It's not just another Manic Monday, it's a Sirens' day, which means it's time to celebrate!
Before we do, we need to announce the winner of our Friday giveaway. Without further adieu, the winner of The Lapis Dragon Rune Giveaway is...
Congratulations! Be sure you send in your mailing address, so Rowan can mail your prize!
Now, on to today's festivities!
Buckle saw how the other pumpkins shone in the darkness, and secured a candle so Jim could do the same.
Now that school is back in full swing preparing dinner is made easier with the trusty crock-pot. Our house seems to have acquired a collection of said crock-pots in many assorted sizes and styles. Our youngest son, Garrett, loves French Onion Soup with cheese and a hard roll. Since I am careful with cheese and stay away from breads that are not gluten free I found this recipe where we can all enjoy it.
This is not a prepare and leave soup if you will be caramelizing the onions.
Crock-Pot French Onion Soup
The Paleo Kitchen
Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 3 to 4 hours or if caramelizing onions 6 to 8 hours
Serves: 4
2 (4 if caramelizing) tablespoons bacon fat or coconut oil, melted
3 pounds onions, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups beef broth
6 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1. Grease the inside of a slow cooker with 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat or coconut oil.
2. If you’re not caramelizing the onions, skip to 3. Otherwise, place the onions in the slow cooker and pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of bacon fat or coconut oil over the top of the onions. Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours, stirring every 2 hours while onions caramelize.
3. If you have not caramelized the onions, add the raw onions to the greased slow cooker.
4. Add the chicken broth, beef broth, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and mix well.
Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Taste soup and add additional salt to taste if needed. Remove herbs from the soup before serving.
Paula Lupi does what she can to keep herself and family healthy. One of the steps towards that was eating more in the Paleo side of choices. While integrating these changes into every day meals Paula also learned that she has a gluten sensitivity. She is a mother of three, but two are now out of the house, and a wife and partner to her husband of 27 years.
Paula enjoys spending time outdoors with Mother Nature, her hands in the dirt, and sweet talking the herbs and vegetable to grow healthy for the table.
She has two Boxers – Izzy and Vino, a polydactyl cat – Scrunch, two lizards – Ford and Karma, and her Chilean Rose Tarantula – Morticia.
Hand-crafted Halloween wreath valued at $45.00
Instead of sending you to websites etc.. each of you will get 1 entry for this one. You must guess the number of pieces in the bucket. If there is a tie, it will be broken by random number generator.
Before we do, we need to announce the winner of our Friday giveaway. Without further adieu, the winner of The Lapis Dragon Rune Giveaway is...
Johanna Lawson!!
Congratulations! Be sure you send in your mailing address, so Rowan can mail your prize!
Now, on to today's festivities!
Today's Music: Laboratorium Pieśni:
Lecieli żurauli (Oh The Flying Cranes)
English Translation:
Oh the flying cranes,
They sat in a field on fertile land,
They sat in a field on fertile land.
They sat in a field on fertile land,
Yes, speaking of fertile fields,
Yes, speaking of fertile fields:
Either better early,
Or better late,
Or better late.
And in the early planted fields,
There is growing rye, and wheat,
There is growing rye, and wheat,
And later on the fertile fields,
Are only weeds, and bentgrass,
Are only weeds, and bentgrass.
The men have gathered,
Yes, to talk about the women,
Yes, to talk about the women:
Was the first the best,
Or was the second better,
Or was the second better?
I had small children with the first,
And the second, she raised them,
And the second, they raised them.
And the third, she scattered them,
And the third, she scattered them,
And the third, she scattered them...
A Samhain Pat and Buckle Tale by Melissa Cassick
Pat and Buckle make friends wherever they go. Last fall brought a new idea: actually making a friend? It was challenging; Pat had to stand on Buckles head. But when they stepped back and regarded their work, they were amazed at what they saw: Here - in blazing orange glory, in flesh and seeds – was a new friend. Here was Jim.
 |
| Pat thought gluing eyes on would have been easier. |
 |
| Their celebration was lit. |
When his mortal form grew squishy, we acted quickly. The spirit of Jim could be recaptured – with a very special magic.
 |
| Magic marker, to be precise. |
No one could have guessed how quickly Jim would become part of the family. He celebrated the winter holiday season, even sitting for the official portrait.
 |
| To be fair, he was usually sitting anyway. |
He played in the snow with Pat, who was warm and snug in her mitten.
