{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - Amanda Soule

A ceremony for moving forward, written for a friend~

Our path is set, our vision clear,

As this time of great change draws ever near,

We have pin pointed the place(s) that we wish to be,

Though are open to that which we cannot see,

Let Career be the vehicle that leads the way,

And with our hearts fulfilled, all fear falls away,

I will go first, and I will soon follow,

And as each dream is realized, we will fill that left hollow,

From city to suburb, apartment to home,

In this new place of being we shall make it our own,

As the leaves fall to winter, and the winds give way to spring,

A new life into this family we will be ready to bring,

So we send thanks to each light that has touched us this far,

And acknowledge that you were there to guide us on our journey and forever raise the bar,

Our love be the center from which this spell is cast,

And with that comes forth our future let the past be now past…

To be repeated thrice together

Needs:

Matches - you will each need three

Fire proof bowl – for center to burn your written aspirations/dreams/map

Map – to mark where you wish to go

Sage
Candles
o Black: Black candles, which are ruled by Saturn, can be potent in all forms of banishing magic, for leaving behind old sorrows and redundant relationships, for acknowledging grief and for rituals of parting. Black, like brown, is the color of acceptance, whether of a restriction or of the frailties of self or others, and so it is a candle color of forgiveness. Black is another earth color, containing both male and female energies. Rituals using these candles are best practiced on a Saturday. Use with jet, obsidian, tourmaline and onyx.
o Blue: Primary spiritual color; for rituals to obtain wisdom, harmony, inner light, or peace; confers truth and guidance.

o Orange: Creativity, ability to speak one's mind, ambition, career matters and the Law, self-confidence. Solar color and also stands for Leo
o Emerald Green: Important component in Venusian rituals; attracts love, social delights, and fertility.

o Purple: Power, success, idealism, psychic manifestations; ideals for rituals to secure ambitions, independence, financial rewards, or to make contact with the spiritual other world; increases Neptune energy.
Sea Salt-Pour a circle of sea salt around the center space In the living room large enough for you both to sit inside it facing each other.

To Cast a Circle-

We cast this circle in trust and love.

As we call forth guidance from above.

Nothing unbidden shall enter here.

No unwanted spirits, shadows, or fear.

Together we will hold this space of wisdom and light.

For the ceremony to take place this very night.

As we step within the circle may our own worries fall away.

As they have no place here and it is our will to say,

By the elements of Air, Fire, and the Sea,

As I will it so shall it be.

{this moment}

(My beautiful funny freckle faced girl)

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - Amanda Soule

We have Eggs People!!!

On Saturday morning at about 9 o'clock our beloved Penelope was the first of our ladies to lay and egg!

As you can see she's a humble mama and just went on about her day as soon as she gave us this amazing gift.

We couldn't have been more proud of her and Raine made sure to sneak her a few extra treats. 

The egg was a beautiful golden brown and was the size of a petunia.

Since then our sweet Penny has also started to lay and we are up to 5 eggs!  Too say that it has been an exciting week would be a major understatement.  Coming soon...Rainey Day Farm Eggs from our coop to you...

Mother Natures Fury~

We had the mother of all storms sweep through Duanesburg while I was at work on a few weeks back. It managed to drop 2 1/2 inches od rain in a half hour and declutter some serious trees!  Upon arriving home Raine and I immediately noticed one of our neighbors tree had been assasinated and lay bent and broken on the ground.  It was a big and beautiful old tree that was home to a rustic wooden swing that our neighbors grown children used to swing on when they were just little ones.

I'll admit I got a little teary when we saw it all bent and broken.  It's so sad when something that holds so much history and memory falls back into the earth so suddenly. I find this to be true for all living things.

The Lavish Lunchbox

As we draw closer to the first day of school this year and I once again find myself pouring through websites and cookbooks for inspiration, I am inspired to do a little showcase of my own creations in this department. I used to be quite diligent about keeping track of all Raine's lavish lunchboxes, but in recent years have gotten too busy to bother to take any pictures before shipping them off in her backpack.   I will admit that last year we fell into to the all too familiar rut of lunchbox repeats, a sort of groundhogs day nightmare of the same ingredients and display day after day turning into week after week.  This year my friends will be different!  I hereby declare that from this day forth I shall aspire to be creative in my lunchbox creations, vibrant in my viable vegetable options, festive with fresh fruit, extravagant with edible artistry, and warrior like in my quest to keep things not only appealing to the young palate, but healthy and fun for even the finickiest of eaters!  I have decided to document this and bring you all along for the ride with a weekly "What's for Lunch" Wednesday post starting in September.  I hope to that all you moms out their will chime in from time to time on what you do in your families to keep things funky and fresh!  So without further ado here are some of my masterpieces of the past...

 

Please note that we have gotten a lot healthier since then so you will see a lot more whole grains and fresh ingredients and lot less of the packaged and processed.

(You've got to love the Snowman Salad)

(The Candy Cane Pasta rocked her world)

View from the Farm...

Our beautiful and unexpected rooster Silkie

How to properly share a window seat...

Lovely Violas

Free Range Ladies...

{this moment}

(Our monster Tomato Plant!  P.S. Raine's happy about it too just tired of mom taking pictures :P)

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - Amanda Soule

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - Amanda Soule

Light Lunch...

Raine and I decided to have a fancy lunch on saturday just for fun.  You should have seen her eyes light up when I handed her the plate.  Jazzed up maple and brown sugar barbecue drumsticks with a side of homemade potato salad!  Yum!