Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturdays are for Sneezing
Sick. Ill. I mean, really sick. Fever. Headache. Cough. Hack. Cough. Sneeze. Could be flu, or pneumonia or bubonic plague. See you all in a day or two. and stay well.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Wiccan Reads---Dolores Stewart Riccio, Wiccan Fiction
It is hard to find really good Wiccan fiction. But with the writings of Dolores Stewart Riccio, you have hit the jackpot!! I stumbled across her series quite by accident, whilst browsing amazon.com for new authors.
The first book in this series, that totals seven at this time, is called Circle of Five. This is where we meet five women of varied backgrounds who have formed a friendship. This friendship moves beyond just kaffee klatches and lunch dates. These women experience a spiritual awakening and form a circle to explore Wicca and all the varied magickal practices that each woman has a particular gift for. Tarot, herbal magick, candle magick, psychic skills, and more. Soon they find themselves involved in a missing child case in their town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and events spiral into a wild and scary adventure that none of them expected or were prepared for. As the story progresses, we learn how these women care for each, cope with individual crises and deal with the prejudices against witchcraft that can be found in towns large and small.
The characters are real, warm, funny, serious..they span the ages of a young mother with children, accomplished business women, and a delightful lady of a certain age who has the gift of glamour: the magickal glamour where she seems to apparently alter her appearance.
I became so fond of these women as I continued on with the series. I would love to have a Circle of friends just like this. Dolores Stewart Riccio writes with a real sense of place and purpose. Her characters are so delightful, so strong, but also so real in their everyday lives. There is comedy, romance, mystery, frights, drama. Ms. Riccio has a strong background in Wicca and its sabbats, esbats, rituals, spell casting, history, and all manner of magickal practices. It was a joy to read this series!! Please, please give yourself a treat and read the first book, Circle of Five. You will be glad you did...you will enjoy! I do so swear!
The Circle books are seven at this time: 1: Circle of Five; 2: Charmed Circle; 3: The Divine Circle of Ladies Making Mischief; 4: The Divine Circle of Ladies Courting Trouble; 5: The Divine Circle of Ladies Playing with Fire; 6: The Divine Circle of Ladies Rocking the Boat; 7: The Divine Circle of Ladies Tipping the Scales.
A note about the Fourth book, The Divine Circle of Ladies Courting Trouble. Ms. Riccio changed publishers at some point during her writing of this series, hence there may be difficulties finding "Ladies Courting Trouble". I was having a terrible time myself. Amazon.com did not have it, except for some astronomical price, Barnes and Noble did not have it all, and neither did any other website, or store I called. Finally, I went to Dolores Stewart Riccio's website: http://doloresstewartriccio.com/
What a delightful site, filled with information, poetry and Ms. Riccio's email address. So I sent her an email about my trouble...and she emailed me back almost immediately, offering to pass along to me one of her "uncorrected proof" copies of the book. For 5 bucks + $3.50 shipping. And I jumped at it (she must have thought I was some deranged reader and wanted to be rid of me!!! LOL) Anyhoo, she mailed it off right away, and even autographed it:
So read her books and visit her website. She is a real gem, and I adore her and her books. It is a wonderful way to pass the time with some Wiccan friends, who may be fictional, but are very real to me!
The first book in this series, that totals seven at this time, is called Circle of Five. This is where we meet five women of varied backgrounds who have formed a friendship. This friendship moves beyond just kaffee klatches and lunch dates. These women experience a spiritual awakening and form a circle to explore Wicca and all the varied magickal practices that each woman has a particular gift for. Tarot, herbal magick, candle magick, psychic skills, and more. Soon they find themselves involved in a missing child case in their town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and events spiral into a wild and scary adventure that none of them expected or were prepared for. As the story progresses, we learn how these women care for each, cope with individual crises and deal with the prejudices against witchcraft that can be found in towns large and small.
The characters are real, warm, funny, serious..they span the ages of a young mother with children, accomplished business women, and a delightful lady of a certain age who has the gift of glamour: the magickal glamour where she seems to apparently alter her appearance.
I became so fond of these women as I continued on with the series. I would love to have a Circle of friends just like this. Dolores Stewart Riccio writes with a real sense of place and purpose. Her characters are so delightful, so strong, but also so real in their everyday lives. There is comedy, romance, mystery, frights, drama. Ms. Riccio has a strong background in Wicca and its sabbats, esbats, rituals, spell casting, history, and all manner of magickal practices. It was a joy to read this series!! Please, please give yourself a treat and read the first book, Circle of Five. You will be glad you did...you will enjoy! I do so swear!
