Happy Halloween!

 

AI elephant cavorting in autumn leaves

I'm not doing anything special to celebrate the day, but if you are, I hope it's all good and no ghouls (unless you like ghouls). This week I've been making notes about the romance novel (novella?) I will be starting tomorrow for NaNo2. Generally, I'm a "pantser" not a planner, meaning that I have a vague idea about my story and let the words flow, which usually results in a gigantic mess. I often dump the whole thing or change it massively later. But this time I have a structure outlined and seven pages of notes for characters and scenes. Whoa. Who am I and what have I done with Paula Light?

Cottage by the Sea has shared some questions for today, themed to a song ("I've Written a Letter to Daddy") from a movie (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane), neither of which I have never heard/ seen, but I thought I would give the questions a go.

1. Do you like scary movies?

Generally not, with a few exceptions. I especially don't enjoy movies where the entire purpose is to make the audience jump in fright or recoil in horror. I do like psychological terror if it's done well ~ The Shining is a good example.

2. Tell us about one of your favorite childhood toys.

It's a tie between Barbies and Super Spirograph. I liked the Barbie dolls back when you bought a few and then collected cool outfits and accessories (or made them). It was fun to peruse the catalogs and mark which outfits to get next, while now when you want to switch outfits you basically buy a whole new doll dressed up as whatever with accessories. My mom made a giant doll house for my Barbies out of a moving box (and one Ken ~ he had a harem, lol), wallpapered it in purple floral to match my new room, and crocheted little rugs to go inside. 

Super Spirograph was much better back in the day when the disks came with tiny holes and pins so you could anchor the disks firmly onto your paper in hopes of making a perfect design with no wobblies. I find the new Spirographs impossible to deal with because there are no pins and you never end up with a perfect design. They have PUTTY for attaching the disks to your paper now (even when they call the set the "original" Spirograph ~ it is not!), and the disks inevitably move. I would sit for hours creating abstract patterns with colored pens and do them over if there was even a tiny mistake. But god forbid a kid pokes her finger with a pin and sues. Bah.

3. Did you ever go through an awkward phase? 

My whole life is an awkward phase! I've always felt like I don't really fit in anywhere and struggle to be part of whichever group I'm currently hanging out with, whether family or friends or coworkers. I don't look awkward usually (I did as a child because I was overweight at a time when most kids were skinny), so that's helpful, but internally I feel like an emotional klutz. I am constantly censoring myself, which is good in a way because most people like me (I think), but it's also stressful. I don't believe people should let themselves be completely uncensored, but for whatever reason I am extremely cautious in person.

4. Can you think of another movie where scary things happen in a big old house?

As I said, I avoid scary movies, but The Shining was full of fright (in an old hotel). Hereditary, which I hated, was full of scaries in a house and outside it too. What a horrible movie! A friend treated a bunch of us, so I went against my better judgment. Oh, and of course there's the old classic film Rosemary's Baby, which took place in an apartment building. I sometimes can enjoy a vampire movie, and usually they are set in old houses or castles. Frank Langella's portrayal of Dracula was great, imo. I also loved Johnny Depp in Dark Shadows.

5. Tell us about a Halloween costume you really enjoyed wearing.

Let's see... most aren't too memorable. When I was a child, I had the standard store-bought clowns and witches, but one year at age 12 I wasn't prepared (because I thought I was too old for such nonsense), and a couple friends insisted we all go T&T. I tried to improvise a gypsy with a full skirt, white blouse, headscarf, jewelry, and tons of makeup, which apparently made me look like a hooker, which is what one man said when he opened his door. As an adult, I had a ghost costume I liked for a few years because it was loose enough to wear a shirt underneath, and until recently October 31 was a cold day in SoCal. I was a pirate a few times, once with my little daughters as pirates too for a party we threw at home. That was fun! I was a 1920's gangster for a murder mystery party. Once, I created my own "clever" costume as a tribute to the song "Devil with the Blue Dress On" (Mitch Ryder): blue dress with ragged-cut hem, red shoes, red stockings, red devil horns, etc. I was proud of that one. My favorite would probably be when a bunch of friends and I did costumes in sync from "Hotel California" (Eagles) ~ there was the hostess at the door, the night watchman, etc. I was "pink champagne on ice" with pink pants, a pink sweater, and a necklace that kinda sorta resembled ice cubes.

6. Which kind of spooky movie villain do you find scarier: supernatural monsters (Dracula, Wolfman, ghosts, etc.) or human monsters (Baby Jane, Michael Meyers from the Halloween franchise, etc.)? 

