As Autumn knocks on the door and of books

Lammas is barely over when Autumn starts knocking on the door. The fruit is ripening and the leaves are starting to change colour
The pheasant berry or Chinese nutmeg has berries showing now alongside the flowers. Soon they will be ripe and leaving purple splashes on the paths.
The elder flowers are gone but the berries are on their way
There are splashes of deep reds in quiet corners of the park
flowers and trees glowing in the sunlight
You can see the start of the autumn colour on these leaves
The conkers or horse chestnuts will soon be the target of eager children wanting to play with them. These are almost big enough already.
Don't they look good enough to start battling with now?
The keys await the winds call to fly
The park is splendidly red for the Lammas festivities.
I wish I could capture these shades of red in my dyeing.
Brambles are ripening nicely, we will soon be able to make crumbles, fools and pies with them.
Going on from my last post on possessions, specifically books.
During my childhood I spent very long periods in hospital and in bed when at home. Books were my escape from this painful reality. They took me to places that were safe. Alice in wonderland, the Faraway Tree, all a place of safety and imagination. Books were and are old friends. They don't just tell a story they take you out of yourself and into some other when and where. Old favourites await your joining them once more, they aren't going anywhere and they would welcome you no matter how long it was between visits. At the age of 10 I graduated to the adult library as I had read everything in the junior one. My nan used to bring half a dozen books at a time to the hospital when visiting. I read all day and all night, there wasn't much else to do when you were bed bound. Schooling in hospital was only a couple of hours a day, the rest I read and read. My nan introduced me to historical fiction and fact at 10 years of age, Jean Plaidy, Howard Spring and of course my (still) favourite Georgette Heyer. Historical novels reminded me of the children's books of fantasy as they weren't here and now but then and there. When not in hospital I visited the library most days of the week, it was a safe haven and the librarians were my friends. They used to recommend books and keep them for me. They didn't think me a nuisance when I followed them round the library asking for more books to read. They used to ask me what I thought of each one and I did a review of what I liked or disliked about them.
Libraries and the copse behind our house were my places. A tree that I could get into to read and dream.
When I grew up I still needed to read whenever I could, my taste widened although fantasy and children's fiction still remain my favourites. books helped me through 2 terrible marriages and kept me sane when I needed an anchor.
I read to my children and encouraged them to read. It is something I am passionate about as you can probably guess:)

STEVEN L. LAYNE Read to them

   Before the time is gone and stillness fills the room again        
   Read to them                                                      

   What if it were meant to be that you were the one, the only one   
   Who could unlock the doors and share the magic with them?         
   What if others have been daunted by scheduling demands,           
   District objectives, or one hundred other obstacles?              

   Read to them                                                      
   Be confident Charlotte has been able to teach them about friendship,                                                                   
   And Horton about self-worth;                                      
   Be sure the Skin Horse has been able to deliver his message.      

   Read to them                                                      
   Let them meet Tigger, Homer Price, Aslan, and Corduroy;           
   Take them to Oz, Prydain, and Camazotz;                           

   Show them a Truffula Tree.                                        

   Read to them                                                      
   Laugh with them at Soup and Rob,                                  
   And cry with them when the Queen of Terabithia is forever lost;   

   Allow the Meeker Family to turn loyalty, injustice, and war       
   Into something much more than a vocabulary lesson.                

   What if you are the one, the only one, with the chance to do it?  
   What if this is the critical year for even one child?             

   Read to them                                                      
   Before the time, before the chance, is gone.    

