~December Pagan Mama's Circle~ - Page 5

[Aeress]

neat site! Thanks for sharing!

we made fudge last night. it was a new recipe and it just didn't come out right. *shrugs*

I saw a book today on wands...it was for kids and came with a small wand. i only had a brief moment to look at it. it was at a scholastic book fair (which makes me think it wouldn't be very acurate).

scrubbed the kitchen floor on hands and knees...*ouch*

[OceanMomma]

I have this old family recipe for fudge that is real good. It's simple & it works pretty well. All you do is bung a tin of evaporated milk ( non nestle of course ) , 1lb brown sugar & 3oz butter in a pot. Cook slowly until the sugar melts. Turn the heat up a bit & keep stirring. Not all the time but enuf to stop the bottom of the pan burning. It'll boil away & will gradually start bubbling like rotorua mud. When it gets to that stage, put a spoon in a cup of cold water. If it forms a soft ball it is done. If it forms a hard ball it is overdone & you will have toffee! Take it off the heat & beat until it leaves a trail. Somewhere in the middle of the beating, put in some vanilla or whatever flavourings you want. It is relatively forgiving in that if it doesn't set, you can just reheat it gently to the bubbly mud stage & cook for a bit longer & then redo the whole beating thing again. You can also make it with milk & maple syrup & butter or I have made it with coconut cream, palm sugar & coconut oil before. It's more a matter of getting the cooking correct so you get the mud stage properly than the exact ingredients you use.

I like washing floors : I'm not really a cleaning but I enjoy sweeping & washing floors. One day I will have a dirt floor I can put strewing herbs on.

Talking of wands, my kids love the Winnie the Witch books. Not exactly accurate or even that pagan but she does funky things with wands!

[Epiphany]

Hi! I would like to join in your circle. I was once very active in my local pagan community and my coven...but since my daughters were born I find myself not creating the time I would like for my spirituality. The lack of it is starting to be felt....

I am loving the ideas you ladies have for including your children in your activities. Someone on this thread I think mentioned making a sun with a black side and a brightly decorated sun side to hang on the door. I think we are going to steal that idea and the "advent" wreath idea as well.

We celebrate Yule as a spiritual holiday with a big meal, a circle of candles, and a small gift exchange. (something with spiritual meaning, usually hand made) We also celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday that goes hand in hand with Yule. All about peace on earth, family, the spirit of giving (and graceful recieving)


Namaste

[GoldBerry]

Welcome Laylla!

Brenda~ cool site and fun stuff. Shot- was going to stop buying gifts!

Originally Posted by mama in the forest

Salvia~ how do you prevent fruit flies from gorging on your fruit?

Originally Posted by wombatclay

You know it's kind of funny...we have a real fruit fly problem but I haven't seen any on the drying fruit. Maybe the citrus oil is inhibiting them? I'd imagine the apricot might be a bit more tempting though...

No fruit flies on mine either. Forgot to get apricots again today! :

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by mama in the forest

Last night I had a moonlit walk under an almost full moon among my llamas. Snow was falling down, the air is brisk and fresh, and my long lashed gentle beasts have a connection with nature and with each other that is quite profound. This is what the solstice is for me.

Oh that sounds really lovely. Llamas are so cool.

The moon has been so beautiful lately. I have a few pictures I hope to get on the computer soon that I shot of it.

[mamaofthree]

I watched the moon set Sunday moring. It was huge and yellowish Oragne. I hate getting up at 5 am to get to work by 6, but it was worth seeing that beautiful moon.

The kids and I were out doing some last minute holiday shopping and I found a pretty cool looking book at B and N called "The Winter Solstice" by Ellen Jackson. I have not yet read the book, but it talks about Celts, people in Peru, and a few other places and also has a little science thing going on with the tilt of the Earth. I will be reading it tonight to the kids, so I will let you know if I wasted $7.00 or not. LOL

I have a question for all of you mamas. Some friends and I are having a Baby/Pregnancy blessing for a friends. Any one have any ideas of a sort of ceremony we could do? Here is what we have so far... we are going to set up an altar and give the mama gifts (small things like baby socks, or wooden sppons, and blessings from us to her), we want to have some drumming, we are going to henna her belly, pot luck (of course, we never get together with out sharing food!), we will also do a candle lighting thing so when she goes into labor we will all light our candles and say a prayer/blessing for her. And last time she had a baby we all made meals for them so they didn't have to worry about dinner for 2 weeks. (we are going to do that too!) Any ideas?? Thanks OH and we are all going to bring a bead to make a braclet for mom to wear while in labor.

H

[Pam_and_Abigail]

Last year I really liked "The Shortest Day" by Wendy Pfeffer (I think that's her name), but it was too heavy for my kids, who were 3 and almost 1 then. I'd like some nice short stories that are Yule-y. Working on writing some, but well, you know. Abby requested I read her a story from Circle Round, so we read the one about the sun being born again and then she asked me to sing the sond after it. It was nice, because in the past when I've asked her if I can read to her for a Sabbat, she hasn't wanted me to, so I've only been doing it if she asks. I was pretty animated when I did it and she was mimicking me, which was cute.

