Hello Everyone!!

Fall is definitly upon us here at RoseWillow. The leaves seem to change over night and fall off the trees and I’m hearing geese honking as they head southward.

With the fall comes Thanksgiving here in Canada. We’d like to wish our Canadian friends a happy one this month. Our US friends still have to wait another month for their Turkey day. We all get to celebrate Halloween at the end of October though .. are you ready for the trick or treaters?

Welcome to all the new members! We hope you are enjoying your time here at RoseWillow. To all our visitors, don't hesitate to jump in on some of the discussions in different forums. Our members always welcome new text. Some of our site forums are for registered handles only to guard against spamming. Remember it’s FREE to register a handle for RoseWillow.ca. Costs you nothing, nadda, neit, zip, nilch, nein, just takes a few keystrokes and the click of your mouse and you can have a presence here too. Everyone is welcome so don't be shy, join us today won’t you?

As you can see Pierre has come out with a great Halloween/Thanksgiving edition of the Oracle that I’m sure everyone will enjoy. He also has a special request in his message at the end of this newsletter. Please make sure to read it.

What other treats await us this month? Have a wonderful October!

Your Mayor

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

The most prominent Halloween symbol is the carved pumpkin with a lit candle inside. This is an Irish tradition of carving a lantern which goes back centuries. These lanterns are usually carved from a turnips or potatoes. The pumkin carving was first associated with Halloween in North America, where the pumpkin was available, and much larger and easier to carve. The jack-o'-lantern can be traced back to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack.

The imagery surrounding Halloween is largely an amalgamation of the Halloween season itself, nearly a century of work from American filmmakers and graphic artists, and a rather commercialized take on the dark and mysterious. Halloween imagery tends to involve death, magic, or mythical monsters. Common Halloween characters include, skeletons, ghost stories, ghosts, ghouls, witches, vampires, bats, owls, crows, vultures, haunted houses, pumpkinmen, black cats, aliens, spiders, goblins, zombies, mummies, skeletons, werewolves and demons.

Black and orange are the traditional colors of Halloween. In modern Halloween images and products, purple, green and red are also prominent. The use of these colors is largely a result of holiday advertising dating back over a century, and tends to be associated with various aspects of Halloween tradition.

"The History Of Halloween," The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/viewPage?pageId=713 (accessed Sept, 2008).

Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a deciduous tree or shrub that is native to Atlantic North America, and it is now also cultivated in Europe and Asia. The shrub can reach a height of 15 ft (4.6 m). It flowers in the fall, producing vivid yellow flowers. Witch hazel is also known as hazel nut, snapping hazel, spotted alder, tobacco wood, winterbloom, and hamamelis water. The word witch is actually a derivative from the Anglo-Saxon word wych meaning flexible. The word described the flexibility of the branches that Native Americans used to make bows.

Both the leaves and the bark of the witch hazel plant have been used in herbal medicine. Witch hazel has been used historically to relieve hemorrhoids, injuries, tumors, and ulcers. It has also been used in landscaping due to its attractive leaves and flowers, which bloom in the late summer. Witch hazel seeds, more commonly known as hazel nuts, are popular food items.

The main constituents in witch hazel that provide this herb with its strong astringent effects are tannins and volatile oils. Preliminary studies suggest that witch hazel strengthens veins and offers anti-inflammatory effects and is useful in relieving such skin conditions as eczema. It’s also wonderful for easing the pain of sunburn, windburn, insect bites, poison ivy blisters, and sore and sprained muscles.

As with other herbal astringents, witch hazel reduces the irritation on the tissue surface through a form of numbing. Surface inflammation is reduced, and the astringent creates a partial barrier against infection. That barrier aids in the treatment of wounds and burns. The astringency helps to stop bleeding, so witch hazel is useful in treating bruises, cuts, and other skin abrasions.

In addition, a cold compress of witch hazel is said to ease a headache. Cosmetically, witch hazel is used as a facial skin freshener and astringent to reduce pore size, make-up remover, and to reduce bags under eyes. Some products for men that contain witch hazel include herbal shaving cream and aftershave

Witch Hazel is available at any drugstore. It’s just a handy little herb to have on hand..

During middle ages, around the 15th to 17th century, Europe was still a country of many superstitions. Towns weren’t developed well and many people lived near woods.. Wolf attacks were so frequent and violent in nature that people even feared to travel from one place to another. It was a daily occurrence to come upon half-eaten human limbs scattered on their fields.

The first recorded Werewolf sighting took place around the countryside of German town Colongne and Bedburg in 1591. Lore has it that some people cornered a large wolf and set their dogs on it. They started to pierce it with sharp sticks and spears. To their amazement the ferocious wolf did not run away or tried to protect itself. Instead, it stood and turned into a middle-aged man Peter Stubbe, from the same village. Stubbe confessed to sixteen murders including two pregnant women and thirteen children. This after being put onto the torture wheel.

