Halloween Delights!!

What is Halloween with out color, and sweet tasting treats?

Well it would not be Halloween now would it?

So wrap your eyes around these delightful cakes .. I hope I can be this creative.... :)

Anyone got a fork??

Bee

COOKIES, Cookies, COOKIES!!

I am SOoo tempted this year to make up a bunch of these cookies!! Am I dreaming?? But one never knows? I may add this to my list of tasks for the week of Halloween!!

These cookies just make me smile!!! I do cup cakes most years and cake.. But I am really liking the looks of these Halloween sweets!!

Halloween Cookie cutter links;

http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/holiday/hal-thanks/hal-cookies.htm

These are really COOL!!
http://www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong/product.do?section_id=0&bc=1005&pgc=2481&sv=2400&cmvalue=HS%7C0

http://www.cookware.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=NWR1326&refid=FR280-NWR1326

Bee --> dreaming of a sweet snack

Bee's Halloween decor

Hi to all, Well I am already for "All Hallows Eve. I love it !! The great lights, the beautiful colors of nature.. Of course growing my own pumpkin makes it great too!! (which was a chore this year).. Lucky Me I got one a big one too!! I will not carve him till "All Hallows Eve day. The lovely Scarecrow dry flower arrangement is placed in a vintage antique carnival glass vase.. The pattern on the glass is called "tree trunk" (Made by the Northwood glass company) I thought it was a perfect fit!! Of course my favorite Halloween boot on my table surrounded by Kirks Folly sparkling home decor items..

My two new goblets "Witchy Poo" and "Dragon" with a Kirks Folly lovely grey, and silver shawl as my table runner..

Sparkling Jack-O-Lantern's

Bee

Corn Maze's

Mazes date back at least 4000 years to the time of Greek myths.

In Roman times, mazes and labyrinths were found in artwork, in the design of floors in homes, public buildings and in the pavement of streets. It is believed that mazes were not considered puzzles, but were used for rituals and processions.

In the centuries that followed, mazes continued to appear in artwork and architecture such as inlays in the floors of the French cathedrals. In Scandinavia, over 600 stone labyrinths lined the shores of the Baltic Sea, with over half of them in Sweden.
Later formal gardens were developed throughout Europe and included puzzle hedges. The garden mazes were developed at the wealthiest castles and palaces to amuse kings and princes. The task was to find the center and then return to the beginning point.
The maze in the gardens at Hampton Court Palace, one of the finest examples in England, was planted by William III (1650-1702).
In the nineteenth century mazes became a popular entertainment in parks and other public places.
Since the 1970's, navigating through an intricate maze has become a popular form of recreation.
The dinosaur maze was produced by Don Frantz and the American Maze Company for Lebanon Valley College in 1993. The first 'modern' corn maze named the "Amazing Maize Maze" was a collaboration between Don Frantz and Adrian Fisher and was then the world's largest maze and subsequently sparked a worldwide fad of corn mazes.
The Country Heritage Maize Maze began when LaVerne Swenson, a farmer from Clermont, Iowa, and some of his friends and neighbors around the area dreamed of telling the story of Iowa's agricultural heritage and increasing tourism in Northeast Iowa.

Corn mazes appear in many different designs. Most have a path, which goes all around the whole pattern, either to end in the middle or to come back out again.

So try one out.. they are very fun. Perfect for a Halloween adventure. They can be found all over the country.. So check your local papers or the Internet..

Mysterious Black Cat

'There are chests of gold within all the burial mounds, but mind the cats that guard them.'

~ Old Celtic Proverb

The black cat has been regarded as mysterious creatures with supernatural powers for ever it seems through history. These beliefs increased during the European witch-trials.
The witch trials started in the 13th century. the belief was that witches had the ability to turn into an animals, usually a hare or a cat, in order to transport themselves to a Sabbath. The idea of familiar spirits soon developed. These were imps or minor demons who took the form of any small animal, from a hedgehog to a toad. A familiar( a witch's pet) acted as an intermediary for the witch, carrying out her orders so that she wouldn't have to be at the scene of the crime when the evil deed was done.
A witch's cat came to be called a ?grimalkin?. The Scottish goddess of witches was called ?Mither o' the Mawkins?, a mawkin or malkin being either a cat or a hare. Originally a grimalkin was a gray cat. Later the term came to refer to the "pussies" or "catkins" on a pussy willow, as well as to the witch's cat. ( I did a blog entry on catkins a while back)

There are many superstitions associated with cats, partly because the cat has lived alongside humans for many millennia. The cat was worshipped in Egypt and to kill one was considered a capital crime. When an Egyptian family's cat died, the cat was mummified and the family went into mourning. Romans, also, considered the cat sacred and introduced it into Europe. By the 17th Century, however, the cat began to be associated with witchcraft and it's luck turned from good to bad in many areas. A practice that became popular for a time was to burn cats and other animals on Shrove Tuesday (before the start of Lent), in order to protect one's home from fire and other calamities.
Superstitions centering around the black cat are some of the most well-known and popular superstitions today. It is interesting, though, because the good or bad luck they possess is dependent on where you live in the world. In Britain and Japan, having a black cat cross your path, is considered good luck, whereas if you live in the USA or several European countries, it is bad luck to have a black cat walk by.

