Spring Clean )O(

Finished Paint Job

 

Merry meet all,

Today’s post is  about how I was inspired to spring clean in the biggest way. This weekend I completed a BIG project. I have wanted to paint the bathroom for the longest time. Now I finally did it.

The bathroom was such an eyesore. The bathroom desperately needed it. I am not talking about a deep cleaning, no, I mean a paint job to enhance and upscale the bathroom. That meant it would take some serious elbow grease. But I was up to the task. 

I did clean the bathroom first. I removed the hooks, photos, seashells, litter box, curtains, shelving stands etc., everything that needed to be moved. I scrubbed every inch of the bathroom. Like seriously clean. I had to in order for the paint job to work. Then I gathered up my painting supplies – paint tray, roller brushes, a paintbrush, cans of paint, cleaning rags, everything I would need. My cat Penny stayed with my Mom for the duration of the project. 

I began with a coat of white primer. I got the primer paint into every nook and cranny and all over the walls. I even almost painted the ceiling. Once I had finished the coat of primer, I stood back and surveyed the bathroom. It almost totally looked better. That night I painted more primer on the baseboards, wainscoting and trim. I also patched holes with the caulking. I tried to seal as many holes and cracks as I could with the caulking glue. It looked so much better. I was exhausted that night. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day I drank some coffee and got to work on the first paint job with the beige paint. I edged the mirror frames and the towel holders with green painters tape. I love love painters tape. I made sure the walls were clean and painted the walls beige. It was so much work. I used a roller brush for the first time and I love roller brushes. I only had the basic necessities in the bathroom – toilet paper, a face cloth which ended up being used to get paint or caulking off my hands. I wore a casual outfit I would not want to be seen in but that I would not mind if paint got on it which did happen. Yes the drop cloth was useless. I put newspaper down on the floor.

Also during this time, I damaged something in the toilet tank. I had to find a quick way to fix it. I knew my landlord would never fix it. He turned off the heat again and my Mom emailed him. Soon after, the heat was restored. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is late spring here, mid- April but it is still cold. I was so sore and exhausted by the time I was done. I also could not have showers in the bathroom so my aching muscles ached more. My bedroom was full of the stuff that was usually stored in the bathroom. I felt a bit like I was camping out in my own apartment. But it was slowly coming together. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I visited my Mom to see my cat. She missed me and while my cat stayed with her, Penny hissed at my Mom 5 times. I think that was Penny’s way of saying she missed me. But the bathroom went from bland to beautiful in a short amount of time. That night I went home and made more small touches to the bathroom. I painted the hooks at the bathroom window white. I left the nail in the wall for the painting. That made it easier that once the paint was dry (the 2nd coat) I could just hang the painting. I know it was hard work but the satisfaction I derived from seeing the bathroom come to life made it worth it. On the day of the second and final coat of paint, I was really tired. I really needed to get clean and see my cat.

Still, I didn’t leave the bathroom until I was sure I was done. My roller brush called it quits much to my dismay. The larger roller brush was totally cursed or something because it refused to work for me. I had to do the last stretch of painting using the paint brush. Once I was finally all done, I noticed the beige paint coated the ceiling a few inches out all along the ceiling. I used the white primer paint to touch up the ceiling edges and make it look neat and clean. By this time, I was thoroughly exhausted and sweaty. I was able to have a hot soak at my Mom’s and shortly after a hot meal, Penny and I returned home. I worried she would get her claws on the walls or that the walls would be covered in her fur in no time at all. But no, it’s all ok. I stood in the bathroom and marvelled at the amazing change. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I let the paint to dry and settle for 24 hours then I returned the furniture to the bathroom: the litter box (which I kept in the bathtub) and the two stands. At first, I kept it all away from the wall. Now that the paint has dried more, I added the laundry hamper next to the glass and stainless steel stand. I hung up the shower curtain, returned the blue rug, cleaned up the exterior of the litter box. I folded the now clean blue curtain in half and laid it out on an ironing board. I laid it all down nice and neat and flat. I pinned the lower fabric to the top half of the curtain and hung it up in the bathroom. 

I find myself looking for excuses just to be in the bathroom. I just stand and stare at how much more beautiful it turned out. It stuns me. I believe the beige/ taupe/coffee color totally enhances the bathroom and makes it look fresh and almost ethereal. I thought my black shower curtain would appear out of place but that’s not the case. I cleaned up the now defunct roller brushes, drop cloth, painter tape, newspapers, and whatever else was trash into a black garbage bag and took it to the dumpster. I found a new toothbrush and stocked up on toilet paper. 

