Fried [socs]

Today Linda asks us to write about the first word that comes to mind from the last picture we took. I took this shot of my fried veggies at the OC Fair last weekend. These were a mix of mushrooms, artichokes, and zucchini. The first two were delicious, but the zucchini was meh. I also had a roasted ear of corn earlier, which was good, but not as yummy as I remember. As I found a seat with my veggies, I saw a place selling mac&cheese egg rolls and I’ve been thinking about them all week. They’re probably disgusting, but I’d like to try one now. I don’t usually eat fried food, except when I have a migraine. I sometimes get a small pack of fries, which makes my head feel better. Idk why. They also had fried frogs’ legs at the fair ~ at the kiosk where my friend bought a bacon wrapped corn dog ~ and I remembered how I tried those as a kid in NYC, not fried though. They really did taste like chicken. Seems disgusting now, but then so does chicken when you really think about it. My mom burned herself badly once when frying chicken and never made it again. I watched her cut open an aloe plant to soothe her skin. I have a big bottle of aloe for sunburn, but I’m generally too careful to get one. I put on lots of sunscreen before I went to the fair. Pretty much all the food there is fried and/or loaded with sugar, so it’s not gonna be a healthy day unless you sneak in your own food or fast.

~*~

Image is mine.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Red Red Wine

I used to like to drink alcohol and began early. I had champagne at our neighbor’s apartment when I was 9 and my parents didn’t care (they were there too). The thing I associate most with that night is that the neighbors kept playing “Sugar Sugar” on their record player. My parents never made alcohol a forbidden thing ~ they just wanted me to be responsible with the car after I began driving. Of course, I wasn’t. But TG nothing bad happened. I was lucky, not smart or skilled in this respect. Just lucky.

Like many people, I used to associate drinking with dating and romance. It was normal back in the day (and probably still is, idk) for first dates to consist of a drink, or two or three, and then maybe dinner if we were still getting along, or not. Dinner dates almost always included a drink or a bottle of wine. Weddings and special occasions were booze-fests and still are, I guess. Funny that alcohol is ALSO associated with breakups, grief, and sadness in general ~ and not only in country songs but in real life. Drink when you’re happy, drink when you’re sad. Just keep it flowing.

I sound anti-alcohol, which I’m not. I’m just sad that it doesn’t agree with me any longer, and I wish it did because I enjoy the taste and the buzz. Occasionally, I can have a small amount (very small) with no ill-effects ~ last Saturday I had half a glass of pear ale and was fine ~ but if I have any more than that, I’m pretty much guaranteed a stabby migraine. I miss coming home from work and having a glass of one of my favorite merlots (pictured above) or having a yummy margarita or piña colada in a restaurant. I fell in love with cinnamon whiskey on a date way back when and it would be so nice to have that again (the whiskey, not the date). I also miss Bailey’s Irish Cream, which is fabulous over vanilla or coffee ice cream…

~*~

Image is mine.

Written for Jim’s Thursday Inspiration.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Bacon [repost]

Last night I dreamed [FF dislikes dreamt ~ so much for writing Rebecca II] I was in a house with my father and some other woman, idk who. Kevin Bacon, my brother, was coming over. This was normal. As I got the door, Kevin said quietly, “Hey, is Dad single again?” I said yes. He just rolled his eyes.

The four of us sat in the living room and Kevin picked up a romance novel that was on the coffee table. “You still reading these?” he asked me.

I told him I was and he asked why.

“I don’t know. They’re just fun.” I stared at the cover where a couple smiled at each other dreamily. There was an aqua ocean sparkling in the background and a light blue sky with fluffy clouds. “Look how happy they are, Kevin. They’re much happier than any of us.”

He laughed. “Can’t argue with that.”

Then I woke up.

[Note: I’ve been watching The Following every week.]

~*~

Image from Pixabay.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Sunday Morning Cat [repost]

Hi, it’s me ~ Gatsby. Mommy is busy, so she said I have to answer these questions from Fandango even though I was taking a nap in the closet.

1. Do you like blue cheese? 

Sure, give me a chunk and I’ll bat it under the fridge.

2. Coke or Pepsi? 

No thanks. Water is my bev.

3. Do you own a gun? 

My claws and teeth are enough.

4. What flavor of Kool-aid? 

Gross!

5. Hot dogs? 

Dogs are dumb, whether hot or cold.

6. Favorite TV show? 

I prefer silence so I can hear any bug that needs killing.

7. Do you believe in ghosts? 

Of course. I usually chat with them around 2AM.

8. What do you drink in the morning?

Water.

9. Can you do a push-up? A single push up?

I can do lots of push-ups and all sorts of athletic maneuvers. I’m in great shape!

10. Favorite Jewelry? 

All of it. Leave it out at your peril.

11. Favorite Hobby? 

Napping.

12. Do you have ADD? 

Well, I can stay very focused on one spot for a very long time unless… BUG! String! Someone touched my tail!

13. Do you wear glasses? 

No, but I’m happy to bite yours.

14. Favorite cartoon character? 

Felix the Cat.

15. Three things you did today?

Ate a crunchy, snuggled with Mommy, went back to sleep.

