Four days off the radar ...

I am back!  Sorry I have been missing the last four days - been super busy spending Summer fun time with my family.  I don't have anything really amazing or clever to share today but it is Monday, it's a beautiful Summer morning and I feel so very blessed!  I think I will just share some lovely art with you to get things rolling again.

http://rpintor.deviantart.com

Recipe for Pink Lady Punch - A taste of my memory

Every party, wedding and gathering we ever had featured a fabulous punch recipe from my Mom's 1950's circa Good Housekeeping cookbook.  She used that cookbook like a bible and I must confess everything she made from it was a gem and a favorite.  One sip of this ambrosia always left everyone asking for the recipe.  Never too sweet or too tangy, it was perfectly pink, light tasting and refreshing.

Pink Lady Punch
2 qts of unsweetened cranberry juice (make sure you get real cranberry, not apple with cranberry essence)

1 qt unsweetened pineapple juice

2 cups of sugar

1 qt of ginger ale

Pour fruit juices together, add sugar and stir until it dissolves.  Just before serving, add chilled ginger ale.  As an added tip, my Mom would make an ice ring in a copper jello mold from unsweetened cranberry & pineapple juices.  It always kept the punch cold without diluting the flavor and looked so pretty.

Buy this mold HERE

Favorite things - Love's Baby Soft

I have worn Love's Baby Soft since I was in the third grade!  Its pretty pink color and the powdery scent invoke all sorts of wonderful memories.  Fancy designer fragrances and many other perfumes have crossed my dresser since I was a kid.  Yet, nothing quite seems to capture the tenderness of this simple little cologne and I always must have a bottle around.  Its an eternal favorite that is part of me.

The Little Girl Who Was Me

Once upon a time, long ago, in an old curious mansion, lived a little girl who wanted to be a fairytale princess.  She was always playing 'dress up', having tea parties with her cats, building blanket empires and talking to dolls.  She didn't have many friends, so she spent most of her time reading books and playing with the invisible people she imagined in the garden around her home. She believed in magic, fairies and miracles.  She kissed frogs, captured fireflies and dreamed as hard as she could.  That little girl was me!

Rather sickly as a kid, I suffered complications from Barlow's Syndrome, a poor immunity and severe allergies.  I could never play athletic games and being an only child for nearly 16 years, I spent all my time entertaining myself.  Books and 45 records were my constant companions and from them I learned the most wonderful things and escaped daily to fabulous places.  I learned to write stories, sing and dance.  I loved theater and by the time I was a teenager, was performing on stage in plays and singing all over my home town.  My imagination was always my saving grace, for when things got complicated in my life, I found an escape route in dreams; climbing up on stage and singing always put my world right.

From the time I was 9 and saw Maurice Sendak and Carole King's Really Rosie, I made a commitment to be an actress.  I was reading Shakespeare at the age of 7, swooned over old horror films with an insatiable fascination for theatrical makeup at age 8, and lived a childhood crafted by Sid & Marty Krofft's and Jim Henson's menagerie - my fate was sealed.

Nothing thrills me more than chance to put on a costume, transform myself into some divine creature and express myself in exciting and imaginative ways.  Truth be told, I play dress up every day.  I just call it a wardrobe but to me, all the world is a stage and my greatest ambition is to simply have the right costume on.  Oh, please don't misunderstand, I am quite grounded in reality, take care of my family and work hard every day.  It is just that I prefer to do it all with a little flair. Lights, camera ... action!

Playing Berthe in Edinboro University's production of Pippin

Really Rosie the original animated classic

Kids From Fame Beautiful Dreamer

Kids From Fame Desdemona

Best Birthday Cake EVER!!!

This is my favorite chocolate cake of all time - it has been my birthday cake more times than I will admit to counting.  I am a serious peanut butter junkie so we alway topped this with peanut butter cream frosting but that isn't essential because the cake is amazing even plain.  