Apparently Stubbe had started to practice sorcery when he was only 12 . He was so obsessed that even tried to make a pact with the Devil. Wearing a magic girdle he started to attack his enemies, real or imaginary. After several months, he would take the guise of a wolf and continued with his evil acts with more brutality. In the wolf form he used to tear up victims’ throats and suck warm blood from veins. Gradually his thirst for blood grew and he roamed around fields in search of prey.

The savagery of his crimes was beyond imagination. The trial record motioned few of them. Once two men and a woman were walking along a road that went through the forest Stubbe used to hide in. He called one of them into the forest. When the man did not return for a long time the second one followed his trail and also disappeared into the forest. When both the man didn't return for a long time the woman ran for her life. Later, two mangled male corpses were recovered from the forest, but the woman’s body never reappeared. It was believed that Stubbe had devoured it all. Young girls playing together or milking the cows in the fields were his frequent victims. He used to chase them like a hound, catch the slowest one, rape and kill her. Then he would drink hot blood and eat tender flesh from her body. However; the most gruesome sin he committed was upon his own son. He took him to a nearby forest, cracked the poor child’s skull open and ate brain from it.

No punishment could match the magnitude of Stubbe’s crime. His flesh was pulled off with red-hot pincer, his arms and legs were broken and he was finally decapitated. His carcass was burned to ashes.

The Magistrate of Bedburg built a grim monument remembering the ghastly incident. Workmen put the torture wheel atop a tall pole with Stubbe’s head above it structured with the likeliness of a wolf. Sixteen pieces of yard long wood cuts were hung from the rim of the wheel commemorating poor souls of the victims. The words of Stubbe’s trial and execution spread across the lands in no time. His brutality, atrocity and savagery were beyond human comprehension and was readily related with the behavior of a wolf. People started to believe that such individuals with the shadow of wolves were living among them. They named them Werewolves.

Man's Better Friend
by Euphegenia P Quigley, emeritus

We do a disservice, in our daily lives, to the ever-noble dog!

We call a hodgepodge of half-baked biscuits or an uncooked porridge or hash a "dog's breakfast", to denote unfit or improper food. Further, we say of bad dishes or meals that we "would not feed them to a dog". We speak of the "dogs days" of summer, if the heat is insufferable. We insult one-another with curses of "running dog" or "yellow dog" for those who disappoint us, or just "dog" for those who mistreat or cheat us - or curses of "cur", from the Latin.

Lascivious men are called "hounds", and even so-called unattractive women are labeled "dogs", I'm told too. When we've have a nasty flu, or bout of nausea, we say we were "sick as dog" - but is this fair? Is this any way to treat or refer to our "best friend" and one of our longest and most loyal pets?

Surely any right-thinking person who has spent any time with animals will immediately appreciate that "sick as a dog" and "healthy as a horse" are truly crossed aphorisms. Given the myriad afflictions the fragile horse is prone to from coming-lame to colic, would anyone not prefer being healthy as a dog, rather than sick as a horse? Of course not. Dogs, more so than horses, are prone to recovery which is the least of it.

Why then do we fault the dog so thoroughly, and on what grounding or basis?

We crave, it is said, the licking obsequious attention of a puppy. Puppies, and the dogs they become make people feel better, this is suggested even by scientific, though why scientists would bother "proving" such an obvious truth is beyond me and government spending. We compare the loyalty and affection of dogs and the unabashedly willingly given affection of puppies to a grand desired pinnacle of "unconditional love" - and yet how do we mock our own young or innocently devoted? We call it (as if mere) "puppy love".

Who would not be insulted to be told theirs was a "puppy love"? And yet what is ever false ungenuine about a puppy's love?

Who do we think we are, to cast such aspersions on our proclaimed "best friend"?

The Millingworths, neighbours in my youth, had a rather unattractive girl younger than I who used to steal flowers from our garden. There was nothing at ALL doglike about her! She had dirty brown hair and fingers, and narrow blinking eyes, and looked far more like a sort of shaggy lizard, if you ask me. Would I call her a dog? Certainly not! - No more than would I call unfortunate-looking ferrety sneaky people all "Millingworths" - there was a rather well-to-do uncle somewhere in the line, after all.

When you consider all the jobs and tasks dogs have come to do for us, for helping the impaired to sniffing out bomb or drugs smugglers - all while remaining out good and loyal companions - it seems horrendously ungrateful to refer to them so dismissively. Aside from Mrs Wickett's snippy thing across the way, dogs are really rather splendid in all, and deserve our recognition. Would the world not be a better place, if more people were MORE like dogs? I should say it would - and on the whole, there are fewer snippy dogs than people as is, save Mrs Wickett's.

This "old dog" thinks we should all learn on more trick: to respect dogs!

Ah, fall time. Leaves are changing color, the geese are flying south, and there is a slight chill in the air. To some, the month of October means ghosts and goblins but to Joe, it means Oktoberfest!

So what is Oktoberfest? The most common response I’ve heard is that it’s a celebration of the harvest. Unfortunately the most common response would be wrong. In fact, Oktoberfest is a wedding celebration.

