The Samhain has Passed

Hopefully, everyone had a peaceful Samhain and Day of the Dead, and of course, our beloved Halloween! 

Inspiration prevents Writers Block

 

 

Inspiration prevents Writers Block

 

            I suppose I’m a little perverse; I have the opposite problem most writers suffer.  I don’t get writers block.  Instead, I don’t have enough time or keyboard speed to write up all the ideas I have.  A good problem to have, I admit, in many ways.

 

            What prevents writers block for me?  I’m always open to inspiration. The whole world becomes my notebook.  For instance, my morning commute is about 25 minutes.

I use that time to think about writing projects, and to observe as I drive.  Last winter, while I waited to get on the bridge, I was treated to a sight I’d never seen.  On a cold, bitter January day, 4 coyotes crossed in front of my car.  They walked to the riverbank and crossed the frozen river, disappearing into the little island that dot the Mississippi in our stretch of the Midwest.

 

            I got a pretty good blog post for my blog on Green Living out of that one.

 

            I also like to listen to the radio.  I love all types of music, but I also like talk radio, NPR, old radio dramas, you name it.  For awhile, I had Sirius and luxuriated in the sounds of Marta Stewart Radio, Book Radio, The Halloween and Christmas Channels, and Neil Diamond Radio.  My girlfriend and I liked cruising down 23d Avenue just so we could listen to Howard Stern.  We went 5 miles out of our way for ice cream, just to listen to old Howie rant.  That gave me a lot of fuel for thought, too.  At one point, I wrote a post that was read on Morning Live.  My latest chapbook, Crazy Assed Humans: The Dolls Reply, was the result of an encounter I had with Tabloid TV and a book of poems I read on Kindle.

 

            Probably books and reading are my greatest inspirational tools.  I think I read ten books at once, and belong to two writers groups and one book group.  I never get tired of reading, and still like to go through the newspaper and magazines, even catalogs of all sorts.

 

            History books and historical novels get me to think, too.  I always second guess what I might have done if I were in that era.  Pretty soon, what I  think turns into a poem, or comes out of the mouths of my characters.

 

            By the same token, artists’ monographs are great places to get ideas.  Style, color, subject, all of them jar something in my writer’s brain.

 

            So, while I’d love to be The Madwoman in the Attic, tapping away, uninterrupted in my literary solitude, I know it isn’t possible.  My best ideas come from world interaction, and sometimes, I have to quit my books, to write my books.

 

           



Free Newsletter; More Original tips and Reicpes, soon, and Thanksgiving Dolls and Crafts-Happy Halloween!!

Weekly Newsletter Doll Collecting at About.com;collectdolls.about.com.  It’s Free!!

 

 

 

From Ellen Tsagaris, your Guide to Doll Collecting

 Happy Halloween Week all Doll Collectors and Enthusiasts!  There are lots of chances to find interesting dolls this time of year, I hope your spooky doll dreams come true!  Get out your witch, scarecrow, and Dracula dolls, and let the Pumpkin Heads Reign

 

Estate Dolls Auctioned

Modern dolls sold at a farm auction. See what happened to the estate dolls I worked on earlier this year.

Search Related Topics:  auction  danbury mint  patsy

 

The Shelter for Misfit Dolls

The Shelter for Misfit Doll is a wonderful site; I hope that The Little Dead Girl will refresh and add new material soon!

Search Related Topics:  shelter for misfit dolls  outsider dolls  folk dolls

 

Gigi's Dolls and Sherry's Teddy Bears

Read about a doll club's pilgrimage to the ultimate doll store.

Search Related Topics:  gigi's dolls and sherry's teddy bears  selling dolls  doll clothes

 

Victoria in Wax

 An Amazing Portrait in Wax of the beloved queen and doll collector was a star in the not to distant past Theriault's auction.

