Gearing Up For The 31 Days of Halloween!

Been working my hiney off all morning, trying to get things ready! I'm not afraid to admit that I am freaking out somewhat, hoping that I don't forget anyone, screw anything up or blow the entire blog to smithereens by the end of the month, lol!

Just a few notes to those who will be entering the contests, while I've got your ears:

• Please make sure that I can contact you if you win. I can't tell you how many times I have to pick alternate winners for prizes because I have no way to contact the first winner. If you have a blog, make sure that your profile is not private (or leave your email address with your entries). If you have a blog, but it's not active and you don't check it (or it's tied to an old email account that you don't check), please leave an email address. If I can't leave a message on your blog or email you directly a new winner will be chosen.
• If you win, I'd like to ask that you make sure to let the donor who is mailing your prize know that it got to you and let them know you appreciate their donation. I might be the hostess with the mostess, but nothing would be happening without the wonderful, generous people who donate the prizes. If, after you get your prize, you can't remember who sent it, contact me and I'll send you their info.
• Please take the time to comment on the blogs of those who are participating in the Haunted Walking Tour and who've done me the favor of creating guest blogs for this month. I know a few were nervous about putting their writing out there for a crowd to read, and will appreciate your words of encouragement :O)

Those things said, get your broom ready, we're almost ready for lift-off!

And if you notice things sort of disappearing and being rearranged in the next couple of days, have no fear! I'm just getting organized and ready for October. It will all go back to normal afterwards

Yes, another post today, lol!

Just wanted to tell everyone that I've been honored by being asked to be the first featured blog on the Pagan Writer's Community. There's even an interview :O) I was just super thrilled to be asked.

(You can also become a fan of the Pagan Writer's Community on their new Facebook fan page.)

Thanks to Angelique for being a wonderful interviewer and to the Pagan Writer's Community for the honor!

Whew!

Just a couple of quick notes! To all the lovely people who have signed up to participate and/or donate an item for the 31 Days of Halloween: I am still working on the schedule. Please forgive me, I'd meant to have it done before now and have everyone emailed to let them know what day their blog/post/donation would be featured, but I am woefully behind.

Between everything that happened this month: falling down the stairs, 2 kids with strep, a leaky bathtub that required multiple plumber visits (he is in fact, here again right now, lol!), and a kid who cracked a molar in half... well, it's been a much busier month than I had ever anticipated! Wednesday I take J. to the oral surgeon to discuss having all those lingering baby teeth pulled! (Oldest had the same thing happen - my kids just don't loose their baby teeth!) With the kids home from school today for Yom Kipper and the plumber here (and laundry and grocery shopping, eek!) it's just crazy today as well. But, rest assured, we'll be set up and working on the first. I might end up having to mail everyone day by day to let them know who's where (Tour blogs will be dealt with first, as they actually have to have time to put something up on their own blogs), but we'll get everything in and featured.

I think next year, if I do this again, I might have to recruit people to help stay organized, lol! I had no idea it would get so much bigger this year!

Oh, and don't forget that the True Jackson VP giveaway will go off today at noon EST. Great "put if up for Xmas" gift if you have a tweener!

Have a wonderful week!

Follow the Horde!

I want to start off by saying that my choice of Horde attack had nothing to do with this:

This is the awesome wall hanging that I won from Grimvisions. How cool is that? Yeah, it's pretty cool!

When I decided to feature an art blog this week, I had a ton of great artists I could choose from (and I'll get to all of you eventually, lol!). The thing that I really like about Grimvisions is that not only does he make creepy fabulousness, but he has tutorials on how to create your own! Even if you aren't the arty type, it loads of fun to just brows through the pages looking at the spooky magic he's created. Perfect to start getting into the Halloween mood!

You'll get to see these lovely creations!

So head on over to Grimvisions and say hello!

Are you sporting a 31 Days of Halloween Button? Let me know!

The countdown is on! It's almost here! And man, do I still have a crap load of work to do, lol!

