The life and death of Hiss and Cackle as told by an observer.
 
No one from the town could recall the actual birth of Hiss and Cackle, it’s commonly thought that the birth was concealed because the two were joined together in a forever kind of way. It is storied that from the beginning of people's memories, they were only ever remembered as little old ladies, skipping right over Maiden and Mother and settling into Crone.
The two were, rightly so, called witches, but they gave each other their formal names.  One was called Hiss; she was the one with some teeth left. The other was called Cackle for the sound that emanated from her facial region as she laughed. They sometimes used the monikers, Blow Smoke and Old Crow interchangeably for each other, in the kindest way possible.
Because it seemed as though the two were born very old, they never had much of a use for parents. Often, it felt as if there were just too many cooks in the kitchen. So, they moved into a cottage covered in ivy, with a secret address. 
It was a special extravagance to be invited to their cottage. As you walked in the general direction, you would smell wood violets first, then warm spices from the hearth would unfold to your nose, followed by hints of sandalwood and bourbon dancing through the air.
One thing you could expect, was as you prepared to leave, the ladies would offer you something to take home. It wasn’t something old or unwanted though, it might have been 1/2 of a wonderful idea, the name to a song you would write, or a string of words, that when spoken just as they were whispered to you, would heal a wounded heart. These gifts were important and light as a feather.
As much as Hiss and Cackle thought about their beginnings, they also contemplated their endings. They thought of how large the casket would have to be to hold two sisters. They thought of how it would happen.   Hiss would say to Cackle, “Sister, I want to die first, so I don’t have to be one breath without you.” They always agreed that it would be Hiss to go first and Cackle just one breath after. Then they would go on together to the next chapter. Maybe this time, Hiss would be the mother and Cackle would be her child, connected briefly by a cord, but forever by the heart. 

Hiss and Cackle were lovingly dreamed into life in my Battle Creek, Michigan studio. They are one, two really of a kind. I create my work using fine antique textiles, wood and clay.  

​Ms. Neeps the Turnip lady
Sleeping deep in the ground, bundled up in earthen soil, was a turnip, touched by magic.  The Farm Witch tended her garden with more than water and hard work. She nourished the ground with stories, with intention and with love.   
One evening under the moons watchful eye, her garden received a gift in the form of sparkling moondust. It fluttered down like a blessing onto her hedgerow, over the loosened dirt and flowers already in bloom.
Even for a witch, who had seen many a curious thing, The Farm Witch was truly bemused. She fell right back onto her tush in the dirt, smiling up at the moon in her big hat and linen skirt.  
There wasn’t long for moments of deliberation as to the “what on earthiness” of these events, because truly, there could be no explanation. A blanket of moon magic had just drifted down and settled on her hearts work, and she was grateful.
Just then, the dirt started to wiggle.  It looked as if a mole from the under garden was awake and roaming about. It wasn’t a little mole though; it was something else from the dirt. Right before her eyes, The Farm Witch saw a small arm shoot up then another. Next came the legs and then a naked turnip body. The Farm Witch was quite familiar with the circle of life, but never had she witness the birth of a turnip lady.
The witch gathered the wisping tendrils of root, the off white and dusty purple head, and the curious little body close to her. Wrapping the turnip lady in a scrap of worn, soft fabric, The Farm Witch nestled her with care in her foraging basket and headed into her little cottage. 

These are the early beginnings of the turnip lady and how she came to be, but there is more to know.
Because she was nourished by a special magic, destiny sent her like an arrow to things meant just for her. As she grew, the turnip lady sought out quiet joy and because she was born of the under garden, she knew the dark and set out to be a light, an illumination from within. She knew she was odd and special, and she also knew that turnip ladies don’t just crawl their way from under the garden for nothing at all.  
The turnip lady was properly called Ms. Neeps by The Farm Witch, who became her loving caretaker and friend.
The two created a ritual of going to market together. The Farm Witch searched for things to grace her garden and Ms. Neeps scoured the stalls for books. She loved, so much, to fill her sweet little turnip head with poems, spells, and stories about the unexpected and sometimes even the unthinkable. 
On one of those trips to the market, something absolutely atrocious happened. There was an incident that I’d rather not go into a great deal of detail about, involving an out-of-control donkey pulling a cart. I will say, the cart knocked into a stack of apple crates, spilling them across the ground.