Crazy Cocoa Cake 

INGREDIENTS

 3 cups all-purpose flour

 2 cups white sugar

 1 teaspoon salt

 2 teaspoons baking soda

 1/2 cup baker's cocoa powder

 3/4 cup vegetable oil

 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 2 cups cold water

PREPERATION

Mix dry ingredients first. Sift flour, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder together into a 9 x 13 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Spoon the baking soda into the vinegar well. Pour cold water over all, and whisk throughly till well blended.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting

8 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

*For chocoholics like my Dad, Mom would squirt a little Hershy Syrup in the frosting when mixing, about a table spoon. 

Favorite things - These cards will make you feel so good!

Not all oracles are for prediction.  Dr. Doreen Virtue makes a whole collection of decks that generate positive energy, soothe your worried soul and help you find guidance.  My favorite of all her decks is Archangel Cards.  When ever I am feeling afraid or negative for any reason, they gently help me to find the light again.  The art is incredible and they just are so good for anyone of any age, even kids.  

Tarot and Tracy

My first tarot deck was The Vampire Tarot

I am a cartomancer!  That means I can tell fortunes with a variety of cards.  As part of Olana Sisters Divinatory Services, I now read cards for a living but it wasn't always that way.  I used to be a sceptic that thought it was all a bunch of hooey till things happened to me that changed me forever.

Growing up with my maternal side of the family gifted in occult talent, I used to take reading cards for granted, a simple little parlour trick and something I could do to amuse my friends.  My skills as well as my empathic abilities dramatically increased when I reached the age of forty.  It was like someone turned on a switch and all of a sudden the world was all different.  I could not deny my clairaudience or my psychic abilities any longer.  Weird things would happen to me daily to solidify that I was not imagining things or that it was all coincidence.  I would occasionally read playing cards for friends and co-workers with incredible results.  Outrageous predictions would come true even within hours of a reading, making my 'entertaining skills' in high demand.

The clairaudience came to me late in life and still hits me unexpectedly in miraculous and curious ways.  One morning as a barista, I accurately predicted every customer's drink for a full four hour shift.  Scared the heck out me!  Then in the last few months of my Mother's life, my Sister and I would care for her and pass our time a few feet from her sick bed with tarot cards and other oracles like Doreen Virtue's Angels.  We acquired countless books to keep the activity amusing and we would read various things, events and people over and over till we had recognized the meaning of every card and knew hundreds of spreads.

I never liked the term 'fortune teller', it isn't what I do when I read cards for someone.  No one can truly tell you your future because ultimately, you have free will in your destiny.  For example, I can tell you when you go out the door to turn right but if you do or don't is entirely up to you.  What I believe I do is a lot more divine and left to the influence of higher powers working through me.  I am a map maker and a tour guide to life's path.  I help people make better decisions based on what the cards tell me.  In a way, I take the fear, worry and insecurity out of someone's journey, kinda like AAA helps you plan a vacation.  I help folks to feel better prepared, heal, side step negativity and I also encourage, shed light on shadowy situations and show others their potential. I have helped hundreds of people this way and I really love what I have come to do.  The rewards for easing the burden of a heavy heart or setting a spirit free have blessed me in so many ways.

So today, I am with my Sister, at the local alternative healing & herb shop.  We are reading cards for folks who wander in or seek us out.  It never fails that every one we read for seems to be fated to come before us.  We often are told that we exceed people's expectations with our kindness, helpfulness and accuracy and that makes me feel so good about my job.  To me, it is just a moment to share what I love, the cards do all the work.

Practical Magic - Belladonna / Witch People Scene

Olivia Newton-John - Magic 1982 Video stereo widescreen

To Draw & Obtain Money from Celtic Magic by D.J. Conway

Do this during the full moon

Fill your cauldron half full of water and drop a silver coin into it. Position the cauldron so that the light from the moon shines into the water. Gently sweep your hands just above the surface, symbolically gathering the moon's silver light.