I guess the cold white paint of the windowframe is ok. I hung up my bathrobe on the hook and sorted the medicine cabinet closet. I got rid of the garbage and cleaned the vanity below- a little cupboard space. I made everything fresh and clean. I love how the bathroom paint renovation turned out. It’s so beautiful. I took a bath this morning. I swept the floor, cleaned the sink and mirror, and mopped the floor again. 

I hope today’s post inspires you to try refreshing your own home this spring! Upscale! Clean! Upgrade. It’s your home and your life and you deserve it. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

Solar Eclipse

Early spring blossoms

Merry meet all,

The sun is shining so strong today. Everyone all over the world is waiting for the eclipse. It is the biggest thing right now since sliced bread. People are so excited about  it. I wish I had the special eyeglasses for watching the eclipse. 

I’m waiting for the delivery of a package. The package is the textbooks I ordered from the Herbal Academy for the Introductory course. The delivery is taking an extra amount of time for some reason. I have never been the patient type of person. Patience is not my forte. I have to find a special spot on my shelves for the textbooks. 

I am really feeling the energies today. It feels off: my back hurts, the blender didn’t cooperate when I made soup and I feel edgy and irritable. I mean I am usually irritable but today I am more so. That is the eclipse and Mercury retrograde affecting me. 

I bought a book online that looks interesting, titled Old Dark Houses: A Halloween Novel by Tylor James. Speaking of Halloween, I saw the latest Ghostbuster movie Frozen Empire. Do we really need another Ghostbuster movie? No. Now it feels so forced. I enjoyed it but I just fail to see what they are adding to the whole Ghostbuster franchise. I also bought a book titled The Complete Book of Black Magic and Witchcraft. I am sure the black magic book will be a fun read… ahem. I shall not cook up the boys who cry out that I am a Witch at the top of their lungs while riding their bikes, I promise. Witch’s honour. Well, they are not wrong. 

Chives, lemon balm, garlic  and tiger lily sprouts are up in my garden. Spring is here! The next turn in the Wheel of the Year is Beltane. Beltane occurs in May. I shall post more about that in the future. Beltane is the third spring Sabbat and a nice way to usher in the summer season. 

My plants are growing so lovely in my grow light kit. It’s April now. They can be planted out in the next six to eight weeks in the garden. The last frost is in early June. I bought a bag of potato seedlings. I might buy an extra grow bag to hold all the taters. I bought red onion seeds too. I can’t wait to get growing in my garden. The birds chirp their little avian hearts out. They know the nice weather is here, which means food. I made them one last offering of bird suet. I cooked hamburger meat grease, lard, peanut butter, bird seed, bread crumbs, oranges, apple chunks and olive oil. The birds enjoyed every bite. If they ate it, then that extra food wasn’t wasted. I fill their feeder regularly too. 

Enjoy the eclipse! Protect your eyes. Have fun

 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

The eerie cemetery Visit )O(

Merry meet all,

The other day I visited a cemetery. I often like to visit cemeteries and this particular spooky day was perfect for that. It is late March here but early spring. Crocuses are popping up everywhere. However, as you can see in the photo above, my attention was drawn to the misty eeriness of the cemetery. I took several photos of the cemetery situated next to the Public Gardens. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trees stand out from the somber fog. The fog makes the cemetery appear ethereal, like you had crossed a threshold into the Otherworld. The tombstones add to the inescapable feel of death. It creeped me out, being there. When I left, after taking many photos, and I had crossed the threshold of the cemetery, I felt freed of something. Free of death’s grip? Free of the spirits whose icy fingers clung to me, pulling me to join them in their prison? One can only guess. The air felt less heavy when I reached the sidewalk. 

Spring is here. The ground is less frozen and now muddy. Daffodils and crocuses pop up on lawns, greeting spring with their cheery faces. But in that cemetery, Time and Death stood still and held hands. Spring slumbers there yet. 

Personally, I am grateful for spring’s return. I suppose that is due to my restlessness. It is very contradictory. I want to sleep or I feel restless. Spring is change. Spring is fresh new life. Spring ushers in foals, eggs, chicks, hens, neighing horses and shrieking jays. As much as I love the gothic atmosphere of the cemetery, I am a gardener. For the last few weeks, I have tended to my starter herbs and veggies. I take care of them and I have taken good care of my cat, who shares in my eagerness for warmer days. I spied a small bird nest up high in a tree on the nature trail a while ago. 

