Winter Solstice for the Senses ~

My family has a Winter holiday tradition...ok, to be honest, we have many Winter traditions...but this one stands out today because I'm in the midst of it.

Since discovering an English Toffee recipe on the TV talk show "People are Talking", I've been making this toffee for family and friends.  How long?  Well, let's just say long enough that I've had to buy a new candy thermometer - not because I wore it out, but because I needed one with bigger numbers - oh, the better to read it, my dear.

Nowadays, they would say it's Crack-Toffee..and actually that's not far off because you have to cook it until it reaches 300 degree crack temperature - but I digress.

The tradition...I make toffee and my boys (that includes my hubby) eat as much as they can before I put it in a Christmas-tree-Santa-sleigh-or-any-other-holiday-du-jour-container to give away to friends and co-workers.  It's a great tradition - and I've learned to adjust my ingredients list at the grocery store to include the invasion so I'm able to give away some of it!

As the butter melts, the sugar is added and melted into submission it becomes bubbling gold - or bubbling flesh, as my nephew, Jason used to call it - but that was when he was 9 and it was really cool to try to gross out your aunt.  The house fills with melted butter aromas - now I know what Julia Child's kitchen smelled like (I loved that movie!) and there's a hint of sweetness with all that added sugar...and then comes the melted chocolate that gets smoothed around like frosting...love it!

bubbling up ~

sprinkled with almonds~

Making this toffee is also therapeutic ~ it makes you slow down because you have to pay attention to the temperatures and the timing - it has to reach 300 degrees at it's own time, not yours.  It bubbles up with such fury after adding the baking soda and you know you have seconds to pour it onto the cookie sheet - but then you have to wait for it to harden before you can top it with the chocolate.  Once I get started, I can't be interrupted - it helps me to focus focus focus.

I love traditions - and this one especially - because it brings such smiles to the faces of my family and such wonderful aromas to our home.  It feels like I accomplished something really cool.  Or maybe it's the Greek in me - for some reason, I grew up with the notion that Greeks are candy makers - maybe because we had relatives and friends that owned the best candy stores in San Francisco - and I got to go behind the scenes and pick out my favorite creams - orange, raspberry or those light green ones we never knew what flavor they were - all layed out on those long marble slabs...loved that!

Blessed Solstice, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ~
I wish you Peace within your hearts and Sweetness in your Life every day~

Ceremony

From Wikipedia...
A ceremony is an activity, infused with ritual significance, performed on a special occasion.

Ceremony, ritual - lots of conversation lately about ceremony and ritual.  The latest being the sad news of a sweat lodge ceremony gone so horribly wrong that lives were lost, lives were changed from this day forward.  Was it because there wasn't a true understanding of the ceremony where those around the circle are releasing, discovering, and healing?  I certainly hope, being that it was led by a popular spiritual author, it was not because of the money.  I don't know him very well - just interviews I've seen over the last couple of years.  I know he is a mentor for some in my line of work and I highly respect their opinions.   No judgment.  I just know he will be forever touched by this - maybe even defined by this - what a way to learn a lesson.  My prayers are with them all.

I know that my lesson from the sidelines is that there is sacredness in the ceremony - not the numbers.  My guides whispered to me in the middle of the night that it's about understanding these ceremonies and the power associated with them.  To honor that power is also integral with the ceremony.

When I was a teenager, my father said "Come help me with my Ritual work"...he was a Freemason and now, as I think about it, I held that little book and helped him memorize his lines.  I sure wish I could recall the hidden mysteries that were at the time, just words that I checked to make sure my Dad said in the order they were written .  I think it was his way of including me in this sacred ceremony that was not available to young girls then or today.

Thanks, Dad, for helping me understand the sacredness of ceremony, and including me in yours.
My prayers are with those touched by the events in Sedona.

Our Newest Angel Patrick Swayze

I just saw the tribute that Dancing with the Stars did for Patrick Swayze...I miss him already~

They did a great job, but no one can do that last Dirty Dancing number like he did...

Sending much love and blessings to his family and friends...I can only imagine how they must miss him. 

"It's amazing Molly...the love inside, you take it with you." 

Some random thoughts I have about the upcoming 9/9/09 day and it's spiritual significance.  When numbers play together like this, it gives us an opportunity to get our attention so we can set our intentions, change something, shed something that no longer serves you, or sit quietly with your Angels and Guides and listen to what they have to say.

In numerology, the number 9 represents = humanitarian, compassionate, romantic, selfless, generous, spiritual healer, all allowing, blending

In Angelic Numbers, it tells us "Lightworkers, get to work!  The number 9 means that you've completed all of the prerequisites to achieve your life purpose.  Stop procrastinating, as it's time to start taking action steps. Even Baby Steps are useful."

In the Tarot, the 9 card is the Hermit - the Sage standing on the mountain top, holding a shining lantern, representing a time of introspection to be able to receive the inner light of wisdom that lies within all of us. 

I connect Archangel Uriel with the Hermit.  Their similarities are (1) they both connect and remind us about our inner light, (2) Uriel's energy vibrates a golden color which looks very similar to the shining lantern held by the Hermit (3) their messages are about going within to understand and gain wisdom and insight into the situation (4) One of Uriel's "specialties" is helping with one's wisdom, gaining knowledge and the Hermit is a Sage.

I have always thought of the number 9 as a time of completeness.  We always talk about "cycles happen in 3s" right?  3+3+3 = 9 = triple trinity, completing the cycle of cycles.

This Wednesday is an opportunity for all of us to (1) take some time to reflect on what is working for us and keep it up - maybe even stepping it up a notch - have you just completed a cycle?  Maybe you're further along than you thought...step back and really look at how far you've come.
(2) Shed what doesn't work for us any longer - go ahead, ask the Angels to help you get rid of the clutter in your life - the less clutter in our lives the simpler our lives become!
(3) Send some love out to the world - simply love - and the Universe will thank you for your compassionate, humanitarian act of kindness.  I'm always sayin' - the Beatles got it right - All you need is love, love is all you need~

Happy September 9, 2009!
Paula

And so it begins~

Why is it that when I'm walking down the street, I have all these great trains of thought and wonderous questions...and now that I've committed to beginning a blog, my mind is blank...nada...nothin'....
Oh well ~ good news...there's always tomorrow and my next blog entry. 

There have been wildfires in parts of California where I have friends and family living.  I offer this prayer to the Universe and hope you join me, too ~

We call upon the Elements for their help.  We ask Earth to cover over the flames, Air to stay low and lay down, and Water to work efficiently.  Thank you Fire for your lessons of purification and purging.  Thank you Fire for settling down and stopping now.  Thank you Smoke for your cleansing of the area.

Thank you Archangel Michael for standing your line of protection around the perimeter of Fire and keeping our Firefighters safe.  Thank you Archangel Ariel for guiding our pets and wildlife to safe places.

Thank you Rain for sharing your presence with us and drenching Fire out and quenching our Earth.  All is in Divine Order ~

Paula ~