In 1810 in the province of Bavaria in Germany, Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Therese of Saxe-Hilburghausen were married. To honor their union, they held a great celebration centered on a horse race. The wedding took place on October 12 and the horse race on October 17th. Because of this there is some argument as to whether Oktoberfest originated on the date of the wedding or the horse race. In any case, in modern times the dates were changed.

The dates were changed in order to take advantage of favorable weather that is still present in Bavaria towards the end of September. It’s not uncommon for the mercury to rise to 30 degrees Celsius. And what do we do when it’s hot out? We drink beer! Rather than change the name to Septemberfest, the kept the old moniker and ended the festival in the first week of October.

Since the party was so much fun the people decided to hold the celebration every year. There were a few exceptions such as the Napoleonic wars and World Wars I and II, but the lagers flowed once again once the disturbance was cleaned up. The lagers were so popular, in fact, that in time the horse race was forgotten. Apparently it got in the way of a good old fashioned slosh fest. The beer booths morphed into permanent beer gardens sponsored by the major beer brewers in the country.

The festival eventually became synonymous with the lager that is served at the festival. Everyone has heard of Oktoberfest lager, but who has heard of Marzen? Well marzen is the original name of Oktoberfest lager. Where one depicts the time of the celebration, the other indicates the month the lager is brewed. Marzen is German for March. So we brew in March and we dance in October.

Oktoberfest is now an international celebration of German culture. Men in lederhosen and women in dirndl hoist the golden elixir the world over. You can still attend the festival at the original location in Bavaria that still bears the name of its mistress. Theresienweisse still hosts the largest volksfest (people’s fest) in the world with the majority of them from Bavaria itself.

Time is running out on this year’s celebration, so if you haven’t yet made your way to the gardens, you’d better get your lederhosen on and head out. I’ll see you there.

Prost!

Stop by Joe's and add your favorite recipes to Joe's Bar Book!

~Hops have long been regarded by Witches as an herb of prosperity and good luck
~An old English custom is to hand a spray of flowering hops in a kitchen or dining room to ensure the prosperity of all in the household.
~Stuff a pillowcase with dried hops, valerian, catnip, skullcap and passion flower, and you will enjoy a peaceful nights sleep.

One cannot think of Halloween without thinking Bats. The little critters play incredibly important roles our ecosystems. There are Bats that eat insects, Bats that pollinate plants and spread seeds and even Bats that help in medicine.

Bats are the only mammals that can fly. "Flying squirrels" don't really fly, they glide. There are more than 925 different kinds of bats, and they are found all over the world except at the North and South Poles. Bats can survive in cold climates, damp climates, and dry climates, although the largest bat colonies are found in temperate regions. They live on every continent except Antarctica, and on oceanic islands and archipelagoes. Some bats hibernate in the colder climates while others will migrate south when the temperatures drop.

Bats deliver their babies and then place them in a group of babies called a colony. With all of the babies close together they stay warm and protected. They usually hang from the ceiling of a cave or in some roost location like the attic of a house or barn. They continue to nurse them for 6 months and often wil carry them during flights as they get older. A mother can return and find her baby amongst thousands by knowing their voice and smell.

Bat populations have declined greatly since the 1950s. Numerous species of bats are endangered or threatened, and more than a dozen species may already be extinct. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, around 40 to 50 percent of bats in the United States are considered endangered. Six of the forty-five species that live in the continental United States are on the federal list of endangered species. Three more species that live in the state of Hawaii and in U.S. territories are also endangered. Twenty other species are considered at risk.

There is also a fungus that is causing a collapse of bat colonies. White-nose syndrome leaves bats abnormally thin, with a white fungus furring their noses. It wiped out 90 per cent of the bats in the two caves in New York state where it was first identified last winter. Now it seems to have spread to New England's largest bat cave, Aeolus cave in Vermont. "It doesn't appear that the fungus is the primary cause of death," says Elizabeth Buckles of Cornell University, New York. The syndrome encompasses a number of problems, including abnormal hibernation patterns, weight loss and increased mortality. It's too early to tell how the illness is transmitted or if it is a result of environmental change.

The main threat to bats is the loss of their habitats and food sources due to a growing human population. This results in increased environmental pollution as well as deforestation Other human activities, such as pest control programs, cave exploration, and the destruction of old mines result in many bat deaths each year. In some cases, people deliberately kill large groups of bats. They regard these bats as dangerous carriers of disease or as threats to their crops or livestock. Large colonies of bats in caves have been viciously destroyed by vandals armed with sticks, stones, or guns. Bats also die when exposed to unfamiliar predators, which happens, for example, when their habitats are destroyed and they are forced to relocate to new areas.

Bats love bugs too and can help farms cut down on the amount of pesticides used on crops by taking care of the problem insects the natural way. More than 300 plant species in the Old World tropics alone rely on the pollinating and seed-dispersal services of bats, providing more than 450 economically important products, valued in the hundreds of millions of US dollars annually. The durian fruit crop of Southeast Asia, sells for US$120 million each year and relies exclusively on flying foxes ( one type of bat there are over 1000 world wide) for pollination. The value of tropical bats in reforestation alone is enormous. Seeds dropped by bats account for up to 95% of forest re-growth on cleared land.

