Not in love this blessed February? Come sit by me! I may be in it up to my eyeballs now, but I spent many a year disdaining that loathesome heart-choked February “holiday.” Enjoy a haiku—some anti-Valentine’s conversation hearts… and a little Sean Connery, who always seems to pop up this time of year!

email String-of-Pearls selfies to:

[email protected]

It’s February! Still rather a newish year—and will I break the habit of being the occasional sad sack? A chapbook I wrote for a contest opened my eyes! So I’ll put on my lipstick and have a good time! Never better! Will Sarah Vowell do the same? Check out the youtube version for Put on Your Lipstick—a series of portraits I did back in ‘21!

Disgruntled Housewife

http://www.disgruntledhousewife.com/

https://www.pifmagazine.com/2003/06/disgruntled-housewife/

https://calendar.austinchronicle.com/best-of/1998/media-critics-picks/best-online-gals-club-12133797

February again? Thank God! What with all those boxes of chocolate sparkling down the aisles of the grocery stores! A bright beacon in the winter of our world’s insanity. Chocolates in groovy flavors, stunning colors, and unexpected sassy shapes—all befitting a sort-of psychedelic tune. Let’s get chompin’!

Daily Dada Eyes and Lips Chocolate Box

https://farm2.me/products/the-dada-dozen-truffle-box-6-x-16-5oz?variant=39868976038052&country=US¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOooMk69hugIYoYrtpstqcKKaiNyn_tEvIyOQW8XSWfVLeBrzOD_LNoY&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c

Boob Chocolates

https://farm2.me/products/vegan-milk-chocolate-elderberry-boob-truffle-boxes-8-x-3oz?srsltid=AfmBOopItnqxAFiLxrLkOOj8FUzFDyuLZwTNr4obTejj0q48ULcnf6ns

DIY molds

https://www.sugarhero.com/make-your-own-chocolate-molds/

Dada in poetry:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/dada

Zuri molds

https://zuri-inc.com/pages/shop-silicone-molds-1

It’s February! Still rather a newish year—and will I break the habit of being the occasional sad sack? A chapbook I wrote for a poetry contest opened my eyes! So I’ll put on my lipstick and have a good time! Never better! Will Sarah Vowell do the same? Check out the youtube version for Put on Your Lipstick—a series of portraits I did back in ‘21!

Disgruntled Housewife

http://www.disgruntledhousewife.com/

https://www.pifmagazine.com/2003/06/disgruntled-housewife/

https://calendar.austinchronicle.com/best-of/1998/media-critics-picks/best-online-gals-club-12133797

Hey, it’s that guy! Time for some winter musings – it’s Frank Adamo, Dick Van Dyke’s stand-in and personal assistant–who appeared in something like 70 episodes of the Dick Van Dyke Show, back in the day! How did Frank inspire my poetry and haunt my nights? How did Nick at Nite enrich our lives with its television promos back in the ‘90’s? How didn’t it! Huddle up—it’s the unforgettable Mr. Frank Adamo!

Tripping Over the Ottoman Podcast: Remembering Frank Adamo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PppkjNzZg1k

https://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/2013/09/tuesdays-overlooked-tv-character-actor.html?m=1

Alice’ll Kill Ya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV32-Z1qr2g

https://youtu.be/lfFk91gEnRw?si=kc2Eh-aZkmZgzAp1

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Impromptu song, podcast unscripted—packed with music, New Year’s doings, New Year’s memories—where were you during Y2K? Indulge in an eggnog-infused pudding for your pancakes! Read to your darling! And check out a new collection of poetry, “Am I A Poet in December,” born from the first line of a Podcast in A Minor holiday favorite! So dive in and take it slow—winter is for pondering….

Am I A Poet in December?

https://a.co/d/2ArCOf1

https://a.co/d/5tm5cRD

https://a.co/d/9RE2WkJ

And it’s nearly Christmas Day! 2025! Let’s stir up old memories of loved ones departed—how easily we conjure the aromas of their breads and pies, we can hear their joyful, off-key singing! This, of course, leads us right into the old tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas. I’m sharing three of my own, from Wassail to the Mausoleum Cakes and Glitter and Ghosts! (links below) Revisit some old favorite carols from your own Amy Z McAnally. Plus, a helpful blogger puts us onto some old Christmas ghost stories in the public domain, that we may read them for free!

Don’t forget your free music on Bandcamp—a new collection of Christmas goodies, WHAT A BUNCH OF FRUITCAKES!

Bandcamp—What a Bunch of Fruitcakes

Wassail to the Mausoleum Cakes by Amy Zoellers (McAnally)

https://a.co/d/hSZWotY

Glitter and Ghosts by Amy Zoellers (McAnally)

https://a.co/d/3MawDSI

Horror Delve blog: Christmas Ghost Stories

https://horrordelve.com/2013/11/28/christmas-ghost-stories-reviving-a-dead-tradition/

…..

https://carterhaughschool.com/10-spooky-ghost-stories-for-christmastime/

Let’s do it. Let’s open the mythical poinsettia cookie jar and see what flies out! Will it be soft, fat molasses cookies in star shapes? Sad poetry? Persona reinvented—again? Pull your plush futon up to the roaring fire and inhale the sweet spices and rum! Christmas cookie time!

Christmas is coming! This time of year, don’t we all get flooded with memories! Indulge with me—in a tale of ice storms and cherry sour candies, precarious trips to the mall, a cat on top of the chimney, A Very Brady Christmas, and the pillowiest bangs a boy could ever have!

Follow me in merry measure….to a defunct pizza joint and a discovery of a coveted pie dish…on the trail of the Magi and the complicated, excited feelings they elicit—oh yes! It’s all in the song—a new Christmas banger, a destined classic! And no, I don’t believe for a moment it would make the Baby Jesus cry.

What A Bunch of Fruitcakes (free tunes)

https://minutewax.bandcamp.com/album/what-a-bunch-of-fruitcakes

Merry Swingin’ Wassail (free tunes)

https://minutewax.bandcamp.com/album/merry-swingin-wassail-2

Gramma's Cutters, Inc - Gramma's Cutters - Baking and Decorating Products (grammascutters.com)

Cranberry Eggnog Braid Recipe: How to Make It

www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cranberry-eggnog-braid/

Eggnog Yeast Bread

www.chefsbliss.com/eggnog-yeast-bread-recipes/