Irresistible giveaways

Now you tell me, how to resist when two cool blogger friends decide giving away, each one, a set of handmade runes??

Mother's Moon's Message is giving away this gorgeous set of willow runes made by herself:


And Domestic Witch is also giving away a wonderful set of rose quatz runes:


You have to join these! :o)

ABC Wednesday - P is for Penguin

Penguin is such a lovely animal, and it's my little son's nickname at home (pingüim, in Portuguese). I nicknamed him "penguin" when he started walking, those clumsy steps that only babies know how to do. And it stayed for life! I even want to have one tattooed on my ankle as a reminder of that funny time.

For more P photos, visit the ABC page.

Cemeteries...

I've never liked cemeteries. Mind me, in Brazil 99% of them are ugly, with no nature around, nor trees, not even a bit of grass. Only concrete under, above, on the sides, as you can see above, Petropolis' (those sparse trees don't count, they're there before it was built!). And the smell of dead flowers in the air. Thus, I never ever go to a cemetery unless there's no other way, like when my dad, my gradma and my older sister died. After funeral, I never return for leaving flowers or whatever. Not my stuff, I respect those who like going to, etc. I just don't feel comfortable there, too opressive.

So imagine my surprise when my sweet little witch asked me to visit the local cemetery on our way back from the park! Yesterday was Dia dos Mortos like in many other places, and he was all curious about it.

As we walk almost in front of it, I just couldn't say no, and of course, I managed to sound natural when accepting his idea. And there we went, walking into the place as if goin to a zoo. Lucas would stop at the first line of graves and ask me, "who's buried here, and here"?

We walked along the lanes, until getting to where my dad and my sister's graves are. Thre we stopped and Lucas wanted to pray a bit (after confirming with me that the Goddess would listen to him even into a catholic cemetery), then we left the place and went home.

The experience was good in the end. It made things look as they are, it made his imagination calm down, and it obviously quenched his curiosity. This way he won't imagine that skeletons and ghouls (...) are around, and it's a place where we can go and leave safely.
He knows I don't visitng these places, but it was important for him. But I do hope this was the last time, for a long time from now!

Monochrome Weekly

Okay, I just can't resist posting Lucas' photos, so bear with me!! LOL

Here's him when 15 days old, asleep after "taking part" of his first quick full moon ritual in my arms while being breast-fed, in an originally b&w photo taken by my brother Evaldo:





For more cool Mono Maiacs, visit Aileni's meme page.

Celebrating Beltane

This year we celebrated our Beltane in our simple way as usual. This time I couldn't afford to prepare any special meals, but we did our dance around a improvised maypole, using three colored satin ribbons and my mom's line handle. Of course, this was one the best part for Lucas.

In the afternoon, along with my sister Claudia (who was spending the weekend in Petropolis with her family, is not pagan but loves my son to death), we decorated our white candles with colored pens, inscribing magik symbols representing the sabbath, like flames, mayoples, pentagrams, suns an even an Algiz on Lucas', just because he knows this is my favorite rune.

In the evening, we both wrote our good wishes on pieces of paper, to be burnt on our cauldrons during the ritual. Another best part for Lucas, since this was the first time he did write his own wishes by himself with his cute hand-writting. When he finished writting, he asked me, "what else can I wish? I already have everything I need!" Obviously, that melted my heart.

Lucas prayed in silence after opening the circle, in front of his altar, and then we repeat the whole process in front of my altar. We watched in the dark until the flames in both cauldrons starved, while focusing in all the good things we wish for our lives, hoping they'll come true.

After that, we simply went to bed, and that was our Beltane night! I thanked for being blessed with my sweet son, and asked for strenght to keep in motion.

I hope you all had a good Samhain & Halloween!

On the last day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

... We say goodbye for this awesome fun. I have to thank Kris for all this month long party, and to congrats her for this incredible job she did. I just can't imagine how it is to deal with a daily multiple giveaway plus haunted tours, plus blogger guests, plus a personal life with three kids and a hubby (and Taner!!! LOL). I'm sure we are all happy to have met such cool new people and to get great gifts!
Hope you all have a blessed Samhain honouring your late loved ones, and a Halloween nght with fun and candies! :o)

Here we'll celebrate our little Beltane ritual, I'll post photos asap!

So let's go party on this very last day!!

... A super Salem bag of goodies from Octoberfarm!

A Creepy Cute Crochet book from Quirk Books!

A gorgeous pendant from Aunia Kahn!

A Peeking Sal Organic Tote from Funky Green Machine!

Good lucky for us all today! Letme know how your holiday was!! :o)

On the 30th day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

Aawww.. I can't believe how fast this month has ended! *snif* Tomorrow Kris' fun is over, so let's party while we can!!

