Witch Vlog # 3 Lughnasadh Weekend - No speaking

Just a little video about my Lughnasadh weekend - this is a non verbal video, so all you have playing is my hubby's music whilst I put little subtitles on here and there.
I hope you enjoy it...
Blessings to you all, Annette )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden Vlog # 10 - now on my YouTube Channel....

I hope you enjoy it!! Blessings to you, Annette xxx

Witch Vlog # 2 Lughnasadh - now available on YouTube

New Year - New Moon - New Beginning - First blog of 2025!!!

 Greetings and Salutations All & A Happy New Year!!

I bet a few of you have hangovers today hahaha - a few parties and few too many drinks later!

Did you make any New Year's resolutions?

We spent our New Year's Eve at home, nothing special really - I managed to clean out my Greenhouse of all plants and give it a good sweep through.  We then sat under the gazebo and Paul wrote a couple of new guitar tracks, so we listened to him and sang along whilst I was repotting a fern and ripping up cardboard/paper for composting.  Caetlyn was doing her knitting (swearing a lot because she miss counted or dropped a stitch... hahaha) and Mavis the dog was just following anyone around to see if she could help or sleeping under the table!

Later in the day we just had a normal meal, watched a bit of telly and then played scrabble until it was time to wish each other a HAPPY NEW YEAR.  We did consume a lot of sweets and biscuits/cookies though - which we con't normally do as we have reduced our sugar and salt intake over 2024 quite substantially, so when we have a burst of sugar like this, it does disrupt our bodily patterns somewhat!

As it was also the New Moon, a time to start something new, a fresh beginning as it is the start of the new moon cycle.  I did light my huge candle and some incense to welcome in the new year - however, I don't really get excited about it because our (witchy) new year isn't until Samhain on 1st May.

This year in the Chinese Horoscope it is the year of the Wood Snake (which means it's Paul's year this year). That doesn't come into effect until 29th January 2025.

Thinking of 2025 - I do hope that this year will be a better year than the previous 3 years, which have been a bit rough - and even though I do not make resolutions (as I am always disappointed in myself when they all fall apart), there are a few things (goals perhaps?) I would like to do:

1. Keep trying to get fitter and healthier - as I am getting older I need to make sure that I maintain my flexibility and fitness levels so that I don't end up on the "Medication Merry-go-Round".  I believe that Mother Nature has provided us with all the help we need in the forms of herbs and food for medicine.  I have created a spreadsheet for the next 6 months with every detail I need to form an opinion on patterns (good or bad) so that I can tweak my fitness progress:

Front Page of my Fitness Plan

I have included things like exercise, rest, daily health assessments, supplements taken, fortnightly weight and monthly body measurements.  With this information I should be able to see what progress I am making, and if I am not making progress, I should be able to see where I am failing with all the collected information.  I also have a page for NOTES after each month and on there - well it's like a journal - I put my feelings on certain days so I can see if there are any cycles or patterns there.

It should be all very interesting!!

2.  I would like to progress my YouTube channel by varying the content on there, hoping I will get more followers (but if I don't, ah well C'est Lavie), I will still have fun documenting my journey in life...

My YouTube Banner
Annette McLean's YouTube

So if you want to see more videos on Gloomy's Garden, or on my witchcraft practice, herbal remedies, book reviews, Q&A's and Tea & Chat videos, hop along on the bad foot to my channel and press subscribe, and ring the bell so you are notified of when I upload.  It would be greatly appreciated!!

3.  I would like to learn how to make my own soap - from scratch - right now I have done the melt and pour soap, and I am about to embark on the reusing the old soap bits that usually get thrown away - to make soap bars... but I would really love to learn how to make pure soap from scratch, using the oils I have infused with herbs and flowers from my garden.  I am a bit wary about the Lye though - I have heard that can be quite a thing to get used to!!

Melt & Pour Lavender Soap

I thought that the soap and pour ones were very easy to do and with the soap colours, they looked quite pretty (plus I did put some Lavender blossoms and oil in the mix as well).  For my first try I was quite pleased with them - I  did some flowers and some stars - it was a gift for a friend (along with a load of other witchy items) that was moving interstate.