Good luck associated with black cats include:
· Possessing a black cat.
· Having a black cat greet you at a door.
· Having a black cat enter your home.
· Meeting three black cats in succession.
· Touching a black cat.

Bad luck associated with black cats include:
· Meeting a black cat early in the morning.
· Having a black cat turn its back on you.
· Scaring or driving away a black cat from your property.
· Walking under a ladder after a black cat has walked underneath it.


MORE BLACK CATS FOLKLORE
In India it is thought that a reincarnated soul may be "liberated" by throwing a black cat into a fire.
In Bengali folklore women could change their soul into a black cat and that any harm brought to the cat would be suffered by the women.
The Celts thought black cats were reincarnated beings able to divine the future.
German folklore believed that if a black cat jumped on the bed of a sick person it meant death was near. In Finland it was thought that black cats were thought to carry the souls of the dead to the other world.

The Story of Candy Corn

A Halloween staple... I just had to Know!!! Sorry, but it is my favorite!!

Hugs Bee

For those of us over the age of 25, when you think of Halloween candy you think of candy corn, those sugary little spikes of Halloween cheer. They've been around for as long as I remember and even as long as my grandparents remember but did you know that they were invented in the 1880's? Who the first person to make these tasty treats was is unknown but the Wunderle Candy Company of Philadelphia was the first to go into commercial production. However, the company most closely associated with this wonderful confection is the Goelitz Confectionery Company. Founder Gustav Goelitz, a German immigrant, began commercial production of the treat in 1898 in Cincinnati and is today the oldest manufacturer of the Halloween icon.
Making candy at the turn of the last century wasn't the highly mechanized, year-round activity it is today. Candy was manufactured seasonally from March through November. Large kettles were used to cook the basic ingredients of candy corn, sugar, water, and corn syrup into a slurry. Fondant for smooth texture and marshmallow for a soft bite would be whipped in. When the right consistency was reached the hot candy would be poured into hand-held buckets called runners. Each runner holding 45 pounds of the hot mixture
Next, men called stringers would walk backward pouring the steaming candy into trays of cornstarch imprinted with kernel-shaped molds. Three passes were made, one for each white, orange, and yellow color. A strenuous job at best before the days of air-conditioning and electric fans.
All this strenuous labor wasn't lost on the tiny candy. It's tricolor design was considered revolutionary for its time and people flocked to buy them. Their shape was also a big selling point for the mostly agrarian population of the early 1900's. So popular was candy corn that companies tried other vegetable shapes including turnips. The Goelitz Candy Company even had to turn orders down for lack of production capacity.
Candy corn was originally sold in bulk containers like most foods products of the time. They were packed in wooden buckets, tubs, and cartons to be delivered by wagon and train over relatively short distances. Perishability prevented widespread distribution.
During WWI, Herman Goelitz, son of Gustav, moved to Fairfield, California to start his own company, the Herman Goelitz Candy Company. Their product? Candy Corn! The fortune of the Halloween treat would rise and fall many times as recession and boom, war and peace, affected the humble confection. Throughout the hard times it was the sale of candy corn that kept the companies afloat. In the sugar crisis of the mid 1970's when the price of raw sugar skyrocketed the company had to borrow heavily to buy sugar to keep production up. After the crisis the market plummeted. Many companies went out of business. It was demand for the candy corn that kept Goelitz from bankruptcy.
Today you won't have to look very hard to find candy corn. Computer and machine aided production have made them a plentiful staple no matter what time of year. So plentiful in fact that according to the National Confectioners Association, in 2001 candy manufacturers sold more than 20 million pounds of candy corn. Roughly 8.3 billion kernels! Very impressive for a product that has remained virtually unchanged for well over 100 years.
Perhaps best of all, everyone can feel comfortable about enjoying tasty kernel or two. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, candy is no different than a slice of bread, bowl of cereal or a cracker when it comes to causing tooth decay. Any food that contains sugar or starch can cause tooth decay – especially if one doesn’t brush and floss daily. So grab a bag of candy corn and enjoy. Just remember to brush your teeth after
candy corn facts

· Candy corn has 3.57 calories per kernel
· Halloween accounts for 75% of the annual candy corn production
· Candy corn isn't just for Halloween there is also:
· Reindeer corn for Christmas (red, green, and white)
· Indian corn (it's chocolate and vanilla flavored)
· Cupid corn for Valentine's Day (red, pink, and white)
· Bunny corn for Easter (pastel-colored)

Halloween is going to stink this year !!

Hi to all, Well did anyone watch our Presidents news conference about the financial state here in the USA on October 7th..

Well to sum it up. He insulted a man asking or basically pleading for him to fix this current financial situation so he could help his wife continue her business.
Well we got the expected answer.. Quote George W. Bush Jr.... "Oh that was smart"( Insinuating about his wife's business & that when it fails it was not his business but his wife's..
Then quote: "It has just occurred to me how important credit is to the consumers of the country!"

