a bit of this and a bit of that....

brrr it is cold here today in Woodford... Jack Frost visited last night and my grass was blanketed in white this morning.. my poor toes feel frozen even with my warm slippers on..
The Gypsy Caravan was as delightful as ever... very windy and cold but I did manage to go for a long walk along the beach... Joe and I were walking along, talking about stuff, lost in our own thoughts.... and a huge wave surprised us washing up to our knees.. we laughed alot as we walked along.... you know, he truly is my best friend.

Over the weekend, I realized that I am to learn tolerance.... new neighbours moved in next door to our caravan.... there is a something about them that I don't like, they frighten me a little.. they aren't at all friendly when you say hello and avoid eye contact... it just unsettles my soul to have them so near me...... I won't go into it here for fear of being run out of blogging land.... but I know in my soul that I am to learn tolerance with this....I woke early on Saturday morning - 4am to be exact knowing i had to smudge the caravan and buy some crystals to grid it... so I went off to a local market to buy my crystals... found four perfect double terminated smoky quart pieces and the woman gave me a bag of white sage to smudge with... Sunday i woke yet again at 4am, went for a walk in the cold, chilly early morning and the Moon was at her fullest! A glowing red ring was around the Moon and the stars surrounded Her, twinkling like ladies in waiting.... I felt blessed to have been called out at that time to see it... that afternoon, I walked around the caravan smudging and blessing and chanting protection words...I programmed the crystals and placed them at the corners of my van... they will build up a protective grid for me.. and then I placed angels at each corner of my van.... anyone seeing me would think I was a total weirdo.. but well... I don't really have to explain to those who understand

next bit: in the past and even just recently I have been given some awards for my blog... and I am truly grateful.... I don't display them on my blog because I forget to do it... so please, if any of you have given me one previously, please don't be offended that it is not here... I have just forgotten... I must tie a piece of string around my finger !!!

next we have me-me's...... I love doing these!! but for some reason, I come across as not enjoying them... once again, if I have been tagged, please don't think I don't want to do them, I really do... I just forget & if you want to tag me please do...... must go looking for my memory sometime soon....


lastly... I have a friend who is celebrating a birthday today..... I contacted her after Daisy died and she has become a close friend... so happy birthday dear *!*ANNIE*!*

a Monday scrap-book post

autumn is here... we have the chilliness in the air that heralds the coming of autumn... the damp grass in the morning, the long shadows of an afternoon... and the spider webs with twisted leaves, where the spider lives, strung across the paths, waiting to trap some poor unsuspecting insect.. these all let my inner me, know that autumn is coming..

I wanted to show you a photo of the autumn shadows... this photo was taken early this morning and once again I have captured orbs (I think).. I took so much care, to clean the lense and focus properly but still they are there! This was taken under my ancient pine tree, where sometimes I find faery rings.

yesterday, we went on a bike ride to a tiny little town called O'Connell... through some of the most gorgeous countryside - the sky was a sparkling blue and the temperature was, well, damn chilly.... I do some profound thinking while I am on the bike... I kind of enter a Zen zone... I have been finding that Mary Magadalene has been coming into my life alot lately. Awhile ago, I bought a book called The Secret Teachings of Mary Magdalene by Claire Nahmad & Margaret Bailey. Both Daisy and Colette had told me about it, so I went out and bought it and put it on my shelf and promptly forgot about it.. I picked it up a few days ago. Alot of food for thought in this book... anyhow, back to the Zen zone that I am in on the back of the bike.... my thoughts started to wander to Mary Magdalene and I wondered if she were someone that I could connect to on a daily basis.. and as I thought this, I felt my heart chakra warm up. Like it was filled with pure love. It was an amazing sensation and I knew she was with me, right at that very moment. And it felt right. . And you know, she is with me all the time, I can feel her. ... my thoughts wandered a little more....to my ancestors.. I went back in time in my thoughts and how many people I am related to... then back even further to my past lives, a whole different family tree... and back and back I went, til I realized that I must be related to everyone via my soul. This was a very profound moment for me... maybe many of you realize all of this already but it is a first for me... call me a late bloomer! It is amazing while in this zen zone that I manage to stay on the bike. Or are my thoughts just the insanity of a mind that has been lulled into a sense of hypnosis by the constant whirring of the bike engine...