4.  I want to repaint and redecorate my witchy room come office.... I want to make it feel more mystical and magickal, full of beautiful things that make me feel peaceful and joyful.

My messy work desk and Altar

My witchy cupboards and a load of mess

My bookshelves filled with odds & sods (mess)

However, if I don't get to these things this year - there is always a next, I am not going to be putting undue pressure on myself just to prove a point. 

To do my room I will probably have a month off in either April or May so that I can take my time and get it how I want it.

Isn't it lovely to have a new year, a fresh start?  To get rid of ALL the negative aspects out of your life (as much as possible - unless you live in a cottage deep in the heart of a wild forest somewhere, where nobody visits and you have no media to drag you down, just nature) and just breathe a sigh of relief, knowing YOU are in FULL control of what happens in your life - sure, those around you or situations can influence that and how you react, but at the end of the day - YOU are the one who makes the decisions for YOU!!

Take control of that aspect this year - say NO more to things that you don't want to do - even at the risk of upsetting someone you love or the boss at work!

This year is a time of YOU

Now you might think that this is self-centred... and maybe it is to a point, but we have all been living under a man made stress for so long despite our mental and physical health.  Self Care is NOT self-centred, it is hard to be everything to everyone if your health is on the brink of crumbling around you.... To be strong, you NEED to concentrate on getting YOU right FIRST.  That is why NO is going to be the word of 2025....

If you don't want to go to a party and you would rather stay home in your PJ's with your cat/dog, watching something on TV or reading a book - then say NO.

If you don't want to take on more responsibility at work, tell them that you don't have the capacity to do that - say NO.

If you have a gut feeling that something isn't right and you don't want to proceed - then NO!!

It just amounts to prioritising YOU first.

Anyway, enough of me ranting - I'm off to spend some time in nature (my back garden), so have a lovely first day of January 2025 - get some rest, eat well, spend some time in nature and breathe in all that goodness, and I will catch you in the next blog or vlog on YouTube.

Blessings to you all )O( xxx

Looking back at 2024 and what is new for 2025, (Last BLOG of the year)

 Greetings all,

Merry Christmas Eve 🌲🔆🌟🔥

What a year 2024 has been!!

I was going to write about what a crap year it has been, but I didn't want to leave a whole bunch of negativity here, there is so much of it in the world these days that I don't want to encourage it here on this platform, so I have taken a "well needed" step back to reflect on the year that was, and found that there were a few things that threw the curve ball at us - like losing our beloved Rudy boy, ongoing health issues, work issues etc - but there were also good things as well, like enjoying nature, the garden and adopting our Mavis from the Animal Welfare League...

Mavis and I doing a selfie...

Whilst work has given me the absolute heebee-geebees (I cleaned that up pretty nicely!!!), I was blessed  to have a whole month off in September - part of my long service leave - and in that month we redecorated parts of the house, did some planting in the garden, relaxed and just enjoyed life.

My home life has been great, we have it good, and are very grateful for what we have as we know we are in a good position financially and do not want for anything in particular (we haven't always been there so we know it is a hell of a good place to be in) and what with my garden coming to life in spring and summer, good food and also benefitting from a daily witchcraft practice. 

We do all have our moments of depression or sadness, which has only been so predominantly around us since we have had the C Virus shots in 2022 (I know, I sound like a broken record - but honestly, if I knew then what I know now - I would NEVER have got them).  We all struggle on a daily basis - sometimes we feel good - other times we feel ill, and very, very exhausted (we can have a good night's sleep and wake up SO tired) but it's nothing you can put your finger on and honestly - the Doctors are no good in this situation because they do not know anything but taking a guess at what's wrong and loading you up with pharmaceutical drugs, which cause more harm than good - and we do not want to go down that Merry-Go-Round.  Most of the time we all suffer from varying issues - differing body aches and pains, headaches, earaches, itches, migraines, constipation, diarrhoea and just an overwhelming sadness that prevails even when things are going splendidly.  It feels as though your very soul is too heavy to carry around - Sometimes it is very hard just to get up of a morning...

We are trying to keep off of junk food, sugary items, salty items and cooking things with too many oils - eating healthier foods and getting adequate exercise and rest to see if we can combat these issues and bring in a change of good health.

