Lunchtime Share

My sweet little Inky

Before I jump into Di’s Share Your World questions, I want to acknowledge that it’s Black Cat Appreciation Day. I love my little Inkerbelle! 

1. What was your favorite TV show as a kid?

When very young, I loved Pink Panther, Speed Racer, Roadrunner, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Let’s Make a Deal. Later on, all the game shows became favorites, especially Match Game and Hollywood Squares. As a teenager, my sitcom faves were I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, One Day at a Time, the Brady Bunch, and Eight is Enough. I also enjoyed detective shows like Columbo, Hart to Hart, and McMillan & Wife. I’m sure there are lots more that I am forgetting!

2. Do you have a favorite “tipple” (alcoholic drink or something when you are out for a meal, etc.)?

I love alcoholic drinks, but they don’t love me, and the older I get the worse it is. Fancy cocktails are so much fun. I used to love margaritas, mojitos, mai tais, pina coladas, Irish Coffee with tons of whipped cream, etc. ~ all those sugary, girly drinks, particularly if they came with tiny umbrellas. I went through a Bailey’s Irish Cream phase (that lasted 40 years), an amaretto phase, and a cinnamon whiskey phase. Yum! Now all of that makes me barf. 

Nowadays, I can have a glass (or two) of red wine or champagne, which may or may not give me a migraine, though since I get migraines frequently regardless, I occasionally decide that it’s worth the extra risk. If I remember to drink water afterwards, it often helps me to avoid a headache. That’s it though. No more mixed drinks or sweet liquor for me. Wah.

The vast majority of time, I order iced tea or Diet Coke.

3. Is there a movie you can watch again and again and still enjoy?

Yes, indeed. In fact, this weekend I rewatched both Mamma Mia movies while I worked on my puzzle (ironically, a pic of fancy cocktails ~ see my IG), and I enjoyed them immensely. Somewhat less frequently, I rewatch Walking on Sunshine, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Saturday Night Fever, and other musicals, and romcoms such as You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, 27 Dresses, The Hating Game, etc. And of course Young Frankenstein! I generally do not rewatch serious movies. 

4. Did you have a favorite toy as a child? Or perhaps one you wanted and never got?

I loved my Barbies, but this was back when you had a few dolls and bought outfits and accessories for them. Nowadays, you buy a whole new doll in a themed pack instead of changing their clothes. While I appreciate themes, it was a lot of fun to mix and match outfits and browse the Barbie catalog for new ones. I also loved my Super Spirograph set and spent many hours creating cool designs ~ and redoing them obsessively until they were perfect. I don’t remember if there was anything I wanted and didn’t get, except a sister.

Gratitude: I am grateful that FedEx delivered all my stuff and that I managed to connect the new Spectrum equipment without any glitches (except for my Roku being slower). My daughter asked if you only had to plug it in. WELL YES, but I am extremely talented at messing up the simplest things. She should know that!

Viking Kittens

Colorful music notes from Pixabay

I’m participating in Jim’s Song Lyric Sunday again this week, and he asks for something from an artist born in August. Robert Anthony Plant was born on August 20, 1948, and he is approaching his 78th birthday. From 1968 to 1980, he was the lead singer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Perhaps you've heard of them? Plant had a successful solo career as well. Despite his advanced age, Plant is still touring, as are a lot of 70-something rockers, and he has a bunch of concerts scheduled here in California at the end of September/ early October. His new album is called Saving Grace, but I confess I haven't heard any tracks from it because I prefer to go straight back to old Led Zep tunes.

There are a ton of songs I love from the band, and I'm going to share one of my favorites today. Now, it's almost always the case that I choose favorites because of the quality of the lyrics, but in this case the lyrics are secondary to... the video. Yep. I think you can guess from the title of this post that I'm talking about the "Immigrant Song."

We come from the land of the ice and snow

From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

The hammer of the gods

Will drive our ships to new lands

To fight the horde, sing and cry

Valhalla, I am coming

Plant allegedly wrote this 1970 hit as a joke while traveling to Iceland and fantasizing about the Viking conquest. It makes sense that he was riffing when you examine the lyrics. (Jimmy Page is also credited as a writer on the song.)

We come from the land of the ice and snow

From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

How soft your fields so green

Can whisper tales of gore

Of how we calmed the tides of war

We are your overlords

Given that, it follows that the video I'm sharing is a joke too, and who better to be cute and funny than kitties?! Usually, I don't embed videos, but I am making an exception for this one. Enjoy!

Tiger Striped Hodgepodge

Meta AI created image of "tiger fudge"

Happy last week of July! I am participating in Joyce's Hodgepodge again this week by answering the following questions.

1. What was the last thing you celebrated? 

We celebrated a friend's birthday with a Friday dinner at BJ's and seeing The Odyssey. I enjoyed the film but it was very loud, very long, and very violent. I wore earplugs the whole time, which someone told me to do, and I definitely appreciated that advice. Saturday the party continued at the Orange County Fair where we attended the fabulous (and glittery) combo cover band concert of Kenny Metcalf as Elton John and ABBA LA. Very fun! I wandered around the fair for a couple hours, mostly staying indoors to see the exhibits because I enjoy them and also because the weather has been extremely hot and humid here. Sunday (today) my family got together for a pool party and to celebrate (a bit belatedly) my grandson's birthday. He seemed happy with the FIFA themed foosball tabletop game I gave to him.

2 July 29th is International Day of the Tiger. Besides the wild animal itself, when you hear the word tiger what's the first  person-place-thing-whatever that comes to mind? 

Tiger fudge. This ridiculously delicious treat is made with melted milk chocolate chips, melted white chocolate chips, and heated peanut butter. You pour each layer in a pan separately and then swirl a knife through the whole thing to make it stripey. Refrigerate it until completely cold and then cut it into little squares. Meta AI didn't know what tiger fudge was, but after I described it, I ended up with the above pic, which I think is adorable.

3. The expression 'eye of the tiger' describes someone with intense focus, determination, and the drive to succeed. What area of your life are you currently bringing that kind of energy to?  

I don't have this level of focus and determination any longer. I prefer to do things at a moderate pace, probably because when I was focused and determined, it didn't lead to the success I wanted, so why not enjoy life a bit more? For example, I no longer force myself to get up at 4AM and write for three hours before work. That didn't lead to publishing success, so I might as well get more sleep.

4. What was the last meal you cooked? 

Hahaha. I don't cook for one person (myself), except for the simplest things like an occasional omelet. It's too hot to cook now anyway, and I prefer salads and fruit bowls with yogurt or cottage cheese.

