Bats Are Creepy, Bats Are Scary, Bats Do Not Seem Sanitary

The Bat
By Frank Jacobs

Bats are creepy; bats are scary;
Bats do not seem sanitary;
Bats in dismal caves keep cozy;

Bats remind us of Lugosi;
Bats have webby wings that fold up;
Bats from ceilings hang down rolled up;

Bats when flying undismayed are;
Bats are careful; bats use radar; 

Bats at nighttime at their best are;
Bats by Batman unimpressed are!

Bats on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=cornerstoregoddess%20bat&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy: The Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop

You've all heard of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a 13th century exterminator who rid the town of its rats by playing his pipe and leading them into the river.  (No.  This isn't him.)

When the mayor stiffed the Pied Piper for the job, the Pied Piper also relieved the town of all its children.

This is the Pied Piper of leftover Halloween candy.

Due to the lack of prehensile thumbs (and the fact that he is tone deaf), he doesn't play a pipe to lead the leftover candy away.  He uses his charms and some signals he picked up when he learned to ride a bicycle.

After all the "good" candy in the Halloween sack has been gobbled down, there always remain some less tempting treats.

Many of those are still consumed in the post Halloween days, and might be thought of as training for Thanksgiving gluttony.

But inevitably, there are pieces that are never eaten.  The bag is stuffed in some cupboard, perhaps behind the half-finished bottle of Peppermint Schnapps, where it gathers dust and ants and other creatures for which a Pied Piper might be useful.

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy arrives by night and gives a secret signal to the once-licked lollipops and hardened bubble gum.

Then the leftover candy rises up and follows him.  

He works through the night, much like Santa Claus, collecting the uneaten, the unwanted, the untasty, the simply forgotten.

And where do you think he takes them?

Nope.  Not Candyland.  That's a game, not a destination.

He takes them to a long-ago faraway abandoned old candy factory...

 ...where they enter rehab and discuss abandonment issues with other leftover candy.

The reminisce about the old sugar cane plantation where they were born.

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy doesn't just appear after Halloween.  He has been known to lead other leftover candy to to sanctuary and a place to renew sugar content.

The rest of the year he likes to put his feet up...

...or just relax.

The Pied Piper of Leftover Candy can be a Halloween ornament or a seasonal pendant.  Or you might just need a Pied Piper after the holiday.  He was made with lampwork glass beads created by Gus of Florida Lampwork, wire wrapped with sterling silver, and set off with Czech seed beads, cat's eye beads,  and a Swarovski crystal.

He will be available at the EHAG Emporium on October 31st, at 9 PM EST.

He is part of the Suburban Girl Halloween/Day of the Dead Jewelry Blog Hop.

He can lead you to the other exciting entries in the blog hop.  Follow him:

Diana Ptaszynski  http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Staci Smith  http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/

Kathleen Breeding  http://99bobotw.blogspot.com

Sue Kennedy  http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Dianne Miller  http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy  http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Toltec Jewels  http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Linda Landig  http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com

Laura Medeiros  http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com

Veralynne Malone  http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com

Lynn Jobber  http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk

Michelle McCarthy  http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com

Karen Totten  http://www.starryroadstudio.blogspot.com

Jayne Capps  https://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Jenny Davies-Reazor  http://jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Joan Miller  http://metalmudandsand.blogspot.com/

Melissa Meman  http://melissameman.blogspot.com

Melissa Trudinger  http://www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Kari Asbury  http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Inge von Roos  http://www.ingetraud.wordpress.com

Andrea Glick  http://zenithjade.blogspot.com 

Stephanie LaRosa  http://Www.stringaholic.blogspot.com

Lola Surwillo  http://www.beadlolabead.com

Jennifer Cameron  http://glassaddictions.com/blog

Diane Hawkey  http://dianehawkey.blogspot.com

Kristi Harrison  http://kristibasket-itsanewday.blogspot.com

Nicole Valentine Rimmer  http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin  http://www.Pixiloo.blogspot.com

Shai Williams  http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Sandra McGriff  http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com

Sarajo Wentling  http://www.sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Marie Covert  http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com

Lisa Stukel  http://www.carefreejewelrybylisa.blogspot.com

Laurie Vyselaar  http://www.Lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com

Sherri Stokey  http://www.knotjustmacrame.com

Pam Traub  http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com

Lori Dorrington  http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

You are here: Eleanor Burian-Mohr  http://cornerstoregoddessjewelry.blogspot.com

Sally Russick  http://thestudiosublime.com

Dawn M. Gallop  http://www.flipflopsandpoptarts.com

Christine Damm   http://storiestheytell.blogspot.com

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

by Edgar Allan Poe

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -

On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

Raven Nevermore charm on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/166794059/halloween-poe-raven-charmzipper-pull?

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, some 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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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

A Flurry of Flamingos on a (Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

Flamingo earrings on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/163952202/cornerstoregoddess-lampwork-glass-pink?