I Scream [fpq]

Fandango lightens his provocative question this week by asking…

What is your favorite ice cream? Please list not only your favorite flavor, but also the brand that is your favorite. Please be specific.

To help narrow this down, I’m considering only the ice cream itself for my answer. For example, I love coffee ice cream with choccy syrup or splashed with Bailey’s Irish Cream. But alone? Nah, not my favorite. That mango ice cream I had last week was delicious, but it wouldn’t have been quite as fab without the strawberries. So nope, not my favorite.

The one flavor of ice cream that is always completely scrumptious all by itself is… chocolate chip cookie dough with a vanilla base ~ never chocolate. I don’t really care for chocolate ice cream or cake (fudgy brownies excepted), but I do love choccy as chips and candy. Anyway. Not to get even more controversial during this fun post, but because [reasons] I will no longer buy Ben & Jerry’s ~ sadly, they made my previous fave flavor of CC cookie dough. However, I have since discovered that Häagen-Dazs makes an absolutely fantastic CC cookie dough, so I’m choosing that one as my favorite.

In an amazing coincidence, my second fave flavor has always been Häagen-Dazs rum raisin. This isn’t as popular as the ubiquitous cookie dough ice cream, so you don’t see it all over the place made by every brand, but it is incredibly yummy. My third place winner is Baskin Robbins Pralines ‘N Cream. Mmm!

To be fair, I haven’t tried these flavors in every brand out there ~ and I see that Häagen-Dazs makes a salted caramel and a caramel cone, either of which might possibly supplant BR for third place, except I haven’t tried them yet. I reserve the right to change my mind if and when additional evidence is available.

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©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

One-Liner Wednesday

“Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and then expecting your enemy to die.” ~ Buddha, paraphrased

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©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

5 Summer Beverages

Dr. Tanya continues her #5Things series by asking us to name our favorite non-alcoholic summer drinks. Generally, I drink the same things year-round ~ hot coffee, hot tea, and Diet Coke ~ but I do have special treats when it gets super hot out.

1. Frozen lemonade. This counts as a drink because if you have it outside on a sizzling day, it will melt into liquid pretty quickly.

2. Diet Peach Snapple iced tea. Refreshing! There’s just something about peaches in the summertime…

3. Strawberry mango smoothie. Normally, I’m not a big smoothie fan, but these perfect summery flavors go great together.

4. Icy cucumber water with mint. Ahhhh!

5. Mocha Frappuccino with a dash or two of chocolate syrup and a big blob of whipped cream. Omg so delicious!

I’m thirsty now.

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©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

Scorcher [fss]

If I told him once, I told him a thousand times that he’d be making a grave mistake if he were to… put a full tank of gas in the car on such a scorching hot day.

“That’s just an old wives tale,” he scoffed. “I never heard of a tank exploding because the gas expanded in the heat. You can’t even give me one example!”

I shook my head. “It’s science, not a myth.”

“Come on,” he said. “You know it’s only a story your fossil of a grandpa tells everyone just to get attention.”

“If that’s an attempt to console me, it’s not working,” I told him. “Grandpa is from the old country and he knows things! Remember when he warned us not to eat corn during a full moon and he was right? You got really sick.”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, for Pete’s sake! That was just a coinci—”

He was interrupted by a loud blast from the garage and then all the smoke alarms began blaring.

~*~
©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

Written for Fandango’s Story Starter 52.

Social Share [syw]

Melanie begins our last week of June 2022 with a sunny set of social Share Your World questions. Let’s get started!

1. What’s your favorite way to spend a day off? If you’re retired, what’s something you now include in your schedule that you dreamed about while employed?

Doing nothing! Most of my time is planned out, so it’s super nice to take a random day off work with no plan in mind. Maybe I’ll take a walk, maybe I’ll see a movie… maybe I’ll do some arts & crafts or writing. Probably I’ll just end up reading a book.

2. Now that Covid isn’t so strictly monitored and folks can go out and about again, are you into after-work happy hours?

Well no. I wasn’t into happy hours before Covid, nor do I like doing stuff after work. I’m tired! I like to go home and chillax with my cat.

3. What physical traits do you share with your relatives? (Example: I have my mother’s nose)

Though my parents didn’t look alike at all, I ended up resembling both of them facially. In some photos, I look a lot like my mom; in others, I totally resemble my dad. As far as the rest of me, I’m mostly like my paternal grandmother ~ very pale skin, long slim legs, short chubby torso.

4. How long does it take you to decide if you like someone or not?

Varies greatly. In person, I tend to make snap judgments, which are often wrong, and I revise them later. Generally, I err on the side of liking people too quickly and ignoring red flags, even for friends-only. Online, it takes me longer to decide. Sometimes I never do, but simply feel more or less kindly disposed toward them depending upon what they say on any given day. If I like someone I’ve met in person, I’m much more inclined to forgive something irritating they say on the screen. The same irritating things said by a person I haven’t met may result in an unfriending and/or a block.

5. Feel free to share some wisdom you live by.

As always…

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©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

TMP62: Reader’s Choice

Welcome to my refreshed Monday Peeve! Unburden yourself of an annoyance and you’ll feel better afterward. Or not. Complain in my comments or crab in your own post. Doesn’t have to be on a Monday. You do you.

What a week, eh? Mine was a strange dichotomy of personal calm and political upheaval. There’s a lot to be enraged about, but I don’t have any recent minor annoyances. I’m sure that will change shortly, but in the meantime, I yield the floor to my readers. What is your peeve today?

I’m eagerly awaiting your complaint in comments, or via a link to your own post. Happy crabbing!

~*~
©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

SLS ~ Landslide

Thanks once again to Jim Adams for hosting Song Lyric Sunday. Today’s theme is hidden gems: great songs that missed the top of the charts ~ and can you believe that “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac is one of them?