5. Describe your July using exactly five words. 

Hot, humid, exercising, reading, blogging.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I had over 3000 views on this blog yesterday, which is disturbing, since I know they're almost all bots. What do they want from me? I think the massive view numbers began when I did April A2Z this past April, and they've been rising steadily. Before that, I hardly had any visitors, so the bots must scrape blog addresses from public lists, such as A2Z.

An Incomplete List of Loves

Mom, daughter, me, daughter, 1993

These I have loved...

My mother’s very slight country-twanged voice;

My father pestering me to read Joyce;

Creating Spirograph patterns for hours;

The blissfulness of steamy hot showers;

Playing Battleship and Clue with my friends

And Pink Panther cartoons on the weekends.

Visiting the zoo to check out the snakes;
New pink erasers waiting for mistakes;

Frosting a cake with swirls of buttercream;

Discovering Bobby’s death was a dream;

Romance novels full of intrigue and spice;

Sushi made with avocado and rice;

Apple and cinnamon scents of the fall;

James Bond adventures that held me in thrall;

Warm fluffy towels straight out of the dryer;

Melted marshmallows crisp-blackened in fire;

Soft little mews waking me from a nap;

Kitties who purr while curled up in my lap;

Wriggling my toes in a new pair of boots;

Countertop bowl full of fresh summer fruits:

Peaches and mangoes and cherries galore;

And sunbeams gleaming upon a wood floor.

Knickknacks set at right angles so neatly;

(Secrets stashed in my posts quite discreetly);

Nixing my past from the Wayback Machine;

Keeping my conscience and kitchen pristine;

My OCD may take weird contortions —

Counting spaghetti, measuring portions.

My grandmother did, so what can I say?

I love that I get to blame DNA.

More than these I love my daughters and grands,

While sadly aware of decreasing sands.

All these have been my loves.

~*~

Written for dVerse Poets Pub. The inspirational poem is “The Great Lover” by Rupert Brooks, which was written in rhyming couplets, so that’s how I wrote mine (except for the required first and last lines), even though I know that rhyming is out of style. 

Dream Come True

Sweet little Miss Inkerbelle (my photo)

Shelter cat

Sad but hopeful pic online

Soft black fur bright green eyes 

I dreamt about her

Named her Inky

Now she’s home 

~*~

Seox poem (3-7-6-5-4-3) written for the Tanka Tuesday Challenge (dream). 

Blueberry Hodgepodge

Fruit salad image from Pixabay

I'm participating in Joyce's Hodgepodge (from this side of the pond) again this week, where she asks a series of interesting questions.

1. What's something you enjoy now that your younger self would never have appreciated? 

I appreciate a weekend with absolutely no social plans so I can read, exercise, watch TV, putter around on my blog, work on a puzzle, and basically do whatever I please with zero obligation to anyone else. When I was younger, I would feel anxious and lonely if I had no social plans. 

2. What was peaceful about today? 

See above! This is my third day of me-time with no social plans, and I'm enjoying every moment. I've exercised a lot, read a lot, and watched a bunch of silly movies, including Mamma Mia for the zillionth time. Now that the fireworks are over, it's quiet and lovely... I'm taking the opportunity to create more blog pages and posts to schedule for later.

3. It's National Blueberry Day (July 8). Will you celebrate?  You can have one of the following right now-a slice of blueberry pie, a warm blueberry muffin, or a stack of blueberry pancakes...which do you choose?

I celebrate blueberries every week! They're super nutritious and delicious. I usually have them plain, but for a decadent treat I mix them with a rice pudding cup. Any of the choices presented would be fine. If I had to choose, I'd probably go with the pie as it's the most blueberryish.

This or that-blueberries or raspberries? blueberries or strawberries? 

Blueberries always, thank you. I do enjoy them mixed with strawberries, banana slices, and grapes. The peaches in the image look delicious, but I find peaches, nectarines, and mangoes from the grocery store to be very hit-or-miss as far as texture/ taste. Coconut is a welcome addition to any fruit medley for me.

4. Do you need a break? From what? 

I am on a "break" until the next month-end at work, which is always super stressful lately. Until the 20th or so, everything is fine.

5. What has surprised you most about getting older? 

My complete loss of interest in dating. For several years after my divorce, I was obsessed with the idea of meeting someone new and having the "once in a lifetime" fabulous romance that I missed when younger. It didn't happen, and around 8 years ago, the desire vanished. This occurred after a totally disastrous (short) relationship that spun me into a depression for quite some time, and when the black dog slunk away, so did any longing for love (of the romantic variety). It continues to surprise and delight me that I have no interest, especially when I see people, even my age, angsting over how awful it all is. It is awful! No offense to anyone who has found their person, but searching for one when you're older is a nightmare.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The two kitties who live here (my Inky and my housemate's Autumn) had no reaction whatsoever to all the noisy fireworks last night. The booming began before sundown (seems like a waste to me, but what do I know?) and continued on for hours and hours. I went to bed around midnight, and it was still super loud outside. The cats though? Business as usual. 

Some Overdue Housekeeping

Inky stops to smell the sunflowers

Warning: long and boring post ahead!

I haven’t blogged about blogging in a while, so if that bores you, please feel free not to read on. In fact, that’s my philosophy in general for blogging and social media interactions: read what you like and disregard the rest. Sometimes that’s tough though. Example: someone on Reddit criticized me for the above image of Inky. They said they didn’t know if sunflowers were bad for cats, but they might be since some other flowers are, so I should be more careful. It turns out that (1) Inky only sniffed the flowers and sauntered off after I took the pic; (2) I then put the flowers outside because I was having an allergic reaction to all my birthday bouquets (there were a lot!); and (3) sunflowers are not toxic to cats ~ info found via a quick google, which that person could have easily done before criticizing me. I wanted to, but didn’t, say all that and cause a big to-do on the animal shelter’s post. Instead, I walked away, both from the post and the site. Highly recommend this behavior. 

Why did I decide to give up Reddit altogether? Because I was tired of seeing the same old political garbage stink up every topic, however unrelated. The photo was just the last straw. Same thing happened with BlueSky, but in their case it was specifically due to the raging antisemitism that no amount of filters could combat. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t returned to Facebook in 2020 ~ the politics are out of control there as well ~ but unfortunately so many of my peeps refuse to use any other platform to communicate. Example: all my FB friends (who are often in-person friends as well) know this blog exists. Do they ever visit and comment? Nope. 