The most popularized bat has to be the Vampire Bat. The Vampire Bat needs about 2 table spoons of blood per day to survive. They get this by making a small cut in a sleeping animal usually a cow or horse and drinking its blood. The saliva from the Vampire bat contains an anticoagulant which prevents blood from clotting. This anticoagulant is used to make Draculin which is prescribed for hear attack and stroke patients. Bat poop or guano is a fantastic organic fertilizer too!

Now we have all heard that bats spread rabies.. Quite frankly that’s a bunch of guano. You are more likely to contact rabies from your cat or dog if they are not vaccinated and exposed to the outdoors and other animals. Fewer than 0.5% of bats have rabies and since 1960 there have only been 40 reported cases of humans contracting rabies from bats. Unlike many other animals, rabid bats rarely become aggressive. They quickly die from the disease, and outbreaks in their colonies are extremely rare.

Bats can eat up to half their weight in mosquitoes a night! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sit outside in the evening and not be eaten alive by mosquitoes. Or have to worry about the chemicals you are putting on your body so you don’t get bit by them and possibly contract West Nile?

How can you help?

Have we changed your thinking just a wee bit on our Batty Friends? I sure hope so. Encourage bats in your area buy building a Bat House. We’ve provided links to a couple of different homes you can set up in your yard for them

Simple plans for building a bat bird house.
Little more complicated bat house

Some more quick Bat Facts;
-Bats don't flap their wings like birds. They move them like they're rowing a boat.
-The Vampire bat lives in Central and South America, not in Transylvania! Usually, they Only drink the blood of farm animals like goats and cattle.
-The Flying Fox is the largest bat. Its wingspan is about the same as an eagle.
-The smallest bat is the size of a bumblebee and weighs about as much as a dime.
-Bats use their webbed tails like a catcher's mitt to scoop up insects.
-Bats that roost in trees wrap their wings around themselves. They look just like dead leaves.
-Some bats can fold up their ears like an accordion. Some roll their ears up and tuck them under their wings when they sleep.

Dr Phyllis is RoseWillow's resident advisor but she seems to have gone missing or as the Crypt Keeper keeps telling us is just buried in paperwork this month. So we're happy to have him here as a temporary remplacement. Boo-kle up Kiddies and remember, if you have anything on your mind, if your outlook on life is grave, if you are lost and have no one to turn on, drop the good Doctor an email at drphyllis@rosewillow.ca and hope for the best next month!

Dear Dr Phyllis
My wife and I have been married for 34 years, and periodically we have discussed spicing up our love life. We've talked, a time or two about trying a threesome. The problem is, while it seemed a sexy idea to me to have Marilyn Monroe join us, my wife always thought it would be more exciting with Cary Grant as the third in a menage. Is there any common-ground here...?
Curious in Lackawanna PA

Dear Lackawanna
It looks like it’s not just your sex life that’s dead here. Nothing more romantic than an evening in a graveyard with his and hers shovels digging the dirt on yesterday’s celebrities. You might try Marilyn first, she’s a little fresher. If you find it’s doing it for you, see if she really ‘digs’ Cary, but make it quick or you’ll find yourselves involved in a ménage-a-two-and-a-half.
The Crypt Keeper standing in for the good Dr Phyllis

Dear Dr Phyllis
I'm currently seeking office, but I don't know where my houses are. I've been married for a while to a plastic gal who is a bit plastic-looking, but she comes and finds me after I talk and tells me where to go next. Lately, I've heard my running mate is from Alaska, and she seems cute, but I don't like running much and thought I was married already. Can you help me?
Aimless in Arizona

Dear Aimless
I wouldn’t worry about finding your houses, at this point you might want to work on something a little easier. Like maybe your posterior or a hole in the ground. Speaking of a hole in the ground, having someone wheel you into the light is still an option if you keep getting lost. Don’t fear the Keeper.
The Crypt Keeper standing in for the good Dr Phyllis

Dear Dr Phyllis
For three years now, my husband's been having an affair with a woman at work. She has two young kids and a condo and is a real slut. We've never had kids, and my husband will barely even mow the lawn, but he's chasing after mommy dearest even so. This makes no sense to me, as her husband is a kind and hard-working man, very good with the kids and he's handy and a good lover too. What does he think would happen if he moved into the condo with her kids?
Baffled in Battle Creek

Dear Baffled
You’re not doing it right. I know a lady named Amy that you could take some lessons from. Now there’s a ghoul who knows what she wants and is willing to boo what’s necessary to get it. I’ll set up a meeting for you. You can call her Ms. Fisher until you get to know her better.
The Crypt Keeper standing in for the good Dr Phyllis

Dear Dr Phyllis
I have a big job in a big job city, but I'm up for a review. I really haven't been doing my job very well, but there are no other candidates for it, so I'm a shoo-in to keep the position, especially if I behave nicely and wear sweaters, and say bad things about the French guy. If I get the job, I can sell stuff to my rich friends and go back to eating live bunnies when I want, but I'd have to work hard for a coupe weeks to get the job. Is it worth it?
Stephen Harper, Ottawa

Dear Stephen
First I’d like to say congratulations on a successful rising. That last time, what with the broken pentagram and the clumsy oaf of a priest, is an experience best forgotten. You’re not still a member of the Conservative party, are you? You’re supposed to evil, not weird or stupid.

