Bye July & Special Gifts

Saying "bye" to July today. What a hot, dry summer month! Of course summer is supposed to be hot, but this was really too much, wasn't it? Or am I whining again about the weather?!

Kittens doing great! Growing, playing, purring (yep our shy little Pixie is purring now!) They have been with us for 10 days and have become the stars of the household. (don't tell that to the dogs, please).

Olympics? Haven't gotten much opportunity to watch. To be honest, I hate watching commercial tv, drives me nuts.

I wanted to show off my gifts I received from Sandy Sandy when I visited her in New Jersey last week. Been so enamored of kittens, I haven't had a chance to focus on other things.

This beautifully framed picture of a robin was beautifully painted by Sandy Sandy. Is it not exceptional? I absolutely love it and it is now one of my treasured possessions. To see more of Sandy's art, please click on this link . It will take you to Sandy's blog, and there you will find beautiful things and links to her other websites. (please click on photos for a better view)

Sandy also give me this artful, inspirational and informational book on Animal Spirits. She both wrote the text and painted the illustrations. It is called An Awakening to the Presence of Animal Spirits. As described  on the back of the book:  "....the author/illustrator has created a simplified guide book which will help anyone with an open mind become more aware of the very real yet somewhat hidden layers of the natural world." There are many entries that feature the "symbolic and spiritual attributes of some of our planet's most common and popular creatures."  This is truly a divine book representing much study and spiritual awareness on Sandy's part. Birds, animals, both wild and domesticated, marine life and more are shown. Knowing about these Animal Spirits will greatly enhance your life, both the mundane and  the spiritual.

Look at this Christmas Cactus. I promise, Sandy, I will do my best to keep it alive and well. I love it.

This little kitty cat is a marvelous creation of Sandy's husband, Jerry. He takes castaway scrap metal, nails, bolts, railway pikes, horseshoes, you name it, and fashions them into the most delighful works of whimsy. So creative! I adore this cat, and he now guards the front porch.

Such gifts from such generous, kind people!!

Thanks for stopping by today. Wednesday is a special day, Lughnasadh, a Wiccan sabbat. I will share about it tomorrow.  Stay cool.

Pixie (isn't she cute)

Wordless Wednesday--Kittens at Play

New Jersey Adventures

We are home safe and sound after a marvelous weekend. My husband and I met two of the kindest, most generous people on this planet. Sandy Sandy and her husband welcomed us into their beautiful home and treated us royally....great food, beautiful surroundings including wild turkeys, hundreds of hummingbirds, whimsical handcrafted artwork and spirit-filled paintings. They gave us a tour of their workshop and studio, horse barn, the nearby Pine Barrens and miles of cranberry bogs. We were gifted with fresh-picked Jersey white corn, tomatoes, a Christmas cactus, art, both painted and metalwork, and wonderful home-made blueberry waffles for Sunday breakfast.

Oh, and there were kittens as well. (click on any photo for a closer look)

Jersey Kids a-frolick

Tom Turkeys and their ladies

More than 30 deer visit Sandy's home daily, for corn, apples and bananas

Sandy's husband crafts dragons and all manner of things out of found scrap metals

Through the Pine Barrens into cranberry bogs

Hard to capture the many hummers on camera

Two great friends, Robin and Sandy

An amazing weekend! Fun and sweet. We came home with two adorable kittens! There has been a little change in who we brought home. You will have to visit my other blog, Purrrrsnickitty  to read about that.

Please visit Sandy's blog to see her art and read more about her journey through a spirited life and how she and her husband live with horses, cats, wild turkey, deer, raccoons, woodchucks and all manner of things of the natural world. Sandy Sandy Spirit Artist

The Weekend Is Upon Us

A very busy week is culminating with preparations today for our "big trip" to New Jersey.  You know, the trip where we meet a good blog friend and collect a couple of kittens!

Calico Sisters

Wishing everyone a happy and safe weekend.

Celebrate Oz Post is Here...Now

Apparently Blogger thinks it is still Wednesday. I published my Oz post at 12:20 am July 19th. Blogger says I slept in till 8:10 am Yesterday!   so...for my followers...please scroll down to see today's post, which is dated Wednesday July 18th.

Thank you very much!!!     Robin.

Celebrate Oz! *** Toto Speaks ***

Note: the lovely Oma Linda of the blog http://lindaomasoldebaggsnstuftshirts.blogspot.com/  is hosting her second annual Celebrate Oz blog party today. Click on the link to visit Linda's blog, and to see the list of other party participants. We are off to see the Wizard!