my allergies are back. damn. I thought i had them all under control with all my herb taking and organic food eating.. but the sneezes and watering eyes are back. damn. So instead of being the martyr, I am going to take the chemicals this time. A few discussions with a friend has helped me come to this decision. That, plus all I keep hearing in my head is Daisy, saying 'take the bloody pills'.... and like my friend said 'take the pills you need to, which will give you some relief. You want balance. It sounds like you make good choices already, so it's very possible the positive impact will out weigh the neg. one.' ~ so if I eat properly and take the chemicals.. I should feel better.. it is a hard thing for me to do though, I must admit.

today, I scrubbed my bathrooms... all the while talking to Mary Magdalene. I feel I am on the homeward journey at the moment. at last. here are a few pics of my bathroom...


sometimes, after cleaning.. ~no, make that every time after cleaning, I am really soul satisfied... I look at the gorgeous rooms, all sparkling.. and think to myself - I did that. I created this little piece of Heaven in my home. For myself and for my loved ones.

I have soup simmering on my stove that smells divine and I worked in the garden for an hour or two this afternoon and I am satisfied. I am totally soul satisfied.

Mother Nature is as confused as I am

is it any wonder that I am sick? with the weather the way it is.. it has been raining here for nearly three weeks.. or more. I am not complaining, mind you Our dams have gone from 38% capacity to over 60%!Temperature around 25C (80F)... then a sunny day that reaches in the mid 30'sC (90F).... then rain again but this time with fog where you can't see in front of you and temps dropping down to 5C (40F) - with me running for my cardigan and warm socks. The electrical storms have been absolutely amazing... sitting at the Three Sisters while Mother Nature puts on a lightning show .. an extraordinary sight.

The other day I had to drive to Leura to buy myself some herbal drops and it was eerie... the fog was so thick, I could hardly see a few feet in front of me... at this rate, I reckon I just may have a White midsummer !
I am feeling alot better today.. I slept all night without pain... thanks to copious amounts of garlic and other wonderful things (as well as the dreadful chemicals that I had to take). I have also been looked after by my nature friends... the other day, on the day my illness peaked.. I was sitting in my big pink chair feeling sorry for myself and just as I was looking out the window at the rain.. a little humming bird fluttered for a moment before flying off into the magnolia tree.... the humming bird is the totem animal for the throat chakra. a co-incidence? synchronicity? or just something that happened in the web of life?

my garden is OUT OF CONTROL! I haven't been able to get out into it for weeks due to the rain... of course, this rain means blackspot for my roses.. my potatoes have probably rotted in the ground and the snails have wreaked havoc on the rest of my vegies that I had planted. So I hereby give up trying to grow vegetables until next year. It is too late to be trying to start new summer cropping vegetables now. I hate snails, I really do. but then I wonder if I am hypocritical about animal welfare... I know that snails are living creatures .... is it ok to kill them? that sounds dreadful.. the word kill....... I need to think long and hard at this snail dilemma. The Buddhist monk across the road won't even walk on grass incase he treads on a living creature... I wonder what he would do if snails were desecrating his vegetable garden. But if I don't cull the snail population, I will have nothing left in my garden.
sometimes, I think I worry too much. Or maybe it is just all the chemicals I have taken over the past few days playing havoc with my mind.

rambling thoughts, a shift in my soul, a wander through my garden and two blogs I simply must tell you about

over the past few days, I have been allowing things to settle... as well as the continuing decluttering... a few of you have asked if I feel any different and I guess I do in a way.. a very subtle difference.. a kind of shift in my soul... an acceptance of the way things are, the way things are meant to be.
On Monday as I was cleaning my bedroom.... you know - the stripping sheets, vacuuming and dusting and making my bedroom into a sacred haven ....... I got to thinking and as my mind wandered, I thought of my search for who I am, my life purpose and why I chose to live in Australia in this life...... I had realized something or maybe it was a message from the angels, or maybe I was in that moment truly in touch with my higher self.
In this lifetime...... I am to find a way to celebrate the Wheel of the Year in a modern way.... to read and research ancient folk lore but to bring it into these times so that it works in my own life...encompassing all of my journey... including Mary.. who is the Earth mother.... our Goddess, Gaia.... and if I can't find Rowan or Holly or any other tree that is needed to hang on my door to keep evil spirits out... then I can use eucalypt, apple or a bunch of lavender... because it is the intention that counts..... my ancestors used what they had at hand... they didn't travel miles to find just the right tree.... they went into their garden and used what was growing.... that is what being in touch with the nature, the sacred, means... and all plants & trees have wisdom...
so not much more to tell, well there is more, but I need to let it settle in my soul and grow... and will share some more soon.
And I thought I would show you a little of my garden ... come down the garden path.... and we find some herbs growing... feverfew, yarrow and love-in-the mist....