EXCEPT YOU, KEERA! ❤️

Recently, I received an anonymous comment here that was crabby and critical. At first, I let it through because it wasn’t an ad, but then I had second thoughts after a bunch of other people commented. The anon comment could have been taken as criticism of them as well, and I don’t allow that here. Personal attacks are what destroyed my first blog during the Pit Bull War, and I vowed since then not to permit any nastiness on posts under my control. I don’t mind non-nasty anonymous comments if the commenter chooses a name to attach to their words consistently, but if they can’t be bothered with that, then no. I just created a comment policy for the comment form box thingy to remind my visitors, so there are no excuses.

It’s great to be able to review and/ or delete comments before they go live, and even afterwards if you change your mind. There aren’t as many bells and whistles here on Blogger as there were on WordPress, and in some ways that’s better because fewer things go wrong. I’ve never experienced glitches here that prevented me from posting for X number of hours or seeing other Blogger posts. I don’t think we’re periodically overrun with bot swarms either, which we were on WP from time to time, or at least I haven’t been. In general, I don’t see ads, except on a few blogs whose owners, I presume, deliberately have them in hopes of earning a few cents. WP blogs, on the other hand, are full of repulsive ads unless you pay to avoid them. You also have to pay for image storage over on WP, but my Blogger pics are folded into my Google account, and I pay Google a small fee each month for a giant glob of storage that should be enough until the end of time or until I die, whichever comes first. That said, I am still cautious about adding a new image for every post ~ I try to reuse ones already saved, as I did here.

That’s all for now…

Zoo (April A2Z ~ Misty Memories)

Scrapbook page of zoo pics*

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 finish with Z for Zoo! Thank you for reading along with my 2026 challenge. 

My parents were always big fans of zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, museums, etc. If there was any kind of exhibit nearby, it was likely that we would visit it. Sadly, my childhood memories of zoos and such are misty to the point of being a complete blur; I know we went, but I do not have old pics or clear recollections of any of it. The one thing I do remember is likely a false memory: I have an image in my mind of visiting a botanical garden with a "snake room," maybe in New York. The snake room was full of plants and little non-venomous serpents that roamed at will. People went in there to observe, but you weren't supposed to touch. This absolutely cannot be right, as no venue would be able to obtain liability insurance for such a thing, so I must have dreamt it.

As a teenager, I was more interested in going to amusement parks with friends than revisiting zoos, but after I had children, zoos were back on the agenda. There are two great zoos within driving distance of Orange County ~ the Los Angeles Zoo and the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. The LA Zoo is pretty "doable" in one day, though of course being old now, I will be extremely tired afterward. I went with friends once, and the jaguar was awake and prowling his exhibit, roaring very loudly as he circled around. He was magnificent! I love seeing the big cats especially tigers (but all of them really), and giraffes, elephants, snakes, and monkeys. Naturally, I adore seeing otters, but those are usually at aquariums not zoos.

The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park requires at least two days to appreciate all the attractions. The zoo properties are enormous, and even if you are super fit, it's hard to see all the critters in a single outing. One of my favorite memories has nothing to do with the animals ~ it's about my eldest daughter. She was around four years old, and she grabbed the hand of a strange daddy because pretty much all the daddies were wearing khaki pants and Hawaiian shirts. The dad uniform! We all had a big laugh. The Safari Park is partly walkable, and for some of it you ride in a tram. I usually favor the park because it has the baby big cats, but last time I did go to the zoo because we wanted to see the giant pandas in their habitat there. Red pandas live at both locations, and I love to see them as well.

There are actually two zoos within Orange County. There's one in Orange, where I went recently with a friend. It's hard to find parking there sometimes, but the whole zoo is easily walkable in one afternoon. Then there's the Santa Ana Zoo, very close to me, where they have lots of monkeys and owls. I should go back one of these days. I also love the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, which has loads of birds and otters. Oh, and some fish as well! Last time I went there was a horrendously loud native island drum show indoors, so it ruined the experience for me, but I will definitely go again on a quieter day.

Yeah, I guess this post was a bit of a cheat because it was more about recent memories than long ago ones, but whatever. We're done! Yippee!

*This scrapbook page goes very well with my zoo post because it is actually an A2Z scrapbook, where I created rhymes to go with the photos on each page. 

Stitchery (April A2Z ~ Misty Memories)

With Cyndi and a stitchery project, around 1989

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 S for Stitchery.

I have been interested in arts and crafts as far back as I can remember, and it was because of my mom. She was constantly creating something new, whether for decorative or practical purposes. She taught me how to knit and crochet when I was young (though I have forgotten both skills), and I used to make blankets and rugs for my dolls. In seventh grade, girls had to take home economics in school, and one of the projects was to embroider a denim shirt. The teacher showed us how to create the various stitches required, and it was a lot of fun. 

My shirt turned out beautifully, so that encouraged me to continue with needlecraft. I did a few other small projects with embroidery stitches, but what I really loved were the larger picture kits using yarn for the stitches, which was called crewel. I did tons of those! I also did needlepoint pictures and pillows for years. It was a super relaxing hobby and something fun to do while watching TV at night, so I didn't feel totally unproductive. When the girls were little, I made some gorgeous pictures, framed them, and put them on the walls. Unfortunately, framing was hugely expensive: a kit might cost $20 for a 16x20 fabric canvas, but to frame it nicely, with a layered mat in complementary colors, could be $200 (back in the day). Soon, I switched to pillows only.

After I went back to work full-time in 2001 and became interested in writing novels (plus blogging about them and everything else), I lost interest in stitchery. The girls and I began knitting projects one Winter Break, and I did finish a scarf, but it was very plain, done in one stitch with straight edges. A few years ago, I took a crochet class at Michael’s and made the cutest little pumpkin, so of course I went into an obsessive frenzy and bought a ton of yarn and adorable little kits to make more vegetables for a basket. Unfortunately, it turned out that my hands were too achy and my eyes were too tired to deal with such intricate detail, and I ended up giving most of my untouched kits away. I think this hobby and I have parted ways for good.

Pets (April A2Z ~ Misty Memories)

Peppy and me, around 1973

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 P for Pets. 

We adopted Peppy at 8 weeks when we moved to our house in Middletown, New Jersey. She was a cockapoo ~ part cocker spaniel and part poodle. Her coloring was salt and pepper… hence her name. Sadly, she was from a “puppy mill,” but at least she was relatively healthy after a few weeks of meds and care. My mom, despite being a farm girl, did not know how to train a dog nor did we get help with that, so as a result Peppy had some behavioral issues. I loved her bunches, of course.