Anyway, I guess it depends on the job. Spreading mass confusion and mayhem can be challenging but it can be rewarding as well. Saying bad things about French guys doesn’t seem to really involve destruction on the scale required for a person of your stature unless that Frenchman is trying to save the environment or free millions of people from tyranny. I say that if it makes you happy and millions miserable, then go for it. You only live a couple of hundred times.
Crypt Keeper standing in for the good Dr Phyllis

Well Ghouls and Boils. This has been a crypt. Fang-you to the good Dr Phyllis for howling me to fill in for her this month. Hoo would have guessed a quick stop at the local ghastly station for a fill up on my way through to North Scareolina for fangsgiving, I would have the opportunity to contribute to your community paper. Mummy and Deadly Would be proud.

I am off for the celebrations of the month at my grand monsters home. No rest for the wicked is there? I may pop back from time to time to check in on the festivities here at GrossWillow. It’s a bit eerie just how at bone I feel here. So till then Kiddies.. don’t blow any caskets, Dr Phyllis will boo back to solve all your dilemmas.

I must Boo-gie on out of here now. Till next time

The Crypt Keeper.

Eeeehehehehehehehehehehehehe

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10 to 15 cups - Bread Cubes
½ cup - Butter
3 lg cup - Onions (chopped)
Entire bunch of Celery with Leaves (chopped)
1 teaspoon - Salt
1 teaspoon - Pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons Poultry Seasoning (or mixture of Sage, Savory, Thyme and Marjoram too)
1 egg

-Melt butter in fry pan toss in chopped onion and celery cook till onions are translucent do not brown.
--Mix bread cubes and spices well
-Pour in to bread cubes the cooked onions and celery and all the butter.. Mix well.
-Add egg and mix.
-If mixture is very dry add a bit more melted butter (This is Thanksgiving you’re allowed!)
-If you just can’t bring yourself to do that then check the insides of the turkey for any fat.
-Throw that in with your stuffing that will add more moisture and some fantastic flavor!
-Okay so you don’t want to put the fat in either.. Geez.. well then just add some chicken broth. Just enough to moisten it up a bit don’t get it all soggy.
-I still think you should put in the fat and butter but hey… your choice..
-Then stuff your turkey and cook away..

-Warning.. this stuffing will repete on you.. But Damn it’s good! If you are not one for stuffing turkeys this can also be put into a roaster and cooked alone. If you are lucky enough to have a wad of fat on the turkey peal it off and just set it on top of the stuffing mixture before baking. The fat will render out and Oh my this beats stove top any day of the week! You’ll love it!... So what if you feel your arteries hardening just suck down some chicken broth for the rest of the damn week! SPLURGE! It’s Thanksgiving afterall!

EnJoy!

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons water

Preparation:

1. Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.
3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.
4. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should not be runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon. Note: if you want to dye the fortune cookies, add the food coloring at this point, stirring it into the batter. For example, I used 1/2 teaspoon green food coloring to make green fortune cookies.
5. Place level tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.
6. Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 - 15 minutes).
7. Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, wooden spoon or the edge of a muffin tin. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies.

Tips:
The cookies harden fast so try only one pan at a time until you know you can get the misfortunes in and the cookies folded fast enough.
If the cookies are to soft after being folded, dry them about 10 mins at 300 degrees until crispy.

Some Misfortunes for your cookies;
-This time, they're not laughing with you.
-The voices are real.
-Your neighbors did notice that ring around the bathtub.
-Maybe that haircut wasn't such a good idea.
-On the road of life, you are but a dip.
-Your number will soon come up at the IRS.
-Wrinkles and incontinence are just around the corner!
-You will meet a short, stinky, unattractive stranger.
-That really wasn't chicken. .
-Cute outfit - last year.
-Help - I'm imprisoned in a fortune cookie factory!
-You will soon be dishonored by someone you respect.
-Your heart is impure, your mind clouded so your soul is evil.
-Beware the dark, mechanical winged creature.
-You have little understanding of the arts and music.
-Now is not the time to try something new.
-You will become a great bore in your later years.
-You will not advance far with your meager abilities.
-Always remember - pillage first ;Then burn.
-Just because the fabric stretches, doesn't me it should.
-You have an evil heart and are greatly despised.
-Failure surely comes your way.
-You have an untrustworthy smile and insidious nature.

Ishmael

• When picking sweet potatoes, choose the dark-skinned ones. They are known to be sweeter and more moist than the lighter-skinned variety.

• Instant mashed potatoes are a good thickener for stews and gravies.

