Fan of…

The Happy Color app! Honestly, it’s the only thing keeping my stress at bay lately. Sure, my sweet kitty helps too, but the app hits that OCD niche.

Join the fan party!

Games People Play [socs]

Clean versus dirty: What type of games do you play? I’m talking on the table here, not under it, and specifically board games.

There are many risqué games out there now, and several regular games have dirty or “dark” versions with references to sex, bathroom habits, drugs, drinking, and crime.

Some people love Cats Against Humanity, which is where you create nonsensical sentences out of phrases on hand. At first, this was fun, because it was different, but it soon became tiresome. After all, I’m always coming up with sentences from prompts; this isn’t something exciting. And being vulgar/violent isn’t thrilling for me either, since I can do that in a story anytime.

Then Taboo decided to meander over to the dark side. I don’t find it any more fun to try to make my team guess “Dirty Martini” than “Shirley Temple” however. This dirty Taboo should not be confused with the weird Taboo version that has words like “flibbertigibbet” in it. I like that one, but other people don’t.

Code Names has a dark version, which basically consists of 87,000 words for penis-related words. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, if it’s your cup of tea. I’ve become the designated explainer on the sexual terms. I have done a lot of research for my romance novels; it’s important to sound authentic.

I have the dark versions of Family Feud and 5 Second Rule, but they aren’t really that risqué.

It seems there is no end to the number of products available to try to divert our attention from the bleak reality of our hopeless existence and the impossibly mind-bending fact that it’s hurtling to an end.

Happy Caturday! 😻

AZQCueU2 ~ Society

Yay, a new game from the Blokey Guy!

The theme is Society and Rory quoted from someone whose last name begins with A.

“Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self too.” ~ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

Now I will quote from someone whose last name begins with B.

“The paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” ~ James Baldwin

I now pass the baton to Angie of King Ben’s Grandma. Please continue the game with a quote on Society from someone whose last name begins with C, and follow the linking rules on Rory’s post too.

Thanks! 😀

Counting on Me?

Happy Caturday, everyone! Gatsby here. Rawry tricked Mommy by telling her to name a topic quickly and she picked maff… so now she has to answer all these number questions! Lolmeow! I’m not helping her because it’s time for my nap 💤 byeee…

The Topic Today Is – Counting on You!

I am an odd number. Take away one letter and I become even. What number am I?

– Seven! 🤣

Using only addition, how do you add eight 8’s and get the number 1000?

– 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000

Sally is 54 years old and her mother is 80, how many years ago was Sally’s mother three times her age?

– 26 year difference, so 39/13, which is 41 years ago

At a party, everyone shook hands with everybody else. There were 66 handshakes. How many people were at the party?

– 12

It’s dark. You have ten grey socks and ten blue socks you want to put into pairs. All socks are exactly the same except for their colour. How many socks would you need to take with you to ensure you had at least a pair?

– 11

My grandson is about as many days as my daugher in weeks, and my grandson is as many months as I am in years. My grandson, my daughter and I together are 120 years. Can you tell me my age in years ?

– No 😜

2 Fathers and two sons go out hunting, each manage to down a bird and yet only three birds come home with them – how come?

– Two shot the same bird 😢

Provide two quotes that are about numbers please.

– “Two can live as cheaply as one.”

– “Three’s a crowd.”

Provide the title of one song that is exclusively about quantities.

– “If I Were A Rich Man”

Add me to myself and multiply by 4. Divide me by 8 and you will have me once more. What number am I?

– 2

How many 9’s are there between 1 and 100?

– 20 in whole numbers

Four years ago, Jenny was twice as old as Robert. Four years from now, Robert will be 3/4 of Jenny’s. How old is Jenny?

– Oops forgot this one! Jenny is 12.

Why did six cry?

– BECAUSE 7 8 9!!!!!

Which number Apollo mission was the spaceflight that landed the first two men on the Moon?

– Dunno and not cheating

Who were the actors that starred in Apollo 13 and what year was it released?

– Dunno and not cheating

Can you name 10 films with numbers in their titles?

– Four Weddings and A Funeral; 10 Things I Hate About You; Three Men and A Baby; Three Men and A Little Lady; Five Easy Pieces; The Twelve Chairs; Second Best; 27 Dresses; Life of Pi; Twelve Angry Men

A Baker’s dozen is how many?

