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Merry Christmas

Happy Winter Solstice

theportuguesewaterblog.blogspot.com

Today marks the day many ancient peoples all around the world celebrated the Winter Solstice. Although it marks the beginning of winter, Spring is just around the corner. There may be plenty of bad weather between now and spring flowers, but today is the shortest day of the year, so starting tomorrow the days will begin getting longer.

The Winter Solstice marks the turn from the shortest day of the year towards the return of light and in many cultures this return of illumination is celebrated, welcomed and revered. 

The solstice itself may have been a special moment of the annual cycle of the year even during neolithic times. Astronomical events, which during ancient times controlled the mating of animals, sowing of crops and metering of winter reserves between harvests, show how various cultural mythologies and traditions have arisen. This is attested by physical remains in the layouts of late Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites such as Stonehenge (pictured above) in Britain and Newgrange (pictured below) in Ireland. The primary axes of both of these monuments seem to have been carefully aligned on a sight-line pointing to the winter solstice sunrise (Newgrange) and the winter solstice sunset (Stonehenge). Significant in respect of Stonehenge is the fact that the Great Trilithon was erected outwards from the center of the monument, i.e., its smooth flat face was turned towards the midwinter Sun.

For Pagans, Solstice is symbolically the night when the Sun Child is reborn out of the womb of Mother Night. For the Mayans, this year marks the end of a 30,000-year calendar cycle. For pop culture, somehow this has become the end of the world.

"We might laugh at that idea, but then something stops us. This year, we’ve seen the skyline of New York grow dark. We’ve suffered record droughts, floods, enormous storms: to some it seems all the predictions of the climate change scientists are coming true.

Deep inside we sense that we are, indeed, approaching some kind of end. Maybe it's the end of our current way of life, fueled by cheap oil and the illusion that we can endlessly and thoughtlessly exploit the living systems of the earth without dreadful consequences

We desperately need to make an end of our destructive practices, lest we leave our children a world that is at best impoverished and at worst, uninhabitable. And yet we often seem paralyzed, knowing what we need to do and unable to marshal the will to do so.

May this Solstice mark an end to the era when we saw the world as a bunch of dead, separate stuff and ourselves as isolated, and the beginning of a new day when we understand the world as an interconnected web of relationships."  by Starhawk founder of reclaiming.org

My winter wish to all as the days begin to grow longer is for convivial companionship, sweet  dreams, and peace on earth. It will be spring before we know it.

Happy Thanksgiving

 There was no milk, cheese, bread, butter or pumpkin pie at the original Thanksgiving Day feast. However, a menu that included turkey started a tradition that continues in America today...

• Americans feast on 535 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.

• According the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the United States at Thanksgiving.

• The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day.
• Domesticated turkeys cannot fly, however wild turkeys can fly up to 55 miles per hour over short distances.

• Only male (‘tom’) turkeys gobble. Females make a clicking noise. The famous gobble is actually a seasonal mating call.

• The heaviest turkey ever raised weighed in at 86 pounds – about the size of a German Shepherd!

• A turkey under 16 weeks of age is called a ‘fryer’. A five to seven month old turkey is called a ‘roaster’.

• The Turkey Trot, a ballroom dance in the 1900s, was named for the short, jerky steps of the turkey. It became popular mainly because it was denounced by the Vatican as “suggestive.”

• Turkeys can drown if they look up when it’s raining!

•  A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.

•  A wild turkey has excellent vision and hearing. Their field of vision is about 270 degrees… one of the main reasons they continue to elude some hunters.

• Turkeys spend the night in trees. They fly to their roosts around sunset. 

• Turkeys fly to the ground at first light and feed until mid-morning. Feeding resumes in mid-afternoon. 

•  Gobbling starts before sunrise and can continue through most of the morning.

•  Turkeys are able to adapt to a wide variety of habitats. However, most turkeys are found in hardwood forests with grassy areas.

• The ‘wishbone’ of the turkey is used in a good luck ritual on Thanksgiving Day. 

• Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States.

• Approximately 91% of people eat turkey adding up to the sale of over 280 million turkeys for Thanksgiving celebrations. 

