Autumn's Offerings - Thor and Sif

NOTE - This article was written, and should have published back in September. It seems it got lost in the ones and zeros...

At the time of balance of the year, I look to nature to see the importance of balance in our lives. In this harvest season it's easy to look to the bountiful fields and the food on our tables as proof of the benefits of balance.

In the Norse tradition Thor is, besides being a mighty warrior, the Lord of Storms. By his presence or absence we get rain and fair weather. Thus, he would be praised for both bringing rain and snow, and for sunny days. Sif, his wife, is a goddess of the fields. Her golden hair (get it right Marvel!) is representative of ripened grains.

Their relationship is a thing of Balance. If there is not enough rain the grain will not grow, if there is too much it rots in the fields. Throughout the winter the soil rests to prepare for the next growing season. Their partnership has space. This is the lesson of the Autumn Equinox,  establish balance in order to create fruitfulness.

As for the making, I placed my ring on the top half of a rectangle of linen, and started stitching! The clouds slowly filled in with undulating waves. I added falling rain drops near the end, and the last touch - a bolt of lightening from the God of Thunder.

The bottom ring I filled with the plants of the fields - vetch, bindweed, grasses, and most importantly golden ripening grain! That space of overlap is the Venn Diagram of the season - rain on the fields.

We gathered for a large feast, think early Thanksgiving, to share in the fruits of the second harvest. This piece was an offering to the Patrons of the rite - Thor and Sif. That is to say, it went up in flames. We got a good omen, and had a fantastic night of food and fellowship. Sacred stitchery has become one of my favorite things!

What are you thankful for? How do you bring balance into your life?

Finds - Warming Up

It's that time of year, the leaves are mostly fallen and the first big snow has left the city wet and cold. What to do when it's cold outside and not much warmer inside? Cuddle up to some warm goodies and warming treats.

Like this fantastic slouchy from MadamePeace, your grandma always did tell you to wear a hat...

And don't forget that grandma told you to have 'stockinged feet' in the winter so you don't catch a cold! Felted slippers by StoneJoyDesign are ideal.

Now make a nice pot of tea to warm up! This no caffeine blend from SpiralElixer will keep you toasty all day.

Particularly if you keep it in this Hebridean wool cozy by AMagpieandaDove. With a constant cold damp breeze coming off the ocean one imagines that the Hebrideans know how to stay warm.

Now pair that hot tea with a bowl of tasty soup, and you're ready to take on the day! A good hand-thrown pottery bowl, like these from WildChildClayWorks, will hold that heat in to the last bite.

Then you can bundle up and run out for a little bit of vitamin D and fresh cold air, use these fluffy gloves with loooong cuffs from CreativeTides to keep from getting a blast of cold air on your wrist. Even if you need to make some snowballs you will still be covered!

It's a hard transition to make, so embrace the good things about Fall changing into Winter, and have a another cuppa. What's your favorite way to enjoy a snowy day?

Harvest Goodies

 We had our first frost a few weeks ago, and that meant it was time to do some gleaning. We've had a strange year, very hot and dry in early spring, then wet, then very hot again, then a biblical flood. Tomatoes have certain conditions they prefer, and night temperatures can really affect the ripening. I had a huge number of big green tomatoes that just would not turn!

 Fortunately, green tomatoes are not a waste. One can make fried green tomatoes, chow chow, chutneys, pickled tomatoes etc. I however, like to let them ripen so I can enjoy fresh tomatoes on my salad in January.

We've always kept tomatoes to ripen, wrapped individually in newspaper and placed in a box. The box should be in a cool still corner to let them slowly mature. Be very careful about not placing bruised, frozen or split tomatoes in the box. One rotten fruit will spread to a whole section of box!

We've also had a bumper crop of lovely juicy pears from our Fruit Share. We're getting two bags at a time, and they all seem to come ripe at the same time! I did a quick fix on the last dozen pears before leaving on this trip, Pear Sauce.

 These golden juicy beauties went right in the processor, peels still on. They were very very ripe, I could actually pull the seeds out from the stem!

 Pureed smooth, then I just brought them up to a boil. I added some nutmeg for a little Fall flavor, and a little lemon. I didn't want to cook them for a long time, it doesn't make the sauce any better and it breaks down nutrients. They get a fair bit of cooking in the canning process anyway!

They were jarred, and then boiled in my canning pot for 15 minutes. The darkening from oxidation seems to have disappeared after that cooking, leaving  a nice camel color flecked with flavor! These will be just the right size for lunch snacks, or for pouring over potato latkes.

I hope everyone else had a bumper crop too! Coming soon, news from New Zealand, where it is spring time and the lambs are super cute!

Finds - Equinox Color

I always feel like this time of year marks an odd shift. For just a moment, before the earth returns to rich tones and muted colors, everything gets a little brighter. The yellow of early changing leaves shine in that warm light of September afternoons. 

Photo by JennDiGuglielmo.

The sun falls directly down the streets as it sets, the equinox lining it up with our neatly planned east-west streets. Is it any wonder that our ancestors loved to arrange things on a celestial grid? 