This man George W. Bush Jr. ignorance just astounds me. He was rude , unkind and had a hint of prejudice in the way he spoke to this citizen. This mans wife would not even speak I think she wanted to kick him in the balls!! I am scared to death as to what is going to happen when this man, and his thugs leave the office. Most of his entourage have separated themselves from him by resignation beginning three years ago..

We now know some of the financial fleecing this country has taken from this administration. Stealing every thing that they could, or had access to. But I fear the worst will be revealed when they all bail out of DC very soon!!

So let he be known for these famous last words with 28 days left in office:

"It has JUST occurred to me how important credit is to the consumers of this country"

Sweets, Sweets, Glorious Sweets

It's the sweet and sugary part of an otherwise dark and scary holiday - candy, the delicious treat sure to give you a sugary-high and leave you wanting more.

Candy has become synonymous with Halloween, much like images of ghosts, ghouls, goblins and pumpkins. Each year, millions of American children hit the streets with one goal in mind: to collect as much candy as possible. The U.S. Census Bureau has reported in the past that there are approximately 41 million potential trick-or-treaters between the ages of 5 and 14 years old. According to the National Confectioners' Association (NCA), 93 percent of these children will go trick-or-treating this year.When people go trick-or-treating, they automatically assume that they expect to be given candy, but what many don't realize is how "treats" became associated with this holiday.

The origins of distributing sweets to trick-or-treaters began back in the early days of the annual All Souls Day parade in England. Originally on Halloween, families would leave food at their doorsteps to stop spirits from entering their homes. Eventually the church encouraged people to distribute pastries called "soul cakes" to beggars rather than leaving food for the spirits. When Europeans immigrated to the United States, they brought the traditions of Halloween with them. Early Puritan societies in New England didn't celebrate Halloween because of strict religious beliefs, but 19th-century immigrants continued the traditions. In the mid-1850s, Americans began dressing up and going door-to-door asking for money and treats. According to history.com, around the turn of the century, Halloween lost its religious overtones and became a community-based holiday focusing on games, treats and costumes. It wasn't until the 1920s when the modern incarnation of trick-or-treating was celebrated in Wellesley, Mass., according to the book, "Halloween: An American Holiday, an American Tradition."
The book explains that the act of trick-or-treating gradually spread across America, reaching North Carolina and Florida in the 1940s and the rest of the country by the 1950s. Halloween, as we know it, thrived in the post-war era. Last year, Americans spent $3.29 billion on all Halloween items, according to the National Retail Federation's 2005 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. Of that $3.29 billion, approximately 64 percent of the money was spent on Halloween candy, according to the NCA. The Gourmet Retailer reported that this year, 75 percent of American homes are planning on passing out candy this Halloween season. Of those participants, the NCA projected that 76 percent of the candy passed out will be bite-sized chocolate while 30 percent will be non-chocolate bite-sized candy. Approximately 26 percent of homes will give out full-sized candy bars, both chocolate and non-chocolate.The NCA surveyed children between the ages of 6 and 11 and found that they prefer chocolate candy two to one over non-chocolate candy.To figure out what kind of candy children prefer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution surveyed 350 kids in order to find out their favorite candy. They found that children's favorite candies included Hershey bars, Snickers bars, Crunch bars, candy corn, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, lollipops and gum. Likewise, children ranked candy corn as one of their least favorite candies, followed by Tootsie Rolls, black licorice, caramels and mints. Parents also indulge their sweet tooth on Halloween. The NCA reported that 90 percent of parents admitted to sneaking goodies from their kids' candy stash - 70 percent took chocolate bars, 40 percent favored candy-coated chocolate, 37 percent gobbled-up caramels and 26 percent choose gum.

So while passing out candy to young ghosts and goblins is nice, remember this when shopping for Halloween candy for yourself; on Nov. 1, everything will be marked half off. <--- And yes ---> I will be at the WalMart.

:-) Trivia

Snickers : Snickers was named after a horse owned by the Mars family—inventors of this perennial favorite.

Peeps: Enough Peeps are made each year that they could circle the Earth twice.

3 Musketeers Bar: Originally the three layers were chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry nougat. Later the layers were changed to all chocolate.

Tootsie Roll: Tootsie Rolls debuted in 1896, introduced by Leo Hirshfield of New York, who named them after his daughter’s nickname, "Tootsie."

M&Ms: M&M’s were created in response to a dip in summer chocolate sales, and named after their inventors Forrest Mars and Bruce Murray.

Necco Waferst: Necco stands for the New England Confectionery Company.

Milky Way Bar: Frank Mars gave the "Milky Way" formula and $50,000 to his son in 1932, to start his own business—Mars Bars were the result. When Mars bars were exported in 1991 to Russia for the first time they were so popular that they needed to be rationed to 4 bars per person.

