Dough Ditties

In the hands of Mary Sell, common ingredients yield a wide array of unique ornamental art

I know the artist best as my patient, long suffering editor – but that’s just the tip of her talents. Way back when, I knew her only casually at a church outside West Lafayette, Indiana. Later it was her husband, Stan, who stepped up to become the Head of Transportation and All Else for my folks after I moved back to Texas. I can’t even remember how I discovered Mary’s grammatical prowess. I do remember not to send manuscripts around the holidays when orders for dough ditties pile up!

But I digress.

Acorn Baby - designed for
March of Dimes

So…what are dough ditties? Quite literally, they’re objects made out of dough. The recipe is very ancient, dating back to the Aztecs or Incas. It’s published in her blog: http://doughditties.blogspot.com/. How it is then processed into these intriguing figures requires more patience and skill than I can imagine. But if you do happen to be endowed with such enviable qualities, check out her blog. She explains it all. Many more of her pieces are featured on her website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DoughDitties . The variety boggles the mind.


Highland couple cake topper

Is anyone else practicing this obscure craft? Actually, some 30+ years ago, she apprenticed with the now world-renown dollmaker Diana Effner. You’ve probably seen ads for Diana’s work in women’s magazines. And, yes, there are others. Since the styles and subject matter of each artist are so distinctive, there’s no real competition. Searching "salt dough ornaments" or "bread dough ornaments" will show you what others are doing.


What led her to dough ditties, I had to ask. “When I was in my 20s, I started making dolls. I used papier mâché, corn husks, oven-baked clays - just about everything. Stan and I were exhibiting at a doll show when we met a young doll artist named Diana Effner and her husband Randy.” The rest, as they say, is history.

Mary Sell

Mary Sell grew up in Hammond, Indiana. She graduated from Purdue with a degree in English education, married Stan, and taught high school English until deciding that being a disciplinarian was not for her. For fifteen years she and Stan lived in the woods without electricity, sustained by their crafts and their huge garden. Their son Adam was born during this time. She remembers it as the best years of her life.

Not until 1992 did they enter the more traditional suburban scene (with electricity) where Mary worked as a legal secretary until retirement. Of course, when she’s not laboring letter-by-letter through my manuscripts, she still makes and markets dough ditties.

Rossville Gothic - a custom order
for a client's parents

Now, Mary confesses, she’s winding down her enterprise, though orders from regulars continue to keep her busy. She also continues to be one amazing lady.  More than a grammar girl, her ideas and encouragement have enhanced my stories immeasurably. Her knowledge and memories added a whole chapter and a book cover to my sci-fi, The Hundredth Spring, which is rooted in nearby Medaryville, Indiana. (I do hope that work gets Out There sometime…)


  Text tech, artist, friend - this brief blog entry doesn’t begin to do her justice.

Oops. Chico’s in the dog house

No matter how sweet and gentle an animal has been thus far, TEST HIM before entering a therapy situation.   Yes, I’d attempted to get in touch with a therapy animal program before taking him visiting at a nursing home. I never got a response. Finally I decided to go ahead. The home I’d contacted was anxious to have pets visit, so I brazenly went anyway.

You may recall back when I first posted about the experience, that he had snapped at a couple of people trying to cuddle him. I should never have dismissed it as first day jitters. He did it again last Wednesday, and that even after Husband took him on a long, exhausting walk so he’d be in a cuddlier mood for his visit.

So I tried again to reach the therapy program, this time armed with email addresses and administrators’ names. And this time they responded – most graciously, in fact. 
 
There are a number of vital steps to entering an animal in the program. There are orientation workshops for interested pet owners, followed by individual evaluations of obedience and temperament. Tests include reactions to sudden noises, ear pulling, etc. They also need to sit, stay, fetch, and come when called. It’s a process that takes about a month to complete.

If said animal passes muster, they go on supervised visitations. If all goes well, they can be licensed and insured. But temperament tests are repeated every year to be sure no nasty habits or ouchy ailments have developed.

So no matter how wonderful Fido has been so far, it’s not proof he’ll be sweet and docile in every situation. If I’d done this properly, I would’ve discovered Chico didn’t take to the elderly.  

It would’ve saved the heartbreak of severing bonds with folks who were becoming dear to me.

The Paperback Revolution

 Still not sure about e-books? Well, guess what! Fifty years ago something ELSE nearly destroyed the industry.

