One of those days

It's like the most perfect day ever. It's cold as hell, I have on a huge sweater, there was coffee involved earlier today, and all the windows in the house are open, ANNNDDD it's Friday. Not that Friday means much to me anymore, due to you know, not being gainfully employed anymore. *sigh* I am depressed as hell.

I love the cold weather, coffee and huge sweaters, so you would think, I would be all, HELLZ YEAH! and shit. Not really. My exchange student spent the night with a friend last night, just called and asked to spend another night. Great, I knew I was boring as shit, but now I think she hates us. I may be a touch paranoid about it, but that is how I feel. There shall be no balloon releasing done today. I am too depressed. I think I will just sit in the dark house, listening to Mi Hao Kai-lan, and wondering where it allll went wrong. 

The Balloon Experiment

So, this is my surprise I was hinting at in an earlier post. It's a bit late, yeah, sorry about that. I got a severe case of the don't wannas. Anyhow, ON TO THE SURPRISE!!

When I was a kid (which was when the dinosaurs walked the earth, so the girls say), on the 100th day of school, we all went outside and released one hundred balloons with messages attached that had the school address on it, and for the rest of the year we would get mail telling us where that particular balloon was found. It was my favorite part of the year. Apparently they can't do that anymore, something about birds or some shit, which saddened me, but then DING! I got an idea.

I would do it may damn self. Not a hundred all at once mind you. My car is not that big. I would use my Llwewllyn 2010 Witches' Companion (that one is the 2011, Christmas idea!! :) ) that told me the best color for that day, get a simple latex balloon in that color or at least as close as Kroger can provide me, tie a message to that bitch and let 'er go. I am going to do this for one hundred days.

I am really excited about getting an email or a letter telling me where they landed. I am doing the "excited can't wait dance" in my chair as we type.  I have released two balloons so far, a red one and a blue one. No messages yet, but I must learn to be patient *hits refresh on email again*. I said I had to LEARN I didn't say I was. Here are the pictures from the first two releases, and I will post the emails/letters that I get, if I ever get any *refresh* Nope not yet........still nothing. I CAN'T WAIT!

The front of the message

The back of the message. That quote is from Christy Moore's "Burning Times"

The kiddos, they saw a balloon and went insane.

and had to help.

The start of the journey.

Up

Weird lighting on this one, but if you look a bit above the center , that black dot is the balloon.

Day two:

Didn't do a good job of laminating this one. Ehh it's one of those f*** it days.

The back, with a Pagan quote on it.

The cat.

I guess they are going to be involved in this too, dammit. :)

And it's off.

Hope lightening doesn't hit it, though that would be COOL.

GoGoGOGOGOGOGOG!

Well, there is my surprise. Yay and stuff. I am going to do this every day, so at least I will have something to blog about. I REALLY want to get a message telling me a balloon was found already! *refresh* DAMMIT...*sigh*.

Samhain in its glory!

Ok, so this year was awesome. We got TONS of candy, I mean TONS. We are going to be eating this stuff to like Ostara, sheesh. The girls where all adorable of course, I don't think they would have it any other way.



Here they are before the battle of candy began.



Halfway through, (Fern was exhausted by this time. The girls thought that the only way to move was by running.)



I reluctantly post this, due to me being in it, but it was a good picture of the kiddos, and boy is Emily sparkling. You should have seen the amount of glitter applied to both of them. I would like to point out also that I was NOT dressed up. This is a normal outfit for me...what??



And the Dumb Supper with what was called in the house "The Witches Brew". I didn't make that up, I swear! The pink one did.


I told you they wore the poor girl out. Please note she is asleep ON her candy.

Anyhow, that is enough of all the pictures and such. On to the juicy fun type stuff.

     Now, a normal Samhain supper is done with dark breads, pork of some sort and apples. Mine was not. This year I chose to make dishes that my grandmother made all the time, and that I loved (and still do).The first dish is called Walking Taco dip, which consists of bean dip, avocados, sour cream, mayo, taco seasoning, black olives, scallions, tomatoes, and cheese. It is amazing! And reminds me so very much of grandma that I couldn't help but think it was perfect for Samhain. I just have to hear the name of this dish and I am transported back to summer's spent at her house. Great times, and I really miss her.
     The next dish I made was called Mexican Dish in One. It has A LOT of stuff in it. Corn, ranch style beans, meat, taco seasoning, a bunch of different seasonings, cheese, tortillas, and mushroom soup. Yes I know, I thought that last one was a bit weird myself, but WOW that made the dish. I made this without the mushroom soup for the ones who don't like green things, (which is any sort of veggie even if it isn't green), and it tasted no where near as good as the mushroomed one. I have never had this dish, at least not that I can remember, but I found it written in my grandma's hand on a very old yellow bit of paper in my mother's old cookbook. I had to make that, of course.
     So, it was a very different Samhain than traditionally had, but it was perfection for us. The girls asked me who came up with these yummy dishes and why hadn't we ever had them before, and I got to talk to them about my grandma, which they were of course awed that my adult and so OLLLLDD self could have EVER had a grandma, just like them. I am just glad they got to know a little about her. We then put out some candles for my grandma and a friend who was killed this year, so they could find there way to the yummy food we had left for them. All, in all, it was stellar and awesome and all that, plus as I said earlier there is TONS and TONS of candy in my house...I will be back in a bit. :)

Samhain Quick Update

I am going to post a much longer and more detailed blog later, but for now here is a quick rundown of my plans for the Witches New Year!