Junior Mints: Junior Mints were named after the developer’s favorite Broadway play, "Junior Miss." Both "Junior Miss" and the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis" were based upon the stories of Sally Benson

Posers

Posers

Well the month is October, and Halloween is soon to be here-> Night of Masks. So what better month then this to write a blog entry on “Posers” (one who projects themselves, and their life as something it is not).

The way I see it being a Poser’s can be used in a selfless way, or it can be used to harm others.
I wonder sometimes who all the bloggers in the world really are? The politicians, Religious leaders? Are they really whom they project out to the world to see? I know for myself my blog, and poetry writing is a vessel for me. Through writing I portray a life that I would love to have but in reality it’s just is not true. I truly wish that happiness, and security was a reality for me but it is not.
So why do Posers do what they do? Maybe to make others feel good. So they do not worry about their friend or family member? Or maybe the black side of Posing->Many Politicians tell us what they think we want to hear. Maybe some of them actually believe it could someday be true? Or maybe they just use their "Pose" as a control? That’s a power that Religious leaders, and Politicians have over large groups of people.
Posers are in all parts of our lives; relationships, teachers, & family. So with an election year upon us its time we all here in the USA stop, and take a real look at those who represents US, and makes OUR choices for US. These choices affect everything around us, and the world view of the USA. (Take note of the state of the world view currently)

Our Schools, Church groups...The question one really needs to be asking is who are the people who are the founders of these groups. Are schools really providing an equal education? Are all students given all the information about educational options?? Who in our schools decides, and police’s the social situation in our schools..? Who are these people in public office that work, and decide for us what is right and best. Are the ministers, pastors, rabbi’s, and priests really the upstanding humans’ beings they represent to the world every day? Do they really use our good faith and financial gain to provide for the helpless, needy, and lost souls like they proclaim. In other words do they practice what they preach, and if so where is the documentation? Do they share with the congregations how, and whom benefited from our good faith, and money!!

I have many more questions about Poser’s but I hope at the end of my journey I do not find that all those whom the good people have put their faith in were not all from one collective organization using the goodness and trust of our people for personal gain.

So think about what I have said here or mostly implied.. Something is very wrong in our society very wrong.. I believe the results of this are just now starting to rear its ugly head.

Harvest from RavensWood

Hi to all, Well I am done.. All is well, and all canned, frozen, dried,& baked.. I am SOOooo tried!! But Happy..

A very bad garden year here at Ravenswood. Weather was very strange?? Even my bees had a odd season. I started with three hives mid summer -->two swarmed away. Then I had a swarm come, then another? Then one swarmed away. Then another came? At any rate.... Strange? Not much honey either, not enough for me to feel right about taken any.. So I will have to make do with the remnants from last years honey crop..

The photos above are of my garden treasures in all their glory. Canned goods; apple sauce, green beans, potato's, carrotts, and apple pie filling. I froze Blue berry's, Huckle berry's and Black berry's. I had a good Apple crop the most went to apple sauce.. Yummy!! But I had a small box left over so I made a giant apple pie today --->.. Almost a food group on its own!! I had a small but nice crop of pears too.. I truly love the fall with all its scents and colors, and OH the flavors!!

Sparkling fall leaves to all -->Bee

Hi All, Well the month of October is almost upon us. So I will start off with a blog entry on a symbol of the harvesting fields..

Sparkling candy corn..

Bee

Scarecrow History

The Scarecrow is one of the most familiar figures of the rural landscape not only in the United Kingdom but throughout Europe and many other countries of the world. His ragged figure has been recorded in rural history for centuries. His image has proved irresistible to writers from William Shakespeare to Walter De La Mare as well as to film makers since the dawn of the silent movie. Yet, despite all his fame, the origins and the development of the scarecrow have remained obscured in mystery.

Earliest known written fact about scarecrow's written in 1592.Definition of a scarecrow - That which frightens or is intended to frighten without doing physical harm.Literally that which - scares away crows, hence the name scarecrow.
Decline is due to the change of farming technology started with the industrial revolution. The hectic life of the farmer means that he doesn't have time to even feel the earth or walk it. He sits in his combination machine i.e J.C.B. He is protected against the elements and maybe listening to music. He is high off the ground and the earth and its magical properties are lost in a kind of factory floor.The hedges have gone to make larger areas. Lots of wild life has gone but somehow "The Crow" survives. The farmer of old would once a year sow his land by hand after the land had been lovingly prepared and tended. Now this is all done by machine. The farmer used to discard his old clothes and create a friendly chap and put him to guard his crops. He worked and still does. Farmers of today barely make a Scarecrow. On talking to them young and old still have a love of them. They try electronic ones and pop up balloon types. They are still trying to find an answer! The birds soon get wise to these. I believe if the Scarecrow is going to do his job he has to have a mystical feel about him.

A Poem By Barbara Euphan Todd

Ye Scairey-crows of dry-land,

Your little fields have bounds,

Come sail with me and you shall see,

The sun upon his rounds.

The sea-flowers bloom year out,year in,

The Plough is in the sky.