I took my love, I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
‘Til the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin’ ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Yes, this iconic song by one of the best-selling bands of the 1970s was a dud on the charts. The song was written by Stevie Nicks and appeared on Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 album Fleetwood Mac (aka the white album); it also appears on their best-of releases in 1992 and 2002 along with some of their live albums. But, oddly, “Landslide” only went to No. 51 on Billboard Hot 100, though it did hit the 10-spot on Adult Contemporary.

Oh-oh, take my love, take it down
Oh-oh, climb a mountain and you turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down
Oh-ohh, the landslide bring it down

The heck with the charts though ~ “Landslide” was certified Gold in 2009 and continues to be in frequent rotation on oldies rock stations. Nicks sings it on every Fleetwood Mac tour (except one) and also on her solo tours. As of 2017, it’s sold over 2,000,000 copies, so someone out there likes it besides me! (Info from Wikipedia.)

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©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

Book Title Poetry

I found a very cool poetry form at Tao-Talk, which is creating a poem out of book titles. I loved Lisa’s creation, so I figured I’d do one of my own. These are titles currently on my Kindle (some read, some not), and I added transition words only (mostly verbs) to make it flow. Maybe later I’ll do another one from the books in my closet.

Unbroken Shadows

Where the desert meets the sea,
The murmur of bees
Tell the secrets of lost stones.
The last of the moon girls–
Little voices
In the forgotten hours–
Sing the original dream.
A promise of storms
And all the light we cannot see
Guide the last one home.
In the world to come,
Where the forest meets the stars,
Strangers we know
Merge into unbroken
Shadows beneath the falling snow.

~*~
©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

Shoes and Weddings and Dragons, Oh My! [socs]

“Don’t stamp your little foot in last season’s product at me, honey.”

Anyone recognize that quote?

It’s from Legally Blonde, of course! Elle was waiting to get a drink at the water fountain when one of the prosecution’s witnesses cut in front of her and then said that to her after he was done. Naturally, Elle immediately realized he was gay and therefore wouldn’t have had an affair with her defendant, which destroyed the entire prosecutorial case and exonerated her client. Because the only reason a man would know anything about shoes is due to his being gay, right?

Whatever. I love that cute movie, but Legally Blonde 2 was totally meh. Some things need to be left alone, and I don’t understand this mania for sequels and prequels when there is so much new writing. Supposedly, there’s a Legally Blonde 3 in the works, but it’s already been delayed several times, so who knows?

Also, another wonderful romcom, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, was followed by a mediocre sequel, and now there’s supposed to be a third one in the works. Most likely this will be focused on Toula’s daughter’s wedding (just googled it and yep). I understand trying to milk a success for more more more, but can’t someone stand up and say hey this script sucks… let’s produce something else? I feel the same way about El Camino (Breaking Bad sequel) and The Many Saints of Newark (Sopranos sequel/prequel). I guess I’m a bit more kindly disposed toward Better Call Saul now (another BB sequel/prequel), but only because of Kim Wexler’s expanded role after the first season. She rocks! The rest of ‘em, meh.

Yeah, yeah… you know I’m gonna watch House of the Dragon (Game of Thrones sequel/prequel) when it begins on August 21, but I reserve the right to complain about it!

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©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

Dark Day

Warning: my ongoing policy is to delete disagreeable comments at my whim. Post opposing views on your own blog, and I will do you the favor of ignoring them. Thanks!

Like most people I know, I’m appalled at today’s SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. While pregnancy is no longer a concern for me personally, I am outraged on behalf of all the US women and girls who will now be told they don’t have the right to choose. I’m not smug about living in a deep blue, pro-choice state either, as the tide can change in that regard. Plus I do care about the rest of the country, not just myself and my immediate bubble. It’s also a fact that lack of access to healthcare will burden poor women disproportionately, so it’s even more upsetting when viewed through that lens.

I’m disgusted about a lot of factors leading up to this, including all the voters who turned up their noses at HRC in 2016, from the purity left to the right to the ridiculously huge percentage of citizens who can’t be bothered to vote at all. I’m disgusted with the Senators who believed the rightwing justices when they said (under oath) that Roe was “settled law.” Now those Senators are “concerned” because they were lied to. Idiots! Some say it was all a farce and those Senators knew exactly what they were doing. Perhaps so.

I’m worried about what’s next as well. Some hope that Obergefell v. Hodges (the right for same-sex couples to wed, 2015) gets knocked down, and I can easily imagine it will. It’s a newer ruling, so there’s no need for anyone to pretend it’s precedent. There’s enormous anti-gay sentiment around the country, even here in California, so you know such a thing would be widely cheered by haters. Again, this doesn’t affect me personally, but why should I not care about others?

It may be harder for SCOTUS to dismantle some of the older rulings, such as Griswold v. Connecticut (the right for married couples to obtain and use birth control, 1965) and Eisenstadt v. Baird (the right for unmarried people to obtain and use birth control, 1972), but I have a feeling they will try. How about Loving v. Virginia (striking down bans on interracial marriage, 1967) or Brown v. Board of Education (the desegregation of schools, 1954) or any of the other Civil Rights Acts? Would Thomas oppose dumping those? Who knows!

Unlike some peeps, I don’t spend much time obsessing over you-know-who because I view him as more of a symptom than a problem ~ though of course he will become a problem if he wins the POTUS seat again, but so will any Republican. Even the ones who (lightly) criticize him still support the same policies, which are fueled by the underlying American diseases of racism, misogyny, and homophobia. These issues existed before his unfortunate presidency and will persist long after he’s gone from the scene.

Today is a dark day and I believe there are many more to come.

~*~
©️2022 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.