Third Infinity

The Equinox Cleaning Is this like spring cleaning? Yes. Spring cleaning was a necessity in historical times when the house remained closed up all winter, gathering soot and smoke from the fireplace as well as the accumulated mess made when people are cooped up inside for long periods of time. That being said, we all need to do a thorough cleaning now and then. I recommend doing so at the equinoxes. In fall, we’re getting ready to shut our homes up for the winter and the holidays. Friends will visit, parties will be thrown, and of course we all want to show our homes off to the best advantage. In spring, we’re driven to open our homes to the warm spring breezes. However, let’s be honest. Very few of us have the time to strip our rooms completely one by one, washing anything that holds still for it. However, a few things can be done in a very short period of time. First things first! Take down the curtains, carpets, and throws. Dump them in the washer and/or load them in the car for a tr...

Jello Jigglers for Eostar Making Jello Jigglers for Eostar is an easy way to make fun finger food to feed the entire coven with little to no effort. All you need are the molds, hot water, and the necessary amount of Jello. You can buy the molds here: http://jellostore.archway.com/KraftCornerEStore/jell_mold_catalog.seam?cid=323 An Alternate is to use cookie cutters. I have a pile of cutters for every holiday. Prep: 10 minutes Stir 2-1/2 cups boiling water (DO NOT add cold water!) into 4 pkgs (4-serving size each) gelatin in a bowl. Stir three minutes to ensure the gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour into a 13x9 pan, or the molds. Refrigerate 3 hours or until completely set. Dip bottom of pan or molds in warm water about fifteen seconds to loosen. Remove from the mold OR cut into shapes and lift them gently from the pan using a spatula. While jigglers remain fairly firm, I do recommend storage in the refrigerator until serving and the same for leftovers. Gel food colorings from any go...

March St. Patrick's Day candy-making St. Patrick's Day candy is incredibly easy thanks to a product from Wilton called Candy Melts . With a shamrock mold, (usually under five dollars) you can have green shamrock candy in half an hour. It's that easy. Eostar- while I will discuss the holiday in more detail in a separate message, this is one of my favorites. Who doesn't love a celebration of spring and new life? Sculpted egg- Sculpy in spring like colors and a wooden egg to serve as the basis is all you need. You can cover the egg in what ever colors please you, in what ever patterns please you. Then all you need to do is bake in the oven, following directions to have a permanent Easter egg as a reminder of the fun you had. Don't forget to inscribe the year before baking. Nine sacred woods-while I will remind you of this when I post the Sabbat information, here is a list of the nine sacred woods: oak, rowan (a.k.a. mountain ash), Willow, Hawthorne, Hazel, Apple, ...

Ow! Ow! Ow! That's me, trying to sit in my office chair this morning. I've been doing a walking program and riding my exercise bike for awhile now, so I decided to indulge in a form of exercise that gave me a lot of pleasure in the past-- gardening. I'm a Square Foot Gardener , as recommended by the Get Rich Slowly site. I SF Gardened for the past ten years, off and on. More off than on because of my weight and the fact that we moved a lot. Now we own a home, and I've lost enough weight to feel energetic again. SF Gardening has several advantages, if you prepare properly. Because all the gardening is done in raised 4'x4' squares, there's less backbreaking labor weeding. Even I can reach easily into the center. This means I never compact the soil by walking on it. However, all that ease later means you must do things right the first time. All it takes is a bit of preparation. I began last year by raking up all the leaves that fell in my yard and bagging them...

My Muse has kidnapped me! She won't let me sleep or rest until I finish this short story. Then I'll return with more BOS stuff! Lena

If you think I love FlyLady.net, you're absolutely right. I love so many things about this organizational system because I'm LAZY. I don't like to clean. I hate dusting, vacuuming, and all those other house mouse chores. However, I can do anything for a mere 15 minutes. Well, I can if I have this timer: http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_Timer.asp In fact, I'm using it right now. I use this thing so much, I replace the battery about once a year. I time my promotions, my games, my cooking, and of course my cleaning with this timer. Take my challenge. Set this timer for 15 minutes and do something you think is a not fun chore. You can take it. You can tolerate this task for a mere 15 minutes. You'll be surprised how much you got done.

I'll spare you the pictures and just give you the website . This is a great idea for a quickie gift. What's more, you can change this gift to a scrunchy for your hair simply by making it smaller and enclosing the circle instead of using velcro. I agree with making the velcro attachment for the dog or cat collar. Hook and loop closures open easily in case the collar gets caught on something, avoiding choking for your beloved friend, human or otherwise. Yes, I went there. The Dominants out there might want to make this collar for their human pets. LOL! Lena

Money Garden- $10 of seeds produces over $650 worth of vegetables!To view this email in a browser Click Here This is brilliant. Burpee.com has put all the most commonly grown garden vegetables into one package deal. http://www.burpee.com/product/id/112011.do?cid=2009_01_20_MoneyGarden & Six varieties for $10. That's impressive. I wasn't going to grow peas, but for this sweet deal, I'll find a vertical structure for them to climb. There will even be room left for my chard, cucumbers, and my all-time favorite, spinach. I can't wait! Lena

This bread is super delicious and easy, thanks to a bread machine.

Shortbread Hearts Treat the sweethearts in your life by gifting them with these big red edible hearts. They'll love you for it! Prep Time:20 min Start to Finish:1 hr 5 min Makes:2 hearts (6 to 8 servings each) 1 cup butter or margarine, softened 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon almond extract 1/4 teaspoon red food color 2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1/4 cup white baking chips 1 teaspoon shortening Small candy hearts, if desired 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Beat butter, powdered sugar, almond extract and food color in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in flour and almonds. 2. Divide dough in half; cover half and set aside. Place remaining half on ungreased cookie sheet; press into heart shape, about 1/4 inch thick. 3. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool on cookie sheet 25 minutes; carefully remove from cookie sheet to serving platter. Repeat with remaining dough. 4. Place baking chips and shortening in...

Welcome to one of my first in my Spring Cleaning Series for 2009. I'll post hints and tricks on an irregular basis to help you get through the long process. In my trad, we clean between Imbolg and Eostar, mostly in February and March, so when we finally can open our homes to the spring breezes, the dust doesn't choke us and we can focus on the magickal cleansing. This year's cool tool for doing just that is a De-Cluttering kit worth keeping! http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1065 For $15 plus shipping, you get a permanent set of labeled nylon mesh pop-up bins to help you Give Away, Keep, or Throw Away to get you going. I highly recommend these handy bins. Lena

Garden Structures No, I am not referring to the statue, the garden shed, or the lawn furniture. I am referring to the little structures you can make, like protection cages and sun boxes/cold frames. These are simple devices that protect your tender plants from the ravages of insects, animals, and adverse weather. All are portable, easy to use, easy to make, and adaptable to several uses throughout the year as your gardening needs change. The materials for wire cages, the first we will discuss, are the cheapest. I personally recommend buying all materials at once, because the cages are so versatile you practically need little else! All you do is buy "hardware cloth" wire fencing at the home center. I paid $8 for a big roll. A pair of tin snips and some bending, and I had three sides of a wire "box". This will form the support frame for a layer of shade cloth, plastic sheeting (for a mini greenhouse) or I can double it up with another wire "box" and give it ...