As you sail, as you sail,

And the time goes passing by,

And you will forget the fields you knew

As the times goes passing by.

* A book about scarecrows;

Scarecrow Fact and Fable, Author Peter Haining, Published in 1986 by Robert Hale.

Merry Mabon

Mabon Autumn Equinox, 2nd Harvest,

September 22nd 2008

Mabon, (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) is the Autumn Equinox. The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.





Various other names for this lesser Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, Winter's Night, which is the Norse New Year. At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection.






Symbolism of Mabon: Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance.


Symbols of Mabon: wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty.


Herbs of Maybon: Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, solomon's seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.


Foods of Mabon: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.


Incense of Mabon: Autumn Blend-benzoin, myrrh, and sage. Colors of Mabon: Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, and gold.


Stones of Mabon: Sapphire, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates.


Activities of Mabon: Making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over. Spellworkings of Mabon: Protection, prosperity, security, and self-confidence. Also those of harmony and balance.


Deities of Mabon: Goddesses-Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Pamona and the Muses. Gods-Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man.





Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life.





May your Mabon be memorable, and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing!

Many Hugs Bee

Applesauce Cake

1 cup melted butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups pitted, chopped dates

2 cups raisins

2 cups chopped nuts

3 cups applesauce

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

4 tsp. soda (YES 4 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix butter, sugar and eggs. Add dates, raisins, nuts and applesauce and mix well. Sift flour with soda, cinnamon and cloves, add to applesauce mixture. Add vanilla.

Bake in tube pan at 325 degrees for about 1 hour, or until tested done with toothpick.

ICING (Optional)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine butter, sugar and milk. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool and spread on cake.

The Mystical Absinthe AKA--> Green Fairy

Hi to all, Well I plan on purchasing some of this vintage liquid to have on hand for the hoildays.. So I thought with the recent change on the rulings of the sale of Absinthe in the US. (Currently several authentic absinthes are now available for purchase at liquor stores and bars in the US. This is a major breakthrough, as many brands will follow) I decided I would reaseach it well as I would like to purchase a good imported specimen. So I am underway, and I thought I would share some bits and pieces of information that I have learned.. One thing is that the "Wormwood Society" is based in Seattle, Washington which is very near me... Worm wood--> the magic ingredient..

Absinthe was invented in 1797 by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire. Henri-Louis Pernod opened the first absinthe distillery in Switzerland and then moved to a larger one in Pontarlier, France in 1805. By the 1850's it had become the favorite drink of the upper class. Originally wine based, a blight in 1870's on the vineyards forced manufacturers to base it with grain alcohol. Everyone could now afford it. The bohemian lifestyle embraced it.
The Green Fairy (la fee verte) as it became commonly known, was most popular in France. Most days started with a drink and ended with the "green hour" (l'heure verte) as one or two or more were taken for its aperitif properties. It is interesting to note that it also has aphrodisiac and narcotic properties. Authors and artists were proponents for using it to induce creativity.

Absinthe's popularity soared from 1880 on. Advertisements touted it as being healthful. It was exported to New Orleans and reached the same acclaim in the United States. It was one of the few drinks considered lady-like and women freely enjoyed it in the coffee houses where it was most commonly served. Victorian era men however, found women freely enjoying absinthe distasteful.
In 1905, Jean Lanfray who was very intoxicated, murdered his wife. He supposedly only had two glasses of absinthe but none the less, his trial became known as the "Absinthe Murder". Prohibition movements were underway. Absinthe was singled out as the maddening culprit and became synonymous with alcohol. Experiments started to be conducted often by injecting large doses of the oil of wormwood into animals. Absinthism was named as a disease. On July 25th, 1912, the Department of Agriculture issued Food Inspection 147, which banned absinthe in America, and finally France followed in 1915.
But what is absinthe?


Absinthe is an alcoholic drink made with an extract from wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). It is an emerald green drink which is very bitter (due to the presence of absinthin) and is therefore traditionally poured over a perforated spoonful of sugar into a glass of water. The drink then turns into an opaque white as the essential oils precipitate out of the alcoholic solution (louche).

Simon and Schulter's "Guide to Herbs and Spices" tells us that Henri-Louis Pernod used aniseed, fennel, hyssop, and lemon balm along with lesser amounts of angelica, star anise, dittany, juniper, nutmeg, and veronica. These ingredients were macerated together with wormwood plants. After leaving the mixture to sit, water was added and the mixture was distilled. Dried herbs, including more wormwood, were added to the distillate, which was then diluted with alcohol to give a concentration of about 75% alcohol by volume. Different absinthe manufacturers used slightly different ingredients, sometimes using calamus, which has been purported to have psychoactive effects.
In addition to these ingredients, manufacturers sometimes added other ingredients to produce the drinks emerald green color. Normally, this color was due to the presence of chlorophyll from the plants. However, in the event that the product was not properly colored, absinthe makers were known to add things like copper sulfate, indigo, turmeric, and aniline green. Antimony chloride was also used to help the drink become cloudy when added to water. Presumably modern makers of Pernod and absinthe use safer ingredients for their concoctions!

