Lookin' fer me?

Hey all,
This blog is my old blog. Feel free to check out my new blog over at Typepad!
Here's the Link:
Crafting Morrighana

See you there!
All good things,
Morrighana

Kitchen Witchin'

Hooray! I have the day off today! I had worked a lot of extra hours on to a server reboot and some other inane computer junk last weekend so the boss gave me today off. This is even better when you consider that here in Canada, it is the Thanksgiving long weekend which means Monday is a holiday too!

My husband and I are going up to his family's cottage to see his side of the family this weekend. His grandmother has come up from Arizona to visit so we will be celebrating her 85th birthday. Unfortunately, they didn't want to overshadow her birthday with the usual Thanksgiving feast so we won't be having a turkey dinner. I'm a little depressed about that...*sigh* I love turkey dinners! Ha ha!
Actually it's more than that. There will be about 15 people up to the cottage since my husbands Uncle and his partner will be there as well as my sister-in-law, her 8 year old son, and her new boyfriend; my brother in law and his two little boys, my mother and father-in-law, two dogs...did I miss anyone? Eesh...I'm sure I did, but you get the picture, I'm sure. It's going to be crazy!! (and also a lot of fun).

No turkey dinner means we still have to have some sort of meal, so my husband and I volunteered to make dinner for everyone on Saturday night. We are starting with baked bree in phyllo pastry, moving to Peanut Soup and corn bread. After this (as if it wasn't enough..HAHA!) Stuffed pumpkin (filled with spices, veggies, ground turkey and turkey sausage) with leaf salad and potatoes. For dessert, home made Pecan Pie and Pumpkin cookies! How's THAT for a fall meal! I'm full just thinking about it. *grin*

At any rate, since I have the day off I've been in the kitchen baking up a storm! I made the two pecan pies. They were SO easy to make!
Made by me!!
You can see the pumpkin cookies that I've been working on in this pic too! I'll post up the recipes so you can try them out if you like. They are really good! I've already eaten two! Ha ha!

Here's the recipes for the pies and the cookies:
Pecan Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust


DIRECTIONS:
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together eggs, syrup, sugar, flour, and vanilla until well blended.
Stir in pecans.
Pour mixture into pastry shell.
Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven 50 to 55 minutes, until a knife inserted half-way between center and edge comes out clean.

Pumpkin Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine; softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

(if you like nuts, which I don't, in cookies you can also add 1 cup chopped walnuts)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

EAT THEM ALL UP!!

Have fun fellow Kitchen Witches!! More pre-Samhain fun to come!
All good things and blessed be,
Morrighana

Sometimes a good day happens...

Gods help me I've been tired...I am sorry it's been a while since my last post but after the past couple weeks I've become an exhausted wreck. I've been frustrated with many things that have happened at work and it has begun seeping into my personal life. The daily grind has often left me feeling exhausted and frothing at the mouth. The exhaustion has left me cranky, annoyed, sad and unable to enjoy the things I normally enjoy. I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would go on like that...

Tuesday...was a ray of sunshine. Tuesday honestly felt like someone decided to give me a break.
To start the day, I had my annual performance appraisal at work. HOORAY I GOT A RAISE! According to my superiors, I have been doing really well at keeping up with everything that's been thrown at me in the Information Technology world, even though the stress and the frustration of trying to learn everything at once has often made me feel like I was riding a bike uphill. *breathes financial sigh of relief*
This could not have come at a better time, I tell you.

Other things that brightened my day were my conversation with a woman I greatly admire. She is the VP of Human Resources and part owner of the company I work for. While most other pagans I know keep their spirituality hidden for fear that someone will find out and it will cost them their jobs, this woman has helped me feel comfortable with my spirituality. I don't have to hide it at work. She is not pagan, rather she was raised a Catholic (although has turned to Buddhism over the years). We have had many wonderful conversations about politics, religion, interpersonal communication, feminism, food, heck anything you can think of we've discussed it. She's a woman who loves challenges and adventure, has travelled the world, seen exotic places met interesting people, she's a really wonderful woman and one of the reasons that I love working for this company.
Anyways, after our discussion in her office I went back to my desk and short while later, this is what popped into my email inbox from her:
"I so enjoy talking to you about our outlook on life –
I appreciate your honest comments.
So – thanks for being the bright spot in today ~ "
It's a little thing, but don't you agree it feels good when someone lets you know how much they appreciate you? I try to do just that with everyone that I can. I do it as often as I can with my friends, family and my amazing husband. It can only stand to make someone feel a little more loved and who knows, it might just brighten their day! It sure brightened mine. *grin*

After Tuesday, things got hectic again at work and I have had quite a few frustrating moments, but it's amazing what a little more financial stability and a good day can do for your outlook. Even my husband has noticed a difference.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not money hungry. But I've been considering changing jobs and that frustrated me. This company has been my family since I moved to Waterloo in 2000, and it's been overall the best company that I've worked for in my life aside from some of the ridiculous situations I've been dealing with of late.