She had such adorable habits, and one of my favorite memories is when I would come home from dining out with a soft mint in my pocket. Peppy loved those! She knew I would always bring one home for her. She slept in my room, but she preferred the cozy armchair to my bed. Peppy absolutely loved spaghetti and meatballs, so we would give her some whenever we had it, she’d dive right in, and then she needed a bath afterwards. 

Peppy was with us until we moved to Chicago, so she would have been about 8 years old. My mom decided that she should be euthanized because she was “old” and badly behaved. I was horrified! Peppy was a family member as far as I was concerned, and I didn’t care about new furniture or spotless carpeting because I was a teenager and going away to college besides. I told them that I would find a new home for Peppy since they were so heartless. That turned out to be a disaster. Peppy did not adapt to the home I had found, and she bit people, so they kept her outside. We had already moved to the city when I discovered this, and my friend went to pick her up. Peppy ended up at the pound, and it broke my heart. I still feel terrible ~ instead of passing peacefully as my mom would have done for her, she was alone and terrified at the end. The fact that I had good intentions means nothing to me.

Years later, I adopted a stray cat that had been hanging around our office building in Burbank, CA. He was a black and silver kitty, and we named him Henry, for John Henry, the racehorse; my boyfriend at the time was super into horse racing. Henry stayed with us for around a year before succumbing to liver cancer. By that time, we had adopted a second kitty, Tasha, a gold Abyssinian. When Henry passed, we adopted Cyndi, a red Aby. We were dumb and had impulsively bought them from a pet store, which isn’t much better than a puppy mill. Tasha was fine, but Cyndi was chronically sick. She never grew to adult size and stayed around five pounds, though she was cute and not too skinny. She could tolerate only (human) baby food lamb and rice, which Tasha had to eat as well. Cyndi lived about three years.

By this time I had divorced, remarried, and had a baby. I adopted Oscar, a sweet orange kitten who had been picked up at the Burbank studios. He grew to be a very hardy and muscular 18 pounds, but always gentle and sweet. Tasha was sweet too, but super hyper and crazy. She wouldn’t stop escaping, which brought in fleas no matter what we did. My daughter was horribly allergic to flea bites, so I gave Tasha and Oscar away. This also broke my heart, but my baby came first.

She grew out of her allergy, my younger daughter didn't have allergies to animals, and 10 years later Cocoa showed up, waltzed in, and decided she would live with us. It turned out that I really needed a kitty to love, so this was just perfect, and we soon adopted another stray and named her Tiki. (It’s nice for kitties to have a feline friend in the house.) They were both darling, and we all loved them a lot. My ex got custody of Tiki, and she ran away from his new place after a while. Cocoa lived another several years until her arthritis became too hard for her to bear and she quit eating. My daughter and I were with her at the end, when she passed peacefully at the vet’s office via euthanasia.

I took another kitty break after Cocoa, especially because my new boyfriend didn’t like pets (red flag!), and after we broke up in the fall of 2011, my daughter and I adopted Gatsby from the Orange County Humane Society. He was my soulmate kitty and graced me with his cuteness for 13.5 years, until his kidneys failed. I loved him so much. I have a zillion memories of all the funny things he used to do. I even have a little "shrine" set up on my bookcase for him, plus his face in a heart charm necklace. OK, I am a bit extra, yes. Even though pets break my heart when they pass, they also bring so much joy and love into my life. A home isn’t complete without a kitty or doggo, in my view.

Now I have Inky, who is a little doll, black with silver sprinkles, emerald eyes, and the sweetest disposition. I totally adore her!

16 Sentences About 8 Whimsies

The title is a riff on the song “88 Lines About 44 Women,” which is a very weird, dark song, so of course I like it a lot ~ and yes I have a Spotify playlist based on numbers/ math, though some of the tunes I admit are a bit of a stretch. Spotify is a great place for indulging my OCD because I can make playlists themed to any whim and change them whenever I feel like it too (unlike my old themed CD’s).

Whims are my jam: joining Bluesky was a whim, and deactivating was also a whim. When I first signed up, I thought it might be a fun recreation of early lighthearted Twitter days, but it turned toxic right after 10/7 as the antisemites crawled out of their holes.

I don’t put up with antisemitism online, which is why I don’t have as many Facebook friends as I used to. I also refuse to tolerate Tr*mp buttkissers, so that leaves me a very narrow and tricky path to navigate ~ luckily, I have a close circle of local friends (aka meatspace) who feel similarly, or who at least aren’t trying to be deliberately offensive in every interaction. 

One thing I love about blogging (and I am following more bloggers now, though still in the teens, not 500 like I did on WP!) is that bloggers generally have such a wide variety of interests compared to folks on other platforms. I often find it difficult to limit myself to one topic even when I’m writing a book review ~ thoughts about unrelated subjects tend to creep in ~ but in a blog post anything goes, so it’s cool, and I’m glad I restarted this one on a whim back in 2024.

Speaking of books, I have now read six so far this year, and while that may sound like a lot to a normal person, I definitely feel that I have slowed my roll and may be able to recall more of what I have read, which will be helpful during book club meetings. I still don’t go out on work nights (and sometimes not even on weekends) or watch much TV, plus I have lost interest in painting, crafts, and beginning my own novels on a whim, so basically all I do in my free time is gobble up other people’s writing.

I also consume a lot of snacks, though I’m trying to grab healthier ones and not sugary treats, and as I have said before, the less sugar I eat, the less of it I crave, though it’s impossible not to partake in the homemade yummies a coworker brings to the office. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been exercising a little more than last year, like 4x per week instead of 3x, so yay for that.

Sometimes I miss writing, but not the obsession, if that makes sense, and while posting book reviews on Goodreads is fine and I will continue to do so, it’s not scratching my itch. Since I don’t want to begin a novel (not before I retire anyway if even then), I may try to satisfy this longing via blogging, including doing the upcoming April A-Z challenge via John Holton, where my theme would be whatever whimsy pops into my mind that day.

Whimsy is a great name for a cat, and I will try to keep it in mind for a fictional pet, but I suspect it’s another one of those flashes of brilliance that will disappear as soon as this post is published. I’ve had so many… or perhaps I haven’t… how will we ever know?

~*~

Written for John Holton’s Writer’s Workshop.