​ Ms. Neeps was not unscathed. A ragged old crate fell right on the small turnip lady.  It was more than a scratch and less than death.
The Farm Witch often tended to those in need who could not or would not see a credentialled doctor. She put people and critters back together the best she could. 
 
After getting Ms. Neeps back to the warmth of their cottage, she began searching the shed for just the right thing.  She found a tiny piece of furniture, a dresser, that must surely have belonged to a fairy. Putting both the lady turnip and the small dresser on her dinner table, The Farm Witch cobbled them both together in a remarkable way. In the end, she sat back and smelled the magic making in the air. She was grateful.
They called it a new chapter of magic. Ms. Neeps atop a storybook dresser, completely brimming with books and The Farm Witch with the deep knowing that even if our roots begin in the dirt, they don’t necessarily have to remain there. Our stories can begin again, maybe at the hand of a witch who cobbles things back together, or maybe with a book, offered to you by a turnip lady.

The story of Ms. Neeps and the images are copywritten ©2022MyDearestWitch, all rights reserved. 

​Unapologetically, I am in a liminal becoming. I am actively pursuing the life I dreamed of as girl.
Unapologetically, I want my kids to describe me as an anti racist, left leaning liberal, who spoke up against trumpism, racism, and the bland words of people whose opinions don’t pay my bills.
I want my kids to tell people that I believed in magic. So, by goodness, I need to live that way.
Joseph Takens, my late husband, was placed in my life to teach me something, many things, but one thing was to find my bones, my backbone. He teaches me to find comfort in the ache of love and to continue on anew when the page turns.
I’m sprinkling my own path with magic and I’m hoping my kids follow it, like sparkling bread crumbs.
I wish you a good year ahead. Thanks for sticking around.

​There are no proper shoes or boots for sloshing through the mud of Christmas season. Any gifting holiday that requires us to interact with hostile family members, hard focus on grief, or makes us feel like we are checking the boxes of the Holiday experience, is a recipe for contempt.
Gathering together with your argumentative uncle was once a mild day of contention, but in this American climate of 2021, it’s no longer mild. To sit in fellowship with someone who disagrees with your opinion is human, we are all different, but to sit in fellowship with someone who applauds things like 1/6, suppression, and hate is hostile. And you don’t have to do it. Not for family, not for the holidays, not to keep the peace. Because YOUR peace is worth something too.
Embracing the large pink bear in the room called grief is my new hobby, and what I’ve learned from getting down in a puddle of it and rolling around, is that grief feels different for each of us. Holiday grief is more intense because it pushes those left in your family to the front. The ones who are gone are REALLY gone. As a country we are processing a collective grief of over 800,000 deaths due to Covid-19. There are lots of empty seats in our homes and lots of hugs that we will never feel again. My only advice for addressing the pink bear in the room is to do so with grace. If you’ve been visited by grief and loss, maybe have something of your loved one close, so you can connect with it as you move through your space. Grief makes some of us feel like we are always on our last nerve, in this case do less. Stop sooner. Just sit and enjoy something instead of trying to create a Christmas masterpiece of the day. Hint* paint by numbers are back in style.
I hope you recognize what you need and seek a safe place to enjoy the Season.

Matthew Merton’s name flew off of the pages of a book and into my heart, as I created him into being. I worked on him ever so slowly through the months and he neared completion at the ending of October. He stayed in my studio through the full moon of Samhain, sleeping so sweetly. Moon magic is very important to owl creatures. As the gentle moonglow touches an owl’s wings, their very feathers are imbued with wisdom and knowledge. But alas, little Matthew Merton, fell asleep, all cozy in my studio and missed the enchantment.
Knowing that Samhain and a full moon would coincide, I popped outside just before dusk and left empty glass bottles to capture just such moonglow. As I finished working on Matthew Merton, he had a sad look that I could not budge from his wee beaked face. “Why Matthew, are you sad?” I asked. “Because, I missed the moonglow! I missed the wisdom of the moon. I will forever be a featherbrained creature, because I missed it.”
I collected my moonglow potions from every corner of the hedge and row and placed them into a woven basket.  My bottles dripped with magic. I brought them in to my cottage and prepared my finest wax for sealing up the bottles.  One bottle was specifically for Matthew.  As he sat all featherbrained and distressed in my studio, I told him how wonderful he was and how blessedly pink and magical he was to become. He closed his owl eyes and I poured my captured moonglow over him. It dripped like glittered-honey over his head, his heart and his wings. His eyes opened slowly, as if this was his very first wake.
I think his eyes may have been a little bit brighter. I know for sure, he soaked in the knowing that he was gifted with all the wisdom I could fill him with. He found his moonglow, with a little help. 