While doing this say:

 "Lovely Lady of the Moon, 

bring to me your wealth right soon. 

Fill my hands with silver and gold. 

All you give, my purse can hold."

Repeat this three times. When finished, pour the water upon the earth.

*It should be noted that I personally have found nearly all money spells bring opportunities rather than actual cash.  For example, your overtime will dramatically increase, an old employer will call offering a job to you, folks will pay you back that have owed you money.  Nothing of value truly comes easy, so appreciate the blessings you receive from the cosmos with true gratitude and you will always have enough; you get what you need. ~ Tracy Cathleen

A favorite designer - 1928 Jewelry Company

Since I was a little girl and received my first pair of porcelain rosebud earrings, I have adored 1928 Jewelry.  Affordable estate reproductions, these modern made pieces reflect bygone elegance and the artistic expression of the original deco designs.  Their creations are always a conversation starter and become the highlight of any ensemble I choose to accessorize with them.  From the interesting lockets to the tiny gecko pin on my collar, I truly treasure every item I have collected of theirs.

   

Million Dollar Fudge

This recipe has been has been devotedly made nearly every year in my family for Christmas since the 1950s. Originally a recipe from First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, it makes the most decadent candy I have ever tasted!  My Mother always affectionately nicknamed it the 'Christmas pudge'. *Warning, you will need a strong stirring arm for this recipe. 1950's housewives were incredibly robust!

Mamie’s Million Dollar Fudge
4 1/2 cups sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tall can evaporated milk
1lb semi-sweet chocolate bits
1lb Hershey's chocolate
1 pint marshmallow cream
2 cups chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work best)
Boil the sugar, salt, butter, evaporated milk together for six minutes.
Put chocolate bits and Hershey's chocolate, marshmallow cream and nutmeats in a bowl.
Pour the boiling syrup over the ingredients. *Beat until chocolate is all melted, then pour and press
into a greased pan (use butter to grease - tastes best). Let stand to cool a few hours before cutting. Mom always used a butter knife dipped in very hot water to make cutting easier.

It should be noted that the fudge seems to taste so much better the second day. Store in an air tight container between wax paper layers.  Keep refrigerated.

Sparklies and everything faux glamour!

Me circa 1980s

I am a theater person.  That becomes abundantly obvious when you are around me for a brief while.  I am tall, I am larger than life and I love glamour!  Ever since I acquired my Great Grandmother's costume jewelry collection as a teenager, I have had an incredible fascination and passion with pulchritude.  Reveling in my inherited treasure of antique baubles, I love wearing things that sparkle.  Pinned to my denim jacket is always some delicious, flashy, rhinestone extravaganza. Never limiting my fashion by appropriate standards, any excuse to be flashy and over the top is how I always present myself.   It should be noted that I love flea markets and places where I can sift through glass and crystal brooches and earrings.  I have managed to collect some wonderful pieces including a coveted pair of mint Eisenburg Ice earrings.  When ever I wear my vintage sparkle, I feel regal and glamourous and so very confident.  In fact, I prefer the faux baubles to the real thing. Diamonds are beautiful but often unwearable because of their value. Who wants to worry themselves sick over a bunch of rocks, keep them safe in a vault when you can have so much fun with crystals?  They sparkle just as much and with the right amount of diva attitude and flair, never seem fake at all.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) -- (Movie Clip) Diamonds Are A Girl's Be...

Madonna - Material Girl - Video Dailymotion

Madonna - Material Girl - Video Dailymotion

Magic - Sunflower Power!

Source

My Aunt Barbara's favorite cake to make - sunshine on a fork!

Sunshine Cake

INGREDIENTS:
1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
2 packages instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons orange extract
2 cans mandarin oranges slices
1 (12 ounce) container cool whip
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple (drained)

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Combine cake mix, eggs, 1 package of pudding, vegetable oil, orange extract, 1 can of mandarin oranges and beat well for about 3 minutes.
2.  Bake in three 9 inch greased and floured round cake pans for 20-25 minutes at 350 degree F

Frosting:
Once cakes are cool and turned out, fold 1 package of pudding mix and pineapple into whipped topping and frost cake in layers.  Trim with mandarin orange slices.  Keep refrigerated.

