Well Mike has already posted our final version of the Summer Equinox ritual we worked on yesterday.  We have asked for participation and help in the ritual from our grove members and a few have already stepped up to the plate.  :)  I plan to write up the Summer Solstice report today once I have finished a sewing/embroidery project that I have to complete and done my housework/supper prep.

Things are starting to get back to "normal" again but we need to be sure in all of our business to never lose the closeness that Mike and I have together.  I think that this is an issue for many couples dealing with the craziness of life, kids, extended family, jobs, etc.

Once more back into the fray!

Blessings,

Pam

Wow so I haven't posted for a few days!  I got caught up in the family stuff and had a crazy busy weekend! 

We went to Thornhaven Protogrove's Sunna Ritual on the Saturday and then spent the evening chatting with new friends.  :)   On Sunday we had a full day with two vocal recitals, one in the afternoon for just our daughter and one in the evening with our son and the same daughter.  I have posted a video of Lindley's performance on YouTube just in case any of you are interested in seeing it...  www.youtube.com/watch

Adam is not happy with his performance so will not allow me to post it publicly...  of course I think it is wonderful.  :)

Mike and I are leading the Summer Solstice ritual this Saturday for Red Maple Grove so we are in the process of fine tuning it.  We will then work on our write ups for that part of the DP requirement.  Last night we went to see the Met Opera's broadcast of The Audition, a film about the process of the Metropolitan Opera's annual competition.  It was very inspiring and really renews our commitment to provide whatever our children need to pursue their passion of music.

Sometimes we wonder where the money for further education will come from while we spend $$ on the latest high tech gadgets, etc.   It is a matter of priority.   Our priorities are ADF (including the Dedicant Program, Oak Leaves, etc.), Music, and further education in ourselves and our children.

Ahhh Friday!   Yay, and we have a busy yet fun weekend ahead of us.

Well I have some sewing to do for my sister-in-law this morning and then I am hitting the gardens.  They are starting to look really neglected!  Hopefully, the rain will hold off long enough to get some work done on them.

With the weird weather in Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec (frost warnings) I still have some veggie seedlings that desperately need to be planted in one or two of my raised beds.   Hopefully, that  will get done before they become pot bound and die.  EEK!

So tonight is our only free time this weekend...  I may get Mike to help me with any heavier gardening that is left after supper, if it isn't raining!

Anyway, full speed ahead for the day...

Blessings to all!

Pam

Well today is a brand new day... with no mistakes in it so far!  LOL   My childhood friend, Anne Shirley, would be proud...  (Green Gables series of books)   We are done with singing competitions now until it starts again next February.  Time to get life back in gear again.

Mike and I have been asked to lead the Summer Solstice ritual for Red Maple Grove on Saturday June 20th so we will be working on getting that written.  At the same time we can work on that DP requirement as well.  :)

We have a busy weekend ahead of us...  Only in until 10 on Saturday morning... heading out to Thornhaven for their ritual and then have a family BBQ for supper.  On Sunday we are in until about 2 as Lin is performing in a recital at 3 and then Adam and Lin perform again at 7.  I will tape their performances and post them up on YouTube.  YAY!

Anyway, today is a day of getting back to the routine, doing a pantry/fridge/freezer inventory and getting the grocery list done, etc.

Life is definitely good!  :)

Well we are back from Peterborough, Ontario, the town I grow up in after we left England for Canada.  Lindley competed there at the Provincial competition for Ontario.  She won the silver medal.  She did a fantastic performance and I was soooo proud!

Now to get life back to "normal"  whatever "normal" is.  LOL!

I'll write some more tomorrow.

Hugs,

Pam

Well I have been bad and missed posting yesterday!  :(   It has been a very busy weekend!  :)

Tomorrow I am headed out to Peterborough, Ontario by bus with my oldest daughter, Lindley. 



She is competing in the Kiwanis Provincials in the vocal category at the ARCT level.    If any of you have not heard her and are interested in hearing her sing you can see some clips on YouTube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PWNGT_tVO8

You can find her two other clips from that link and also a clip of my son Adam singing.

