Snow Candy And Speckled Chickens

I got my book "Circle Round, raising children in the goddess traditions" in the mail the day before yesterday and started reading it immediately. I cannot begin to tell you how great this book is! I wasn't very far into reading when I came across one of the wonderful traditions, that I felt tears coming to my eyes. It was about snow candy, I had all but forgotten making snow candy (with real maple syrup) at grandma's and grandpa's house every winter.

My grandparents have been in my thoughts a lot lately, I'm not sure why. It seems that I miss them a whole lot more the older I get. It was okay to be that dorky little kid, clumsy, opinionated but even then I loved getting in the dirt and working around the garden with them. (they even let me have one of their banty hens as pet and never batted an eye when I took "Blackie" for a walk in grandpa's old fishing basket, you know...the old wicker type with a square in the top, she fit just perfectly.) There were even a couple times in my life when I was very ill that I yearned for grandma's loving hands and soothing voice to be there to comfort me.

I never told mom about the snow candy (or the chicken, for she was deathly afraid of them), I realized even at that age, what reaction she'd have. It was a special tradition just between grandma, grandpa and me. Now days, as a parent, I would never advocate pouring maple syrup on snow and eating it but life seems so different now than it did back then. Here is an updated recipe that is probably much safer for consumption.

Snow Candy

* 1 cup real maple syrup
* 1/4 cup butter
* Shaved ice (or vanilla ice cream)

* Heat the syrup and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to avoid a boil over. 


* The mixture is ready 6 to 7 minutes after it boils (220 to 234 degrees on a candy thermometer). It should stiffen when dripped onto a plate.


* Remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes before pouring over shaved ice  or ice cream. It cools so quickly and kids can eat it right away.

Family Traditions

There's a book that I've ordered recently called Circle Round raising children in the Goddess tradition. I first became aware of it a few months ago on Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom's blog where Mrs. B gave it a great review. I have been mulling over this book, checking reviews and putting a lot of thought into whether or not I should buy it to introduce (more in depth) my beliefs with my youngest two children. My kids know that I'm pagan and  have a basic understanding of what that means but I never really taught them exactly what my spiritual path is all about.

When I was their age (after my father passed away), it was not an option to choose which spiritual path I wanted to follow, I was going to go to the catholic church and follow the belief system that my mother thought I should. I began resenting "church" because deep down inside it did not resonate with me. I could not reconcile the belief that people who commit suicide went to hell...sure, my father took his own life but he suffered from manic depression and alcoholism...did god sentence cancer patients and the mentally ill to  suffer fire and brimstone for all eternity... hadn't these people suffered enough in this world? How is that an example of a loving god?

So I made a vow to myself that when I had children, I would raise them to be respectful, conscientious, loving and kind but not shove my idea of spirituality down their throats as had been done to me. I'm very proud of my children (all five of them) and have always supported them in their search for

meaning...which ironically is more earth based than mainstream beliefs and makes me chuckle to think they have a  mostly pagan belief system and they don't even realize it.

However, now that I'm older, I want my youngest two to experience the world with a more grounded view of life and how they fit in, so I finally made the decision to teach them my spirituality on a level that they can understand. I want them to experience the freedom of a spirituality that does not base it's teachings of fear or control..that being who they are is exactly as deity made them to be.... I want them to embrace their gifts and not stifle them as I did.

In this book, there are many activities and things that we can do together that also teach them about the turning of seasons, about the god and goddess and traditions that we can build together that they can pass along that teach and promote a healthy outlook on the  natural world and how it works. I'm so excited to start reading and sharing with them and maybe I'll post our progress in a few entries. I think it will deepen my own spirituality in the process.