Spring is Here!

Today couldn't have been more pleasant. The first day of spring and the weather is just gorgeous! Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves working outside cleaning up the yard, and even planted a few things! There is just something about getting your hands in the dirt that brings out the kids in all of us.

I started the day off by planting three plants in the ground - pineapple sage, lemon verbena and fennel. I love seeing butterflies flitting about my yard while I sit on my porch, and fennel is a known black swallowtail attractor.

We get a lot of Monarch butterflies, but I think the Black Swallowtail is stunning.

I did an inventory of all my gardening pots. I'm planning more container gardening this year, as opposed to in the ground, with a few exceptions above. The first task was my little tea garden.

Right now it is on the porch, but I'd like to either make or buy a table to put them on, to get them off the ground. I planted chamomile, peppermint and lemon balm.

I added a teacup bird feeder.

I had planned to add the matching teapot birdhouse, but discovered a small nest with a single egg in it! Not being sure if it is an abandoned nest or not, I left it for now.

As a vegan, we eat a lot of vegetables. So, this year, I planted some!

This container has Roma grape tomatoes, bell pepper and garlic chives. It holds a little stone that reads: Hope.

This one holds a regular grape tomato plant, sweet basil and spearmint. I added the tomato cages to both to help them as they grow. Both also have a little gnome with them to watch over them.

I have more gardening adventures planned for the spring, but this was a good start. We ended our outdoor fun by dining on leftovers from hubs grilling adventure yesterday, and a lovely tropical pasta salad.

Now back to my garden planner and tomorrow's search for a patchouli plant!

Matronalia

Today, March 1, the Romans celebrated Matronalia, a festival celebrating Juno Lucina, the goddess of childbirth ("Juno who brings children into the light"), and of motherhood (mater is "mother" in Latin) and women in general.

Matronalia is a celebration of women and power as well as a celebration of virtuous marriage, marked by gifts from husband to wife, from lovers to young women, and feasts given by the wives for their female slaves. It was celebrated by both the Roman matrons and virgins. At this festival Juno was represented veiled, with a flower in her right hand, and an infant in swaddling clothes in her left. In the time of the republic, the public festival was for only one day, but in private houses, the celebration continued for seven days.  Prayers were offered to the goddess for a fruitful marriage, and husbands give gifts to their wives while temple fires were lit welcoming the new growth to the earth.

In the worship of Juno Lucina, women untied knots and unplaited their hair – sympathetic magic to prevent entanglements in the delivery of babies. She was in charge of newborn infants, and a woman in labor might make offerings to her so that she would have a safe delivery of a healthy child.

Women and girls prayed to her and brought offerings for prosperity in marriage. Gifts were exchanged, people feasted on similla, cakes decorated it with 12 balls of marzipan around the edges. and everyone treated the ladies exceptionally well on this day. Cakes with a similar name, simnel cakes, are associated with Mothering Sunday in England from which Mothers’ Day is derived.

Today is a day to celebrate the birth of your true self. Perhaps call your mother or take time to say a prayer of thanks for the gift of your life.

Perhaps celebrate with your version of a similla cake:

1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1 1/3 cups golden raisins
1 cup dried currants
2/3 cup candied cherries - rinsed, dried and quartered
1/4 cup candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons mixed spice

1 pound almond paste
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 egg, beaten

1.Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 inch springform pan. Line the bottom and sides of pan with greased parchment paper.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour. Stir in the golden raisins, currants, candied cherries, mixed fruit, lemon zest and mixed spice. Pour 1/2 of batter into prepared pan.
3.Divide almond paste into 3 equal portions. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste to an 8 inch circle. Place the circle of almond paste on the cake batter in pan. Cover with remaining cake batter.
4.Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours, or until evenly brown and firm to the touch. If the cake is browning too quickly, cover with foil after an hour of baking. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Set oven to broil.
5.When the cake has cooled, brush the top with warmed apricot jam. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste into an 8 inch circle and place on top of cake. Divide the remaining 1/3 of almond paste into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Brush the almond paste on top of cake with beaten egg. Arrange the 12 balls around the outside edge on the top of cake. Brush the balls lightly with egg.
6.Place cake under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes, or until almond paste is golden brown.