16. Three drinks you drink regularly? 

Water x 3.

17. Current movies? 

Mommy saw Yesterday yesterday and loved it [on June 29, 2019].

18. Do you believe in magic? 

Kitties are magical!

19. Favorite place to be? 

At home.

20. How did you ring in the New Year?

Probably napping.

21. Travel? Where would you go? 

I don’t like to go anywhere and neither does Mommy.

22. Name five people who will most likely read this? 

Mommy, Fandango, Keera, Sadje, Jim.

23. Favorite movie? 

Silent ones.

24. Favorite color?

I don’t see colors.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?

They don’t sound cozy, but I could claw them up, which would be fun.

26. Can you whistle? 

No, but I can howl like a wolf.

27. Where are you now?

Home.

29. Favorite food? 

Chicken crunchies.

30. Least favorite chore? 

I beg your pardon. Chores are for peasants!

31. Best job you can think of? 

Professional Napper.

32. What’s in your pockets? 

You mean the big pocket under the sofa? Pens that Rawry sent. Chapstick. Empty toilet paper holders. My fluffy toys.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? 

I’m happy when Mommy plays with me.

34. Favorite animal? 

Mommy.

35. What’s your most recent injury? 

Mommy keeps me safe, so I never have any.

36. How many TV’s are in your house? 

One.

37. Worst pain ever? 

When my food bowl was 3/4 empty.

38. Do you like to dance? 

Sure! I have mad moves to my own music.

39. Are your parents still alive?

I don’t know.

40. Do you enjoy camping? 

I’m not allowed outside.

~*~

Image is mine.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Apple [repost]

Witch, they named her, shamed her, and banished her from the kingdom. It was the King’s plot, so he could wed another.

From the forest people she learned of the wicked plague that would soon strike down all in the land, servant and noble child alike. The fairies saw the disgraced queen crying and gave her the magic antidote, hidden in an apple.

She disguised herself as a beggar and traveled back to the castle, where she enticed her darling daughter to bite. The little healers took the girl away and kept her safe until the plague had passed.

~*~

Written for the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge [99 words].

Image source unknown.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

The Perfect Circle [repost]

[Please note that this post was written in 2012.]

I’d heard about this cupcakery in Orange called The Perfect Circle and wanted to check it out after one of my visits to my father, since it’s close by.

Anyway. I was disappointed in the meager selection, probably should have tried the lemon raspberry, but I went with a coconut and a chocolate caramel. Had the coconut last night.

I was very impressed with the light, fluffy, vanilla-infused cake. Delicious! It’s often the case that gourmet cupcakes have heavy, oily cake that feels like a lead ball in your stomach. TPC’s coconut cake was wonderful. I was very happy. The frosting was another matter entirely. First, there was only a thin schmear of the stuff, so only a little bit of coconut stuck to it — the rest just fell off in a messy pile of shreds. Hate that. Second, I really like a decadent sinful mountain of frosting so I feel nauseated after I finish it. That’s how I know I’ve had a gourmet cupcake, dur. There wasn’t enough frosting available for me to evaluate, so I can’t tell you whether it was good. Stupid. The coconut was coconutty. Gatsby ate some. Weirdo!

This morning I had the chocolate caramel cupcake for breakfast. This cupcake was unbelievably bad. The cake was totally dry with caramel goo that ooshed out of the middle and dripped onto the wrapper. This goo did not help the cake retain moisture — almost the opposite. Maybe the goo sucked moisture from the cake, idk. Awful. Worst cupcake cake ever. OK, onto the frosting. It looked great and I was totally ready for some fantastic frosting after being deprived yesterday, etc. Well, twas not to be. This chocolate frosting was horrible. First, it had nuts on it, blech. Second, it was dry and cloying. Yes, it was chocolately, but that’s all it had going for it.

I’m nauseated. But not in a good way.

~*~

Image is mine.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Bonus [repost]

“Never mind about that mop now, Cindy,” Lorraine said as she strode into the kitchen. “The crown prince is outside and he demands every girl in the kingdom try on a silly shoe.”

Cindy backed up against the far wall. “But why me? I’m just a servant now.”

“Of course you aren’t, darling,” her stepmother cooed placatingly. “Your father was a friend to the king himself. Hurry now! Mustn’t keep royalty waiting.”

Cindy followed Lorraine outside into the cool autumn afternoon. Lots of people milled about staring at the prince’s gaudy carriage and the line of girls waiting to try on a glittering shoe. Cindy realized it was the one she’d lost Saturday night when she snuck out to the charity ball and then run off like a madwoman to beat her stepsisters home before curfew.

They were now whining to their mother that the shoe hadn’t fit either one of their feet. “It’s a small shoe,” groused one. “Like Cindy’s size,” complained the other.

“Cindy doesn’t go to dances,” Lorraine said. “She’s busy… studying. Regardless, she must try the shoe or we will look suspicious.”

Cindy had qualms when it was her turn and the crown prince smiled vaguely at her. His gaze was cloudy and myopic, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he didn’t remember her from the other night. Thank goodness! He’d stepped on her feet so many times her toes were quite swollen, and she winced when his maid attempted to slide it on her foot.

