Allow me to begin tonight by expressing my undying gratitude to everyone who helped my father find out about his Warrior Queen. I requested three books at our library, and have already picked up one. We are going to their place on Sunday (so he and Daniel can watch the Superbowl, and my mother can feed us). I’ll be delivering as many of these books as have come in at that time. Thank you all so much. I knew you guys could do this!
In Seen Around Town news, I delivered some boxes to J.D. today (and two yesterday, one of which was a new phone he was forced to buy, the good part is that he doesn’t hate it nearly as much as he thought he would). It was all sunshiney and super cold out, and there were just gobs of folks wandering the streets. No musicians this time but plenty of adorably dressed children and their equally well turned out parents. I don’t usually enjoy winter because I hate having to layer all those damn clothes (don’t love the heat of summer either because then I don’t have enough clothes to take off, so yeah, really hard to please me weather-wise) but I do like seeing the festive outer wear that people in Eugene tend to don when it gets brisk out. Fun hats and silly boots were the fashion statements of the day. I also saw a Wisconsin license plate, one Nevada, and a North Dakota (who was definitely NOT the neighbor person we’ve been spotting so much recently).
Now, in full disclosure mode here, the reason for today’s title is two-fold. Yes, I was all on top of things yesterday with the Imbolc info, sadly I was all behind with the moon phases. (Insert overly dramatic sigh here.) I can’t be timely on EVERYTHING ya know! The Dark Moon was today (at six something, I can’t remember exactly, go look at the thingie over there <— ). At first I felt terrible for not mentioning it, but then I got over it. JulieLanders know where to find lunar crap on this blog, and you’ve all read enough about what each phase means by now (and if you haven’t well, it’s already been established that The History Quilt searches work out just fine), so I didn’t beat my wee self elf up over this minor slight for very long.
(Quick refresher, just in case you are in rush and don’t have time to go searching, and ya know, need this rapidly: Dark Moon equals New Moon which we call Recycle Moon because you want to toss all of your negative/done with shit in there for it to transform as we wax toward the Full Moon.)
However, that does sort of show that I DO drop the ball on occasion. (But then I ADMIT that I have, so I think that’s pretty fair.) Last night though, Empress was in the kitchen. Yes, my kitchen (since she is still a freaking homeless person). And she wanted to bake. Yes, bake! In my broken and stupid oven! Her father allowed her to buy a tube of biscuits the other day while they were out doing… I don’t know what they were doing actually, but she came home with many un-cooked food items. (I texted him while she was up there, and asked him why he had let her do that. His response was: I don’t see how this is my fault. Yes, you do not see that Honey Bunchy, but whatever.)
Look what happened. 
They did, indeed, bisc. She was most pleased with her lovely self. And we took a picture. As evidence, that yes, her mother was wrong. But wait! There’s more to this story. (Don’t convict me yet. There is redemption at the end of this tale.) She had cooked some squash earlier, and the oven was all hot from that (and smelly, have I mentioned how I hate the pewy smell of our oven?). When she went in search of cookie sheets she couldn’t find any (neither could I, who knows where they’ve all wandered off to). What we DID have was a baking stone. (There are three of these, they are ancient, one is in pieces, but they all live in the oven all the time.) I told her to just yank one of those out and use it. “No!” she says. Fine, I’ll do it. We carefully lifted, pulled, and maneuvered one very, very hot (and ridiculously heavy) baking-sheet shaped stone out of the oven, and she placed her biscuits on to it. Then she baked them. You’ve seen the photo.
Personally, I think the key here was that we worked together. And ya know, I left the room while she was performing her mysterious kitchen tricks. Don’t be expecting me to try and duplicate this accomplishment. Can’t be done. I’m sure it was a one time deal. Probably. Yeah, it was magic is what it was.
Our card today is from The Druid Animal Oracle, and I think it is just lovely. As are my children and my husband, in their patience with me and my lack of functioning life skills. (In fact, I like the defining words here so much, I have highlighted them in Bold.)
“Swan ~ Eala (pronounced Ellah) ~ Soul, love, beauty.
The card depicts a scene from the Irish tale the ‘Dream of Oenghus.’ In the foreground is the lake where a beautiful girl, Caer Ibormeith (Yewberry), changes into a swan every other year at the time of Samhuinn. To win her, Oenghus, the god of love, becomes a swan, and they both fly to his house, Brugh na Boinne, now known as Newgrange and pictured on the horizon. As with many swans that appear in the old tales, there is a gold chain around Yewberry’s neck.
Eala brings us the qualities of the soul, of love and depth, grace and beauty. Being associated with the Druid festival time of Samhuinn, the swan is also a bird of the threshold, and represents that part of us which can travel into the Otherworld. Drawing this card may indicate that you will receive inspiration from the Otherworld, or that love is entering into your life. It is auspicious to draw this card if you are preparing to write a song, poem, or story of your own, for Swan’s skin and feathers were used to make the bard’s ceremonial cloak the tugen. She gave freely, of herself and of her wisdom.”
