It had been a slow Thursday at Gables, and I was counting the minutes until I could turn off the “open” sign. Sometimes it amazes me how exhausting it can be to sell overpriced accessories all day. We move more scarves and hair clips than fine leather handbags, but like all the boutiques in our… Read more: Friday Fiction: A Whole Mound of Trouble

Despite my focus on ghosts and hauntings in previous newsletters, my interest in the paranormal is broad. I’ve attended bigfoot conferences (and enjoy cryptid lore of all kinds), and I went through a big UFO phase in the 1990s. (We all did. Um, have you seen “The X-Files”? Mulder and Scully are responsible for more… Read more: Everyone’s a Little Bit Psychic (It’s True)

My parents divorced in the summer of 1982. In the aftermath, I mostly wanted to be alone while I read endless library books. I was a latch-key kid, prone to solo pursuits and often left to my own devices. While my parents set up their separate households, I spent a lot of time at my… Read more: Flash Fiction: Grave Reminders

Whether you call a magical practitioner a sorcerer, a wizard, or a witch, there’s a terrible stereotype floating around. Folks believe people who work magic live in cluttered, dank places with unspeakable things piled in the corners. I’m here to present you with an unpleasant truth: Sometimes they do! Magical objects tend to accumulate regardless… Read more: DEADx Talk: The CBAs of Tidy Occultism

Lucien Hobbs thought he had seen everything after 648 years of existence. But after discovering his financial manager’s embezzlement, killing said manager in a fit of rage, and facing an audit due to the now-deceased manager’s perfidy, he was convinced otherwise. Bad luck began to plague him. IRS agents destroyed his peace and refused to… Read more: Flash Fiction: Death and the Matron

Circling Back and Stepping Forward I’ve been reading tarot for a long, long time. Since I started young and am now “getting older,” I can truthfully say I’ve been reading tarot for about 35 years. I’ve read professionally since 1993, though I’m a bit out of practice now, as I lost my last few regular… Read more: Reading the Cards

Amaryllis flinched as the girl across the aisle popped her gum again. To be sequestered in the human realm and forced to ride public transit was unfortunate, but it was simply intolerable to observe a child masticating bubblegum like a cow chewing its cud. As she watched, the juvenile smacked and chomped and pushed her… Read more: Flash Fiction: Amaryllis in Exile

As always, I heartily recommend doing spooky things with your spooky friends (virtually or in person), but if you’re looking for some spooky media to consume, I have you covered. For Your Ears The Haunted Objects PodcastWhat the eff are you waiting for?? They did a special four-part series in September about spirit communication that… Read more: Spooky Recs for 2025

I was unpacking boxes when Steven told me about the weird neighbor. “She was telling me what we could and couldn’t do, all kinds of crazy stuff,” he said as he stuffed bubble wrap into an overflowing garbage bag. “This neighborhood doesn’t even have an HOA.” “Like what?” I asked, distracted by the dishes I’d… Read more: Flash Fiction: A Neighbor’s Warning

October is finally here! Welcome to Spooky Season. It has been a rough year. A rough couple of years? Maybe even a rough decade. Everything feels terrible. The vibes are bad. Rancid, even! We find ourselves once more enfolded in Spooky Season’s velvet embrace, but many of us are so mired in unpleasantness that we… Read more: Woe, Malice, Frolic, Dread

Spooky Season is almost here! The weather almost feels like fall, even here in the swamp. Bring on the autumn! I’m ready. Money I bought a lot of stuff in September, though nothing outside my current low-buy rules. I only spent $6.00 on my regular sewing subscription and nothing on clothing. But I bought a… Read more: September 2025

Today, I’m closing out Secondhand September with an essay about one of my own secondhand purchases that examines three different aspects of sustainable fashion through the lens of a single garment. Part One: Impulse Shopping with My Fantasy Self I’ve noticed a pattern over the last few years: I tend to impulse shop during times… Read more: My Weird Blue Shirt

If you’re used to mainstream retail stores and endless online options, secondhand shopping can be a shock to the system. You may feel overwhelmed or directionless. Yes, the world is filled with already-manufactured stuff, but how do you actually transition to a “secondhand first” lifestyle? First, you probably need to think ahead more than you… Read more: Four Keys to Successful Secondhand Shopping

Secondhand September is underway, so I thought I would confront you with an uncomfortable truth: You don’t need brand new stuff. Believe it or not, I’m not all that “crunchy.” I consider myself environmentally aware, but I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore environmentalist. I commit plenty of eco-sins, but I have a consistent eco-virtue: I… Read more: Choose secondhand first.

