My new Lil Friend

Meet the newest addition here at the bee - charmers cottage..

May I introduce.....

"Half Moon FudderWagon"

Below he is doing his best impression of " The Incredible Mr. Limpet" in his most unusual home.

A great find for me on eBay some years ago...

MY SPARKLING BEE

GOT MY BEE BRACELET FINALLY!!

Happy Valentines day

Few folk have seen a Fairy,
But I found this one for you.
If you believe with all your might
She'll make your dreams come true

Happy Valentines Day to All

GO ASK ALICE ?

WOO---- WHOoooo I have been waiting for this movie and did it deliver......

3d -->>>Yippee great choice Tim !!! As for Depp? A man after my own heart!!!

three thumbs up Captain!!

Now I await -->>>> Dark Shadows!! One of the next Depp /Burton re- creations!!

Hugs

B.

A Merry Valentines Day to all

Hearts sparkling pink and red,
Ribbons made from a silk worms bed. Fairy lace made with care,
Sending love throughout the air.
Fairy hearts are always true,
That’s why I will remember you...

A "Sunny" Christmas

Hi blog readers; This entry is late, but I had to post it this is my Sunny, what a happy Boy he is at Christmas..!!! Hope this works??

Hugs

B.

My Silly Sunny Loves Christmas !!!! Watching him is a treat!!!

Finding Spring

Rose

Red Current

Bleeding heart


Crocus


I went on a" In search of----> Spring" journey, two days ago .
Took a couple of quick picks of some renewed life..
Ahhhhhh. I love this time of year everything feels so clean and smells so fresh... Something like a treasure hunt.

Along with those pictured I also saw rhododendrons pushing bud, white willows with fuzzy cat kins, red elderberry's trees pushing out leaves, red huckleberry's working on buds, most of my lilies, and Iris are popping up their green heads & lots of crocus. My bee's even took a peek out of the hive to catch a little sun as well!!

Oh, and yes I have already planted tomato seeds in the green house nursery ,and a few cucumber seeds just for good measure. I recently put in a small propane heater in the greenhouse so it keep it nice and warm...


Oh speaking of green house activities.. I have " For-Get -Me Knots flowers in bloom !!

Blessed Be
:-)

Its Sparkling 2010

To everyone one both far, and near I wish you all a very "Happy New Year" !!!

Hugs

Bee

Thank You All for the 20,000 Views

Wow, Again I can not believe the response to my blog..

I also want to apologize for being lax the last 7 months.. I have had so much physical work to do here on my property I have been just tired out... I have come a long way to completing projects outdoors and my list keeps getting shorter.. So that is good news for the new year.. Still some things to do and to finish, but that's OK--> I see light at the end of the tunnel .. I am not getting any younger, and I feel age creeping in to my bones with every month that passes so bear with me. :-=)

Many hugs to all

And Thanx

Bee

A Very Merry Christmas to All...

Silence in the woods today,
A cool crisp breeze blows the fall leaves away.

A sparkle in the the sky I see,
Then another floating right by me.
Tis the first snow of the year you see,
That leaves these woods a glow.

So the fairy's of the Fairy Knowel
can awake to fresh fallen snow.

BeeCharmer
Nov 2006

Blessed Be to All

Winter *~* Solstice

Holly leaves, fire shines bright.
Fur bows scent this most wonderful night.
Yule logs burn to renew the sun bright
Blessed be to all who partake in its light.

BeeCharmer 12/2006

Yule-Tide cake

How to Make a Yule Log

Begin by wrapping the log loosely with the ribbon. Leave enough space that you can insert your branches, cuttings and feathers under the ribbon. In our house, we place five feathers on our Yule log – one for each member of the family. Once you’ve gotten your branches and cuttings in place, begin gluing on the pine cones, cinnamon sticks and berries. Add as much or as little as you like. Remember to keep the hot glue gun away from small children.
Once you’ve decorated your Yule log, the question arises of what to do with it. For starters, use it as a centerpiece for your holiday table. A Yule log looks lovely on a table surrounded by candles and holiday greenery.
Another way to use your Yule log is to burn it as our ancestors did so many centuries ago. In our family, before we burn our log we each write down a wish on a piece of paper, and then insert it into the ribbons. It’s our wish for the upcoming year, and we keep it to ourselves in hopes that it will come true.
If you have a fireplace, you can certainly burn your Yule log in it, but we prefer to do ours outside. We have a fire pit in the back yard, and on the night of the winter solstice .

