Not A Lotta Terracotta

Still on track with daily posts for prompts from City Sonnet…

Yep, only one pic found in my library.

~*~

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

Here Comes The Sun ☀️

Yay, it’s double coupon day! Both Melanie (Sparks) and Di (pensitivity101) have won a Sunshine Award and offered questions to everyone. Congrats, ladies! 💐

First, we’ll do Melanie’s…

1. If you were on Death Row, and they actually wanted to execute you, what would your last meal consist of?   

Macaroni & cheese! And peanut butter cups for dessert. Yeah, I’m a cheap death.

2. In the summer, would you rather sleep with the window open or blast the AC?

Window open probably (unless noisy), plus fans.

3. How old were you when you had your first celebrity crush, and who was it?

Roger Moore… and I was like 10. Eek!

4. Would you rather cook or order in?

That depends. When I’m alone (which is always now), I nuke a Lean Cuisine and supplement with fruit. If I were with someone who might appreciate my cooking and not criticize, it could be fun to cook. If I were with a group of friends, probably I’d order in, so everyone could choose what they wanted.

5. Do you sleep with a top sheet? Why or why not?

No, they’re annoying.

6. Is there any product you simply cannot live without?

Besides my phone? Yes, black tea, hot and iced. Hot showers and decent towels too.

7.What’s your favorite morning beverage?

Usually iced tea and then a hot coffee. Later more tea, hot or cold, depending…

8. Are you more of a “work to live” or a “live to work” type of person?

I enjoy my work, but if I won the lottery I would retire!

9. What annoys you most?

People. Sometimes cats. Mostly people.

10. Have you ever had “imposter syndrome”?  (Essentially, imposter syndrome is the faulty feeling of not measuring up, or that you don’t really deserve a compliment or accomplishment.)

No, since I hardly get any compliments or accomplish anything. 🤣

11. What line should someone never cross with you?

Do not criticize my children or hurt them in any way ever.

Whew! Those were great questions! Now, onto Di’s…

1.  What is your favourite name for a dog (male or female)?

Cupcake.

2.   What is your favourite food?

Pasta with seafood or just mac & cheese.

3.   Do you like watching movies on the Big Screen or content to wait for the DVD to come out?

I do like movies at the cinema on the big screen. That can get spendy though, so I mostly wait. Now, of course, I have no desire to sit in a room full of strangers.

4.   What is your favourite alcoholic tipple?

A margarita on the rocks with salt.

5.   Do you like to wear bright colours?

Absolutely!

6.  Have you ever worn odd socks on purpose?

All my socks are odd! Oh, you mean mismatched ~ nope.

7.  Back to movies: would you read the book after seeing the film or watch a film after reading the book?

Book first, then movie, is my preference. The book is generally deeper, so I like to have those themes in mind while watching the screen as it makes the movie more interesting.

8.   Is your idea of a holiday lazing on the beach getting a tan, or sightseeing the surrounding area?

Mostly sightseeing but relaxation time too. Not getting a tan though…

9.   One for the ladies:
if your spouse bought you flowers for no reason, would you be suspicious?
For the guys:
If your spouse cooked you a special meal for no reason, how would you react?

I don’t know. My last spouse, yes. An ideal spouse who doesn’t exist, no.

10. Can you ride a pushbike, and if so, when was the last time you did?

Yes, but I probably haven’t ridden a bike in over 10 years.

11.  In your home, do you prefer blinds or drapes (curtains) at your windows?

I prefer shutters, which is what I have. I’d take blinds over drapes however, since drapes get dusty and dirty so quickly.

That was a lot of fun! Thanks Melanie and Di! 🌻🌻🌻

~*~

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

Images from Bitmoji.

Elevenses

“Darling, would you like butter or jam with your crumpet?” Miranda asked her husband at elevenses.

“I don’t give a toss.” Nigel shrugged. “I would like to know however if you’ve been shagging the butler.”

Miranda added a spoonful of sugar to her tea. “Are you talking about Lionel?”

Nigel sighed. “Of course I’m talking about Lionel, poppet. We only have the one butler.”

“No need to get cross, snoogums,” Miranda said. “I thought you might have meant Mumsy’s butler.”

“Why would I care about your mother’s butler?” Nigel bit into a crumpet. “These are rather dry.”

