Mystical Mundane

Well, we re-racked our first batch of mead yesterday. It is pretty much done. Down to 1.000 and DRY as can be. Really no sweetness to it whatsoever. Just about time to add a finishing agent to it and then into bottles to age. TerraSpirit.ca is going to be no more. The decision has been made. We will keep in touch with those members who want to keep in touch via http://terraspirit.ning.com . It works better for the size of group that we have. It can be more personalized than a general forum, more social. For the most part our forum was just a place where we'd pop in and say 'hi' from time to time and that's about it. The same old threads over and over... just time to move on. I think Ning will work fine. Granted its odd to go back to an advertising supported platform, but oh well. It's nice to share pictures and interact more socially. I missed the Open House for the Medicine Lodge at Chilliwack River today. Family came over though, so it was a good enough reason to

Our house has been blessed. As of late, the sandman has returned. Often his sand of sleep has worn off by 6am, BUT.... at least he's back here doing his job ;) I have been getting a minimum of four hours sleep again for quite some time and I feel quite groovy. Dante of course has been a great sleeper for about a year now, but little Demetrio.... he had JUSt started sneaking a few full nights' sleep in before the train whistles started, and now that the whistles have ceased for the most part, he's back to sleeping again. He still wakes up at about 5 or 6, but often I can give him a bottle of warmed water (it gets very chilly in our room) and he will go back to sleep. I am no longer nursing. Just felt quite done with it. About the time I quit nursing, he started sleeping better. I'm guessing that he was waking up for the closeness and the comfort... and I understand that. But it was just enough for me. During the day we cuddle LOTS. He loves to grab my whole head and gi

Nov 20th about a half gallon of water heated and 2.5-3lbs honey. 1 mandarin orange , pinch of cloves,drop of vanilla extract (pure) pinch of yeast energizer (had no prepared nutrient) 1packet of lalvin 1118 yeast, rehydrated and added to cooled must. Shook it like crazy. Tossed it into a 1 gallon glass jug and put a piece of cheesecloth over top to allow air for fermentation. SG.. app 1.120 (I think) By the second day I noticed an odd smell, not BAD necessarily, but the non citrusy aspect of the mandarin... an aftersmell of sorts. Today, day 4, I decided to get it off the fruit and into a plastic one gallon milk jug. The syphon hose wouldnt fit, so unfortunately I had to POUR it in, through a sieve.... a big no-no I know due to the air... hopefully because of the rapid fermentation at this point, all will be ok. Today's reading was 1.070, but this was not de-gassed first, so it could have possibly been even a tad lower. Upon tasting, it actually tasted nice. Certainly did not taste

Well, they have pretty much ceased. For this I am grateful; Whistle Saga Nears Resolution . However I was a bit shocked to see my letter, all nice and big, staring at me, when I opened the newspaper. Yikes. I hadnt emailed the paper to have a letter printed... I had actually emailed because last week, in her article, it was stated that the train blows its whistle at least THREE times a day, and I wanted to clarify that it was at least THREE times at a time, MULTIPLE times an hour, day and night! I simply sent her the same letter I had sent the Mayor, with a few things ommitted (like the part that said 'if this doesnt stop, we might become maniacal and wreck havoc!' heheh... just kidding) So, I am a bit embarassed because I stated my husband's place of employment, and disclosed how he had taken the tip of his finger off already and needed to be well rested for his job. AFter writing it, I realized that he was no longer actually ON that machine, but sent it on anyhow, I figu

A very wonderful woman lost her husband just a few days ago. It was quite sudden. He had pneumonia from what I understand and most of us thought he was getting better... but he suddenly passed. She is now a widow with six beautiful boys. She has been Community Director at SheKnows for quite some time and has bent over backwards to offer support and understanding to women from all over who are mothers, or who want to become mothers. She also works to promote Autism Awareness, as one of her darling boys is autistic. Please take a moment to visit the blog some of us have put together on her behalf. http://chefkimsfamily.blogspot.com

Check out this profile! It's just me on "netlog".... trying out their 'Share' feature.

