My Wooden Spoon Giveaways

I know I know...you are thinking 'Didn't she blog about this LAST week?' But hey it's a new week so there is a new giveaway. I HIGHLY suggest you check it out. This week she's giving away a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer She is doing weekly giveaways over there and then throwing a few in here and there as she goes I mean come on. Who can't use a Kitchen Aid??

Also check out the other yummy recipies and the like over at her site. She has become one of my favorite reads each day.

Kids Say the darndest things...

You they aren't kidding when they say kids just say whatever is on their mind and it's usually the most honest response they have. Well I'm stealing Rhoni's plan with using children as filler :)

As I mentioned yesterday we had a family funeral last week. My Brother in Law's mother passed away. Well I arrived at the funeral home while hubby and R went to MILs to set up for the reception afterwards. I walk in and say hi to SIL and the the kids. (SIL has 2 6 year old twin girls and a 4 year old boy.)

Anyway I walk up to my BIL and KR(one of the twins) and gave him a hug and looked down at KR holding a large note card. It went something like this:

me: "What'cha got there babygirl?"
KR: "I'm writing a song for my Grandma" (she hands me card to read as she glances at the casket we are standing next to)
me: (I start reading the card)
KR leans in close to me and acts like she's going to whisper but it kinda loud as she points to the casket "She's the one in the case"

At this point BIL and I are staring at each other trying our hardest not to burst out laughing. I mean come on...how brutally honest is that. To a 6 year old that's exactly what it was.

Fast forward to the reception. A few of us are sitting around talking and one one of the girls there asks how I've been feeling. Well R the dear son of mine that he is comes walking through the room, "Eh Mommy doesn't get out much" *rolls eyes* Yeah gotta love kids

Manic Monday

Well first of all. WOW I managed to post the entire week and not miss a day. For me lately that's amazing. Wasn't feeling very motivated to post despite Sadie prodding me nightly to do so. Was just the general feeling of blah and I guess I didn't want to pass that on.

Anyway last week seems like a whirlwind with Beltane and a Funeral (BILs Mom passed) and Free Comic book day. Hoping this week is sorta chilled out. Other then that all is calm at the moment. And I like calm :)

My Wooden Spoon Giveaway

I stumbled upon this great little site called My Wooden spoon. Well they are starting 3 months of giveaway, once a week. This weeks is a CUISINART FOOD PREP PLUS PROCESSOR with a Wooden Spoon. Think about all the herbs you could chop up in that both witchy or otherwise. Anyway I highly siggest you check the site out not just for the giveaways but for everything there in genreal :)

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!!

One of my favorite days of the year...Not quite sure why they decided Beltane weekend was a good weekend to do this. But I digress. Yeah I'm a geeky witch....what can I tell ya. Free Comics...a look at some upcoming titles. And comics are not necessarily what you might think anymore. There are a lot more comics geared towards adults then kids. Trust me...I would not let my son read the "current" Superhero comics. They have a section of those that are just for their ages. Today's superhero comics deal with more adult things. Then again...some of them also teach. What they are calling a "graphic novel" is really a comic in a bigger book. We just ordered the history of Nat Turner for my oldest for Christmas because he just LOVES history and that's what they are studying now. They have also transformed a lot of old classics into graphic novels to try and get kids to read them. Anyway...if you have a local comic shop I would check it out and see if they are holding free comic book day there :)

Beltane - Lemon Bread

Lemon Bread
Bring the tart and juicy flavor of lemon to your Beltane table.

Ingredients: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter or stick margarine, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup sour cream or organic yogurt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Glaze
1/3 cup superfine granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lemon


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan. Cream together the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat in eggs and mix well. Add the sour cream and lemon zest, and beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix well. Fold in chopped nuts, if desired. Spoon the batter into the greased loaf pan, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean.

Remove the bread from the oven, and make tiny holes in the top with a toothpick.

In a glass measuring cup whisk together the granulated sugar and lemon juice, until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly pour the lemon glaze on top of the loaf while it is still warm, allowing the glaze to seep into the bread. Set the loaf on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Turn it out of the pan and cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen facts about Beltane

1. April 30th also known as Roodmas or May Day. Beltane has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals. Beltane means fire of Bel; Belinos being one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast we now celebrate. As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms, an exuberant mood prevails.

2. In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in today’s times.

3. In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods “A-Maying,” and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health.

4. The Christian religion had only a poor substitute for the life-affirming Maypole –namely the death-affirming cross. Hence, in the Christian calendar, this was celebrated as ‘Roodmas’ .

