7am by knocking a board out of the attic fascia on the outside of the house. the handyman came back after we had left for home and was going to set a live trap so as to be able to set him/her free somewhere else if he/she returned. he's not called us so we take this to mean the bugger did not get back in the attic.



there were lots of displays all over town, lots of cute shops and cute items i wanted to purchase. the only thing i bought was a hat...i found one that actually looked good on my, a first! and so had to have it! i also found the most marvelous chocolate shop...i did get any pictures but when i go back i will ask if they will let me take some...it was a cross between Sally's shop in Practical Magic and Vianne's shop in Chocolat...and it was all decorated for halloween...so lovely!

i've finally caught up on all my blog reading...it took several days and i'm enjoying all the parties that i missed...you are all so very creative!

there is much to do this week, more doctors, meetings with people from work and our benefits to apply for disability (did i mention my leave from work has been extended through january) and there is lots of yard work that needs to get done. i'm even hoping to possibly get some garlic planted...maybe...

blessings
~*~