• To make your own breadcrumbs, bake pieces of bread (ends, leftovers, or scraps) in an oven at 250 degrees until light brown.

• Have trouble finding the end on a roll of plastic wrap? Place the roll in the freezer for 30 minutes and it will unroll easily.

• When candles lose their new look and become dull, spray them with furniture polish and wipe well.

• Metal cookie cutters do double-duty as unique napkin holders for special dinners. Spray paint them to match your decor.

• When using candles on a dining room or kitchen table, make sure the candles are unscented. This way the scent won't interfere with the food you're serving.

Long before the first Europeans arrived in North America, farmers in Europe celebrated by "Giving Thanks" for their good fortune at harvest time. The farm workers filled a curved goat's horn with fruits and grains. That symbol was called a "Cornucopia" or "Horn of Plenty". When these Europeans came to Canada they brought this tradition with them. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.

In the year of 1578, the English navigator Martin Frobisher held a formal ceremony, in today's Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey to Canada. Martin Frobisher was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in Northern Canada named after him -- "Frobisher Bay". Other settlers arrived and continued the celebration.

French settlers, who arrived at about the same time in Canada, with explorer Samuel de Champlain, held their own celebration of thanks, which included a huge feast. They also formed "The Order of Good Cheer" and gladly shared their good fortune with the Canadian Native Indians.

The next "Thanksgiving" in Canada was celebrated after the seven year war, which ended in 1763, by the citizens of Halifax, they held a special day of Thanksgiving.

Later, after the American revolution, Americans, who remained faithful to the English government, known as "Loyalists" moved to Canada and spread Thanksgiving celebration throughout Canada.

Not until the year of 1879, the Canadian Parliament declared November 6th a day of "Thanksgiving" and was declared a national holiday. Thanksgiving day celebration has been moved over the years, and the 3rd Monday in October proved to be the most popular one. After Word War I, both, Armistice Day and Thanksgiving Day were celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11th occurred. In 1931, ten years later, the two holidays became separate ones and the Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day.

Not until January 31st, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed..."

to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.

Also, Europeans as well Great Britain's, celebrated their harvest by decorating the altar in their churches (Protestant and Catholics).

Don't get excited, not Those Kind of Fetishes.

A lot of people today keep American Indian Fetishes in their homes or hanging from rear view mirrors, most commonly DREAM CATCHERS and MANDALAS. Not many actually know what these objects are really about.

They are actually spiritual symbols of protection against evils from the "Other Side". In many native religions, the veil between this world and the next is sometimes very thin. Sometimes things travel between the spirit world and our world and some of these things are bad.

The Mandala represents a Warriors Shield to protect the spirit of it's owner from Physical attacks from the spirit world. These attacks can be in the form of illness or bad luck or the result of a curse from an enemy. The Mandala blocks these things and protects the Warrior and his lodge as well as all who stay in the lodge.

The Dream Catcher Protects a Sleeper from Bad Dreams. The Indians saw bad dreams as a kind of evil spirit. The Dream Catcher started as Ojibwa Cradle board Medicine, to protect babies from bad dreams that might taint the child. It was adopted by many other indian people to protect them from these evil spirits and were kept above the sleeping areas of Adults as well. The Dream Catcher represents 2 friends of the Ojibwa people. The Willow(the branches are the frames of their homes) and the Wood Spider (eating insects and mosquitoes, important to people who invariably lived near water).

In legend, the Dream catcher was a gift to and Old Woman who saved a spider from being killed in her lodge. The Spider wove a web in a willow hoop to catch bad dreams that would trouble her at night. The willow hoop also represents the circle of life.

The Dream catcher works by attracting dreams to it. Good dreams could follow the stones (beads) to the center hole and pass through, then drift down to the soft feathers and on to the sleeper. Bad Dreams were trapped in the sinew web and destroyed by the first rays of the morning sunlight.

Some bad dreams were said to be Meant for a specific person and the dream catcher could not trap such dreams. But the random nightmares that wandered the night seeking victims were always trapped in the dream catchers web.

So that's pretty much it. There are other legends and explanations of both the dream catcher and the Mandala but the ones I mentioned are pretty much the general idea.

There is more to "Fetishes" than you can find on Porn Sites.

ISHMAEL

Hogeez… Well we’ve had a busy month getting ready for October.. And we’re not done yet!! So here’s the poop.

There have been a whole bunch of icons added to the site. If you click on the edit handle link at the top of most pages and log into your handle you’ll see them. As the Mayor mentioned a couple of papers back you can add your own too! Try to keep size down if you will. The perfect size is 70x70 pixels. They can be smaller but absolutely no bigger than 100x100 pixels. If you have something you’d like made into an icon so long as it’s not copywrited and you cannot do it yourself just mail me with the info. I will size it for you and attach it to your name.

Look for Thanks Giving Greetings and Halloween Greetings this month at the Egreetings site. I will be working on some greeting cards and I invite any and all graphic designers to submit cards to us! If you would like to have your work featured I will need a minimum of 9 cards. If you just want to make a few to be added to a category any amount will do! You do NOT have to be a member of RoseWillow to add your greetings. Contact me for more details if you are interested.