One of the strangest things we hear about turkey is that it contains tryptophan, a natural sedative. Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps your body produce serotonin, a calming agent in the brain that plays a key role in sleep. Maybe that is why many folks take a post-dinner nap on Turkey Day? Or could it be that this is just an urban legend?

While it is true that turkey contains tryptophan, it’s a myth that you get sleepy from eating it.

Here’s why tryptophan in turkey doesn’t make you sleepy:

• Tryptophan levels in turkey are minimal – almost unrecognizable.

• Tryptophan only works well on an empty stomach. When you have food in your system, tryptophan has to compete with all the other amino acids in your system, so an even less amount makes it to your brain.

The real reason we get sleepy is simple — We over eat — The average Thanksgiving meal contains 4500 calories, most of which are carbohydrates. This means our body is working overtime to digest everything causing that post-meal lethargy. So, enjoy your turkey, give thanks for all your blessings and take a nap...or a walk. Better yet...take a walk and a nap!

"Spooky Halloween Tray"

Wanted to share the latest tray Renee made...and just in time for Halloween.

The "Spooky Halloween Tray" is made with Lost & Found paper featuring a skeleton head, spider web, potion bottles and an extra skeleton body -eekkk!  Extra Creepy!

 The glitter was already on the paper, but additional embellishments include (from top right corner going clockwise):  Miniature potion bottles and witch's brew  (sealed) are on the shelf up against potions and brew printed on the paper. A piece or ribbon resembling a web is in the right corner featuring an 8-legged friend!

  

Spiders galore on the next window with a stamp of a web in the left window and spider in his home.  A stamp of a more friendly spider -next to the real looking one on the paper -the calendar month viewing October featuring "All Hallow's Eve" in orange right next to the holiday's signature black cat. Wow, extraordinary detail!

 

The third, and bottom right opening, portrays the stamp "Quoth the Raven Nevermore..." Stamp and stickers saying 'forbidden, scary night and boo' with another creepy crawler.

Next, the focal point of the entire frame (located bottom left) is the skeleton head and cross bones where the stamp 'BOO' is placed.  Additional sticker embellishments saying various things including, 'turn back.'

Next opening wishes you a 'Happy Halloween'  and is stamped with a more whimsical spider and finally stamped with the important date of 'October 31st!'

Lastly the top left window of the tray is embellished skeleton keys and a sticker proclaiming, 'you put a spell on me' symbolizing the fun of the holiday altogether.

The outline of the tray has borders with skeleton heads, spiders and spider webs, black cats, and buttons and sequins galore! All topped off with a witch tag that simply says, 'fright.' 

 

Decorative handle is tied with raffia for a fall affect. Back of tray is flat with a bracket for hanging. Priced at $20.00 - this festive Halloween decor is a steal compared to trays with less detail.

Available at www.yoursmineandhers.com

Halloween Treat Bags

Aren't these Halloween gift bags just so cute. Beautifully embroidered felt bags with contrasting cotton backs/linings and ties or handles.

These two "cute-as-can-be" bags are made from screen material

and embellished with appliques, ribbons and lace.

Perfect to hold cookies or treats for your special someone.

See more at www.yoursmineandhers.com

Eyelet flowers

I had some eyelet trim (about 40") that had been salvaged from a previous up-cycle project. It was in good shape and cute as can be with the bows and scalloped edges.

It really needed to be used for something.

Took it to the serger for a nice clean edge.

Love my serger - really makes for a professional and durable finish.

 

Used my ruffling attachment.

Set for maximum ruffle.

What a contraption!
Pretty neat with 4 different adjustments in the amount of ruffle you can achieve.
I found several online for less than $20.
If you like projects with ruffles, it's worth the investment.

Of course the old standard method of pulling the bobbin thread works also.
Especially for small projects like these eyelet flowers.
 That's the way I learned to do it, and the method I utilized for years
(until Mom brought me the ruffling attachment ). Thanks Mom!

That 40" piece ended up 12" long in less than a minute.

I cut it in quarters so I had 4 - 3" pieces of eyelet.

Sewed up the edges where I cut it apart.

Ran that seam thru the serger so they won't ravel.

Very easy and so cute. Just an embellishment for the center and...

...ready for a tote bag or some other fun project.

The white is pretty, but a bit springy, for this time of year.

Maybe I'll try some tea dye for a more natural fall look.