Yule log cake

The Yule log is a traditional feature of most winter solstice celebrations. In addition to making one you can burn in your fireplace, why not whip together a tasty chocolate one for dessert? This super-easy recipe uses a boxed cake mix as its base, and can be put together ahead of time for your Yule celebration dinner. Chill overnight for easy slicing the next day.

Ingredients:
• 1 box chocolate cake mix, along with ingredients as called for
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. instant coffee granules
• 1 stick butter
• 16 oz. semi-sweet baker's chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Spearmint leaf jelly candies
• Cinnamon red hots
• Mini marshmallows & chocolate kisses (optional)
Preparation:
Prepare the cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, pour the batter out onto the paper, and spread until it reaches the edges. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until cake is firm and springy - be sure you don't over bake it!
Allow cake to cool in pan for ten minutes, then invert it onto a cloth towel dusted with powdered sugar. Peel off the parchment paper. Roll the cake up inside the cloth towel, starting with one of the short sides. Let the rolled-up cake cool completely on a wire rack.
While the cake cools, mix up the filling. This particular blend is a coffee-flavored variety that I adapted from a tiramasu recipe, but you can replace the coffee with cocoa if you prefer more chocolate. Blend the whipping cream, powdered sugar and coffee granules together to form the filling. Chill until thick and firm. After the cake has completely cooled, gently unroll the cake from the towel. Remove the towel, and spread the filling over one side of the cake, stopping about a half inch from the edge. Roll the cake back up -- this should be easy, since it cooled in a rolled-up form. Place the cake on a serving platter and allow to chill for a couple of hours.
To make the frosting, melt the butter in a double boiler and then add the chocolate. Once the chocolate has all melted, stir in the heavy cream. Let the icing sit at room temperature until it's a little thick. Spread on the cake, covering the entire roll, and then drag a fork through the icing to create a bark-like appearance on your log.
Add a couple of spearmint leaves and red hots to form clusters of holly on the log. If you'd like to add "mushrooms" to your log, stick a toothpick through a miniature marshmallow, and then poke it into the flat side of a chocolate kiss. Snip off the pointy part of the kiss, and you'll have a small mushroom. Use the toothpick to stick these on top of your log.
If you're not going to serve immediately, wrap the cake in loose plastic and refrigerate overnight. Allow the cake to sit out for about an hour before slicing.

Yummy Wassail

Wassail was originally a word that meant to greet or salute someone -- groups would go out wassailing on cold evenings, and when they approached a door would be offered a mug of warm cider or ale. Over the years, the tradition evolved to include mixing eggs with alcohol and aspiring the crops to ensure fertility. While this recipe doesn't include eggs, it sure is good, and it makes your house smell beautiful for Yule.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 Gallon apple cider
• 2 C. cranberry juice
• 1/2 C honey
• 1/2 C sugar
• 2 oranges
• Whole cloves
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• Allspice
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• 3 cinnamon sticks (or 3 Tbs. ground cinnamon)
• 1/2 C - 1 C brandy (optional)

Preparation:

Set your crockpot to its lower setting, and pour apple cider, cranberry juice, honey and sugar in, mixing carefully. As it heats up, stir so that the honey and sugar dissolve. Stud the oranges with the cloves, and place in the pot (they'll float). Add the diced apple. Add allspice, ginger and nutmeg to taste -- usually a couple of tablespoons of each is plenty. Finally, snap the cinnamon sticks in half and add those as well.
Cover your pot and allow to simmer 2 - 4 hours on low heat. About half an hour prior to serving, add the brandy if you choose to use it.