Back in 1939, John Steinbeck’s bestseller The Grapes of Wrath sold for $2.75. Obviously, at a time of 20% unemployment, that was an impossible expense.

But in just one day, a man named Robert de Graff changed all that. Paperbacks.  At 25¢ a pop. No, he didn’t originate the idea. The Germans were doing it in 1931, followed by Penguin Books in Britain by 1935. Without the Internet, you see, it takes a while for ideas to cross the pond.

They were called Pocket Books. The test run of 100,000 copies included 10 titles – mostly classics plus a few modern hits – was introduced by an ad in the New York Times. Despite extreme misgivings on the part of de Graff’s partners at Simon & Schuster, it took less than a week for every last paperback to leave the shelf. America’s reading habits were forever transformed.

Quantity was key. Print 100,000 paperbacks, and the cost could plummet to 10¢ per book. But where to send them? There were only 500 bookstores in the entire country. So de Graff came up with a new twist: he used magazine distributers to place Pocket Books in newsstands, subway stations, drugstores and other non-traditional book venues.

He also realized that for mass marketability, one couldn’t just offer the classics. More pedestrian fare with colorful, eye-catching covers could launch a whole new reading demographic. The operative word being “graphic.”

Racy paperback covers peaked in 1948 with John Erskin’s The Private Life of Helen of Troy, the cover of which featured a woman in a sheer toga, nipples plainly visible. The matter reached the House of Representatives committee on porn, but after four years of hearings, none of the censorship proposals had taken effect.  By 1952, you know, politicians had a bigger problem: Communism.

Meanwhile, even in light of the paperback’s smashing success, publishers continued to balk at the idea. “It will undermine the whole structure of publishing,” screamed Doubleday. Oh, dear. Didn’t I just say that about e-books?

Well, obviously hardcovers haven’t died out. Likely never will. And as I gaze from a 2” flashdrive (which holds every novel I’ve ever written) to the wall-to-wall bookcases of my home, I can see that I’ll soon learn to curl up with a Nook as well as a book.

Fade to Dark

Connie Reeves Cooke’s first novel is a ride and a half

 No, this isn’t the Cooke novel in the spotlight at the moment. As you probably know, that’s Cayman Heat. I ordered both. Fade to Dark just happened to arrive first. And I'm not sorry.

 After a disturbing but intriguing prologue, and a tragic Chapter One, the reader is suddenly propelled into the glittering, fast-paced world of super models, fashion, corporate empires, ruthless billionaires, and twisted criminals. Character after character is introduced and developed, each with a separate, game-changing agenda. Plots and subplots come to light; dark secrets are hinted at. Everything moves head-long toward a main event: the Winter Ball at the Vail mansion of Houston billionaire Taylor Stockwell.

The story centers around two rival super models preparing for a photo shoot at the famous Vail ski resort. Adding to, or attempting to control, the chaos is a complex cast of agents, a photographer, the staff of a prominent fashion magazine, an assassin snubbed by one of the models in high school, a Houston detective, thieves planning a heist during the ball, the wealthy Taylor Stockwell, his mistress, and a mysterious woman privy to his past. 

Connie Reeves Cooke

Too much to follow? It should be, but I gotta tell ya, Connie Reeves Cooke never lost me.  All the elements are skillfully interwoven with as much clarity as suspense. And you’ll love the dialog, even the characters’ thoughts, because Cooke holds nothing back. She writes with real punch.

Cooke knows whereof she writes. She is a former model and society columnist who numbers many of those bold print names among her Facebook friends. Currently she chairs fund-raising events for education, the arts, and medical organizations. But most exciting to me is that she lives right here in Houston! Would you believe my audacity? I’m having lunch with her on Thursday!

What a novel idea! Unique Pens Make Great Exclamation Points

And it all started in a high school woodworking class

Two samples of the craft

  On my last flight back from Sarah’s mountain, I happened to notice my seatmate making notes with this extraordinary wood pen. When I exclaimed over it, she kindly handed it over for closer inspection.  I’d never seen anything like it. It was smoothly and artfully shaped. The finish beautifully enhanced the natural grain. She then unzipped her planner and drew out several more such pens – all different, but all equally amazing. I couldn’t get over it.
My seatmate introduced herself as Sheri Painter, from Coronado, CA, traveling on business for Premier Solutions International. The artisan responsible for these remarkable creations was her son, Merrick.