Winter is hard for my dear cat. I can’t have the screen door open all day for her the way I do in summer. She doesn’t understand that. I can only imagine how bored she is. Lately she has taken to attacking her big bag of cat food. 

Last night, I watched the new Ghostbusters movie: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. I loved it. I was late so I missed the previews and the very beginning of the movie but I sure enjoyed the rest. I would highly recommend anyone who is curious to grab some popcorn and a friend, and go see the movie in theatres. 

The ethereal eeriness of the cemetery is like one last swan song of the dark half of the year before the sun engulfs the world. I am happy to have visited the cemetery to experience the chill of death, the reminder of mortality. I know spring is around the corner, slowly tiptoeing in and soon to kick the darkness to the curb. 

Spooky cemeteries and ghost busting movies! I even got a Batman doll souvenir! I do love theatre popcorn!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

Satanic Armchair )O(

Photo of the Devil’s armchair

 

Merry meet all,

 

https://bizarreandgrotesque.com/2017/06/27/a-brief-history-of-a-satanic-armchair/?page_id=4412

The Museo de Valladolid is a museum in the Spanish city of Valladolid that divides its collection into two sections, archaeology and fine arts. Among the museum’s collection, which spans the history of the city, you can find Roman coins, Renaissance-era paintings, and a 16th century chair associated with the Devil. “The Devil’s Armchair,” as this wicked piece of furniture is known, is said to be cursed.

According to legend, the chair’s original owner was Andres de Proaza, a 22-year-old student of Portuguese (some say Jewish) heritage. In 1550, Proaza was studying at the University of Valladolid’s Faculty of Medicine. He was enrolled in Spain’s first ever anatomy course, which was taught by Alfonso Rodriguez de Guevara, a renown physician who’d just come back from studying the subject in Italy.

For a subject that was just formally introduced to Spain, Proaza had an unusually deep understanding of anatomy. Everybody was impressed with his knowledge, and he was considered Guevara’s best pupil. His neighbors, however, were more scared than fascinated by the young man.

At night, they heard crying and moaning coming from Proaza’s house, and the stream behind his home was sometimes soaked with blood. Soon, a rumor spread that the promising anatomist was practicing necromancy. When a 9-year-old boy disappeared in the city, Proaza’s neighbors only grew more suspicious. They contacted the authorities to search Proaza’s house.

Down in Proaza’s basement, the authorities found blood and guts everywhere. The missing boy laid on a table, his body ripped apart and resting with the corpses of cats and dogs. Proaza confessed that he’d dissected them all.

Murder wasn’t the only evil thing Proaza was doing either. During his trial with the Inquisition, he admitted that he’d made a pact with the Devil. This being three centuries before the Parker Brothers started selling ouija boards, Proaza’s choice of communication with the Prince of Darkness was an armchair. Not just any piece of furniture, mind you, but a chair given to him by a Navarrese necromancer.

By sitting on the chair, Proaza gained all the advanced medical knowledge he wowed his classmates and professors with. He also told the authorities that only well-qualified doctors could sit in his eternally damned armchair. Anybody else who sat in the chair would die three days later, ditto for anybody stupid enough to destroy it.

For his crimes, the Inquisition sent Proaza off to the gallows. An auction was held to sell off Proaza’s belongings, but surprisingly few people were interested in buying furniture associated with child murder and Satanism. For this reason, the chair and everything else Proaza owned were moved to a warehouse at his old university.

Years passed, and the story behind the chair was forgotten. In the 19th century, an exhausted beadle stumbled on the chair and slumped down for a rest. True to Proaza’s warning, the beadle was found dead in the chair three days later. The university’s next beadle was no less cautious; he sat in the chair and died as well.

After taking the lives of two good beadles, the chair’s thirst for blood had to be stopped. To ensure that it didn’t take any more lives, the chair was hanged upside down from the university chapel. It remained here until 1890, when it was moved to the Museo de Valladolid after the chapel was demolished.

At its new home, a red ribbon has been tied across the Devil’s Armchair to keep visitors from sitting in it. This was not done to prevent bright med students from making Faustian pacts, but to protect what’s actually a rare 16th century chair. Honestly though, warning that your precious antiques are cursed would probably keep a lot more touchy hands off your stuff.