But, as I said before, anyone who has a 31 Days of Halloween button on their blog before the 1st of October (and keeps it up through Halloween) will get an extra entry to each giveaway during October. I don't even care if it's the only thing on your entire blog, and you never post, lol! It's all good!

If you check here, I've changed all the buttons to so that they have the codes with them for easy use.

I just have one request! If you are sporting a 31 Days of Halloween button (or add one before the 1st and keep it up through the end of October!), please leave me a message here. I don't want to miss out giving extra entries to anyone, so I'd like to have a list to go off of.

Also, the Starhawk giveaway ends today at noon EST. Make sure to sign up if you haven't already! It would make a great Samhain present (or tuck it away for Xmas or Yule!).

And with that, I am back to the grind!

Making Hard Apple Cider: A Guest Blog by Mr.B.!

Cheap and Easy Homemade Hard Cider

I read a bunch of internet article last year about home brewing and making hard cider. After reading only a couple of articles I realized that this was going to be kind of easy not to mention cheap. So I took the best ideas and information from all of them and came up with the following process. You can add anything you want to your cider - sugar, brown sugar, honey, spices what ever you think sounds good. If you added all the stuff up it would cost around $12 or so.

What you need:

1 gallon apple cider or juice (does not matter which)
1 glass jug (presumably the one the cider came in)
1 packet of yeast (Fleischmann's or Red Star or what ever)
1 package of balloons (the big latex ones you get for kids birthday parties)
2-4 cups of adjunct (this is just a fancy word for sugar to strengthen and sweeten the cider)
- adjunct is optional, apples have enough sugar to ferment
1 cap full of chlorine bleach (to sanitize you gear)
1 funnel (If you can pour carefully you don't even need this, but it is easier)
1 stock pot big enough to hold a gallon of cider (at least 6 quarts)
1 long cooking spoon (metal or plastic NOT WOODEN)

The hardest part of the whole thing is finding the apple juice/cider that does not have sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate in it. These preservatives will kill the yeast and prevent fermentation. If you are lucky enough to live near a Whole Foods Market, their 365 store brand apple cider is free of preservative and comes in a nifty glass carboy (jug), perfect for fermenting. And don't worry about juice or cider as far as i can tell, it is a colloquial term.

Upgrades:

1 bung (basically a cork with a hole in it)
1 air-lock (fills the hole in the bung, hahahaha)
1 vial ale or wine yeast
1 siphon (3/8" plastic tubing 3 feet long)

You don't need to have any of these things, but they will make your life easier. Again if you live by a brew supply shop they will have every thing you need and more. If you don't, but you want this stuff, NorthernBrewer.com or Leeners.com will have it.

Getting Started:

1. Gather all your brewing supplies (hardware and software as Alton Brown would say)

2. Sanitize everything that will touch the cider after it is brewed with bleach. cap full of bleach with a couple of gallons of hot water in the kitchen sink. (jug, spoon, balloon, funnel etc,) let it sit for 20 minutes.

3. Rinse thoroughly, set aside to dry. Try not to recontaminate.

4. Pour about 12 oz of cider into a glass an set aside (you will need it later)

5. Over medium low heat, dissolve adjunct (sugar, brown sugar, honey) in remaining cider, do not allow it to get to hot or it will burn the cider (about 150º F). Let it cook for about 45 minutes. This dose a couple of things, it breaks down the the sucrose into fermentable sugars and kills any bacteria and wild yeasts.