A few days after Dorothy and Toto returned home from their adventures in Oz, Norris Newshound, reporter from the newspaper, "Barker's Chronicle", (their motto: "News for Dogs, and you can pee on it after") sat and stayed with Toto to learn his thoughts concerning his trip to see the Wizard.

NN: Toto, you don't look any worse for wear after your big trip.

Toto: Thanks, Norris, I don't feel too badly, though I am a little hoarse.

NN: There was a lot of barking?

Toto: Oh, you betcha! Tornadoes, wicked witches, weird Munchkins. And those trees!

NN: What about the trees, Toto?

Toto: Man, they were wild. They threw apples. I tried fetching them, but there were just too many. So I just barked and lifted my leg. You know how a dog loves a tree.

NN: Hmm, yes, well. Tell us a bit about your companions.

Toto: Well, you know I love Dorothy to death, but she has strange taste in friends. I mean, that Scarecrow tasted awful. You can't really sink your teeth into straw, you know. And every time you'd turn around, that Tin Man was calling for his oil can. I got a little tired of the "Oil can what?" joke. I mean, woof!

NN: Were you afraid of the Lion?

Toto: Are you serious? I could take him down with three paws tied behind my back.

NN: I understand the Flying Monkeys were rather terrifying.

Toto: Not much fun being carried away by one of those monkeys.

NN: It was painful and scary?

Toto: Naw, they just had a gawd-awful smell. Woof! You know, I like me some good smells. The Wicked Witch actually didn't smell that bad. Kinda like lollipops.

NN: You don't mean.......?

Toto: Yep, that Munchkin Mayor told us there used to be a lot more representatives of the Lollipop Guild.

NN: So Toto, you were a hero, weren't you, since you were the one who discovered the Wizard imposter.

Toto: Oh, sure, I decided it was "Curtains" for that guy. What a maroon.

NN: Do you think you would like to return to Oz some time, Toto?

Toto: Yeah, I think so. You know, they have that Horse of a Different Color? I heard they also have a Dog of a Thousand Smells, and that she ain't fixed! Woof, woof!

NN: Good dog, Toto. And this concludes our interview. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Glad you returned safely.

Toto: Thanks, Norris. There's no place like home, unless there's big juicy steak at the neighbor's.

GiveAway Winner!

Papers with names on them
Swirling and Twirling
Who Wins the Book?
Well Let's Look and See

Pluck a Name
Unfold the Paper
Who Is It?







Hmmmmmmmm.........

Do Your Really Want to Know?


The Winner of the book "A Discovery Of Witches" by Deborah Harkness is...........



Scroll some more, why don't ya?



Tee-Hee..................

It's Debra, from the blog she who seeks

Congrats Debra!!!!! Thank you everyone who entered the giveaway! I appreciate your loyal readership!!

A Mile a Minute

It's already Tuesday! Can the clock slow down just a bit, please? The weekend was ka-razy, let me tell ya!
So, my husband was due to return Sunday afternoon, but due first to "airplane maintenance" the flight was delayed. Every thirty minutes it was delayed further. It was finally cancelled at 8:00pm due to thunderstorms. My husband had just traveled 10 hours from Hawaii to Newark NJ, waited over 10 hours in an airport for his flight and ended up renting a car and driving 4 1/2 hours, arriving home at 1:00 am. What an arduous trip. Oh, and of course his luggage got lost!

Meanwhile, I am preparing for kittens all weekend. Shopping for the various accoutrement that is required for feline happiness. My son and I spent part of Sunday and most of Monday re-organizing the house for the impending arrival. Yes, this is true. We moved furniture, rearranged the family room and the living room. A cozy nook is being set up for the Calico Twins, but this requires a lot of thought and manual labor. (I do the thinking and Nicarus does the labor of course.) My mind is racing a mile a minute.

On top of all this it continues to be blistering hot, the garden is not thriving and I don't think I have turned the oven on in about three weeks. 

There are bright spots throughout the heat, work and worry, though. For one thing, I am having a giveaway. Please enter here if you haven't already. For another thing, we have the Celebrate Oz blog party on July 19th, hosted by our beloved Oma Linda. Please click on this link to find out all about Celebrate Oz, and to congratulate Linda on her 700th post! 

And then guess what? I received the sweetest email from the fantastic author and blogger, Magaly Guerrero.  She has given me a blog award. It's a bit humbling, and I find myself feeling a tad shy and slightly embarrassed when someone gives me an award. That's why you never see the blog awards on my sidebars. But I would like to thank Magaly so very very much for thinking of me and my little blog and giving me the Kreativ Blogger award. You can read about it here, at Magaly's great blog, Pagan Culture.