Here’s the story:

Merrick Painter

Merrick, aged 15 at the time, had to come up with a project for woodworking class. He didn’t say how he happened to think of making wooden pens, but he turned out the first one for his mother. "She started getting so many compliments and even requests to buy them that I decided to see if I could turn it into a business." 

At first he simply gathered wood on family walks through the coastal forests and along the California shoreline. Now, with increased demand, he buys from woodworking suppliers.  Still, as is the nature of wood, each pen is unique. No two alike.

Sheri told me Merrick’s pens are stocked by some shops in Coronado, and he and his dad were working on a webpage. Since Sheri mentioned that her husband is in Afghanistan, my next question to Merrick was how they were accomplishing this. "He has internet access and the 'know how'. We communicated via Skype and email."

It’s finished now:  http://merrickspens.com/, and I’m happy to report it includes the PayPal option.

Why I chose redwood

My pens were by special order. My husband has unusually large hands and has trouble finding pens that offer a decent grip. I described the problem to Merrick, who then produced an oversized, ridged barrel that filled the bill nicely. For myself, I wanted to match my book covers – a neat way to show off at signings!

Browsing through Merrick’s website, I saw that he’s also working with acrylics - and achieving some pretty wild effects. How did you discover it, and how do you work with it, I asked.  "I saw it on the web and loved the colors and patterns available," he replied. "You work with it the same as wood but it takes more time because it's a harder material."

So…whether you’re an author wishing to add style and statement to your signings, or looking for that novel and unexpected gift, I give you http://merrickspens.com/.

What does the future hold for this enterprising young man? "I am deciding between the military and college. As far as my pen business goes, I would like to keep it up if we can help it grow."

I don’t think that will be a problem, Merrick!

Air New Zealand to Offer Hobbit-Themed Flights

 Complete with pointy-eared flight attendants!

Yes, I’m a huge J. R. R. Tolkien fan, but this totally blows me away.  It’s a great gimmick, though; since New Zealand’s breathtaking scenery provides the setting for both the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. My friend Glenis Thomas of Wellington, NZ, has been keeping me up to date on the filming progress. Director Peter Jackson makes a video after each filming block, and Glenis sends me the links. I’m already thoroughly re-immersed in Middle Earth.

Wait til you see her big, hairy feet!

CNNGo reports that while the official launch date is not confirmed, Air New Zealand has decided that a Boeing 777-300 will focus on "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," while a Boeing 777-200 will set the backdrop for a flight centered on "The Hobbit: There and Back Again." Changes will be made in safety briefings, flight attendant uniforms and airline social media contests to coordinate.

Now I really, REALLY wanna go to New Zealand!

As Seen on TV

Yes, tortilla bowl molds work as advertised

Usually Husband and I aren’t the sort to fall for the extravagant claims of bombastic  (“It’s aMAY-zing!”) TV hawkers. (“But wait! There’s more”!) This item, however, was cute and practical enough to be worth the gamble. Well, I confess I’ve fallen prey to sales screamers before – ordered a 60’s music collection for Husband’s birthday – but it never came.

These arrived on the doorstep less than a week after ordering. Imagine the shock.

And they were perfect. Thin, deeply glazed shell molds that have thus far proven impervious to scratches and burns. I’ve used 6”, 8” and 10” tortillas to good effect, although the big ones tend to brown rather deeply on the edges. The 6” yellow corn shells are particularly good for holding breakfast fare. I like the garlic/herb ones for tuna or tossed salads. But for deep-dish Mexican, I go with the super-sized tomato/basil tortillas.

The colorful instruction book that comes with them says to bake from 5 – 7 minutes at 400˚, and up to 12 minutes for extra crispy 10” tortilla shells, but I find that all sizes are ready in only 5 minutes, even baking two at a time. As I said, the big ones tend to get too dark on the edges. Let cool 5 minutes in the mold after removing from the oven.

My first husband-approved taco bowl featured strips of marinated chicken. Today’s was seasoned lean ground chuck. Both were accompanied by the usual layers of onions, peppers, shredded lettuce, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheddar jack, frijoles, red and green salsas, jalapeños, cilantro, and avocado.  Oh, it was so pretty!

My finished product

Won’t they be fun at Super Bowl parties holding picante sauce or guacamole? Or baked with cinnamon to hold ice cream sundaes? I wonder if they would hold up under gazpacho.

Soon, I suppose, the novelty will wear off. As much fun as it is to use these things, it’s a heck of a lot of chopping, mincing, mashing, shredding, sautéing, slicing, simmering...