alresco dining

yesterday we got together with friends, to celebrate my friend Peter's 76th birthday.


I love to cook and quite often I am asked to make the birthday cake..being in my french mode, I chose a Comice Pear cake.. this morning I had harvested beans, so I bundled a handful into a brown paper bag, picked some sprigs of rosemary and a few bay twigs to take as an offering of friendship.

this time the lunch was set in a brick courtyard under an old persimmon tree...a few bottles of wine, a warm autumn day. the sun twinkling through the branches as only an autumn sun can.

and the most Sacred thing this Sunday, is dutch husband (Sheila has Portuguese husband, we are getting quite an international husband collection going here!) Dutch husband is the most caring, gentle man I have ever known.

I am praying for a miracle for Paul.... do you think that the person being prayed for must believe in miracles for one to happen? I have placed Paul at the feet of Mother Mary & am asking St.Therese to pray for a miracle...one can hope.

thankyou for continuing prayers for Paul, he is home at the moment, the medication is keeping him comfortable... We have heard of a Dr who has had amazing results operating on these kinds of tumours & are hoping that he will see Paul and take him as a patient. when I heard of this Dr, I thought maybe this could be the miracle that we pray for.. . I thought that maybe there is hope

happy birthday and sharing my art ~ a give-away ..

today is my Pa's birthday... if he were still alive, he would have been 99. He was short. So am I. I use to be teased for my small stature when I was little. But now I know that this is because I am of Cornish ancestry. Pa was born in Devon but his parents were from Cornwall as were all of the ancestral family on that side. He called me Miss Robyn when I was little and that is where my blogging name comes from... He came to Australia when he was 5 and even though he was English, he never burned in this hot Australian sun... no English rose complexion for him at all, he had very olive skin. I wonder if there is Spanish blood in our family. anyway.. Happy Birthday Pa... wish you were here xo

and the latest challenge was to create some art to share...

well. I captured a faery for someone... who will it be? well I didn't really capture it.. I made it. Have been wanting to do one for ages... it was lots of fun... I learned alot.. like to be very careful when using superglue as it is not much fun when a jar is stuck to your thumb... I wonder what type of adhesive others use to create a captured faery? I also learned that when you put wings on the faery, it is difficult to get it into the jar opening... I think this may just become an addiction!! Anyhow, let me know if you would like a chance to own this garden faery of mine! Will draw a name in a few days.....

they say it's my birthday & take the last train..

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you
by Lennon-McCartney

yes, today I turn 51!

where has the past year gone? blinked and I nearly damn well missed it....

not much to report.... had a lovely breakfast with Harry and his parents.... then gardened for most of the day... and then tonight we are going out to a lovely dinner at the BonTon in Leura... I guess that is what you do on birthdays once you are over 50. I cannot believe that I am over 50 now... it seems only yesterday that I was 17... I look in the mirror with the eyes and soul of a young person and staring back at me sometimes, is someone that I don't know. This year, I hope to get to know that person who is me. So now, a whole year until my birthday.. a whole year of my journey... I wonder where it will take me.

oh and before I forget.. today is the last chance to visit the Enchanted Forest... take the last train.. click on the caravan below.. don't miss it!

so this is christmas.. Boxing Day... the ramblings of a bitter old woman (tongue in cheek)

Boxing Day. I am thinking that this day got its name because the day after christmas, I feel like boxing everyones ears. I am so over it, bah humbug, yes call me Scrooge

I have absolutely no idea what christmas is about. at all. getting together with family is wonderful at any other time of year... take my mother for instance. Love her of course. But I do not like her chosen partner at all. Not my dad.. he died many years ago, but the pompous, arrogant, old man who she took up with 20 years ago. And please do not say to look at him and see what he is mirroring to me. Because i won't take one bit of notice of that train of thought at all. Plus, when he goes to the toilet, he wees all over the seat... lord, that is more than anyone needs to know.
but not only is he arrogant and pompous, he is also, well just an awful man. He constantly belittles my mum and makes her feel inferior. I hate that. But I bite my tongue so that he won't take it out on her.

I always do a breakfast for friends on christmas morning.... all very civilized, Usually. but not this year, because my mother and her 'friend' decided to come up........so I set the table as I usually do...