I hope you enjoyed this little story of how Matthew Merton began. 

Matthew Merton is available in my ETSY shop, My Dearest Witch 
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copywrite 2020, My Dearest Witch 

He saw her as hungry, so he tossed breadcrumbs at her feet. He knew her heart and knew she would accept anything. 
She ate up the morsels, one by one. It felt good to be full. But after awhile, she acknowledged it was so much work and she was crawling on the ground all the time. It made her feel less like the goddess she had grown into an more like a child, accepting whatever was provided. 
She decided being hungry was better than crawling on the ground. 

​

This is my worktable. No matter how much space I have, I always end up with about a dinner plate sized spot to create in.

I’m a huge lover of drawery furniture! I’m making tags now for all of the drawers so I can find things easier.

This wonderful apron was created especially for me by Kimberly Sherrod of Calamity Kim. She recreated one of my art works on it and it’s really a treasure.

A place for the faeries to dance.

I love bread, but I really don’t eat a ton of it. My dream bread is crusty slathered in butter and lemon curd or elderberry jam.
During our stay at home time, I wanted to make bread, mainly for the luscious homey fragrance that fills the house.
This is a very easy recipe that does not require yeast, witch has been hard to find in my area.

I’ve tried several recipes, all found online, and I’ve added and subtracted things to get it how I like it.

Oven to 350°
ingredients are :
​2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/4 cups milk, if you use buttermilk it’s 1 1/3 cup

Wisk all dry ingredients together. Make a well and pour the milk in. Stir. I use a wooden spoon.

Sprinkle flour on the baking sheet. Make a ball with your dough. Make an x in the top with a knife.
​ bake for 45 min.
​enjoy!
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I did a good bit of research on pigeons in the past few months. They are considered nuisances or pesky to some. But to me, I see a magicalness in them. The way their feathers take on a hue of an abalone shell and the dusty look as if they are from the mists just get me.

My pigeon is a wise old bird. She’s far too tough to eat, so people leave her alone for the most part.

New work is emerging from the studio. In this uncertain time I’ve created a wayfinder. A magical pigeon lady to lead us from things that are frightening. I’ve forever been fascinated with pigeons and their beauty.

She’s called Lila Feathers and she’s full of mysterious color. Hand blown glass eyes, one with a unique flicker in it make her so special. She had lovely shoes and looks as though she could be an ymbryne. We’re not sure.

​Things I never thought I would need to know.
Learning things on the fly is hard and you never feel like you are getting it right. Taking care of your husband when you’ve been handed a diagnosis of aggressive cancer is akin to someone pushing you off the edge of a cliff and you have a parachute on, but you’ve never used one before. You’ve been given brief instruction, but you were in shock and not really absorbing information.   I am a mother; I’ve cared for my children, but I never understood what caring for my husband would be like as he grew closer to death. I think I expected Joe to be “Joe” forever. I didn’t realize as the Cancer became more aggressive, I would see glimpses of him, but they were fleeting. His body and mind were fighting hard. If you have to travel this journey, know that your feelings might get hurt, but it’s comes from a raw place of fear and has nothing to do with you or how you are caring for your loved one.  Joe would say things that might have sounded cold or heartless to me and the kids.  Things he would have never said. He was the most caring and kind partner, so hearing words like this took me off guard and disheartened me, and I thought that he didn’t appreciate me. He really did, but when you are tired and bouncing from emotionally drained to emotionally heightened, you process your feelings differently.
We immediately started treatment at the cancer center. Radiation at first and chemo a few weeks later. What I didn’t realize is that everything that was indelicate or private, becomes in your face.  Our children went to every single appointment, we experienced this journey as one, all four of us as one.. I should have insisted at this point that he start taking MiraLAX daily. I didn’t know he was having problems going to the bathroom, because he physically got up and went to the bathroom, but nothing was happening. If your loved one becomes constipated, taking MiraLAX everyday might help or a mixture called a brown cow, I learned this from one of Joe’s wonderful nurses. It’s 2 Tablespoons of Milk Of Magnesia stirred into 8 oz of warmed prune juice. If its warm it tastes better. Just know that your loved one may be too embarrassed to tell you if they are unable to use the restroom. You will learn all about Senna and Magnesium Citrate.  Some Mexican restaurants have water-based popsicles. I found them made with prunes and this was soothing for Joe.  