6. Pock a small hole in the balloon with a pin.

7. Cover and allow pot to cool to about room temperature.

8. Activate 2/3 of yeast packet in warm water as per instructions on packet, add to pot (pitch)

9. Pour cider into carboy (jug). If needed top off jug with cider saved in 12 oz glass. (leave 2" head space for fermentation)

10. Stretch balloon over mouth of jug. Set in dark, cool (not cold).

After Thoughts:

The garage or a closet on the North side of your house is a good place to stash you cider. The cider should start bubbling within a day. The balloon should inflate a little and you should see lots of tiny bubble (like champagne). There is a chance of it bubbling over so you might want to put it in a Rubbermaid container. Every week you should rack (pour it into a new container) your cider, until lees (dead yeast) stops forming on the bottom of the jug and bubbling stops. Having 2 jugs is the easiest way to do it, but you could just pour it into a pitcher and return it and the balloon to your clean/sanitize jug. Fermentation can last up to a month (especially if you use honey), but will normally only last about 2 or 3 weeks. Once fermentation stops you can drink any it any time, but the longer you wait the better it gets. Don't worry if a little of the lees gets into the final product, the yeast is loaded with B vitamins and things that are good for the digestive track.




This is post  copyright to the author. It may not be reposted, reprinted or distributed in its entirety without express written permission of the author. Links to the article can be freely shared and are very appreciated!

Happy Mabon!

To all my Pagan friends, Happy Mabon! And happy first day of fall to all!

Mabon is the autumn equinox, a celebration of the second harvest. We give thanks for the harvest that will feed us through winter. This is the season for giving thanks and for giving back to the earth.

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail! Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers. Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all,
Flowers in the summer
Fires in the fall!

~Robert Louis Stevenson

For the first day of fall, I usually make about the same meal, roasted chicken, some sort of seasonal veggie or gourd (this year it will be glazed carrots from the garden :O), homemade bread of some sort, and a good bottle of wine (okay, 3 buck Chuck, but it's good!). I have this great tablecloth that has gourds and pumpkins embroidered on it that I use just for Mabon.

Monday Scurrying and Ranting

What a nice weekend I had! We took the younger kids on Saturday to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D. Good movie! Not as good as "Up" was but a good family movie. The price for matinee tickets? $11 each! Holy crud!

Sunday I ran around doing a ton of errands and grocery shopping, to come home to Mr. B. baking a carrot cake - from scratch with carrots from our garden! How cool is that? It was delicious. So was the foot rub he gave me later. And the dinner he cooked. Yes, I am a lucky woman, lol!

School so far for all has been going well. At least I assume that no news is good news!

If you are looking for quick recipes that are a bit more than the usual, try picking up Real Simple magazine this month. I don't usually get it, but the cover had some really nice looking food on it, and it said that there was a month's worth of quick, simple recipes inside. Not only that, but they give you a shopping list for each week, which is pretty handy. The recipes are ordered so that you use up your fresh produce and meats in the beginning of the week so that you don't have to freeze any meat and you don't have any produce going bad. I totally plan on trying out a ton of the recipes they had! They included a wide range: some meatless, fish, using great spices - and nothing takes more than about 20 minutes of prep, which is awesome!

Speaking of cooking, I have to tell you about the package I am waiting on! I'm getting a new chef's knife! It's coming from All Modern. All Modern sells modern furniture - but not just furniture, they also have tons of seriously awesome kitchen stuff, including some serious knife collections. I've got a couple of decent knives in my personal collection, but nothing like the one I'm getting. I really think though, that if you are going to be serious about food, you need at least one serious knife. And geez, I really do love cooking! I think I might actually do a video with the knife once I get it :O)

Whew! We are on the final countdown to the 31 Days of Halloween, and I have to admit that I am somewhat freaking out. After the sick kids and the fall down the stairs I am a bit farther behind than I planned to be at this point. So this week will be all about getting caught up and getting my schedule finished.

To anyone who mentioned joining in the "Tour" in a comment, but didn't contact me via email or my contact form, please use the form to let me know if you still want to participate. I don't want to leave anyone out who'd like to join in and this is the best way for me to keep everyone organized. Thanks!

And just a reminder that I'm trying to get a lot of stuff out of the way before October starts, so if there are a ton of reviews and giveaways, please be patient, lol! There are some awesome things coming up!

Hope everyone's week is off to a happy start!