First Reads of 2026

Before I get into the books, I want to say a word (or 500) about stats. As you know, Bob, one of the main reasons I gave up two relatively popular blogs is because I became obsessed with checking my stats. With Ultrablog, my obsession was tracking IPs to try to figure out who was visiting me ~ this rarely works now because peeps use their phones, and the IP and location changes. I also freaked out if a post received way fewer views/ comments compared to my average. With my more recent WP blog, I was obsessed with follower count as well as comments per post. Like many other bloggers, I quit worrying about views per post, as those are meaningless. Fast forward to this blog, where I don’t fuss about any stats whatsoever. I have noticed lately that WP bloggers based in the US and UK are wondering why they get an onslaught of views from places like Hong Kong and Singapore, when they don't have any followers from there. Welp, now that I have been commenting more on those WP blogs, I too am getting views from Hong Kong and Singapore. While my comments here are about the same as they've been all along, averaging only a few per post, my views overall have exponentially increased. What am I going to do about this? Nothing. I assume that the view counts are as meaningless as they've ever been, but I just wanted to feel included.

OK then. Let's start with my first DNF of the year: The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter. This was one of our three January books of the month, which is the only reason I started it, as I have heard that Karin's books are horrendously gory and violent. Yep, it was horrible ~ technically a thriller, but really more like horror, at least at the beginning. I read about 10 pages or so and gave up. So, I have no idea whether the story is good or if the grossness abated, but I tend to believe not/ not. I won't ever try this author again. Yuck! Here's a thing about trigger warnings: they don't work that well for me because I can handle impossible goriness, such as supernatural shenanigans, but when it sounds realistic, I am out. Karin's sounded real. When I read, I picture what I am reading throughout the book, so those disturbing images stay with me. The ones from TGD are still kind of floating around my mind a bit.

The first book I read for the year was A Cat Abroad by Peter Gethers. I read his first Norton book, The Cat Who Went to Paris, six years ago and loved it. Then for some odd reason I skipped the second book in the trilogy and went straight to the third: The Cat Who'll Live Forever. This was also great, though as you might guess from the title, heartbreaking as well. It hasn't been that long since Gatsby died, so even thinking about that third book makes me cry. Recently, as I was (obsessively) rearranging my physical bookshelves, I realized that I had never read the second book, so I ordered a used copy. I loved it, though not quite as much as I loved the other two books because it’s very travelog-y, as one might expect. Since I have never been to Europe nor do I know any French, many of the funny moments don't do much for me. And not to be mean, but I don't have much (or any) sympathy for the travel mishaps of people who have gobs more money than I do. I can smile at the petty ironies and minuscule woes of their lives, but do I really care? Nah. Norton's behavior is still adorable however. Four stars (the other two received five each). This counts as a memoir on my genre hop list.

I am still teary over a novel I finished this morning: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It begins very slowly, and I might have DNF'd it except that a couple peeps in my book club loved it. So, I kept going and am sure glad I did! Nora, the MC, is a whiny, sad sack of a person, and I didn't relate to her all that much, at first. The premise is that after she tries to commit suicide she hovers in a state between life and death where she visits a fantasy library that contains all the stories of her life that might have been as well as a huge tome of regrets. As Nora chooses other lives to slip into, she's guided both practically and philosophically by her old primary school librarian (the one person from her past who had shown her unconditional kindness). As Nora's epiphanies accumulate, I begin to resonate with them, especially the ones about living to please other people. Whether struggling to keep a straight A average for my mom or to be accepted by my peers or to find a boyfriend, my earlier life was also dominated by the need to receive praise from others. My first paragraph about blog stats is a good example. I internalized all this dreck to such an extent that I felt guilty when not writing a bestselling book while working full time. Why can't I do more? Other people do more. Why can't I achieve any level of socially blessed success, blah blah blah. Anyway, TML explores these ideas plus the obvious conclusion that being yourself is enough. Going after your own dreams is not selfish. Relinquishing old dreams and being content with what you have (where I am now) is just fine too! None of these are radical concepts, but Haig presents them in a fresh and emotionally relevant way, so TML received five stars from me. It also counts as a fantasy book on my genre hop list.

Speaking of the genre hop challenge, it's not my intention to complete the entire list the first quarter. I may expand the categories into subgenres or simply read two or more from each. While A Cat Abroad counts as a memoir, it's not a biography, so I will try to find one of those I might enjoy (the category is biography/ memoir). Also, I noticed at the bottom of the hop list is a bonus category to reread five favorite books, which I may do too. The whole point is to read books I love, and if I can't give a book three or more stars, I probably should consider tossing it in the DNF pile. Of course, sometimes I'm digging a book and then get really annoyed at the ending, so there's that. 

Hope your new year is going swimmingly so far ~ mine is, literally, with all this rain. Back to the office tomorrow I go, hi ho, hi ho.

PS: I found a way to add a DNF shelf to my Goodreads without it marking the book as "want to read," which was so annoying. I had to do it from my laptop. Apps aren't always all that and a bag of chips.

PPS: Nope. Goodreads insists on marking my DNFs as "read," which wrecks my count. I have deleted the DNF shelf once again.

Happy October

Welp, Inky and I are officially on a diet. I took her to the vet Monday for her first checkup, and as soon as I picked up her carrier I thought… hmm, there seems to be a lot more cat here than when I brought her home three months ago! She’s gained two and a half pounds, which is a significant amount for a small-framed kitty. Vet says she should be around 9 even, so we will aim for that. Since my weight has crept up too, it’s the buddy diet system for us. Solidarity! Today I began a new blog to document our progress, but I’ve kept it private for now. I might decide to rant about other stuff in there, who knows.

I do enjoy Inky's pudgy-wudginess, particularly because Gatsby became so thin at the end. Her extra padding makes me happy that she's a healthy creature and will hopefully be around a good long time. But that's selfish. Inky should be at the right weight for her optimal health, so we will get back there. She is so vibrant, and her fur is so soft and shiny. She loves to play now and has her favorite toys, one of which (feather wand) she likes to bring into our bed every night. It's too cute!

Anyway. The disgusting heat wave is over, TG, and I have a lot of social activities planned for October. Hopefully, my migraines will get the memo and stay away (I did have to take meds this morning, boo). I’m back into jigsaw puzzles! They’re such a great way to relax and zone out from the news and all the yuck online. (I guess I'm trying to do a bit of dieting regarding social media and the news as well as the traditional food restrictions. Gotta take care of my mental/ emotional health too!) I created a method to cover them when I am not actively working on them, so the pieces won't get disturbed by kitty curiosity, but it’s a clunky system. I have this cool plastic tray table with drawers and a cover in my Amazon cart, which I hope goes on sale next week during Prime Days; I will buy it either way. 

