How many distractions do mere mortals need to deal with at any given time? We just finished the Winter Holiday season; yet, how much of the fun and frivolities have already been forgotten? When do we really slow down and pay attention to the world in front of us? I’m trying my best. I am always a better writer when my mind can focus on only one or two things at a time. Like, the plot and the characters. It’s always easier to write my stories when I have a plot and some characters. Funny how that works.
Yet, it is difficult to turn on a television to check the news or walk outside my home and engage with other humans without dealing with the myriad of things that want my attention and engage in plans to distract me from writing. The list of distractions is quite long. February is quite the busy month!
First, this weekend I will be busy ignoring the Super Bowl. Yes, the commercials are funny and the half-time show can be entertaining, but I can see all that in a much shorter format after the game is over. I will hear about any scandal on the news and then go to social media to see what happened. Also, I must stand firm in my belief that Taylor Swift is not a part of any conspiracies. I think it is sad how some men get so upset by a powerful and successful woman. Watch the game if you want and get over yourselves.
This year we have both Mardi Gras and Valentines Day mixed up together. I, myself, do not celebrate Mardi Gras, but many people do. Galveston devotes two weekends to parades and parties. I have never been to any of them. Valentines Day I enjoy, because my skeletons enjoy getting dressed up in a lot of red. Don’t they look cute? My neighbors are really coming around to enjoying my skeleton displays. They may still think me odd, but the skeletons are harmless. At least they are during the day.
I don’t know enough about Lunar New year, but I enjoy the dragon dances. And this is the year of the dragon! Back in my teaching days, I always had some exchange students from Hong Kong who would give me red envelopes. I felt special and so international.
As soon as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras are over, people will begin focusing on the Rodeo. Of course, this is always a good reason to attend parties, concerts and look at all the different animals. Since I moved to Texas back in 1979, I have been exactly twice. I just don’t have the wardrobe for the Rodeo. I have been known to squeak my way through Go Western Day once a year, but that’s the best I can hope to accomplish in that arena.
What is my favorite holiday? I enjoy any event where I can dress up the skeletons. Whatever they want to dress up for is fine with me. So far, in the month of February, that includes Valentines Day. My skeletal friends have a wardrobe for the heart day. Also, working with my skeletal friends will always remind me of a story plot or another character I need to write about. My theory here is that if I want to engage in creative writing, then it is very important for me to live a creative life. Art inspires writing which then inspires more art. It is a constant cycle. Also, artistic projects help me to focus on what I am writing and bring my ideas into my visual realm. What fun!
So I am off to be creative some more. I hope you are too.
Until next time.….….
I’m relaxing this week and for good reason. Another successful presentation of Haunted Holidays Readings at Brazos Bookstore has come and gone. If you missed it you have two options. You can go to 
As you can see the skeletons who participated this year are quite tired and taking a bit of a rest. You might notice that this year Barbie was able to join in the fun. This was in addition to all of the other spooky guests. Once again this year, my good friend, Jim, served as the Chief roadie and skeleton wrangler. He made sure all skeletons made it to the event on time and then landed back home safely. I think we only lost one sock in the process. Also, Sabina Gartler (Sister WiVLA Member) helped with additional decorations. Finally, thanks to all of the wonderful members of WiVLA and the Houston Writers Guild for joining in with their creative talents. It takes a village to pull off a well organized Haunting. Much gratitude to everyone.
Of course, there will not be a lot of time for rest. There are other holidays to consider, but for me and my skeletons, the stress level goes way down. This fine fellow volunteered to be our official Turkey Day mascot. My official Thanksgiving plans include going to Govinda’s for a vegetarian Holiday dinner with all the trimmings. Yes, I actually like Tofu Turkey!!! I will bring enough home to share with my skeleton crew. It’s the least I can do.
So it came as a shock to me the other day when I found myself driving along I‑10 on my way to Highway 6. For those of you not familiar with Houston geography, it felt like I was driving from the Grand Canyon all the way to California. Well, it felt that long to me and then I had to drive back home. I went to a place called Crown Trophy. The Authorpalooza conference is happening this weekend. Friday night is the Journey Into Art Anthology launch and I had the First, Second and Third place medals for the winners of the writing contest. This was a very nice company to work with and I highly recommend them for all of your medal and statue needs. But must they locate themselves so far away from where I live? Not very neighborly of them. But at least I have fulfilled my obligation for this weekend.