Check out my book “Mexico’s Unsolved Mysteries: True Stories of Ghosts, Monsters, and UFOs from South of the Border” for more interesting mysteries of the Spanish-speaking world.  You can buy the book on Kindle here. 

Be warned before you sit in the diabolical Devil’s armchair.

 

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

Spring Equinox Sabbat

Merry meet all,

Spring equinox is only a few days away.  Are you all as excited as I am? I bet you are. Soon we can say goodbye to cold noses and freezing temperatures. “For witches, the Spring Equinox is known as Ostara, named after the Germanic lunar goddess, an embodiment of the great Goddess who gave birth to the Sun God at the Winter Solstice. As an Equinox, Ostara is a time of balance and equilibrium.” (https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/08/how-to-celebrate-spring-equinox-like-a-modern-witch#)

A witch lives by the lunar and solar cycles – the Moon and the Sun. We celebrate the cycles of the moon. 

Every month, witches honour the moon in full moon gatherings. We hold Sabbat celebrations and this time the Sabbat to celebrate is Ostara, or the spring equinox. Ostara marks the first day of spring, when the night and day are of equal length. Ostara is named after the Germanic lunar goddess who is an embodiment of the great Goddess who gave birth to the Sun God at the Winter Solstice. Ostara is a time of balance. 

During the Spring Equinox, plant seeds and clean your home. Now is the time to reflect and create and clear away any stagnant energy. 

Decorate your altar with warm colours; seeds, fruit; gemstones such as citrine, clear quartz, aventurine and carnelian. Make offerings of honey and milk for the faeries. Place tarot cards like the High Priestess and the Nine of Cups on your altar. 

Perform rituals and make offerings. Play music that makes you think of spring and enjoy a cup of herbal tea while you pore over seed catalogs – for organic seeds, of course! 

Enjoy the spring equinox! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

Paranormal Convention in Thunder Bay

 

Merry meet all,

I obtained a white garment like a nightgown. I like it because I can alter it to match the chemises that I see on the Holy Clothing website. I am not done yet but it will look great. I love this photo! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight I am going to Trident Cafe to support a likeminded awesome horror author.  I’m celebrating women in horror month. Yay!

Today’s post covers a new exciting event in the world of the paranormal. Enjoy!!! 

Thunder Bay paranormal convention set to showcase the spooky side of life this fall

Workshops, guest speakers will cover all manner of paranormal topics

Kris Ketonen · CBC News · Posted: Mar 04, 2024 6:00 AM AST | Last Updated: March 4

A group of paranormal investigators record a drop in temperature inside a site believed to be subject to paranormal activities. Paranormal investigators will gather in Thunder Bay, Ont., this fall. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters )

With a slate of guest speakers and workshops on the schedule, the first-ever Lake Superior Paranormal Convention will shine a spotlight on the strange and spooky this fall.

The convention – which is being organized by Thunder Bay paranormal investigation group Lucky Paranormal – will take place in October at the Prince Arthur hotel. Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 2, and will be available online.

“At a paranormal convention, they have lots of speakers,” organizer and Lucky Paranormal member Gail Willis said. “All day long, you can listen to paranormal experts on paranormal activity, investigation, UFO’s, Sasquatch, Bigfoot, all of those types of things are spoken about openly at a convention.”

More than 15 guests have been booked so far. They include:

• Beyond the Haunting Investigations of History’s Most Haunted;
• Shane Pittman, from Netflix’s 28 Days Haunted and Discovery Channel’s The Holzer Files;
• Author and researcher Jeff Belanger (Ghost Adventures and Paranormal Challenge);
• Author and researcher Chris Rutkowski;
• Thunder Bay writer Kim Casey;
• Investigator and filmmaker Dee McCullay, and
• The Winnipeg Paranormal Group.

The convention will also include vendors, as well as workshops on how to use some of the equipment paranormal investigators use, organizer and Lucky Paranormal member Mel Willis said.

A REM Pod used by Lucky Paranormal during their investigations. The upcoming Lake Superior Paranormal Convention will feature workshops on how to use ghost-hunting equipment like this. (Kris Ketonen/CBC)

The idea for the local convention grew out of visits to other, similar events by Lucky Paranormal members.

“We’ve gone to a number of conventions in the U.S.,” Mel Willis said. “There’s one in Halifax and that’s the only one across Canada and we’re like, ‘well, we’re smack in the middle of Canada, why not here?'”

