Happy Halloween! Blessed Samhain!

I am about to start cooking for my Halloween party soon. I'll be taking lots of pictures to share with you all tomorrow! Hope everyone has a good and spooky night.

Quoth the Raven

The Raven
by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" -
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never - nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore:
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

I figured I would share some more spooky poetry. Poe is perfect for the season, isn't he? Speaking of sharing- Mrs. B. is still sharing a lot of wonderful goodies with us! Her 31 Days of Halloween ends, well, on Halloween! Go check it out if you haven't yet. I've got my eye on the subscription to Witches & Pagans magazine! I always need something else to read. xD

Real Quick

This is how I celebrated October this weekend:

Baking Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies


The cookies came out amazing!! They are wicked good- try making them!

and

Carving Pumpkins




Mine is the first one, it's supposed to be Jack Skellington. My sister did the second one, it's just supposed to be a dead pumpkin. We had fun!

Edit: I'm gonna make a pumpkin pie now too! Yum.

Samhain Resolutions

Samhain is the Pagan New Year, so I figured why not make some resolutions? There are some things I want to work on in the coming year:

Learn as much as possible about herbalism
Use my tarot deck
Connect with my spirit guide
Start writing things down- possibly in a BOS
Look more into my ancestry

I think learning about herbs is going to be my #1 thing for the coming year. It is something that seems interesting to me, and I figure if I dedicate myself to it for a year it will motivate me to actively learn. Everything else on the list is important, but not my main focus.

What do you want to work on in the coming year?

My Restaurant Plans/ Ideas/ Dreams

I told you I'd share my ideas with all of you!

So my whole restaurant idea began about 2 1/2 -3 years ago (about 10th grade). We watch a lot of Food Network in my house, and my favorite show on it is Guy Fieri’s ‘Diners Drive-ins and Dives’. After watching this show often enough I obviously started to form my own ideas of what a perfect restaurant would be like. These plans floated through my brain for weeks before I finally decided that it was my goal to open up a great little restaurant. This changed a lot for me. Before this I was planning on becoming a journalist, since that seemed to be the only reliable career I could have where I would be able to write. I will never regret this decision; I don’t think I would have been happy as a journalist.

I began taking more of the business and cooking classes in high school. In my tiny little school there wasn’t much, but it was better than if I hadn’t taken them at all. I made a really great connection with both my business and my home-ec teacher. I told them about my plans and they were both wicked supportive. I may not have been lucky enough to go to a tech school like some of my classmates here at NECI, but I don’t care. Growing up in a small town has helped shape who I am and what my plans for my restaurant are.

I know that I want a small restaurant. Bigger than a diner, though. I know that I want it to be family-friendly. I have a lot of cousins and growing up the whole family could rarely eat out together simply because the restaurants could not accommodate so many people. The food needs to have that home-cooked meal feeling to it. Just because you eat out doesn’t mean you don’t deserve comfort food!

Right now the plan is that my cousin will be the cook, since she is also attending NECI. That may change, though, since she is a baking and pastry student. I can always have some awesome baked goods at least! I have this little part of me that is just dying to have a Bed & Breakfast. So if that is in any way possible I definitely plan to have it as well. With or without the B&B, though, my restaurant will serve breakfast. All three meals are important and I just don’t understand why more restaurants don’t serve it.

Then my cousin’s boyfriend, who is so loved by everyone he is practically a part of the family, is like this alcohol EXPERT. He also wants to start a micro-brewery. Hello bartender! It just makes sense, right?

So, if you can’t tell, it’s all pretty much going to be family run. Family is important to me, always has been, always will be. The only problem I can think of is the location. Location is the most difficult part of any restaurant plan. I want it as close to home as possible. That is going to take a lot of research, hopefully I learn more about finding a good location in one of my classes.

So, those are my big plans. I also want it to be a farm-to-table restaurant. Support your local farmers! Oh, and raw milk. I can't stand store bought milk, so I definitely need to offer raw milk. Haha, I love afterthoughts.

I figured I would share a few things about myself for anyone who hasn’t been here before and may have decided to stop by after reading my guest post at Mrs. B’s.

When I first started this blog it was meant to be a way for me to meet and talk to other Pagans. If you read my posts you can tell that it has transformed from that to me talking about my whole life. So, about me- I am 18, I’m Pagan, I love literature, and I’m currently a freshman at the New England Culinary Institute where I am majoring in Hospitality and Restaurant Management. While here I am developing a plan for the restaurant I want to own and manage. I just realized that I haven’t actually clued any of my blog buddies in on what my restaurant plans are, so that’s a post you can all look forward to at some point soon!