To try to conquer these feelings -most mornings I light my candles on my altar, light some nice incense to cleanse my space and pull an oracle card for the day.  It has been very insightful, and has helped me gain a wee bit of confidence in my abilities as a witch.  It helps me focus for the day and gives me some sort of calmness before all the madness begins (especially my work day!)

I have also started to 'craft' things and was able to make a few witchy items for a friend that was moving interstate - I made her a goodie spell bag with lots of things in it, like a protection jar spell, a protection sigil, some herbal tea, some bath salts and soap (all crafted by me), some seeds for her garden when she gets established (Sunflower and Calendula from my garden) - she was so happy with it all....

I have been making more of a connection with my plants and insects in my garden too (yes I talk to them hahaha) - which shows as the garden is looking very lush and green

Looking through the portal....

I purchased a new greenhouse this year as my old one kind of got demolished in the very strong winds we have had this year (and continue to do so):

Gloomy's Greenhouse....

I will be doing a product review of the new greenhouse on my YouTube channel in 2025 - so stay tuned for that one if you are thinking of getting one of these types of greenhouses - (there have been many learning curves with this one) - so maybe you will learn some tips and tricks!!

Speaking of YouTube and my channel, I started uploading Gloomy's Garden Vlogs in 2024 - something I spent many years wanting to do but didn't have the courage, I thought I was too ugly, fat, old etc and could think up any excuse not to do videos.  Then one day I thought "why not", other people do it and they are just themselves, I could do that too... I have started out doing a VLOG every so often and am up to #9 at the moment.

I wish to keep doing more videos in 2025, but expanding the repertoire to not only do garden vlogs, but to do other things such as monthly herbalism posts, Q&A's, Product reviews, Herbal Remedies, Health Tips and Tea & Chat type scenarios.  So if you are interested in any of this - please hop over to my YouTube channel and Hit that SUBSCRIBE button and the bell notification so you are advised when I put a new video up - Hopefully I will get a few more followers, I think I have around 20 at the moment.  I have to wonder how people get hundreds of thousands of followers!!!???!!!

Gloomy's YouTube Channel

I will also be doing a book give away in late January 2025 - as I received a book from a relative for my birthday, but I already have it, so I thought a nice give away would be great.  I will advertise it on Instagram and YouTube - the proviso is that you have to like and subscribe to my YouTube channel to go into the draw.  After a month, I will do a video of the drawing of the name - hopefully with my trusty Super-Hubby sidekick, and then make someone feel good about themselves for getting a free book!  I will advise when I have that all organised so you can follow the links and put your name in if you want 😁

So there are a lot of plans for the future of my YouTube channel in  2025!!

In the meantime, I have two weeks annual leave and we still have around 7 days left in 2024 - Christmas Day is tomorrow - we will have our own little celebration as we are not Christians, so we will do something Witchy and make good food and just be together with our pupster Mavis.

What ever you are doing or celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful time and feel very blessed that you made it through another year, looking forward to the new year ahead.

Until next year my friends,

Blessings and Good Health to you all,

An Irish Blessing

Cheers,

Gloomy )O( xxx

Summer Solstice Roasted Nut Muesli

 Hello again and welcome back to my blog,

I thought today as it is still officially the Summer Solstice/LITHA weekend, I would do a bit of Kitchen Witchery and share my Summer Solstice Roasted Nut Muesli with you all - it has no artificial ingredients, no additional flavourings, colourings or preservatives, no chemical numbers etc., - just a whole lot of goodness, made from scratch by loving hands and Mother Earth.

My family love this when I make it (they can't get enough of it actually), so if you have a spare hour or so and you are looking for something to do - why not try making your own batch of Muesli.

WARNING: IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO NUTS - DO NOT MAKE THIS RECIPE!!!!

(I have to put a warning just in case - you never know, and I don't want to be blamed (or sued) because someone had a reaction or died from my muesli recipe, you would think it being called Roasted NUT Muesli that it would alert them to the fact that is has nuts in it - but some people are just plain NUTS!!)