Here's another fudge recipe:
one 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
3 cups chocolate chips
2 Tbsp butter

Melt this together and put it in a greased pan (or one lined with parchment or wax paper). Last year I did this for gifts and made all kinds of flavours:
rocky road (walnuts and marshmallows), mint (mint flavouring and candy canes I ground up in the food processor), mocha (dissolve about a tsp + of instant coffee in hot water)

The scene with the llamas sounded nice.
We're geting our first snowstorm. We've had fun playing in it. My kids love to eat snow

[mamaofthree]

My mom makes rockin' fudge... her recipe is on the back of the marshmellow fluff stuff you get at the store (jet puff I think). Yummy!

H

[Changed]

Rocky road...mmmmm! One of the very very few sweets my mom made when I was a kid. Good stuff.

I was going to do foodnetworks 12 days of cookies but some didn't look so good so I'm sort of doing my own. Every other day instead of every and today is gingerbread day.

Happy Monday!

[heket]

Thanks for the well wishes on the yard sale! When it was done, my portion wound up matching what my family is putting in for our FIN's gc! So there's a little more to help out.

to all the new mamas.

Originally Posted by mama in the forest

Last night I had a moonlit walk under an almost full moon among my llamas. Snow was falling down, the air is brisk and fresh, and my long lashed gentle beasts have a connection with nature and with each other that is quite profound. This is what the solstice is for me.

I wonder if we were moon gazing about the same time last night?

Originally Posted by wombatclay

I'm making those little citrus fruit decorations (where you slice oranges and lemons into thin slices and let them dry?) and it's working better than I expected! For some reason I thought they'd probably turn brown and shrivel up, but they're actually very "sun-like". I can't wait to hang them on the tree and in the windows!

They even smell all citrusy. Mmmmm. I think I'll try the dried apples next to see if my "crafter luck" holds.

I am SO doing this! We have two orange trees in our yard, so it's perfect! I can pick up a lemon and lime later today from the store. I also have a mandolin and dehydrator, so I'll prolly use those for ease. Thanks for the wonderful idea!

I also have a black walnut tree in the yard, any ideas on how I can incorporate that?

Tomorrow is St. Nick's day, so I'll be working on getting the kids ready for that tonight.

[zavierchick]

Originally Posted by mamaofthree

I have a question for all of you mamas. Some friends and I are having a Baby/Pregnancy blessing for a friends. Any one have any ideas of a sort of ceremony we could do? Here is what we have so far... we are going to set up an altar and give the mama gifts (small things like baby socks, or wooden sppons, and blessings from us to her), we want to have some drumming, we are going to henna her belly, pot luck (of course, we never get together with out sharing food!), we will also do a candle lighting thing so when she goes into labor we will all light our candles and say a prayer/blessing for her. And last time she had a baby we all made meals for them so they didn't have to worry about dinner for 2 weeks. (we are going to do that too!) Any ideas?? Thanks OH and we are all going to bring a bead to make a braclet for mom to wear while in labor.

H

Wow!!!! I soo wish I would have had mamas like you when I had my littles around here that sounds like a beautiful way to bless a mama and babe to me!! I can't think of anything more, it is just perfect!

[zavierchick]

curses on all of you for your fudge recipes : here I am, working in the office, trying to be good, drinking some nice herbal tea instead of a coke, with a sliced pear for snack, and I'm assaulted by recipes for yummy, gooey, rich, chocolatey fudge.... sooooo not fair!

[zavierchick]

Originally Posted by heket

I also have a black walnut tree in the yard, any ideas on how I can incorporate that?

Are black walnuts big green balls in the summer before they are ripe? I know my DH has mentioned walnut trees growing up in Michigan, but I'm not sure if they were black walnuts or not....

[Birth Junky]

Mamaofthree: your friend is so lucky to have people like you in her life! I really hoped to put together a Blessingway when I was pregnant with DD, but got talked into leaving it to my best friend. Love her to death, but I ended up having to make the invitations, make sure they got sent, plan and pay for the food, and come up with all the activity ideas. We didn't end up doing the "traditional" baby shower games (thankfully!), but it still felt like an orgy of consumerism instead of a lovely, sentimental experience shared with dear friends.

Next time I am putting together the kind of ceremony that feels meaningful to me, telling everyone not to bother with gifts, and if people are uncomfortable with the level of paganism . . .

I'm sure the ceremony will be beautiful. Many blessings on mother and child.

[wombatclay]

Black walnuts make a really dark stain, don't they? Maybe use them to dye a piece of cloth?

Hmmmm...actually...we have a few ornaments on the tree that my mom made when we were little...a little image inside half a walnut shell (so for instance a teeny tiny evergreen tree cut out of felt and glued into the shell, or an itty bitty teddy bear from the craft store also glued into a shell). They're a bit "retro" but they have a "forever home" on our annual tree!