“Well, that’s why I asked about the butter and jam, you silly goose.” Miranda added both to her crumpet.

Nigel spread butter on the rest of his crumpet. “This makes quite a difference. Thank you, luv. Now back to the matter at hand…”

“Mumsy’s butler?” Miranda frowned. “He’s ready to retire. I was thinking that Ian might be perfect for the position.”

“Our underbutler?” Nigel frowned. “That would present a problem, dearest.”

“Whyever so?”

“Because he would have to move hundreds of miles away to your mother’s.”

Miranda gazed at Nigel over her teacup. “I didn’t realize you’d grown so fond of him.”

“He plays chess with me when you retire early with a headache, which is rather frequently.”

“I see,” Miranda said. “I won’t recommend him then.”

They finished their meal in silence.

~*~

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

5 Things [I Enjoyed Doing During Lockdown]

Dr. Tanya returns with the #5Things topic for today: 5 things I enjoyed doing during the lockdown.

1. Nothing! That’s right ~ I enjoyed doing nothing for a while. I’d been super tired, without a real vacation for years, so it was lovely just to chill. 🥰

2. Reading! I’ve read several books over the last few months. It’s been great to have the time to participate in some fun reading challenges. 📚

3. Writing! I’m pleased to announce that I’ve made significant progress on my novel Ghosted. 👻

4. Organizing! I bought lucite holders from Target and straightened up all the junk in my bathroom. Rearranged some other misc stuff as well. 👍🏻

5. Bonding! Spending so much time at home has allowed my roommate’s cat to become more comfortable with me. She hangs out with me now while I’m at my laptop. Of course, my own kitty has had more quality time with me too. 🐱

Here she is, purring on my lap. ❤️❤️❤️

~*~

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

Images from Bitmoji and me.

I Have A Spray Bottle…

… and I’m not afraid to use it!

Look what I have to put up with when I’m trying to work or write at home. Whatever happened to the idea of two kitties playing nicely and snuggling up together for naps? Nope! They never cuddle cutely. They are always hissing and mrowing and smacking each other. Annoying.

Spraying them with water always stops their shenanigans… for a few minutes anyway. 🙄

~*~

Images are mine.

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

There Was A Crooked Part

I haven’t done a Weekly Smile for a while. It’s not because I’ve been sad, although I have, but more because the time has simply slipped away from me each day even when I seem to have so much more of it. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. In any case, here we go.

My daughter made me smile when she told me that someone suggested to her we part our hair crookedly to hide our grey coming in until the salons reopen. In the 1990’s, there was a whole crooked part fad, and I had bought special combs for the three of us, so we could make our crookedness symmetrical. But I no longer have these combs, so I did mine freehand…

I love it! You still see some silver, but it’s much more blended this way. Big smile! 😀

And here’s a bonus smile. I went to Google to find the Mother Goose verse for the “Crooked Man” poem, and all I had to do was type “there was” and it came up in the list. Google knows the things I want. Scary but true.

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

~*~

Written for Trent’s Weekly Smile

Images credited to Trent’s World and me.

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

Comfort Food

I posted (yesterday, I think) in reply to a Q that I enjoy cheesy scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms on the side, and ever since I’ve been craving that. Tonight I made them both with a mini salad.

Yes, the mushrooms dominate the plate. I haven’t had any for a while and my plan to save half for tomorrow didn’t work out. 🤣

I need to buy more spices. I tossed almost all of mine when I moved last December because they were so ancient, and all I had for flavoring was S&P and ginger. Since then, I haven’t cooked much. But now I’m in the mood.

It was fun! I thought I had set off the smoke alarm at one point, but it was only an Amber Alert coming in on my phone. This was probably the first alert in lockdown, and I’d forgotten about them. At least now I’ve figured out where my kitchen fan button is located. 🙄

Tune in again in a few hours for Thursday Inspiration!

~*~

Image is mine.

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

Questions a la Di

My posting has been a bit sparse lately. A few reasons. I’ve rejoined Facebook, even though it’s horrible. I’m just lonely in this endless isolation and couldn’t resist the re-connection with my peeps there. Also, I’ve been having trouble sleeping and that’s messed up my creativity. I haven’t felt the urge to write much poetry or flash fiction during the lockdown, since I’m so zoned out. I may end up doing more question type posts or “meanders” for a while.