Famous Absinthe drinkers include:

Edouard Manet
Charles Baudelaire
Paul Verlaine
Arthur Rimbaud
Oscar Wilde
Ernest Dowson Edgar Degas

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Vincent Van Gogh
Adolphe Monticelli
Paul Gauguin
Alfred Jarry
Pablo Picasso

Ernest Hemingway

I found a couple of interesting drink recipes I will try..

Jonny Depp did not drink his this way in the Movie he stared in.. "From Hell" . He used the "traditional method" as described above..

The Mint Muse

1 1/2 oz. Lucid Absinthe

2 oz. Pineapple Juice

Muddled Mint Leaves

Lime Wedge

Topped with Sprite or 7-UP
Muddle mint leaves with lime wedge and add Lucid. Add ice and pineapple juice and shake briefly. Top with Sprite or 7-UP and add mint sprig.

Starry Night

2 1/2 oz. Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka

1/2 oz. Lucid Absinthe

1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

Crushed chocolate cookie on rim

Garnish with Chinese Star Anise
In an ice filled shaker, add the vodka, Lucid, and simple syrup. Shake thoroughly and strain into the chocolate crumb-rimmed martini glass. Add the Chinese star anise.

Last Flowers of Summer

Hi to all, I took a few snap shots of the blooms that are left in my flower gardens. I love flowers so.. I am always sad when they fade away at summers end. But the wheel must turn and I have the fall colors to look forward to, then soon after the sparkling snow of winter. We can always dream of the spring which will rise again sooner than we think.. I hope your summer was as lovely as mine was..

Much sunshine to all, from this last bit of summer .

Bee

Mermaids

I love this.. Some sparkling friends of mine love Mermaids.. So I had to blog some stories and lore...

Hugs Bee

The following mermaid poem was written in 1830.

The Mermaid

WHO would be A mermaid fair, Singing alone, Combing her hair, Under the sea, In a golden curl, With a comb of pearl, On a throne?

II.

I would be a mermaid fair;I would sing to myself the whole of the day;With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair; And still as I comb’d I would sing and say,“Who is it loves me? who loves not me?”I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall, Low adown, low adown, From under my starry sea-bud crown Low adown and around, And I should look like a fountain of gold Springing alone With a shrill inner sound, Over the throne In the midst of the hall; Till that great sea-snake under the sea From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps Would slowly trail himself seven fold Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate With his large calm eyes for the love of me. And all the mermen under the sea would feel their immortality die in their hearts for the love of me.

III.

But at night I would wander away, away, I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks, And lightly vault from the throne and play with the mermen in and out of the rocks; We would run to and fro, and hide and seek, On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea. But if any came near I would call, and shriek, And adown the steep like a wave I would leap From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells; For I would not be kiss’d by all who would list, Of the bold merry mermen under the sea; They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me, In the purple twilights under the sea; But the king of them all would carry me, woo me, and win me, and marry me, In the branching jaspers under the sea;Then all the dry pied things that be In the hueless mosses under the sea would curl round my silver feet silently, all looking up for the love of me. And if I should carol aloud, from aloft all things that are forked, and horned, and soft would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea, All looking down for the love of me.

*~*

The oldest form of the mermaid in mermaid mythology is the goddess Atargatis from Syria. A famous statue of Atargatis shows her as a woman from the waist up and a fish from there down. All sea goddesses inherit the sea's qualities. Just as the sea could be gentle and nurturing or violent and deadly, so could they. These are the same contradictory qualities we see in mermaids to this day: beautiful, cruel, tender, loving, destroying, etc. In a larger sense this is man's view of nature. The mermaid, a fantastic creature, is nature herself.


Mermaids in Celtic myths are always beautiful and usually friendly, even helpful to sailors and fishermen. However, when pushed, they can reveal an ugly side. In Scotland, they tell the story of the Knockdolion family who had a large house on the shore near Girvan. At night, a mermaid would come out of the water and sit on a large black rock. There she would comb her long blond hair and sing for hours. The lady of the Knockdolions felt that this serenade was annoying her baby, and ordered her servants to destroy the rock with heavy mallets. When the mermaid returned the next night and saw her favorite seat was gone, she sang:

Ye may think on your cradle--I'll think on my stane; And there'll never be an heir to Knockdolion again."
("Stane" means stone.)

Not long after, the baby's cradle was found overturned, and the baby dead beneath it. All the Knockdolion children died like this soon after they were born and the family became extinct. Celtic myths of destructive mermaids are not common but there are several.