I'll let you know how the competition goes when I get back on Wednesday.

Blessings to all!

Pamela

Wow, the day is over halfway done and I haven't posted yet!  Thought I had better post before I head out of the door.

Tonight is date night!  Mike and I are going out for supper and then off to Discussion on Techno-Paganism with Thornhaven Protogrove.  I hope everyone had a great Friday and an even better Friday night!

Blessings to all!

Well I had a really rough start to my day (family drama (in-laws)) and I am trying to shake it off and move forward with my day.  *sigh*

I am going to focus on working on Oak Leaves some more today so that we can post our updates tonight for review.  Emilie saw I was down this morning and made me an amazing omelette with cheese, peppers, mushrooms and onions.  She is such a sweetheart.  I am posting a pic of her, pink hair and all!



I really am blessed to have such wonderful kids, they are all such interesting and loving people.

As I was writing this I just got an email saying that David Carradine had died.  He was a childhood hero to me and the reason I started my martial arts training.  May you rest in peace, Grasshopper.

Well I ended up really ill yesterday and spent the day sleeping and not accomplishing much of anything.  I did watch two episodes of BBC's Planet Earth last night with Michel, Desert and Ice Worlds.  It is such an incredible series of documentaries, definitely many moments of worship and awe while watching how intricate and wonderful our mother, Gaia, is and our fellow creatures.

Today the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and I am feeling much better.  Candles are lit, prayers are said, and incense is burning.  A good start to the day!

Today I hope to accomplish yesterday's duties and also do some more work on the next edition of Oak Leaves and possibly attack some more of my DP.  :)

Brightest Blessings to all for a wonderful and blessed day!

Hugs,

Pam

Morning everyone!   I had a later start than usual today... not feeling quite up to snuff.  It's like I am wading through deep snow or sand to get anything done today.  :(    I think all of the mental stress and physical tiredness has finally caught up with me.  I think I am going to take the day a bit slower today and try to fit in some down time as well as my routines, etc.

Had a great friend day yesterday.  I had four long distance friends contact me by phone and at least five other local phone calls.  It was definitely a day were I felt very loved!  :)  It seemed to be on everyone's mind to touch base with me yesterday.

The weather seems to be finally warming up slightly as it should be up to 17 celsius today (about 5 or 6 degrees below normal for this time of year) so I should be able to get some laundry out on the line.  There is something so therapeutic about hanging laundry on the line to dry.  It is almost an act of worship for me.  :)

So today will be a slower day than usual but it's all good. 

The weekend was good, busy but good.  :)

On Friday night we started the weekend off well by visiting some new friends of ours, Ghislaine and Bill.  We had a wonderful supper, chat and discussion.  We covered everything from spirituality, philosophy to fantasy and sci-fi authors.  Definitely kindred spirits!

On Saturday we got up, finished our altar ritual, set it up and then headed out to the Grove discussion for the afternoon.  We all had a great discussion and it was nice to touch base with our fellow Grove members again.  Thanks Michael for extending hospitality again by hosting the discussion.

On Sunday we did some much needed housework and then headed out for the late afternoon/evening with my wonderful Mom-in-Law.  She had acquired tickets for supper and a concert at a local retirement living complex.  The food was wonderful and the concert was great, small 22 piece orchestra with three soloists singing many classical favourites.  Definitely right up our alley!  :)

Well today is the start of a new month.  I have decided to start implementing my FlyLady routines again...  (FlyLady is a home organizational website that helps reduce housework to 15 min tasks spread out over the span of a month, www.flylady.org)  I really encourage anyone who is stuck in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) to give FlyLady's routines a try.  :)

We started the day off right by lighting our shrine and doing our morning devotionals.  We then continued over a nice cup of Tim's coffee and read our Stoic philosophy reading of the day and posted our individual comments.  Feel free to join, read along and comment at http://wordsoftheancientwise.blogspot.com.

Have a wonderful day!  :)

We finally set up our new home shrine yesterday.