I am trying very hard to get together an on line murder mystery for us to play this month. I will need at least 8 participants. If you are interested in the game and putting in a bit of time this month playing leave me a note in My forum. I’ll let everyone know what’s happening towards mid month or there about. Wish me luck.

I’d like to with everyone a Very Happy Thanks Giving and Halloween this month.

Joy

Have you been over to the RoseWillow Arts & Crafts Guild yet?

Tired of the mess with carved pumpkins? Here's a wonderful alternative to the mess and the moldy squash you're left with after halloween.

Click to enlarge

This is a simple technique you can use on pumpkins or gourds. Your pumpkins will last months and you don't have to worry about your pumpkins or gourds going moldy after they've been cut into.

All you need are some good paint brushes and some acrylic paint, a bit of curly ribbon and some Halloween theme ribbon for the stems and you're good to go!

Make up a bunch to set out on your steps for trick or treaters. They make fun gifts for friends and are great sellers at craft fairs! Have a fundraiser. Get together with friends and have a painting party then sell your pumpkins to raise money for your organization.

If you get a production line going they go quite quickly.

Have fun with your punkin people and Happy Halloween!

Hannah

Jack was a shrewd and wicked old Irish farmer who manages to trick the Devil in a variety of ways, depending on the particular version of the folk tale, and forces him to promise not to take his soul when he dies.

When the old man does actually die, however, he finds that after living such a sinful life he is not accepted into Heaven and, having forced the Devil to renounce his soul, he is also turned away from the gates of Hell. When Jack asks how he will find his way in the darkness the Devil laughs and throws him a burning coal from Hell. This he puts inside a hollowed turnip and sets off to wander the world forever in search of a place to rest.

Such makeshift lanterns were, in fact, commonly used in old Ireland , but were originally made from potatoes, turnips or beets, and it was not until Irish immigrated to America that pumpkins were used.

Congrats to 2008 baseball champion... *Sir J* !

Though only third-best in September (with 69), that was Sir's *only* month below 70 - in a season that peaked with 77 June wins and a July-winning 72.

Crippled by Seattle(8) and Washington(7) *loo* fell from the August lead to fight-off a *Kimberleyrose* surge deciding the silver & bronze medals.

Incredible kudos go out to *Hannah*, who had the top score an amazing four of the six months - and for winning MOST of the battles... yet somehow NOT the "war"!

My heartfelt thanks to EVERYONE - as always - for playing... it was perfect, of a baseball, there were 9 of us! *Tammy* and *Mayor* - and *Dooley* - you MADE this a game, and I thank you all for joining-in.

Past the golden *Sir J*, the silver *loo* and the bronzed *Kimberleyrose* - and past even the iron-medal(?) DUE *Hannah* winning so many months - there is another aguably ironic point to be made: This game would not have existed without *Triceratops*, who not only encouraged me to try it again, but suggested the new format this year.

LAST year, our champion *Sir J* joked he'd be dead last - and was - this year *Triceratops* did the same - coincidence? No way to know til next spring, I'd guess...

September
71... HANNAH
70... Kimberleyrose
69... Sir J
68... Dooley
68... Ed
66... Tammy
61... Mayor
59... loo
58... Triceratops

OVERALL

430... SIR J !!!
422... loo !!
420... Kimberleyrose !
419... Hannah
417... Ed
406... Mayor
403... Tammy
395... Dooley
393... Triceratops

Monthly Winners
APR... Hannah (76)
MAY... Hannah (76)
JUN... Kimberleyrose (79)
JUL... Sir J (72)
AUG... Hannah (82)*
SEP... Hannah (71)

A Huge Thank you to Ed for organizing and keeping track of all. this Great job! Thanks to all that participated.

Keep an eye on the Sports Center. There's always something interesting happening over there!

Aries: You might encounter this month a friend from your past, and this could happen in a very unexpected and surprising manner. It will be surrounded by very pleasant circumstances. You could be involved in a social activity that could bring some talks in connection to your line of work and it could bring some lucky results for you. Making fast decisions will require some serious adjustments on your part. Your special qualifications and abilities are playing a big role in all this. Preoccupation concerning your personal income will be very much on your mind.

Taurus: Your work area is showing some unexpected changes that will be favorable for you. This will be like a follow up of good work done in the past. You will be looking at this with mixed emotions. Some doubts and some illusory ideas are involved with your future career. Your joint financial interest is causing you worries as you are concerned about future outcome. You are having much backing coming from your home and this will help you to be more aware of what is really surrounding you right now. There is a great deal of a chance to receive some gain from all this.

Gemini: You might be planning a short trip to a far away place and this is surrounded by lots of glamour. There are many surprising circumstances surrounding this. You seem to be putting some emotional obstacles into this but it will pass. There is much activity at your home base right now and there are many adjustments that have to be made there. There are many questions that need to be asked about your future as some reorientation is needed. You are trying to shake up all the restrictions that you have been going through with your personal income.