The Circle books are seven at this time: 1: Circle of Five; 2: Charmed Circle; 3: The Divine Circle of Ladies Making Mischief; 4: The Divine Circle of Ladies Courting Trouble; 5: The Divine Circle of Ladies Playing with Fire; 6: The Divine Circle of Ladies Rocking the Boat; 7: The Divine Circle of Ladies Tipping the Scales.
A note about the Fourth book, The Divine Circle of Ladies Courting Trouble. Ms. Riccio changed publishers at some point during her writing of this series, hence there may be difficulties finding "Ladies Courting Trouble". I was having a terrible time myself. Amazon.com did not have it, except for some astronomical price, Barnes and Noble did not have it all, and neither did any other website, or store I called. Finally, I went to Dolores Stewart Riccio's website: http://doloresstewartriccio.com/
What a delightful site, filled with information, poetry and Ms. Riccio's email address. So I sent her an email about my trouble...and she emailed me back almost immediately, offering to pass along to me one of her "uncorrected proof" copies of the book. For 5 bucks + $3.50 shipping. And I jumped at it (she must have thought I was some deranged reader and wanted to be rid of me!!! LOL) Anyhoo, she mailed it off right away, and even autographed it:
So read her books and visit her website. She is a real gem, and I adore her and her books. It is a wonderful way to pass the time with some Wiccan friends, who may be fictional, but are very real to me!
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Dreaded Craft Corner
Okie doke......in recent weeks around the blogspot, I have seen photos of craft areas in various stages of organization (or disorganization). I am taking the plunge and daring to post my own little craft nightmare corner. Mind you, I have already spent some time about a month ago hauling out the flotsam and jetsam of the household, that somehow seems to wash up on my craft shore (sorry about the nautical metaphors). So today, I present to you an area that I hope in no time at all will soon become a beehive of creative activity, buzzing with so many projects, organized and spotless, a veritable honeycomb of beauty (sorry about the apian metaphors).
Without further ado, here it is: Ta-da....and all that:
So now that I have publicly and irrevocably embarrassed myself, I now will attempt the impossible, and bring order and beauty to this small space. I wish I was Samantha Stevens, and could just twitch the nose, and voila! Can anyone else top my mess?
Without further ado, here it is: Ta-da....and all that:
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| The Craft Corner...turn left past the woodstove |
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| At least I can now get INTO the Corner |
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| Didn't somebody say once that a tidy desk is a sign of a cluttered mind? |
So now that I have publicly and irrevocably embarrassed myself, I now will attempt the impossible, and bring order and beauty to this small space. I wish I was Samantha Stevens, and could just twitch the nose, and voila! Can anyone else top my mess?
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Altars
Aine O'Brien over at her blog http://deepestwell.blogspot.com/ has a great post today about altars. Very interesting and thought-provoking. Please go take a look at it. I am posting a picture of my current household altar. It changes with seasons and sabbats, and moods, and new acquisitions.
And now after a hard-working Sunday morning of reading the paper, shepherding dogs, and doing some washing up, I am going to relax with a nice cup of coffee and piece of cake I baked last night for my husband. It is a spice cake, with a cooked caramel frosting, and if I do say so myself, it is worthy! LOL!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
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| Robin Larkspur's altar |
And now after a hard-working Sunday morning of reading the paper, shepherding dogs, and doing some washing up, I am going to relax with a nice cup of coffee and piece of cake I baked last night for my husband. It is a spice cake, with a cooked caramel frosting, and if I do say so myself, it is worthy! LOL!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Pagan Troops Need Our Help
An excellent website for Wiccans and pagans in general is http://paganwiccan.about.com/ by Patti Wigington. This is my "go-to" blog for either a quick reference, or in-depth reading. Patti has it well-organized and it is loaded with so much great information for pagans/wiccans. She always has up-to-the minute news, current events, and just about everything from A to Z involving the pagan world. Excellent site for the new pagan, and the long-time practitioner.