Humans are always the scariest creatures because they're scary in real life, while you can tell yourself that the fictional monsters aren't real. That said, the bees in Candyman totally freaked me out. There was also what I call "the coconut monster" in a Creature Feature movie my mom and I watched ~ it was about a sailor who turned into a monster from submarine radiation and began to kill his crewmates. As I recall, he was a giant white shredded blob, but I could be misremembering. I still love coconut!

7. Orange and black are the traditional Halloween colors, with orange representing the autumn harvest and black symbolizing all things scary and mysterious. Are you wearing either color as you answer these questions?

I'm wearing a black shirt with a motif from Alice in Wonderland. It's one of my favorite shirts, and I wear it year-round, not just on Halloween. Btw, I don't think black is necessarily scary, and my black kitty Inky is an absolute doll! 

8. Jack-o-lanterns originated in Ireland, though instead of pumpkins, they carved gourds. When Irish immigrants arrived in the US, they used pumpkins because they were more readily available. Did you decorate your home with a jack-o-lantern, or anything else, for Halloween?

Not really, but I did have a Michael's coupon, so I bought some fake fall flowers, and there is a teeny tiny pumpkin in the bunch. I'm tired of my plants dying (except for the hardiest ones) due to lack of real light in my condo ~ I have patio doors, but it's not convenient to put plants near them ~ so I am slowly replacing dead plants with fake ones.

9. Think back to your trick-or-treating days. Which candy were you happiest to find your bag?

Well, it's all kind of silly because we can buy our favorite candy whenever we want. That said, I love any type of Reese's PB cups, Snickers, Milky Way, regular and peanut M&Ms, and Almond Joys. The little Hershey's minis are good too. I'm not a fan of licorice or sour squishy candy. Oh, I remember when people would throw in those cheapo tubes of Smarties, yuck! Who even likes those? Right in the trash. Bubble gum was fun to get since I didn't usually buy it.

Enjoy the day! I'll be doing my usual Saturday grocery shopping and chores with a stop at the library. I may bake a loaf of pumpkin bread (cake) ~ I picked up the Trader Joe's mix the other week. They put caramel baking chips right next to the pumpkin bread mixes, so like a sheep I bought those too. I guess I should dump them in there? I don't know. It's scary to mess with the recipe like that. Boo!

Pumpkin Spice Hodgepodge

Pumpkin craft I did at Michael's in 2023

I'm participating in Joyce's Hodgepodge again this week, and I thank her for the tasty autumn questions.

1. Fall arrives this week in the northern hemisphere. Does it look/feel like fall where you live? What's something you love to do this time of year that makes you feel its officially fall? 

*If you're answering today from the southern hemisphere feel free to sub spring for the word fall. 

Although the heat wave broke last week, it's still hot during the day and doesn't feel like fall at all, but it never does in September here in SoCal. What does make me aware of the change of season however is the earlier sunset, which seems sudden and dramatic, but it's the same as every year. As we head into October, I am all about everything pumpkin scented and flavored. On Friday, I went to Trader Joe's and bought pumpkin soup, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin bread mix, and this is just the beginning. I love pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin spice latte (yes, I am aware that there's no pumpkin in the latte). I'm also good with the rest of the fall flavors: apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cranberry, etc.

2. What's a small daily task or chore that always seems to fall through the cracks when your schedule gets busy?

I usually get everything done that I need to do. I might forget to wear earrings if I'm rushing around to leave the house in the morning, which will annoy me immensely once I notice.

3. What's something you're falling for lately? 

I don't know. I'm watching The Slipper and the Rose from 1976 while writing this and really enjoying it, so maybe old musical movies or just old movies.

4.  Pumpkin is a popular flavor this time of year.  Are you a fan? What's your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage?  

Yup, totally. See above. Hard to pick a favorite though... maybe pumpkin cake with streusel topping.

5. What's something you wish would never change? Explain. 

I can't answer this question as my nature compels me to go down all the rabbit holes and find reasons why whatever I might choose would be a bad thing ultimately. I don't particularly like most change, but it's inevitable.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I don't know if anyone remembers when we were talking about gelato. I would like to report that I have tried it now, and it's delicious!

Lemony Hodgepodge

Lemon bars via Meta AI

I'm participating in Joyce's Hodgepodge again this week by answering the following questions.