 

Featured Articles:

 

	The Samuel Pryor Doll Collection
	A Blogger's Halloween Doll Memory
	Blog
	Madame Alexander Doll Types
	Social Media and Doll Collectors
	Review: "Empty Mansions."

 

Pinterest Holidays and Favorite Images Board

These are two more boards we have on Pinterest that may interest you!

Holidays. http://www.pinterest.com/etquest/holidays/

Favorite Images. http://www.pinterest.com/etquest/favorite-images/

 

 

Our Green Living Board on Pinterest

We are on Pinterest; our board is called Green Living; check us out!
http://www.pinterest.com/etquest/green-living/

New Uses for Cork

She with cork sole

Cork skin hand bags

On Sunday Morning today, the company Pelcorp was featured.  Out of Portugal, where many cork trees grow, Martha Tichner told the story of the cork industry and differentiated among types of cork.  For example, did you know corks for the finest champagnes cost $2.00 a piece?  The Perreria family of Pelcorp found its buisness falling off; I don't know about them specifically, but tin screw tops and plastic corps are hurting the industry.  When they were left with "tons" of raw cork material, the family had to find another use.  So, they repurposed.  They developed "corkskins," a kind of cloth made from very thin cork.  They  make handbags, some with a snakeskin look, baseball caps, umbrellas, laptop covers, and much more.  They deserve the prize for repurposing and recycling, and a certain lay whos initials are MS, should be eating her heart out.  Pelcorp has "out-M'd" her!

Cork skin cell phone cover, made to look like snake

I love corks; they make up one of  my collections of things I don't collect.  I especially love dolls and miniatures made out of

cork, including some tiny scenes in glass shadowboxes fom Asia.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and Pelcorp has shown what it was able to do with s surplus, or they made lemonade out of a lot of lemons, maybe lemon wine :)

 



Jack O' Lanterns for Keep!

Finally, we have cool  fall air, even cold.  My little cat is snuggling, off to kitty dreamland, and I'm sipping a pumpkin spice latte.  I confess to taking out my black Frye boots and my favorite Halloween sweater.  It's time.  Here is a tip from About.com, to prserve those pumpkins, almost for posterity.

Your carved pumpkin or Halloween jack o lantern doesn't have to rot or mold before Halloween! Here is how to use chemistry to preserve a jack o lantern so that it will last for weeks instead of days.

1. Mix up a preservative solution for your carved pumpkin consisting of 2 teaspoons of household bleach per gallon of water.  
2. Fill a sink, bucket, or tub with enough of the bleach solution to totally immerse the carved jack o lantern. Place the jack o lantern in the bleach mixture right after you have finished carving it. Soak the carved pumpkin for 8 hours or overnight.  
3. Remove the pumpkin from the liquid and allow it to air dry. Spray the pumpkin inside and outside with a commercial pumpkin preservative or use your own mixture, consisting of 1 teaspoon of bleach in water. Spray the pumpkin once daily, to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold.  
   
    
4. Smear petroleum jelly on all of the cut surfaces of the pumpkin. This will prevent the pumpkin from drying out and getting that puckered, shriveled look.
5.  
6. Protect the jack o lantern from sun or rain, since one will dry the pumpkin out, while the other will promote the growth of mold. If possible, refrigerate your jack o lantern when it's not in use.

How It Works
Bleach is dilute sodium hypochlorite, an oxidizer that kills microorganism that decay the pumpkin, including mold, fungi, and bacteria. You need to reapply it because it loses its effectiveness fairly quickly. The petroleum jelly locks in moisture so the jack o lantern doesn't get dehydrated.
Now that you know how to keep it fresh, make a science Halloween jack o lantern.

Related Articles

• How to Keep a Jack o Lantern from Rotting
• Cool Halloween Jack o Lanterns
• Light Up Halloween With a Flamethrower Jack o' Lantern
• Why Do We Carve Pumpkins on Halloween?
• Tips for Growing Big Pumpkins in Your Garden

Our Expert Recommends

• Glow in the Dark Pumpkin