A recipe for Lammas - harvest fool and cakes of yarn

As it is Lammas I thought you might like a recipe to celebrate. One that uses the last of the blackcurrants and the first of the blackberries in its construction. It can be made entirely with either or indeed with any soft fruit. I've also made it with apples and with rhubarb.
First take equal amounts of black currants and blackberries, add to a pan together with a spoonful of water to stop the pan burning and raw cane sugar to taste.
Bring to simmering point then turn off and leave covered to allow the juices to flow and the puree to cool. While this is happening take a carton of double cream and a carton of creme fraiche from the fridge.
Add cream to bowl and whip until it forms peaks

When it reaches this stage fold in the creme fraiche.
Rub the fruit through a sieve to extract the pips

giving a beautifully glossy thick liquid. Taste at this point to check on sweetness. You don't want it too sweet, this needs to have a little acidity to it.
Fold the puree into the cream/creme fraiche mix. Pour into wineglasses and fridge until ready to eat.

If you can wait that long:)
This is also great made entirely with yogurt or mix of yogurt and cream or creme fraiche. I (We) like it all of those ways.
Then we have some yarn cakes, not for eating but for knitting with.


The yarn looks entirely different when wound doesn't it? I love these autumnal colours
I have of course cast on my elsewhere jacket, well the yarn was calling me:)

Just like buses:) Possesions and persona

I make no apologies for posting more pictures of my yarn because I absolutely love it. I love the colours and the way they blend into each other. I love the fact that the Goddess had her way and I dyed exactly what she planned and not what was in my head to do.

I like the way the colours go from brightest corn and summer through autumn and apples to trees without their leaves. A metaphor perhaps for this half of the year?
I'm pleased with the 2 colours I put with my original Earth dyes and that the green one I mixed myself.
I like them in case you hadn't guessed:)
Casting on the new Elsewhere jacket after this so watch this space. I'm thinking that the brightest colours need to be at the top leading down to the darker at the edges and bottom but we will see what my muse has to say about it all.
So it is Lammas or Lughnasadh today. It started with rain but we now have sunshine. I've given thanks for my growing season and my harvest, have you? Is it what you expected or wanted or did the old ones surprise you with their gifts?

Blue Witch had a very interesting post yesterday on living with just 100 possessions. Her question was could you live with that number and your reasons for and against.

It made me think about my home and the things within it. Do I need them all and why?
Yes is the short answer:)
All my belongings have history, where they came from and why I have them. To me they are part of my persona, part of who and what I am and what I aspire to. All the craft items are used, often. All the books read,often. Any books I acquire that don't merit a second reading are passed on to the charity shop or to people who would like them. I tend to order books from the library, well I have always done that but I now order them with another purpose in mind. If they are ones I wish to read again then I can purchase them and not waste my money. We have lots of book space Mr Mog and I. We both love books.
The selection is very eclectic and ranges from many bicycle books(Mr Mog) through a large children's section to fantasy(both of us). On the way they deviate through detective fiction , Mr Mog again and his collection of Alan Hunter books. Sc ifi, my Robert Heinlein collection. They pass through a medium size mass of cookery books, tarot and witchy books towards dictionaries and their like. Other shelves contain my almost complete collection of Georgette Heyer and Diana Wynne Jones novels. I also have all the Charles de Lint books and all the Terry Pratchett ones. I love escapism, life can be dark enough without voluntarily reading about it.
Almost all the people who visit our house love it, they love the eclectic artwork on shelves and walls and the smell of the house always comes up in conversation. We always have some form of incense on the go sometime in the day. It may be sticks or quite often hand blended smouldering on charcoal. For me the sense of smell is exceedingly important in our lives and I use it on more than one level. All my artwork or gifts sent to people have a secret blend of essential oils used within their making. I think opening a gift and smelling an elusive fragrance is fantastic.
These are the things I count as persona possessions. Furniture and utilitarian objects are just that, they do not reflect me the same. Yes the clothes do because I have a need to always wear colour, bright colours. Colour lifts my spirits and makes me smile. That is a good enough reason for me. I think colour plays a big part in our lives and I use that in mine.