I served my usual christmas breakfast: fruit compote that I cook the night before, yoghurt, fresh fruit platter and scrambled eggs, field mushrooms and vine ripened tomatoes... along with juice, tea and coffee and of course eggnog with brandy and nutmeg.... but I forgot the marmalade and I did not hear it once.. I heard it many times... until dinner time... where I served baked leg ham, lamb, sweet potatoes in brown sugar, a layered salad and smashed potatoes....pavlova for dessert topped with raspberries, blueberries, passionfruit and banana... but I did not serve plum pudding and he complained to anyone who would listen. every one went home and i was left to wash up, vacuum the floor and wash it as well... maybe I am anal but I could not stand to go to bed, leaving the floor like it was. People seem to miss putting the food in their mouth on christmas day. The run around like demented people, spilling their drinks while i am in the kitchen with water if I am lucky...... waking at 5am this morning, I immediately sent a text message: next year christmas will be celebrated at a local restaurant. not argument will be entered into about my decision. thankyou xo -

I am totally over it. I am. 34 years I have done this. And i am finished. done.... yes, I think right now could be the star in "bitter Old Women" - but truly, I am laughing about this... all of my ramblings are tongue in cheek & I am laughing at it all... it is just all madness......

that all said and done.... this morning I was woken with the delightful song of the blackbird... all is really well in my world

Happy Holidays!

yes, I can say Happy Holidays.. no seasonal conotations at all and it is OUR summer holidays down here, so I think it is the perfect greeting for me to say...
today I run round like a mad woman, not the wise woman that I strive to be... I run to buy Brandy Butter, more cream. Vegetables and fruit. Yoghurt to go with the fruit compote that I serve at breakfast on Christmas day. I go to the butchers to collect my ham, I finish wrapping presents and i order one dozen sausages just in case the 9kg ham is not enough. Just in case.....

a little corner of my world brings peace back into my soul every time i walk in the back door.....
yesterday I had my hair coloured... my youngest daughter Sophie is now a hairdresser and has just passed a hair colouring exam receiving top marks.. so I asked her to colour my hair... it is still dark but now I have purple foils... love it.. kind of goes with the tattoo... no photos yet....

winter solstice ~ Australian style

today, we celebrated Winter Solstice, at exactly 9.59 am....

last night, I had a traditional Yule dinner with my children and their partners and my grandchildren.. even Harry took part..gurgling happily away in his bouncer as we all ate around the table...

I had the room in darkness with only candles lit.. I had ordered three luminaries from Sr.K..winter solstice - I placed them in front of where I would be sitting and put a tea light into each one... as we all sat around the table, gazing at candles, reflecting on our hopes and wishes for the coming year.. I gave a luminary to each woman... my two daughters and my daughter in law.. and told them to take this light into their home.. to keep the light of Mother Earth alive on their hearths and in their families, for the coming year. the girls were all quite touched and gasped in delight as they realized that the luminaries were theirs to keep..

today, Joe and I went to the Winter Magick Festival that is held every year... this year falling exactly on the Solstice date.. what fun! stalls, buskers, parades..

belly dancers and drummers...

women dressed as trees,

... crisp cold weather.. hot soup...a wonderful day to welcome the return of the sun...(not that I am ready for it, just yet)


I was lucky enough to be able to buy a wall plaque faery called 'Daisy'.. perfect for a remembrance of the last year gone...

and I will leave you with some of the last words that Daisy sent to me:

It is rebirth of the Oak King and the bonfires are lit in fields and trees are sang [wassailed to] and blessed with a wassailing cup. People would make lots of clove spiked oranges and apples and put in them in a basket lined with evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour. The fruit represents the sun and the boughs of evergreen symbolic of immortality, and wheat stalks, fertility and harvest and flour triumphing light and life.
Holly, mistletoe and ivy decorated both the insides and outsides of the home and were an invitation to Nature Sprites to join the celebration. One of these sprigs of holly was kept for a full year beside the door to invite good fortune for the home owners.

Unfortunately, for us, the Yule log must be given as a gift or dragged from a forest, wood or field, but never bought. Before setting it alight in the fireplace it should be shaken with flour and doused in cider. A piece of last year's yule log should have been kept to light this year's and a piece of this year's must be kept for next year's. The log is supposed to burn throughout the night then smoulder for 12 days after and then it is ceremonially put out.

on druids & snakes

I don't celebrate St.Patricks day and only just last year, I found out that Patrick's chasing out the snakes is actually in reference to chasing out the Druid's, Ireland's indigenous religion. (I wonder if I was one of those that he slaughtered? I have a terrible fear of snakes... we have some deadly snakes here in Australia and they put a shiver up my spine. I wonder if this is a past life link..) ..so I put my supersleuth hat on and went searching......