– 13 yummy things 🍪

How many sculpted lions by Sir Edwin Landseer sit at the base of Trafalgar Square?

– Dunno and not cheating

What is ‘nine tenths of the law’?

– Possession

The Crazy 88 feature in which film?

– Dunno and not cheating

Who was the 35th President of the United States?

– JFK?

Rory says to link here.

Borrow the Lyrics Challenge ~ Tupelo Honey

I’ve been tagged by Rory of a Guy Called Bloke for a fun new game. 😀🎶🎉

Rules (as copied from the creator):

1. You need to choose a verse from a song and use it in an original poem or story.
2. You must include the name of the song and the singer at the end or beginning.
3. You need to challenge someone else and invent ONE rule they need to follow.
4. You must credit the person who started this challenge (a.k.a. PJ) and the person who challenged you.
5. You must include the rules of this challenge.

Rory’s extra rule is “free thought.”

My song is the beautiful “Tupelo Honey” by Van Morrison, and here is a gorgeous video for you, with lyrics on screen:

Tupelo Honey

Fred threw the final bag onto the boat. It wasn’t all the tea in China, but it was a lot, and he’d reached the weight limit. Each burlap sack contained paper bags full of tea leaves, all bought for a fair price, in various shops along the coast. He planned to sail alone, to maximize the amount of tea he could bring, but at the last minute he’d hired a small crew member who could communicate in English.

“Where are we going?” Liane asked.

“Welp, first we sail right around all seven oceans.”

Liane gaped at him. “You’re shitting me. In this boat? I quit!”

“Okay, okay.” Fred tried to calm her down. He really didn’t know much about sailing. “Maybe we skip the Arctic.”

“It’ll be monsoon season in India soon.” She rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” Fred said. “We won’t go there either. Can we do five seas? That’s close enough.”

“Close enough for what?” Liane checked the rigging.

“To drop all this tea straight into the deep blue sea.”

Liane stood up straight and glared at him like a furious five foot tornado. “Why the fuck would you want to waste all this tea?”

“Because she’s as sweet as Tupelo honey.”

“Who? And what’s Tupelo?”

Fred sighed. “Just this girl who broke my heart back in college. I’ve never gotten over her. She was very sweet. And Tupelo is a city in Kansas. Supposedly the best honey comes from Tupelo. Not that I’ve ever actually had any.”

“Hang on,” Liane said. “How sweet can she be if she broke your heart? What did she do?”

“She dumped me for a rock star.” Fred’s eyes filled with tears at the memory. “I was only ever going to be a boring poetry teacher.”

“We need teachers here,” Liane said. “She sounds like a twat.”

Fred took a deep breath. “That doesn’t matter now. The important thing is to keep my vow about the tea. I always told her she was worth all the tea in China. And she was as sweet as–”

“Tupelo honey.” Liane rolled her eyes. “I get it. But hey. How about instead of doing this dumbass tea-dumping thing, we open a poetry and tea shop? My aunt has a small space we could lease. And by we I mean you. I know how to make tea though. You’ll be in charge of the poetry.”

“Hmm,” Fred pondered. “A new road to freedom?”

~*~

Okay then! I tag Jim Adams. Jim, please follow the numbered rules above with this additional instruction: use any song with the word “kiss” in it. Have fun!

~*~

PS: I see Tupelo is in Mississippi. Whatever!

321 Quote Me ~ Hope

1. The lovely Di tagged me to participate in this challenge today. Thank you! 💖

2. I’m now to post two quotes on the topic of hope…

Okay then! Hope you weren’t expecting any cheery stuff from me. You should know me better than that by now. 🔥

3. I’m supposed to tag three bloggers, but idk who did the hopey quotes yet, so if you haven’t, consider yourself hereby tagged.

321 Quote Me ~ Knowledge

1. A big thank you goes out to Rory (and Doodlepip), who selected me for this week’s quote game. 😀

2. My smart kitty Gatsby found a couple quotes for me while I was having dinner. I think they fit the theme just fine. 🐱

3. Now we paw tag three more bloggers to continue the quote game…

Ashley

Beckie

Carol Anne

“Thou art a worry to thy friends” [SOCS]

Linda told us to grab the closest book, open it, and put our finger on a page ~ this would be our Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Mine is the quote in the title, which is on page 64 of Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck, a used paperback I picked up at an exchange a while back but haven’t read yet.