In our local paper it states that apparently, a 'no whistle' ban was applied for in 2008 for our crossing. Hmm, wonder what happened to it? Also interesting, though not as IRRITATING is the fact that my Facebook account is unavailable. Yep. I was on Facebook, and had just finished adjusting my blog feed (it used to pull from wiccemother.ca, but I redirected the wiccemother.ca url to point at this blogger site) Shortly after, I went to go look at my profile to check as to whether or not the blog had been pulled and shared appropriately, and it logged me out. So, I tried to log back in, and it just keeps refreshing the log in page, telling me 'You must log in to see this page'. No error, no 'unavailable due to maintenance' just simply won't acknowledge that I am logging in. I wouldnt care really except for the fact that it is the #1 way I stay in touch with friends. Since we moved away, I still haven't made alot of friends out here, and it's a good way

I had hoped we could do this for Winter, but time is short and therefore it isn't going to happen. I was thinking that come spring, SCES should put on a craft fair/flea market with a 'celebration of earth and spirit' theme. Natural products, handmade items, canned goods, used things that fit into the theme, crystals, used books on spirituality etc. This could be open not just to local crafts people, but independent business/proprietors also, home based businesses. We could procure a hall or venue, and rent out tables. A portion of the table rental can go towards a charity or local cause. Maybe hubby could entertain with his music and perhaps we can get some other pagan/folk type musicians to play, or perhaps some who are proficient on the hand drums. The vendors can make and keep their own money and at the same time, SCES can help support a worthwhile cause. Vancouver has Pagan Pride,and that is a bit of a trip for most of us Upper Fraser Valley folk, and there is the loca

Well, in my internet journey today, I found a great site. In The Wack. This site is found at-of course- www.inthewack.com. It's like a social networking site for the peeps in the area, with multiple blogs, and more. It is from a platform called Wordpress Mu , and added to this is a nifty thing called Buddy Press . All in all, it makes for a very nice site. Lots of local info about stores and there are blogs/articles written by locals. I came across it while searching for Chilliwack wi fi for a friend. And, while browsing through, I found a link for some Fraser Valley moms who make laundry soap and diaper wipes for an awesome price. Green Gals . Check them out! It might be a good thing that I am finding some cool things for Chilliwack because it is possible that we won't be able to move in the spring as I'd hoped. This is how it works. We need a cheaper mortgage if we move to Hope because gas for hubby to get to work is going to cost alot. The way we get a cheaper mortgage

Well, in my internet journey today, I found a great site. In The Wack . This site is found at-of course- www.inthewack.com. It's like a social networking site for the peeps in the area, with multiple blogs, and more. It is from a platform called Wordpress Mu , and added to this is a nifty thing called Buddy Press . All in all, it makes for a very nice site. Lots of local info about stores and there are blogs/articles written by locals. I came across it while searching for Chilliwack wi fi for a friend. And, while browsing through, I found a link for some Fraser Valley moms who make laundry soap and diaper wipes for an awesome price. Green Gals . Check them out!

Well, today the reading was at 1.085, so it is SLOWLY dropping down. I wish I knew what caused this really slow fermentation! We must get it into the secondary asap. I was thinking that a Spring fair/market might be a good idea. Keeping the theme on celebration of our earth and spirit. Home made items, or used items such as books, art, or new items such as crystals and incense. Eco-friendly products, natural products etc. This would take place near the Spring Equinox as a Welcome in the Spring sort of thing... maybe some drummers and musicians. I would like for it to take place in the Chilliwack area, as it is easily accessible by our neighbouring communities in Mission, Agassiz, Hope, Abbotsford. There is not enough of that sort of scene out here, and this could be a starting point :) I've posted it to fans at our Facebook page, so hopefully some others will have some ideas also.

Yes indeed! Started a 3 gallon batch yesterday. I must say, the five gallon batch we made was a bit short of water. Should have been 2 gallons (8 litres) of water with the honey, then after it had been poured into the bucket another 2-3 gallons added ( 8-12 litres) to bring the total water to about 4.5 gallons. I added far too little with the last bit of mead and ended up having to add another gallon when it came time to put it into the secondary. This time the recipe is as such. 3 gallons of water (2 with the honey and then another gallon, previously boiled , added to it when it was poured into the bucket) orange and lemon sliced. pinch of cloves split vanilla beans (from the home made vanilla extract from Shannon) 5kg - 11lbs of honey (heated with the 2 initial gallons of water in enamel hot-water bath pot) 6tbsp of bee pollen 6tbsp of strong, earl grey tea. 1 package of Lalvin 1118 Champagne yeast.