A favorite thing - my Starry Night secret box

A couple Christmas holidays ago, my Sister gave me a favorite gift.  It was a wooden box, in the shape of a book, with Starry Night on it.  She filled it with all sorts of random treasures, not that different from The Littlest Angel's shoe box.  It was a wonderful gift that I have kept exactly the way it was given with all the simple items kept secretly inside.  Whenever I am sad or upset, I sit with my box and sift through these little thoughtful things and meditate on what really matters.  It never fails to heal my heart and make me feel better. 

How I love Vincent Van Gogh!

Perhaps it is because our birthdays are only a day apart on the calendar or maybe it is simply my own deep passion for color but I have always loved Vincent Van Gogh.  When I finally had the opportunity in life to study art history, I took multiple classes on impressionism just so I could revel in the beauty of, in my opinion, one of history's most miraculous and misunderstood artists.

My empathic abilities allow me to uniquely comprehend what it must have been like for this poor ginger haired Dutchman, tortured by his ability to see what no one else could.  When I saw the movie Lust For Life, then had the opportunity to stand in front of actual Van Gogh paintings at Carnegie Museum, it became so clear to me what an unbelievable and amazing creature this artist was.  If you have never seen an actual Van Gogh painting, it is quite an unexpected experience.  His paintings are wonderously dimensional; paint globbed on in haphazard texture, bristles forever stuck in the paint, sliced canvas from the artist's dangerously wielded pallet knife, all applied with lightening speed from the fever of a hyper intense creative moment.  With each stroke applied to the canvas, Van Gogh's style lends the reality that he must have feared losing the vision he willed to capture and worked as hurriedly as he could. One can only marvel at that high a level of passion.

Later, in my frequent researching, I discovered interesting facts that better explained the madness behind the brush.  Van Gogh was of course a dreadful addict, possessed by absinthe; the wormwood surely contributed to his ailing health, crazed perceptions and visions.  Additionally, Van Gogh loved the color yellow.  His passion for brilliance would become his undoing. The yellow paint in his day was created with the use of high quantities of lead.  It is known Van Gogh's creative fervor would result in paint spattered everywhere, all over his skin and mouth, breathing in the fumes and surely absorbing dangerous levels of lead, poisoning his system.  A chemically altered wizard, forever lost in his craft, could never survive his own magic.  In his brief 37 years on earth, he managed to paint the most influential art of all time.  My concept of a starry night will forever be touched by him.



  

Doctor Who: Vincent and the doctor - Series 5

don mclean - vincent

Magic - A little happy energy to start the week

Three Candle Joy Spell
Add a little joy to your life when you need it the most. All you need is:

• 3 orange or yellow candles
• Cedar oil
• A few pinches of rosemary and marjoram

Rub oil on all three candles, and set them up on your altar. Light each one, then sprinkle each of the herbs on the table around the candles. Focus on the heat of the flames, and repeat out loud:

Happiness and joy, come into my life
Away with anger, stress and strife
I am happy, I am free
No more negativity

Hold your hands above the flames to feel their warmth. No need to scorch yourself. Be determined to see the positive side of things, and leave the candles to burn out.

Source

Sunday dinner at my house - how to make Chicken Paprikash with Spaetzle

Chicken Paprikash

INGREDIENTS
2 to 2 1/2 pounds of chicken
A pinch of salt
2-3 Tbsp butter
2-3 large yellow onions
Black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp paprika
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup sour cream

PREPARATION
1 Lightly salt the chicken pieces and let them sit at room temperature while you cut the onions. Slice the onions.

2 Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. When the butter is hot, pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and place them in the pan. Let the chicken pieces cook 4-5 minutes on one side, until well browned, then turn them over and let them cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan to a bowl, set aside.