1. Do your goals and dreams energize or exhaust you? Elaborate. 

It depends on specifics. I bought a cat feeder to program, and it's so complicated that it exhausts me to think about it, but I will do it. (I'm writing this on Sunday to post on Monday, and hopefully by the time your read this, the programming will be sorted out!) My exercise goals are both tiring and energizing simultaneously ~ I get tired from 30-45 minutes of aerobics, but it feels good, so I'm excited to do it again the next day. As far as dreams, I don't have them on a grand scale the way I used to (finding love, getting published, becoming wealthy, etc.), which is good because I'm happier if I stick with boring daily goals that I can actually achieve. I don't buy into the cliché that you're never too old to do X thing. Hell yeah I am too old to do a lot of things!

2. July 23rd is national lemon day. Are you a fan of this flavor? What's a favorite dish or beverage you enjoy that calls for lemons? 

I am a huge, huge lemon fan! I don't care for lemonade though, strangely. I love lemon desserts, such as the surreal lemon bars pictured up top. Lemon cake, lemon cookies, lemon sorbet, all delicious.

3. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"...is this something you're pretty good at managing? Have you had to do this recently? If so tell us about it. 

Absolutely, and I think it's the only way to be happy unless you're incredibly lucky to get everything you want. Life is full of disappointments, and you have to be able to adapt to them, change your goals, lower your expectations, etc., if you don't want to spend all your time moaning about what might have been. I try not to go down the "if only" road too often, and my personal motto/ mantra is more in line with it is what it is, so now deal with it.

In the last few years, I decided to completely give up on the idea of being paid to write in any way at all. Some of my writer friends still struggle to eke a few bucks out of the various self-publishing platforms, but to me it's not worth bothering with. First, I despise marketing. Second, even when I forced myself to do some, it had minimal results. Third, I don't want to write to please an audience; I much prefer writing to please myself. How did I "make lemonade" out of this? I self-published two final poetry books just to satisfy my OCD with zero expectation of sales, and also I returned to blogging ~ fun writing that makes me happy!

4. Something you love that is lemon yellow in color? 

I adore lemon-yellow roses, even if they set off an allergy attack. I think they're prettier than red roses.

5. How would you describe your attention to detail? 

Insane. That doesn't mean I don't make mistakes, but I am relentless about catching/ fixing them. This doesn't only apply to typos, but also includes consistency in various forms. I also obsessively straighten stuff up and make sure that all objects are either at right angles or deliberately and pleasingly off-center.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

For an introvert who needs a lot of alone time, I sure have a lot of social plans coming up!

The Milky Way Bar

Space candy via Meta AI

Look through any window 

Past your own reflection—

Contemplate the endless night.

Note the comforting moon.

Stars come into focus.

Constellations form their patterns:

We give names to the shapes;

Our minds fill in the blanks.

They’ve discovered sugar in space—

The building blocks of life!

Did sugar come from Earth

Or did it float on “down” to us

Like sprinkles from a cake?

Either way it’s so nice

To know the universe is sweet.

You can close the window,

Walk away from the night,

And create your own confection.

~*~

Written for John Holton’s Writer’s Workshop (window) and dVerse Poets Pub (night), and inspired by a news article on a recent discovery in space.

Wandering Wishes

Dandelion from Pixabay

Puff out the candle on the cake

Wandering wishes flower seeds

Unpredictable turns they take

Puff out the candle on the cake

Imagine bold new thirsts to slake

Separate basic wants from needs

Puff out the candle on the cake

Wandering wishes flower seeds

~*~

Triolet quadrille (structured 44 words) written for dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille Monday (prompt of puff) hosted by the lovely Lisa of Tao-Talk.

The Rainbow Cake Disaster

 

AI generated image of a rainbow layer cake

I tripped and fell down up the stair

And smashed the rainbow cake to bits

I cried and yelled it was not fair

I tripped and fell down up the stair

I made this scrumptious cake to share

Now splat upon the ground it sits

I tripped and fell down up the stair

And smashed the rainbow cake to bits

~*~

Triolet written for Sammi Scribbles Prompt #473 (rainbow). I used the title as part of my 64 words, which might be "cheating," but I couldn't drag out the lines any further. This is a true story, btw. In June of 2024, I took a class at Sur La Table where we made rainbow cakes. There were five layers of different colored sponge cakes, and we glopped frosting atop each one to make them stick together. Then we frosted the top and sides, plus decorated the whole thing however we chose with more frosting and sprinkles. Who knew that this would turn into a super heavy monstrosity? The cakes were each so light! I could barely lug the thing to my car, and then I made the bad decision of carrying it up the stairs at my place instead of using the elevator. I tripped and fell on top of the cake, which was a total loss, plus I was all bruised up in a variety of places. I even went to the doctor because I thought I had broken a rib. I know, it's hard to imagine how my ribs were involved in this mess, but I fell frontward onto concrete steps, and cake does not break a fall as much as one might think! Anyway, no broken bones resulted, just bruises that took a long time to fade, plus a dented ego and a ruined cake. (I did hobble back out there and clean it all up.)