So the excitement is building so much for our trip to New Jersey this coming weekend. Meeting Sandy Sandy and her husband is going to be fun. Add to that, meeting and bringing home our kittens ...well I am over the moon!!

I am still trying to figure out some techie problems I am having with blogging; and two certain somebodies (Stacy and Kim!) are bugging me for something, and to make them happy, I have to figure out something else. So, send me some good technical vibes, you all.

Tune in tomorrow when I will announce the winner of my Giveaway. And please stay cool, okay?

500 Posts = A Giveaway!!

Sweet Isis! 500 posts, can you believe it!!??

So, I was given a copy of "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness for my birthday. I have already read this fine book, in fact I am now reading the sequel which just came out last week, "The Shadow of Night".

I would like a lucky follower to enjoy this fabulous book that deals with an enchanted centuries-old alchemical manuscript, witches, vampires and other strange creatures, romance, mystery and a plucky heroine. It is suspenseful, exciting and a perfect read for witches, non-witches and everyone in between!!

To win this book, please be a follower and leave a comment on this post that you would like to be entered into this giveaway.

I will put the entries in my cauldron and draw a winner at one minute after midnight, July 18th.

Good luck!

A Wedding Anniversary

Today is my 28th Wedding Anniversary! Picture this: July 14, 1984. The island of Oahu, Hawaii. A beautiful park on Oahu's North Shore, Waimea Falls Park. A bride wearing a haku lei (ring of flowers around her head). The groom wearing white slacks and a black and white floral Aloha shirt. There is a little Hawaiian lady playing a ukelele. The wedding guests are attired in Aloha wear. A group of the groom's friends, submarine sailors all, arrive in matching shorts and shirts. The grove where there ceremony takes place is peaceful and green, filled with tropical foliage and bird song. A glorious day.

Today, I am here at home alone. My husband is, ironically, in Hawaii, training submariners.  We have endured many anniversaries apart over the years, especially during his active-duty Navy service. But that does not in any way diminish the celebration, or the solid marriage. We mark the years in other ways, every day. As we vowed to each other at our wedding, we will love each other as long as the sun rises.

Special Announcement

It is my pleasure to announce the launching of my new blog. Here is the link.

My New Blog

Lucky 13

Some people hate the number 13. Superstitions abound about this number. There is that unpronounceable name, paraskevidekatriaphobia, meaning "fear of Friday the 13th". As for me, I have no problem with the number 13. My favorite, a baker's dozen, which is 13 of a delicious baked something (hopefully chocolate chip cookies!) My mom always called 13 a "lucky" number, as she was born on the 13th. The number 13 figures prominently in Wicca. 13 Full Moons during the Witch's Year.  There are 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief. I don't think you can find a Wiccan, Witch or Pagan who consider 13 an unlucky number.

Too add to this year's possible fear-factor for some is the fact that 2012 has three Friday the 13ths. Today is the third one of the year. So for those who are a little squeamish about, you can breathe easy after midnight tonight!!

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Lucky Friday the 13th!! Enjoy the day!

image source

Wordless Wednesday...Oh, Wait...Not.

I had planned to have a flock of pretty photos from the Farmer's Market today. Forgot the camera. So, happy Wednesday. (the flowers and produce were lovely.) (and I bought some herbs and fresh green beans from a sweet Mennonite lady).( oh, and two hanging baskets.)(lavender-colored calibrocha)(okay, no more words).

Jersey Girls

In two weeks my husband and I are driving to New Jersey to pick up a couple of girls. Yes, we are. They are beautiful and despite starting out on the wild side, we are confident that they will fit right in with us.

Four little kittens

Sandy Sandy and her family rescued these little fluffy critters from the woods near her home in New Jersey. Two of this batch of furballs are coming home with us. Calico sisters. In the above photo, which Sandy sent me, you can see our babies: the one on the far left, and right next to her, the one facing front, with the calico patches on her face.

Aren't they just the sweetest little girls you have ever seen? We have decided on names but I am not going to announce those yet, because I am a tease.  Soon though.

Do you know how excited this Witch is? Very. Very, very.

We have a lot to do over the next couple of weeks to prepare for these arrivals. And, whether the Blog-o-Sphere is ready or not, I am going to be launching a second blog that will be devoted totally to cats and these two kittens. That way, I won't drive everybody nuts here on Wiccan Writes bragging on my babies!!!

This is the happiest I have been in months. Really and truly.

Thank you, Sandy for this wonderful opportunity. She is a sweetheart. I am so looking forward to meeting Sandy in two weeks. How great is that! Two kittens and meeting a blog friend!!!