As soon as I got home, I sat down with some of my skeleton friends. Now that the temperatures are actually cooling down, they prefer to sit outside and study their books. I think they also go for walks at night or so they tell me. Luckily they are in a spot where they are protected from the rain.
Now of course the two friends who are not necessarily protected by the rain are Mr. Gargoyle and his friend, Skelly. One day I asked them why they chose their current spot and Mr. Gargoyle said that it was the spot where he could best protect my home. Since he feels like this is his primary function, I decided he could stay there. He assured me a little rain wouldn’t hurt him. Also his friend, Skelly, knows how to hold on real tight in case the wind starts blowing. I feel very safe knowing that these critters are in charge of the safety of my home. Of course, when I leave and go somewhere else (like Highway 6), I am pretty much on my own. That’s why I stay close to home.
Oh my, what time of the year is it? I am beginning to see red heart decorations everywhere I go. It’s got the skeletons all kinds of excited. They have started trying on costumes to decide what they want to wear when I decorate my balcony for Valentine’s Day. It’s so much fun to watch their excitement.
Picture, if you will, an old broad walking down the street with flowing white hair going out in all directions, dressed primarily in black and using a cane with the head of a skeleton for a handle. Sounds like fun to me and the skeletons and skulls inspire my work.
Happy Holidays one and all! My skeleton friends wanted to get in on some Holiday action, so you can see what they look like when they start getting festive! I, personally, stopped celebrating the actual holiday of Christmas years ago, but my friends here never want to pass up an opportunity to say “Hello” to all of you nice blog readers. Actually, I used to have an annual tradition in December. Once all of the office parties were completed, I took vacation for the rest of the year. I would always go to my favorite Austin Resort where children were not permitted, there were wonderful walking trails and a spectacular spa complete with a hot tub. I did that for at least 10 or 12 years. Unfortunately, the spa I used to go to does not exist anymore. Some hotel chain bought it up, added more rooms, a second pool, and cut down a lot of trees. It became a part of the luxury division for this particular chain. Oh, and with all of the so called updates, the prices went up significantly as well.
I have another end of the year tradition in the form of getting my eyes checked and every two years I treat myself to a new pair of glasses. Actually I have three pairs of glasses which include everyday glasses, computer glasses and sunglasses. Sometimes it makes me feel old having so many pairs, but then again, I didn’t use to spend hours a day on the computer. I even use the computer for medical appointments now. Unless you plan on taking my blood, there really is no reason to see you face-to-face. With the pandemic still going strong all around the country, I prefer these techno doctor visits.
I will note that I did vote for my favorite decorated pumpkin. I won’t tell you which one I voted for. We will just have to wait and see.
stores looking for some Thanksgiving decorations. I did not want a pumpkin and I did not need any fake fall leaves to scatter around. I need turkeys! No, not the kind you cook in the oven. I have been looking for silly hats and other turkey accoutrement, because the skeletons want to dress up after Halloween and commemorate the fowl holiday. They always enjoy dressing up for all holidays, but this is the first year they have asked about Thanksgiving. Finally I found a few items on Amazon. 
Just because Halloween isn’t here yet, that doesn’t mean we aren’t getting ready. And by that I mean not only humans. I was visited this past week by a group of skeletons fleeing the rising waters in other parts of the country. Also, they wanted a warm, dry spot where they could gather and catch up on their studies. Apparently now there is an invisible sign over my home that reads, “Ellen’s Skeleton Hostel and Tea House”. Of course, that sign may change if other creatures need to find respite to prepare for the upcoming holidays.
Now, back to my skeleton visitors. As you can see they all gathered together for a long study session the other evening. They brushed up on spells, potions, magic brews and sorcery. There is a Book of Fright and a Book of Charms. All in all it’s a lot to cover, but they’ll have it all down by All Hallows Eve. Right now everyone is practicing and studying here in my home. Around the middle of September it will be time for them to move outside and practice their magic skills on the balcony and around the neighborhood.