Cancer: The spotlight for you this month is at your home base. You will be getting lots of cooperation from family and there is some unexpected lucky break with your joint finances as a result of some difference of opinion that you had in the past and you have learned to work out. You have learned from personal restricted experiences and you are using this in a positive and gainful way. Communication concerning your future career is taking place as there is more than one opportunity for you in this sector of your life. You need some reorientation before you make a decision as you seem to be agitated concerning this and your present job.

Leo: Communication is the key word for you this month, lots of it is taking place between you and your mate or partner. Your relationship seems to be changing in a sudden and positive way. There is much dreaming and illusion connected to your life together. You will be trying to reason your personal financial affairs with your mate or partner as there are many adjustments that will have to be made in the future. This is causing you many worries and concerns. Deep inside, you seem to be feeling good about yourself and what the future is bringing you as you are trying to use some restraint while you see your future unfolding.

Virgo: Your area of personal finances and values is in the spotlight for you this month. There are many positive innovative circumstances surrounding your area of work and you will be having a very unique learning experience connected to your future joint financial resources. This will be surrounded by very positive circumstances. The special abilities and talent that you share with an old friend will bring much gain to you. The second part of the month might bring you some obstacles concerning your personal and joint finances due to difference of opinion. Awareness of these differences will bring some mutual cooperation on this.

Libra: Someone could be bringing to your attention a new investment or speculation and this could look to you very glamorous on the surface. This could bring many sudden changes in the way you have handled your shared resources in the past. This could be very lucky and beneficial to you in spite of many worries that it is causing you. There are many lessons that you will be learning from your mate or partner while you plan your future and you are doing this looking at the real value of whatever you will be doing. There is much gain that could come from all this that will affect your aims in life.

Scorpio: You will be putting many of your thoughts toward communicating with your mate or partner concerning fortunate circumstances that are surrounding your area of marriage and partnerships. This will be done in a private way at your home surroundings. It could bring to your life many advantages as you combine yours and your mate’s or partner’s special talents and abilities. You could be experiencing some mental anxiety concerning this in combination with a friend that could be in this picture. There are some adjustments that will have to take place at your area of work related to all this.

Sagittarius: Your area of friends is very much in the picture this month for you. You could be the recipient of some news that could sound very lucky for you and a friend, but you have to look at the hidden meaning on this. You need to ask many questions but try to think before you speak as misunderstanding could arise. You are feeling some worries and concerns about a loved one and changes that you are going through in your life. There could be a very special communication, which you will feel you have with the object of your affection.

Capricorn: Your area of career, promotion, financial reward and standing in the community is in the spotlight for you this month. Your personal money house could receive an unexpected windfall that could change your future in a very favorable way. There is much illusion surrounding this which could inspire you with some new ideas that you could implement in an effective way in conjunction with your mate or partner. A trip to a far away place of a short duration could also be on the agenda for you. This could bring to you quite an unexpected experience.

Aquarius: Analyzing your highest ideals in life will be on your mind this month and you will be trying to use your special talents in a mature and prudent way at your work place. This could bring to your life many changes that will be to your advantage. You need to ask many questions concerning the way your outside and shared resources are used as there could be the tendency to overspend. Just think that sometimes the need for some glamour is necessary and useful in the long run. Loving communication with a dear one will be established in spite of some differences of opinion.

Pisces: Your area of outside and shared sources of income is in the limelight for you this month. This is due to your desire to break with all patterns and do something that will be more beneficial for you. There are some adjustments that will be necessary to do with your mate or partner and plans to use your personal resources in a way that doesn’t cause you many worries at home. There is much you can do if you put your mind to it. An investment that had done poorly in the past could bring to you unexpected gain.

-Stardust

Tis’ October and we’re in full celebration mode! Once again a Huge thank you to our contributors this month. We couldn’t do it with out you all!

Christmas is quickly approaching! If you are an artist or a crafter and would like to sell some of your wares for Christmas please check out the Classified Section. You can upload photo’s of your work and have your own little store on the web!

If anyone is cleaning out closets and would like find a good home for your stuff this is the place to advertize! If you have a special announcement to share with us all there’s a section for that too. There is NO charge for listing and sign up is Free !

If you enjoy the Oracle and would like to contribute You’re more than welcome to! Anyone and I do mean ANYONE can send in their articles or ideas what have you.

November is Thanksgiving for our US friends. It’s also Remembrance Day on November 11th. If there are any military personal out there or families of men and women in uniform from conflicts past or present from ANY country, please contact me pierre@rosewillow.ca. We have something special planned and would like a bit of input. If you know of anyone who maybe interested in telling a story about their time in service or perhaps tell the story of a family member that served or may have photo's they would like to share, please pass along my email address to them.

Once again if you have any questions comments or ideas for the paper don’t hesitate to contact me at the above email. We always look forward to your feedback. Or you can post on The Oracle Bulletin Board. I look forward to hearing from you.

Have a wonderful month folks

Pierre.
Editor of the Rosewillow Oracle