Cake of the Month: January, part 1

My original plan for January's Cake of the Month was to make ElvenTiger a special cake for her 12th birthday. She requested a layer cake with chocolate and caramel, and I've started doing some research. For the most part, I plan to create my own cake recipes, so I can share them on the blog and perhaps write a cookbook at some point.

In the meantime, a friend had decided to organize a surprise baby shower for the lovely founder and hostess of our local Red Temple group. So, when we started planning the details, it seemed obvious that I would make her a special cake! Our founder, you see, has been a big fan and supporter of all my creative efforts, which I really appreciate. And she also expressed a strong interest in helping out with the cake project...by tasting the results, of course! Plus, she's just an all-around wonderful person and caring friend. So here is the very first Cake of the Month, pumpkin chocolate-chip cake with vanilla frosting!

Unfortunately, I can't share the recipe for this one. I co-wrote it, and I'm under a legal agreement with the co-authors of the cookbook it will appear in, so I can't publish this recipe. However, stay tuned, because January will have two cakes! I'm going to create the recipe for ElvenTiger's birthday cake, and I'll share it with you later in the month. Bon appetit!

Tarot Tracking 2010

“Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice.” – E. M. Forster

I'm definitely a chronicler of life, as posts like this one prove, but I've also delved into practice. In this case, a daily spiritual practice which includes a three-card daily Tarot reading. I note the day's cards and events, keeping track of how many of each card I draw over time. At the end of the calendar year, I like to return to the cards I drew most often to evaluate what they meant for me that year.

Here are my most significant cards for 2010:

1. The Hermit: solitude, inner exploration, shining my light in the darkness, introspection, seeking, a time to observe but keep silent, spiritual advancement

2. Knave of wands: (knaves are catalysts, taking risks, the need for study) adventurous, seeking new directions for self-growth, uninhibited

3. 10 of cups: (tens relate to completion, satisfaction, and responsibility) the blessings of family and community, joy, optimism, thankfulness

4. 5 of swords: (fives are about struggle, confusion, and change) being challenged, seeking answers to questions, mental angst

5. 4 of pentacles: (fours describe stability, order, a desire for security, and inward focus) establishing order, material concerns, home and hearth

6. 6 of pentacles: (sixes are about sharing, generosity, and expression) exchange of energy, giving and receiving, sharing resources

7. King of pentacles:(kings are concerned with mastery, authority, power, and being limited by one's own rules) established roles, being practical, concern with security and quality, being slow to change, material well-being

Compared with last year's cards, there is still quite a strong earth influence here, but there are also changes and new self-understanding. Money issues were still a big focus this year, yet the ways I've dealt with the stresses surrounding them have been evolving. I'm thankful for all the help I've received. I feel like 2010 was spent establishing the foundation for success in that arena.

Self-exploration and contemplation were a huge part this cycle. After a major conflict with a friend during the first part of the year, I began questioning who I am and how I relate to others and the world in general. The loss of the friendship sparked a lot of mental angst, but the questions raised were of great value. I took time to delve into these questions in a positive and thorough way, observing and learning more about myself. I was also able to turn that light back out, sharing some of my findings through writing and teaching.

I continue to be blessed with amazing family, friends, and community. My gratitude for these blessings overflows. My natural optimism is buoyed by my loved ones and their support and love. My home is my sanctuary, and being able to share it with my favorite people has been a joy this year. In these ways, I am wealthy beyond measure.

This year has found me ready and willing to take on the adventure of being more fully myself. I've discovered that there are those who love me unconditionally, just as I am. And I've also found that trying to please those who don't is a worthless pursuit. I've always been introspective, yet the second part of being The Hermit is key - to share my discoveries, to turn the light outward and shine it freely. No, not everyone will be interested, but there will be those who are, and I can help uplift them. As we share our wisdom with each other, we all benefit.

In 2011, I'm ready to create an even more exciting and powerful life. As I follow my callings, walk the path of the spirit, and honor my creativity, I can't help but succeed!

Goals for 2011

I've been musing on my goals for 2011, and a few weeks ago I came up with my Word of the Year, which is CREATE. This word will be my touchstone for the year - all of my other goals are steeped in it. Today I sat down with my notes for various things I want to create, but I wasn't sure how to put it all together. Based on BlackLion's creative suggestion, I'm going to organize them into categories based on the five elements, which I find very appropriate given the focus I had in 2010. I've been doing a lot of in-depth study of the elements and the points of the pentacle, and this way of grouping my goals feels right. Some of them could probably fit in more than one element, but these are the associations that worked best given my intentions. So, here they are:

Air: I write and publish books and articles. I explore paper arts and crafts, such as collage, origami, and scrapbooking. My Cake of the Month project involves creating or finding a recipe, baking and decorating a fancy cake, and posting the results on my blog (with pictures) each month.