True Jackson Season 1 DVD Review

Okay, I told you that I had a bunch of things to go through before October got here. Don't say I didn't warn you! ;O)

I have a 10 year old daughter. Those of you who have 10 year old daughters (or daughters who have been 10 in the last couple of years) are probably feeling a lot of compassion for me right now, right? Ten is a crazy age. Not quite a little kid any more, definitely too little to be a teen. I guess "tween" is the word these days, right?

My daughter still likes playing with her Barbies, but at the same time, she's starting to get phone calls from boys. Boys!

The one thing that's the hardest for me is trying to find shows that we can watch together that are appropriate for her. She's still too young to watch most of the things that I watch, but at the same time, doesn't want to watch "little kid" shows.

Thankfully there are shows like True Jackson VP on Nickelodeon. If you have a tween girl, I probably don't have to explain what the shows about, lol. For those who have not had the pleasure, True Jackson VP is about a 15 year old girl who becomes the Vice President of a major fashion label. Through her work she realizes that the office isn't that different from high school - there are still cliques, the occasional bully and, of course, crushes.

Miss M. and I recently got the opportunity to review the True Jackson VP Season 1 Volume 1 DVDs. The first DVD includes all 12 episodes of the show. The second DVD includes special features, such as bloopers and behind the scene extras and the casts screen tests.

I have to say that I enjoy this show more than I expected. First off, it's nice to see an African American teen ( Keke Pamer from Akeela and the Bee) taking center stage in a show for kids. I think that's something that's been lacking a bit in Hollywood these days. The world is a diverse place, and TV should show that. Also, this is a show that's perfectly appropriate for my daughter's age group. Thank you Nickelodeon for being a place where she can spend her allotted TV time without worries!

I have to admit that at the beginning I was slightly concerned about what a show dealing with working in the fashion industry might be showing my daughter. True Jackson is full of examples of how hard work and creativity pay off and how being a nice person and a good friend are sometimes more important than anything else.

So if you have a tweener that loves True Jackson, and would love to bring home the season one DVD (or maybe store it away for Yule or Christmas!) now is your chance!

TO enter the giveaway:

REQUIRED: Post a comment about what your child/s favorite Nickelodeon show is. Make sure I can contact you through your blog, or leave a valid email address in your post.

For extra entries do any or all of the following (leaving a separate post for each):

• (1 entry) Be a follower of my blog
• (1 entry) Follow me on Twitter
• (1 entry per day, leaving a comment here for each day you tweet) Tweet the following message: Please RT @MrsBsConfession is giving away Season 1 of Nickelodeon's True Jackson VP! silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com
• (3 entries) Blog about the giveaway, and leave the URL here

The giveaway will end on September 28th at noon EST. Good luck!

Calling all Horde!

Yep, it's that time again! Time to gather the Horde and visit another blogger. This week we are going to descend on one of my very favorite blogs - one that never fails to make me wish my kids were still little and wanted to do things with me, lol!

With that, I introduce you to Pink and Green Mama!

From her blog:

I was an elementary art teacher until I decided to stay home with my two little girls: The Frog Princess "E" (6.5) and Mini-Saurus "C" (2.5). I am an artist-mom with an overflowing recycling bin. I'm also in treatment for barely-controlled fabric/paper fetish.

You will be amazed at the crafts that she does with her daughters! If you have kids, you will definitely want to check this blog out. And if you don't have kids, you should still check it out, because you'll be inspired by Pink and Green Mama's crafty goodness.

Here are just a couple of examples of her awesomeness:

She got this kid car at a garage sale, and pimped it out for a friend:

How about this little fairy house, complete with fairy clothesline?

And the coolest car ride game I've ever seen, the rainbow Eye-Spy bottle!

So run right over and visit with Pink and Green Mama and her adorable kidlets!

Visit Nydia for a Goddess Giveaway!

My wonderful friend from Brazil, Nydia of Bringing Up Salamanders (and Carioca Witch!) (and the person that I sent the horde after this week!) is having a giveaway!

Nydia sells gorgeous, whimsical, magic filled creations and now you can enter to win one! At her blog, she is giving away this lavender goddess!