The prince shrugged and turned away. “Anyone else? I will give a bonus of a thousand pounds of gold to the person who finds the lovely lady who fits into this shoe!”

Then Cindy remembered that her stepmother also had small feet, for she had pilfered all of Cindy’s favorite shoes soon after her father’s funeral.

“Lorraine!” Cindy called. “I believe this is your shoe!”

“What? No.” The older woman laughed, but the prince insisted she try on the shoe, which fit her perfectly.

“Hurrah!” the nearsighted prince shouted. “I have found my bride!”

Cindy received her thousand pounds of gold, bought a cute cottage on the edge of the kingdom, and lived happily ever after with her animal friends. Mostly, they all went barefoot.

~*~

Image is mine.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Happy Father’s Day! [repost]

Support(ive) is the best way to describe my relationship with my dad, before he faded from dementia. He was an encouraging, upbeat guy, with a salesman’s type of personality. He’d get angry, but it was gone in a flash, and he generally stayed within the range of mellow to happy. Though he had definite opinions about politics (card-carrying liberal from NYC), among other things, he’d bounce back after a discussion or debate, no hard feelings.

Daddy wasn’t a griller or a BBQ dude or any sort of handyman guy. Mom actually did all that stuff (RIP). Dad believed in going out to dinner. Mostly though he just read books and of course his beloved NYT. That’s what he’d be doing today, if he were still around and able. I’d likely bake some fudgy brownies for him. Those were his favorite.

He was always up for a conversation with me. Always supportive of my endeavors. Always encouraging of my dreams and goals, though he would express his ideas if he thought I might be making a mistake. He was a good father and I was lucky to have him.

Dad and me, at his 80th birthday, 2010 (RIP).

Love you, Dad.

~*~

Image is mine.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Wishing & Hoping

Fandango’s provocative question today flings me into the dreaded realm of Overthink. Basically, I can’t come up with three wishes without going down the rabbit hole into Crazyland. Read at your own risk…

It seems like a no-brainer: just wish for good health and happiness for my family, right? But would that include my daughters, their husbands, and my grands, or would I need separate wishes for each person? And what if good health and happiness are distinct in Wishingville? Then I’d need 12 wishes… 6 happies and 6 healthies. And what if there are more grands eventually…

But how about my own health? I’d like to be free from chronic pain. Yet what if this pain actually protects me from something worse, like resuming dating? One of the reasons I’ve stopped (besides the whole thing being horrible) is because I’m in too much pain to be fun anymore. Maybe my pain is a blessing. I still have a nice life filled with my wonderful family and good friends, and I’m able to work, read, and write (knock wood), but being intimate with someone? Ugh, forget it. Plus, I often have issues with doing normal stuff like walking a few miles.

What about wishing for a f*ckton of money? That sounds like a good idea, and it would solve other problems too, plus enable me to help peeps, but I have to think about those stories where money either comes from a tragedy or results in one. It’s too scary to be greedy. Best to be satisfied with what I already have.

Going back in time to change things we regret doing or failing to do or even to say something different to someone is too fraught with issues as we have seen many times in science fiction, so I can’t get aboard that train of thought.

How about stepping outside my selfish bubble and wishing for something that benefits the entire world? Well geez, so many possibilities! Eliminating cancer is a popular wish. But at what hidden price? This seems like the start of a horror novel. A scientist finds the cure because of my wish, but the side effect is that survivors turn into cannibals or something.

But peace on earth seems safe enough. No more wars, no more fighting, just everyone blissfully sharing everything and having babies until we run out of space. And then what? I know! For my second wish, I could wish for a second earth so half of these happy non-warring earthlings could go there. And maybe my third wish should be one more earth, just in case. Idk where they would exist though, in order to be exactly like this earth, but surely there’s enough room in all the vastness for three earths to get the same amount of sun, etc.

But those aren’t really fun wishes. They’re noble, but meh. It’s more enjoyable to contemplate the selfish scenarios. How about three small wishes to generate immediate pleasure for ME without disrupting the fabric of the universe? Like how about giving me more painting talent? Surely that wouldn’t require taking something from another person or place. For my other two, one each to my daughters for optimal health. There, done.

The great thing about wishing & hoping & dreaming & praying is that it accomplishes nothing. Oh sure, maybe you feel good while engaging in one or more of these activities, but they have no effect whatsoever on actual events. Feel free to disagree, but no one can prove that praying causes anything, else my mother would still be alive. But that’s OK. We like to believe that our intense emotions get “out there,” somehow, and are powerful enough to have a physical effect. And maybe it’s good in some cases that people pray as opposed to taking action. Like isn’t it better for a rejected lover to wish and hope and dream than to go out and stalk the object of their desire like a deranged maniac?

That’s what the men in the white coats try to tell me anyway…

~*~

Image from Pexels.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

My Little Soul Dude [repost]

This is Gatsby when I first snuggled him at the Orange County Animal Shelter back in December 2011. He was 6 months old.

Isn’t it obvious we were meant for each other?

Happy 10th birthday to my little soul dude!

~*~

Image is mine.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.