What The Heck Is Lemon Mint?

Whatever it is, that’s the City Sonnet theme for today, and I don’t want to break my streak. Woohoo, four photo challenges in a row done and dusted!

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©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Images from Happy Color, Chihuly, Diane, and me!

Sunny Yellow

Here’s my offering for today’s photo prompt from City Sonnet…

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©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Favorite Color

Back with City Sonnet’s photo challenge for July! This one is all about my favorite color turquoise…

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©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Images are from me, Diane, Happy Color, and Google images.

Hat’s All Folks!

This is for Cee’s fun foto challenge: hats.

Clockwise, starting at the top left, is me in my sparkly St. Patrick’s Day beret last year. I was out to dinner with friends at one of our favorite restaurants in Irvine, Urban Plates. We miss that place and have vowed to return as soon as we can.

Next I’m at the Orange County Fair with 2 friends I put discretion stickers over, since idk if they want their faces on my silly blog. I’m wearing my straw “pussy hat” I bought at Disneyland. It’s very discreet, and you wouldn’t necessarily think it’s making a statement. I believe this was also 2019, though I bought the hat in 2018.

The center right was at a murder mystery dinner party where we role-played 1920s gangsters, flappers, and other characters. Since I’m always cold, I opted for a suit costume rather than a sexy dress. It came with a cool hat! This was ages ago in 2012 or something.

Bottom right is me in an utterly adorable knit cap that my talented friend Nat made and sent as a gift. It’s so sweet! I love it. 💕

Finally, I’m all in green as Robynne Hood at the Renaissance Faire out in Azusa… 2014, I believe it was. What a fun day! I’m not sure I’ll go to the fair again though… it’s always so beastly hot out there and honestly it’s the same every time. But you never know…

Show us your cute hat pics! 👒🧢

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Images are mine.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

To My Dearest Darling…

I heard from a mutual friend that you changed your phone number and email address after you moved because of a stalker. That must have been such a terrifying ordeal and you have my utmost sympathies. I know what a sensitive person you are and can only imagine the stress that put you through. I hope you’ve rallied now and regained your playful smile, which is one of my favorite things about you. I still gaze at that photo of us together… do you remember the sunny day at the fair? The fortune teller said our destinies were intertwined, remember? I hope you have forgiven me for tricking you into riding the monster coaster, but I think you enjoyed it after you stopped screaming. Anyway, with all the tasks that occupied your mind while moving, you seem to have forgotten to give me your forwarding info, but I found you nevertheless! It took quite a bit of determination, but I’m not one to let a connection slide. No, not me, and here’s a secret… I feel more for you than mere friendship. It’s time to acknowledge the truth, darling! I finally located your cute cabin deep in the woods with your signature blue door and was so pleased that my efforts had paid off. So I will just push this letter under your door and wait for you to come out and greet me. I don’t mind sitting here against the belly of this shady tree for however long it takes. I brought camping supplies. I really miss you, dearest…

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Written for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #69 and Mindlovemisery’s Sunday Writing Prompt “Secret Admirer.”

Image credited to Zane Lee at Unsplash.

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©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Renewal

She burned all her bridges
And set fire to the river.
The sky turned blood orange;
Her soul swelled in pleasure.
She arrived with the dust
And left naught but ash,
Seeking a hallowed renewal
By erasing her past.

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Image from Pexels.

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Bingo Update 8

See previous update here.

Thanks for following along with my book challenge bingo! It’s been really fun to step outside my usual genres of romance and mystery novels. As you can see, I’m almost finished with my card, but the year is only half over, so I will keep on reading… 😀

For the book about friendship/family, I read The Other Family by Loretta Nyhan. I gave this book 5 stars. Normally, I would have passed it right up… sounds boring. Recently separated mom desperately searches for a cure for her daughter’s autoimmune illnesses. In the process, they do a genealogy search and find the mom’s birth family. This causes a whole new set of problems. Sounds thrilling, eh? Welp, it was great! Pffft! I read it straight through cuz I couldn’t wait to see how it ended. ❤️

My friend Connie recommended River K. Scott’s series Rangers of the Rift, young adult contemporary fantasy stories. Just the thing to broaden my range even more! There were lots of books to choose from, and I jumped in with Salt and Silver cuz I liked the title. Probably should have begun at the beginning, but when do I do things the normal way? 🤣 Anyway, this was fast-paced, exciting writing, with some family drama and a wee bit of romantic tension too. But it was mostly about battling Dark Forces outside and within. Ooh. Not too deep because of the genre, but nicely done with teasers for the sequel.

You may have noticed that I switched checkmark colors from green to blue. This is because I received the new iPhone for my birthday ❤️ and could not match the green on the vast color wheel. When you can’t match, best to change altogether, is my motto. For checkmarks.

Only 6 books to go! Wheeeeee 😍

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Image from Kriti & Ariel.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Sadje’s Questions

The lovely Sadje tagged me for some Q’s. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite subjects! 🤣

What is your favorite time of the day?

Lately I’ve become an afternoon person. I don’t mean since The Thing, but gradually over the last decade or so. I used to love mornings, but I’m pretty achy when I first wake up now and it takes me a while to feel okay and be productive.

How strict are you with yourself, regarding health?