PS: This is the first time I've blogged about this or mentioned it in public. In June of 2024, I was on a blog break ~ actually I thought I would never blog again, but a couple months later I had an insatiable need to write about a movie I'd just seen, so here we are.

Inky Pinky Hodgepodge

Inky pinky painting

I'm participating in the Hodgepodge again this week, which is hosted by Joyce. She sure comes up with some great questions!

1. June 17th, 1994 was the day of the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase. What were you doing in 1994? I'm guessing somebody is going to tell me they weren't born yet but that's part of the fun of the Hodgepodge. Lots of generations are represented here. 

In June of 1994, I was a 33 year-old SAHM, so I imagine that I was doing mommyish things and not paying much attention to the news. I vaguely knew this big event was happening, but I had way more important stuff going on, like coloring with my daughters and baking cookies.

2. What's your favorite summer salad that isn't the traditional tossed green lettuce kind of salad? Do you like fresh fruit in a salad (other than in a fruit salad of course)?

I love fruit salad and fruit in any green salad, especially berries and mango. My favorite summer salad is the strawberry poppyseed chicken salad at Panera (check it out).

3. Is chivalry dead? Should it be? 

Chivalry is a double-edged sword, pardon the pun. Obviously the old-timey chivalry with knights and jousts and stuff is dead, except at Medieval Times and Renaissance Fairs, but we now use the term to describe "gentlemanly" type of behavior. While it may seem nice for men to be especially courteous to and protective of women, and also pick up the check, that often comes with a price. I think we all know what that price is. The concept seems pretty dead to me these days, but I have aged out of that world, so I guess I don't really know. Personally, I'm fine with not having those things and not being expected to do anything in return either. As far as holding doors/ elevators, that's just general politeness ~ people do it for each other regardless of gender, which is how it should be.

4. Would you rather spend a week of your summer vacation in Hawaii or Alaska? Have you ever been to either? Are they two places you really would like to see? How do you feel about 'Hawaiian pizza' aka pineapple on a pizza? Have you ever eaten Baked Alaska? 

Neither, as I dislike traveling and being away from home/ kitty. I've been to Hawaii a few times, and it was nice. Friends have taken Alaskan cruises, and the photos look interesting, though cruises appeal to me even less than vacations in general. I'm totally fine with Hawaiian pizza, though I probably wouldn't order it, as I prefer an all-veggie pizza. We had Baked Alaska at my second wedding (1988), which was a terrible idea (not mine). It was dramatic and tasted fine, but I missed having a real cake. 

5. World Cup play is happening now...are you interested? Watching any matches? Did you or your children play soccer/futbol? There are eleven US cities hosting matches--Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York with the stadium in NJ, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle along with  three cities in Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey) and two in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver). You get free tickets to one of these matches. Which city do you choose? Tell us why. 

I have zero interest in any sporting events. My daughters did not play soccer. I guess I would take the free tickets to the Los Angeles games and give them away to someone who'd enjoy them.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

On Saturday, my friend Lisa and I had dates ~ literally. She brought over hot honey sushi (don't judge; it's delicious!) and date rolls with coconut. We watched the first part of the HBO Billy Joel documentary (I already saw the whole thing, but she hadn't), and will watch part two in a few weeks. It's excellent! The reason I resubscribed to HBO is because House of the Dragon is returning for the third season next Sunday, and that's one of the rare shows I enjoy. (See, I can suspend my disbelief for dragons!) It's been a while since I subbed, so I clicked on the cancel button to see what it would entail, and they thought I was cancelling right then, so they offered me half price for three months. LOL! I guess I will have HBO until October now. Any movie recs? Since it's so long between seasons and my brain is stuffed with so much junk, I am rewatching S2 of Dragon this week to prepare.

Yesterday (Sunday), my coworker and I did a "paint your pet" session at Pino's Palette. No, we don't put paint on the pet! We paint from a photo. She did her cute poodle-type doggo, which came out great, and I painted Inky. Because we needed room for her tail, the canvas has an area that needs "more," as you can see in the above image, so I ordered some large black stickers from Amazon to spell out her name on the left side. I'm really pleased with my painting, especially the eyes!

