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OK we have a lost property box going.
A light/cream-brown coloured knitted jumper is here, and we presume someone belongs to it.
There is also a set of keys missing, with a small compass and nail-clippers as a keyring (with only 4 or 5 keys on it).
If anyone knows anything about either, give us a call!
Just wanted to drop in a plug for the excellent team at Aroma Bar Restaurant who are providing the food and drink (other than the beer, courtesy of Mountain Goat Beers and Ravenwolfe United Beverages).
The new menu is out, and they have a very hearty Guiness ‘n’ Beef Pie which is just awwwesome!
They also provide some of Australia’s finest wines by the glass (something I’m told is quite rare).
Below is a list of what food will be available on the day. We are catering for Vegetarians, Coeliacs, and Carnivores so everyone should be happy. This menu may change in the coming days, so stay tuned…:
Nibbles
Dinner
See you on the day….!
A few people have commented on the fact that they are looking forward to trying the Mead I made up. I have to apologise for the fact in advance that it most likely will not be ready in time for the day….. alas, it took a lot longer to brew than I anticipated, and come Yule (the week before the Handfasting), it will only have been in the bottle for 4 weeks. Hopefully we can find a local supply of Mead that will do the job.
There is of course a close link between marriages and Mead. In olden days, the wedded couple would be given a enough Mead to drink for a month (28 days, the period of a moon cycle), and they would go off somewhere private to drink (at least) a glass every night. Within a year, the couple (hopefully) would have a child: if it was a boy, then the Mead-maker was rewarded well (remember, this was in the days when male heirs were important for the continuation of family lineages). This is the origin of the Honeymoon!
Well, we have 2 daughters already. Perhaps when the Mead is ready…. 
But seriously, the first batch of The Nymph’s Knickers will be ready definitely by July 1, 2008 (a year and a day from the Handfasting) and perhaps we plan to celebrate our 1st Anniversary with a night of Mead drinking!!
For those of you keeping tabs on the homebrew, there will be a limited amount available to drink:
There will also be a keg of local microbrew Mountain Goat Hightail Ale. And Also a selection of other Australian Beers such as Cascade Premium Amber Ale, Matilda Bay’s Beez Kneez and Rooftop Red Lager.Possibility exists of a Stout also (can’t have a cold Winter’s night without a fine pint of Stout!)
For those of you wanting something a little less grass-roots, there will be a fine selection of local wines and bubbly - I will endeavour to get the names from Mum….
Hopefully, this will be enough to loosen everyone’s inhibitions enough to partake in a little Greek dancing…. 
One important aspect to our Handfasting ceremony is of course the cord (or ribbon) with which our hands are bound together.
Handfastings were the ceremonies that most people did to get married, as weddings (as we know them) could only be held by the aristocracy and affluent merchant class. As they couldn’t afford rings, the ancient folk tradition of binding the hands together was incorporated into the ceremony, and this is where we get the phrase “tying the knot”.
Strangely enough, we found our cord on Ebay. Lauren in Wendouree makes and sells Handfasting Kits, which include the handmade and custom-made cord.
In keeping with the alchemical theme of our ceremony of two people/energies coming together to create a whole - wegot our cord made from the two colours we have chosen to represent us: green (Pete) and burgundy (Deb). These two colours wind around each other to form the cord which will be tied around our hands.
I am also attaching feathers at either end of the cord, each one representing aspects of each of us - I won’t reveal here which feathers I am using, but see if you can work out on the day which feather represents whom…
There has been a slight change in terms of the celebrant. Joanna unfortunately was unable to continue to be our priestess, due to personal reasons. So we needed to find someone with the right energy to facilitate this important ceremony for us. We eventually got on to Seline - those of you ensconced firmly in Melbourne’s Pagan scene may be familiar with her from her work at Gatherings such as Euphoria. Seline is a legal celebrant, as well as a Priestess, so now she is going to be running the ceremony for us. However, we still have to say a big, warm thank-you to Livia, who did all the preliminary paperwork and was happy and flexible enough to work with us.
We will be keeping the ceremony brief, and it won’t be full of pagan terminology or rites that may be unknown or misunderstood by our friends and family - the focus is more on us performing something sacred with our community as witnesses to the fact that we are choosing to make a heart-felt commitment to each other. But we will be including a lot of symbolism in the ceremony, following the theme which I have written about so much. Again, see if you can spot the symbols and work out how it all applies…
Yes, mead will be on the menu (so to speak).
I have just purchased 5kg of a wonderful honey made not too far away in Heathmont (along Canterbury Rd, on the other side of the new freeway).
Heathmont Honey are a local couple who make honey from their own bees in their own backyard, which go around the local area and get pollen from the rich variety of native and other flowers of the Eastern Suburbs. And best of all, their honey is not heat-treated, meaning it still has all its nutrients intact.
The honey we chose (on their recommendation) was “Bees Own Honey” - naturally blended by Bees from bush surrounding Heathcote. Medium in flavour, darker in colour.
I have found a recipe for a “Metheglyn Sack Mead” over at gotmead.com - a Metheglyn is a Mead made with spices; a Sack Mead is a sweet Mead that does not require a long time to be ready to drink.
So, come the weekend my Methe (ancient Greek Mead) will be bubbling away….
I look forward to it!
Heathmont Honey can be found at the Knox Farmers’ Market (3rd Sat every month). Or contact them on 97380456