I was wondering many ways to thank you all for the awesom

It's open to anyone who follows her (or becomes a follower!) and leaves a comment, so make sure to enter!

Another Day, Another Giveaway!

Expect a few giveaways this week, as I wade through all the wondrous goodies that I've been send in the last few weeks! I'd like to get them all featured before October, so they don't get lost in the shuffle!

I had the chance to have my son test out some socks from SmartKnitKIDS. If you didn't know, my middle child, who's 12 is on the autism spectrum. One of the things that can go along with this disorder (and many other disabilities) is a sensory sensitivity. Things like tags or scratchy material can just literally torture him.

And then there are socks.

*sigh*

We've wrestled with socks for years. It's darn near impossible to find a brand of socks that are comfortable - not too tight, not too baggy, comfortable material - and the seams! Good gosh, the seams. They never lay right and they just bug him to no end. I know plenty of other kids that are bugged by the same issue - typical and disable kids alike!

When I saw the term "Seamless Sensitivity Socks", I knew I had to contact SmartKnitKIDS and see if we could test the socks out (and yes, I contacted them :O) It never hurts to ask!). They were nice enough to send 3 pairs of their socks to try out.

No seams!! Just none. No elastic at the top either. The socks were stretchy and not too tight, and even better, according to my son, they are good for sliding around on the floor with, lol! Mr. J. just loved them. Loved socks? That's darn near a miracle! And they didn't bunch up in his shoe during the day, which is the kiss of death for socks.

I was slightly concerned that when they got washed, they might fray or unravel. Nope, they came through with flying colors! That plus no sock fight in the morning before school is so nice!

And SmartKnitKIDS is letting me share these wonderful socks with one of my readers! The winner will receive 3 pairs of these socks for their child! These are just great socks, and I know the winner will be a huge fan, too!

Here's what you have to do to enter:

REQUIRED: Visit SmartKnitKIDS and check out there site. There are tons of resources and even coloring pages! Come back and comment on what you liked best! Please leave an email address if I cannot contact you via a blog (or if your profile is private).

For added entries (leave a separate comment for each entry):

• (1 entry) Become a fan of SmartKnitKIDS on Facebook.
• (1 entry) Follow SmartKnitKIDS at Twitter.
• (1 entry per day!) Tweet the following message at Twitter: Please RT @MrsBsConfession is giving away seamless socks from @smartknitkids on her blog! Visit silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com for details!
• (3 entries) Post about the giveaway on your blog. Please leave the URL of the post in your comment.

The winner will be picked on September 24th at noon EST via an online random number generator. Good luck!

The Last Wild Witch by Starhawk

I was given the opportunity to read The Last Wild Witch written by Starhawk and illustrated by painter Lindy Kehoe. It's described as "An Eco-Fable for Kids and Other Free Spirits" and it truly is a book for any age.

I loved this book so much, I'm not even sure where to begin! Let me tell you first about how the book is printed - because this book is special, right from the paper up. It printed on recycled paper using a soy based ink. So it's an eco-fable that puts it's money where it's mouth is. On the inside cover, it even has the information about what resources were saved by using recycled paper (21 full grown trees and 4, 658 gallons of water!). And it's published by Mother Tongue Ink, who publishes the We'Moon Datebook. This is their first children's book.

The story itself is about a town that is "perfect" - with rules for everything, and no one ever breaks them. That is until the children of the town get a little magic in them courtesy of the last wild witch! She lives in the last magical forest that stands on the edge of the perfect town, and spends her time tending her cauldron. After the children get a taste of wild magic, they begin to break the rules (such as turning cartwheels in the grass). The adults are not happy about this turn of events and make plans to put an end to the wild forest. The children fight to save it.

What a great story. It tells a fable about saving the forests - the wild magic! - without being preachy. Though it contains a witch, it's a story for everyone - anyone who loves nature, lives green, and knows about the magic of being in the forest - whatever name you call that magic by. (And shouldn't that be all of us?)

(This image is from a poster for the book.)

