We had a new customer at the feeder yesterday! I think after reading about red-bellied woodpeckers it could be a female but I’m still not sure.

All the other birds take turns waiting both patiently and a few impatiently at the feeder, except when the woodpecker was eating its breakfast.

Not one smaller bird was waiting in the wings, but when the woodpecker flew away it went back to business as usual at everyone’s favorite breakfast spot.

I can’t even tell you how much fun it is watching the birds and finding out more about them.

I’m not sure if it’s because I am older or are more content living a simpler life, finally being who I was meant to be, or that I appreciate all the small things in life and find beauty in nature.

It’s probably all of the above.

I laugh every time I see this meme on my newsfeed. Have a great weekend guys! 🍂

My son Noah and his fiancé Aja were on vacation in Cancun last week, and Noah popped the question; she said yes!

I was the first to know since he used my Mema’s engagement ring. When I took it to the jewelers to be size, polished, and have the stones checked, I cried when I got back in the truck.

They were tears of joy. I spoke with my Mema and thanked her for giving me her ring when I was a young woman. I’ve kept it safe for all those years.

Noah is very traditional and nostalgic and so is Aja. The ring is a simple but beautiful design with small diamonds set in white gold.

My grandfather was a blue-collar worker, and this modest ring was what was in his price range.

Although the ring is over 100 years old, its meaning is priceless.

I was worried Noah or Aja would think the ring was cincy because it didn’t have a big diamond, but it was the opposite, Aja loved it and appreciated it was Mema’s ring.

She texted me and showed me her hand with the ring on. I was so happy it fit her perfectly!

She told me she loved it, and she had no idea and was so surprised. I cried happy tears.

After meeting Aja for the second time two years ago. I knew she was the one and they would be married. I also felt that she’s been part of our clan before.

Marty and I are thrilled about the engagement and couldn’t be happier for them.

Noah did everything the traditional way, asking her dad for permission and asking her grandfather since Aja is very close to him.

They both gave their blessings. Marty asked my father for permission too. Noah is so much like Marty.

I am so proud of him and of us for raising two young men with old-fashioned morals, values, manners, respect, and work ethic.

What else could a mom ask for? I’m so excited I will finally have a daughter too!! 💕

Ask any of my belly dance friends I’ve had for 20 years or my old boss whose business is a hotdog cart about my ability to change weather patterns in our favor.

As a psychic, witch, medium, a healer, or a person with spiritual gifts, or whatever you want to call me, I work with God, the angels, and love & light. All for the highest good.

I found this on my newsfeed this morning and have never written about it before. I forgot about it since it’s been so many years since I used this ability.

I work with the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I put a photo of the Holy Family in a window in the direction of the event I need good weather for.

I put the photo up days before an event and pray to the Holy Family setting my intention.

I thank them and continue several times a day. It truly is a miracle to me. I don’t do it for trivial reasons, just for important events that can’t be changed.

Just think how powerful praying or manifesting is when setting crystal clear intentions.

Gratitude, faith, and love are bigger than the intention itself.

October has opened my connection to the other side greatly and setting my intention to open the veil to the other side.

This came out of no where while I was sipping my morning tea.

A psychic man once told one of my friends also with spiritual gifts, that I had no idea how powerful I was.

Almost 20 years later, I am just beginning to believe him a little. It’s weird, to be honest with you, but I finally accept who I am.

*** I always pray for places that are directly in the path of horrific storms but fear and negative manifestations from the media and so many people cancel out the good manifestations ten fold.

I have written about my spiritual gifts as a healer and medium in the past. I am a reiki master, and I can clear and balance my own and other people’s auras and chakras.

I also use shamanism to travel through time and space to other realms with ease to receive messages from my spirit guides or to work with stuck ghosts or souls to cross over to the other side.

Recently, I’ve been able to go back to past lives and learn more about who I was, what I did for a living, and how I died.

I discovered a week ago that my name in another lifetime was Izarra which means star. I was a basket maker. I was stoned to death.

I was in a dream-like state for days, thinking about it. I felt all the feels from that lifetime. This is all new to me.

When I was little, like 4 or 5, I had vivid memories of that lifetime. This recent finding confirmed how I felt when I was little.