Another symbolic act of Patrick overtaking Ireland's Druid heritage involves his use of the Shamrock (three-leaf clover). It is said that Patrick used the clover to explain the Trinity of God: Father, Son and Holy Sprit. However, the shamrock (Persian word for three-leaf clover), known as a "Seamroy" to Ireland, was a symbol used in Druidism to explain the three faces of the Goddess found in the Moon: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

the Leprechaun is the face figure of the Faeries known in Ireland. The legend of the Leprechauns is that they know all the secrets of hidden treasures. Their affiliation with shoe-making, rainbows, and pots of gold is really symbolic of them being earth elemental spirits. They are the spirits that take raw material, work and shape it into something useful for humans. Trolls are the raw materials, found in its raw state, in its original location.
Leprechauns are one of the many tribes belonging to the Faerie gods known to pagan Ireland. They live in the Land of Faeries known as "Tir Non Og" which lies in the West. The Irish originally called all faeries the Tuatha de' Danann, a pantheon of gods from which Lugh and Danaan were a part. Other such faerie gods include the high king "Fin Bheara". He is known to be skilled a the game of chess and running the hunt.
There are also the Banshee, angels of death. They are beautiful women in white or sometimes seen as old hags. They can be heard before seen because they are mournful. Their responsibilities are actually like guardian angles in that they help the deceased reach their designation. There are variety of others including: Lhiannon Sidhes - the faerie sweethearts, Phookas, Fir Darrig, Merrows - faerie mermaids, Roanes - the Seal People, and the Glaistigs - female water spirits.
Each family has his/her own protective Faerie spirit according to ancient Ireland and Druid tradition. These family spirits are cared for, fed, and given gifts. to do this strengthens th sprit and in time one can actually communicate with his/her spirit faerie. Among other things, one can learn the dame of his/her family spirit faerie and acquire favors.
Donna M Pinkton MA

It has been stated that St. Patrick rid Ireland of all of its snakes. Scientists have found that Ireland had not had snakes since icebergs surrounded the island. What could then be meant by the old legend?
Before Christianity began to spread into Ireland, the Druids were the leading religious figures in Ireland. One of the symbols of the Druids was a snake. In Christianity, the snake symbolized the devil.
According to the legend, St. Patrick stamped his staff on the ground to rid the snakes out of Ireland. The snakes that were sent from the island were the Druids. After they were murdered, he destroyed all of their records. These were people who lived in harmony with nature.
During the seventh century, the Christian Church taught its missionaries that if they could not convert any natives, they were to use any means necessary to convert the nonbelievers.
The Druids were not interested in giving up their old ways and converting to Christianity. St. Patrick is said to have lead to the murders of almost eight hundred Druid priests and priestesses.

and I also found this:

A quintessential symbol of fertility and renewal, the snake has long been associated with Goddess worship. The tale of the "snake" leaving Ireland illustrates a Christian longing for the eradication of the ancient and benevolent goddess worship that once dominated Ireland. Also, as the snake was a symbol associated with the Druid caste, its departure could also apply to the gradual dilution of Druidic beliefs into the early Christian church. .

so there you go... a little food for thought & still no sign of Harry!

HaPpy BirThDaY dearest Sr.Kathryn ~xo~

today is Sr. Kathryn's birthday.....an amazing woman, an amazing nun.... she invites us all to share her birthday:
" March 1st is my birthday and on my birthday I traditionally give gifts to others rather than receive them. Would you be willing to celebrate with me by doing something to bless your world in a special way that day? Have fun with it. It may be blowing bubbles out over the balcony to those below, or making cookies and sharing with your workmates. Let the "muses of blessing" inspire you, because, I have come to believe our greatest work is always to bless, and bless and bless."
~ you can read the whole post here ~~~> blessings abound

now, go blow bubbles!!

a HaPpY VaLeNTinES day to YOU !!

ooh I love Valentines Day! Joe bought me a gorgeous bunch of roses and tonight, we are having a picnic at Echo Point in Katoomba... have a wonderful day.. wherever you are & do something you LOVE !!! xoox

OH ! and a new post on the Goddess blog... follow the link at the top of this page... ~way to wisdom~

party photos....the party continues... butterflies visit too!

my 50th birthday cake...made up from teeny tiny little cupcakes from Cupid's Cupcakes in Katoomba. These cakes are simply delicious and I have been known to eat more than one! My favourite flavour is passionfruit. I kept one cake for the faeries,on the altar under the pine tree.

a few days ago, while I was wandering in my garden.. two butterflies fluttered towards me, doing their summer dance.. gorgeous colours.. they were beautiful and so graceful... they fluttered about my body, like they were weaving a cocoon around my aura and then one landed right on the tip of my nose.. only for a minute second.. but it happened! yes, it was real. sometimes, I have got to keep telling myself that, because Miss Doubt visits me often.

this is me holding my cakes while wearing my wings.... the plate cake that the little cakes are on was my Nan's and I treasure it. I bring it out for all the special occassions.

