Que Será, Será

Inky with my birthday sunflowers (my photo)

Today I'm trying a new prompt called Saturday: 9, basically because I can't think of anything to write for the GMT challenge. I might deal with that later; ideas are percolating. Anyway, Saturday: 9 is a series of questions, sometimes themed and sometimes not, hosted by Annie at Cottage by the Sea. This week, the theme is based on "Don't Take Your Love from Me," which Doris Day sang in 1956. Being super clever and all, I used a different Doris Day song for the title of this post. 

1) In this song, Doris Day sings about what happens when you take a petal from a rose. When did you last get or give flowers as a gift?

I received three gorgeous bouquets of flowers for my birthday at the end of April. Unfortunately, so many blooms in the same room gave me an allergy attack, and I had to put them outside the front door.

2) This song is about a woman who fears losing her love. What's the most recent thing you lost? (Hopefully it's not as consequential as a great love. It could be as small or unimportant as the back of one of your pierced earrings.) 

Funny you should mention earrings. I don't lose things often, but I did lose a tiny silver otter earring from a pair that I received as a gift from a friend. This was some months ago, and I felt certain it would turn up, but it didn't, so just this week I found them on Amazon and bought a new pair. Maybe the lost otter will turn up now!

3) Doris was known as The All-American Girl Next Door. Who lives next door to you?

On one side there's a woman named Mary with a son, a cute doggie, and a black cat. On the otter side there's some sort of mix of people, possibly a grandpa and a couple with a baby, but I'm not sure about anything except the baby. That unit constantly changes residents, and I can't keep track of them.

4) As a young girl, Doris Day was passionate about dance. She recalled that concentrating on her lessons helped distract her from the pain and embarrassment of her parents' divorce. When you want to escape from what's troubling you, what do you do?

Work on a new jigsaw puzzle, dive into a thriller novel, watch an old favorite movie, etc. 

5) The maître d' at one of Doris' favorite restaurants wanted to ask her out. Knowing how she loved her dogs, he impressed her by handing her a bag of meat scraps and bones to take home. They began dating and, in 1976, he became her last husband. What's the best way to your heart? 

I'm no longer interested in romance, but as far as friendship, a good sense of humor goes a long way with me, and I'm not talking about nasty, sarcastic humor aimed at others' misfortunes a la you know who, which is why I emphasize "good." The ability to laugh at yourself is a huge plus. 

6) Over her long career, Doris received Golden Globe and Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was also inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, honored for being one of the most celebrated women to have been born there. Name a famous person born in your home state.

Though I was born in New York and spent almost 10 years in Illinois, I consider California to be my home state now. I've lived in SoCal since 1983. Loads of famous people were born here, one nearby in Fullerton: Gwen Stefani.

7) She was frank about her financial difficulties, yet some people are uncomfortable discussing money. Are you one of those people?

It depends. I don't mind discussing the prices of things and commiserating with others about the cost of gas and groceries, but I'm not going to discuss my personal financial matters with anyone other than the closest of friends and family. I think I mentioned here and/ or on my defunct WordPress blog the couple times I've been the victim of a financial crime or an attempt thereof, but that's different.

8) In 1956, when Doris released this song, The Wizard of Oz was shown on network TV for the first time. What movie have you seen multiple times?

Many! Of course, as I have said repeatedly, I often rewatch both Mamma Mia movies (and I wish they'd hurry up with that hypothetical third one before all the main characters are in a nursing home, though that might be fun actually), plus I frequently rewatch other musical favorites such as Chicago, Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, etc., and non-musicals such as You've Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, 27 Dresses, The Hating Game, Young Frankenstein, etc. Getting back to the Doris Day motif, I have seen Pillow Talk at least twice.

9) Random question: Would you rather have a chef or a chauffeur?

Chauffeur, absolutely. I would love to be picked up anytime to be taken anywhere I need to go without having to worry about car maintenance, getting gas, driving, parking, insurance, or any of that crap ever again. 