Yesterday (November 11th) was Veteran's Day and Patti wrote about spreading awareness concerning pagan troops serving our country. Operation Circle Care, run by Circle Sanctuary is putting together care packages for Wiccans and other Pagans on active duty in war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq and to Germany, Korea, and to Navy ships. Patti placed this announcement from Circle Sanctuary on her site:
Here's How to Help:
(1) SEND CONTACTS: Send us names, postal addresses, and if known, email addresses, of deployed Pagan service members who would like to receive Yuletide packages. Pagan service members can submit their own names & contact information. Contact info received will be kept confidential for use by OCC only. Send contacts to the OCC Program Coordinators: occ@circlesanctuary.org. Be sure to include full name and rank as well as an accurate APO/FPO address for each deployed military Pagan.
(2) DONATE ITEMS: Donate gift items that are small and easy to mail such as Pagan music CDs, incense, jewelry, Pagan calendars, books, and altar cloths. For more ideas on items to donate, visit the Operation Circle Care web page here. Please send your items to us by December 1 so that they are received in time to ship out in early December. Contact OCC coordinators for shipping options & addresses: occ@circlesanctuary.org.
(3) DONATE FUNDS: Shipping costs for Operation Circle Care packages range from $10.70 to $12.50 each. Monetary donations are needed to help to cover postage costs, plus related OCC expenses, such as production of our Pagan military prayer cards that we send free of charge to Pagans on active duty and their families, both overseas and here in this country. To donate by credit card visit our secured on-line site: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/donate or call (608) 924-2216. Be sure to select "Operation Circle Care" when designating your donation. Funds are tax deductible in the USA. Or you can send a check or money order, payable to Circle Sanctuary - OCC to: Operation Circle Care, Circle Sanctuary, PO Box 9, Barneveld, WI 53507 USA.
(4) TELL OTHERS: One of the MOST important things the Pagan community can do to support Operation Circle Care is to help us get the word out about this program. Please let others know about Operation Circle Care and our call for contacts, gift items, and donations -- forward this email to lists, blogs, websites, others; circulate widely the OCC website address: http://tiny.cc/operationcirclecare
For more information about OCC and other Circle Sanctuary Military Pagan Services: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/ministries/military/
(end)
Take a moment to consider pitching in to this request. And spread the word.
Yesterday (November 11th) was Veteran's Day and Patti wrote about spreading awareness concerning pagan troops serving our country. Operation Circle Care, run by Circle Sanctuary is putting together care packages for Wiccans and other Pagans on active duty in war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq and to Germany, Korea, and to Navy ships. Patti placed this announcement from Circle Sanctuary on her site:
Here's How to Help:
(1) SEND CONTACTS: Send us names, postal addresses, and if known, email addresses, of deployed Pagan service members who would like to receive Yuletide packages. Pagan service members can submit their own names & contact information. Contact info received will be kept confidential for use by OCC only. Send contacts to the OCC Program Coordinators: occ@circlesanctuary.org. Be sure to include full name and rank as well as an accurate APO/FPO address for each deployed military Pagan.
(2) DONATE ITEMS: Donate gift items that are small and easy to mail such as Pagan music CDs, incense, jewelry, Pagan calendars, books, and altar cloths. For more ideas on items to donate, visit the Operation Circle Care web page here. Please send your items to us by December 1 so that they are received in time to ship out in early December. Contact OCC coordinators for shipping options & addresses: occ@circlesanctuary.org.
(3) DONATE FUNDS: Shipping costs for Operation Circle Care packages range from $10.70 to $12.50 each. Monetary donations are needed to help to cover postage costs, plus related OCC expenses, such as production of our Pagan military prayer cards that we send free of charge to Pagans on active duty and their families, both overseas and here in this country. To donate by credit card visit our secured on-line site: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/donate or call (608) 924-2216. Be sure to select "Operation Circle Care" when designating your donation. Funds are tax deductible in the USA. Or you can send a check or money order, payable to Circle Sanctuary - OCC to: Operation Circle Care, Circle Sanctuary, PO Box 9, Barneveld, WI 53507 USA.
(4) TELL OTHERS: One of the MOST important things the Pagan community can do to support Operation Circle Care is to help us get the word out about this program. Please let others know about Operation Circle Care and our call for contacts, gift items, and donations -- forward this email to lists, blogs, websites, others; circulate widely the OCC website address: http://tiny.cc/operationcirclecare
For more information about OCC and other Circle Sanctuary Military Pagan Services: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/ministries/military/
(end)
Take a moment to consider pitching in to this request. And spread the word.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Veteran's Day
To all who have served, to all who are serving now, thank you
Public Domain photograph source
(click for photo source)
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