INGREDIENTS:

3 Cups of Rolled Oats (you can use gluten free ones if you wish)

1 Cup of Cashews & 1 Cup of any nuts you like - you can even mix them up (Almond, peanut, pine, pecan, walnut for example).

1/2 Cup of Pumpkin Seeds

1/2 Cup of Sunflower Seeds

2 Tablespoons each of Flaxseed, Chia Seed, Sesame Seed - or any seeds you like.

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Honey (sorry vegans - I suppose you could use Maple Syrup instead)

Remember - you can adapt this recipe to include the nuts and seeds that you like, so if you don't like cashews or sunflower seeds - then don't put them in, substitute it for some other nut and seed.

METHOD:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix well, add in the coconut oil and honey - mix well again until all the dry ingredients are coated.  You can use this time to focus on your intentions for this muesli, I focused on my family's health, gut health, and a feeling of happiness when they consume it.

Spread half the mixture evenly onto a lined tray (I like to use those silicone liners), and press down.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (approximately 350 Fahrenheit) for 15 minutes on the middle shelf, then stir the muesli up and spread out again, bake for another five minutes - keep doing this until the muesli is a golden colour.

Allow to cool right down.

At this stage, if you wanted to - you could put in a cup of sultanas, raisins or your prefered dried fruit - mix it thoroughly in then put it into an airtight container - preferably glass.

I didn't put any fruit in mine because my family don't like it - so the total I made was 2 x 1000ml jars.

It should last up to a month in a cool pantry (If your family don't eat it first haha).

MAGICKAL ASPECTS:

(in no particular order......)

Pumpkin Seeds symbolise hope, growth and potential for a new beginning.

Sunflower Seeds because of their association with the sun, symbolise loyalty and adoration. enlightenment, resilience and personal growth.

Sesame Seeds are used for money drawing, wealth and prosperity, success and abundance, lust inducing, removes spiritual impurities and is used to curse and confuse trickster spirits.

Flaxseed symbolises purity, perseverance and rebirth - can be used to enhance mental powers, increasing the psychic visions and abilities.

Cashew Nuts are used for prosperity, love and communication.

Almond Nuts are used for mental clarity, abundance and healing.

Coconut Oil for confidence, strength and glamour.

Peanuts for stability, energy and manifestation.

Cinnamon is used for protection, to attract wealth and prosperity, to ward off negative influences and protect against harm.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and feel free to adapt it to your own tastes.

Solstice Blessings to you,

HAPPY LITHA

Gloomy )O( xxx

Copyright Gloomy's Garden (Gloomy the Garden Witch) 2024

Gloomy's Garden Vlog # 9 - The Summer Solstice - LITHA

Greetings my lovelies,

I have decided to share my latest video blog (or VLOG) on my website from now on - just in case you are interested in what I am doing in my garden.

Today we celebrate LITHA or the Summer Solstice here in Australia. It is a time to honour the Sun and the energy of the summer season. A time to connect with the natural world and to celebrate the beauty and diversity of life. It is also a time to reflect on personal growth and to set intentions for the year ahead. The colours of LITHA are red, gold and green (just like the Christian Christmas), so you can celebrate by decorating your house or space with these colours.... you could make wreaths from native plants and hang them on your door for prosperity - or any other intention you require. As we are in the fire-ban season, we are not allowed to have the usual bonfire (like Lithe in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21st), but you could use battery powered candles instead of normal candles if you are celebrating outside - you could also have a barbecue with your family and friends (which uses fire). Litha is a celebration of abundance, light, growth and joy. In the Celtic language LITHA means 'Light". Things you can do to celebrate at this time: Spend time outside under the sun. Get energised, feel renewed & be grateful to be alive. Reflect on peak moments of accomplishments and be proud of yourself. Embrace your Bad-Arse Awesome self (even if you do look hot and sweaty after being in the sun!!) To celebrate my LITHA, I am planting some climbing plants, that I bought yesterday, in my front garden (in the full sun). I embrace the shining light of the Sun for it will bring me vitality and beauty. Blessings to you all )O(

Gloomy

Let's have an end of Winter/ partly through Spring catch up....I'm on holidays!!

 Hello everyone and blessings to you all....