Today (Monday) I took the day off from work and will be driving up to Los Angeles in a few hours to see my granddaughter in her first ballet recital. I'm happy I can do this, as I don't get to see the kiddos all that often. Living an hour's drive away (at the best of times) sounds close, and it's certainly closer than a plane flight, but it's not like I can just pop in whenever. Visits are always planned around work and school.

That was more of a recap than a random thought!

Reggae Hodgepodge

 

Image from Pixabay

I'm participating in this week's Hodgepodge, which is hosted by Joyce @ From This Side of the Pond. Before I start responding to the questions, since it's Memorial Day here in the USA, I want to take a moment to express gratitude toward anyone who has served our country. RIP. I am also grateful for the local fire departments and California statewide response to the toxic chemical tank situation in Garden Grove (about 5 miles from my place). The latest update is that, due to a crack in the tank, some of the pressure has been relieved, and the temperature of the methyl methacrylate has dropped. They said that the danger of a massive explosion has been eliminated, but there still could be a smaller one, so the evacuation order remains in place. Thankfully, I am outside that zone.

1. Do you like your name? Are you named after someone (grandparent, etc.)? If you have children how did you choose their names? 

I do not like my name. I don't care for girls' names that are boys' names with an A stuck on the end. It has always annoyed me, but least it's short and easy to spell. My parents were considering Pamela as well as Paula, and I wish they'd chosen Pamela. As far as my daughters' names, Diane was always my favorite, and Sharon was my ex's pick, which I liked. My big "thing" with them was to avoid the super-popular names and also anything weird. The names we went with were slightly out of fashion, yet everyone has heard of them (and can spell them).

2.  A piece of red velvet cake, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a slice of blueberry pie? You can only have one...which will you choose? If you could pick any red, white, or blue dessert other than those listed here, what would you choose? 

Right now, it's pretty warm, so I'll go with the vanilla ice cream. Normally, I'm cold and would choose the RV cake and hot tea. I do love blueberry pie too. If I could choose my own patriotic-themed dessert, I'd pick strawberries and whipped cream.

3.  What's a job you'd like to try for just one day? 

None. I'm just waiting to retire from the one I have so I can blissfully ignore Outlook emails.

4. Any patriotic decor in your home currently or coming up this summer? 

No. My housemate and I don't decorate for any holidays. 

5. It's the end of May, so let's exercise our brains. Sum up your month with an acrostic using the word MAY. We can do it!!  

Migraines plagued me as usual; I've had better months, and I've had worse.
Anxiety dropped rapidly at the beginning of the month and returned for month-end work issues.
Yummy meals included a high tea luncheon in San Juan Capistrano with my friend Lisa and a veggie quesadilla in Dana Point with my daughter Diane and her husband Sam.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Today I'm going to a reggae concert with friends and am wearing reggae colors because I like themes: a long yellow tee-shirt top and beaded/ flower bracelets in yellow, black, green, and red. I'm also wearing a beaded necklace in those colors with a "queen" pendant that I fashioned out of one of the earrings that came with the accessories package. I can't wear long dangling earrings because of my paper thin earlobes, so I improvised. I saved the other earring for Lisa, but I don't know if she'll want it. 

Weddings (April A2Z ~ Misty Memories)

Bouquet from my daughter's wedding

Welcome to my April A2Z posts! This time, I am officially signed up on the challenge sheet and will be visiting other bloggers on the list. My theme is "misty memories," which will include a bunch of rambling about old stuff in my life, and hopefully some of it will be accurate, but if not, there's no one around to contradict me. Today we continue with W for Weddings.

I didn’t go to weddings (or funerals) when I was little. Our family was small, and these occasions didn’t occur often; the few that did, my parents went by themselves and got a babysitter for me. Though I saw plenty of engagements and weddings on TV and read about them in romance novels, I didn’t daydream about my own. That was a good thing because I never had a fancy engagement party or an elaborate wedding and haven’t regretted it. 

My first marriage came about via an argument. I don’t recall the context, but at some point I expressed doubt about our relationship into the future, and to reassure me (I guess), he suggested we should get married. Not exactly an Instagram moment! Since we didn’t have much money, we decided to go to Vegas, impulsively, the next weekend. That was a lot of fun! I highly recommend it as a way to avoid spending a gazillion dollars and having to deal with obnoxious relatives. I don’t remember what kind of ceremony we had, other than the fact that it was cheap and not Elvis themed ~ I would have liked an Elvis impersonator to officiate, but they had to be reserved in advance. The only sad part is that we didn’t have a real wedding cake.