Yesterday, Joe took me to Sydney, to my favourite book shop - The Adyar.. where I spent about two hours browsing.. it was delightful. I bought a couple of CD's - including Loreena McKennits - The Ancient Muse. Then he took me to Chinatown for lunch and then we spent about an hour in a chinese supermarket. I bought myself a new tea pot, some Oolong tea and some Quan Yin tea.

here I am blowing the candles out on my second cake! We went out to dinner on the night to my favourite restaurant - The Bonton in Leura.. the meals are to die for...

This morning, I am off to a 'surprise' birthday morning tea with some friends up the road... Marion, Eric, Bill and Avis are friends of mine and they have decided to hold a little morning tea to celebrate my 50th birthday... I must take some photos of their garden. It is glorious.

this 50th birthday party of mine seems to be ongoing... i am a lucky girl for sure!

the party is continuing in faeryland too... I hope those of you who joined in are having fun! It is sure fun creating the magick !

the little blackbird and off on an adventure . .

Thankyou every one for the emails, cards and wishes for my 50th!
yesterday was a wonderful day! My children and grandchildren came for lunch and I wore my wings the whole time! Daisy was there I am sure as when we sat down to lunch, the little blackbird flew into the japanese maple that overhangs my deck and he chirped and twittered, letting us know he was there. When they sang happy birthday, the blackbird started singing his song, loud and clear. This was such a moving thing for me as at that moment, I truly believed that the bird was Daisy, telling me she was there with me.
Last night we went out to dinner to one of my favourite restaurants - the Bon-Ton in Leura... I will post some photos soon
Today, I am of to the sea-side until next Monday. My gorgeous soul man has booked us into a resort right on the beach on the Central Coast.. so that I can rest and recuperate and to be truthful - I cannot wait. I plan to walk on the beach, maybe do some yoga, journalling and being one with the Goddess of the Sea.
see you all when I come home!

the invitation to faery land continues..

I am taking a day or two away from my blog, not sure what is happening to me but I am really travelling on an inner journey right now.. - but I wanted to remind you all of my faery party that is happening all through January! .... thankyou to all of you who want to come and play, it will be fun! Your invitation will be emailed on December 31st... & there is still time to join if you already haven't. Please let your friends know about it, because I believe that we can all use magick in our lives and all are welcome to join in... I hope to come by your blogs and visit over the next few days xo
an invitation to Faery Land..the portal will open on January 1st 2008 ...
A sprinkling of faery magick to bestow upon you,
a faery name ~ tap your wand here on the faery glitter:



and be taken away to the Land of magickal Faery names....

once you have your name, let me know (either here in a comment or by email) & you will be given a key to the portal so that you may enter the Land of Mystic & Magick, and you may attend a faery party in honour of Misty-Dawn Silvery Spice, to celebrate her being in human form for 50 years as Miss*R ..... oh and you will need a faery costume of course!...

faery dolls and a wardrobe: belles of the ball ~ use these if you wish.

or design your own

OR let your inner child shine and don real faery wings for the day......

faery bread will be served ~ all washed down with Raspberry & Lovage cordial.. there will be little gift-aways throughout the month of January and lots of magick and fun things to do.... won't you join us?

Midsummer and an invitation to faery land.....

An Invocation for Summer

Fireflies and Summer Sun,
in circles round we become as one.
Singing songs at magic's hour
we bring the winds and timeless power.
Turning inward, hand to hand
we dance the hearth to heal our land.
Standing sacred beneath the Sky
We catch the fire from out it's eye
swaying breathless beside the sea
we call the Goddess, so Mote it be!
(Patricia Telesco)

Anciently, pagans and witches hallowed Midsummer. Some burned for their right to observe their rites; we need not. But we can remember the past. In solidarity with those burned, we can collect our herbs at midnight; we can burn our bonfires and hail the sun.

