The Parsley Patch

One thing that often confuses people about the Avalon cycle of stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana Paxson is the order in which the books were written, the order that is best to read them and how it all falls on a time line. While one might be inclined to read them in chronological order by storyline, the best method is undoubtedly to go in the order in which they were written, beginning with The Mists of Avalon.

Books by Publish Date
The Mists of Avalon- 1979
The Fall of Atlantis- 1987
The Forest House- 1993
Lady of Avalon- 1997
Priestess Of Avalon- 2000
Ancestors of Avalon- 2004
Ravens of Avalon- 2007

Books in Storyline Order
The Fall of Atlantis- While not officially part of the Avalon series, the plot is the catalyst for the recurring theme throughout all of the Avalon books and is referenced many times over as the people of Avalon are descended from Atlantis.

Ancestors of Avalon- 2000 BCE
Ravens of Avalon- 61 CE
The Forest House- 81 CE
Lady of Avalon- Part I: 96 CE
Priestess Of Avalon- Part I and Part II (ch. 8-11): 259 CE
Lady of Avalon- Part II: 285 CE
Priestess Of Avalon- Part II (ch. 9 -14) and Part III: 293 CE
Lady of Avalon- Part III: 440 CE
The Mists of Avalon- 461 CE

As the garden season for 2007 comes to a close, let’s take a look back at some of the great moments from this year’s garden. With hydrangeas, daisies and lots of daylilies, color and bloom were constant from the spring garden right into Autumn.

[View with PicLens]

The harvest is now complete and we’re readying ourselves for the long, cold and dark days of winter that lie ahead. The name “Blood Moon” may at first seem to have a sinister connotation of sacrifice and blood letting. The name derives from the practice of culling and salting sickly or poorly livestock that would not make it through the winter at the end of the harvest season.

This makes this moon a perfect time to examine what is dragging you down or holding you back, acknowledge it and let it go. This can be done through meditation or visualization. If you’re prone to the more dramatic, identify those personal traits that you want to rid yourself of and write them on a piece of paper and cast it into the fire in the light of the full moon just after fullness, mentally thanking them and now allowing them to go.

Exploration of past lives during this moon can be most productive. By examining our past in this life and exploring our lives before this one, we can gain an insight into the karmic laws that govern our lives. By researching our “blood” lines and learning about and from our ancestors we can figure out what makes us who we are and motivates us.

ACTIVITIES
· Finish garden cleanup, winterize your home
· Pay tribute to the animal kingdom for their sacrifice so we may have food
· Determine what’s keeping you from achieving your goals and release it
· Research your family tree
· Explore your past lives

FULL MOON INCENSE (burn on incense charcoal or cast into the fire)
1 scoops sandalwood powder – protection, healing, spirituality
1 granule amber – renewal, alertness, cleansing, protection, purification
3 drops vanilla – love, lust, mental powers
2 part thyme – healing, purification, courage, psychic powers
2 parts cypress – longevity, healing, comfort, protection
1 part agrimony – protection, banish negativity
2 part lavender – peace, harmony, healing
1/2 part cinnamon – success, healing, psychic powers
1/2 part cloves – attracts riches, banish negative forces, purification

INGREDIENTS
70 oz. (about 4-1/3 lbs.) gala apples
1-1/2 cups apple cider
1 cup dark brown sugar (spooned, not packed)
1/2 of an orange
1/2 of a lemon
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg

METHOD
1. Thoroughly wash and inspect apples. Core, quarter and half quarters and place in crockpot. Fill until heaping and lid just closes. A 5-quart crockpot will hold about 4-1/3 lbs. of apples.

2. Pour apple cider over apples. Cover and cook on high approximately 3 hours. Stir every hour or so with a wooden spoon until apples become extremely soft and are easily smashed by the spoon.

3. Press the hot apples through a sieve with a rubber scraper or a food mill to puree and remove skins. Return applesauce-like mixture to the crockpot and discard skins.

4. In a small bowl grate some peel of the lemon and orange and ream some juice (a tablespoon or less) from each through a strainer and add to crockpot. Add spices and sugar. Stir well, cover and cook on high for 3 hours. Remove lid, stir well, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and dark, about 4 more hours. Apple butter is done when a small dollop spooned onto a plate does not produce a puddle of liquid around the butter.

5. Follow your mason jar manufacturer’s instructions for canning fruit preserves and jellies. Spoon the hot mixture into hot sterilized half-pint mason jars, leaving 1/4″ headroom, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

6. Remove jars and allow to rest on a cooling rack for 24 hours. Check seal, remove bands and store in a dark, cool place. Processed and properly sealed jars will last a year or longer. Jars that did not seal properly can be kept in the refrigerator for about six weeks.

* Nutritional information is approximate and provided as a general guide.

Yield: five half pints
Serving: 1 TBS (21 cal, 0 gr fat, 0 gr protein, 5 gr carbs)

Even though crisp Autumn air moves in, the garden still flourishes in a colorful finale featuring mums, Joe Pyeweed, grasses and a scarecrow who looks like he just popped out of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’

[View with PicLens]

This centerpiece is very easy to make and perfect for any table during autumn or the holidays. The amount of supplies and the size of the Styrofoam base will vary depending upon what you feel is a good size for your table. Here, our base was about 16″x12″. We used six 3″ pillar candles in various heights and about a dozne artificial pears.

SUPPLIES
Sheet of green Styrofoam for base
Floral pins
Floral picks
Dried lemon leaves
Artificial berries, nuts, and twigs
Aritificial pears
3″ pillar candles in varying heights
Serrated knife (to cut Styrofoam)
Wire cutter (to cut picks apart)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. If your sheet of Styrofoam is not the shape or size you wish, use the serrated knife to trim it down. Bevel the top edge of the sheet so that you will have a flat surface and a 45 degree angle surfuce on which to pin the lemon leaves all around the outer rim.

2. Arrange your candles on the base how you want them and mark where they will be so you have a guide for placement of the floral supplies.

3.Using floral pins, attach individual dried lemon leaves on the bevel all the way around. Add a second layer of leaves, this time pinning them on the top and inbetween the first row. Be sure to overlap and vary the position so it has a more natural feel.

4. If your pears did not come with picks attached, poke floral picks into the bottoms of the pears and then place the pears on top of the leaves, keeping clear of t markings where the candles will sit.

5. Replace the candles and begin to fill in the spaces between the pears with the artifical berries, twigs and nuts, using floral picks and pins to secure. We don’t recommend using hot glue as it will not hold sufficiently on the base of lemon leaves.

For added sparkle to use during Christmas and the winter holidays, weave a metallic star garland in and arround the pears! Remember to never leave burning candles unattended and to not burn them further than half their height in this dried arrangement.

Glittered Jack-Be-Littles displayed on stacked crystal pedestals can add an elegant touch to your fall decor and couldn’t be easier to make.

Simply coat Jack-Be-Littles with Mod-Podge and sprinkle glitter over them to cover and allow to dry. This is messy so be sure to wear gloves and work over newspaper. Chose glitter colors that match your decor or decorations. We chose a palette to go along with the china garden witch.