Spiritual Mindfullness

Well, I’ve had quite a lovely holiday, I must say AND ~ I have LOTS of pics (&more to come, believe it or not!!!)

Where, or where should I start?! The beginning, I suppose…

I had to work at 8am on Thursday, unfortunately. I took a pic of the sunrise as I was leaving. The lil black dot in the sun ~ thankfully, taking this pic didn’t destroy my camera, which I figured it might 0:)

I also took a couple pics at work. I’m lucky to park in front of a small yard while I’m there, & I certainly enjoy watching the birds fly around while I go out for a cigarette. I also get to enjoy watching the seasons change by how the grass & trees change ~ it’s pretty lovely, especially for being at a very busy gas station on a very busy street in the center of a city

And, well, ya know what a MySpace shot is? Where you take pics of yourself with the intent of putting them on your MySpace?? Well, I took one of those ~ it unintentionally describes how I feel when I have to work at 8am *LOFL*

While at work, I decided to gander at the new Novelty Inc. items that came in. Much to my *GLEE!!* & surprise, 4 fairy statues were sitting on the top left corner of the display ~ holy sh!t balls, was I excited *LOL*!! It was payday, I had a bit of extra $, & they were only $5.99, so you bet your booty I bought one!!! Here’s a couple pix ~ I set it on the windowsill for the pic but couldn’t leave everything there cuz I’d be taking up my cats’ chill spot, & they would definitely knock it down. So, here’s a couple pix of that: L-R: the butterfly I got from my boyfriend for my birthday (it’s pretty much my favorite thing ever!! hehe), the fairy sitting atop the ladybug…not sure where it came from but I found it with some of my stuff when I was at my dad’s a couple weeks ago & I adore it(especially since she’s wearing a green dress!!), and the one with the blue wings is my newest beauty All of these have a permanent home on my altar

Next are some pics from around the outside of my apartment, which I love even more now that I can see all of the lovely-ness around the property

First, a pic of the first concrete block of the steps from the sidewalk to our house ~ looks like a sun to me!!!

This next one is of the lovely yellow flowers that are taking over the side of the house

These next flowers… If anyone out there knows… Are these sunflowers??? I’ve only seen sunflowers growing once when I was very little, so I can’t quite tell yet. Whatever they are…I almost thought they were weeds for a looong time, & I almost pulled them a couple of times, but now that the flowers are blooming, I’m certainly glad I didn’t!!

And lastly (of the outside, at least!), my lil container garden. I’m still very nervous about whether or not these lil guys are gonna thrive, but they’re doing fairly well so far!! I plan on making some trellises soon ~ I already bought some colored craft sticks (aka popsicle sticks without the popsicle, hehe) and some hot glue (& gun) & Krazy glue hehehe (I’ll be damned if my trellises are gonna fall apart & kill of my plants!!). My tomato leaves smell like tomato leaves…which, to me (a total newbie gardener), is absolutely amazing ~ it brings back memories of my mom’s enormous tomato garden from when I was a kid *tearful smile & sigh*. So, from L-R: my tomato/basil/marigold pot (I’m pretty sure the tiny basil plants aren’t gonna make it because of the towering plants surrounding them), my little flower pot which has 2 not-quite-spectacular plants growing (pretty sure neither of them are gonna make it), my mini cactus (which is almost destroyed by my cats, thus how it made its way outside), a fairy statue which needed some energy-cleansing (thus why it is outside), and my basil pot with my cute lil basil plants happily thriving!! (While I’m blabbing about my garden ~ has anyone any suggestions why most of my plants are, like, leaning over as though the weight on top is too much for them…and, well, rather, what can I do about it?!?)