The cancer center was an everyday routine. Our entire life rhythms were changing, and everyone felt a   disturbance, but none of us could put or finger on what it was. Joe felt guilty that he had cancer and was ruining our lives. Willow loved the new batch of people she was able to shine her sparkle with at the Cancer Center, Bryer was just quiet and introspective. I didn’t feel anything at all, I was in shock. I thought a lot about my Mom. She had just died suddenly of a stroke. And I know she would have stepped right in and helped me. She would have soothed my mind and my heart.  But for whatever reason, she was gone, and I was here. I was all he had and to me that was not enough, at all. I missed my mom so much.
Joe lost a lot of weight very fast. You should find adjustable belts at Meijer or Walmart. Target never had them. As your loved one loses weight don’t forget to buy them smaller underwear.  Buy extra socks. Joe was unable to get up the stairs to the bedroom and stayed pretty much in his chair all the time. The leather of his chair rubbed the skin off of his elbows. I took his old socks and cut the toe part off and made elbow pads for him.  Joe wore his own, normal clothing as they were part of his identity, be eventually he had to size down to stretch waist pants. Your loved one might be very cold, even though it is warm in the room. I had a heating pad for him when he was feeling cold.

With each treatment, Joe was welcoming the destruction of his strong body, just for more time with us. As the treatment increased, so did the side effects. He had thrush so badly in his mouth and I was at the pharmacy every day for something. There was a nationwide shortage of nystatin for the thrush and I felt so helpless. He became so weak from the treatment that he had to be hospitalized. At the hospital they figured out that he had a-fib, he needed oxygen and he had MERSA. I got him back home, but I had to learn how to give him IV meds every few hours. I am not a nurse; I was not gifted with the skill of being able to deal with fluids…. But here I was spiking bags, cleaning lines, and administering meds via a port in his chest. It was a struggle.
The cancer had eroded his rib, it was spreading. He was becoming so confused and I felt so helpless. I was trying to balance keeping the kids quiet, taking care of Joe, my art, doing the housework, the yard work, and making it seem like we were all fine. I asked a few friends for advice or for help, but for the most part, Joe didn’t want anyone in the house. If you have a friend who is a caregiver and they reach out, please just go help. It’s hard to ask for help.

As Joe’s Cancer spread, the doctors never said two months or two weeks, time was not quantified. Things happened so fast. We were fighting this and suddenly, I was frantically pushing our furniture in front for our doors so Joe could not get out. He was sure that people were trying to hurt us, and he had to get out to protect us. He got out one time and fell in the front yard. He was muddy and had lost his glasses when I found him. Joe would take things apart, the remote, the air conditioner, he started to cut things up with scissors. He cut his oxygen tubing, he went into my studio and just started cutting everything. I was so scared. The cancer had traveled to his brain. 
Joe’s doctor recommended hospice. Our affairs were not in order. Our life was unravelling. After hospice talked to us they wanted to know where he wanted to “go” afterward. They meant what funeral home and Joe just wanted to go sit in his hostas.  He asked if they would give him a shot and he would fall asleep?  They explained how it would work and he looked and me and said, “you have to do this. I need for you to do this.” I needed my mom and my hands were sweating. The hospice nurse was so kind, and we talked about a lot of things I really liked her.   But she was unable, per policy, to be my friend afterward.

He passed a few days later, and the funeral men came to get him.  It was dark outside, but the lights were on in the house and they propped the front door open. They took him and I was left with the front room full of moths and night flying things.
There are no heroes, in life. We never think we are doing the right things. He picked me to walk him home and I did the best I could.