I’m good about not overeating, but I’m terrible at exercising. I’m good about eating veggies and not subsisting on Snickers bars like I used to, and I rarely touch alcohol.

Do you follow back a blogger who follows your blog?

Mostly not, unless they comment and their blog interests me. If they simply follow and like posts, I may not even notice them.

How do you deal with criticism in real life?

Depends who it’s from. If it’s from someone who is signing my paycheck or someone I gave birth to, I’ll take it seriously. Anyone else, probably not so much. This is different from writing critique when I’ve requested it, of course. 🙂

How do you deal with criticism in the blogging world?

Usually they get thrown in the trash. I am not obligated to provide a forum for jerks and meanies. They can post their crap on their own blogs. Way back in the day, I thought I should allow all comments to pass through, but why? This is my space. Anyone can get their own.

Any ideas about how we can turn the current situation to our advantage?

Yes. The auto insurance companies have reported a decline in claims during the past couple months since people have been staying home. This is obvious, right? Fewer miles driven = fewer accidents = fewer injuries and deaths. But really think about that every time you get in a car. It’s one of the most dangerous things we do. 😬

Are you a dessert person?

I used to be. I used to crave sweets and make a dessert my whole meal. I’m sure I still would if it was available. But I seem to have lost the intense cravings I once had, and I’m much more satisfied with healthy choices. 🥑

What colors do you like to wear?

I like a bunch of neutrals in browns, black, beige, white, etc. and then one thing in a bright color like pink or turquoise. Or on the weekend I might put the brighter colors together if I’m feeling whimsical.

What color decor you like around you, in your home?

Browns and animal print things. 🐯

What is your favorite place to write from?

Probably my kitchen table on my iPhone.

Do you like getting Blogging awards?

Sure! It’s nice when someone thinks of me. I hope people don’t mind if I only answer the questions though and don’t tag anyone.

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Image from Bitmoji.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Whatever…

I guess I haven’t posted anything today. What’s left to say? I was looking forward to the FPQ, but then I saw I would have to listen to a news clip. Ughhh. Like I’m not glued to the news enough already? Too much and yet I can’t stop looking at it like I’m passing a car wreck except it’s the whole world in a wreck and I can’t just pass by because I’m living in it too.

Then I was gonna post for the Color Code Challenge, but I didn’t have anything. I had pics with colors, but no pics with groups of colors. Boo. That would have been a fun post, if it had materialized. 🌈

I thought about Sadje’s pic of the woman on a cliff with the broken god, but eh. Then there was a “glorious” sunrise or something too. Meh. Just not feeling the fiction. Or poetry. The challenge from last week was humor, but I’m too consumed with anxiety to be funny right now.

The weird thing is that I had a relatively good day, very productive. Things ended on a happy note too, and now I have a 4-day weekend. I had planned to go to Vegas with some friends, but obviously that’s not going to happen now. I’ll read, write, exercise, and maybe watch a few movies alone at home. Those are the kinds of things I enjoy, so I’m not upset about Vegas, but I dislike uncertainty. A lot. 🙁

Believe it or not, I watched Contagion last night. It’s a good movie! People wonder why I’d watch that now, but now is a great time to watch it imo. Absolutely stellar cast too. It’s weird to see Bryan Cranston before he played Walter White. (Never watched Malcolm.)

So anyway… I’ll be around. My Thursday Inspiration is coming right up tomorrow morning and I’m working on my April A-Z game posts here and there. It’s a good time to catch up on things.

Stay safe! 💖

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Image originally found on Pixabay.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Bingo Update 4

See my previous update here.

I read 30 First Dates by Stacey Wiedower for my book with a number in it. At first, I expected this to be a fluffy, predictable romance I could read quickly. Well! I did read it quickly, but it wasn’t that fluffy or predictable. I loved it. All the characters were quirky and interesting, and the plot did loop de loops I did not expect. Also, the story centered around blogging. Hello! Yes, there were some unrealistic moments, but mostly I thought it was very well done. I’ll be looking for more of Stacey’s books in the future. 😍

PS: The next book that Goodreads showed me was Erin at 35, all yuppily successful and struggling to complete her new bucket list. Meh. Not interested.

For the beautiful cover square, I chose a non-fiction book from the library. Actually, my friend found it for me in the used book sale pile. The Romantic English Garden with text by Jane Taylor has stunning photos of gardens as I expected from the gorgeous cover. But I gave this book only 3 stars on Goodreads. The narrative was kinda boring and not that well proofread. I would have enjoyed more poetry and juicy tidbits of gossip about castle owners rather than dull lists of flower names. 🌷🌷🌷

For a colorful book, I chose Black Sheep by Rory Scholl. What a strange book; I don’t know what to make of it. Is it fiction? Is it autobiographical? Is it both? Chunks of a comedy routine (he’s a comic)? It was short enough that I read the whole thing in one blast before going to sleep the other night, and I flung a 4-star rating on it because it held my attention. But I’m not rushing to read anything else by Rory. It’s not because I think he’s using his relatives unfairly for comedic value (assuming they exist), but because I feel it’ll just be more of the same. You know… sincere but bumbling guy keeps getting in trouble when other peeps with impure hearts skate along doing better. One book is enough.

Woohoo, lookit my bingo card progress! ✨

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Image credit to Kriti and Ariel.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.