Well, I guess it was also sad that the marriage didn’t work out. About a year later, we separated, and I moved into my own apartment with the kitties. Since we didn’t have any shared assets or children, it was an easy-peasy divorce, final in six months. During that time I met my second ex-husband to be, and while I was not anxious to get married again so soon, he was older and wanted to commit, so we did. This time, the wedding, though small, was more traditional with a lace dress, religious ceremony, relatives, dinner, etc. But even so we did not have a real wedding cake as the hotel chef  "wasn't a baker," and I couldn't deal with having one transported. They did a baked Alaska for us, which honestly is not a great metaphor with which to begin a marriage, though this one lasted 20 years.

Since then, I've been to more weddings, including both my daughters, which were beautiful and perfect in their own ways, though different from each other. I've also been to some weddings of friends and relatives, each one interesting and special. Most of these included an actual cake. My favorite wedding however is probably the one the girls and I created for their Barbie and Ken dolls back in the ‘90s. It was quite involved and elaborate, and as far as I know, that marriage is still going strong.

Cookies (April A2Z ~ Misty Memories)

My first cupcake?

Welcome to my April A2Z posts! This time, I am officially signed up on the challenge sheet and will be visiting other bloggers on the list. My theme is "misty memories," which will include a bunch of rambling about old stuff in my life, and hopefully some of it will be accurate, but if not, there's no one around to contradict me. Today we continue with C for Cookies.

When I was growing up, it seemed like cookies were one of the basic food groups, and it wasn’t until later that I discovered most folks don’t have to eat dessert after every lunch and dinner. For my first decade of life though, it felt perfectly normal.

My father had an enormous sweet tooth. He was happy with any dessert, but his go-to sugary treat was cookies. His favorites were from Nabisco: chocolate marshmallow pinwheels, pecan sandies, fudge stripes, sugar wafers, and any kind of chocolate chip. Oreos were good too. He was not a fan of peanut butter, however.

Some weeks, my mother and I would bake cookies or brownies (our brownies were more like cookies than cake because we used only one egg). Cookies were made from scratch, but the box mix from Duncan Hines for brownies was great, so we used that. Nowadays, I think Ghirardelli has taken the brownie box mix crown (especially when you add mini M&Ms). Usually we made the traditional Tollhouse recipe chocolate chip cookies, except around Christmas, when we went nuts with the cookie press. Green trees with sprinkles (and a tooth-cracking silver sugar ball at the top), red bells, green wreaths (with sprinkles), beige reindeer, etc., all graced our table.

My mom also made rum balls, which I thought were from a super secret recipe, but it turns out that everyone makes them. (Smashed and rolled vanilla wafers with powdered sugar and a rum glaze.) I loved rum balls when I was younger and would sneak them out of their tin before Mom declared they were “ready.” Nowadays though, I find them kind of nauseating. 

Mom made her own special fruitcake too. Dad loved it, but I was not a fan.

I still have a gargantuan sweet tooth and prefer sugary snacks to chips and and salty food. While I went through a cupcake phase, I am back to basics once again with cookies. There are so many varieties, and they're easy to transport. In fact, I am taking another cookie decorating class tomorrow with a couple of coworkers. It's a great way to have a couple hours of fun and tune out everything else (similar to doing jigsaw puzzles and painting). 

Sweet Nothings

I baked a hummingbird cake 

But you fluttered off too soon

Zipping out right at daybreak 

I baked a hummingbird cake 

Now I’m left with a heartache 

And neither a fork nor spoon 

I baked a hummingbird cake 

But you fluttered off too soon

~*~

Triolet quadrille (structured 44 words) written for today’s dVerse prompt of bird. Funny how I’m still occasionally inspired by the guy who ghosted me at Thanksgiving (in 2016).

Debunking Home Cooking Myths

There are benefits to home cooked meals, of course, particularly if you enjoy cooking, but there are also a bunch of myths surrounding home cooking, which is what I am blogging about today. (This is all regarding cooking for one person; if you’re cooking for two or more, this post probably won’t apply.)

The first myth is that cooking is “easy.” Have you taken a look at a recipe lately? They’re like an encyclopedia of ingredients! Not only do you have to forage for all the items (often with some being hard to find), but then you have to put them all together. Every recipe says that their dish will take “20 minutes” of prep time, but guess what? That’s a lie. And then there’s cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. All this trouble is not worth the 15 minutes of pleasure of nomming up a bowl of chili or whatever.

