A busy day, but a long week.......

You can't beat a mug of tea and a piece of homemade cake to lift your spirits, thats exactly what I did at lunch time. Of-course I shared the cake with Woody.

I've been feeling a bit out of sorts this week, like I'm about to come down with a cold, but it hasn't come to anything, so I suppose that's good in a way. I'm in a dilemma with my job at the moment, its a "do I stay, or do I go" kind of time. I've been given an application form from a lady I dog walk with, for a play worker at a local breakfast and afternoon school club. I will need to be trained to NVQ2 on the job, but will also get to do a First Aid and Health and Hygiene certificate, if I apply or even get the job. Another string to my bow I suppose. I am unhappy in my current job, but i do get shares and staff discount and maternity leave, this is the conundrum, am I better the devil I know?


I made homemade Pizza for tea, which was scrummy, I haven't made one of these for ages, and it made a nice change. See I'm still cooking from scratch! Hubby and I went to Macro this week and managed to get 48 loo rolls on offer and a massive box of washing powder, so this should save a few pounds and packaging. We have been seeing a saving in our shopping bills since our being green and frugal experiment started. I'm also making much more of an effort with the composting; last week it even had the added ingredient of Woody fur as he was clipped on Monday.
I've spent an hour or so undercoating one of the dining room walls this afternoon. I don't think hubby can moan at me for getting that wrong.
This is still to be altered and painted etc, but I can't wait till my Radiator/dresser is finished. I would like a few Emma Bridgewater pieces to go on it. "Hint Hint Hubby if you read this".
Hubby also made this door architrave, are there no end to his talents??? We hope to get a bit more done to this room at the weekend. I'm really looking forward to it being finished. It used to be a garage at one time, and since we've lived here its mainly been a dumping ground as we're gradually working around the house with the decorating. It will be like having a whole new room in this house. I hope to put some finished photo's on here before Christmas!!!

Sloe or Wild Damson....

I thought I'd post a couple of pics of my neighbours Blackthorn tree in blossom as it's so pretty at the moment. We've also got a couple in our garden, but there not in blossom like this.
These trees have caused no end of discussion in our house, and between the neighbours and anyone who visits. Are they a Wild Damson or a Sloe? We came to the conclusion that although the trees look identical. The one in the corner of our garden is a sloe and the one further along is a wild damson. The fruit on our sloe tree is a bit smaller than that of the wild damson. I thought I'd taste one to compare the flavours, not recommended bitter as hell!

I made two batches of gin in the end, one from the Sloes and one from the Wild Damsons. They did have a slightly different flavour and personally I preferred the Sloe Gin. Not that I even like Gin. My friend told me I was drinking it too soon anyway and to leave it until this Christmas/Yule. I also made an experimental batch of Elderberry Gin. This was quite different and a lovely colour. Most of these were given away as Yule pressies.

Another pic of my beautiful pussy cat Phoebe

What a wise old thing she is......

She doesn't mind where she sits.....

Sybil Leek - The Burley Witch Part Two.....

Sybil's family was relatively well to do and she grew up as a young lady of privileged societal standing, her mother was related to the Masters family, well known in high society. In their New Forest home her mother and a group of friends regularly met for tea, they called their group the Pentagram Club. When she was fifteen years old and during one of the family's regular trips to the south of France, Sybil was initiated into a french coven based at George du Loup in the hills above Nice. According to Sybil, she was initiated to replace an elderly Russian aunt who had been High Priestess of the coven, and it was from this coven that the New Forest covens in England were descended.

Returning home Sybil met a well-known pianist-conductor who was 24 years her senior. Despite the age difference they fell in love and were married shortly after her 16th birthday. During the relative quiet of the pre-war years they toured and traveled about England and Europe. He died two years later and she returned home to Hampshire. During World War II, Sybil joined the Red Cross and worked as a nurse in a military hospital near Southampton. Later she was sent to help nurse the wounded at Anzio Beach, before returning to England and being stationed at a military barracks in the isolated Scottish Hebrides Islands. She ended the war with a handful of medals, but the prosperity of her family had been lost to the austerity of the War.

After the war and into her twenties, Sybil returned to Hampshire and lived in a small village called Burley situated in the heart of the New Forest. There she mixed with and lived among the Gypsies. She also joined their 'Horsa' coven, a coven they claimed had existed for 700 years. The Gypsy knowing she was a witch born, accepted Sybil as one of their own. From them she learned a great deal about herbal potions and elixirs. When the time came for her to move on, they honoured her in the traditional Gypsy way reserved only for the most respected of outsiders. They made her a 'blood-sister'. This was done by cutting her wrist and mixing her blood with the blood of the Gypsy leaders.

