Countdown to Christmas 17

Countdown to Christmas 17 - Murder!

What about a whodunit for holiday reading ? Who would have thought our much loved fruitcake could possibly be the centre of sinister murder mysteries? Here are three of the many titles, I confess, I have not read, but all sound quite intriguing, especially when you love fruitcake.

"The Fruitcake Murders" by Ace Collins, according to the reviews, employs witty dialogue, historical accuracy and characters with spiritual sensibilities .... want to read on? .... Set in December, 1946, feisty Chicago reporter, Tiffany Clayton is determined to get the scoop on the murders of three men. This is likely to be a sensational newspaper story for Tiffany, as one of the victims is none other than the District Attorney and wait for it... the murder weapon is a fruitcake! What each of the three murder cases have in common is the same lethal weapon - 20 year old fruitcake in unopened tins made by a company no longer in business. The rest of the story is as advertised - murder, mayhem and mystery.

The cover of "Antiques Fruitcake" puzzled me - why a Pekinese dog, and that fruit cake shaped like a skull? Ah... yes, it is a murder, and one of the suspects owns a savvy shih tzu ( ok, close to a Pekinese!) You could be forgiven for thinking that the plot sounds like a Miss Marple classic... During the dress rehearsal for a small town festive Christmas play, the unpopular star, Madeline de Morlaye kicks the bucket on stage after a bite of prop fruitcake! The list of Madeline's enemies, and thus murder suspects is as long as Santa's " Naughty or Nice" list. Amateur sleuths prop mistress and ex diva director attempt to solve this this fruitcake fatality before they lose the rest of the cast. And if this wasn't enough - a tasty fruitcake recipe is included!

Cleaning lady/private detective, Callahan Garrity is the central character of many murder mysteries written by Mary Kay Andrews who also adds her own personal recipe for fruitcake. Fatal Fruitcake is a short story where the protagonist tracks down the source of the killer fruitcake. I can only guess that "Fatal Fruitcake" is a sequel to "Killer Fudge", another short story in this author's series.
Later in this series, I will explore some other "fruitcake" literature, but I know you will be looking for these fun titles ( all are published as e- books) - one of these could be the perfect Christmas gift for a reader who enjoys a quirky mystery.

Tomorrow - A little bit sad, but some negative connotations of "Christmas cake"

Too Precious to Waste

Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons More than a year ago, a decision was made. The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2] A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that

'Anything Goes" and It Does Matter.

When 'anything goes", does it follow that "nothing matters" ? .... I think not. When I interpret "anything goes", I think it means taking a few risks and experiment, but also care about what you are doing and finding a purpose in the process. Currently, the Tag Tuesday theme is "Anything Goes" ... This describes my daily art practice at the moment. I am doing #the100dayproject and each day I am responding to weekly published colour prompts #coloricombo, curated by artist, Este McLeod. During the last week, the suggested colours were jade green, primrose, vermillion and purple grey. Each day, I've been trying to experiment with colour and technique with the goal of developing and learning. Here are some of the tags I created using these colours, or at least as close as I could manage with stuff from my stash... I have titled these "Fragments from Afar" as all of them feature an image or a postage stamp from somewhere far from

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons The work for the "Stitched Up " Project continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours. Trimmed and cut if necessary Ends sealed with matte sealing solution. Drying - solution goes on white but dries clear. First wrapping - foil to create a body shape Second wrapping - stretch fabric. Third wrapping - fabric strips Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to come. Follow thi

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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