I am also an empath. I didn’t realize how much of an empath I am until recently.

After receiving a message that it was time to “step into my magic”, I opened the veil to the other side.

I can close or open the veil as needed which I’ve been able to do for years. I kept the veil closed when we started the business so I wouldn’t be distracted.

I close the veil whenever I am ill or not in a good mind space so I won’t be vulnerable.

Right now, during October, the veil between our world and the other side is thinner, especially from October 15 to November 10.

However, the veil is at its thinnest on Halloween, and the same thing occurs in May.

Back to being an empath, I’ve always been someone who strangers look at or come up to, either asking me questions, thinking I work where we are, or being told people’s life stories.

I have strangers tell me things such as the death of a loved one or other tragic things. One man told me I have a “useful” look to me.

With the veil open I am able to feel other people’s feelings. This can be a good thing or a curse sometimes.

I can tell when someone is lying or full of bullshit. I feel sick and dizzy when I am around negative energy whether it’s a person or in objects.

I cannot go into an antique shop for as long as I can remember. I can feel negative energy in people’s furniture and I am able to remove it easily if asked to.

I remove negative energy from anything we get that is used. That goes for clothing, jewelry and other things.

Yesterday, I visited Marty at the Troy Farmers Market. Fuck, there was a lot of energy there. Last night, I felt drained.

My ability made me feel if people were genuinely happy to see me after such a long time, if some people were phonies, or didn’t give two shits to see me.

You can’t bullshit an empath. Period. Empaths are usually authentic people and can’t stand being around dishonest, fake people.

Empaths are truth seekers, which makes sense. That’s why I wrote about the truth behind the glitz and glamour of Vegas three years ago.

This is why when I worked for companies I was very good at interviewing and hiring employees.

I guess I’ve been an empath my whole life, I just didn’t have a name for it.

Today is our day of rest. I need to recharge my batteries and hunker down. I am thrilled it’s a cold and rainy day.

It’s a hygge day—a cozy day to just “be.”

I’m braising a brisket for dinner with carrots and polenta. It smells amazing in here.

I have an essential oil autumn candle burning and the fireplace is on. Nelly keeps going from Marty to me for cuddles and snuggles.

It’s a perfect day. A day I needed after a day full of vibes. 😌

The other night, I made a side dish that was my best bite of food this year. That friends, is a bold statement coming from me.

All the food I cooked all year long and my best bite came from a can of beans!

As we move deeper into fall, I crave warmer comfort foods. When it’s chilly, the last thing I want to eat is something cold.

Last Monday, I made chicken stuffed with garlic, artichokes, and spinach with a little cream cheese to hold it together.

I am trying to get out of the habit of making a starch as a side dish. I made Tuscan white beans.

After deciding that would be our side with dinner, I read through ten or so recipes.

In keeping with my usual Julzie fashion, I took what I liked from some recipes and combined the ingredients to create my own version.

Boom! Best fucking bite of the year! Hands down.

My taste buds and palate which were pretty good before clean eating, are now miles above where they were.

I can taste everything clearer if that makes any sense. Food tastes more pure. I can’t describe it.

What I can describe is my creamy Tuscan white beans.

I started by sautéing three or four cloves of minced garlic in olive oil on low heat. I didn’t want the garlic to brown.

When the garlic was fragrant I added one can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans. Next, I added half a cup of chicken stock.

I covered the sauté pan and simmered the beans, stock, and garlic on low.

Next, I cut up a tomato from my garden and snipped a couple of pieces of basil. With all the warm weather we’ve had, my garden and flowers are still growing — it’s glorious!

I added the tomato to the pan and gave it a stir, then, continued to simmer the beans covered for 10 minutes.

I added the sprigs of basil and covered the pan and let it simmer on the lowest setting for another 10 minutes.

Within five minutes, the kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh basil which is one of my favorite smells and immediately reminds me of summer.

I turned off the heat and let the beans chill out while finishing the rest of our dinner.

Before I turned on the heat again, I added a handful of grated Parmesan cheese to the beans.

Since the cheese and beans can be salty, I waited until now to season the beans which needed a small amount of kosher salt.