I am totally going to have a Dumb Supper, but a lot different from the traditional fare, in honor of my grandmother and my friend who died this year.

Of course we are Trick or Treating, I have little kids, how could I NOT? There would be a riot.

I have to carve more pumpkins, due to the hot weather here this last week causing all of my other ones to cave in on me. *grumble grumble*

And, in honor of the New Year, I have a little something up my sleeve that I am very excited about! You will have to wait until Samhain to hear about it. Granted that isn't too long of a wait, I am sure you can handle the suspense.

There is my quick rundown. I will elaborate more when I don't have to go the the grocery store and clean the house. Ahhh the life of a domesticated witch.

Whew! That was one hell of a Mabon. It took me two days to recover from. I was cooking for nearly eight hours on Wednesday, but it was pure AWESOME! I would like to say that apple tarts are like sex, truly. I have never had a food that tasted as good as that thing did. I promised pictures and I shall deliver. Sadly, I was so busy I didn't think to take a bunch at the time. I was just really happy when I didn't have to stand in front of a 450 F oven anymore. 

This is the Beef and Barley Veggie Soup. In about the 3rd hour of cooking.

The beginning stages of my homemade cornucopia and the book that helped me make it ( and my awesome Halloween socks) 

So, here is the frame from the cornucopia. 

Side view of the above photo. 

The Beef and Barley Veggie Stew in about the 2nd hour of cooking. 

My Honey Whole Wheat bread before it is about to go into the oven. 

The completed bread. 

The dinner didn't end till nearly 10pm, but man it was good. Plus it was great to hang out with my neighbors, play with my kids, and eat sex on a crust (the tart). Oh my, I think I see where they get the derogatory term tart from now. 

Anyhow, off to clean the house, and make Thai Papaya Salad with my exchange student tonight! That is another post all together.

Mabon tomorrow!!

I am beyond thrilled that tomorrow is the start of my favorite time of year, FALL! In celebration of that I am going to be throwing a Mabon feast that has my mouth watering just thinking about it. SQQUUUEEEEE! Of course I am also going to be making a cornucopia and re-doing my front door wreath to show those fall colors, ANNNDDD lighting my millions (i.e. three) fall candles that I have hoarded for nearly two months waiting on this glorious day.  I am so friggen excited it hurts a little!!! Ok, ok, ok. Here is my mouth watering menu (of course properly accredited, I ain't no damn thief).

BEEF & BARLEY VEGETABLE SOUP

3 pounds Soup Meat 2 Tablespoons Fat 2 quarts Water 1 1/2 Tablespoons Salt 1/4 Tablespoon Pepper 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley 1/2 cup Barley  1 cup Carrots, cubed 1/4 cup Onion, chopped 1/2 cup Celery, chopped 2 cups Canned Tomatoes, drained 1 cup Peas Brown meat with bones in hot fat. Place meat, soup bone, water, seasonings and parsley in a soup kettle. Cover tightly and simmer 1 hour. Add barley and simmer another hour. Cool and skim off excess fat. Remove soup bone. Add carrots, onion, celery and tomatoes. Simmer 45 minutes. Add fresh peas and continue cooking 15 minutes. If leftover soup becomes to thick, dilute with beef broth. Can be doubled or tripled and freezes well. GARLIC - ROASTED POTATOES & GREENS 2 pounds Red-Skinned Potatoes, sliced 6 large Cloves Garlic, sliced lengthwise 1/3 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 3 Tablespoons Wine Vinegar Salt Pepper 4 cups Watercress Sprigs, rinsed 2 Tablespoons Chives, chopped Mix potatoes, garlic and oil in a 10 x 15" rimmed pan. Bake at 450 degrees until well browned, about 1 1/4 hours. Turn vegetables with a wide spatula every 10-15 minutes. Pour vinegar into pan, scraping with spatula to release browned bits and to mix with potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour potatoes into a wide, shallow bowl. Chop half the watercress and mix with potatoes. Tuck remaining watercress around potatoes and sprinkle with chives. HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD 9 cups whole-wheat flour 4 teaspoons salt 2 pkg. active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/2 cups water 6 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup honey Sift together 3 cups flour, salt, and yeast. Combine milk, water, butter, and honey in a saucepan and heat over low heat until liquids are warm (butter need not melt completely). Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes. Add remaining flour a cup full at a time until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and allow to rest 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in large greased bowl and turn to grease all sides of dough. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about one hour. Punch dough down and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a loaf. Place into greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk, about one hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks.  (all from this damn fine site.) and what I am considering the piece d' resistance Apple Tarts 1/2 cup butter (room temperature) 1/3 cup white sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1(8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature) 1/4 cup white sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 6 apples - peeled, corred and sliced very thing 1/3 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup sliced almonds Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). 2. Cream together butter, sugar, vanilla, and flour. Press crust mixture into the flat bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. (This is where small hands are an advantage!) Set aside. 3. In a medium bowl, blend softened cream cheese and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Pour cheese mixture over crust. Toss apples with sugar and cinnamon. Spread apple mixture over all. 4. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F (22 degrees C) and continue baking for 25 minutes. Sprinkle almonds over top of torte. Continue baking until almonds are lightly browned. (Watch closely so they don't burn. it should only take a few minutes.) Cool before removing from pan. (from the most awesome pagan sight for parents EVAR! Pooka Pages ) ) The little ones will help me with the tarts. They have already been helping me decorate by coloring and pasting puff leaves to everything. I am loving it.  I will defiantly have to see if I can figure out how to post pictures here and put everything we do tomorrow up.  Again, YAY FOR MABON!!!