While living in Burley, Sybil started up and ran a successful antique shop. Then at some point she met and married a man called Brian. Together they had two sons Stephen and Julian who are reported to have inherited the family's psychic gifts. While walking in the woods one day, Sybil had a vision, it brought to her the realization that her purpose in life was to promote the craft and the Old Religion. She began to do just that and into the 1950's her reputation as a Psychic, Astrologer and Witch, began to attract attention. Media publicity brought tourists to her village but in the wake of autograph seekers her antique business began to suffer. Witchcraft was still viewed with suspicion in those times and her landlord refused to renew her lease unless she publicly denounced it. Sybil declined and was forced to close up shop and leave.

More to come..........

Arte y pico Award...

Sarah, at little house by the sea, has sent me this award......




I was so chuffed to get this, thanks Sarah. Please take a look at her blog at http://www.littlehousebythesea.blogspot.com/.

Then a bit later on, I received it again from Lee at http://solsticedreamer.blogspot.com many thanks two awards! I'm not going to give it to another 5, but award it to my dog Woody, the best Springer in the World, for being such a photogenic boy, and appearing so frequently in my blog!


As usual there are rules, 5 to be exact here goes......



Pick 5 blogs that you feel are deserving of this award, based on their.....

• Creativity


• Design


• Interesting material, and


• Contribution to the blogging community, no matter what language

For each award giver: include the name of the author and a link to their blog, so they can be visited.

For each recipient: show the award with the name and link to the blogger from whom it was received.

For both giver and receiver: show the link (http://arteypico.blogspot.com/)

Publish these rules

I hope I've done this right anyway this is what Sarah had to say....

Faerie Nuff... http://faerienuff.blogspot.com/ A blog that I have just started to read. However there are lots of interesting posts and pictures, and I love your mission to be green and frugal.

Cheers Sarah!

The blogs I've chosen are......

Lee at http://solsticedreamer.blogspot.com/ Lee's was one of the first blogs I encountered and I was made to feel welcome straight away. The music and layout are great and I love how passionate Lee feels about important subjects.

Alison at http://woolgatheringwhileisew.blogspot.com/ Alison's craft work and pics are really inspiring and always make me want to get my craft stuff out. Check out her recent patchwork its fab!

Miss R at http://talesofinglewood.blogspot.com/ Miss R is such a wise and spiritual lady who's words always offer inspiration. Always worth a read.

Fiona at http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/ Fiona's was the first blog I ever found whilst looking for a Sloe Gin recipe. Her stories of self sufficiency and her min pins are great, and always make me smile.

Moncha Eilis at http://dreamingofavalon.blogspot.com/ Moncha like me, loves nature her garden and substantial amount of witchy books, and living in the Netherlands its always great to hear what goes on in her part of the world. Always a good read.

I hope I have done this right and the links work, but if not the links at the side of my blog usually do. It was a difficult quest picking 5 people, as I'm in contact with quite a few fellow bloggers. I tried to pick blogging pals that haven't already received this award so we can all share it. Thanks to everyone who visits my blog, its always nice to hear from you.

Some more snow day pics.....

I couldn't resist putting some more photos of yesterdays snow on here. I was a bit snap happy with the camera yesterday, but decent snow never happens in Hampshire, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity.
This is Woody's coat which was purchased from the Range, its a bit girly, but keeps him warm. We always seem to have a cold snap just after he's been clipped. Trouble is yesterday he decided to jump in the lake in it! So it had to come off, and we took it in turns to carry it.
More Trees....
I quite liked this shot....
Look at that sky!

I did feel sorry for the birds yesterday, on Thursday and Friday it was really warm and they were happily preparing for spring, feathering their nests and getting ready for some chicks and then it goes and gets blooming cold and snows. The poor little things must be so confused, i know i am. The weather seems all over the place as late, its so unpredictable. I hope it gets warmer soon I'm camping in four weeks time.

This morning is very chilly and the car is completely frozen, but I don't intend going anywhere until work tonight sigh. I've got a lot of over ripe bananas in the kitchen, so I may make a couple of banana loaves.

It's a snow day!!!

We couldn't believe it, when we opened the curtains this morning, I know the weather forecast said to expect snow, but they're normally wrong. But not this time, it was amazing. So picturesque.
These first three pictures were taken at the nature reserve this morning, its a beautiful place.
Hubby and I had a bit of a snowball fight, but as usual I never win.
Woody's never really seen snow before and thought it was fab, I was running around the garden this morning in my PJ's and trainers with him. He went and got a ball, and was having great fun rolling it around and burying it in the snow.
He got snow stuck on his ears but he didn't mind, "I'm all white mum"!

I would like to thank Sarah for my award, I was so chuffed, I will try to put this on my blog later.

Phoebe - my little munchkin 5 today!