We decided to put it in a place of prominence in our house, right in the main hallway.  Mike and I decided to write a ritual together to dedicate each piece on our altar and set it apart for sacred use.  Here is the link to the actual ritual that we wrote in case anyone is interested enough to want to read it.  ;) 


(Mike has already posted the ritual and pictures to his site so I thought rather than reinvent the wheel I would post the link above.)

We placed a branch to represent the World Tree, a three branched candelabra to represent the Fire and a glass bowl to represent the well.  We then placed our Patron statues, Zeus and Artemis are mine, and animal statues (dolphin (water), owl & eagle (air) and stag (earth)) to represent the nature spirits.  These statues will also be part of our portable altar kits as they correspond with our patrons.  The eagle is sacred to Zeus and the stag is sacred to Artemis.

We then placed a stone that I had given to my father when he was dying of a brain tumour to represent our ancestors.  We also placed a bronze bowl on the altar for our offerings.


I still have some improvements to make on the altar as I want to replace the branch with a metal tree hanging to represent the World Tree and I want to create to separate books, one for the family ancestors (Black) and one for the ancestors who are of the heart, giving inspiration and guidance (White).  The tree we will be saving our pennies for and the books I will start to work on and have printed.

What Greek Goddess are you?

You are Aphrodite! You are like Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love, and not surprisingly, the most beautiful of all the goddesses. With your irresistible charms, and with cupid as your ally, there aren't many you cannot easily woo...whether it be on purpose or without intending to at all. You are one sensual girl. Lucky you. ;)

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic</font>

</div>

Well here I am posting again....   at least it is a lot more often than the past 8 months!

Wow, I came crashing back to earth this week after the wonder of Wellspring.  I have worked hard this week trying to maintain a sense of Sacredness within the Profane of modern day life.  Mike and I are setting up our altar today with our new statues.  This should help as it is in a prominent place in the house rather than in our bedroom, hidden away.

We will post pics once it is set up.

Hugs to all and Blessings!

Pamela

Nikandre Kore

What a fantastic weekend!  Met so many wonderful people and made some life long friends.  :)

Trying to get life back into some kind of rhythm but never back to what normal used to be.

Well Mike and I have decided to make the 7 hour trek to Wellspring this weekend.   We will head out early Friday and get there for the afternoon.  We are bringing our grove member, Erin, with us.  It should be a fun trip!

I think this is the most spontaneous thing we have done in a long time. 

What Greek Goddess are you?

You are Demeter! You are like Demeter, goddess of agriculture, harvest and earth. You are very altruistic, as you have natural instinct to nourish and provide for those around you. Without "mother-earths" like you, this world would be without hope and underdeveloped, both mentally and physically. You are the foundation on which we stand and the sustenance in what we consume.

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic</font>

</div>

Autumn Equinox (Mabon) - celebrated September 21st, 2008 (Pittsburgh, PA)

Having recently determined that my Hearth Culture is Hellenic I was quite excited to attend Sassafras' Groves Elusian Mystery celebration of the Autumnal Equinox.  This time of the year is a pivotal moment in the Wheel of the Year.  A time for reflection on our blessings and preparation for the quiet time of the dark to come.

The Elusian Mystery cult was one of the most successful cults of the Hellenic Culture.  Records of it being celebrated span approximately 2,000 years!  We learnt of Demeter's sorrow from Hades' abduction of her daughter to his dark realm.  Her refusal to care for the earth for a 9 day period and the risk that the earth was in due to this drought and pestilence being upon the land.  Zeus, who had initially agreed that Hades could marry Kore (Demeter's maiden daughter later named Persephone), stepped in and persuaded Hades to send Persephone back to her mother.  Hades gave Persephone pomegranate seeds while she was in the realm of the dead which meant that she had to return to him for a third of the year.  This is the hellenic culture's explanation for the time of fallow during the fall/winter season of the year when Demeter is sorrowed and waiting for her daughter to return to her.

In participating in the ritual I was reminded of our journey to find our spirituality and relationship with the gods.  Our "dark night of the soul" that brings us to a greater apprecation of the light that is to come.

Personally, I try to focus on family and friends during this harvest season.  Focusing on sharing the bounties of the fruits of the harvest with long suppers at abundant tables.