Today we can get...

... A Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters' signed copy from Quirk Classics! Please, please!!

A one year subscription to Circle magazine! Please, please, please!!!!!!!!

A spooky keyring from me, the Carioca Witch, along with a cute god magnet made by Lucas! :o)

So let's go, tomorrow is the last day!

On the 29th day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

Oh... Only three days left for the fun... Oh well, today she brings...

Beautiful orange and black earrings from Native Dawn!

A super-cool witchy magnet made with up-cycled can lids from Picard Creative!

Hurry up! Don't miss these last chances! :o)

My first Cernunnos doll

Lucas was demanding me to create a god, "a male god!", as he said LOL. So I finally decided trying this one for Etsy (already there today, actually). It was overdue, infact. I hand-embroidered the horns on the sides on his head, and used the same Goddess pattern, only changing his abdomen to look more like a male's. What do you guys think about it? Approved? Be gentle, I'm a very sensitive and fragile witch concerning criticisms! LOL

I know the year is in the end when...

... My mother starts baking her secret recipe's Holland honey breads to sell! I can smell the wonderful scent that immediately takes me back to my childhood. Mom makes these honey bread since I was a baby, to sell before Christmas to her long-time clients in Rio - every year she bakes around 100!. It's with this money that she afford to have our Christmas night the way she loves it, with presents for everybody and a beautiful midnight meal (of course, after we all grew up and started working, we help her with money and bringing dishes & presents for her/our Christmas special night). This recipe was given to her by her bestfriend's mother, who made her swear she would never give it to anyone! And she never gave it, not even for us, her poor daughters! LOL That's my momther, her word is forever. She says that before dying, she will leave a copy for us (meaning that we'll need to wait one or two centuries, I hope!).

It's the best honey bread I've ever eaten, and there's nothing like it in the market. SO here I am, typing and feeling this wonderful perfume...

ABC Wednesday - O is for Obi Wan Kenobi!

When I thought what I could post on the O week, I could only think of Alec Guinness's Obi Wan Kenobi, go figure it...



This Star Wars' character was a huge impact for my simple childhood. I just fell in love with his strong personality, his non-conformist spirit, his beautiful look. It's my favorite character ever, snce I was 9. And it's Alec Guinness, after all. May the Force be with you! :o)

For more O photos, visit the ABC page.

On the 28th day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

... We have only a few days left to have fun *snif*, so don't miss it!

You can get a subscription to Witches & Pagans magazine! That would be great! :o)

A delicate feather charm from Mermaiden Creations!

Come on, hurry up! On Saturday the fun ends!

A set of super-cool recipe cards from Illustrated Ink!

A Halloween handmade doll from Two Stars!

Modern Pagan giveaway

These days giveaways are popping up at Internet, and I just can't resist trying my chances in many of them! :o)

The Modern Pagan interviews today the Bizarro fiction's author, Jeremy C. Shipp, who's releasing his intriguing book, Cursed. The interview is one of those we love to read, complete and full of information about this seldomly understood universe of Bizarro fiction, it's really great. And as a bonus, they're giving away a signed copy of the book! Check it out!

Monochrome Weekly

This is my father's family's coffee farm, where my dad was born and lived for 50 years. My mother and my siblings have great memories and funny stories about the time they lived there. When I was born, it was already sold due to the coffee's crisis, so I have no memories. Now it's a private property that can be visited.



For more cool Mono Maiacs, visit Aileni's meme page.

A new friend

I couldn't stand watching King Arthur swimming back and forth alone! So last week I went to the shop with Lucas and he chose a friend to keep him company. And here's Lancelot (Lucas asked me what the name of Arthur's best friend was, and I got what he meant...)! A cute little beauty, isn't he? Now they swim back and forth together! LOL We still don't know their genre, they're too small to see the difference, let's see if we'll need to change the names!

There's something weird about these fishes, and I want to know if it's common: whenever I get into the room, they follow me. Seriously! If I go the left side of the bowl, they swim to that direction. If I go the right side, they do the same. It gives me the creeps! I'm not used to fish habits, first time that I have one, so this is... weird to me. You guys who had or have, is it okay?

A new Etsy shop and a new giveaway

Krissy, from Thinking of Blue, is opening her beautiful Etsy shop, and to celebrate it, is giving away an awesome pendant! Check it out!

On the 26th day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

After a huge storm in Petropolis, we find Monday sunny and sweet, and on this day Mrs. B. is offering...

A very cute A Halloween Snuggle Monster from Chasing my Star!

Two beautiful chainmail pieces from The Modern Pagan!

Great things for a great week!