I thought it was about time Phoebe had a bit of web space, as Woody's been hogging the limelight of late. This is Phoebe 5 year old today moggy, Happy Birthday Puss. She's also known as Angel cat, little munchkin as well as mummy's black and white cat and affectionately known as Bubba.
She's a very slender and tiny little cat, she's still kitten sized and has the most amazing silky coat.
Here she is checking out my basil seedlings. She's soooo timid though she loves hubby and me to bits but won't go near anyone else. Last summer we had a BBQ and had friends in the garden till quite late. She wanted to come in but wouldn't come pass us lot, so I made everyone hide in the shed until I could get her in! It was quite funny at the time and they've never let me forget it.

Its been sunny and hot here all day today. I've managed to get two loads of washing on the line and have pottered around. To be honest I've really wasted the day, there's been so much i could have done, but couldn't be bothered. Hubby will be home for tea in a Mo so i better get moving!

Ten little things that make me smile.....

I was thinking today about the little things in life that make me smile, and have compiled a list of ten, here goes!

1. A wagging tail when you get home from work (In woody's case a whole wagging back end)
2. The popping sound when breaking the lid on a new jar of coffee
3. The smell of a bonfire, aahh
4. A purring cat, sitting on your lap
5. A sit down, with a cup of tea and a biscuit
6. A hot bath, listening to Loreena McKennitt
7. Popping bubble wrap
8. Waking up for work and remembering its Saturday!
9. A text message from hubby, telling me he loves me
10. Watching the birds on the bird table

Why don't you all have a go, it will make you smile!

Sybil Leek - The Burley Witch

Sybil Leek was one of the first witches to become public back in the 1960's. She was often accused of becoming a sell-out, because of her media attention and the odd ways. With the publishing of her autobiography, Diary of a Witch Sybil announced that her style of witchcraft was not dead and never had been.....She attracted public attention for almost everything that she did.

In the beginning of Sybil's public life as a witch, her adherence to the craft cost her dearly, as landlords cut off leases on her secular antique stores, and others made her targets of general prejudice against witches. Her family was acquainted with Alesister Crowley, and he felt that she would be the one to take over where he left off.

Sybil was one of the first popular witches to take to environmental causes... She was a master astrologer, and a gifted psychic. Sybil passed on in 1982, at an unknown age....and she lived to see the establishment of Wicca as a recognized religion.

Sybil was born on the 22nd February 1923 in Staffordshire, England. From an early age she lived and grew up in the New Forest area of Hampshire and demonstrated an early gift for writing. The New Forest is one of the oldest forests in England and is steeped in folklore and witchcraft associations. The same area is where Gerald B. Gardner first joined Old Dorothy Clutterbucks coven in 1939. That coven was reportedly descended from one of Old George Pickingill's famous nine covens. Sybil claims that during her time in the area, there were still four old covens that had survived from the days of King William Rufus.

In 1932 when she was only nine years old, Aleister Crowley became a frequent visitor to her home. She claims to have spent time with him climbing the mountainsides and wondering through forests near to her home. In her autobiography Diary of a Witch (New York: Signet 1969.). Sybil wrote that he talked to her about witchcraft and recited his poetry while encouraging her to write her own. He also instructed her on the use of certain magickal words used for their vibratory qualities when used in magick.

I will tell you more about Sybil in another post.......

I have been trying to collect her books for a few years now. These are all I have at the moment, including two of "have mania will collect". I would dearly love to get my hands on "Diary of a Witch" but they are hard to come by. All her books are out of print, and when at boot sales or charity shops I do trawl through all the books. I have read "Diary of a Witch" from the library and its a brilliant book, Your taken right back to Sybil's childhood in the New Forest and the time she spent with the Gypsies.

Recipe's as promised.....

As promised Autumn, Lemon Curd and Coconut Macaroon Recipes.

Lemon Curd Recipe

Juice and grated zest of 5-6 large juicy lemons
5-6 new laid eggs
8oz unsalted butter
1 1/4lbs sugar, caster or granulated

Grate the lemon zest finely and put into a bowl, then juice the lemons well and add the juice, strained. Chop the butter and add to the bowl, along with the sugar. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir regularly until the sugar is dissolved and the butter melted. Beat the eggs well, and pour through a sieve into the bowl; stir frequently until mixture thickens to coat the back of a wooden spoon, then pour into hot jars. seal and label. When cool store in the fridge, keeps for up to six weeks.

Coconut Cookies/Macaroons

2 egg whites
4oz caster sugar
6oz desiccated coconut

Set the oven to 325'f or gas mark 3. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until very stiff. Fold in the sugar and then add and fold in the coconut. Drop small dessertspoonful of the mixture on the baking sheet, leaving some room between each for expansion. Bake for about 15 mins until lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire wrack to cool. Makes 18-20 cookies.