It has been a stressful month! I’m not doing very well, and have had to deal with multiple work crises over the last few weeks. Money August spending was fairly normal. I spent $6.00 on my regular sewing subscription and $70.06 on clothing. I finally bought some replacement underwear when I came across a good… Read more: August 2025

I hate the summer, and all this made-up crap about “Summerween” isn’t changing my mind. Between the constant rain and the roofing repairs going on in our condo complex, I haven’t even been able to use our swimming pool. It’s bad enough to live in the darkest timeline, but do they have to take away… Read more: July 2025

A trucker buddy sent me a meme the other day of a hand-lettered sign reading, “This road is cursed.” I chuckled, but I can truthfully say that certain roads are sinister. I fell into over-the-road truck driving as a young man. I had no encumbrances – no partner, not even a loyal dog at home… Read more: Flash Fiction: This Road Is Cursed

It hasn’t been a very productive month. I’ve been under the weather and I injured my knee. It has been rainy and gross and I haven’t been feeling great. Blah! Money This month was a little spend-y, but aside from one iffy situation, I followed my low-buy rules. I spent $39.24 on my regular sewing… Read more: June 2025

May flew by. The best thing we did was go see “Sinners.” It was fantastic. Money It was a “return to physical media” month. I bought some DVDs at the library warehouse sale (including “Young Frankenstein” for a single dollar, wow) and seasons one and two of “Hellier” on Blu-Ray. I also bought both the… Read more: May 2025

April was a month; it had thirty days. I can say that much about it, anyway. Lennox and I went to see Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on their Restless Legs tour, and that was fantastic! I don’t remember anything else noteworthy, aside from the sheer number of panic attacks I experienced. I am, as… Read more: April 2025

“This is a serious matter, Mr. Hobbs,” the man said. He was balding, bespectacled, and undeniably nervous. A nonentity. The business card he’d presented introduced him as Jeremy Cleburne. Hobbs steepled his fingers together. He didn’t often sit at the antique desk, but he enjoyed the classic position of power it afforded him. He knew… Read more: Flash Fiction: Death and Taxes

I had a milestone birthday this month, which I did not acknowledge in any way. My birthday is cursed, and the curse tends to show up in more extreme ways on significant years, so my lack of birthday cheer was curse-avoidance and not anti-aging sentiment. Being an ancient crone is magnificent! But my birthday itself… Read more: March 2025

Let’s wrap up a blessedly short month! Money Although I bought more stuff than last month, my low-buy year is going well. I got a large unexpected client payment this month, so I already have the funds to purchase the course I plan to take. I thought saving this amount would take several months, so… Read more: February 2025

I used to write monthly wrap-up posts for my old blog that included budget analysis and personal goal tracking. These posts were always more for me than an audience, so I stopped posting them. Why was I publishing something so personal? However, I discovered that I just let everything slide without that little bit of… Read more: January 2025

Caroline startled at a voice behind her. She whirled around to see a beautiful woman standing near the tree beside the bus stop. The lady appeared to be somewhat formally dressed for a Thursday morning, but the woman’s piercing green eyes gave Caroline pause. “You have a most nostalgic smile,” the woman said. She had… Read more: One Enchanted Morning

I have a special Halloween treat to share with you today! An anonymous newsletter reader sent me an account of his family’s ghostly encounters, mainly centering on an older home where he and his wife lived. Names and places have been altered or redacted to preserve the family’s anonymity, but the accounts are all true.… Read more: This Haunted Life: An Anonymous Reader’s Story

The paranormal has been a lifelong interest for me. I got my first book of true ghost stories when I was six. (It scared me so badly!) I read my first book on parapsychology, ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists: A Parapsychologist’s Handbook by Lloyd Auerbach, when I was 12. I own Zener cards, you guys. I… Read more: Maybe the Real Haunted Objects Were the Ghosts We Made Along the Way

I had an annual Halloween tea party for my local writer friends for many years. Due to the pandemic and a general diaspora of folks to other locations, we now hold the same get-together online and call it Zoomoween. Hosting a party online is much easier than doing it in person. I don’t have to… Read more: Choose a New Skin: How to Create Simple, Lower-Waste Costumes

It’s time for a special Spooky Season edition of OOPS! All Recommendations. I wanted to turn Cap’n Crunch into a zombie or something, but my Photoshop skills weren’t up to the task. Instead, we have… whatever that guy up there is. Is he from the same universe as the Pale Man in “Pan’s Labyrinth”? I… Read more: Creepy Cozy (and Some Just Plain Creepy) Recs

As we all know, the DEADx acronym stands for Diabolic, Eldritch, Arcane, and Darkness. We’re all here because we’re interested in one or more of these areas. My specialty is darkness. It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone here, but I was a dark kid. I read too much Edgar Allen Poe, watched endless… Read more: DEADx Talk: A Guide to Self-Care from the Dark Side

As I mentioned, I had a pretty dismal summer. Between personal stressors and that looming thing that starts with an “el” and ends with an “ection,” I think it’s safe to say that my current anxiety level is through the roof. October is usually my favorite time of the year! What’s a spooky lover supposed… Read more: Let’s Embrace a Softer Spooky Season