Honestly, I’m not really inclined to read the book now, given the annoying dialog on this page, and the names of the characters (Pilon and Pirate). I feel it well within my rights to make such an arbitrary and snap judgment because I have an enormous pile of books to read, and more come in all the time. I’ll never get through them all before I die, so why not cull them in any manner whatsoever?

May sucked as far as reading. I began a few books and lost interest, played games on my phone, read a lot of blogs and news, and was basically a scatterbrain. I need to get more focused now. Today I deleted my phone solitaire games that I play when I can’t sleep, and which probably keep me from sleeping too. Duh. I could spend that time reading. It’s less stimulating as far as keeping me awake like a game. But to be fair, I have dozed off in the middle of a card game, though not often. Maybe once.

I don’t think I’m a worry to my friends. I’m very sensible and predictable, at least that’s how I’m perceived. Reliable. Dependable. I can be counted on to do a thing if I say… which is also a curse, you know? Because unreliable people always get a break. Hey, no biggie if Joe didn’t show up… we know how he is. And oh there goes Janet again, such a wild and crazy gal! But me? If I mess up or don’t show, everyone is all but you said!!!

Eff that. Why can’t I be the wild one once in a while? But it’s not me, I know. I like plans. I schedule everything. I’m on time, or early. I reply. I’m considerate. Bla bla bla. Boring! I’ve even tried to plan my own funeral. I want one of those I Dream of Jeannie urns. I want to have coconut cupcakes and a song list. Hotel California, of course. New Kid in Town. Those Shoes. Tequila Sunrise. End of the Innocence. And a lot of Neil Diamond. Jimmy Buffett. Fleetwood Mac. Supremes. Sheryl Crow. Gordon Lightfoot. Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash. But that’s a bit too planny.

Maybe.

The Mysterious Case of Twas Not Twas

Welcome to Rory’s…

Not Just My Verse, Your Two Two Too!

“I will choose a topic, write four lines of Rhyming Verse then I will tag one of my readers who will in turn add four lines of Rhyming Verse to my mine and Tag one of their own readers, and then it is a case of wash rinse repeat and let’s see how far our topic goes in so far as a Rhyme?

Once the poem [Verse] leaves my blog, the next blogger along can take it where ever they want with regards their own four line verse but always staying on topic.”

Rory starts us off with:

I am sure, well pretty sure NO, of course l am sure!
Twas not twas, twas not there before!
And yet, here l am looking upon it with widened eyes …
This thing that twasn’t, and yet now it twas a surprise!

Then Rory passes the poet’s pen to me, and I scribe thusly…

When I told my friends what had transpired,
They laughed and said I must be a liar,
For things like THAT surely are not real;
Then it came back and said let’s make a deal.

Now let’s see what Fandango has to say!

Sunny Side Up

The lovely Mrs. Wayfarer nominated me for the Sunshine Award. Thank you! 🙂💖

I’ll answer her great questions, but I don’t do nominations myself. Everyone who likes and comments here brings me a bit of sunshine and I’m grateful for your support. Thanks for reading my posts! 🌻🌻🌻

• Where do you find the inspiration to write your blogs? 

Lately my inspiration comes mainly from the prompts around Blogville.

• When was the last thing you’ve done something for the first time? 

I downloaded the coloring app last week. It’s been very relaxing.

• If you were a superhero, who would you be? 

Catwoman.

• What is one simple thing (or person, place, event) that never fails to brighten up your day? 

Seeing a cat.

• What tradition in your family or country do you always look forward to? 

Halloween costumes.

• What blog (and whose blog is it) inspired you to take action? 

The Haunted Wordsmith inspired me to begin hosting prompts too.

• What is your favorite TV show?

Of all time? Probably The Sopranos.

• What movie can you watch over and over again and make you feel the same way every single time? 

When Harry Met Sally.

• What is your favorite holiday destination? 

Northern California.

• When was the last time you laughed so hard you had tears in your eyes? 

Probably when talking to my daughter.

• If you had the power to change anything in the world right now, what would it be? 

Terrible instant virus takes down McConnell, POTUS, and VPOTUS, and then mysteriously disappears. Nancy Pelosi becomes POTUS.