Second, there’s the cost factor. Now, if we’re talking about a filet mignon, then I agree it will likely be less expensive to make that at home as opposed to going to a fancy restaurant (whether it will be as delicious is a different matter). But let’s discuss something I would actually make or order. How about a salad? Restaurant salads are around $20 (plus tax and tip), and you would think it’d be cheaper to make that at home. Not really. To make a comparable salad at home, you would need to buy all the ingredients the restaurant uses, and the only way this would be cheaper than going out is if you used up the leftover ingredients to make salad every day until they were gone. But what if I don’t want the same salad every day for three or four days? Then most of the ingredients will need to be tossed, and suddenly the home salad is no bargain.

Third, there’s the health factor. I like to buy prepared meals for weekday lunches, such as Lean Cuisines, that are portion controlled. Other than the fact that prepared foods are generally too high in sodium, everything else about them works well for me. I’ve tried other options, such as making sandwiches, but bread and lunch meat and cheese and condiments are all high in sodium too, and then I am stuck eating the same type of sandwich every day for a week, which I hate. Same goes for pasta and veggies. That’s a great lunch for a couple days, but then ick no not again. (I do not have much freezer space to store piles of leftovers.) With the pre-prepped meals, I can have different pasta/rice dishes with chicken and veggies all week. No wasted food.

What about taste? I confess I am not a gourmet. Some frozen foods are kind of yuck (pizza, for example), so I avoid those, but most taste fine to me. There’s a dozen or so I like a lot, so these are in constant rotation. I also buy a salad or sandwich from a restaurant once or twice per week to break things up. Do I eat anything at home? Sure! Oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, carrots and dip, grilled cheese sandwiches, tortillas with refried beans, etc. 

Now we arrive at the most important food group of all: dessert! Obviously, I am not going to make candy or ice cream at home because that’s way too time intensive, but until recently I did bake cakes, cookies, brownies, etc. Never pie because that’s too hard, plus you can so easily find good pie out and about (all pie is good pie). I used to enjoy baking ~ I don’t now though, mainly due to so many people being on restricted diets that most of my treats go to waste. Also, goodies from the grocery store have improved so much that it isn’t worth the bother to bake. I brought Christmas cookies from the store to a friend’s house party yesterday, and they were delicious! So soft and buttery with rock crystal sugar sprinkles for texture, not to mention that these were perfectly shaped Santas and snowmen and candy canes, unlike the shapeless blobs that used to result from my pressed cookies. I do admit that I have not yet found a brownie as scrumptious as the ones I made in the past from a Ghirardelli mix plus mini M&Ms…

Well, it’s certainly a good thing I figured out that I no longer have any desire to cook or bake before I meet my next dream man. LOL

Pumpkin Spice Thoughts

The internet has turned (allegedly) normal adults into toddlers. A perfect example of this is the kerfuffle around pumpkin spice. Why should there even be an issue? If you like pumpkin spice, then yay there are a lot of products to choose from. If you hate pumpkin spice, then don't order any of these products. Maybe I missed the PS evangelist gang kidnapping peeps and forcing them to drink PS lattes? That's a possibility, since there is so much news it's hard to keep up. In the absence of someone forcing a PS hater to consume PS however, why are the haters so obsessed with hating on it? This is typical toddler behavior, and what do we say to cranky tots? Don't yuck my yum. To each their own. If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all. Etc.

I love some pumpkin/ pumpkin spice foods: lattes, cookies, cake, pie, and (surprisingly) tortilla chips from Trader Joe's. I'm neutral on others, and I particularly dislike the oatmeal and granola I tried. But instead of making a nasty meme about PS cereals, I simply have gone on to live my life without them. Other people enjoy the cereals, or they wouldn't continue to sell, and this has zero effect on my life. You could say the same thing about other food items I avoid, such as escargot, beef jerky, licorice, etc. I don't feel the need to insert an "eww" every time someone mentions them on socials. Every September however, without fail, the PS haters appear on social media with their mockery memes, and I just don't understand it.

Perhaps it's a way of bonding: nothing brings people together like a common hatred. There even used to be a dating site themed on this concept ~ apparently Hater Dater has morphed into a typical advice blog. It makes sense though ~ common dislikes are sometimes more important in assessing compatibility than common likes. For example, when I used to date (or try to), it didn't really matter that a man matched with me on liking rock music, kitties, and sushi. Someone truly in sync with me didn't enjoy watching sports all weekend, traveling extensively, or going to massively loud/ crowded events. Of course, shared must-haves are crucial in certain areas, such as whether one requires a monogamous relationship.

