Letter from the Editor
By Maggie “Editor-at-Large” McDonald
Hello fellow toads,
A joyous Toad Tuesday to you all!
Hope you’re having a crackin’ week (that’s British for thrilling, as far as I can discern) and cruisin’ through life. Since I am indisposed (fancy talk for lazy and tired), I’ll be handing over the reins to our new crack team of expert correspondents.
Meet the team:
Also, happy Pride Month! Let it be said that this newsletter is Always Gay, but it is Especially Gay this month.
Finally, if you enjoy this issue of Toad Talk, I hope you’ll spread the good word! (I’m looking for a new creative/writing/UX job, too, because this warty publication does not pay the bills…so feel free to spread the good word about your humble editor-in-chief, as well.) As always, I appreciate your readership!
Have a hoppin’ Tuesday and beyond,
Anyways—away we go—today I’ve decided to take you all on our first ever trip down
Antique Alley
By Mary Carol Charlton, PhD in Flea Market Studies
Welcome, welcome, cherished viewers, to another episode of…Antique Alley!
Grab yourself a cup of tea and settle in—I’ll make a wager that you’re going to enjoy this little pause in your hectic day. Because today we’re talking about—bet you didn’t guess it—the wide world of Enesco collectible music boxes.
Enesco has been around since 1958—that’s nearly as long as me, dear viewers, but a lady never reveals her age! Oh, I jest! Enesco began as an import-focused arm of the N. Shure company, but became its own fully-fledged entity in 1967. After being sold several times, it blossomed into the powerhouse of figurines and tchotchkes that it is today.
Music boxes feature prominently among the many wares Enesco makes. Now, I do love a good Precious Moment or Boyd’s Bear, but—ooh—a music box tickles the collector’s fancy in a way nothing else can. My very favorite line they’ve put out to date has to be Mice n’ Dice, which features the dearest little furry friends going all in at the casino. Mice n’ Dice boxes were produced in 1996 and have since been discontinued, so they’ve become quite the collectibles in our year 2022!
I’ve managed to track down the following official members of the Mice n’ Dice lineup over the course of my research:
Wheel of Fortune: Plays “Luck Be a Lady”
Slots: Plays “We’re in the Money”
Blackjack: Plays “The Entertainer”
Craps: Plays “All Shook Up”
Poker: Plays “The Gambler”
Roulette: Plays “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”
I don’t know about you, friends, but I’ll sure be trying to collect them all!
Sources Consulted
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/set-enesco-gambling-dice-mice-mouse-72101613
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/karen-hahn-enesco-1996-mice-dice-1923301083
https://www.woolvey.com/enesco-history-a-38.html
https://www.fabcollectibles.com/decor/ornaments/enesco-music-boxes.html
Book Nook
By Custard Whimbley, Professor of Literature
Helloooo, book freaks, and welcome back to the nook where we just can’t get enough of literature! I have both a book and a special feature for you this week.
First, our book—and is it a gem! I’ve just finished Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, which I love as a film but somehow hadn’t read yet. Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of Sophie Hatter, the eldest of three daughters, who’s turned into an old crone by a vengeful witch and leaves home to seek her fortune. Along the way, she learns to be more assertive, finds her true power, and befriends various wizards and demons.
I found Jones’ writing to be charming and whimsical. If you like Kiki’s Delivery Service, Alice Hoffmann novels, coming of age stories, or a cozy cup of tea by the fire on a rainy day, you may want to add this one to your next-to-read list.
4.8/5 coffee reheats
Now, on to our special feature. Readers, if surrealism is down your alley, you may already know all about Salvador Dalí. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Dalí was a Spanish artist working across many forms of media, including sculpture, drawing, painting, and animation. Some of his most well-known works feature soft clocks and fried eggs and deal with subjects like time and the human psyche.
What even some of you Dalí fans may not know, though, is that Dalí was also a huge book freak! He illustrated at least 45 different books and even created a few of his own over the span of his career. I popped into the Dalí museum for an hour or so and was lucky enough to get to see a few in person, including his Alice in Wonderland and accompanying Alice statue. His renditions of lines and scenes from Paradise Lost were also particularly visceral.
If you’d like to see more of Dalí’s literary illustrations, a selection are available to be viewed online.
Ode to Ollie’s
By Hampton “Frugal” Fungley, Cheapskate
Ollie, o Ollie,
Lo! I spy thy sign crosst the mall parking lot;
Ollie, o prince of bargains,
Noble champion of the cheapskate;
Ollie, I enlist!
I will fight alongside your army,
Picking up my plastic bins and Dove body wash for dirt cheap;
O, Ollie, thou shalt never forsake me,
With thy beef jerky at such a reasonable price.
Soc Chic
By Chutney Phoenix, Canine Couturier
Hey girlfriends,
Chutney here, bringing you the most faaaaaabulous trends about town. This season, socks are alll the rage.
Fall? Winter? Who are they? Summer is sock season now, ladies.
Mix and match your favorite socks with sandals, heels, or Crocs for a lust-worthy Florida-meets-New York Fashion Week look and leave all the peons drooling over you. Soooooooo ripe. (Ladies, just in case you aren’t clued in, ripe is Nordic slang for dope. My friend Dagmar informed me just last week over crevettes.)
I personally purchased matching socks for myself and my darling doghter (dog daughter, obviously) Daphne—divine!
I Seen It
By Merv Barton
My grandboy Trevor’s gone taught me how to use the camera on my phone so nows I can take pictures of things I seen
Today I seen a spider in the kitchen a nd anothers on the porch
first un scared me real bad though and second un was quick like a polecat up a tree so heres
the best pictures I got
Also heres one I got of
salsa I liked
Thanks for readin
Off to lodge
Reader Submissions
Leo says “hosta la vista, baby”!
- Adelaide M.
I never knew I need those mice music boxes until now.