5. In Germany, it was the feast of Saint Walpurga, or Walpurgisnacht’. An alternative date around May 5 (Old Beltane), when the sun reaches 15 degrees Taurus, is sometimes employed by Covens. (Both ‘Lady Day’ and ‘Ostara’ are names incorrectly assigned to this holiday by some modern traditions of Wicca.)

6. Ancient Pagan traditions say that Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, he desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God. To celebrate, a wedding feast, for the God and Goddess must be prepared.

7. Beltane, like Samhain, is a time of "no time" when the veils between the two worlds are at their thinnest. No time is when the two worlds intermingle and unite and the magic abounds! It is the time when the Faeries return from their winter respite, carefree and full of faery mischief and faery delight. On the night before Beltane, in times past, folks would place rowan branches at their windows and doors for protection, many otherworldly occurrences could transpire during this time of "no time". Traditionally on the Isle of Man, the youngest member of the family gathers primroses on the eve before Beltane and throws the flowers at the door of the home for protection. In Ireland it is believed that food left over from May Eve must not be eaten, but rather buried or left as an offering to the faery instead. Much like the tradition of leaving of whatever is not harvested from the fields on Samhain, food on the time of no time is treated with great care.

8. Celebration includes frolicking throughout the countryside, maypole dancing, leaping over fires to ensure fertility, circling the fire three times (sun-wise) for good luck in the coming year, athletic tournaments feasting, music, drinking, children collecting the May: gathering flowers. children gathering flowers, hobby horses, May birching and folks go a maying". Flowers, flower wreaths and garlands are typical decorations for this holiday, as well as ribbons and streamers. Flowers are a crucial symbol of Beltane, they signal the victory of Summer over Winter and the blossoming of sensuality in all of nature and the bounty it will bring.

9. The central color of Beltane is green. Green is the color of growth, abundance, plentiful harvest, abundant crops, fertility, and luck. White is another color that is customary, white brings the energies of cleansing, peace, spirituality, and the power to dispel negativity. Another color is red who brings along the qualities of energy, strength, sex, vibrancy, quickening, health, consummation and retention. Sun energy, life force and happiness are brought to Beltane by the color yellow. Blues and purples (Sagittarius energies: expansion, Good Fortune, magic, spiritual power, Success), and pinks (Venus energies). Beltane is rich in vibrant color, lighting the eyes and cheering the Spirit as we leave the dreariness of winter behind.

10. It is customary to bake a colorful fruit and spiced filled bread for festivals in the Celtic lands, traditionally this festival bread is sweet dough made with sweetmeat and spices. In Scotland they are the bannock - Bonnach Bealtain - for Beltane, in Wales - Bara Brith, Ireland it is Barm Brack and in Brittany Morlaix Brioche. For Beltane this bread was made the eve before Beltane day, is it said that the bread should not allow it to come into contact with steel during preparation (steel is harmful, deadly to the faery folk).

11. It is customary that trial unions, for a year and a day, occur at this time. More or less these were statements of intent between couples, which were not legally binding. The trial marriages (engagements) typically occurred between a couple before deciding to take a further step into a legally binding union. It seems ancient wisdom understood that one does not really know another until they have lived with them, and when you live together things change and we change, as well. With this understanding unions were entered upon, first as a test period, and then if desired, a further commitment could be taken. It through always knowing that it is only through the choice of both to remain, that the relationship exists favorably.



12. Water is another important association of Beltane, water is refreshing and rejuvenating, it is also imperative to life. It is said that if you bathe in the dew gathered before dawn on Beltane morn, your beauty will flourish throughout the year. Those who are sprinkled with May dew are insured of health and happiness. There are other folk customs such as drinking from the well before sunrise on Beltane Morn to insure good health and fortune.

13. May is the month of sensuality and sexuality revitalized, the reawakening of the earth and Her Children. It is the time when we reawaken to the vivid colors, vibrant scents, tingling summer breezes, and the rapture of summer after a long dormant winter. It is a time of extraordinary expression of earth, animal, and person a time of great enchantment and celebration. (In other words if you want to celebrate Beltane...HAVE SEX!!!)May, however, according to old folklore is not a favorable time for marriages in the legal and permanent sense. There is reference after reference in the old books of this belief, and according to my Irish grandmother, May is not the month to marry, woe is to had by those who do. I can understand the premise of this folklore, May is the Goddess and God's handfasting month, all honor would be Hers and His.