My memories of working on puzzles with my mom are of the 1500-2000 piece ones, but those are too big for my table. I have found that even a 1000 piece puzzle is a big commitment for one person to do alone, especially if it's not an "easy" puzzle with distinctive areas. I'm working on one right now that's a bear (not an actual bear), but I like it, so I will finish it, even if it takes me two weeks. The tray table I want to buy is only for 1000 pieces or fewer (a few brands have the "wrong" dimensions, so I will need to pay attention to that if I buy new 1000 piece ones), and my thinking at the moment is that I probably will stick with 500 piece puzzles. There seem to be more of them, and they're not so overwhelming. It's infinitely easier to have a puzzle buddy for the larger ones, but there's just me doing them now. I am not a puzzle prodigy, a la the movie Puzzle ~ I'm a puzzle plodder. If I get a dozen or so pieces in one short session, then that's a win. That's a great movie, btw. I hope to watch it again someday.

I'm enjoying the (slightly) cooler weather and pumpkin spice everything. I don't even mind the earlier dark. Off to do some aerobic exercise!

Love Saves the Day

Our book club leader challenged us to read and review two novellas in addition to our three August books of the month, so naturally I decided to read the novellas first because they're shorter. The first one I chose was Shamrock Kisses by Serena Pier (103 pages). This book is the third in a series of six mini-romances featuring a group of friends located in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. A bar called "High Five" serves as a motif throughout the series along with holiday themes, this one obviously being St. Patrick's Day. I found this book first (you don't have to read them in order), maybe because I love Inky's green eyes, though at times they appear golden (and in some old pics Gatsby's look greenish, go figure!), and if I liked it I would read the rest and if not, not. Welp, it's a not, sadly. This story basically has no plot whatsoever. Patrick meets Rachel, and they're both very attracted to each other. They meet up the next day at the High Five to begin flirting and dancing and smooching, et cetera. Except for the fact that Patrick lives in Chicago (but he can go remote), there is no obstacle at all put in the way of the couple's togetherness. They discover all kinds of cool things about each other, become even more attracted, and everything proceeds smoothly. Isn't that great? Yawn. Two stars.

The second book is 186 pages but is still considered a novella: Wrong Number by Daphne Leigh. This one contains very witty, very sexy banter (much of it via text), which is a welcome relief after the cringe convos throughout Shamrock. Honestly, I was a bit envious of Sarah, since James was the type of man I had hoped to meet back in my dating daze. He is confident, happy, witty, expressive, emotionally available, doesn't pretend to be too cool or busy to focus on one person, employed, etc. But then Sarah and James meet for a real date and everything goes to hell. To portray the heroine’s nervousness, the author has her tripping nonstop over her own feet and spilling drinks, not just once but over and over. So annoying and ridiculous. The relationship moves way too fast for no reason, though at least there are some emotional obstacles on her part to overcome, unlike in the Shamrock story. It would have been nice if James also had some kind of character arc or if there was some outside impediment to their togetherness. This could have been so much better. Oh well. Three stars. 

Note: both of these books are pretty high in “spice” aka explicit sex, not that any of you will likely read them to begin with!

For my in-person book club meeting next Sunday afternoon we have chosen the book Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper. This novel made me so angry! The reason is because this could have been a great book, a five-star book for sure, but the idiotic, mixed-up chronology is beyond irritating. Why can't contemporary writers just tell their stories straight? LSTD is all over the damn place timewise, and on top that, half the narration is from "the cat" (Prudence) in present tense. I don't mind this if it's done well and/ or if there's a small amount of it, but it isn't done well, and there is a lot of it. Granted, there are some funny/ cute moments, such as when Prudence speculates that Josh may be off-balance because he shaves his whiskers every day, but much of her narration is repetitive. The bones of an excellent novel are hidden beneath the fluff and silliness, and I became angrier at Gwen for hiding those bones than I would be at a lesser writer. She's a good writer! She could have begun this tale with Sarah's interesting life and proceeded chronologically to her daughter Laura's story, including all the gritty parts about how hard it is to live in NYC if you're not wealthy and the stuff about real estate and evil developers, etc., and perhaps incorporated some kitty input once in a while. Argh! Three stars. I'll probably read it again at some point and possibly fling on an extra star, but right now I am really tired of time jumping.

Speaking of cats, Inky is so mad at me right now because I brushed her and put a cute, blingy collar on her sweet little neck. She pretended she was over her snit when I offered her a bite of cheese (she adores cheese), but then she went right back to pouting in her cubby. 

Midafternoon Musings

[I began this post midafternoon, but only wrote one paragraph. I finished it later at night.]

I stopped watching Dept. Q because it was nonstop downersauce. The acting was great, but every aspect of the various storylines was depressing, especially the one where a woman was being tortured for years. In a weird way, the realistic vibe worked against it for me. I would rather discover a show that’s darkly fun and completely unbelievable (like Manifest) as opposed to a series like Q that feels as if it could have happened.

IDK... I get that it's important to learn and grow from art, to expand one's perspective, etc., but I still come back to the fact that real life is depressing enough (my god, have you seen the news? nonstop horror!), and so I would like my entertainment to be, well, entertaining. I want love and romance and music and fun, not death and despair and torture and disasters. Ugh. And, as I noted above, if something is dark, then let it be a fantasy rather than something trying to mirror reality. That's just me.

Honestly, I think I might start watching the Christmas romcoms again in August. Those are guaranteed to be silly and upbeat. The great thing about them is that there are always new ones with new twists, but they all have a happy ending.

I read The Sublet by Greer Hendricks (short mystery) and gave it only two stars. I have nothing much to say about it other than it didn't interest me. I also read The Legend of the Seventh Virgin by Victoria Holt (historical romance novel) and gave it five stars. Yeah, from one extreme to the other. This was probably my favorite (or at least one of) VH's books. It was so involved, with such impressively complex characters and interesting (unexpected) twists. Just wow. I am so impressed by VH the more I reread her, especially compared to other more contemporary authors who don't dive deeply into their characters.

It's now past the date (July 27) when I can "return" Inky and trade her for another kitty without paying a new fee, and I can't even imagine. I already love her so much and consider her a family member. She is so sweet and adorable with the cutest quirks. I'm so happy we found each other! Yes, I still miss Gatsby and always will. He remains in my heart with my mom and others I have loved.

This week I am enjoying Substack more and Bluesky less. We'll see if that continues.