the roses are delightful right now... as you walk through my garden, it is like a perfumed Heaven

and foxgloves.... the faeries must be delighted to have such an array of hats to choose from! These foxgloves self seeded from the original garden in 1917.

and before I go.. I want to tell you about two blogs first of all Ruth.... someone that I found when searching blogs who were interested in Hedgewitchery..... amazingly, she lives in Cumbria. Over the past few weeks, we have been getting to know each other and she has decided to open an online wise woman circle.... take a look: WISE WOMAN CIRCLE. I am going to join as soon as I shake this chest thing I have.... and the other blog I want to share today is Hearthtalks a blog by a catholic nun who kind of follows the wheel of the year... alot of wisdom in both of these blogs... have a little peek when you have time

a few awards...chatter, a bit of a laugh at myself and missing celtic tree lore

Not much happening here in Woodford right now... we have had a lot of rain the past few days and my garden is sodden.. the damn snails have eaten my new beans, my tomatoes are thriving, the lavender needs a good pruning and I have just about finished my mulching. At the moment, I am trying to work out what I am going to make for my 'Yule' craft because even though I am on the opposite side of the wheel of the year to the Northern Hemishpere, where it is really Yule in December, the powers that be, dictate to me that it is Christmas here, in December.. of course, it doesn't make sense but who am I to argue? If it were just me, then I would ignore all the silly christmas hype and celebrate it in June when it should be celebrated on Winter Solstice, but with my grandchildren, i must make memories.. so I continue my mixed up celebrations, thinking to myself that for some odd reason, I chose this life... all will be revealed oneday, I hope. However, this year is going to be different... and I will share as I go along during December.
The 'true moment' of Beltaine is coming up for me, traditionally Beltaine is October 31/November1 .. but I have decided to celebrate this year on Wednesday as it suits me.... so will be posting about my Beltaine rituals, soon... I truly am feeling such a peace in my soul at the moment... I still have a soul lonliness but I am going with it.. I am sure there is something to learn from it all....

A while ago, there was an advertisement in our local paper.. wanting people who were interested in celebrating Ostara - spring equinox with a picnic in a local park... I was going to go but then Daisy died and mum had her operation and well, i kind of retreated... last week, I received a phone call from the organizer who wants to start her own wiccan group... so I went along the other day to meet her.... she was quite young and very intense and has definite ideas... and quite gothic... that is ok by me.. she was sitting there asking me all sorts of questions and I was asking her a few, but feeling quite uneasy with the intense-ness of it all and deciding in my head that it wasn't really for me... when she asked how I felt about doing ritual 'skyclad' (naked) - I just about choked.... I am not a prude but there is no way that i am prancing around naked in front of people i don't know, or anyone else for that matter.. lord, I didn't know what to say... she kept going on about how liberating it was - yeah right. So I told her i was not at all interested and she said to think about it and let her know... so I said my good byes and just about ran back to the car as if I were chased by demons.... got in the car, slammed the door and laughed and laughed myself silly.... another lesson learned.... it seems to me that whoever is in charge 'up there' has a sense of humour.

Over the past few weeks, I have been awarded quite a few awards... I never liked these things to be truthful..they always seemed to be handed out willy nilly... but over the past days, I have been thinking about them and I now accept awards with honour... that women on the other side of the world think of me in these ways, really does touch me in a different way lately. I am to pass them on but I am only going to pass on each award, once.
so with honour I accept these awards:

from Grace at the Wild Pomegranate, I accept the Beautiful Blog design award: 'has a unique visual flavor which really just makes my senses go “ahh”, every time I visit - and a brilliant human as well' - thankyou Grace... honestly, your words made me cry..so I pass this award on to: Suzie, at Suzie's Sacred space, a place that is peaceful, a place to take refuge from the busy-ness of life.


the Halloween sweet treat award from Moonroot and even though it is Beltaine for me she gave me the award.. for my 'Samhain' post about my ancestors... and I just have to pass this on to Peggy... if you haven't seen what she does with her goats at this time year.. go over quick! Peggy is one of my first blogging friends and has stuck by me through all my ups n downs xo Hidden Haven
I know there are more but for the life of me.. I can't remember where I put them.. so I will continue my search and when I find them, I will pass them on.