My blog is really just a place for me to record where my path is taking me. I talk about what I’m learning in life, what I do (not much), and a whole bunch of random stuff that no one probably cares about. I hope if you’ve never been here before you decide to keep reading, I love finding new blogs to read.

Random Fact: Keene, NH- the biggest "city" near my hometown- had the world record for most jack-o'-lanterns carved and lit in one place, until Boston beat us in 2006.

In A Poetry Mood

Just for anyone who didn't know- I'm a poetry nut. I love literature, and I'm sad that it isn't a major part of my life. But when picking a future career I decided that restaurant management was a lot more practical than anything literature related. Everyone needs to eat, less and less people care about reading.

That being said I am totally in a poetry mood and just went to blackle (just like google, but it doesn't hurt your eyes!) and typed in poetry, hoping I could find a few good poems to read to satisfy my yearning for the written word.

Luckily a decent site actually came up in my search! I will be saving http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/ in my bookmark. All my poetry books are at home, and even though I have my kindle (best invention EVER!) I don't want to have to buy the books again. I can always read Shakespeare on my kindle, it was on of the first things I bought since my copy at home is the complete works that is so heavy and impractical to read from, but I prefer reading Shakespeare out loud and my roommate/ cousin is asleep.

Now to share a couple of the poems with you.

anyone lived in a pretty how town
by E. E. Cummings

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

A Dream Within A Dream
by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow--
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand--
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Yes, the more abstract poems appealed to me this morning in my half awakeness. Hope you enjoyed them!

Honest Scrap Award

The wonderful Nydia gave me this award! Thank you Nydia! <3


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.

Here goes-

1. I am unbelievably selfish with my time. Not in the volunteering my time sense, I love doing meaningful volunteer work, but in the spending time with other people sense. This is one of the reasons I am having such a hard time making new friends! I love my 'me' time, and my me time doesn't include other people usually.

2. I tend to look for a deeper meaning in things.

3. I'm not very creative. I wish I were!

4. It takes me a long time to pick up a new skill or to change an old habit. No matter how often I tell myself that change is good I seem to fight it tooth and nail.

5. I feel like I'm using my religion as a crutch lately. Whenever I start feeling stressed or scared it comforts me.

6. Sometimes I wish I could just be like other teens and care about dating, movies, music, socializing, parties and trends. I just don't care about these things. It's so awkward to sit in a room and have everyone around me talking about things, like a band or movie, I know nothing about.

7. I love my body.

8. I have got an odd sense of humor that only certain friends seem to get. These same friends always know how to make me laugh!

9. Little things make me happy. Like walking across the lawn and stepping on all the wicked crunchy leaves! Why walk on the leafless paved path?

10. I'm usually very neat. It's a learned habit from living with my dad for 18+ years. He is an absolute neat freak! If the house wasn't clean to his standards then there was always yelling. Since moving into my dorm I have learned to ignore the mess. There is no possible way to keep a room this small clean!

Haha I just read through these, they really make me sound lame. They're all true, though. I guess when it comes to putting 10 honest things out there hardly anyone is going to look cool.

Now to pick people! I want to share this award with the new people I've met this month while participating in Mrs. B's 31 Days of Halloween along with a few people I've known for a while.

1. Rue and Hyssop

2. The Gods Are Bored

3. Angela

4. Suzie

5. Doug & Boo + Two!

6. Bex's Hexes

7. Jaz over at Octoberfarm

I'm sorry if any of you have already recieved this award! I hope I can get to know my blog buddies, both new and old, better. I wish I could have picked more people.

Happy Dance!

I wanted to share that I did really well on my Practical! The written exam was easy, at least for someone like me who studies obsessively before tests. The cooking part of the exam was a bit more challenging. There were 7 things we had to cook, and we had to have at least 5 of them done in two hours or we had to take the whole thing over. Luckily I got 5 out of 7 done, so I only need to complete those 2 things on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised with myself for doing so well.

I really don't have much to talk about. I thought I did yesterday, but then I started feeling kind of crappy. I'm feeling better today, but not 100%. I've been listening to PCP all day, and I watched episode 3 of House. Yeah, this is how I spend my day off!

I probably would have done more if I had been feeling 100% better. I know that since I started listening to PCP I have realized that, even though I've been studying this path since about 9th grade, I don't know very much. I know how ignorant I am, and I don't like it. I feel like I am past the "Pagan 101" type things, but I don't know what my next move is. Does anyone have any advice?

Pagan Podcasts

I was watching a fellow Pagan teen's youtube videos and she mentioned Pagan Centered Podcast multiple times, insisting that anyone watching go there and listen. I took her suggestion and listened to their latest podcast, which just happened to be a live one, and I loved it! PCP is hilarious and informative. I plan to listen to the other 120 they have up. Check them out!