This and That

This week has been busy, with a bunch of ups and downs, which is why I haven't blogged, even though I can't wait to tell you that Inky is now a big cuddler! She is soooo sweet and affectionate and even sleeps on my bed with me during part of the night. She's curled on my lap right now and purring as I'm typing. I haven't forgotten about Gatsby, my soulmate kitty, and I will always love him, but Inky is helping to heal my heart. I love her too and think about her when I'm at work; my condo feels like a home again now that I have a sweet kitty waiting for me.

Today is my divorce anniversary (the second divorce; I don't remember the exact dates my brief first marriage began and ended). Fourteen years ago today, July 11, the dissolution of my 21 year marriage (plus two years of legal separation) was finalized, which was a huge relief. For five years afterward, I tried to find someone new, and I stayed pretty optimistic about my chances until 2016. That's when I started to accept the idea that a new romantic relationship wasn't going to happen and it would be better to stop dating altogether, as the process was increasingly depressing. It took a couple years longer for me to feel fully comfortable being single and not looking.

I have made a new Substack account: lightmotifs.substack.com. Please follow me and I will follow you back. The reason I made an account is because one of my writing friends invited me to contribute to his poetic series on the body, and I wrote a poem about hair. It turned out well, and he is going to publish it on his Substack soon. I didn't have to make my own account to get credited, but why not? Maybe I will be in the mood to write more poetry on my own stack (or whatever you call the pages there). Last time I joined, I found it confusing and way too political, so I deleted my account, but every form of social media is stuffed with politics 24/7, so I have to take responsibility for avoiding it and focusing on what I do enjoy (same with Bluesky). That said, my first comment on the app was about Pete B (love him). LOL!

(I still find the app confusing, btw. When I logged on, it said hey how about these four friends we found for you? I said, OK, I will follow them all, but now they have disappeared. What's up with that?)

I read The House of a Thousand Lanterns by Victoria Holt and gave it four stars. It's a romance mystery novel, and I found both aspects very intriguing. A chunk of the book takes place in Hong Kong, and the local color was fabulous. I have no idea whether it was accurate, but I enjoyed it regardless. 

Earlier in the week I finished The Weight of Blood by Tiffany Jackson, a horror novel and an homage to Carrie by Stephen King. I wasn't sure at first if I would like this book because it's partly told in podcast format (which is apparently a "thing" now), but I did like it ~ I gave it four stars! The story involves a lot of racism and cruelty and some fantasy elements as well. 

Finally, I read The Only One Left by Riley Sager. Shades of Verity abound in this psychological thriller about a caregiver, Kit, who who is "forced" to take a job working for an alleged murderer at the crazy mansion on the edge of the cliff. Everyone in the story is a potential or actual murderer or victim, and though the story is basically well written, I found the pacing tedious at times. I kept wondering why Kit simply didn't walk away from the mess and begin again somewhere else where people didn't know her. The ending was so convoluted that I gave up trying to understand what motivated everyone to do what they did. Three stars.

Blue Jasmine

I watched Blue Jasmine (on Hulu or maybe Prime, I forget), and I did not fall into rapture over it like so many other reviewers. It was OK… well acted but ultimately meaningless. Frivolous widow Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) struggles to find meaning in life after her husband is exposed as a liar/ cheater/ conman (Alec Baldwin in his usual role as an ahole). Now supposedly broke, Jasmine goes to live with her blue-collar sister Ginger in SF, but instead of being grateful for a place, Jasmine is snarky and cruel and wrecks her sister’s romance. She’s also a substance abuser and blurts out her life story to strangers. It’s hard to care about what happens to her ~ she almost tricks a new man into a serious relationship, but it falls apart. Yada. Ginger gets back with her jerk, and Jasmine sits in a park muttering to herself as the film ends. No one has learned anything or changed. Where’s the plot? Where’s the character development? Meh.

*

You know who has a great voice for narrating docus? President Obama! I’ve been listening to his nature series on Netflix when I need to wind down to sleep. His voice is so lovely and soothing.

*

I read The Broken Places by Mia Sheridan and gave it three stars. It’s a psychological thriller/ love story with a jumbled up plot and way too much boring backstory. But it was relatively enjoyable regardless. I made up a category for it on my 2025 Reading Challenge: takes place in San Francisco. That’s no more arbitrary than other categories on the list. Shrugs.

I also finished Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt and gave it three stars too. It’s a romantic suspense story about an heiress who doesn’t know she’s one and falls in love with and marries a man who does know. Then someone repeatedly tries to kill her. The story involves two sets of identical twins (a category I created on the 2025 Reading Challenge), and the twists that arise from mistaken identity are somewhat predictable. The MC is kind of a dimwit, which is pointed out by other characters, so it wasn’t that compelling of a read. Nevertheless, Victoria Holt’s writing is superior to most contemporary authors.

*

I’m going to adopt a kitty today!

Creme de Menthe

I have been brainstorming names for cats, since I plan to have one adopt me soon (wonder what she will name me?). Mostly I imagine getting a pure sleek black cat and focus on dark names like Raven and Nyxie and Nori (as in Noir, not seaweed), though there may not be a black cat available when I go to the shelter, so I need alternatives. I see that at the moment on their website there are female brown/ white/ orange kitties in the age range I would like, so I am gathering potential names for them. 

I like the name Confetti or Cupcake for a mixed color cat (AI suggestions), and I also thought of Sundae or Parfait, the latter of which reminds me of the creme de menthe parfaits I loved as a kid. Back in those days, it was no biggie for a child to have alcohol in a restaurant with their parents. These days, you can buy your kid a gun but not a beer, not that I want to get into politics here. The bigger question is why the heck did I like creme de menthe? It’s hideous! It tastes like melted toothpaste. If I had some now, I would barf. Well, most alcohol makes me barf, sadly, along with triggering a migraine. Ah, the days of wine and… more wine and fireballs and margaritas and mojitos and Bailey’s. You can keep the roses.

Anyway, I’m going to find my next soulmate kitty at the same place I met Gatsby (Orange County Animal Shelter). Whichever sweetie is there and connects with me next Friday will be The One. No more sketchy stuff with posts on forums about demented neighbors, powers of attorney, dead nephews, etc. I don’t want the adoption to be questioned.

I still miss Gatsby terribly; sometimes when I’m about to fall asleep I feel a little bump like he just jumped on the bed for a snuggle. I loved him so much.