Thanks for this fun batch of questions, Annie!

Raining Diamonds

Image from Unsplash

Uranus and Neptune Are Raining Diamonds

[free verse inspired by a news article]

Gas giants made of methane,

Crushed by universal loneliness,

Turn blue and cry diamonds.

But a girl’s best friend isn’t so precious

With no one to collect the rain.

Forgotten drops of carbon

Become planetary garbage;

There’s no lapidary to cut and set,

Showing off the facets in a nest

Of black velvet with a discreet price tag;

No “surprise” starry-eyed proposal

Awaits on one knee at the beach

Documented for Instagram.

The diamonds keep falling, falling,

Far beyond our grasping fingers,

Unappreciated, inconspicuous, 

Left to eternal rest 

In a celestial treasure chest.

~*~

Lisa at dVerse asks for a "weather" poem, but she didn't specify that it had to be Earth's weather, so I thought I'd share this older poem I wrote for my book Recollections May Vary. I may have posted it on my (since deleted) WordPress blog, in which case some of you may have seen it previously.

A Pearly 'Podge

With my pink pearls in Queens, NY (1988)

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

1. What's something on your August calendar you're looking forward to? Or dreading if that's easier to answer. 

My daughter and son-in-law are treating me to a production of The Phantom of the Opera at the end of August, and I am very much looking forward to that, as I have never seen it live, only a bit of it on TV. I'm also seeing Project Hail Mary at a friends' house, and I plan to make alien-themed cupcakes to bring for the potluck. I finally ordered a proper cupcake carrier so my treats don't get all smushed in transit.

2. August 5th is National Oyster Day...do you partake? How do you feel about pearls? 

When I was a kid on the East Coast we ate raw oysters all the time, and they were delicious! Nowadays, it's really dangerous to eat raw shellfish, so I never do. I'm even wary of sashimi (got very sick from it in 2016 around the time I met the ghost guy) and usually order cooked fish with the very occasional exception of tuna or salmon (the crabmeat or fake crabmeat in California roll sushi is always cooked). My mom made oyster stuffing a few times, and I absolutely loved it, though generally there aren't that many opportunities to order cooked oysters. I'm not a fan of oyster soup, which for some strange reason my parents always had on New Year's Eve. 

As far as pearls, they're okay. I have some pretty pink pearls that I received as an engagement gift, but I don't wear them often (see the photo above). I enjoy the scene in Mamma Mia Here We Go Again when Donna and Bill go diving and find an oyster with a pearl in it.

3. Tell us about a time when you felt like 'the world was your oyster'. 

Uh, I don't know. I guess the good life was mine when my girls were little and my ex's business was successful. I didn't have to work. We had a nice house, and I didn't worry about money. My parents were still around and healthy. Etc. That lasted from around 1992 to 1998.

4. Trip Advisor lists seven islands in the US that require no passport (for US citizens). If you're answering today from outside the US you'll still need to produce yours. An-y-way, have you been to any of the seven? Let's pretend you get an all expense paid trip to one this month...which one do you choose and why? 

Catalina Island California~Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts~Mackinac Island Michigan~Key West Florida~South Padre Island Texas~or Kauai Hawaii

I have been to Catalina and Kauai, both of which are gorgeous. Since I am not a fan of plane travel, I would choose an all expense paid trip to Catalina again (from where I live, you take a ferry over).

5. Sylvia Plath is credited with the following- 

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

Agree or disagree? In other words, how do you feel about this month? 

I don't feel the best of summer has gone, at least not this year. As I said at first, I have at least two fun events coming up in August and possibly more. While I used to look forward to September, I don't now because of the beastly hot weather and horrible winds here in coastal Southern California. September is migraine central, basically (although mine have improved a bit, so we'll see). I do enjoy October, when it cools off a bit and we start talking about Halloween.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I didn't get a great night's sleep last night, so I am enjoying a slow, lazy day of not doing much, while trying to work up the energy for aerobics. Later, I will watch S3 episode 7 of House of the Dragon.