Gail Willis said the convention isn’t only geared at investigators, and hopes that everyone with an interest in the supernatural will take away something worthwhile.

“I hope that they leave with more information,” she said. “I hope that they leave with a passion for the paranormal, and also maybe new connections.”

A few other events are scheduled around the main convention, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5. Those include:

• A VIP party with celebrity guest speakers on the evening of Oct. 4;
• A celebrity-led paranormal investigation at the Thunder Bay museum, scheduled for the evening of Oct. 5, and
• Sunday Spirits n’ Sweets at Cafe Ora, which will include afternoon tea and coffee with Canadian psychic medium Kerrilynn Shellhorn on the afternoon of Oct. 6.

The Lake Superior Paranormal Convention itself, meanwhile, is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2024, at the Prince Arthur Hotel. For ticket information, visit the event’s website.

Superior Morning8:22Mel and Gail Willis of Lucky Paranormal: Paranormal Convention

Thunder Bay ghost hunters and paranormal enthusiasts, mark your calendars, the first-ever Lake Superior Paranormal Convention is coming to the city this fall. Hear from the organizers.

Credit to: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/lake-superior-paranormal-convention-1.7130960

Blessings, Spiderwitch

Magickal Portals )O(

Merry meet all,

The overdress from Holy Clothing arrived! I love it. It is so beautiful and feminine. I feel so beautiful when I wear it. I can wear it with about twenty different dresses in my wardrobe, which is also what made it worth buying. The herb cutter from The Witches moon arrived. The herb cutter is so beautiful! 

I woke up to a skiff of snow on the ground this morning. Well I looked out my window and decided, winter is not over yet. Snow covers the ground and a harsh wind rocks the trees. I still see the portal visible only to me. Or is it? To be able to see the portal and imagine you are escaping to Middle Earth, soften your gaze and peer between the two trees. It so does appear like a portal to me, carrying you far away from all your worries. If I had a choice, I would move to Middle Earth and never return. 

The future for all humankind is dark and scary. The earth’s resources are being manipulated and seized and wasted at an unprecedented scale. We ask too much of the earth and forget that we have to give back. Machinery, the army and the government are the enemy. The technology we are producing and depending on are causing the earth’s destruction. Many cellphones end up in landfill. The oceans are stuffed with garbage. The air is polluted. We cannot eat money but we all live like we can. We have a scary future ahead of us if we continue at this rate. We expect the earth to produce forever but it doesn’t work that way. 

That is why if I was given the choice, I would flee to Middle Earth. And to quote Gandalf, “I won’t be going alone.” I would take my loved ones including my cat with me. I always felt like I never fit in here anyway. I would not look back. We are all doomed and we have a bleak future. Why should we leave Earth, move to another planet and colonize there if we can’t learn our mistakes here? No, we have to learn first then ask ourselves if we could really do that to another planet. 

There are people all over the world claiming to be experiencing visits from aliens. They are unafraid of the aliens- except me, I am scared to death of them. They claim that the aliens are teaching them that we may be better off leaving earth and going with the aliens. Who am I to deny them? I can see the rationale behind it. The aliens are wise and know what await us. 

It will break my heart to be forced to see war break out and the earth torn apart. To see people overcome with rage, furious that the earth can keep up no more with their need for selfish gratitude, tearing other people apart- their kin and know love no more. But that may be our future. The Goddess has raised her horns and awoken-and she is pissed. The sinkholes, climate change, the natural disasters: droughts, wildfires, flooding and hurricanes are signs of her fighting back. I hope she never tires. I hope she teaches us a powerful lesson. I hope she stays and stands proud, driven by a beautiful fury. We have been bad children. 

Now don’t get me wrong. I know that there are other earth stewards out there like me who are likeminded. If you are reading this and you are one of them, power to you! I see you as a kindred spirit. Yes we who do care about Earth and all her beauty and power are hopefully exempt from the doom just lurking over the horizon. But unfortunately, those who are in power blinded by greed and money and drive the cruel wheel of machinery will propel all of us to an unpleasant future. 

I believe in leaving offerings and having a harmonious relationship with the nature spirits here. I would probably get laughed at. I don’t care. I know what I feel and I live in harmony with the earth. I work with not against. Many people take so much for granted. I dare say they will eventually wake up when it is too late. 