Class up your journal, from BlueToad.
Psst... BlueToad is having a sale. Use coupon code "September2013"
at checkout to receive 20% off entire journal purchase.

The bright green of summer fields makes the yellows pop even more, and the last waves of wildflowers dance in the cooler air.

Brightly colored Brooch from NormaJeansCloset.

 As it gets colder I get to pull out all the warm fuzzies that have been neglected for most of the summer. And I get started on new pieces for the winter. It's great tea weather, which makes great crafting weather. And the colors outside inspire more warm fuzzies. 

Mitts by PixieBell.

Yarn dyed by 19 Projects.

And of course with the harvest time, there is plenty to do in the kitchen. The bounty of the season makes for wonderful meals, shared in the last golden light of the day.

Fantastic tree apron from WalkervilleTextiles.

As the wheel of the year turns each season has it's own delights. I, for one, relish the bright colors and soft light of September. What is your favorite feature of the Equinox time?

Flowers Everywhere!

 I know, it's not the season we would usually think of for flowers. Everything is all dead and dormant right now (let's pretend it's not been in the upper 60s all week and the spring bulbs are not trying to come up...) and it's not really the time for lush bouquets.

Fortunately there is never really a time without flowers, nature keeps that ball rolling 365! I'm also working on a new "Wheel of the Year" project, this one is themed with flowers instead of trees. I started with Lavender for Midsummer, and Sunflowers for Lughnassahd. I'm now working on Marigolds for Mabon.

It's been an adventure deciding how to portray specific species, and finding suitable accurate colors for each plant. I'm behind in starting on Samhain's Nightshade plant, but hoping to catch up soon. I also had a small epiphany that should be helpful, I find myself constantly redrawing the layout boundaries on the ground, it's dark and the white of chalk pencils seems to disappear quickly. I'm going to try bating a thread along the lines to delineate the space for each one, hopefully it will stay longer!

What are you crafting for the fall season?

Samhain Workday

 Usually it's not good to start things this time of year, but it is a smart idea to finish up projects and put things to bed!

I spent much of the day digging under frozen plants in my garden and covering them with fresh compost to prepare the soil for next year. This mirrors the work our ancestors have done for millennium, laying aside the fields for the winter.

 Then I covered it up with leaves to mulch it and add more material to compost in the winter months. Naturally I had a lot more leaves than I needed for this, so they quadrupled the size of my mulch pile!

 It's also an important time to put up food for the cold months. I've been receiving a bag of apples each week from our Farm Share, and the pile is growing! I decided it was pie time...

But not to eat all at once, I want pie all winter long. I like to prepare fruit so it's ready for use, I use little pie pans to freeze fillings in the perfect shape. After it's frozen I take it out of the pans and seal the bags, I already have piles of peach fillings from earlier in the summer.

It seems so natural to be doing these task this time of year, my oven was full all afternoon preparing the fruits of the season. What are you doing in the dark time of the year?

Etsy Finds - Mabon Harvest

Happy Equinox! Today and tomorrow the night and day are almost equal, and the sun is setting and rising at due East and West. It is the second harvest festival, a time to celebrate the abundance of the earth! Enjoy Apples and spices, grains and roots, vegetables of every type, and of course enjoy the cooler nights. Here's some finds to celebrate the harvest.

A lovely decorative piece from TheWhimsicalPixie11.

Embroidered alter cloth from SilveryMoonBeams

Delicate adornments from Thyme2Dream

Seasonal scented incense, perfect for rituals from OldWorldWitchery

A touch of the season for your home from TheShabbyWitch

A colorful treat for alter or house from AutumnSkyAdornments

May your season be full and productive! Remember, this is not just a time to harvest food, but a time to reap the benefits of all your hard work over the summer in any endeavor. What is your favorite thing about Fall?

Pear Pie

Now, usually I wouldn't do much baking with pears, they are already sweet and soft when raw after all. But our Farm Share delivered a large bag of both apples and pears this week, far more then one could simply eat out of hand! These large juicy pears were begging to be dessert! I made a pie, and got so many request for an encore that I thought I should share...

First I made the crust, 1/2 c. Butter, 1/2 c Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, 1/2 c. Wheat Flour, and a drizzle of cold milk. If you can't get the pastry flour you can use whole wheat flour. I recommend buying some kind of whole wheat flour for your pie crust as it makes for a nice nutty flavor. Also, if you use unsalted butter you will need to add a little salt.

Sprinkle some cardamon on the bottom of the crust. Core the pears and carefully slice them very thin. Arrange across the bottom of the pan, I like a thick pie, feel free the heap them up over the top of the pan.

Beat two eggs and 1/4 c. milk thoroughly,  then pour over fruit. It shouldn't cover the fruit entirely.

Mix 1/4 c. rolled oats, 1/4 c. sugar and a generous sprinkle of cardamon. Sprinkle across the top of the pie. Bake at 350 F until crust is browned and the center doesn't jiggle too much. About 45 min.
Enjoy when warm!