Di @ Pensitivity101 offered these…

1.  Do you cloud watch?

Yes, I love to look at the sky. It’s beautiful, just as the ocean is. Now, I don’t know the names of the types of clouds or formations of stars, but that doesn’t stop me from taking photos and googling stuff for poems. Actually, this is a good time of year for pretty sunsets here at the California coast. I should go outside sometime again and see. The pic of the Hotel Irvine was taken a few years ago.

2. What is your biggest failure in the kitchen?

Where to begin? I accidentally spilled so much pepper into a veal dish once that I had a tummy ache for a week (my ex was fine with the pepper veal). I brought spicy noodles to a gathering of (mostly) elderly people and no one would eat them. They were pretty spicy! I didn’t have time to bake chocolate chip cookies for a man I was dating and he dumped me. Later he said that the lack of cookies made him feel that I didn’t care about him. 😥

3.  Do you prefer a shower or bath, bubbles or lotion?

Shower only.

4. What do you do to calm yourself when angry?

The best thing for me is to get away from whatever is causing it and go home so I feel safe. Usually I would want to make hot tea, cuddle up in my jammies, and think about what happened. Hopefully I’d be able to talk to one of my daughters about it too.

5. Eggs now: do you prefer them scrambled, boiled, poached, fried or in an omelette?

Depends on my mood. Probably a cheese omelette is my favorite, or eggs scrambled with some shredded cheese in them. I like some sautéed mushrooms with either.

It’s 1:42am and I wish I could go to sleep…

~*~

Image is mine.

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

Hideaway [socs]

Gatsby here again. I’m a people person. I’ll be the first to admit it. ❤️ I loves me some humans. They’re fun! They play with me and pet me. They bring me food and treats. They have paper to claw and bite, plus they’re covered in skin that’s quite satisfying to bite also. Mmm biting…

Where was I?

Right. People. I’m in favor of ’em. But my person has been home all day every day for like a million years now. It’s annoying. Why she not go to work anymore? Why she not go out with her friends? She doesn’t even take a walk even though she always says she’s gonna. I need my space! I need my private cat time! 🐱

If you need me, I’ll be in my blanket cave. But please don’t bother me unless it’s a real emergency. I need to destress. It’s a tuff life!

~*~

Image mine.

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

An Enchanted Place

Gatsby here. I live in an enchanted place. I used to live somewhere else, and other places before that, but they’re all a blur now. My brain doesn’t keep track of things the way a human’s does. But my way is better because I am cat. Anyway, let me tell you about my kingdom: I am KING RAWR!

That’s the most important thing. I rule this place 24/7. There is a bowl of nom noms that stays magically full. Except sometimes the food level goes down below half and I get concerned, so I voice my opinion LOUDLY on this situation until the bowl is topped off again. There is also delicious water that somehow stays fresh even though there is no running stream. Amazing! I have a box to do my pees & poopies in and it magically stays clean. But I don’t question this sorcery. I take it as my due. 🐱

There are enchanted forests to explore in my kingdom. These aren’t typical forests full of trees and flowers and squirrels to chase (that would be awesome!). Some are stuffed with soft lumps of cloth I can burrow in to sleep, which is nice, especially when no one can find me for a long time. Others have crunchy papers to bite and claw… I love tearing up paper to bits! Still others have bottles to knock over, which is enjoyable.

Sometimes the door is open and I can look outdoors through the screen. That’s fun! I get to watch humans walk past and sometimes a birdie will come near. I tell him that I will come out one day to catch him, and he flies away. Birds are pretty smart, but not as smart as cat. Other times the human is working on her button box, so I will paw on it and also make a lot of meows just because. I am KING and this is what I do. 😻

Now, I will tell you a secret. All the time I lived in these enchanted places I wished for more. I wished I had another cat to be my friend! And then one day a kitty appeared, just like magic! Her name is Tiger and I love her. She loves me too, and she shows it by hissing and growling if I get within a foot of her. Sometimes I chase her and she likes it. I can tell because she screams and jumps up on the washing machine.

Life is good.

~*~

Written for MLM Tale Weaver 274.

Images are mine.

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