And a traditional yule ornament is a nut (like a walnut) covered in "gold" and hung from the tree. I've used gold glitter and glue in the past, but gold colored paint or gold leaf would be lovely!

Okay...I think I need to start putting up some ornaments!

[mamaofthree]

Do you think that hanging the orange slices up to dry would work? I was thinking of stringing them up after slicing them... or do you think it would be too messy? AND what about adding cloves to them so when they are sliced there is a few cloves sticking out? I have to go to the store to get a couple things, I might pick up some oranges to slice.

H

[homeblossom]

Originally Posted by Pam_and_Abigail

Coming to subscribe.

Not much to add.

Oh, I found some cool books last night at the library....

"Fin M'Coul" by Tomie dePaola- kind of violent, but neat to see it. If you're interested, I suggest reading it yourself before sharing it with your kids

"Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?" by Carmela LaVigna Coyle - the message is "a princess is a place in your heart"

"A cloak for the moon" retold by Eric A. Kimmel - a magical fibre made from moonlight

"Odin's Family: Myths of the Vikings" retold by Neil Phillip (ok, this is the most pagan-y one, but the others are worth sharing too)

Oh, and the other night I did an amazing spell trying to gain understanding and patience with my kids. It was a very powerful experience, and it was amazing the way I was able to connect with the goddess within my oldest daughter as a way of reconnecting with her.

I am interested in the spell you do to gain understanding and patience with your kids, esp. oldest daughter.
I am new to Pagan, have made it a goal to learn more. Very earth-based, spiritual but my husbands favorite quote is "We arent THAT Pagan" with regards to the amorous aspects. Anyway, anything you could share would be great

[CariOfOz]

the post from Hades lol

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

We put up our tree last night but it was not done in the right spirit. DH was very tired and cranky since he had been at work all night and morning. We wanted to wait because he was not in the mood put my 5 yr old had been *whining* for three days to get the tree up. Now the living room is a wreck. Boxes everywhere from the decorations, furniture pushed all around, I need to vacuum, sigh. I just can't seem to get into the spirit of the holidays.

We had the same thing with our tree.. DH was a bit .. short.. with the kids. I finally had to tell him to zippit (lovingly of course lol) and just let me handle it... then *I* was short with the kids LMAO. Oops I pulled myself together and we had fun anyway!

Originally Posted by wombatclay

I'm making those little citrus fruit decorations (where you slice oranges and lemons into thin slices and let them dry?) and it's working better than I expected! For some reason I thought they'd probably turn brown and shrivel up, but they're actually very "sun-like". I can't wait to hang them on the tree and in the windows!

They even smell all citrusy. Mmmmm. I think I'll try the dried apples next to see if my "crafter luck" holds.

OOOH... I SO know what I'm doing with the kids today! I'm not quite sure how I'll keep the magpies from making off with my fruit slices though LOL!

Originally Posted by mama in the forest

Last night I had a moonlit walk under an almost full moon among my llamas. Snow was falling down, the air is brisk and fresh, and my long lashed gentle beasts have a connection with nature and with each other that is quite profound. This is what the solstice is for me.

That sounds just magical indeed Greenlee!

Originally Posted by mamaofthree

My mom makes rockin' fudge... her recipe is on the back of the marshmellow fluff stuff you get at the store (jet puff I think). Yummy!

Fudge is the only acceptable use for fluffernutter *gryn* Anything else is just plain weird!

Originally Posted by mamaofthree

I watched the moon set Sunday moring. It was huge and yellowish Oragne. I hate getting up at 5 am to get to work by 6, but it was worth seeing that beautiful moon.

The kids and I were out doing some last minute holiday shopping and I found a pretty cool looking book at B and N called "The Winter Solstice" by Ellen Jackson. I have not yet read the book, but it talks about Celts, people in Peru, and a few other places and also has a little science thing going on with the tilt of the Earth. I will be reading it tonight to the kids, so I will let you know if I wasted $7.00 or not. LOL

I have a question for all of you mamas. Some friends and I are having a Baby/Pregnancy blessing for a friends. Any one have any ideas of a sort of ceremony we could do?
H

The moon was fantastic here too... I watched it rise last night while you watched it set That book sounds excellent...I so need to get a new copy of circle round (mine got left in the states when I moved here ) Because it had some wonderful things to do with the kids in it...and my littlies are getting to the age where I can start involving them a little more actively!

and boy did this post turn into a novel or what

[wombatclay]

hanging to dry should be fine...I might put them on a towel for a little while first just to catch any juice, but I think most instructions actually say to hang them up to dry!

And I am SO jealous of your friend! It sounds like a beautiful gathering you have planned...I asked people to bring a bead to my shower so I could make a "labor necklace" and while I didn't actually wear it it did become my dd's favorite nursing necklace. One thing I really like is the idea of having a book where guests/family/friends can write little letters to the new babe...something for the little one to read years later.

[CariOfOz]

double posting to say...

MAN I really have to get myself used to checking the board more frequently if that reply is any indication