What is your favorite way to eat a pear?

Seasons Changing

The leaves have long since changed and fallen here. The snow is covering the piles. As we approach the solstice and prepare for the cold nights of winter and return of the sun I like to curl up inside with hot tea and knitting. On the other hand, in my family everyone enjoys some kind of winter sport - skiing, telemark, snowboarding etc. It's the time of year for rich hearty soups and baking bread all day because it's nice to hang out in a warm kitchen. The changing seasons are always hard, either leaving behind a favored time of year or entering a challenging time, it's nice to reflect on the upside that each season offers.

We greet the snow with cookies, big sweaters, and sunglasses (in Colorado cold weather does not always mean clouds!). What is your favorite part of Autumn, that you will miss as the world turns? What are you looking forward to in the dark times?

Small Business Saturday

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? In my family we have always taken great pains to be sure that the Yule-time holidays don't overshadow the greatest holiday of all. I mean, really... It's a holiday that every American can celebrate. There's no religious undertones, no ethnic history, celebrating questionable history. (Ok yes, the Europeans and the Natives didn't get on all that well ultimately, but it's a celebration of survival and plenty, not conquest.)

But as a business woman I have to recognize the simple fact, this starts a shopping rush. But Black Friday? Is there really anyone who looks forward to lining up in the wee hours of the morning to fight someone for the last Tickle-me-Elmo? To a rushed and harried day of desperately searching sales. To waiting in long checkout lines as miserable clerks run up your credit card debt. Is this really what the Holiday spirit is all about?

Make this year different, make Friday a "Buy Nothing" day, stay home with your family, play in the leaves, enjoy your turkey cranberry sandwiches and some hot cider. Leave the ravenous hordes to fight for scraps.

But if you have shopping to do, consider joining in Small Business Saturday. Go to the little clumps of locally owned boutiques, stroll the street with friends and family, take your time perusing the goods. Often your small local stores have items you just can't find in a Big Box retailer, so you will bring home something unique!

Need more reasons? It's estimated that $0.45 of each dollar you spend in a locally owned shop stays in your community, through the salaries of the workers and the profits of the business, and the fact that these community members often shop local as well! Building strong sustainable communities requires diverse small businesses.
Shopping Local ensures a unique variety of goods is available, and makes every city and nieghborhood different. It makes sure you have options. Also, no local shops I know of are opening at 2 in the morning, their employees get to enjoy Thanksgiving with their families and plenty of sleep.

All Hallows' Eve Leftovers...

It's the morning after, only the crummy candy is left at the bottom of the bowl. But there are bags of it on sale at the local store, so the sugar high needn't stop just yet! If however, you wanted to have some real food without losing the spirit of the season, one need only look at the front porch!

I carved two curcubits this year, a traditional orange pumpkin and a gray skinned Hubbard squash. So the day after Halloween I let out some anger. Poor Jack-o-lanterns! They were mercilessly hacked to pieces in order to bake, peel and puree...
This is the Hubbard, very thick skinned, but firm enough to chunk up for freezing and cooking. The pumpkin was all pureed, I've already had pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, pumpkin chai... there was in all about 14 pounds of puree off a single pumpkin! And the Hubbard squash took about 5 cake pans full to be all chunked up and cooked.

But this bounty has already made it's way to the table as well! I will have to carefully sneak pumpkin ans squash into dishes for several weeks, after this holiday orgy of giant squash carving! I suspect there will be plenty ready to go for Thanksgiving for sure.

The ultimate winter food is soup. Which is also convenient to make in huge batches and freeze any survivors! Curried squash soup, spicy pumpkin soup, creamy Hubbard soup... Winter is not so bad right?


A good bit of the squash became mixed with bread and veggies for baked stuffing. It's the best in cold weather comfort food, and it taste even better the second day so make a big batch! My largest cake pan is barely enough...

It Be-hooves One..

AKA How to Turn Your Boyfriend into a Goat.

Well, kinda... For a group costume with some friends of mine, we settled on A Midsummer's Night Dream. We had Titania and Oberon, Queen Mab, I chose to be a fairy (cobweb is best for the season!) and it was decided to make him Pan. (Decided without asking him of course!)

For hooves I started with a pair of his tall boots, covered the bottom with plastic and started layering paper maché. I put a small armature of cardboard underneath to make them less foot shaped, and of course a wicked goat needs cloven hooves...

For the maché mix I simply used flour and hot water. I put it in the fridge overnight while waiting for layers to dry. It's somewhat magical how sturdy paper fiber and flour can be!
I cut off the plastic above and below, and used tape to clean up the edges. There were several coats of black and brown spray paint to seal things and make them shiny, then I added some bone texture with acrylic paint.

Just add fake fur! Lots of fake fur, and ears and horns made from stage latex. Attach a fairy to him and enjoy an evening of Shakespearean cavorting! I hope everyone is enjoying the Halloween costume season, I've been sewing everyday for two weeks to get things ready...