Midsummer has dawned here in Woodford, as a grey drizzling day. Midsummer is a time for rededication, healing, purification. I have decided not to attend my Midsummer ritual circle tonight as the cold air has been playing havoc with my chest & lungs... so instead, I will sit tonight with a candle and write my list of manifestation for the next 6 months ~ Put the wishes & dreams that live in your heart into motion & begin doing instead of just dreaming
..I have some spells and chants that I am going to do in my sacred space, under my pine tree where the faeries live and tonight I am going to colour in a faery picture because "Summer is the time to reward your inner child"

Midsummer is a time of pure magick, the night when Faeries come out to play! Here is an invitation to Faery Land..the portal will open on January 1st 2008 ...
A sprinkling of faery magick to bestow upon you,
a faery name ~ tap your wand here on the faery glitter:



and be taken away to the Land of magickal Faery names....

once you have your name let me know (either here in a comment or by email) & you will be given a key to the portal so that you may enter the Land of Mystic & Magick, and you may attend a faery party in honour of Misty-Dawn Silvery Spice, to celebrate her being in human form for 50 years as Miss*R ..... oh and you will need a faery costume of course!...

faery dolls and a wardrobe: belles of the ball ~ use these if you wish.

or design your own

OR let your inner child shine and don real faery wings for the day......

faery bread will be served ~ all washed down with Raspberry & Lovage cordial.. there will be little gift-aways throughout the month of January and lots of magick and fun things to do.... won't you join us?

'two turtle doves?' & a bah humbug 'christmas' tree

earlier this week, I was just about to walk out the door to drive my grandson Thomas to school, when two birds flew onto my deck and sat looking at me for quite awhile... I immediately thought of 'two turtle doves' but no, they weren't turtle doves they were brown cuckoo doves... a gorgeous pair of copper coloured birds come to say hello to me.

I am feeling much better although the cough is still hanging around. I was talking to a friend yesterday who has had the same thing for 3 months, apparently it is just a thing that won't go away for months. I think I might take up smoking so at least I have an excuse for constantly coughing (of course this is tongue in cheek)

ok, ok.. I 'must' have a christmas tree because that is what we do here at this time or year. For years I have gone out and bought a real pine tree from our local fire brigade or Lions club but this year, I refuse to do that. I refuse to have a huge tree in my loungeroom, having to vacuum all the needles that constantly drop, watering it trying to keep it alive in summer heat... so I decided to do my own thing.. a live tree, I thought. Joe and I trotted off last weekend to a nursery to find something suitable. At first I thought of buying a frangipani.. these are out in flower at the moment and are truly a summer type plant, but they won't live indoors for too long.. then I thought of the Wollomi pine, an ancient tree that was discovered a few years ago, deep in a hidden valley not far from where I live.. it is from the dinosaur age and has survived millions of years.. it has been cultivated and is now being sold in nurseries. However the biggest one was only about 14 ins high and a cost of $100.. I just could not bring myself to buy one. So we left empty handed. Well, not quite empty handed I bought 3 Echeverias to decorate my table on christmas day... will show them later.

While in the local hardware store yesterday, I spotted some palms and even though I am not a lover of these plants.. they are a summery kind of thing.. so I bought one for $10.. an odd choice I know but with a vintage sari wrapped around the base, some personalised baubles, a few lights and some vintage birds hiding in the branches or fronds.. it does the trick, I think. And after the silly season has gone as quickly as it comes... I can put the palm out on my deck.

it's trying to look a bit like christmas. . .

to start off with, I have decided to have a different kind of door wreath this year. Instead of the traditional 'faux pine' with apples & pine cones that I have had for nearly 20 years, I have chosen a live wreath made from native eucalypts. On Sunday, Joe and I went for a ride across the mountain, to Bilpin, the land of the mountain apples. To a gorgeous little barn called the Turpentine Tree, which is owned by a man who creates the most wonderful floral arrangements. He has wreaths made from gumnuts, from Banksias and from all kinds of native flowers as well as hydrangeas, lavender & roses.

I chose a beautiful wreath which he wrapped up all nice and tight in brown paper & string, so that I could transport it home on the bike. A feat in itself. It wouldn't fit in the saddle bags so I had to hold it in front of me while we rode back home over the mountain. The wreath is plain, no decoration which is how I wanted it, well it actually had a big red bow on it but I took it off. We also hung faery lights across our verandah, which twinkle sweetly in the dark... perfect for midsummer when my faery friends will be out having a lovely time

Julie has shown us some of her vintage christmas decorations and even though I am not using all mine to decorate my home this year, I thought I would take a photo of mine.. they are a motley lot.. some moth bitten, some looking every bit of their age, but I love them. They are kept in my storeroom in an old suitcase that I bought them in many years ago at Boorawa, in country New South Wales.

wishes for a very special girl xo

I want to wish SweetPea

A Happy birthday xoxo

*~* I hope your day is filled with butterflies, magick, colour & fripperies! ~*~