I slowly warmed up the beans and watched the Parmesan cheese thicken up the beans. Mmmm!

I wanted to make absolutely sure that I could recreate the same dish and was it really my best bite of the year.

The answer was a big yes to both of those questions.

This is one of those dishes that came from my soul. I took many of my favorite ingredients and worked them into a magical dish.

There are plenty of Tuscan bean recipes out there, many with sage, without tomatoes, and in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Italian styles.

One thing for sure is this type of dish is extremely economical, good for you, and delicious!

I will be making these beans often or adding a little more chicken stock and turn it into a soup. Yum!

I struggle like the rest of us trying to come up with new things to make everyday.

Clean-eating recipes have inspired me to try new things and have already given me lots of ideas.

I have around forty fall & winter recipes saved in my notes. As always, if I find a winner I’ll be sure to share it with you.

Have a great upcoming week guys! 🍁

We replaced our hummingbird feeder with our first bird feeder, which is located outside the window of our back room.

It’s a story up from the ground so we don’t have to worry about bears being a problem.

We started getting repeat customers who told one friend, then they told one friend, and so forth, and so on, like that shampoo commercial from the 80s.

While enjoying our tea in the mornings, we watch our customers arrive for breakfast.

We have polite customers who patiently wait in line for their turn. We don’t even need a number system like at the butcher shop.

We serve up a mixture of different seeds, nuts and dried fruits to our customers. They seem to like what’s on the menu.

If only people were as easy to please as our bird friends, we would have our own restaurant.

People always ask us why we don’t open a restaurant, and the answer is simple: “We are smart enough not to do it.”

Have a wonderful Saturday guys. Keep your eyes open for the simple things in life like the customers at our feeder.

Just south of a small town called Wallingford, VT is a hidden gem, you guessed it, the Sparkle Barn, which I will call SB for short.

I went into the SB many years ago and rushed around looking at stuff. I was with Marty and he was waiting for me in the car.

Last Friday, I offered to make a delivery up in Rutland, VT. I planned to stop at the SB and really look around, which I did twice.

It’s impossible to see everything everywhere! From outside, to the entryway, to the second floor, and in all the small rooms and nooks.

Many vignettes with merchandise are placed accordingly, such as the cat, whales, and dolphins, Swifty stuff, and lots of magical stuff for healing, chakras, Hinduism, angels, witchcraft, and VT stuff! Whew!

I chose a card with a Monet cat on the front and two stickers for my water bottle, a raven, and one that says, “Sage that shit.”

Right away, I could think of 10 people who would LOVE the SB. That does not include people with children. If I had a granddaughter I would have left broke.

I sent my friends from next door a couple of photos, and David replied, “Lol, oh my goodness!” I did not know such a thing existed – where is that??”

Well, there is David, and it’s not too far away. ☺️

Yesterday was a magical day for me. It felt like a day in the making for centuries, deep down inside me.

I recently came out as a witch and was excited as yesterday’s event unfolded and came to fruition.

About a month ago, one of my friends and belly dance students, Emily, told me about an event sponsored by the Solomon Wright Library in North Pownal, VT, where Emily is the events coordinator.

The event was called a “Witches’ Walk” in remembrance of Vermont’s only witch trial on the eve of the Fall Equinox. It happened, you guessed it, in North Pownal, VT.

It was believed that Widow Krieger was a witch, and she was tried as such in 1785. After finding her fate, she was dropped into a nearby ice-topped river.

The people believed that if she was a witch, she would float, and if she sank, she would be innocent.

Of course, she sank like anyone else, but she was saved and lived for another five years.

She was accused of being a witch after her husband passed away because she was different. Wow, right?

I’m very different and left wondering how long it would have taken them to put me on trial. Good thing I would have sank too. 😂

When Emily told me about the witch walk, I was already working on my Halloween “costume,” which turned out to be my formal witch attire since I already owned everything except for my hat.

I was excited to finally dress the part of my recent coming out. The outfit put itself together.

The hat I picked up for a couple of dollars and let my creativity happen. I ended up choosing dried flowers and seed pods from my gardens.

For my formal attire, I wanted a Victorian look, so I used one of my skirts from my costuming, which bustled in the back.