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but due to my broken guts situation, I cook about 90% of everything that goes into my mouth. I have seriously restricted options at restaurants, and my choices for prepared foods at the grocery store are almost as limited. I cook nearly everything I eat, and I spend a… Read more: In Defense of Spaghetti Night

Hello again! I’m back! Did you miss me? I missed all of you. I wish I could say that I had a great break and I’m all rested and ready to go, but frankly, I’m burnt out and frazzled. Nothing went according to plan over my newsletter break — not a single thing. Let’s sum… Read more: Sarah and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Summer

I’ve been curious about the Quince brand for a while. It makes sense: I love basics made with higher-quality materials. And those prices, wow! Is this the missing middle-tier retailer that people need? Well… hmm. Those prices seem a little sketchy. I mean, as Clotheshorse often reminds us, “It’s cheap because someone didn’t get paid!”… Read more: I tried some clothes from Quince.

Before we slide into summer hiatus, I wanted to say a bit about how my novel revision is going, what my plan is, and what I hope to accomplish next. It Has Been an Education Though I’ve repeatedly proven that I can write really long, novel-length manuscripts, I’ve never quite figured out how to revise… Read more: Before we slide into summer hiatus…

I’ve read several bangers recently, so my dry spell is officially over! In fact, I wanted to recommend so many things this time that I realized I couldn’t add anything else. I may have questionable taste, but I sure enjoy telling people all about things I like. Isn’t that what the internet is literally for?… Read more: OOPS! All Recommendations

I’m terrible at naming things. I’m not merely being hard on myself; I have a lot of proof. I truly suck at naming stuff, even cats. (My pet cats have been named Nigel and Jane, like the offspring of a timid vicar’s daughter in rural Derbyshire.) My last two newsletters were called “Exquisite Ephemera” and… Read more: Was Shakespeare wrong about names and roses?

It’s been a minute since I talked about clothes, so we’re gonna talk about clothes today. (Sorry not sorry!) I managed to mitigate my seasonal freak out last autumn by applying the lessons I learned the previous spring. I didn’t do any panic shopping (a true victory), and although I had days where I felt… Read more: Revisiting My Semiannual Seasonal Freak Out

10:00 a.m.I can’t honestly call myself a morning person as I am an abomination of the lightless void, so I don’t awaken from my unholy slumber until mid-morning. I growl and unfurl my tentacles, and after my morning ablutions (even I must brush my numerous, savage teeth), I quickly devour a few of my favored… Read more: “A day in the life…”

I’ve attempted to work through the perennial classic The Artist’s Way three times. I say “attempted” because I’ve never made it all the way through the book’s process, and I blamed myself each time I failed. I didn’t focus enough, I hadn’t given myself enough time, I didn’t follow through, I wasn’t disciplined, et cetera.… Read more: It’s not me. It’s you.

They say the backbone of a good newsletter is consistency, and I haven’t been able to deliver that recently. Little workaday setbacks have been throwing me off more seriously than they normally would. Am I burned out? Maybe. But I think what’s happening is slightly different and a little more insidious. I’m a little overwhelmed,… Read more: I guess I’m a croissant now?

Harold gulped down the strange breakfast cereal Greta had insisted was his favorite as he studied a row of snow-covered shapes in the backyard. “Where did the flower beds go?” he asked. “Those shrubs weren’t there before the storm.” Greta’s impatient fingers pulled him away from the frosted window. “Let frozen dogs lie, Harry. You’ll… Read more: The Devil’s in the Details

This may seem out of character, but I love Jack Reacher. I’ve read most of the books and I also enjoy the Prime series. To me, Jack (No Middle Name) Reacher is an endlessly fascinating cultural artifact. First of all, the Reacher novels are written by a British guy (and, more recently, his brother). Sure,… Read more: jack reacher is a giant freak

There’s an obvious but often overlooked way to have a better relationship with your clothing: You need a tailor. Modern clothing sucks. There are many reasons (check out the Clotheshorse Podcast for more info), but shoddy fabric and poor construction are often to blame. Even when you find well-made clothing in a fabric that will… Read more: Dress a little better with this one weird trick.

I know this doesn’t sound like a life-altering event, but a shelf broke on our CD rack about 10 years ago, leaving a giant crater in my life. Sounds dramatic, right? (Have you met me? Of course it sounds dramatic.) That event inspired me to digitize my massive CD collection because IKEA no longer sold… Read more: Reunited, and it sounds so good.

If you’re getting this, you can reasonably conclude that I left That Controversial Platform. Basically… I went old school. I’m “blogging” again, but you’re still getting my posts in your email through the magic of automation.

I really messed up my exit from Substack. I chose a service that’s harder to manage from a technical standpoint, misread some directions when I imported my subscribers (thereby losing the vast majority of them), and found myself back at square one in many respects. I also changed web hosts and managed to mangle my… Read more: Some Mistakes Have Been Made

The block editor is killing me, but I will fix all of this later. I always say, “We’ll fix that in post!” So now I guess it’s time to follow through on that sentiment.