It seems as though I am pretty useless at keeping track of my time, and once again it seems as though I have neglected to post more blogs this year....

Winter has come and gone and now we are in the midst of the start of Spring (though the weather lately has been more Winter than Spring), the buds on the trees are bursting, blossoms are abundant on the fruit trees and everything in the gardens seem to be plodding along quite nicely, even after the neglect that I have given them.

You see, this Winter we suddenly lost our beloved Rudy - one minute he was fine and chasing magpies in the back garden then the next day, he died.  It was a traumatic time for us all and it took weeks for us all to stop crying - we loved him greatly and neither I or my family were ready to say goodbye to our special guy... but nature has a way of taking it's course doesn't it?

This is the last picture I took of Rudy on 18th June 2024.

There was a period of a month where the house was just so quiet and all we could do was miss our boy, talk about him and cry a LOT.... we were just SO sad...

Hubby decided he couldn't take it anymore so we discussed rescuing another dog, we started searching the RSPCA and AWL sites for likely candidates.  We got Rudy from the RSPCA when he was approximately 5 years old and we had him for 8 1/2 years before he passed - so I said I wanted a younger dog so that we had more years to love them (I know that doesn't always work out, but all of our dogs have been 13+ before they passed over the rainbow bridge - so I was going on that).

We then found a 2 year old little brindle Staffy x Shar Pei called Mavis that seemed to suit us - we went to the AWL to see her and instantly fell in love - bought her home and boy, is she ever a bundle of energy.

Meet Miss Mavis Bramston "Wiggle-Butt" McLean aka Mavey-Wavey full of Gravy:

She is a terror on 4 legs hahaha - very excitable, very puppy'ish, but learns very quickly.  She doesn't like other dogs or cats (we seem to always get those type!!) and chases birds in the garden (so there goes my hope of eventually getting chickens hahaha!!).

She is going through the terrible two's at the moment - but it's all a learning experience for both her and us.  Mavis has bonded to Paul and he is her favourite Hooman!! (she gets jealous if Caetlyn or I get too near her Hooman - and herds us away) She loves to dig in the garden, so I have had to put a guard around my new apricot tree, so she wouldn't dig it up - she also tried to dig out the peach tree, which I have successfully put a load of compost around and tried to rescue it LOL.  I have made a spot in the garden for her to dig her heart out!

Speaking of the garden - I am amazed that things are still alive as I haven't really been hands on a lot of the time.

A mixture of Mandarin tree, Thyme, Calendula and Juniper

I had to pull my cauliflowers out as they went to seed and some got eaten by critters in the garden, I also had to pull out the kale as it was infested with scale - which is too hard to get off, so I just got rid of the whole lot.  We did get some food out of it, a couple of cauli's, broccoli and kale plus one small cabbage that hadn't rotted to it's core.  A few swede and beetroot, some carrots, lettuce, spinach and snow peas.. so there has been some success.  I have planted out my spring seeds late July and they have been up-potted in my greenhouse - can't plant them out yet as the weather is still too cold at night, I don't want to risk losing them.

Our bathroom being painted

  

I started my month long holidays on the 1st September and we have been painting a couple of rooms in the house to make it more colourful - it is now the 26th September and I have another 6 days before I go back to work... but my holiday has been quite full and I haven't even gotten into the garden much yet, except the occasional weeding frenzy and watering/fertilising the herbs and plants.

    

Our Fairy Hallway

          

Or Fairy Lane... as we call it!!

I did a mini Herbal Energetics course with Rosalee De La Foret, who is one of the leading herbalists in the world today - which was lovely and just reminded me why I grow herbs (not just for medicine and wellbeing, but also for the witchcraft side of things too). I got a lot of good information out of it and spoke to a lot of nice people in the course community as well.

I also bought myself some new clothes - a couple of dresses for summer, a skirt and top, and a pair of jeans. Plus a new Book to read - How does it feel? by Jeneane O'Riley. It's about an environmental  biologist Callie Peterson, who finds herself falling through a fairy portal in the woods and ends up in the realm of the Unseelie Fae - with a Prince Mendax who wants to kill anything human, he wants to be rid of her so he challenges her to three deadly trials - if she survives, she gains her freedom - if she doesn't...... His wrath is only the beginning. I only started it two days ago and I am three quarters of the way through - quite a good read so far...  I can only presume she survives as there is another book in the series, plus one being written at the moment.