Happy Christmas

Christmas is so very near,
I’m just in time to wish my friends dear,
A holiday with sparkling joy, and fairy hugs,
I wish peace to all with all my love.

Yuletide in the fairy garden

Hi All, I got my fairy garden deer up this past week.. I must say it is lovely to behold at night.. Yule will truly be bright and beautiful this year!! I also splurged and got the muti colored star lights for my windows this year I usually have white icicles lights but i just wanted color this year!! I am decorating the tree today while I watch the harry potter marathon on TV...

Happy Christmas!!

Happy ThanksGiving

More magical surprises at RavensWood

Byrum has done it again! Although I thought he had retired to his village in RootUnder for the winter seasonal festivities. Behold here he is working his magic to astound me with the most special surprises ever.. Magic mushrooms!!!

Sparkling fall leaves

Bee

The Matriarch

In your eyes I see your life story, As you wore it like a weight.
No longer will you need to carry us,
as you are free at last from these mortal binds.
Soar my dear grandmother, soar to the beauty that lies ahead for you..

I loved you so..

RIP

11-20-2009

Christmas is Near...

Hi to all, I had to have these very bright crystal deer silhouettes. I had to set them up in my living room.. I am going to put them on the rocks in my fairy garden it should light the area very nicely!! The Buck looks magical.... Hopefully it stops raining so I can prepare the spot for them.

Hugs Bee

Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff

Hi to all , I had to do a post on this artist... I was mesmerized by his vision.. Hubby found this vintage print at a yard sale. So I had to research the artist.. How interesting of a journey it was.. Title;

Chinese Girl

Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff

1913-2006

Although Tretchikoff spent his early years in China, this portrait was painted in Cape Town. The model is a member of the small Chinese community there. Possibly the best known of all Tretchikoff's paintings. Lithographs of this painting can be seen in all corners of the world. Artist’s Collection, 1950’s First Hand Tretchikoff Print. This print has been produced to the highest quality under the artist’s personal supervision and is accompanied by a signed Certificate of Authentication.


To know his work is to understand an artist who became a phenomenon. A man who never compromised because he was being lead by an all-encompassing drive to do what he loved, to paint. Even in the face of adversity, he continued to pursue his passion, unashamedly.

Tretchikoff was a self-taught artist who painted realistic figures, portraits, still life and animals, with subjects often inspired by his early life in China and Malaysia, and later life in South Africa. Tretchikoff's work was immensely popular with the general public, but is often seen by art critics as the epitome of kitsch (indeed, he was nicknamed the "King of Kitsch"). He worked in oil, watercolour, ink, charcoal and pencil but is best known for his reproduction prints which sold worldwide in huge numbers. The reproductions were so popular that it was said Tretchikoff was second only to Picasso in his popularity

He quickly became famous in South Africa thanks to a book that collected his portraits of Oriental women and pictures of flowers, and held successful exhibitions in Cape Town and Johannesburg. His fame spread to the United States, where the Rosicrucians of San Jose invited him to launch an American tour. Around 19,000 people saw his show in Los Angeles and 51,000 in San Francisco. In Seattle, a rival show which included Picasso and Rothko sold fewer tickets, to Tretchikoff’s satisfaction. A million Americans finally saw his paintings, which then went on to Canada with equal success. This was followed by a large exhibition in 1961 at Harrods in London where he decided that the Harrod's art gallery was too small. He requested and was granted the privilege of having his exhibition in the ground-floor exhibition space. About 205,000[3] people attended the exhibition and one of his British admirers, Leslie Rigall, bought ten paintings and designed his new house in Windsor Great Park around them.

His famous Chinese Girl, a 1950 painting featuring an Eastern model with blue-green skin, is one of the best selling prints of all time. Prints of the painting became widespread during the 1960s and 1970s, and the painting was featured in various plays and television programmes: the original set of Alfie, with a drawn moustache in one episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus and an episode of Doctor Who.