Our feline friend is still coming around. He is sitting outside our door first thing in the morning mewling away once the front hall light gets turned on. We have to fight our way out the door now too because he is trying very hard to get into the house. I can't help but laugh...he's so sweet.
Then, when we get home after work, he is waiting for us on the doorstep mewling his hellos and winding in and out of our feet. I've taken to giving him a treat after work so that probably isn't helping the situation at all, now is it? *impish grin* I can't help it. He is such a wonderful little friend and I'm a huge sucker for animals.

Other news...let's see. OH! Yeah our current Prime Minister is an idiot...but I've believed that since before the election. Steve Harper makes me grind my teeth in anger.
Here's one of the many reasons why: Tories to cut off funding for women's lobby groups
My husband sent this article to me first thing this morning. Needless to say it was not a good way to start my day. I honestly fear for the future of women in this country with Steven Harper in the drivers seat. According to the Tories, all women should be barefoot and pregnant...or at least out of the job market in Canada. Again, only one of the reasons why I can't stand Harper. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this article. Personally, it left me frothing at the mouth, but if you don't agree I will certainly respect that.

I'll post more up later, guys and gals! Again, I find myself at work with not much time to post. Sorry to those who may have been watching the appearance of my blogger template changing quite frequently as of late. I've been flip-flopping on how I want this to look. I'm working on a 3 column template and my own customized template to make this more enjoyable to look at. Unfortunately, the individualist in me won't accept the templates provided by blogger. Ha ha! Sorry blogger people...
All good things,
Morri

Leaving the Shire

Being that this is really the longest that I've ever managed to keep a journal of any kind (and if you check the dates on my posts, you will laugh at this concept) I feel the need to keep writing.
I've never been fantastic with words. I am very much an experiential, "hands on" kinda gal. I love to make things with my hands, take things apart figure them out and put them back together. I love to paint my emotions, mould them, photoshop them, speak them...I've never been very good at writing them. I find I learn a lot about myself when I'm out and experiencing things instead of sitting down and trying to put them into words. I feel like this is not all bad, but I admire people that write well. When I read a well written blog like the ones I've been following, I feel compelled to learn to write more eloquently.

I do remember many times as I was growing up finding a beautiful book filled with empty pages in a used book store or in an art supply store and imagining pouring my heart out into it. Sometimes I would buy the book and, in a fit of inspiration, write a full entry only to put it aside and never write in it again. I find this so sad. I feel so frustrated about it because it still happens. I wish I could focus myself enough to actually write regularly. I'm not doing this for anyone but me, and yet I just can never find the time to sit down and do it every night. This blog is helping me learn to do it, although sometimes I find it's easier to do when I'm at work.

Perhaps my enjoyment of blogging comes from the combination of my interest in technology and the web as well as the idea of not having to observe my own messy penmanship as I write down my thoughts. I pride myself on my speedy typing fingers. *grin*. I used to be very particular about the look and feel of my journal entries. Perhaps this is the problem...perhaps I should have just focused my energy on what I was writing instead of what it looked like in the end. Perhaps I shouldn't have let my fear of missing a detail overwhelm me to the point of putting down my pen and book filled with empty pages and be content to just sit and think things through.

I still have the first of the very few journal entries that I have ever written. It fills only three pages of a small little pocketbook that my mother gave to me when I was in elementary school. The rest of the book has some doodles on some of the pages, and the remaining pages are blank. I remember several instances throughout my life where I forced myself to physically sit down and write a journal entry. I thought that one day I would be able to look back on the entry and laugh, cry, shake my head at my younger self... I had an overly romantic view of the world, when I was younger. I think I had watched too many movies of nostalgic elderly women suddenly discovering their old diaries in a dusty box and spending an afternoon reading through it remembering their childhood fondly as a slow smile spread across their face. *sigh*