I follow a surprisingly simple routine for showing my concern for the earth. I save eggshells, I recycle and compost, and I eat a lot of organic food. I opt for organic food as often as I can. I know organic food is more expensive but they make it that way to try and discourage you from buying it. I resist and buy it anyway. I practice organic gardening methods and I never use toxic chemicals such as insecticides, pesticides and other such poison on my garden. I have the most beautiful garden Ever. I use organic seeds and organic soil. I reuse cloth bags and I drag my personal cart to the store and back, up and down that steep hill. I take the bus and take many strolls on the nature trail. 

I practice bioregional herbalism and follow a sustainable practice with my herbalism. 

These are all things we could all be doing. I love seeing other people take their own cloth bags to the grocery store. It cheers my heart so much. That is in itself an act of rebellion. Ok now just keep that up and start small then expand your earth stewardship practice. 

Happy International Women’s Day – which is every damn day!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

Enchanted Costuming )O(

Merry meet all,

Beware the Ides of March!  Yes March is like an enigma, it is still winter but spring wants to have her way too. 

The besom I ordered from Etsy and that flew in from the Ukraine is truly magickal. The besom is still standing up on end perfectly straight. Wow. The besom named Raven is black and beautiful. Well it came from Russia, yeah so, it’s magickal. I love Raven. The besom is just made for this witch’s abode. 

I plan to start my seeds soon. I wanted to get soil today but the freezing cold temperature – minus 21 C% windchill, keeps me indoors. I may go out just to do laundry but that’s all. I guess I will head out tomorrow. It is too cold to leave the house today. 

I ordered the Tauriel Maxi Overdress in black this week. I can’t wait to get to wear it with everything I own almost. Black matches everything. I already can think of several dresses I can wear with the overdress. That’s why I don’t regret buying it. It is better than buying something and then discovering too late nothing matches. Here is the enchanting description of the overdress from Holy Clothing:

1. “Named for the free-spirited elven warrior from The Hobbit, our Tauriel Overdress truly is a magical piece. There’s something really fantastic and awe-inspiring about this hooded overdress, from the falling vines of leaves to her mysterious oversized hood.
2. This overdress is a single piece that is made up of a lace-up bodice, asymmetrical hem skirt, and a hood. It’s also an underbust design, which gives the wearer a lot of looks to play with when they’re deciding which pieces of their closet to add to the outfit they want to create.
3. Tauriel isn’t just a fantasy dress for costume play or LARP. It’s so much more than that. It’s a dress that allows you to bring a spark of magic into your everyday life without being a huge statement piece. This is a dress with a subtle and lovely flare, and one that would look perfect while worn during a Sunday market excursion or donned for a day out in your nearest big city.
4. Live magically. Live romantically.
5. About this overdress:
6. Metallic silver nature-inspired embroidery.
7. Pockets for keeping your favorite shiny rocks safe.
8. Brass eyelets.
9. Bodice designed with two layers of rayon and interfacing.
10. Crepe godets.
11. Double layer of rayon for the hood.
12. Exclusive HolyClothing design.
13. Ethically handmade in India.” Credit to Holy Clothing. 

How can you turn that away? I can’t. I ordered it for a reason. I can’t wait for winter to end so I can strut my stuff. Here is a photo of the overdress  shown below. https://holyclothing.com/collections/overdresses I have included the link if you want to order one for yourself. 

I hope this inspires you to try enchanting your own style! Blessings Spiderwitch

Spring Greens )O(

Merry meet all,

I am so done with mundane society. I desperately want to move to Middle Earth and be an elf- and I want there to be no Sauron ruling the world there either. I’m ready to go, all packed. Oh I wish I could. Don’t we all? Instead, I am stuck in this mortal realm. But is it really that bad? My rent increased but not to an astronomical height thankfully. There is hope yet despite wars, starvation, crime, drugs, poverty, weapons blasting buildings, desperation, environmental degradation, pollution, climate change. I have to believe there is yet hope. The odds seem stacked against us but if we lose hope, then the bad guys win.

I find joy in my sweet cat, watching birds visit the bird feeder, and in knowing spring will soon grace us with her return. The Crone will eventually give way to the Maiden. The earth will turn green again and be full of fertile energy. Yes spring equinox surprises us next month. It almost seems hard to believe. I hate it that my tired feet suffer over hard packed snow too. I miss my garden so much. Feeding the birds and helping my herb seedlings I have been growing all winter comforts me.