On the 25th day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

http://bringingupsalamanders.blogspot.com/2009/10/on-25th-day-of-mrs-bs-halloween-party.html

On this windy Sunday, she brings...

Your choice bracelet from Wiccan Magick Shack!

The cool e-book Me and My Ghoulfriends from Rose Pressey!

A gorgeous Baba Yaga, Slavic Witch Goddess art card from Wishcraft Charms!

The guest blog and Haunted tour today are great as usual! Check them out!

A fun Saturday much appreciated and some thoughts.

We had a cool Saturday. In the morning, there was Lucas's school Environment Fair, where his class took fruits there and talked about their benefits, and also talked about how changes could be made to make life healthier and less polluting. Lucas' fruit was grape, one of his favorite ones! Here he is with his classmates (can you find him??):




After that, we went to a very good friends'house, to have a barbecue. The day was sunny, with a few clouds, so Lucas could enjoy the swimming pool and play with our friends' sweet grandson. We just loved being there, chatting, telling jokes and eating green salads, chicken and watching the kids' fun.





It's amazing how well Lucas adapted himself to his new life, and I don't cease to feel relieved with that. When I decided breaking up with my ex, my main concern and worry was Lucas' well-being, and for a moment I even hesitated, afraid of how the change would impact his little mind. But just for a little moment. Inside I knew he would be okay, as long as he would be away from verbal violence and daily stress towards me, and indirectly towards him.

But never in my best dreams I have thought he would be so well, so happy and mentally/emotionally healthy as he is. In three days he got totally adapted to the new school, even if the learning system was different in the beginning - and hand-writting was a challenge, he succeded and, according to his teacher (a great one, thank the gods!), he never gave it up, and now is easily following the class, and best of all, enjoying it. He even wanted to join the school's soccer team! And he always anxiously wait for Thursday, when classes are held. The fact that this is a catholic school never became an issue. Only once, in the very beginning, when he had his first Religion class (that actually is more like a class about moral attitudes and love for all human beings, etc.), he questioned the Religion teacher if he really needed to answer her questions. Th following day I talked to her and her general teacher about our beliefs, politely explaining why he wasn't going to pray with the class, but that he would respect the moment and be in good manners. Never we had any problems again.

And he loves living at my mother's, even sharing the bedroom with me - actually he loves it! My brother Evaldo is fun, loves him, and is always making him laugh with his childish jokes and silly faces. I watch him closely and I can see he's really okay. He may miss his dad, but he knows he's there for him, talks to him every week and knows he's loved. Seeing me okay helps a lot as well. If I was dpressed or unhappy, his reaction would be a disaster. But as I'm feeling light and well, he feels the same. It's simply wonderful to see my little son developing and taking a normal life without loud, harsh voices around, and really being this sweet, smart and lovely little boy he is. My heart just thanks.

Now I only have to find something to earn money and at the same time to be with him. I just can't go working 9 to 6 like before. Firstly, because he would need to stay with my mom, and she's 76, she already has her life, sometimes traveling with friends, and I can't take away her fredoom, no matter what she says. So as soon as the year is over (because it's too hard, if not impossible, to find something at this point of the year in Brazil), I'll look for a part-time job in the afternoon while he's at school - teaching private English classes is still my main goal. I put some of my handcrafts consigned at a local store, and I'll put some more at others, and hopefully they will sell. I'll start selling Suzie's cookies to cafes... I'll see if people here want dog-walkers - never seen any so far. Right now I keep making my witchycrafts to display at Etsy too.

What I know is that my life is taking its course, and sometimes my life in the rural seems like a weird dream, far away from my reality. And I feel good.

On the 24th day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

She brings...

A print of Tami Murray Cline Photography's Ghost Moon photograph!

Your choice of an organizer from The Busy Body Book!!

On the 23rd day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

... She brings...

A gorgeous Kitchen Witch Magic Wooden Spoon from Cauldron Craft Miniatures!

A soooo cute knitty kittie from The Imporium!

Another cool giveaway!

So Jules, from the sweet blog MoonCat Farms is hosting a giveaway to be picked up on the 31st! It's a surprise one, we have to wait to see what's in the pack! Hmm... I like surprises... Check it out!

On the 22nd Day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

She offers...

A subscription to HEX Magazine!


An awesome pumpkin basket full of Halloween Starbucks goodies from Mrs. Coffee!

The cool Dracula's Heir book from Quirk Books!

And the fun goes on with her blogger guest and hauted tour! Don't miss the party! :o)

ABC Wednesday - N is for Nature

Last Thursday was Teacher's Day here. I topok Lucas to Petropolis Imperial Museum's garden. It's a gorgeous place where I used to go when a teenager, to read my books, enjoying the almighty Nature surrounding me.