Here's a link to Sandy's wonderful blog:  http://sandysandysweblog.blogspot.com/

Raining, Kittens & Puppies

This morning it has been raining and I can hear the trees and shrubs laughing. The gardens are whooping it up too! And so are we humans.

Congratulations to my friend Christer who has just brought home a new puppy to join his family of three other great dogs and two sweet cats. Click on the following link to see pictures of Sune; he is adorable:
The Cottage by the CraneLake blog

Well done to my friend Sandy who just rescued a Momma cat and four kittens. Sandy and her husband have a wonderful place filled with wildlife, horses, cats, hummingbirds....you name it. She is also the most amazing artist. Here's a link to her blog where you can see some fabulous art and photos of the rescued kittens. And by the way, a couple of those kittens are getting adopted by a certain someone. More on that later.
SandySandyspiritartist blog

Wishing everyone cooler temperatures and rain. 

Thursday, Not Monday

Hot and noisy Fourth around here. Kids setting off firecrackers all day. It is bad for us because our little Gwennie dog is frightened of these sounds. Then last night three or four nearby neighbors went all out with lots of fireworks, so much booming, banging and popping. In New York state, fireworks are illegal. Oh well.

We did enjoy a delicious barbecued meal. My husband did a wonderful job grilling sirloin steak and corn on the cob. I actually was able to make salads for us with my homegrown lettuce and three, count them, 3 cherry tomatoes. There are more little tomatoes setting up, but only 3 were ripe. So delicious. I did get a late start with my planting this year.

The Full Moon was awesome this month. Called the Thunder Moon, this huge glowing orb hung over the house and shone down with amazing light. A summer moon does not have that sterile-like cold glow that happens during winter months. Gazing at this moon caused an almost hypnotic state for me. Symbol of the Goddess, the Full Moon is a great Light to work magick by.

It is Thursday today, but feels like Monday. My husband took a couple of days off before the Fourth, so I am really screwed up, schedule wise. No matter, it has been too hot to do much of anything really.

Gotta go water the plants. How are you surviving the heat?

The Fourth

OOOPS! Wrong Image (tee-hee)

There!

Happy Independence Day, United States people! Be safe, especially with fireworks in this hot, dry weather. Enjoy barbecues and family time.  Strawberry shortcake or blueberry cobbler sounds like a good idea.

Or blueberries with strawberries pie!

 

What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?-Thomas Jefferson

Yes, I am Rambling

I am happy to report that I survived my Diamond Jubilee Celebration and was treated royally by the family. Thanks to all for the lovely birthday greetings. But thank goodness it is over.

A quick update on Khloe, the little girl I wrote about here. Danni has returned from her trip home after seeing Khloe returned to good health. Her seizures were caused by a high fever as a result of an ear infection. It is certainly happy news.

With the heat across the country, fires in the West, power outages in the East this has been a rough summer so far for millions. We will all be continuing to send positive, healing energies to these areas.

Great new show on HBO for summer viewing pleasure:  The Newsroom. On recommendation from our son, we watched it last night. First episode was gripping. If you have seen it what do you think?

We are thinking about kittens. Big time. I wrote a couple of months ago that we thought we would not try to get a kitten or two, as our dog, Gwennie, barks at the phone ringing. Gwennie used to chase our MacKenzie-cat when the phone rang, somehow blaming him for this disturbing noise. It's been almost two years since MacKenzie crossed the Rainbow Bridge and the feline presence is sorely missed. So we are thinking of strategies to work with Gwennie. And keeping our eyes open for adoption possibilities of the kitten kind. Meanwhile, I continue to visit my Favorite cat blog, Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. A month-long fundraiser is going on at IBKC and lots of fun is to be had on this sweet blog. It is sad that these kittens are all the way across the country in the Seattle/Tacoma area because I would be adopting kittens there in a heartbeat. Yep, so smitten with kittens, I am.

Have a great Tuesday!

A Diamond Jubilee Celebration!!

On June 2, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee--60 years as Britain's royal monarch! What a party! Sixty years is pretty special.

On July 1, 1952, 60 years ago, somebody came into this world. Can you guess?

Inspired by Joyce of the blog October Farm http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/ who announced her 60th birthday just a few months ago, somebody else decided to come forward. To embrace the number 60. Not be afraid to tell, or embarrassed to let the world know that.....hey! 60 years old is pretty damn special.

So let's celebrate this Diamond Jubilee, this July birthday, this momentous occasion.

Who is this fabulous person? This marvelous woman who has achieved this jubilant age?

Beloved followers, loyal readers, dearest friends.  It is I. Yes, your very own Robin Larkspur.

Ain't it grand???

(I told you this was going to be big, didn't I??)