It will look something like this:

How to Celebrate the Chinese New Year

Never one to miss an opportunity to find a reason to celebrate in my home, Chinese New Year just invites fun!

One way to bring in the Chinese New Year is to clean house. While this would seem to be a good habit to have anyway, it is important for the holiday, because in doing so, you are also sweeping away any bad luck.

Decorate! Especially using red. Red candles, red paper lanterns, red tablecloths. Red symbolizes good fortune and joy.

Buy red envelopes and fill with homemade coupons. Homemade coupons ideas might include anything you know the receiver will love: maybe an extra hour before bedtime for the kids, a neck rub for a needy spouse.

Food is always an important aspect for any celebration. One idea is Asian Barbecued Tofu, but any family favorite Chinese dish will work. One staple is dumplings. While it is common to hide a coin in one of the dumplings because whoever gets the dumpling with the coin will supposedly have good luck in the coming year, I tend toward not putting inedible items in foods. Choking hazards and all that.

Have a bowl of oranges and tangerines (or any of the many varieties of oranges out there, now available) sitting on the table to be enjoyed by family and guests. They symbolize wealth and good luck.

Offer guests foods from the Tray of Togetherness - a circular or octagonal shaped tray filled with an assortment of symbolic foods to provide a sweet beginning to the New Year. I use a standard relish tray that is round and fill it with eight different finger foods.

By all means, have fun with it. Just remember - don't clean for the first few days of the New Year - if you do any sweeping during this time, you risk sweeping away your good luck.

Creating a Charmed Life

I am creating a charmed life. I saw this quote somewhere online and saved it;  it explains it best:

What is the charmed life? It isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t require power, fame, or fortune. It doesn’t actually require anything more than what you have today. The charmed life is taking delight in the life you have, making every day a brilliant day, and simply savouring the experience.

It is being open to possibilities, receptive to new ideas, and not hesitating to take a first step into unknown territory. It is a complete life strategy, meant to keep you grounded and happy today, while also working to ensure future joy and enchantment. It means living abundantly, embracing life to its fullest.

It does not mean living materialistically. Margaret Young was a singer and comedienne in the 1920's. She knew what she was talking about when she said:

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.

Living a charmed life, living abundantly isn't about the having it all, because having it all is never enough. It's about being grateful for what you do have, because it is impossible to be simultaneously grateful and unhappy. It's all about the journey and experiencing and creating joy, and charm, along the way.

I want to follow Jean Luc Picard's directive - make it so!

Imbolc

Years ago, my husband and I were searching for our first home. Having spent part of our children's childhood in the military, we wanted a place to call our own. One we could paint and decorate, with a real fenced in yard, and the kids could have their own bedroom! We found the perfect home and closed one month later - everything fell into place. It was Imbolc Eve.

That night after closing, we set up camping chairs in the den just so we could sit and take in the majesty of our new home. I made up special essential oil mixtures and we misted each room, claiming it as our own. We set out the brat Bride on the back porch, inviting Brigid to come and bless our new place. It was, and still is, a magical place for me.

The years have passed, the kids are grown (and still living at home...), but Imbolc is still a special time. A day to honor the patroness of our home.

 The brat Bríde

I repurposed a shawl I've had for years. Brigid's Mantle is now used exclusively for the healing properties she has endowed it with.

The cros Bríde

Brigid's cross made from  stalks of wheat. You have to soak them in the tub to make them pliable, but once made, the effect is lovely!

The Brídeóg

I made her from cornhusks I picked up at the dollar store. These have to be soaked as well. I dressed her in material I thought reflected the day, reds. blacks, fire. She lays in the bed I made for her.

The crios Bríde

Brigid's Girdle is typically made from straw, but I don't have any of that around, living in the suburbs. So I bought a hula hoop and wrapped it with red, white and black ribbon. We have fun stepping through it, the women top to bottom and the men through the side, all three times.

My altar to honor Brigid. Simple but nice. White tablecloth topped with a sheer, sparkly silver square. White candles.

There is more I would like to do, and will eventually. I try to add a new component each year, if I can. Irish food is always on the menu.