3 Add the sliced onions to the sauté pan and cook them, stirring occasionally, scraping up the browned bits from the chicken, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

4 Add the paprika and some black pepper to the onions and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth, again scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and then nestle the chicken pieces into the pan, on top of the onions. Cover and cook on a low simmer for 30-35 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken pieces).

5 When the chicken is done to your taste, remove the chicken from the pan. Allow the pan to cool for a minute and then slowly stir in the sour cream. If the sour cream cools the sauce too much, turn the heat back on just enough to warm it through. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce.

To make the spaetzle:
2 cups of flour
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
A pinch of salt

Boil water in a large pot
Mix the spaetzle dough until smooth
Take a teaspoon and drop bits of dough into the boiling water
When dumplings float, they are cooked.  Ladle out with a slotted spoon or carefully drain.  Serve spaetzle with paprika sauce and chicken.

Going to church with Grandma

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

When I was little, my paternal Grandmother took charge over my religious education.  It brings back many fond memories of holding her hand and entering into the oddly shaped pyramid structure of St. John's Church in my home town.  Grandma always wore pink and smelled of Avon's Gardenia perfume.  Her long hair, all silver and braided meticulously in a bun, sparkled in the soft candle light and she always looked like an angel.

I attended Sunday school first thing each week.  Something that always perplexed me because almost always it involved the use of giant globs of paste for some thematic craft and left my fingers sticking together through every sermon.  I remember the mess more than the lessons.

My first introduction to singing in public occurred at church.  Grandma had a beautiful voice and was in the church choir.  She taught me countless hymns.  I was too young to be in the choir then but would sit in my pew and sing along, watching her wink at me.

When I was a young teen, I became more active in the church and started singing as a feature during worship.  The church had expanded to a lavish new addition with the most incredible acoustics.  I looked forward to every Sunday with a special thrill because, to me, church always meant music - the pipe organ, the choir and raising my voice with faith in my heart.  I went on to study voice at the Catholic conservatory.  Until she passed, Grandma would come and sit in the cathedral during my lessons because my voice wafted there from the studio just on the other side of the wall.    

My life has lead me along a very twisted path in my religious beliefs.  I have set foot in almost every kind of denomination house.  Admittedly, my singing took me to some truly wonderful places and exposed me to so many wisdoms.  I gained great spirituality from the joy of singing.  I don't know what Grandma would think of me these days but I believe she would be proud that I never stopped growing and ascending in spirit.  Funny how the simplest things mold you.  This morning, I realized writing this, just how simple life is.  Some people search a lifetime to find God.  For me, God is as close as a bottle of Gardenia perfume and the sweet memory of Grandma singing "How Great Thou Art".

Dos Gardenias Para Ti By Alexandrina Karadjova

ULC - Davey and Goliath Lost in a Cave

Mario Lanza I'll Walk With God - Student Prince HQ Widescreen

My favorite makeup - Vampyre's Veil

I can't lie.  I love cosmetics more than just about anything.  I discussed this whole story before on a previous blog.  Anyway, the one product I truly love to use is Manic Panic's Vampyre's Veil.  I use Starlight for everyday as a foundation.  I have been using Manic Panic for well over a decade and folks all around say I look half my age.  No telling what ingredients are really in Vampyre's Veil but I think there is a whole bunch of magic. 

Magic - Walking The Twilight Path by Michelle Belanger

As a metaphysician, I am in constant research of what is real and truth.  Relating to the world around me isn't as simple as it might be for some, partially because I experience things that aren't easy to explain and because of my personal beliefs.

My fascination with death has always been a part of me.  I try not to be excessively morbid, but my awareness of what becomes of us when we leave this realm escalated when my Mother passed several years ago.  It took my intrigue of taphophilia purely for art's sake and turned it into a battle of energies within me.  As a magical person, I knew I would not be able to find any internal peace until I learned to deal with those energies, grief and the fears I harboured.

