Third Infinity

LAMMAS (August 1st) HISTORY Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-nus-ah-duh) means the commemoration of Lugh. He was a fire and light god of the Apollo-Hercules type.  His name may be from the same root as the Latin "Lux", meaning light "which also gives us Lucifer, the light bringer. In Irish legends, the god undergoes death and rebirth in the sacrificial meeting with the goddess.  He was associated in Anglo-Saxon tradition with corn harvest and the killing of the Corn King. In this manner did the pagans of long ago celebrate the first harvest of corn. In keeping with a pagan idea of balance, in a parallel to the "Greenwood marriage" is the "Charlestown marriage".  These marriages were trial marriages that could be dissolved after a year and a day by the couple simply returning to the high priestess who had handfasted them and informing her of their decision. THE ALTAR AND circle 1.  Decorate the altar with sheets of wheat, barley or notes, fresh fru...

Who screams for ice cream? Everyone. But who says it has to be plain? Try the ice cream sandwich cake. I wish I'd remembered this for my birthday.

I normally can't stand rice pudding, but this is tasty! Rose water is available at Oriental Groceries.

Ever wondered about plums?

Fish are a pain to grill. If they don't fall apart, the stuff to grill them available commercially is expensive!

Besides these, I have another suggestion or two. Save the plastic lids from margarine, sour cream, coffee cans, and Cool Whip among others. You can write on these, punch a hold, and hang these from the plants or simply use outdoor rated Liquid Nails to glue the label to a stake. Also, another FREE mulch is available from many tree services. Just ask for their wood chips. You'll get a whole truckload to share with the neighbors, absolutely free. Just show them where to dump the big pile. Use a wheelbarrow or buckloads to put the mulch where you need it. It will eventually decompose into the soil, creating "black gold" compost to improve even the worst soils imaginable.

This is too easy not to repeat. However, I should point out all of these are all high carb. However, for the kids, these are much, much better than processed chips!

You can do this!!

This sauce is so perfect over ice cream, you just won't believe it. Rhubarb is the chameleon of the sauce world. Add it to frozen strawberries and it tastes like strawberries. Add it to a frozen berry mix and it tastes like the mix! Amazing stuff. Keep this on hand. Rhubarb is cheap because so many people don't know what to do with it. Best of all, you can grow your own. I grew it even in the dry, cold climate of Denver. Use an orange you buy at the same time as the rhubarb. Pull out the Y-shaped vegetable peeler and shave off the peel. You can dry the extra peel, or put it in a jar packed in plain old sugar. It stores well. Best of all, the peels flavor the sugar! I keep lemon peels packed in sugar and orange peels packed in sugar. They flavor plain old sugar cookies to sublime levels. Think how much money you just saved over buying the dried peels from the spice aisle!

Lammas Recipe—Slushy Punch Hint: Keep the slush in the freezer at all times in the summer for spur of the moment guests. For each serving, combine equal amounts of slush and carbonated water or lemon-lime carbonated beverage like Sprite or 7-Up. 1 cup sugar 2-3/4 cups water 2 ripe medium bananas, cut up 3 cups unsweetened pineapple juice 1 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 1-liter bottle of carbonated water or lemon-lime carbonated beverage Stir sugar and water together until sugar dissolves. Combine the bananas, half the pineapple juice, and orange juice concentrate in the food processor and whirl until combined. Add to sugar mix, and then stir in the lemon juice and the rest of the pineapple juice. Make sure it’s thoroughly blended. Transfer this to a 13x9 baking pan or a similarly shaped freezer container for long-term storage. Freeze for several hours until firm. To serve, let mixture stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. To form a ...

Color me impressed... 12 alternative uses for coffee filters By Lori Bongiorno Posted Tue Jul 6, 2010 9:59am PDT Related topics: Tips , Saving Money , Reusing stuff More from The Conscious Consumer blog 1 vote Buzz up! 0 diggs digg (Photo: Getty Images) I was surprised to come across several articles with long lists of alternative uses for coffee filters. I'd never really considered them for anything more than making coffee, and even then I know that choosing a reusable filter or making coffee in a French press is one way to stop throwing money away and cut back on waste. I have to admit, though, that there are some very good reasons to keep a box of coffee filters on hand. They can come in handy in a number of situations and ultimately save you ...

Before I forget, let me give you the link: http://www.simplicity.com/p-1615-crafts.aspx I made a prototype over the weekend, and I'm so pleased with how easy this is, I had to share. Surprisingly enough, the only changes I made were obvious to a quilter. 1. I made my own binding instead of buying bias tape. To me, I can get better color matches by buying my own material and making a bias binding. 2. The directions say to turn the straps from the narrow ends. I decided to make the turning "hole" on the long ends for easy turning. Do what you want. I'm just lazy. Note in the first picture that the pocket in front is divided straight down the middle. You don't have to do it that way. If you'd prefer a narrow pocket on one side for a pen and a larger pocket for a calculator and coupons on the other side, just move the sewing line over. Also, not this has a huge inner compartment for all your recipe cards and notes, so you can take them with you for r...