Dyeing and harvesting

The sun has been shining today, a great tonic for the spirit. I wanted to make another elsewhere jacket out of blue faced Leicester aran yarn as I love the first one.
I had an idea what colours I wanted but surprise , surprise I ended up doing something entirely different:)
My ideas were bright reds, oranges, golds something zingy.
I received some dyes a few days ago in colour scheme Earth so I thought I would give them a trial. However I couldn't not have something scorching so I added brilliant orange.
Here you see them hanging out to dry, what do you think? I love them and I think they reflect the theme of Lammas and harvest exceedingly well.

They will of course look entirely different when knit up, that is the fun of doing your own dyeing. Well doing it with the help of an exceedingly able assistant in Mr Mog. He is super at getting all the water out and hanging them to dry. He also took the pictures you see.
BW I used several different colours of reds and oranges on the Lammas shawl. I sploshed the colours on, nothing scientific about me:) Wrapped in cling film then steamed in electric steamer for 35 minutes. Rinsed after cooling in plain water. Final rinse with a little ecover conditioner just to add a little more softness and make it easier to use.
Then as it is almost Lughnasadh it seemed the right time to harvest a small part of the lavender we have growing. I asked the bees who were busy working on it themselves and they graciously gave me permission to take some of it. I've left lots for the insects as there will be more than enough here for storing to use in incenses, infusions, tinctures and the like. I also am earmarking a bunch for breads and biscuits. I love lavender bread and biscuits the smell when baking is gorgeous. You can use both fresh and dry lavender for this.
We will be baking some tomorrow for our celebrations.
Those are big bunches and the kitchen smells wonderful.
We may harvest some more as we have a few different varieties of lavender growing.
A more upbeat day today, Mr Mog took me up to the promenade for a meander along the sunken gardens and it felt good to be out in the sunshine.
I've edited my profile. I was going to keep the flagrant soul but decided that BWs suggestion of fragrant was far better:) I don't want to be obnoxious or conspicuously bad, well not too often and of course with all this lavender I'll be very fragrant:)

A change of name and Lammas/Lughnasadh

Those of you whose blogs I have commented on will notice that it doesn't say amber moggie now but A flagrant mind.
I was going to have a separate blog for my more spiritual posts leaving this one for my crafts. After talking it over with a friend of mine I've decided to keep the one blog.
Far less confusing for me, let alone everyone else:)
I am going to keep the new name though. i like it:)
So Lammas is nearly upon us, just a few days to go. How is it for you?
For me it is a weird time, lots of stuff coming up in dreams and lots to work through. A time of reflection on what is, what was and what will be. Lammas is a balancing time in my life, a balance between who I am and how I live my life and on the other side what I need to let go of to honour my place in this world.
Harvest, that is what Lammas is. Loaf mass, a time when the wheat is ripe and the bread can be baked. What kind of harvest? That all depends on the person and how they approach it.
Lammas is also known as Lughnasadh, sacred to the God Lugh. When we harvest it is a completion time, time when projects are finished and we can see the results. From this comes new growth a new turn on the wheel. A time to let go of things and honour their passing while grasping a new spark to work with.
There is so much negativity around at the moment, what with swine flu, the economy to name but two. Maybe part of my Lammas acknowledgement will ask for these things to be finished and for a positive outcome . I will meditate on it over the next few days.
August is a good month in many ways, I have lots of birthdays to celebrate with people including Mr Mogs significant one and a less significant one for me.
The joy of a festival comes from within, the knowledge that my celebrations echo ones that have taken place since time began. I may not celebrate in the same way as the old ones, that is part of the spiral of life, ever changing ever growing. But I have a link with the past in the fact that I do celebrate in my own way.
I am not sure what we will do to commemorate the harvest, watch this space.