Today I bought a bag of soil for starting seeds and a large white bucket. I plan to begin my onion seeds soon as well as other herbs. My seed starting project with the ziplock bags is going well. The mint seeds, the marshmallow seeds have taken off so far and one purple basil seed germinated. The other seeds are germinating much slower. I like to start seeds in ziplock bags that way because I can know for sure then what the germination rate is. I can’t wait for spring. I am sure I am not the only one.

The interior of my apartment looks like a smaller Middle Earth. I am sure I belong there. Alas, spring equinox begins in March on the 21st. We can move our clocks ahead one hour in March. March means spring and I can’t wait. I know March is also the cruelest month weather wise and so is April but after that, the world gets green. 

I have been thinking hard about where I will grow my onions and potatoes this summer. I can grow the potatoes in grow bags. I have to buy another grow bag because then I can get a bigger harvest. I am not sure yet where I will grow my onions. I have time yet to decide that. This is the time when most gardeners who are serious about gardening decide those sorts of things though. I wish I had the room for growing a hundred potatoes and onions. I would be stocked all winter. I have only a small space. I am growing garlic too. I decided that I want to grow purple onions in between the rows where the garlic is growing in the box. I have yet to decide where I might grow the white onions though. Then there is the matter of growing root veggies successfully. Only too often I get the greens of the root veggie but not the root I want. But now, thanks to a hurricane ironically, a large branch has fallen off the nearby tree in my garden. So now my garden gets more light which it needs. As for the soil itself, I have successfully created compost. I also plan to really dig the soil and add the right nutrients in the right amounts. I also want to grow the onions in containers as the rest of the space is claimed by herbs. So, it is probably understandable that I am really thinking about where to grow the white onions. 

I want to grow carrots in the white bucket and a turnip. It can be done, I have seen it on YouTube videos. The bucket is food safe. I’m planning on starting the carrot seeds indoors and when the temperatures are warm enough, moving the white bucket outdoors. I need to get a lot of soil though. I think I can even get it at the dollar store. I do not have any fertilizer though. I can always work in the fertilizer though when I mix up the soil and water it. I can also add the ground up eggshells to the soil. The bucket is big and deep. I will need a lot. Canadian Tire, the local hardware store, did not have the large bags of soil I wanted. I can use that for the onions and my other starts. Yeah it is easy to add a fertilizer to soil. I am sure carrots are forgiving about the quality of soil they will grow in. They need nitrogen to grow the greens then they need less nitrogen to grow the root and more phosphorus later to grow the root. I plan to also cover the topsoil with shavings (for guinea pig cages) to keep the soil moist to ensure the carrots grow their very best. I can’t wait to get started. Carrots don’t like to be disturbed. I don’t see the point of thinning. I want to arrange the seeds in a way where I have control over how many sprout. I will arrange then in a clock face pattern. Thinning seeds, to me, is wasting seeds. I don’t have the money for that- basically throwing seeds away. So yeah I am excited to grow plants again! C’mon, spring!

I want to grow catnip for Penny of course. Last year, I had nettle not catnip. This year, well I should just start the seeds in a ziplock baggie. That usually tells me which seeds will germinate and which ones won’t. Of course, the flip side of this is that I have to keep the catnip away from Penny. I will start the seeds in May then. That way I don’t have a long wait to keep her away from eating it. I bought purple top white globe seeds and sweet pea seeds. I also bought ashwagandha seeds and St.John’s wort seeds. I can’t wait to start those seeds either. 

Yup I look forward to spring’s return. It feels so long ago. Time is speeding up and where it leads us to, I do not know. I had special handouts from Herbal Academy about herbs laminated at the local print centre. I plan to have a more special handouts/notes laminated. It makes it easier to refer to them and they are protected from stains too. I want to keep them in the kitchen, not just my binder to refer to. 

I have plenty to look forward to this spring! I am eager to get started. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

 

 

Aliens monitoring Earth or not?

Merry meet all,

I can’t wait for spring. I mean like I really can’t wait for spring. I know I am not the only one. Anyone who has to deal with cold temperatures and snow shares in my pining for spring. I can’t do much foraging as everything green is buried under snow. I am so happy that winter is temporary. 

I am starting seeds in ziploc bags. A few marshmallow root seeds have germinated! I planted them and put the germinated seeds under my grow light. Marshmallow is a lovely herb and I look forward to watching her grow and helping the herb grow as beautiful as it can be.