Fire: I am increasing my self-confidence and power-from-within, thus creating myself anew. I agree to participate in events and projects only if they feel like a passionate "yes!" to me. I discover and take the next steps of self-exploration and activism based on my work with the Iron Pentacle.

Water: I cultivate positive relationships with my favorite people and make new friends who I enjoy spending time with. I remember and record my dreams and use the imagery for my creative and spiritual projects. I use the Voyager Tarot to deepen my intuition.

Earth: I make a living by sharing my creativity with the world. I drum in sacred space and see where it takes me. I take regular walks and hikes, exploring the world around me as the seasons change. I help create a vibrant vegetable garden and share the harvest with my family and friends.

Spirit: I gather with others in circle to explore spirituality in community. I attune my body, mind, and spirit through the regular practice of yoga. I explore the non-physical planes through out-of-body travel and I have full recall of my adventures. I bring back wisdom to help me on my spiritual path.

Starcat's Ten Best Books of 2010

As promised on the latest episode of the PawedCats Podcast, here is my list of the ten best books I read in 2010. These are my favorites out of the 57 books I read this year. Please note, these aren't necessarily books that came out in 2010, just my favorites of the ones I read. They are listed in the order I read them.

The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse: A Breakthrough Program for Connecting With Your Soul’s Deepest Purpose by Debbie Ford

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World by Amit Goswami with Richard E. Reed and Maggie Goswami

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Conscious Dreaming: A Spiritual Path for Everyday Life by Robert Moss

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams by Mike Dooley

The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Woman Who Glows in the Dark: A Curandera Reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health by Elena Avila with Joy Parker

Adventures Beyond the Body: How to Experience Out-of-Body Travel by William Buhlman

More Cake of the Month (Seconds, Anyone?)

I decided to go ahead with the Cake of the Month project. ElvenTiger gets the first cake, since her birthday is in January. She wants some kind of layer cake with chocolate and caramel. So I'm on the hunt for good recipes.

BlackLion thought I meant that I'd be creating recipes for the cakes myself, which is certainly an option. I love taking a few different recipes and altering them to make my own unique creation. And then, of course, I could publish my versions.

Today at the Christmas Tree Shop, I saw a bunch of really cool-looking cake stands at reasonable prices. I was shopping for gifts today, but at some point I may go back and get one or two, just for this project. After all, I want the cakes to look pretty when I share photos of them!

Within the next few days, I'll post my annual goals list for 2010. I'm also doing Christine Kane's Word of the Year this time, so my goals will be centered around the central theme of the word I've chosen. I won't tell you my word now (suspense!) because I want to share it when I post the goals.

If anyone has suggestions for types of cakes, leave a comment. And yes, of course I'll share the yummy results!

Our Happy Holidaze

We had a fun and very merry holiday time here at the homestead! Well, we’re still having it, really. Tomorrow we have my sister-in-law coming for an overnight visit, Wednesday is my Mom’s re-birthday, and then Friday is the huge homeschool group New Year bash.

But back on topic...we started our partying with our monthly potluck, this time transformed into a holiday potluck! The theme was "comfort food," and we had four kinds of soup, mac & cheese, bread, lots of appetizers (including a pizza dip, since my brother’s favorite comfort food is pizza), and of course, sweet treats for dessert. Which I didn’t have, since that was prior to Solstice. We had a really fun time and lots of laughs, as usual with this crew.

Then we held our 10th annual Winter Solstice Celebration! Actually, we’ve had more than ten, because we used to have them pre-kids, too, but this is the tenth one at this home. It was a sparkly fun time! We started the bonfire at sunset, and held the ritual at 6pm. We had 30 people this year, 26 of whom were there with us in sacred space, which was a delight. I loved the ritual (if I do say so myself, heh heh). It was so reverent, yet flowed smoothly and naturally. We feasted and exchanged homemade goodies and made paper snowflakes and played the Werewolf game and enjoyed the fire and played cards. And ate some more - there were so many goodies to share! And everyone was smiling and joyful and relaxed. I thought it was one of the best Solstice gatherings in recent memory.