Other popular paintings of oriental figures were Miss Wong and Balinese Girl. He said of British prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Markova, who sat for The Dying Swan, that she was his most stimulating sitter.

The treats and things that glow in the night

Hi to all, Well with the moon was almost full. Samhain was truly a beautiful eve... A bit of rain but not much, the moon played tag with the clouds and made for a wonderful evening... No ghost hunting... But I will on the full moon...

Sparkling sugar cookies..

Bee

Blessed be to all this Samhain

The moons a-glow, with golden rings. The night is still, but the raven’s wing. The winds are chilled in the quest of spring. The cauldron swells with fog to mark twilight. Let the balefires burn in celebration this Samhain night. By BeeCharmer Oct 2

Classic Horror Movies

Hi to all, I am doing a tribute to the classic horror film in this blog entry.

Four of "MY" favorites anyway..

Do you remember these...??

Creature from the Black Lagoon;
Release date ; 5 March 1954

Director: Jack Arnold

Plot; A scientific expedition traveling up the Amazon River encounter a dangerous humanoid amphibious fish creature

Richard Denning ... Dr. Mark Williams

Richard Carlson ... Dr. David Reed

Julie Adams ... Kay Lawrence (as Julia Adams)

Antonio Moreno ... Carl Maia

Nestor Paiva ... Captain Lucas

Whit Bissell ... Dr. Edwin Thompson

THEM;

Director: Gordon Douglas
19 June 1954
Nominated for Oscar

Plot ; The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.

James Whitmore ... Ben Peterson, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon ... James Arness ... Robert Graham, Onslow Stevens ... Sean McClory ... Chris Drake ... Sandy Descher ... Mary Alan Hokanson ... Don Shelton ... Fess Parker

Bride of Frankenstein;
Director: James Whale

Release Date ; 22 April 1935

Plot; Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein (goaded by an even madder scientist) builds his monster a mate.

Boris Karloff; the monster

Elsa Lanchester; the bride

The Invisable Man;

Director:James Whale

H.G. Wells (novel)
A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.

Claude rains; The Invisable man

Gloria Stuart; Flora Cranley

Crows & Ravens

The Raven, is a bird which appears in world mythology as a soothsayer, an omen of death and as a creator and cleanser, taking away all that was decayed. Full of intelligence, cunning, and playfulness, the Raven was seen as a guardian among the tribes of North America, a creature whose far-seeing eye saw past, present, and future all at once. For the Algonquin peoples, Crow was the bringer of grains and beans. In the Ghost Dances, which are danced to solicit the help of their ancestors, Crow is a primary spirit messenger.Ravens & Crows have an intricate and detailed history in Celtic lore and legend. The Irish battle goddesses, Morrigan, and Badbh, regularly took the shape of crows, and both crows and ravens were their allies and companions.



In Scottish folklore, the Crow is said to have 27 different cries (a magical 3 times 9), each of which relates to a different event. These oracular cries can foretell the coming of important guests, an impending loss or death, or the coming of good fortune, a complete body of lore was built up from listening to the varied calls of the crows, which has the ability to mimic many kinds of sounds as well as to communicate with its own kind. When there is a molmacha (flock of crows), all crying together, it is said that no one but the most wise seer in the land can understand their words.



The raven is also the subject of a most famous poem that has lived through the ages..

The Raven
Poem by Edgar Allen Poe (1845)



Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore-
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door;-
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering,
fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"-
Merely this, and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore-
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;-
'Tis the wind and nothing more."
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and
flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed
he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door-
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door-
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no
craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore-
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door-
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."
But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered-
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown
before-
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore-
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never- nevermore'."
But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and
door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore-
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee- by these angels he
hath sent thee
Respite- respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!- prophet still, if bird or
devil!-
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore-
Is there- is there balm in Gilead?- tell me- tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil- prophet still, if bird or
devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us- by that God we both adore-
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore-
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked,
upstarting-
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my
door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the
floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted- nevermore!