Celtic Mythology: Ruad and the Mermaids

The British Isles, like Greece, have a strong bond with the sea. Celtic mythology is therefore full of stories of sea monsters, sea gods and of course mermaids. Ruad, a prince of Ireland, was crossing the sea to Norway in a fleet of three small ships. Suddenly, Ruad's ships stopped in the middle of the water and would not move. Ruad ordered his men to wait for him, and he dived into the water. Under each boat he found three beautiful women holding them fast. When the women saw him, they grabbed him and took him down to their land beneath the sea.
Notice the repetition of the number three. Three is a magic number in Celtic mythology.
He remained with them for nine days (nine is three times three), but wished to escape to his own world. He told them he was sad and missed his brother. He had been on his way to visit him when the women caught him. The women said that once he returned to the surface he would never want to come back, and refused for that reason to let him go. Ruad argued that if they really loved him they should trust him. Finally, they agreed to let him go if he promised to return. He gladly made the promise and left.
Returning to his ships he continued his journey to Norway and spent seven years with his brother. Finally, the day came when he had to return to Ireland. Of course he did not want to return to the land under the waves. He decided to leave at night and take the fastest boats he could find to outwit the sea women.
Under the sea, unknown to Ruad, one of the women he had slept with had had a son. When the women discovered that Ruad meant to break his promise, they took the child and headed after him in a bronze boat. This boat was very fast and began to catch up to Ruad. He ordered his men to row as fast as they could, but still he despaired of reaching Ireland again. However, luck was with him. Just as the bronze boat was about to come up to his, he reached land and jumped ashore. The women were angry beyond words. The boy's mother took Ruad's son and killed him, and threw his head on the beach. There were terrible screams of horror. From that time since that area has been known as Inber-n-Aillbine - the bay of the Awful Scream. This is the naming of names in Celtic mythology, an explanation of how a place came to have it's name.
The women turned their bronze boat out to sea and vanished forever over the horizon. According to Celtic mythology, Ruad returned to his kingdom but he was never brave enough to cross the sea again.

Celtic Mermaid Aine

The Goddess Aine has three forms: a mermaid, a young woman and a hag. As a Celtic mermaid she lives at the bottom of Lough Gur (Enchanted Lake). As a young woman she is a powerful creative goddess, who made the fairy people and gave life to the earth. As a hag she defends her realm under the lake.
One day, the Earl of Desmond found Aine in her Celtic mermaid form combing her hair by the lake. He sneaked up on her and stole her magic cloak, which put her in his power. (Compare this part of the story to "The Celtic Mermaid Wife" ) She agreed to bear the Earl a son in exchange for her freedom. This boy grew up to be exceptional in every way, once jumping into and out of a bottle. Later, due to a curse, he was condemned to spend eternity under the lake with his mother.
It is said that once every seven years Lough Gur dries up and you can see the sacred tree at the bottom of it. The tree is guarded by Aine in her hag form, while she knits the fabric of life. A man on horseback once tried to steal her cloth, but Aine made the waters of the lake retrieve the cloth, and a part of the horse as well.
The King of the Gold Mines was once accused of adultery by his wife-to-be because he was given a present by Aine. In her Celtic mermaid form she has made a likeness of him out of magic seaweed. The story ends tragically when the king is killed and his betrothed dies of grief. Mermaid Aine changed the lovers into two palm trees that grow together.

Lore of the Banshee

Hi to all, Well with summer nearing its end, and the harvest is well underway--> Which is my favorite time of year. I thought I would start with a bit of lore about the legendary "BANSHEE".

Also I have felt like this mystical being here lately and maybe on occasion looked like her to some??? So please enjoy the tids and bits about the elusive Banshee...

Sparkles Bee

The Banshee from the Irish; "Bean sí " usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld.

Her Scottish counterpart is the "Bean shìth" (also spelled bean-shìdh). Both meaning "Woman of the fairy mounds" or "Woman of peace".
In Irish legend, a banshee wails around a house if someone in the house is about to die. There are particular families who are believed to have banshees attached to them, and whose cries herald the death of a member of that family. Traditionally, when a citizen of an Irish village died, a woman would sing a lament (in Irish: caoineadh, or "caoin" meaning "to weep, to wail") at their funeral. These women singers are sometimes referred to as "keeners" and the best keeners would be in much demand. Legend has it that, for five great Gaelic families: the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, and the Kavanaghs. The lament ( a expression of grief) would be sung by a fairy woman; having foresight, she would sing the lament when a family member died, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come, so that the wailing of the banshee was the first warning the household had of the death.

In Old Gaelic legend, music and poetry were said to be fairy gifts and poetry were said to be fairy gifts and the possession of these was said to show a fatal kinship with the 'Duine Shee', or people of the spirit race. Carolan, the great Irish harper - (so runs the story) - obtained some of the wildest and most beautiful music through hearing the fairy harpers play while lying asleep in the moonlight on a fairy mound.