My dance partner, Kathleen, and I came partially dressed to our regular Saturday dance practice before the witch walk.

We arrived just in time. We were both surprised by how many people were participating in the walk.

There were so many types of witch outfits, including many little girls who looked adorable.

A tale of the trial was read and the group walked across a bridge where the widow Kieger was dropped into the water below.

Afterward, Kathleen, my friend and dance student Maria, and Emily, the events coordinator, danced to a slow song called “A Witches Song.”

The music brought the four of us together in a way that didn’t happen often. We didn’t just feel the music, we were the vessel of the music.

This was when I knew after centuries of waiting, the time had finally come for us to dance together again as witches.

I’m sure you may not know what to think about that, but when I say I am very different, I am. Believe me.

Maria’s husband and my sweet friend Jon Katz, also my writing mentor, took some amazing photos of us at the event.

Jon took all of the photos in this piece except for my “usies”which is a selfie with me and another person. We made it up.

Jon captured the very essence of what unfolded and how we felt. Definitely, how I was feeling at the time.

I took some traditional selfies at the event like usual.

People were moved by our performance all saying how they could feel our dancing and noticed how in-tune we were with each other.

I’m not sure yesterday’s performance and walk could ever be topped, I just know I was so glad and grateful to be a part of it.

Ever since last night, Marty has been getting notifications on his phone that a person is on our front porch. 🤣

I have modified my notifications anyway, so they’re not bothersome to me.

I have been saving materials to use to stuff Mr. Pumpkin since July, when I started getting itchy the first Halloween.

Truth be told, I’ve alway started thinking about the next Halloween on November 1st for as long as I can remember.

I haven’t made Mr. Pumpkin since the kids were young. Yes, I missed him, but our lives were too hectic to be screwing around making Mr. Pumpkin.

Well, he’s back and bigger than ever. Lol. I had fun making him yesterday afternoon and I was glad Sam was here while I was building him.

I watched a car slow down almost to a stop to look at what was on our front porch. 🤣

I am participating in a witch’s walk on Saturday, sponsored by the Solomon Wright Library in Pownal, VT.

We are actually dancing a song in the middle of a circle not as belly dancer but as respectfully dressed witches.

It will be my first outing in my “real” witch attire, so it is not really a costume as much for me.

If you are local, the library’s website has more information about the witches’ walk.

I love hot cereal, but whenever I ate it, I was hungry like a grizzly bear an hour or two later.

So, I haven’t eaten it even on this chilly morning that have been in the 40s here in Vermont.

Then I learned about chia seeds. You know those seeds that sprout on some cheesy figurine head? 🎵Cha-cha-chia.

This morning while snuggling up in the loveseat with Nelly and my cup of tea, I looked up some recipes for chia oatmeal.

All I really needed was the ratio of oats to liquid and the amount of chia seeds to use. The rest was up to me to create.

Here’s how I made my breakfast. This recipe is for one serving so double or triple it if needed.

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats plus 1 cup of water or milk of your choice—I used whole milk—a pinch of kosher salt, a tsp of chia seeds, 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, or whatever you like.

Over medium heat, I brought this to a slow simmer and let it cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

I added two chopped pears from our pear trees and a tbsp of maple syrup. I let it simmer for a few more minutes until the pears warmed. It was perfect and delicious.

There are endless possibilities when making this recipe, such as adding apples, raisins, shredded carrots, bananas, or any kind of fruit, nuts, or berries.

Taste the oatmeal before adding the sweetener of your choice. I was surprised how sweet it was even before I added the maple syrup, which gave it that delightful maple taste.

This is going to fit the bill for breakfast or a snack in the evening when the weather gets cold for good soon.

Clean eating just got a lot better for me, offering me a whole new category of food to explore.

I’m off to Norman’s Attic, a craft, tag, and garage sale event at hour town put on by St. James Church.

It’s in keeping with the tradition of Norman Rockwell holding a sale at his home before moving to Stockbridge, MA.

Afterwards, I have bellydance practice with my dance partner, Kathleen, and then a tea party lunch at her place to celebrate both our half birthdays.

What a fantastic day! The weather is simply gorgeous again.

Have a great weekend guys!