I was supposed to be getting my health in order and making myself exercise to get a bit fitter - first day of my holidays I hurt my ankle (pffft - always happens when I have holidays, it's like my body goes "OK everyone off their feet for a few days!!").

So yeah - it's been an interesting, sad and happy few months of winter and early spring.

I might even do another YouTube video on how the garden is progressing soon - but don't hold your breath - I am pretty dreadful at doing all these social media type of things aren't I???

Anyway, if you have made it this far without falling to sleep - thank you!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Until next time,

Annette (& Mavis) xxx

I have started a YouTube channel...

 Hello my little wild ones,

Well, it's been a hot minute since I last posted, so I thought I would update you on what I have been doing in the cyberworld...

I have started up a YouTube channel:

It only has 4 videos on at the moment and it will be a mixture of gardening, health, herbal remedies, green witchery and anything else I feel like sharing with you all as time goes by.

I hope you will join me and maybe pop over to see my latest Gloomy's Garden Vlog (well, it's actually the first one ever) - right here.........

Gloomy's Garden Vlog # 1 

At this stage I do not know how often I will be posting - it depends on how much time I have at any given time, but I hope to post at least once a month at this stage, as I work up the nerve to actually talk live in front of the camera (I am very shy!!).

Anyway - ENJOY!!!

Blessings to you as always,

Annette (Gloomy) XxX )O(

 

GLOOMY'S HERBALS - A RECIPE FOR BITTERS

In today's society there are a LOT of illnesses that can be prevented by having good gut flora.  The so called "Foods" we eat today are making us very sick (and surely killing us quicker than normal).  To prevent getting ill, we need to get our gut flora in check, and to do this we need to stay away from processed and packaged foods, junk food, excessive sugar, flavourings and colourings.

Look at the list of ingredients packaged foods in the supermarkets and you will notice a load of numbers and words that you don't even know what they are - this is wrong, so very, very wrong.  You should be able to tell what is in your food.

Herbal Bitters can really aid the digestive system and it is a good practice to take them just before a large meal - (like the sort we eat at Christmas time, where we stuff ourselves silly and then can't move...hahaha).  

Herbal Bitters can also have a very positive effect on all the body systems, as there are bitter receptors throughout the body and it will help to stimulate these systems.  

This herbal concoction can be used all year round if required - before any large meal, greasy fried meal, or a rich meal, (though it does pay to limit these kinds of meals) to help in the digestion of such foods through your body.

 

INGREDIENTS:
Dandelion Leaves and Roots,

Yarrow, 

Chamomile, 

Calendula/Marigold Flowers, 

Wormwood,

Elecampane (can be fresh or dried), 

Fennel Seeds,

Peppermint, 
Brandy.

 

METHOD:

Simply chop them all up and place in a Kilner/Mason jar.  Cover with brandy, stir to remove any bubbles then leave to infuse for 3-4 weeks in a cool, dark cupboard. 

 

You can also use Vervain, Agrimony, Ginger, Hops, Burdock Root, Dock Root, Stinging Nettle and many others.  

 

When infusion is complete, strain out the herbs and put the bitters into a dark bottle, and store in a dark pantry or cupboard.

 

 

DOSE:

 

 Take 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon about 15-20 minutes before eating (work your way up to a tablespoon full if you do not like bitters).  It is best to take bitters straight on to the tongue but perhaps add the bitters to a little drop of water until you get used to the bitter taste.  

This concoction will last up to 6 months. 

 

NOTE:

 

You can either grow these herbs in your garden or purchase them dried online from a reputable source.  But I prefer to grow my own herbs so I know that they are fresh and have not been sprayed with any pesticides or other nasties.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:

If you are under a Health Practitioner's supervision, always check with them first before embarking to take anything herbal, just to make sure there are no herbs in the mix that might be contra-indicated for you (will clash), with the prescription medication you are already on. Better to be safe than sorry!

I hope you found this helpful in your quest for a healthy gut flora.

Keep well my friends.