Oh and I know I missed this months Celtic Tree Lore which was Reed... just couldn't get my head around it.. I had the post half finished but well, stuff happens.... so I will be posting about Elder at the end of November for the 13th Moon of the Celtic Year - I know Daisy is wanting me to continue with this.. so that I can learn and pass it on.

Harry Potter and the scrap bag post !!

still awfully chilly here in Woodford, not much I could do in the garden today. Generally trying to tidy up after the windy weather. I spent a few hours under the pine tree, where the faeries live, raking and picking up pine cones. I use these for kindling, so now I have a lovely collection in the red cane basket on my verandah. Yesterday, I had a delivery from Diggers Club - my organic rhubarb crown and also the blueberry bush that I ordered in autumn.... now to find somewhere to put them. it is so hard when you look out the window, itching to get into the garden and it is just too cold. Although I believe, our cold weather is very mild to many of my blogging friends... but I can assure you, we make up for the cold with the extreme of heat in summer. I put a pot of beef & barley soup on this morning and it has been simmering away all day. We will be having that for dinner. There is nothing more soul nurturing and satisfying than a bowl of warm soup on a cold day


Every morning for the last week or so, I have noticed the rainbow lorikeets up in the eucalypt tree, nextdoor. They make a cacophony of noise... I am not sure what they are up to maybe there are nuts or flowers that they feed on. They are there for a short time, maybe 15 to 20 mins.. then they all fly off. I wonder where? I have made a note in my journal so that next year, I can see if there visit is an annual occurrence..then it can be part of my seasons of the year wheel. I vaguely remember them from years before but not sure if it was around the same time.. I also noticed on my way to a meeting this afternoon, that the early blooming wattles are in flower....I must take some photos next week, another thing that I can put into my own seasons wheel.

today is the day I got my final Harry Potter book..it was on order and Joe picked it up for me from our local bookshop. Well, not really the local bookshop, Woodford only has a post office but our main town is Springwood about 10 mins away by car. So the book is sitting on my snuggly chair ready and waiting. I am a little hesitant to pick it up - once I get my head in it, I will be there til I finish it and being the last book, I want to savour it for as long as i can.
Tomorrow is supposed to bring the same weather - overcast and chilly so I am not sure what I will be doing. Joe is going for a ride, but it is just too cold for me to be doing that...so I may finish the Imbolc gift that will be drawn tomorrow and a few other promised projects that have been on my 'art' table for ages and I will take a wander around and take some photos. must go now... I am off to see Harry Potter !

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

the wind in the willows

well not quite, as I don't have a willow tree - but the wind was in every tree in my garden, every tree in my street, in my village.....yesterday the weather started of quite sunny but a gale was blowing. I am not happy when it is windy, particularly when I have to hang clothes on the line, they whip around and slap you in the face. I ended up having to chase my recycling rubbish up the road in my pyjamas, kindly helped by the buddhist monk dressed in his orange robes. I call him the Venerable Fred because his real name is just too hard to say. So we gathered the rubbish up and put it all into the bin... said our goodbyes and I went off to have my breakfast.

*this is what Mother Nature sent me yesterday, this is what I saw from my kitchen window. A rainbow to remind me that after the flood of tears that I have cried, there is always a rainbow. Ties quite well into filling your life with colour as Lisa oceandreamer is doing*

Getting on with my housework, I looked out the window and it was sleeting, which steadily turned to snow. Only for about 5 mins, but it still snowed....all this time, my clothes still flapping wildly on the line, that is of course if they were still there........
I went out to lunch with Joe and went looking for something to make my Spirit doll from. I was thinking of 'copying' Daisy's pattern but now I am leaning towards a stick for a body. After lunch, I went looking for a few gifties - and discovered a little shop call FrouFrou - full of amazing treasures... came home and rescued my washing off the line or ground, or wherever it had ended up... trying not to complain.. but it is so hard as I don't do well in the wind. Then I packed a giftie up to be sent of today and made myself a hot chocolate.
all night the wind howled again - gale force - so I have been awake nearly all night and three times I was up to one of the windows on our verandah, being blown open. I was scared it was going to smash overnight - it is quite old - part of the old home next door which was built around 1912, so would be hard to replace....... today more washing - where on earth does it come from?
Now I am off outside to see what damage has been done to my garden. Not much I can do today though, except sit and snuggle in a chair and read and maybe do some work in my soul journal/Book of Shadows. I think I might share some of that oneday soon

tonight, I am off to Spotlight to look for some glittery embellishments for my Spirit doll....

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