Today’s post is about aliens. I am fascinated with aliens and I believe that they exist. I hope you enjoy it!

Alien mothership lurking in our solar system could be watching us with tiny probes, Pentagon official suggests

News

published March 25, 2023

Could an alien mothership be hovering around the solar system, sending out tiny probes to explore planets? According to a Harvard scientist and a Pentagon official, it’s possible. 

In a draft paper, the pair said it is feasible an extraterrestrial spaceship could be in our galactic neighborhood, exploring the region by the means of “dandelion seeds” — small spacecraft that can gather and send back information, similar to the way humans send out spacecraft to explore planets.

Avi Loeb, an astronomer at Harvard University, and Sean M. Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) — established in July 2022 by the Department of Defense (DoD) to detect and study “objects of interest” — released the draft, Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, on March 7. It is not an official Pentagon document but was carried out in partnership with the DoD. It has not been peer-reviewed.

Loeb is known for his research into ‘Oumuamua — an interstellar visitor from beyond the solar system. Astronomers first detected the cigar-shaped object in 2017 and originally thought it was a comet. However, its elongated shape, its lack of coma (the cloud of gases that envelope a comet), and the fact that it was accelerating away from the sun raised questions about the comet theory. Loeb suggested instead that ‘Oumuamua was an alien spaceship. 

Six months before ‘Oumuamua’s close approach to Earth, a small interstellar meteor measuring around 3 feet (1 meter) wide smashed into Earth. This meteor, IM2, was not related to ‘Oumuamua, but it got Loeb thinking. 

 

The interloper ‘Oumuamua continues to puzzle astronomers and astrophysicists. (Image credit: Bjorn Bakstad via Getty Images)

That coincidence inspired him “to consider the possibility that an artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth, an operational construct not too dissimilar from NASA missions,” Loeb told Live Science in an email. “These ‘dandelion seeds’… could be separated from the parent craft by the tidal gravitational force of the sun or by a maneuvering capability.”

In the draft paper, Loeb and Kirkpatrick looked at Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs, the government’s preferred term for UFOs) confined by known physics. The authors suggest the dandelion seed probes could reach Earth for exploration without being detected by astronomers as they would likely be too small to reflect enough sunlight for survey telescopes to detect.

“Equipped with a large surface-to-mass ratio of a parachute, technological ‘dandelion seeds’ could slow down in the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid burnup and then pursue their objectives wherever they land,” they wrote.

Aliens would likely want to explore rocky planets with an atmosphere in the solar system, the authors propose. From a distance, Venus, Earth and Mars would all look appealing, with Earth being of greatest interest once aliens found signatures of liquid water. The alien civilization that created the probes would not need to be on the mothership. It would be unlikely that it could even communicate with the probes. 

The alien civilization may not even exist anymore. Most stars in the galaxy formed billions of years before the sun. A habitable planet with intelligent life could have been sending out probes long before Earth formed. Searching for “resembles checking our mailbox for any packages that may have accumulated over time there, even if the senders are not alive anymore,” Loeb said.

Since first suggesting ‘Oumuamua was an alien spaceship, Loeb has faced criticism from the scientific community. One Perspective article published in Nature Astronomy in 2019 said the idea ‘Oumuamua was sent to Earth on purpose was “provocative” and “baseless.”

In 2021, a letter published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics dismissed the idea on logistical impracticalities of interstellar travel: “Given the likely cosmological timescales required to traverse between stars, we conclude that it is unlikely that ‘Oumuamua has been sent by an extraterrestrial civilisation and more likely that it is just an unusually shaped rock, which has happened to wander into the solar system.”

Another study, published on March 22, 2023, explains ‘Oumuamua’s strange movements as the likely result of hydrogen off-gassing — again refuting the alien spacecraft theory. 

Still, the Pentagon has taken a renewed interest in studying unidentified objects over U.S. airspace in the previous year. Since the AARO’s founding last summer, the office has opened more than 360 new investigations into alleged UAP encounters reported by U.S. military personnel. About half of these have been explained as “balloons or balloon-like entities,” while the other half lack sufficient data to conclusively resolve.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Mar. 27 to correct a typo. A previous version of the story said most stars in the solar system are older than the sun; the text now reads “most stars in the galaxy.” The sun is the only star in our solar system.

This article was originally posted on Live Science.

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Credit given to: https://www.space.com/alien-mothership-lurking-in-solar-system-pentagon-official-suggests

Blessings, Spiderwitch