Magickal Mabon

Autumn is here. It seemed to come a bit early this year, what with the late arrival of summer-like weather here in the Inland Northwest, but we welcomed it all the same. I celebrated Mabon with several of my very close friends. It was a gorgeous day with sunny, clear blue skies and temperatures in the upper 80s. We had sooooo much fun!

We watched the sun set while drinking fruits of the harvest, such as cider, beer and wine (a very dangerous rum cocktail may have made it's way into the party as well), and eating dishes prepared from vegetables we'd grown in our gardens. Once the sun had set, we sat around the fire and wrote down things we'd like to change in our lives in the coming year. We tossed our desires into the magickal fire, which glowed green and blue, and followed up with Circle time in the Magickal Teepee. I wish I had a picture of that, but my phone takes crappy pictures at best during the day. What a fantastic night with my Goddess sisters!

Blessed Mabon everyone!

Unexpected uses for coffee grounds

A pile of coffee grounds goes into my compost bowl almost daily (except work days ... I'm too lazy to bring them home), because I know they're good for compost and the garden. I knew of other uses for them, such as an ant deterrent, or that they can be used to scour dishes, to dye paper, etc. I just haven't had any reason to try using them for those purposes, and scouring dishes with coffee grounds seems like more mess than it's worth. Balled up aluminum foil, k? Thanks!

Today I came across some pretty cool tips for using coffee grounds around the house that seem pretty practical. Here are a few I didn't know that I may have to try:

♦ As a deodorizer, whether it's in your refrigerator, car, ash tray, etc.
♦ Disguise scratches in darker wood furniture. Okay, I knew this one, but it was a good reminder.
♦ Use as a non-toxic bug repellant. Use a solution of coffee to spray your plants. The smell is too strong for most bugs. You’ll need to re-apply after a rain. I wonder if this will deter earwigs?
♦ Use coffee grounds to keep cats from digging and pooping in your garden. Not something I have trouble with, but it's a good tip!
♦ Use coffee grounds to deter slugs and snails. Both the smell and the abrasive surface help keep these pests out of the garden. I do have trouble with monster slugs that are big enough to melt your head, so I'm checking this out pronto.
♦ Keep your garden worms healthy. It's a food source and digestive aid for them. We loves us some worms in the garden!
♦ Brunettes can use it as a rinse to add softness, shine and highlights. My biggest concern, besides the mess, is what my hair smells like after the coffee treatment, but might have to give this one a go.

I obtained these hints from an article on Care2, so check that out for more tips.

Drama, drama, drama

The last few weeks have been focused more on real life drama than creating, unfortunately. I received the news of my son's impending fatherhood, which would be great if he and his girlfriend were 25 rather than 17, if they were finished with both high school and college, and if at least one of them had a self-supporting job - issues which are just the tip of the iceberg of hardships these two are facing. They were just plain irresponsible, and have not a clue about what they are truly facing. My son is insistent upon attending the school of hard knocks, no matter how hard we try to convince him of the alternatives.

Goddess, grant me the ability to give the best possible guidance, and the wisdom to get involved when I need to get involved and to stand back when I need to stand back.

Other than that, I've mostly just been working on a crochet project. I'm pretty new to crochet, and have never followed a pattern ... so getting to the 8th row and having to rip out the whole thing back to the 2nd row because I did the 3rd row wrong was a learning experience. I've had to put it down for a few days due to a dog bite ... from a dog who has had no socialization or training. This is not the fault of the dog, it's the fault of the owners. Unfortunately, down the road the dog will probably bite someone else, and then the dog will end up paying the ultimate price for his owners' irresponsibility. It's sickening. The bite was just shy of needing a stitch, but thanks to the wonderful antisceptic and antibiotic healing powers of honey, it's healing up quite nicely.