The writing in this book is magic in itself. It has a beautiful rhythm that makes it a perfect read aloud book. The witch herself only has one line of dialog, which she repeats throughout the story. While reading this myself, I could see that after a few readings of this story to a group, the children would quickly be able to chime in the line when it came up! You know what I mean, that one line in every great children's book that the kids just have to say along with the reader? It's also written simply enough that kids a bit older can happily read it themselves.

Besides being so well written, it is also a book of the times. A way of helping kids to realize that yes, adults have tried to suck the natural magic out of this planet, but you can make a difference! You can work to change things. You can even teach your parents a thing or two! A lot of the wild places might be gone, but we can work to save what is left and try to heal the rest the best we can.

And I haven't even mentioned the art yet. Lindy Kehoe creates a rich, lush, swirly world in The Last Wild Witch. The illustrations are simply gorgeous. From the fabulous royal purple endpapers to the to the trees that are bursting with life and the children that are themselves the richest colors of the earth and sea, I've rarely seen a book that has gotten me so involved in the art work. My daughter and I had fun just looking for spirals in each of the pages (almost every page has one!).

I can safely say that this book will be one that is read and reread in my family, and passed down even further. Starhawk and Lindy Kehoe have together created their own wild magic.

Had to let you know about this...

Laughing Vixen Lounge is giving away an insanely awesome September giveaway, in conjunction with some other equally awesome artists/crafters.

Be warned though, this one has my name all over it. Literally, lol! Go sign up, and you'll see what I mean!

UPDATE to add: A pasta company is giving away a year's worth of free groceries. I don't usually pimp corporate giveaways, but in these times, who couldn't use that?

Look What I got!

In the time I was down (from actually falling down, lol!) I received several goodies in the mail! Seems this week or so was my lucky week for giveaways (I won 2 yesterday! One from the awesome Grimvisions and one had to do with Ben & Jerry's ice cream! Woot!).

I thought I'd share some of the awesomeness that I got in the mail:

The first was a giveaway from Static White's Stitchery. I was dying to win this one (as you could tell from the Haiku I submitted as an entry, about Eric from True Blood, lol!). It was full of awesome goodies from her and a few of her friends!

The contents included: A Tiger Batling Brooch and a Cherub Charm Clip, from Static White's Stitchery, a bar of Wild Blue Beer soap from DarkSideSoap, Absinthe Lipgloss from HandmadeHorrors, an Art Card & coupon from Somnambulant, a pin from StarrlightJewelry, a Magnetic Calendar & Pin from MrsEvils, a scented Dream Pillow from LeftHandedGoth, and a Coffin Bat Gift Tag/Bookmark from AgonysDecay.

My goodness could there be any more coolness in one box? The brooch is super freaking cute! The soap is rich and fabulous. I'm saving the absinthe lipgloss for Halloween, lol! It has a awesome color to it! Anything made by MrsEvils has a gory goodness! Bookmarks? For me? Yeah, you know I love that! The Dream Pillow I had to hide from the kitties, lol! There seems to be some cat nip in there! Everything was so amazing! Thank you, thank you Static White's Stitchery!

But the goodness doesn't stop there!

I also received this package from Gypsy Eye Studio!

I won an amazing pair of "Laura Bobbies" - gorgeous hair clips!

How beautiful are those?! I was surprised to also find in the box these super fun skull earrings!

How cute are those?

Next up, I received this totally cute skull key ring from Carioca Witch!

Very Day of the Dead! Love it!! The picture that I took just doesn't do it justice!

And just yesterday, I got this delivery from Haunted Swamp Designs! What could it be?

It's this wonderful box!!

How beautifully painted is that? The sides are fabulous, too!

Even the inside is decorated!

And it came with a note and some magic, lol! According to the note, all the treats placed in the box will be calorie free! Hurray!

I have to tell you, I feel like one lucky duck this week! Thank you so much to everyone who made all these wonderful, wonderful things and gave their readers and fans a chance to win them! I am happy to give them all a good home, lol!