I also set out a couple of dishes of water today, one on the porch & one in the backyard, for any animals who may wander around

I went on a mini cooking spree today, & here’s some pics of my: cucumber salad, “herb” roasted vegetables, & sun tea. Comments, reviews & variations are (will be) here: Recipes

I also did a bit of tie dye today, but since that stuff needs to set & whatnot, those pics are for another blog at a later time (they’re in their bags setting as I write this & have quite a few hours to go!). I also have a few more crafts that I want to work on over the next few days, such as: a Sabbat ATC, another Sabbat page in my Scrapbook Of Lights, a necklace, & maybe a poem. Oh, & I really wanted to & seriously tried to make a perfect Stonehenge just for you, Shionnon, & I was trying to make it perfect, but I couldn’t capture the sun in an ideal position because of my surroundings (even at my dad’s house), so no mini-Stonehenge this year :/ *hehehe*

12 Sunkist fresh orange segments
12 Sunkist fresh lemon segments
12 Sunkist fresh pummelo segments (use Sunkist grapefruit segments when the pummelos are not in season)
20 Raw, large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
4 tablespoons Butter
4 tablespoons Olive oil
2 teaspoons Garlic, minced
8 cups Baby spinach leaves (Sunkist Citrus Scampi can also be served over 1 cup rice)

Take shrimp and butterfly them, slicing down the back and almost in half. This will make the shrimp curl when cooking.
Melt butter and olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and shrimp.
Cook shrimp 4 – 5 minutes until they turn pink and tails curl.
Add Sunkist fresh orange, fresh lemon and fresh pummelo segments to pan, and stir gently to heat through.
Place baby spinach leaves on serving plate. Arrange shrimp on top of spinach. Pour garlic butter with Sunkist fresh orange, lemon and pummelo segments over shrimp.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Dates/Times
greet the dawn before work
The Summer Solstice is Thursday, June 21, 2007. June 23rd – June 24th. June 25. July 5th.

Focus
*the Holly King reigns from Midsummer to Midwinter – the period of Harvest, Withdrawal and Wisdom
*Summer is the time to indulge yourself and do the things that you enjoy. The season for fun and passion. Personal well-being and physical health are a good aspect of your life to work on during the summer.
*a time for rejoicing, but also of introspection, making sure plans are still on track and correcting negative aspects of one’s life

Things to do
*Sabbat ATC & SoL page; poem?, work on walking staff
*harvesting herbs & other garden work
*spend time outside, gather flowers
*bonfire
*Spend time appreciating your pets ~ Set out dishes of water for the birds
*Many wiccans will attire themselves in bright colors
*our physical energy is generally at its peak, and we are active and strong – Games
*casting aside my problems, sorrow, illnesses, etc. by fire. Once purged, I’ll make sure I catch the last rays of the sun for purification and renewal
*Midsummer we generally have a big BBQ and spend the night around the bonfire
*Picnics – Have an outdoor breakfast picnic to welcome the Solstice
*Go berry picking (go to dad’s & see if there are any berries). Choose the best berry and throw it back into the berry bushes as they thank the Goddess and the bushes for the fruit.
*Light a white candle and place it in front of a mirror. Say your own Litha prayer over it, and then let it burn out
*Make a charm to hang around your neck with a seashell
*Make your own Stonehendge
*Draw a picture of the sun at sunrise and sunset
*Create a ritual to bring healing and love to Mother Earth
*make staffs
*Amulets which have lost or spent their usefulness were traditionally destroyed on this day as well.
*traditional time of year to harvest your herbs and flowers ~ Ideally, you should cut your herbs with a scythe or boline, by moonlight, and chant the appropriate purpose for which each plant will be used. Leave an offering for the rest of the plant, don’t harvest more than a third of the plant – the rest will remain healthy and vigorous. ~ At sunrise on Midsummer’s morning, gather your magical herbs and flowers
*other garden work
*climb a tree

Decor
Suns, green plants, flowers, early garden bounty, herbs, bees, butterflies, birds, dragonflies,etc.

Correspondances
Summer: red. Summer corresponds to the element of Fire.
Colors: Orange, yellow, green, blue, gold, red, white, maize yellow or golden yellow, tan

Recipes:

Solar Tea

Herb Roasted Vegetables

Cucumber Salad

Barbecued Confetti Vegetables