Speaking of (not) dating, I was chatting with friends yesterday during a pumpkin spice themed rock painting party, and I mentioned that at a certain point, sometime between 2011 (breakup with boyfriend of 2.5 years) and 2016 (ghosted by man after 2.5 months), I just said eff it and began doing whatever I pleased without worry that it wouldn't mesh with some hypothetical future beau. My current lifestyle would most likely be a total turnoff to any man, with my focus on cats, crafts, puzzles, romance novels, and romcoms. I also play a lot of board games, which some men are into, but that's just a coincidence. The gals and I have planned another couple events during October: more rock painting but combined with a swimming and BBQ party, and a visit to the pumpkin patch where we will act like silly little kids again. I'm excited! I'll post my painted rocks on IG ~ I really like my cute avo.

My autumn agenda includes more books, more movies, more fun with friends, and more pumpkin spice. I will be avoiding as much stress and drama as I can, which means less and less social media. Btw, I have read plenty of books since my last review, but there hasn't been anything interesting to say about them. I also finished the first season of The Morning Show, and it turns out that only S1 is available on Prime (it's disappearing soon in any case); supposedly, I have Apple TV through a friend, but I can't get it to work, so I probably won't be watching more. I thought S1 was very good. Tonight I plan to watch Swiped, the docu about Bumble, only because it stars Lily James.

Hazelnuts and Hulu

I tried a new cupcake flavor this week from a new (to me) cupcakery. The Dots shop is right next door to the UPS store where I went to drop off an Amazon return, and the minute I realized that I would need to go to UPS, I decided I would stop for a cupcake. Months ago, I didn’t stop when I went to that UPS the first time, and I have regretted it ever since. You may wonder why I didn’t simply go to Dots without the excuse of needing UPS, and I will tell you why: getting in and out of that Whole Foods plaza is a colossal pain, plus there is barely any parking. I really wanted my Amazon refund, however, so I didn’t wait until the weekend when I could easily go to a UPS near my house, and I decided that I deserved a cupcake reward after dealing with the plaza. 

The hazelnut crunch flavor wasn’t my first choice, but they were out of Meyer lemon. Dots’ cupcakes are a nice size, reasonably priced, with a perfect amount of frosting. Yes, Virginia, there really is such a thing as too much frosting. The cake itself was dense, but not dry, highly flavored, and less oily than Sprinkles’ cake. The frosting was tasty, rich, and creamy, with a lovely hazelnut blob in the center, but it was nowhere near as delicious as Sprinkles’ frosting. So yeah, not bad, not bad at all, but I would rather have a Sprinkles. In fact, Sprinkles has a chai flash flavor I might need to try before they're gone on October 20.

In other news, I cancelled Hulu. I’ve been thinking about it because my special $1/month expires this month, but I wanted to try the Golden Bachelorette. I’m meh about it, even though Joan is oceans more likable than Gerry, the Golden Bachelor, and her suitors are nice, fun, funny, etc., but the problem is… I just don’t care. Since I've been paying attention to Bachelor Nation stories, it turns out that overall the couples have a dismal rate of future togetherness, many splitting up soon after the season’s end, like Gerry and Theresa. It’s even looking like fan faves Joey and Kelsey are having issues! So, what’s the point of getting invested in these peeps’ soulmate search if this process does not work. There, I said it. Maybe conducting a romance in front of cameras for the world to see is not the way to create a genuine connection. Maybe choosing from 25 contestants whom producers selected for their ability to entertain the viewers isn't ideal. Maybe it’s not fun for the “winner” to watch the season after it ends and see their forever person considering others, not to mention sleeping with them. Ouch.

As far as other Hulu shows I’ve been watching, I am also meh about them. While I enjoyed the “hair band” episode of Dancing with the Stars, I don’t really gaf who wins at the end. This season of Only Murders has some great guest stars, but even so I have lost interest. As far as romcoms, Christmas romcoms, and whatever else, I can get all that on Netflix (and Prime). When I checked my Hulu account today, I not only found the expected jump from $1 to $8, but also it turns out that the price will rocket to $10 in November. WTF? Not worth it. I had always planned to dump it after the special, but then I decided to try the Bachelorette first.

I've just started S2 of You on Netflix. Since I only read the first book in the series, I have no idea if the continued story is true to Caroline Kepnes' writing. The first season began to diverge from the book quite a lot by the end, so I imagine S2 continues in that vein. It's not grabbing me as much as S1, but we'll see. I plan to watch for a while ~ there are four seasons with a fifth coming soon.