A Mohair jacket give away and Status Quo

I've decided to give away the mohair Elsewhere jacket I made. I love it but I decided it was time to send something out into the world and to give something back. The jacket is that something. It is large and will easily fit someone size 20 and above.
It is large on me as you can see. I haven't worn it, I just tried it on for the photos.
It is definitely a unique piece and no one else will have anything quite like it I am sure.
If you would like to be considered for it please add a comment here. I'll choose a winner on Lammas, which is this Saturday.
I'm still experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort so my reading and commenting on blogs has been limited. I'm too sore to do much of it so I'm hibernating somewhat.
I've been trying to get tickets for Status Quo at Glastonbury for Mr Mog's birthday. He loves the Quo and I wanted to try and surprise him with tickets. Sadly they were all sold out very quickly and I haven't managed to find any anywhere. Ebay has had them at horrendous prices, too rich for me.
So its back to the drawing board for ideas for this momentous birthday he is having. Then next oncology appointment is next week and it is always a worrying time until we have seen the consultant. Mr Mog does seem to be doing well though for which I am grateful.
I've not been very creative lately, the pain seems to stop the muse visiting much, I don't think she likes to see me in this way.
It is part of the balance that we have within our lives, can't all be a high there has to be a low to balance things out. The trick is to remember that and treat the low points as positive things to work through. Not to let it beat you. Or in this case, me:)

Lammas shawl

Lammas is almost upon us and I thought I'd show you the shawl I made to celebrate the festival.
The colours aren't true, the last ones are nearest but red is very hard to photograph. True colour of the bottom of the shawl is actually a darker red.
I wanted the colours to reflect the festival, bright orangey red to celebrate the harvest and the fire of the festival
A more scarlet red for the next part to reflect the blood that this harvest represents. To harvest the crops they have to be cut down, hence the blood aspect.
Light into dark as the year also turns from the light growing half to the dark inner meditative half.
As we get to the bottom edge the colour darkens even more, still flashes of the previous reds there but a more sombre aspect also.
Finally finishing off with a dark garnet red bead.
There is so much energy in this shawl. I think it helps that I dyed the yarn to the colours I wanted. There is a glittery golden thread running throughout the yarn , for me this represents the golden thread of life and the vibrancy of the spirit.
Lammas is next weekend and I feel the earth poised for the turn of the wheel. It is waiting as are we.
There is so much negativity around at the moment with the swine flu disaster, I am hoping that the turn of the wheel will lessen the media hype if nothing else. Part of me wonders about chemical warfare also, is it a coincidence that SF is sweeping the world at this time?
It certainly takes the media's attention away from the recession doesn't it?
I'm still taking it easier than usual. I've hardly looked at Ravelry or browsed the net. Rav is and can be a major time sink and I don't want that lately.
I made a decision to use the Internet less and enjoy the days more. It is better for me while I'm like this.
I think the poor health ties in with Lammas, I'm feeling this turn of the wheel more than the past couple. That isn't better or worse it is just what it is. I think the Goddess is reminding me that my spiritual side is important and this festival will honour that.

Did you miss me?

I'm back in the land of the blogging although it will be sporadic. I think I may need to have one of those banners, BWO (blogging without obligation)
I am not well my pain threshold has been reached and passed more times than I chose to think about. I did enjoy the trip to the Isle of Man with my daughter and grandsons, it has been so long since I last visited and it was good. I didn't sleep much while away and I'm catching up now.
We had 3 nights there and it was excellent. The hotel was top class and we had a room with balcony overlooking the harbour. This was our birthday treat from DD , a thoughtful gift and one we appreciated.
I haven't done much knitting, not been well enough to. Same reason I haven't blogged, it hurts too much most of the time.
Lammas is approaching and despite it being a festival of harvest I always think of it as a dark festival as well.
It is the end of the light half of the year and beginning of the dark half and as far as I am concerned that means death in one form to allow rebirth.
My moon card was death yesterday and at first I shivered at what it could mean.
When common sense returned I realised it is tied in with Lammas and also with the dark moon, beginning of new moon.
I used to fear the death card in tarot and in my moon cards, superstition and ignorance as I hadn't thought through the death/rebirth cycle.
We can't have rebirth or new growth without saying goodbye to something. It is a balancing act.
So what does this increased pain show? Does it say even more loss of mobility will bring in something and if so what? Will it be good or bad?
All very mysterious and I'm not ok with it by any means. I think it is the out of my control aspect that I mainly dislike. I want to feel in control of all my life and I know that isn't feasible but I can still want it:)
So Lammas approaching then. How will you celebrate it?
I don't know what we will do, I'm leaving it flexible and in the hands of the Goddess how she wants me to celebrate this year.