Lucas adored the place, and took several beautiful photos of many plants and flowers (now he says he wants to be a soccer player AND a botanic photographer!). Here are some of my favorite ones:

One of the paths in the area:



Anther path... Imagining those old guys walking around here...


He found these curious flowers, I just don't know what they are?


This ancient palm tree under a six-year-old perspective:



For more N posts, visit ABC page.

On the 21st Day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

http://bringingupsalamanders.blogspot.com/2009/10/on-21st-day-of-mrs-bs-halloween-party.html

There are...

Fun Fingers Soaps from AJ Sweet Soap!

A set of Aunia Kahn awesome postcards!

A Dollhouse Miniature Coffin Curio Cabinet from Cauldron Craft Miniatures!

Monochorme Weekly

Last Thursday was another holiday here, Teacher's Day, so I took Lucas to Petropolis Imperial Museum's garden, where D. Pedro II lived with Princess Isabel when they moved to Brazil from Portugal (we became a colony back in the 1500 when Brazil was "discovered" by them).
My little witch took several beautiful photos of all nature around the place (I'll surely post them asap, he's got a gift for photos!). I converted this one into B&W, because I liked the angle he took it. I wish there was a sign saying which god is this, or if it'sonly a "generic" one.



For more cool B & W photos, visit Aileni's meme page.

On the 19th Day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

... We have...

A pendant that comes from the wonderful shop Agonysdecay's Creepy Crafts



A felt rune set from moi, the Carioca Witch! :o)



Gorgeous spider earrings from Gypsy Eyes Studio!

On the 18th Day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

http://bringingupsalamanders.blogspot.com/2009/10/on-18th-day-of-mrs-bs-halloween-party.html


... She brings...

A year's subscription to The Essential Herbal magazine!



A hand painted young witch pendant from Gypsy Mare!

Lovely awards

I was lucky enough to have been given three awards at different times from cool new blogger friends, but only today I could start giving them the proper attention! I'll start with this cool one Pixie Allen nominated me for:



So the rules are:

Here are the rules:

1) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
2) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.
3) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.

Well, first the easy stuff... More or less... 10 honest things:
1. I can't stand harsh manners. I just can't understand why some people opt to be rude.

2. I think it doesn't show up here, but my tongue is very sharp sometimes, specially when dealing with #1 above.

3. I'm not a shy person, I can easily speak in public - as already happened some times when working at International Marketing. But, alas... I feel then my face red as a tomato, go figure it...

4. I know I have to face my deep fear of paranormal at some point in my life, because my spiritual path depends on this to be increased - it's just there, waiting, I know.

5. I could kill anyone, without hesitation, to protect my family,
with touches of cruelty, if my blood burns. Never happened, hope never happens, but they're my life, so...

6. I feel very comfortable with myself, meaning that I have no problems in going out alone, going to the movies, etc. It's a bless, I guess.

7. I'm completely, absolutely, totally dumb about numbers. Please don't humiliate me asking me any mathemathics. It's a shame, but I depend on calculators, and I have one in my bag all th time. I think that it's my own brain deficiency due to a bad primary learning system when a kid.

8. I can't live without a book, or a magazine, or a label, or a single line to read. The easiest way to make me do whatever you want me to, is to give me a book as a non-reason gift. LOL

9. At the other hand, as many already know, if you want to get rid of me, and lose my friendship forever, simply make any stupid joke or trick with spiders, like throwing a fake one on my lap, etc. I h-a-t-e spiders. Period.

10. The last one is an equally stupid one, but I fall in love soooo easily, like a 12-year-old girl. I have always suffered because of this, and the feeling of being tagged like "mobile cual piuma al vento". Of course, when young, I was deeply disappointed with my romantic choices, although not regretting any one. At this point of my life, I control myself much better, as bad as many could end up being.

Okay, now the hard part. I always want to make it clear that everybody on my blogroll should win these awards I get. But I like following the rules. At least sometimes.So, the 7 blogs (I'm sorry I couldn't put the link to the respective pages, this computer is acting weird since yesterday...):

* Penniwig's
* Bohemian Single Mom
* Crunchy Green Mom
* Magical Musings
* Tori's Path
* This Guy's Journey
* Doug & Boo + Two

On the 17th day of Mrs. B.'s Halloween party...

A wonderful set of handmade runes from the artist Marie Segal!



A gorgeous saffron incense from Lavannah!




A cute and fun witch from Michele with a Single L Designs!



A beautiful Halloween/Day of the Dead themed necklace from Shadow of the Goddess Designs!



A more than awesome Halloween kit from Octoberfarm! You have to see to believe it!


Let's party!