Friday, October 31, 2014

The Three Vegetarian Witches









Once upon a time, there were three witches: Ursula...






Glenda...






... and Medea.






They lived together in a cottage in the woods where they mixed their potions by day and flew reconnaissance missions at night.  Their familiars ~ an owl, three black cats, spiders, a few bats ~ kept them company.  It was a good life.








But there were problems, as there always are.  



The local markets carried limp produce, brown at the edges, unappealing and bland.  There were no local farmer's markets and the ones that could be reached by broomstick had some anti-broomstick ordinances in place.

So Glenda, Medea, and Ursula started to grow their own produce.


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They grew herbs for their potions and vegetables for their table.  They grew greens and tomatoes and eggplants and pumpkins and giant zucchini.  Ursula even rigged a particularly large zucchini to fly like her broom.


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And life was good.




But there were problems, as there always are.    Ursula became uncomfortable with the notion of using animal parts in their brews.  Not only was it disgusting.  Have you ever tried to remove the eye from a newt?  






But it was cruel, and Ursula sat down by the cauldron with Medea and Glenda and told them her thoughts.  It turned out that Medea and Glenda has similar reservations.  They no sooner wanted to dice the tongue of a frog than sit through a Justin Bieber concert.



But witches throughout history had used these ingredients.  They were in all the spell books.  There was no Nouvelle Spell Cuisine from which to draw.



How could they make powerful potions without animal parts?

Still, the witches resolved that they would harm no more animals making their brews.  They used their organic herbs and vegetables, and the potions were  cruelty-free.  Unfortunately, they weren't especially potent.

So again they sat down to think while the cauldron simmered and bubbled.


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Medea started to pace.  She walked the paths around the cottage, and as she paced, she noticed the various stones around her.  They were ordinary stones.  Some were volcanic, some sedimentary, some metamorphic.  But each was different and unique.  This gave Medea and idea.

She hurried back to the cauldron, rocks in both hands, passing some toads who fled at her approach.


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"My dears," she exclaimed.  "Look at these rocks!"

Glenda and Ursula stared, not sure what Medea's point could be.

"Think about it," she said.  "Each rock is different and unique.  Each, it might be said, has a unique power."

Glenda and Ursula had to agree.  They had several volumes about rocks in their library.  "Suppose," Medea continued, "we could obtain the same powers from rocks that we obtain from caterpillar knees.  Suppose certain rocks could grant the same serenity we create with terrapin tonsils.  Would that not be a wonderful advance?"






And so Medea and Ursula and Glenda went to their books.  They read and researched and studied by night.  By day they collected stones and rocks and amulets.  They traded pattypan squash for quartz and rutabagas for aventurine and radishes for jasper.


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Finally they were ready to begin their experiments.  They mixed herbs and vegetables and served them in goblets carved of gemstones.  Little by little, day by day, their potions became more powerful, more specific.


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Each day was filled with new discoveries.  Each night was filled with new recipes.  Soon other witches flocked to the cottage to learn the mysteries Glenda, Medea, and Ursula had unveiled.  They started to blog about their recipes, and even began writing a cookbook.





Their goal: vegetarian witches with potent organic brews.  They would appreciate it if you would become a follower of their blog.  And maybe put in an advance order on  Amazon for the cookbook.  They'd also appreciate it if you took the pledge: I will not make potions with toad tongue.

Glenda, Ursula, and Medea thank you for your support.

Ursula, btw, is pursuing her own interests, making better flying zero-emissions zucchini to replace brooms.  She tried working with pattypan squash for a while, but found the aerodynamics challenging.


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A bracelet with all their endeavors (except the zucchini) can be found here.



Thursday, October 30, 2014

Everything You Wanted to Know About Candy Corn (But Were Afraid to Ask)





  • October 30th is National Candy Corn Day 

  • One serving of candy corn contains only about 140 calories 
  • Candy corn has 3.57 calories per kernel 
  • More than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces -- enough to circle the moon nearly four times if laid end-to-end. 



  • Halloween accounts for 75% of the annual candy corn production 
  • A cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins. 
  • Candy Corn was invented by George Renninger and produced by the Wunderlee Candy Company in the  1880's. In 1900, the Goelitz Candy Company, now  Jelly Belly Candy Company, started mass producing the candy, but, due to the lack of machinery, it was only made available seasonally from March to November. Its recipe has remained unchanged. 
  • Candy corn isn't just for Halloween there is also:
    • Reindeer corn for Christmas (red, green, and white)
    • Indian corn (it's chocolate and vanilla flavored)
    • Cupid corn for Valentine's Day (red, pink, and white)
    • Bunny corn for Easter (pastel-colored)



  • Candy corn bracelets, earrings, and necklaces can be found in my eBay and etsy shops.



Lewis Blac tells you the trth about candy corn here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1QRAXv9vUs

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

INVISIBLE BOY

by Shel Silverstein


And here we see the invisible boy
In his lovely invisible house,




Feeding a piece of invisible cheese
To a little invisible mouse.
Oh, what a beautiful picture to see!
Will you draw an invisible picture for me?


Visible mouse charms available on etsy and eBay.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Give a Hoot and Say "Bah!"


"THE FARMER AND THE QUEEN"
by Shel Silverstein 


"She's coming," the farmer said to the owl.
"Oh, what shall I, what shall I do?
Shall I bow when she comes?
Shall I twiddle my thumbs?"
The owl asked, "Who?"





"The Queen, the Queen, the royal Queen—
She'll pass the farm today.
Shall I salute?" he asked the horse.
The horse said, "Nay."

 

"Shall I give her a gift?" he asked the wren.
"A lovely memento for her to keep?
An egg or a peach or an ear of corn?"
The wren said, "Cheap."

 

"But should I curtsy or should I cheer?
Oh, here's her carriage now.
What should I do?" he asked the dog.
The dog said, "Bow."

 

And so he did, and so she passed,
Oh, tra lala lala,
"She smiled, she did!" he told the sheep.
The sheep said, "Bah."


Jewelry available on etsy.



Monday, October 27, 2014

Hippo Pliés (and Watch the Flowers)


♪♫ Dancing hippos 


♪♫ In the garden, 


♪♫ Crush the flowers... 


♪♫ (Beg your pardon) 


♪♫ It's not easy 


♪♫ Finding slippers 


♪♫ When your feet are bigger than those of the Clippers. 



♪♫ Pirouette...



♪♫ (and watch the posies) 




♪♫ Arabesque... 


♪♫ (There go the rosies.) 


♪♫ Grand plié 


♪♫ (It's even grande-er than plié you plied the other day).


♪♫ Grand jeté, 


♪♫ (Can't get much grande-er) 




♪♫ Clear the way 


♪♫ To the beyond-er... 



♪♫ As we dance among the flowers 
♪♫ Calling it the Hippo Dancing of the Hours... 



Ta-dah!

Charm available on etsy