This book, Walking The Twilight Path by Michelle Belanger saved my soul more than anyone will ever realize.  Not a black magic rite or a Goth trip at all, it is about ancestor worship, learning to embrace the mysteries of death while still remaining very much alive and using the energy of decay and spirits to illuminate and guide you on your life path.  It helped me to heal deep wounds my grief caused, journey past my fears and find my balance between life and death again through the presence of magic.

I want to share a particularly simple spell from the book.  This incense allows you to mediate and invoke communication with the dead.  I used it to gain closure with my departed Mother.  This is a direct excerpt from the book:

Beyond The Veil

• 2 parts Cypress
• 1 part Myrrh
• 2 parts White Willow
• 1 part White Chrysanthemum

This is another variation on the blend intended to help summon spirits of the dead. This version includes cypress and willow, two trees that have traditionally been used associated with graveyards here in the West.  Chrysanthemums also have strong associations with death.  In Japanese folk belief, this is especially true of the white chrysanthemum.  Blend this incense at night during an new moon and burn it to rouse the spirits and call them into your sacred place.
  

Author - Michelle Belanger

Favorite things - Universal Monsters to hug

I adore monsters, relate to them on so many levels and think that old horror films are the best!  I collect mostly Dracula memorabilia but adore every scary creature Universal Studios owns.  A personal treasure of mine is a collection of monster plushies from the early 1990's.  They sit on top of my wardrobe keeping me safe while I sleep.

A childhood favorite from Grandma's recipe box - Hershey's kiss peanut butter blossoms

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy is best)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• (White sugar for dusting)
• Bag of Hershey Kisses

*****************************
PREPARATION

• Pre-heat oven to 375ºF
• Cream together the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar with a mixer.
• Add the egg and vanilla, mix until combined
• Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and add to the other mixture. Combine thoroughly.
• Roll the dough into small balls - a rounded teaspoon  Gram always rolled the balls around in white sugar.  It makes them really pretty.
• Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Bake for 9-10 minutes, the cookies will have puffed up and be golden brown.
• Top each cookie with a Hershey Kiss, pressing down lightly so that the candy becomes part of the cookie
• They stack well once cool and the dough also can be prepared ahead and froze.

Simple Childhood Saturday Morning Pleasures

Its Saturday morning!  Even though I am supposed to be all grown up, I always reserve Saturday for two of my very favorite things, a bowl of kid's cereal and cartoons.  I am a byproduct of an X generation influence - MONSTERS.

When I was little there were two things that every kid knew and loved.  Monsters and rock music.  KISS was the hottest band in the land with blood spitting Gene Simmons and their kabuki like makeup.  Children's television ruled Saturday mornings on three networks.  Cable was never a thought and you had to actually get up and change channels so kids had a tendency to sit right in front of the TV on the floor.  Because of that fact, the networks produced lavish, hyper colored cartoons and puppet shows.  I adored every monster and monster rock star they made.  Sigmond the Sea Monster, the Groovie Goolies, Scooby Doo, H.R. Pufnstuf, animated Sabrina The Teenage Witch and The Addams Family.  Of course to accompany this cavalcade, one had to have the appropriate breakfast, always a monster cereal with tiny little marshmallows.

No wonder I turned out to run a Gothic webzine, read tarot cards professionally and manage an amazing rock band!  A sugar induced, strawberry and chocolate flavored super show imagination made it so I never could leave the rockin' monster life behind on the big hand knitted rug in front of the old Curtis Mathes console TV.

Sigmund S1 Ep2 with Pamelyn Ferdin

70s *Count Chocula* Cereal Commercial

The Groovie Goolies - Episode # 1

One of my favorite things ... Zulu grass beads!