*

The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Sutanto was a fun short story with a nice twist at the end, and I gave it four stars. I created a challenge category for it: takes place in one day. It’s fun to create my own categories after the fact, knowing that my reads are not “going to waste” but instead will help me get to 100 books faster. Well, actually I am already over 100 books for the year, but I didn’t think of adapting the challenge to the books (like a Procrustean bed) until this week.

Slow Burner by Laura Lippman had a similar ending, but the twist was so much fun that I had to give it the full five stars. It was also a short, quick read. For this, I created another challenge category: involves a Greek myth. How the peacock’s tail feathers got their “eyes” is one of my favorites.

Next up is Ushers by Joe Hill, a fun short story, though a bit predictable at the end as horror often is. Four stars for the clever interview format and for keeping my interest throughout. My self-created challenge category for this one is: author’s parent is a famous writer. Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King. (I enjoyed Joe’s debut novel Heart-Shaped Box years ago.)

Another recent shorty was A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews ~ this one was a romance novella. The romance was meh, but the historical aspects were very interesting (and I dived into them further after finishing the book), so I awarded this book three stars. The title refers to the actual history of gas lighting in England, not to the psychological tactic of “gaslighting.” I didn’t have to create a category here, since it fit into the requirement of taking place during the holidays.

* 

I finished Sirens on Netflix ~ only five episodes total. It became more enjoyable as it went on, which had a lot to do with the increased screen time of Kevin Bacon, and I recommend it.

I also rewatched The Hating Game just because. It’s on Hulu. Speaking of Hulu and romance, I am completely over the Bachelor franchise. The last couple I rooted for broke up recently, as most of them do, and it’s starting to feel like a scam. Contestants audition for Bachelor Nation shows to become famous and get exposure for their Instagram accounts, it seems, not to find true love. The whole concept of “influencing” makes me gag. Get a real job!

Finding a Kitty vs Finding a Man

I thought that I would break routine and do a whimsical post. Please note that I am not returning to posting pics, songs, or garbage flash fiction. I do reserve the right to occasionally post a poem however if the stars align. Without further ado, here is my comparison between finding a kitty and finding a man…

Visit a website full of cute photos and bios:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Feel overwhelmed at all the possibilities and try not to create a “shopping list,” but create one anyway in order to narrow down the options:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Focus on one particular possibility and obsess to the point that I run out and spend a whole bunch of money on litterbox/ lingerie/ bed/ toys/ special food, etc., since this is definitely The One:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

That possibility disappears from my life, and I decide the whole thing is pointless and why bother at all?

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Then I think no I really need someone but the heck with the websites… let’s go find someone in meatspace!

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Stumble upon a meatspace potential and immediately become emotionally invested, but it crumbles into a super weird sketchy situation:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Return to the online world older and wiser, maybe a bit jaded, but still holding on to my optimism that The One is out there:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

One of the rejected possibles begins harassing me via text, telling me I am too old and didn’t bake cookies, or asking for money:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

One of the rejected possibles threatens to take me to small claims court:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

Many of the rejected possibles turn out to already have their One and were just trolling online for kicks:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

After spending quality time with a possible, he ghosts me even if chip him and lock all the doors:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

He’s happy to cuddle with me on the sofa and rewatch the Mamma Mia movies every weekend:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ❌

He constantly complains about the meals I serve (or don’t serve):

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

He wakes me up in the middle of the night to yell about some random thing:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Messes up all my stuff and doesn’t help clean the house:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅ 

Tells me how to invest my money/ do my taxes / fix my car, etc., because obviously I haven’t been handling all these things just fine for years:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

Doesn’t care if I come home smelling like I’ve been with someone else:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ❌

Doesn’t mind if I talk about him behind his back and post his pic on FB/ Instagram:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ❌

Embarrasses me when my friends visit:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

Is totally loyal to me and won’t eat my face if I die in my sleep before I fix his breakfast:

Kitty ❌

Man ❌

Is OK with another one of his kind coming to live with us:

Kitty ⚠️

Man ⚠️

The Hating Game

In our previous episode, I mentioned that I had read The Hating Game, a contemporary romance by Sally Thorne, and gave it four stars. Yesterday I was poking around Netflix and saw that there was a romcom made from the book, so naturally I had to watch it. Generally, books are better than their movies, but this one was a close call. First, the casting was perfect with Lucy Hale as Lucy Hutton and Austin Stowell as Josh Templeman. Second, some of the slower and more repetitive parts of the novel were sped up in the movie, which was a good thing. Third, the chemistry between Lucy and Josh was super hot, and we could see that immediately in the movie, while it wasn't as clear in the book. There were moments that needed to be lingered over though, and in the movie they zipped past too fast. The movie glossed over the backgrounds of the main characters, but that info was needed for more of an understanding of their insecurities and motivations. In the movie, the job situation was wrapped up neatly with a bow, which was fine, but the book left things more ambiguous. which created the impression that their relationship would transcend whatever happened in their careers. If I could do it over, I would watch the movie first and then read the book.

Today I finished My Heart's Desire by Andrea Kane. The only reason I read this is because it was the 25th anniversary edition, which I needed for a box on my 2025 Reading Challenge. Apparently, it is a much-beloved historical romance (taking place at the start of the War of 1812), but I didn't care for it and gave it only two stars. I found the main characters shallow and boring, and the "plot" consisted of them becoming periodically enraged at each other over nothing just so they could have explosive makeup sex. Oh, there was another aspect to the story, which is that someone was trying to murder our dashing hero, but sadly the reader knew who it was the whole time so there wasn't even a fun mystery to solve.

I also read Kill for Me, Kill for You, a thriller by Steve Cavanaugh (a book club selection). This was a very layered, complex novel with interesting characters and incredible plot twists, and I liked it a lot. One of the major twists left me completely "gob smacked" as they say, but looking back I could have seen it coming. Didn't though! Four stars.

I watched another episode of Sirens, the third one I think, and I liked it but not enough to binge. I will watch them sedately, lol. I quit watching S2 of Nine Perfect Strangers because the new group of nine simply did not intrigue me like the first group did, despite Christine Baranski being one of the nine. Oh well. I will just have to watch her in the Mamma Mia movies 500 more times.

My friend L taught me how to play Farkle today, which was fun, and we also played Qwirkle, which is a good name for a pet. In fact, when I was still writing, I gave a dog that name. Alas, that WIP will sit in its folder for all eternity now. 

Speaking of pets, I've been messaging with a woman from a local forum who is trying to find a home for a neighborhood kitty whose owner can no longer care for her. I'm going to meet the kitty tomorrow night after work. She is an all black cat with golden eyes, and her name is Midnight. I will of course let you all know what happens.