The Banshee is believed to be an unearthly attendant on the ancient families of Ireland, the true descendants of the noble Gaelic race - those who have the Mac and O to their names - for:
By Mac and O You'll always know True Irishmen they say'. But if they lack The O and Mac, No Irishmen are they'. And the families with the old names of the chieftains of the Gaels, such as the O'Neills, the O'Donnells, the O'Connors, the O'Learys, the O'Tools and the O'Connaghs, each had their banshee whose cry, when heard by any of them, was a forewarning of death.
In Ireland, those persons who have the gifts of music and song are, it is said, watched over by the spirits; one the Spirit of Life, which is prophecy, such persons are said to be 'fey' and to have the gift of the second sight; the other, the Spirit of Doom, which is the reveler of secrets of misfortune and death, and for this dread messenger another name is the Banshee.
The wail of the Banshee is a peculiarly mournful sound that resembles the melancholy sound of the hollow wind, and having the tone of the human voice, and is distinctly audible at a great distance.
She is usually presented as a small though beautiful maiden, dressed in the fashion of Ireland's early ages who, with her mournful and melancholy cry, bewails the misfortune about to fall on the family she loves.
It has been stated by some writers that the Banshee was actuated by a feeling inimic to the person lamented. This, however was not the opinion of the people of an earlier day in Ireland.
Their belief was that the Banshee was the friend of the family she followed, that she at one period enjoyed life and walked the earth in the light and shadow of loveliness and immortality.
The very fact of the unearthly creatures always crying their sweet, sad song of sorrow at some misfortune bears this out, for if otherwise than a friend, why should her song not be one of rejoicing instead of lamentation? When the caoine of the Banshee was heard in the vicinity of the house of any old Gaelic family, it was at once felt that misfortune or death awaited some member of it.
Instances have been quoted of every member of a family having been in vigorous health when the cry of the Banshee was first heard, but before a week had elapsed someone had been accidentally drowned or killed or had met sudden death in some fashion.
It is well to remember that the Banshee belongs exclusively to the Celtic race. She is never heard bewailing the approaching demise of any member of the other races composing the population of Ireland.
An old Irish poem refers to the appearance of the Banshee in the morning:
'Hast thou heard the Banshee at morn, Passing by the silent lake, Or walking the fields by the orchard? Alas! that I do not rather behold White garlands in the hall of my fathers.

'while it is on record that the Banshee has been heard at noon, she is, however, rarely seen or heard by daylight. Night is the time generally chosen by her for her visits to mortals:
The Banshee mournful wailsIn the midst of the silent, lonely, lonely night,Plaining, she sings the song of death

A great chamber that overhangs the wild Atlantic waves, in the old ruined castle of Dunluce, where it sits on its rock above the green sea water of the Antrim coast, is said to be the home of the Banshee of the O'Donnells.
Here winter nights, through the old dark roofless ruin above the roar of the great storms, that come raging down from the far north, may be heard, it is said, the weird cry of the Banshee lamenting for the fallen fortunes of the great house, and for Ireland's want through her bitter loss - the scattered Chieftains of the Gael.

By Lough Neagh's shore, hard by Edenduff-Carrick, the Black Brow of the Rock, the ruined walls of the O'Neill's Castle still sit above the grey lake water where once in all his pride of power and ownership dwelt one of Ireland's most power Chieftains, the great O'Neill.
Here, from time immemorial, when any misfortune threatened one of the grand old race, the cry of the Banshee of the O'Neills would be heard throughout dark woods of Coile Ultagh away over the grey waters of Lough Neagh, and along the walls of the old castle echoing in the great vaults underneath and wailing over the graves of the great O'Neills.
Maeveen was the name that was on the Banshee of the O'Neills. She was some times seen as well as heard, and the form she usually assumed was that of a very old woman with long white locks falling down over her thin shoulders.
The Banshee was also very shy of encountering the eye of a mortal. The slightest human sound borne on the breeze of twilight drove her from sight and caused her to disappear like a thing of the mist.
Moore, in his beautiful song, asks:'How oft has the Banshee criedHow oft has death untied,Bright links that glory move,Sweet bonds entwined by love.'
One of the strangest Banshee stories of all had its beginning in Dublin - at 2.30 am on 6th August, 1801, when Lord Rossmore, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in Ireland, died at his home.
The evening before he had attended a vice-regal party in Dublin Castle. To the people he met there, including Sir Jonah and Lady Barrington, he seemed in the best of health, and stayed at the party until near midnight. Before leaving, he invited the Barringtons to join a party he was holding in his house at Mount Kennedy, Co Wicklow. In fact for a man of his background and position, he had spent a fairly ordinary evening - one that seemed to contain no hint at all of the strange things to come.
At two o'clock in the morning, Sir Jonah Barrington awoke and heard what were described as 'plaintive sounds' coming from outside the window, from a grass plot underneath it. He was to remember the Banshee-like sounds all his life. Lady Barrington heard the sounds, too, and so did a maid. Finally, at 2.30 am., Barrington heard a voice call 'Rossmore! Rossmore! Rossmore! and then there was silence. Next day, the Barringtons were told that Lord Rossmore was dead. His servant had heard strange sounds coming from his room, and rushing in, found him dying. He died at 2.30 am.
'Lord Rossmore was dying at the moment I heard his name pronounced', Sir Jonah wrote later.
It was a most terrifying experience from Sir Jonah. To the Irish staff, however, it was no mystery, for they knew it was the Banshee Barrington had heard.