Raven & Writing Desk

Witch. Writer. Wanderer.

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Just a test

checking to see what status posts look like 🙂

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To Begin, End

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

On September 21, 2007, I embarked on a new adventure into the world of blogging, posting here for the first time. I’m not sure how long the average lifespan of a blog is, but I am certain that it’s significantly less than thirteen years. I am grateful to everyone who has paused here to read a few words. For those who found my words interesting enough to return…

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Got Baggage?

In this year of the world being turned upside down, my usual routines have tossed themselves straight onto the rubbish heap. Sitting down to write on a Sunday afternoon in July feels… wrong. I should be out hiking, picnicking, or tubing down a slow-moving mountain river. Unfortunately, my usual spots are crowded with people for whom masks are an unknown concept, so I’m opting to stay home and do…

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What We Raise & Raze

What We Raise & Raze

Photo by Ficky on Pexels.com

Content note: What follows is a bit of a rambling post that is mostly about ancestor reverence framed within the context of a national legacy of racism and bigotry.

Ideas rarely come to me wholly formed and complete. My writing, particularly my non-fiction, often springs from related, repeating themes. When I wrapped up my last post, I intended to write…

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Faster Than Sound

Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com

Welcome summer, season of light, fire, heat, and under normal circumstances, travel. While some are venturing out, I am staying mostly at home for the duration of the pandemic. Armchair travel is the theme of this unusual summer and much of my planned reading and screen time for the season focuses on those places that I cannot safely venture.

I…

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I don't feel particularly proud of myself. But when I walk alone in the woods or lie in the meadows, all is well.

— Franz Kafka, Letters to Friends, Family, and Editors

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Forward Through Fear

Pexels.com (What follows contains references to acrophobia) I’d intended to follow up on my Solstice post this week, but a conversation on the Cauldron forums as me thinking about fear as it …

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If The Shoe Fits, Be A Heel

It has been brought to my attention that I have a superpower that I didn’t know I possessed – the ability to offend people for the most ridiculous reasons. Case in point: I recently in…

One of my longer ramblings...

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Signs it’s been a rough week:  The large piece of black tourmaline that you keep on your desk splits in half on its own. 

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Cool, rainy day here - perfect weather to brew up a pot of lavender-infused Earl Grey and spend the afternoon writing.

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Remembering The Forgotten

CW: PTSD, Suicide A neighbor gave me a gift of a dozen ripe peaches today. As I stood pondering what to do with them, a memory came back to me, unbidden, of the last conversation I had with my fri…

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Rosemary Pie Crust

" There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember...” - William Shakespeare, Hamlet

I’m making this recipe for Memorial Day, in honor of a friend who served.  It includes rosemary, for the reasons that Shakespeare has suggested, but I’ve tempered the remembrance with the strengthening energy of thyme and the warmth of cinnamon. This crust works well for fruit pies, but can be used for savory pies by reducing the sugar and eliminating the cinnamon (a pinch of nutmeg can be substituted).

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 ounces cold butter, cut into small cubes

1-2 tablespoons cold water

Combine all but the butter and water into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse several times to evenly blend the ingredients.  Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Add just enough water to bring the dough together. Form the crust into a disk and refrigerate at least one hour before rolling out and using with your favorite pie recipe.

(Note: A pastry blender can be used instead of a food processor if preferred, just sift your flour first and make sure the dry ingredients are thoroughly blended).

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altar in a jar

for gathering your altar goods...i quite like how they look in the jar...in the jar: *pic of my mother *wooden spools from her collection *her favorite candies *a small ceramic cat (hers) *a photo of her and my granny *happy party pics belonging to granny *small fabric rose from my mamos' garland *a wee cupcake topper that reminds me of her *granny's locket

Great idea for small altars.

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If you are a savage, stand up. If you are a witch, a dark queen, a black knight, If you are a mummer, a pixie, a sprite, If you are a pirate, a tomcat, a wright, If you swear by the moon and you fight the hard fight, Come stand by me.

Catherynne M Valente, A Monstrous Manifesto

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Elegug Stacks, Pembrokeshire  |  by Karl McCarthy

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