Baking is one of those mysterious arts that you either have or you have not. I’m convinced of this because real bakers don’t seem to bother with recipes or “cook at 350 for X minutes,” they just bake and everything seems to come out all right.
Then, of course, they leave us baking-impaired people with the mundane stuff, like dishes
But I suppose that’s fair so long as we get to eat some of the goodies
It IS a mystery isn’t it?!
I’m okay with the dishes, as long as I get the frosting bowl.
So…when will my batch of ‘biscuits’ arrive? hehe. They look quite good, well done to you and Empress.
I know! I really need to figure out how I can send one of those cans to you.
It was her mostly, and that kitchen wizardry she inherited from her father (and the grandmother she was named for as well). But hey, without me and the baking stone trick, well…
ha, loved the story of your cooking adventures. I have also texted dh from one end of the house to the other. And texted my daughter in the car while she was in the back seat and I was in the front (passenger, I would never text while driving. well. almost never.) There are moments when this is actually quite convenient, for example, when wanting to tell your spouse something without telling the rest of the people in the room.
I am not feeling very swan-y at the moment so maybe that card is a good sign.
Oh yeah, every time I go into the damn kitchen it’s an adventure.
I have texted Dan from other parts of the house, he started this trend, but I gladly jumped on the bandwagon.
No, I NEVER text and drive. (Shh, not as much as I used to any way, it is illegal!!!)
In this case though, he was at work. I know! He’s busy catching bad guys and all that, but he HAD to be informed of this potential disaster.
Look at the swan illustration, it is very calming, you will start to feel Otherworldly any second now.
I love to bake, and also happen to be very good at it. (Not to toot my horn, or anything.) I’ll have to send you something.
I text people when I’m in the same room, especially if there’s something I need to communicate and don’t want the entire group to know. I like my privacy, you know.
What a beautiful card. I completely admit that the artwork is one of the best parts of the daily draw. I don’t always like the pictures, but they’re always interesting to look at. I like the message, too.
Oh no, please toot away! If not for folks who can actually bake the rest of us would be cake-less.
Some of these decks have several contributing artists, and that makes it really fun to experience. Which reminds me, I was going to talk about what happens when we get to the end of this, or the end of a particular set of cards anyway.
I LOVE to bake! Love it! Also love to eat baked goods!
The swan card reminds me ickily of Leda and the Swan. Ew.
Okay, well I could have happily gone on with life NEVER having known that horrible thing. Had to google around to see what you were talking about. Yeah, ew. Let’s forget we ever heard about it shall we?!
That Zeus was one kinky bastard.
Or perhaps it was the men making up these stories?!
I can bake, too. I tend to use recipes, but I can sometimes do it without. Also, I’m aware of what I can substitute/adjust in a recipe to make it my own without making it fail. Baking without recipes requires a good memory and a basic understanding of chemistry and ratios. I’m not so good with the math, relegating me to a life with recipes. Pauvre moi.
Anyway, it’s my not-at-all-professional opinion that your biscuits biscued due to the already-hot baking stone. For future reference. Or, y’know, ignore me.
No wonder you like AB! He talks about all those things (also why I get lost about two seconds into his shows). Yay you! Following the recipes is a skill too.
Ah, you could be right. Any time I have ever used these stones (and it’s not often) I have had pretty good luck. I am a big fan, kinda why I bought them originally.
(We can’t ignore you, you know shit.)
I kept reading all the way through, waiting to see when the GRAVY was made for the biscuits! (giggles)
Love the new photo at the top – how the shadows are purple instead of shades of grey.
No gravy for our Empress, at least not the kind with meat in it anyway. My girls are pescetarians.
Thanks, I am very happy with it too. I keep being amazed that these pictures are all so purple! Who knew I could capture this shade so often, and so well?
Smile. I like this story. I’m a baker too, only I shouldn’t. Because I’m not supposed to eat baked things. And I LOVES them. Yes, I LOVES my cookies and biscuits and brownies and cakes…
You know I am not good with the “shoulds” and the “should nots.” There must be kinds you CAN have! Guilt-free.
I believe our bodies require a certain amount of dessert items, baked and frosted whenever possible.
I (of course) am dwelling on the card. I’ve been to Newgrange and I can attest that it is a holy place. They’ve got crosses near it now, for St. Patrick, but you can “feel” an older spirituality there too. It’s greatness.
That feeling you had while there? Exactly the reason why they built on top of it. Way older than the stone and wood structures. Greatness, so true. How way cool that you were able to visit it. I love being in places with that kind of energy. Ancient, just ancient.
Baking is beyond me. But I love the swan card.
It’s beyond me too. All forms of creating food out of loose bits and pieces is.
Yep, I really liked this one too.