One of my very favorite things is my collection of Zulu grass beads.  Hand made in Africa by the women of Kenya, they are jewelry with a conscience.  Part of the fair trade export program, the women of Kenya are able to support their families and supply their villages with education and medicine through the sale of these beads.  They are beautiful and unique, each necklace is a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art! I have been collecting them for quite awhile and have so many gorgeous colors.  I am rarely seen without a few wrapped around my neck, writs or ankle.

You can get them HERE.

The Leakeys (company founders) and jewelry artists

A storm protection spell ...

This is a spell everyone should know.  It always works!

To protect a house during a thunderstorm
Light one white and one yellow candle
Walk through the house, room by room, chanting the words below until you have visited every room and every door (including closet, cupboard and entrance) in your home:

"Mistress of the gentle rain, 

Master of the storm, 

Guard against the ill and bane, 

Shield me from harm. 

And while fire flies through the air 

And raindrops fiercely blast, 

Keep my loved ones in your care 

'Til the storm has passed. 

Wind, wind, guard my kin. 

Flame, flame, do not maim. 

Rain, rain, quickly wane. 

Earth, earth, guard my worth."

The house is then sealed and safe-guarded until the storm is clear of the area.
From Scott Cunningham's Grimoire

Old Fashioned 1940's Tea Party Loaf

My Grandmother loved to entertain and made any excuse to have a party.  This was a family favorite that was made for every little event.  It always looked special and was so simple to make!
Party Sandwich Loaf
The Ingredients.
1 loaf very fresh unsliced sandwich bread
3 different but compatible sandwich fillings: use 1 cup of each (ham salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, pickle salad, egg salad or olive nut spread)
2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
2 to 3 tablespoons of milk
Note: Use unsliced bread, glutton free, white or wheat, or both, layering slices alternately, ribbon fashion. Crusts should be removed from all 4 sides of the loaf. Slice the bread lengthwise, evenly, to make 4 long layers
The Directions.
Butter, with real butter, all sides of bread that will be touching a filling. On a serving platter or tray, place bottom slice and spread generously with filling, cover with next slice of bread. Spread second layer of bread with filling and cover 
with next slice of bread. Spread third layer of bread with filling, cover with top slice of bread. ¨
Frosting:
In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until cream cheese is the consistency of creamy cake frosting. "Frost" sandwich loaf using the back of a spoon. You can decorate with more cream cheese in pastry bags, either tinted or plain. Chill until about 20 minutes before serving.  Garnish with parsley, cucumber slices, radish roses, carrot curls, whatever fits the occasion.  Mom always would make little tomato roses or radish roses with olives and parsley leaves. 
To serve, slice with serrated knife and place slice on a plate.  We always found an electric knife worked great.
*Best frosted the day of the event to prevent the frosting from drying out.

Pink Panther The Inspector Transylvania Mania

The Cuff Links - Tracy

Going to my hometown today - Girard Pennsylvania

The thing that makes me quite extraordinary is that I grew up in a not so usual place.  When I was four years old, my parents settled into a huge old house on the border or Erie County in a sleepy little town called Girard.  Erected before the actual city of Erie was built, the town boasts being a historic landmark in its entirety with the charm and sweetness of a by gone era.  Still, with most of its mainstreet preserved in a permanent expression of the early 1900's, growing up in Girard had everything to do with my general personality and social skills.  Everyone was always so friendly, everyone knew everyone else and folks were just so darn accommodating.  Perhaps its because the tempo for the place was set by a group of circus performers and their ring master, Dan Rice in the mid 1800's.  Neighbors were considered family, the troop mentality spilled over into everything from the town paper to the grocery store.  When I was little, the bank always gave out lollipops on pay day, the baker always had free cookies and the world was a simple, happy place full of smiles, handshakes and unlocked houses.  No matter how much my life changes or how old I get, when I go back to my home town, its like a time portal, where so much has remained the same.  It is a peaceful, comforting feeling I look forward to annually.  Happy childhood memories,  I'm coming home to you today.     

hocuspocus

Blackmore's Night - Sister Gypsy