So why do I write now? I think I write now because I am at a point in my life where I feel like certain things are finally beginning to make sense. I feel real independence but I am still unsure how to assert it myself. I feel like I'm starting to understand what it really means to make your own decisions and to be free to make your own choices. I am frustrated that this is only dawning on me now...a woman my age should have come to this conclusion years ago. I still have many years ahead, I know, but I have often thought that I wish things had occurred to me sooner, in many areas of my life.
I can't allow myself to become too frustrated about this. Another thing I have only recently learned how to do is to begin. Begin to do the things that I've always wanted to do, begin the projects I've always meant to start, begin to fulfill my dreams...even just to begin...period. Procrastination is an old friend of mine. More like an evil twin really...
So...no time like the present! On this my 9th entry, I have officially gone farther than I ever have before into the world of journals and diaries. Yes Mr. Frodo, 'if I take one more step, this will be the farthest away from home I'll have ever been' It may be a little thing to some people, but it's a milestone for me and I feel good about it.
I love the idea of posting on the net. With the exception of utilities like Stat counting websites, you don't know if someone is reading what you write. I feel much more free writing this way. I think I very much enjoy the thought that one day someone who feels the same way as myself on something that I write will read it and maybe send a thought or two back. I also very much enjoy the thought that I've accomplished a personal goal.

Now that I've gotten this far, let's see just how far I can go, huh Mr. Frodo?
All good things,
Morrighana

Wyverns etc.

Okay, so it's limbs are pinned on, but here is the Wyvern I've mentioned. My husband and I explored the art of the sewing machine together with this project. All that's left to do is sew on the wings, the jaw and the legs. (They're shown here pinned on.)
I think it turned out well. I'm really happy with the fabrics that we chose for it although their true colours don't really show here. I'll try to take a picture in some natural light later and post that up for you.

Well, the mystery of our little feline friend has been solved. As much as I've been hoping that he would come to live in our house, my dreams of having a cat to cuddle up with this winter were dashed by a boy and a beagle named Phoenix.
Don't worry! The cat is fine...he's more than fine. That's right, I did say "he", didn't I? The cat's name is...ahem...Vinny. Who the heck names a cat VINNY??!?
Let me back up a bit though, before I get carried away. *grin* I got home from work on Monday thoroughly looking forward to seeing our little friend waiting for us on the front porch. He wasn't there when my husband and I first got home, so I went inside, let the rabbits out of their kennel and changed into my "after work clothes". I went back outside and "Voila!" there he was, mewling like crazy and winding all through my legs. I scooped him up and enjoyed the purring furry package in my arms.

All of a sudden this louder-than-life, barking beagle came tearing through the courtyard in front of our townhouse followed by an embarrassed looking early teens boy. The boy chased the dog into our yard and cornered him to snag his collar and take him home when he suddenly looked up and saw me holding the kitty. After 4 weeks of our little visitor, all my hopes of making him part of our family were dashed in 5 words. "Vinny, where have you been?"
Turns out that "Vinny" belongs to a family a couple blocks from our house, so if we had had time to put up posters, we likely would have gotten a response.
Part of me is sad, but the other part of me is allowed to sleep at night knowing that Vinny has a home that loves him.
Oh well...that ends that exciting chapter. The good news in all of it is that Vinny can still come to visit us...although he still makes attempts at getting into the house. Ha ha!
All good things,
Morrighana

A Lost Kitty?

Okay, I'm about to head out to Stratford for the afternoon, but I really had to post this today.

Here are a couple of pictures of a little friend that has been coming around for about 3 weeks now. There was HUGE thunderstorm last night and I felt awful leaving him out in the rain, but when I got up this morning and opened the curtains, here is what I saw...it just about broke my heart.


My husband and I are talking seriously about taking him into our home. We called around to the Humane Society and to a local vet to find out costs on getting his health checked out and getting the burrs from the forest by our house out of his fur. Once we find out his health, and post up a few posters around our area about a found cat, then we will officially decide if we will take him/her into our home or not.

We do have rabbits which we love to death, so that's another consideration we have to make. Cats and rabbits CAN get along, but I do know that sometimes pets just don't mix...so we'll have to see.
In the meantime, we'll start by getting him/her checked out healthwise and also see if anyone in the area has lost a cat. He/she is SO unbelievably friendly and loving. If I were this kitty's owner, I would be broken hearted that he/she had disappeared.

I'll write more on him later since we have to go out for the day but isn't this the sweetest picture you've ever seen??


All good things and blessed be,
Morri

Willow Doll

Okay, so here's an update on the doll. I think she's turning out okay! I was so scared to paint the face since it had to retain a likeness to the webcomic character. My husband was pretty impressed with the painting of the eyes, so I must've done something right! Ha ha ha!

Anyways, here are some pictures!
Painted Face Closeup

and...


Full Doll Figure

The hair still isn't attached and there are some other things that need to be finishe d on her, but I'm happy with her. This is the first doll I've ever made and I already have plans to make the one I'm really excited about! THE MORRIGHAN! WOO HOO!

The next pictures of her that I post will likely be the final pictures! YAY! Until then...
All good things and blessed be,
Morrighana