Well, who would have guessed? LOL I guess 2008 has been a fruitful year.

This little one is due January 12th.

First prenatal exam tomorrow. I had an u/s done last week, and so far so good. So we will keep our fingers crossed. Im feeling tired, but thats about it. I want to host a Litha Sabbat, but we shall see how that comes out.

Still need to find an appropriate place. :)

We have a lot of new things growing in the garden. Corkscrew Hazel, cut leaf Alder, some pampas grasses...

d/h has been a busy guy out there this year!

Beltaine Wreaths!

What a nice, easy and effective way to bring the full feel of Beltaine into your home.. Beltaine wreaths. A nice craft for children too.
Some thick woody looking floral wire, some silk flowers. some little birds or butterflies (fake ones from the craft store of course, lol.. REAL ones don't take kindly to being glued onto a wreath :D) Just double the floral wire and wrap it 'round your head, keeping in mind to leave a wee bit of space for the flowers, leaves etc...
You can hang them on doorknobs, hang them on the wall, and then on Beltaine, wear them on your head!
When I find some batteries for my camera, I will put up some pictures. The house imps seem to have hid them on me. (house imps, aka: teenagers)
If you are having an adult get together, nothing says fun like yoni and phallus shaped  cookies.Great to serve in lieu of alter cakes.
Tulips are in abundance at my house right now, with alot of the credit of that going to the darling dutch couple that owned the house before us.
I try to bring the outdoors in, and have even succeeded in accidentally bringing in a few wasps here and there, inadvertently. (hiding in the flowers).
On my kitchen alter I have bits of herbs that are thriving right now, and of course the springtime flowers....
Ahh, such a wonderous time.
At no other time of the year does the grass have this hue.. the earth the smell of freshly warming soil, this excited chatter of birds.
Tis a happy time indeed!

And as quickly as Ostara comes and goes, Beltaine kicks up it's heels.

At one time, signifying the beginning of Summer (a sentiment I share ), Beltaine is one of the great Fire Festivals.

As the Sun God increases in strength, we sympathize with this by baking sun cookies, and jumping fires (or cauldrons if having a backyard fire is out of the question), we gather flowers and celebrate the blossoming beautiful Mother Earth, and her union with the God. Their consummation ensures our bountiful harvest in a few months from now.

I went for a walk up to the store a few nights ago, with my youngest two - my 13 year old and my eight month old.

On our way home, (it was just after 8pm) I was struck by the beautiful chorus of birds... many different kinds. All saying goodnight as the Sun said his fairwell for the day. The sound of crickets, a frog somewhere not too far away, but out of sight... what a truly beautiful evening. Walking the beauty way. Every step is a sacred step.

d/h is feeling under the weather. I feel so bad for him, had to go do a ten hour shift at work with a fever. :(

Little D has been eating so great. He's on the semi chunky foods that taste almost like our own, minus the chemicals. And they are Organic... Heinz Organic Mom's Recipe.

Pixiewitch has started up a new page, The Yarning Web . And we had our first get together last week. It was really nice, good fun. Ive been learning to knit and crochet. I still suck pretty badly, but I enjoy it immensely.

D/H has a new website....

He will be recording soon and I'm so excited.

He has songs on it that are rough tracks, but they will sound fantastic when they are done. Should be done by the end of April and be available to the general public shortly after. Yippee!

We planted some tomatoes, and we have calendula growing.... i found some cool recipes for body bars and infused herbal oils.... so I think we will be adding a Crafts for the Craft night in with our Coffee Cauldron and Yarning Web :)

And it was indeed! It was perfect equinox weather... sunny, beautiful, raining cats and dogs, and then, just around midnight, a small blizzard kicked up, lasting about twenty minutes only to disappear without a trace.

Yesterday, Lady Pixiewitch came over and we cleansed and charged our crystals. It was great to work in a circle with her. She has a very wonderful energy and little D has really taken to her. (I personally think he was flirting with her, lol)

Later that evening she gave me a knitting and crocheting lesson . It was quite over my head. Not because she didnt do a good job of showing me, but because my ability to retain information seems somewhat limited, haha. But after she left, I kept trying and suddenly it clicked as to what I was doing wrong.. I remembered how she was slipping the loop off the top with the other needle and PRESTO! I finally did it (Go Me!)

That was the knitting. The crocheting I pretty much understand, the only thing is, I bought some lovely bulky yarn that is a bit hard to work with for a beginner... I cant quite see where to put the hook through the little loops once Ive made a chain. But I'm feeling pretty positive.

The older kids are gone this weekend. DD and DS#2 are at their dad's and DS#1 is visiting friends back in our old city. Little D is upstairs with his daddy, and I am a computer junkie, so I just HAD to pop in here and say "Good Morning!"

Well, the birds are back in full force. Both of the birdhouses in our yard have robin families. Despite the attentions of our cats.

This will be our second summer coming up in our new home and our first spring.

It's nice to see the fruit trees coming to life.  Our little elderberry trees are growing too. And the herbs we planted last year are all happily showing their green. Valerian, mint , and others.