murmurings

Not too well so I'm quiet at the minute. Joints too sore to do anything especially type so this will be short and sweet. Hoping that this latest round of agony will go soon, it is stopping sleep and is there all day and night.
rats:(

Mohair elsewhere finished .

The mohair Elsewhere jacket is finished and I love it. I love the mismatched sleeves, the softness and the size. I made it larger to allow for layering over autumn clothes.

It feels luxurious to wear.
It doesn't match but yet it tones. The next mohair one won't:) I want clashing colours.

Before that though I'd like to make another in BFL aran and to further the intention I've managed to procure a cone from Laal Bear to do so. I'll get it skeined up and dyed next week hopefully
Do you like it?

Of this and that

A strange painful week that hasn't become any easier as the week progressed. I've not been able to get much pain relief at all lately and it is a little wearing to say the least. The week has been odd but I think that has something to do with the wheel turning. I can smell and feel autumn in the air this week despite it being July. We went into the local park today and a lot of the leaves are starting to turn. Turning golden and rust coloured on the edges. The conkers are growing fast and there were a few underfoot this morning after the winds of yesterday.
I do love Autumn,it is my favourite time of the year, but that doesn't mean I want it to appear just yet. Mr Mog is steaming along on the garden revamp and it is looking very good. I've not done too much of anything, the pain seems to have sapped my creativity but I'm hopeful that my muse will return soon. She is maybe taking a holiday to recoup her creativity, who knows?
The mohair Elsewhere jacket is almost finished, I just have the borders to do now. I may have pictures tomorrow we will have to see.
I wore the aran Elsewhere this morning for the park and it felt great, I loved the effect of the shawl pin holding it together. I now want to do another aran one, dyed in autumn or fire colours I think.
I do still want to make another mohair one using clashing colours but the aran is calling first. If I can get the yarn and get it dyed I may be able to take it over to the Isle of Man with me. It would be suitable knitting for the boat. We are looking forward to visiting, I haven't been since I was 18. Mr Mog has never been. I used to be a photographers assistant on the boat that sailed daily so I went every day for a year. I loved it and enjoyed exploring the island. After all this time I am not sure how much I'll remember. I do remember fairies bridge though.
Part of the discordance has been my son. He has been struggling to keep clean from his drug addiction and the past month has lapsed a couple of times. He is aware of the problem and has asked to see a councillor once more. I am not supposed to know about the drugs, my daughter told me as we try not to have any secrets where things like this are concerned. I know my son didn't want me to know as it upsets me. He told me he was seeing a councillor but didn't say why, sometimes I don't think he realises that saying that screams out that he has a problem:) But being aware means that there is a very good chance he will keep off them once more. The problem is that he doesn't really have any interests apart from fishing, he doesn't socialise well and I know he is very lonely.
As a mother you want to put your arms round them and make things better. I know that this battle is his, not mine and I can only be there as support. I can't win it for him.
It doesn't make for good days though.
Part of being pagan for me is knowing that my pagan path is a work in progress. Working on myself and my place in this time , not changing others. Not even changing me drastically, just working with who and what I am. Part of this discordance comes through as a lesson. It says don't interfere with my son's path just be there for him. Lessons are never easy are they?

Tarot cards this week have been mixed, a state of flux and that reflects my inner self of course. I've spent more time in bed, no early mornings. My body seems to be using bed as a healing place so I'm honouring that choice and going with it.
Not an uplifting post but balance in the world means good and bad so this time you get the bad, sorry:)