And then most of the adults left, and the merriment continued! We had nine kids, ages 10 to 16, staying over. Not sleeping over, mind you, though two of them caught a few winks toward morning. No, this is the night we hold vigil with the Sun, staying up all night to see him reborn at dawn. I must say, for the longest night, it wasn’t all that dark – a lovely full Moon kept us company! We played a spontaneous live-action role-playing game, vampires versus werewolves. There was X-Box playing and video watching and dice-rolling preparation for the pre-planned D&D game, which started at 3am. I made more food and cleaned the kitchen while they played D&D, then had some quiet time by myself at the fire. I was joined by a few of the girls, and we had a lovely chat. At dawn, we closed the circle and everyone crashed. I slept right through both of the kid pickups! But no one seemed to mind. While we slept the day away, there were snow flurries that gave us our wished-for white Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we had a lovely quiet evening at Mom & Dad’s. We had soup and chowder and bread, and Christmas cupcakes. The movie this year was "The Polar Express," one of ElvenTiger’s favorites. Back home, we hung up our stockings and slept cozily.

Christmas morning was a super-fun flurry of gift opening and giggles and talking and playing games and our traditional breakfast of bagels and hot chocolate. BlackLion was here with us this year, and of course my parents, too. We were joined by several other relatives at noon, for more gift exchanges and lots of appetizers, followed by a delicious feast and my aunt’s terrific Death by Chocolate trifle. The evening was spent quietly with immediate family. We chatted and watched “White Christmas” and read holiday stories.

That brings us to yesterday, Boxing Day, when we went to BlackLion’s Mom’s home for a delightful feast and more gift exchanging. We had a wonderful evening there, and went home (not too far, luckily) in the beginnings of a winter blizzard. Today the world is really white and beautiful! We’ve been resting and writing and napping and reading and playing games. The cats are bored – it’s too windy and cold and wet outside, but they can’t really find anything to do inside. We gave them treats and catnip, and played with them with their new toy. Star loves her new coat, and looks adorable in it, too. The kids played outside, but Star didn't stay out with them for long - I guess she needs some doggie boots, too.

As for me, I’m feeling content with a job well done, and extremely blessed with a loving, fun, and generous family and community. You are all simply awesome! Thank you so much!

Haiku for A Winter Afternoon

White snow blows green pines.
Oak leaves hang on, shivering -
Wind after blizzard.

Cake of the Month

I've been on a sugar fast, from Samhain (Halloween) to Winter Solstice. By this I mean I've been abstaining from desserts, foods and drinks with refined sugars. I've also kept my use of other sugars (honey, maple syrup, etc.) low during this time. It's something I've done before, and helps me contain my natural inclination to perhaps overindulge in sugary treats this time of year.

Usually when I do this, I crave sugar for the first 3 or 4 days, then I'm fine. That was the case this time too. Until last week. Then I had a series of dreams that were about cake, or included cake as part of the dream. Apparently cake is the dessert I'm missing most. I'm a cake snob, too - it has to be homemade.

From the dreams, I came up with an idea to make a collage of a cake on a lovely cake stand. The entire collage will be made of pieces of cake photos from various magazines (I've already collected quite a few, because I'm looking through magazines anyway, making collage cards for my family).

Today I had an idea for one of my goals for next year: I'm going to make a new cake each month. A Cake of the Month club, although instead of receiving cakes, I'll be the one making them. What do you think? I don't have to eat it all by myself. I could invite you over for fancy tea parties. I could bring a cake to Red Temple gatherings. Mmmmm, cake... Then ElvenTiger had to remind me that I wouldn't want to be making the cakes next autumn when I'm doing the sugar fast thing. Huh. Spoil sport. Heh heh heh.

Just one week left, and then...let me eat cake!

A Birthday Tribute

Today would have been the birthday of my great-aunt, Bertha Letitia Smith, known by the family at Auntie Bee or Bee-Bee. She was born in 1902, and was one of the middle children of a family of sixteen kids. She was my maternal grandfather's older sister.

In some ways, I'm like her. Auntie Bee made some unconventional choices in her life, but never pushed her opinions on others or expected their approval. She was quiet, with a lively sparkle in her eyes. She didn't mind spending time alone. She loved cats, books, cooking, and word puzzles. Auntie Bee, like me, kept a journal for most of her life.

Auntie Bee and Quester got along great. She got to meet Dryst, but she passed away shortly before ElvenTiger was born, and never knew BlackLion. She was "old" to me the entire time I knew her, one of the respected elders of our family. When I was a child, I was eager to please others and to conform, and it seemed to me that Auntie Bee was more fond of my brother. She slipped him a dollar bill almost every time we saw her, and was amused by his unique personality and funny antics.

It was as an adult that I recognized our similarity, as I forged my own path, living a non-traditional life in many ways. I can see why she was more amused by and fond of those who showed an independent streak. When she was my age, society was more restrictive, but she didn't let that slow her down. I'm inspired by her example of quiet self-sufficiency. Auntie Bee was a strong and powerful woman. I'm so thankful that I knew her. Happy Birthday!