Nov 2/09 Reading on the hydrometer is 1.05 (10%)= must is currently at 8% alcohol content. Continued skimming the gunk off the top. Then figured it too much of a pain in the ass with all that fruit floating on top and just took to giving it a quick swirl to allow some air access to the surface. Nov 4/09 First racking Used sulfite to sterilize carboy, siphon, hose, air stop and plug. Hydrometer reading 1.062 (8%)= must with 10% alcohol content Tasting- fizzy! the yeast is still active a lovely fruit sweet taste still very cloudy, a dark pinkish colour Nov 5/09 Added 4 additional litres of bottled spring water

Oct 29/09 *sorry for the mixed use of degree designations, it's just now i had it written down... started with 6kg (=2gal) of honey, with 2gal of water, heated until honey dissolved then brought to a boil for 20mins to sterilize. removed from heat, let cool to 70-75F before adding yeast (temp approx 175F or 77C when removed) and added: 15tbsp of air dried bee pollen (yeast energizer, recommended 1-5tbsp/gal); 1/2 each blood orange and lemon, sliced (one whole citric fruit); 7tbsp very strong tea (steeped 6 Earl Grey teabags in average sized teapot)- recommended 2tbsp/gal. at 50C, added 1 additional gallon of cold water added 900g frozen mixed berries raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry (75.5C). Oct. 30 added additional 500g frozen blue berries started yeast (lalvin 1118) in 1 cup warm water, let stand for time indicated on package added to must at 110F initial hydrometer readings, 1.135 (18%) 1.1 (15%) after yeast added *notes fill sink with cold water and place pot of boi

In an age that offers us so much, there sure is a lot of dissatisfaction. I'm not old comparitively speaking, but I do remember the dial phone, and the novelty of the microwave and the first VCR's. Wired remotes for tv's with switches rather than buttons...I remember cordless phones that cost hundreds of dollars with foot long antennae. Cartoons only on in the mornings, Mon-Saturday, and then on Sundays we were stuck watching old Robin Hood and Spiderman. So much has progressed. Yet it seems that it has only fed our hunger for more. I was reading in Stephen Hoeller's Gnosticism today about our addiction for knowlege. The Information Age. It got me to thinking about something else that I had been contemplating for some time. We get online and have access to so much information, and misinformation. This (mis)information is so easy to come by. You can pick one topic that you want to find out more about, Google it, and come up with thousands of places on the net that can o

Today when going for a walk with the boys, I realized that we truly are in the season of Earth. Samhain,The time between no-life, and life. The seeds have fallen... We are climbing inside ourselves... thinking, preparing. Like the womb preparing its lining for a fertilized egg, spiritually we prepare ourselves. We cast off all the excess baggage that no longer serves us. The trees have tossed down their dying fruit to rot, in order for seeds to embed themselves and grow. Death is necessary for life. But nothing is every truly dead. Just transforming. Though it is not something we see , we know that the earth holds those seeds. In preparation. Everything benefits from a dormant season. Eventually, tiny miracles will occur, explosions of cells under the surface, like a woman newly with child... and then, as the season turns to Spring, that of Air, life takes it's first breath... But for now, we wait.

I had been thinking alot about it recently. I had switched my ideas about directions in conjunction with the wheel of the year. Traditional is North-Earth, East-Air, South-Fire, West-Water. Well, to me it seemed , (visualizing Samhain in the North), that North should be Air. This time of year, so little seems vital. It is the crispness in the air, the odd melancholy twinge in the breeze. And In the East, where lies Imbolc, it seemed correct that earth should be there. It is the time of the year of the stirring underneath the soil, life pushing through.. (there was much more to it, which I wrote at length in my Musings) However, as proof of how ideas can change, today when going for a walk with the boys, I realized that we ARE in the season of Earth. Samhain,The time between no-life, and life. The seeds have fallen... We are climbing inside ourselves... thinking, preparing. Like the womb preparing its lining for a fertilized egg, spiritually we prepare ourselves. We cast off all th