My absolute favorite night of the year has come and gone once again. Haunted Holidays took place on November 9th at the Brazos Bookstore. Literary artists gather together on this night to share their own scary spooky stories about any of the fall and winter holidays. To me the scary season begins with Halloween and doesn’t end until New Years. This year there were several poems and essays about the election. Yep, many consider that to be one of the scariest nights of the year! I had the honor to host the event and dressed up in my scariest finest formal clothing for the evening.
Of course, my skeleton friends were in attendance. They always enjoy a good scary story. There were nine of them who sat amongst the audience and visited with the other attendees.
The following people participated in this event: Jere Pfister, Denise Bossarte, Katherine McDaniel, Jean King, Margo Toombs (who also read a selection by Rebecca Chirak), Dedra Murchison, Laura Pena, Sandi Stromberg and yours truly. One of the scariest stories was written by Katherine McDaniel. She told us a tale of living in a haunted house and everything was based on actual events! EEK! Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank Melody Locke who served as our cinematographer. She has posted a video of all of the writers and poets on YouTube. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/@wivlahouston5821.
And as always, many many thanks to the Brazos Bookstore and the Houston Writers Guild.
Here is a picture of all of the people who read their literary creations at the Haunted Holidays event:
Please try to remember to join us next year for Haunted Holidays 2025!
Until next time.….
Are you ready to see some beautiful art work and hear some good literature? It’s all happening this Friday night, September 20th, at the opening Reception highlighting some of the best collaborative works from the wonderful women of Women In The Visual and Literary Arts (WiVLA). This event will take place at the Sabine Street Studios located at 1907 Sabine Street, Houston, 
Another writer who has been busy is Barbara Carle. She has published books of poetry in the past, but this month she, along with Inklings Publishing, has launched “Evening At Tony’s”. I couldn’t wait to get my own copy. If you’ve ever had dinner in a crowded restaurant and wondered what stories lay behind all of the other diners sitting at their own tables, then you will enjoy this book. As is said, I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put it down. You can get your own copy at either Inklings Publishing or Amazon. I am always so impressed at the amount of writing Barbara gets done every year. I think her next book is scheduled for this coming fall. I’ll be sure to tell you about that launch when it happens.
As far as Mother Nature is concerned, in addition to some strong storms that have moved through the area and across the country, I have made several observations in my day-to-day life. For starters, I went for a walk at the Houston Arboretum the other morning. Not only were flowers blooming and birds singing while I was there. I also saw lots and lots of caterpillars! Apparently these little critters come in different colors. This picture shows a fuzzy black caterpillar. Supposedly they shed their skin about six times and get lighter in color each time. These cuties are harmless to humans, but they love to eat leaves of plants. They only live for about six months and then they go through their magical (or scientific) process to become butterflies. I am guessing there are going to be lots of butterflies at the Arboretum later this summer, because there were so many caterpillars that it was challenging not to step on them.
Closer to home I have noticed a lot of magnolias blooming. Where I live now there are many of these trees, which makes for lovely walks around the neighborhood. This picture really doesn’t do these beautiful flowers justice. I hope you get to see some up close and personal for yourself.
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.
I have heard that there are some people who think that I go a little over the top when it comes to Halloween. However, I can assure you that I do not. It is not possible. I have spent years cultivating Halloween Culture that is good 365 days a year. Yes, I have decorations up all year. There is my large collection of witches, skeletons, and grim reapers. Of course if I am going to have a large selection of skeletons, then they must have a wardrobe that can adjust to the various holidays and weather conditions. As you can see in this picture, sometimes the skeletons just like to relax and chill out indoors. The witches have their own hutch and an ample supply of books and grimoires. They don’t go out much preferring to spend their time developing spells and potions.
Yet, every so often, I cross paths with another creative person who gives me exciting ideas for taking my Halloween lore to another level. Have you ever heard of Urban Fairy Doors? While attending the monthly WiVLA (Women in the Visual and Literary Arts) meeting this week, I heard a fascinating presentation by Elissa Davis. Apparently there are fairies that set up shop around the city. Sometimes they are accessible from a public street and sometimes they are located inside businesses. This door was made by Elissa and remains in the neighborhood where she lives. The fairy who lives here is seldom seen, but does communicate with folks by exchanging notes and trinkets.
After reviewing several pictures on this topic, I realized that I had walked past an Urban Fairy Village right in my own neighborhood. Every time I strolled past, I was fascinated at how the different aspects of the Village would change. Sometimes little creatures were added and sometimes another door appeared.
I guess I can no longer deny it. Spring is here. The vernal equinox has come and gone. Everyone who celebrates anything during this time of year has celebrated. What more is there to say? While most folks get very excited to welcome all of the pretty flowers and warmer days, I do not. What excites me is that April is halfway to Halloween! Now that will get me excited! However all of my skeletons are resting right now, so I am giving you my annual obligatory picture of Texas Bluebonnets. There are lots of them this year and they actually bloomed early. While temperatures have reached daytime highs in the 80’s, here where I live, Becca, my niece in South Dakota is still dealing with lots of snow.
April is also known as National Poetry Month. I write very little poetry myself. My muse occasionally inspires me to write Haiku, but that’s about it. However, I own many books of poetry. One of my favorites is Devotions by Mary Oliver. And there are any number of poetry readings and festivals around town all month long. The Women in the Visual and Literary Arts (WiVLA) is holding their annual poetry reading on Saturday, April 22nd. It’s called Poetry By The Bay and takes place at the La Porte Library from 11:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. If you are a member of WiVLA, there is still time to sign-up to read your own pieces. Or you can just plan on attending this event to hear the wonderful work created by other WiVLA members. I look forward to seeing you there.
However, if you are like me and are excited that we are halfway to Halloween, I will leave you with this picture. Hopefully scenes like this will hold us over until October returns. I’m already working on plans and stories for the annual Haunted Holidays reading event that will be held in November. I know I am looking forward to it. How about you?
The weather has been so nice and cool lately. It has inspired me to do some hanging out at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. What did I find? Armadillos. These are usually nocturnal creatures so I could not pass up the chance to talk to one of them. The Nature Center will tell you that conditions have been dry and that the cute little critters are just looking for insects, but I suspect they just wanted to see what all the humans were up to. I kept my distance while taking some pictures and as I walked away I could swear I heard the ‘Dillo say, “Have a nice day and come back soon!”
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.
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.
I don’t know about you, but I have been watching the news lately. There are a couple of stories I am following, but still too much of the serious stuff is not good for my mental health. So, this week I have taken the time to enjoy all of the great pictures that are coming from the Webb Telescope. More and more of them keep getting shared on the internet. I hope you have enjoyed them as well. Folks are having lots of fun with them on Facebook. This is one of my favorites. It really helps me put all of my earthly worries into perspective.
I also like this other picture. I have suggested to Fern Brady that there is a dragon in there. Think about how much fun science fiction writers can have with a dragon that flies around from one universe to another. Maybe this is the reincarnation of Puff the Magic Dragon of the song that was released by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1963. I’ll just bet Puff lives on a planet called Honah Lee. Excuse me if you are not old enough to get the reference. Check out the song on Google or YouTube. I promise you will be enchanted.