Sometimes one of the older skeletons will work on a special project and have one of the younger crew assist him. That is what is going on here with the typewriter and extra books that are being closely studied. You may not have realized that in addition to magical skills, there are some skeletons that have impressive intellectual skills. They write the books for other creatures like themselves to learn from. Just like any science, there is always more to know. They have visited several black holes and are very impressed with the amount of knowledge humans are gathering on that topic. The skeletons can’t wait until you learn some more.
Of course after a long day of studying, writing, and practicing, all good skeletons deserve a little time to rest and refresh. Sometimes it’s nice just to sit back and chat with friends. They listen to music, but really don’t have much use for television. In their invisible state they can go to the movies and theater. Just the other day they went to the Symphony and heard their favorite piece, Danse Macabre.
bar”, pardon me, I know they don’t actually have any bellies, but you get my drift. They can enjoy a refreshing beverage. How do they do that you might ask? They don’t drink as you and I do, but they love aromas. Chamomile relaxes them and coffee wakes them up. Any kind of alcohol makes them tipsy so they tend to avoid it.
To be perfectly honest, I really don’t know much about St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t know who St. Patrick is or why any of us should care about him. I know there is a holiday that involves the color green and Leprechauns and a bunch of wee folk. In my youth I must admit I drank my share of green beer, but that was really a long time ago. Now I am just as happy to put green whipped cream on some alcohol free Irish Coffee. Yes, my life is now just about that dull. However, I have skeletons that live in my house who enjoy dressing up for all of the holidays. It started out that they would just dress up for Halloween. To be honest, that is still their favorite holiday. However, over time we have branched out to other holidays such as Thanksgiving, Hanukkah/Christmas, Valentine’s Day and now St. Patrick’s Day.
After St. Patrick’s Day, there really aren’t any good holidays for dress up. Summertime is too much about swimming. So the skeletons will rest up until fall. As soon as Labor Day arrives, we’ll start planning for the Halloween extravaganza! Who am I kidding. We have already started planning. I can’t wait until the fall arrives.
It is that time of year again. Think of hearts and loved ones. And skeletons. I don’t know how you celebrate Valentines Day in your household, but in my home all of the skeletons get together to dress up for the occasion. While the original plan included letting them sit on the balcony and enjoy all of the love vibes in the air, the temperatures have dropped below the chilly range.
In the meantime there is peace and harmony in my household. All skeletons remained decorated in their “love” costumes and are warm by cuddling up in the recliner. Hannah, the cat, would get upset about one of her spots being taken over, but she is too comfy sitting on the nice blanket covering the ottoman. I think that means I get to spread out on the couch.
This past week has been busy and hectic. To add to my hectic nervousness, I must admit I have had some definite mixed messages. Take this first picture for instance. I saw this seemingly contradictory display on one of my neighborhood walks the other day. Are we saying Yes to peace and No to dogs? Is the dog objecting to being told No to what he wanted to do on that particular lawn? Is life more peaceful if one is constipated? Or are we saying No to peace? Maybe No to peaceful skeletons? I usually take walks to relax and feel healthy. After seeing this sight I am just a bit confused. If this makes any sense to you, please share your wisdom with me.
Then I went for another walk, but chose a different neighborhood hoping to avoid any additional confusion. The good news is I wasn’t confused. No, I wasn’t confused at all. However, I was upset. My panties were suddenly tied up in knots. I was discombobulated, disconcerted, frustrated and upset to say the least. This second picture was taken on October 8th. Please let me repeat that, because it is important enough to bear repeating. I took the second picture on October 8th. Apparently someone doesn’t know how to look at a calendar and realize that Christmas comes long after Halloween. Now, I am not a complete scrooge (maybe). I have heard that there are shipping and supply problems this year. Gifts may not arrive in our local stores in time. Rush out now to make sure your Holiday Gift List is complete. All forms of media are strongly suggesting that folks begin their Holiday shopping early, but does that mean the decorations have to come with this?