 |
| There’s no Jim like a snow-Jim. |
And he was tickled to be included in late night poker games.
 |
| Morris the Moose and Buckle had cause to regret inviting him. |
His greatest honor was when Pat and Buckle asked him to officiate their wedding. It was a very special day.
 |
| He would have shared many words of inspiration, had he been able to talk. |
Sadly, the months began to take a toll on Jim’s health. His increasing wrinkles and sponginess became a great concern to the family. Perhaps it was exacerbated by touring with Buckle’s alternative blues band, the Buckle-tones. He clearly did not look well on the cover of their album.
 |
| All that traveling takes an especially hard toll on the pan pipe player |
A few months away at a spa would do Jim a world of good. He could soak in a mud bath, take time for some re-growth, and come back feeling like a brand-new pumpkin.
As the cool weather approaches, Pat and Buckle will be baking welcome home cookies and peering out the window, awaiting the return of their good friend, Jim.
 |
| There is no need to tell her what those cookies are made of. |
For more fun, visit Pat and Buckle and their friends on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuckleandPat/
Melissa Chickyn Jane Cassick has been writing all her life, though in her diapered days, her choice of medium was dubious. She began scribbling her name on the walls of the boys bathroom in first grade, and quickly progressed to humorous limericks, and a senior thesis on why John Taylor was the hottest member of Duran Duran. Once her children began arriving, she rarely had time to write more than a single word on a scrap of paper with a broken crayon, but now that they are old enough to be locked in their bedrooms for lengthier amounts of time, she has loftier goals. She has been a pagan since high school, a Chickyn since 1989, and a sarcastic snot since the egg split. She lives in Buffalo, New York, with the most gorgeous man in the universe, four children, three cats, and a chihuahua named Biscuit, who wisely keeps her opinions to herself.
Jr. Sirens' Corner
We have some lovely submissions by our Jr. Sirens, Matthew and Margery Cassick. Matthew has chosen to remain mysterious in his bio, but Miss Margery has graciously allowed us to share hers with you.
 |
| Mr. Matthew Cassick |
 |
| Miss Margery Cassick |
 |
| Miss Margery Cassick |
Margery Cassick is an enthusiastic young woman who cares little what she is being enthusiastic about. Whatever she is doing, she is IN THE ZONE. She is a very fast learner. She loves coloring, painting, reading, playing with her dollies, pretending to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and bouncing on her trampoline for hours on end. She has a calico cat named Caroline. Margery is in fourth grade. She is a drummer in the school band, and plans to be a gymnastics coach some day.
Today's Recipe: Crockpot French Onion SoupPaula Lupi
This is not a prepare and leave soup if you will be caramelizing the onions.
Crock-Pot French Onion Soup
The Paleo Kitchen
Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 3 to 4 hours or if caramelizing onions 6 to 8 hours
Serves: 4
2 (4 if caramelizing) tablespoons bacon fat or coconut oil, melted
3 pounds onions, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups beef broth
6 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1. Grease the inside of a slow cooker with 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat or coconut oil.
2. If you’re not caramelizing the onions, skip to 3. Otherwise, place the onions in the slow cooker and pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of bacon fat or coconut oil over the top of the onions. Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours, stirring every 2 hours while onions caramelize.
3. If you have not caramelized the onions, add the raw onions to the greased slow cooker.
4. Add the chicken broth, beef broth, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and mix well.
Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Taste soup and add additional salt to taste if needed. Remove herbs from the soup before serving.
Paula enjoys spending time outdoors with Mother Nature, her hands in the dirt, and sweet talking the herbs and vegetable to grow healthy for the table.
She has two Boxers – Izzy and Vino, a polydactyl cat – Scrunch, two lizards – Ford and Karma, and her Chilean Rose Tarantula – Morticia.
Today's Giveaway: Halloween Wreath by Debbie Becker
Instead of sending you to websites etc.. each of you will get 1 entry for this one. You must guess the number of pieces in the bucket. If there is a tie, it will be broken by random number generator.
Good luck!
That's it for today! We'll see you tomorrow for more Samhain fun!
Manic Monday: The Sirens Way: October 23, 2017
by
Alexis Kennedy
on
9:00 AM
It's not just another Manic Monday, it's a Sirens' day, which means it's time to celebrate! Before we do, we need t...