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. 

Jewelry (April A2Z ~ Misty Memories)

Seventh grade school pic

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 J for Jewelry

I have always loved jewelry. The necklace in the pic is a seashell on a fake gold chain ~ jewelry doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive to appeal to me. Not that I would turn down fancy or expensive gifts! Just for the record. When I was around 10 years old, my mom gave me a charm bracelet, and it was fun to add new charms to it when I came across interesting ones. However, the bracelet eventually became all tarnished and gross, which is definitely a downside of costume jewelry.

I used to enjoy making jewelry: friendship bracelets, braided lanyards for keychains and purse decorations, “necklaces” made from gum wrappers (this was a fad!), and all sorts of pretty beaded items. I even had a couple jewelry making friends for a while when we lived on Long Island, but once when I went to the bathroom they stole my hard-to-find light blue beads, so I guess they were not really my friends (more on that later). I kinda lost the desire to continue until my girls became interested in it. 

But jewelry-making as an adult is very different. You don’t want a bunch of junk, and high quality supplies are expensive. This is one hobby I decided to nix before going down the path and buying a bunch of stuff. Still, I think about it sometimes… it would be fun.

Secrets and Samaritans

I’m happy to report that this year, exactly like every other year, is quickly approaching its darkest day, and then we shall have more daylight again. I feel like a bear: all I want to do is eat and sleep, preferably in my cozy cave with the space heater on and my sweet kitty cuddled up next to me. I’ve been reading a ton, partly because of my multiple book club obligations, and partly because I am afraid to watch TV and lose the LDBC. One of my friends just lost because of a TikTok; luckily, I never go on TikTok. I'm not sure if I even still have an account, and if I do, idk the password.

To continue my Victoria Holt romance novel marathon, I read Seven for a Secret. I gave it three stars. I am noticing that her writing is annoyingly repetitive, which is not something I probably picked up on as a teenager. I mean this in several ways. First, she often repeats words in a paragraph, as if she couldn't be bothered to check a thesaurus. Or maybe it was sloppy editing. Second, she has her characters constantly repeat themselves in both dialog and narration. Third, she repeats themes. Early on in this story I guessed what the secret was, so it wasn't a surprise at the big reveal. The reason I guessed it is because she keeps doing this "switched baby" motif in so many of her novels. I still enjoyed the story, but idk how motivated I am to complete my list of her books. For sure, I will read the ones I have already checked out from the library as well as the used paperbacks I've purchased. After that... who knows?

I also read The Good Samaritan, a thriller by John Marrs, which was one of my online book club's December picks. I awarded it three stars too. It started out in an interesting way, with the protagonist working as a volunteer at a crisis phone line. We soon discover that she actually wants to help a select few folks end their lives instead of dissuading them, and her big thrill is to be on the phone with them when they do it. We also discover she is an unreliable narrator and quite wacko at that, which is fun. I dig unreliable narrators. One of the people she helps has a distraught fiancé who discovers who she is and sets a trap for her. It turns out that he is her daughter's teacher! What are the odds? The story veers into more ridiculousness and becomes a bit tiresome. Everyone is awful, so there's no one left to root for. 

My OBC's "bonus" book for this month was Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst, another thriller. I could not give this one my "gentleman's C" (three stars) because it was just so tediously repetitive, and so I gave it two. The characters are not believable at all, and they all seem to have the same "voice" during their separate first-person narratives, which I find sloppy. It's like writers are just churning out books to have a large output, without taking basic care to make their stories enjoyable. And the fact that two couples, each with a child, would blithely go on a vacation to a secluded house with no internet/phone in case of an emergency is just stupid. But everything hinges on the lack of signal, so we trudge onward. Blah.

Speaking of good Samaritans, one of the cleaning people at my office found my Australian opal ring and turned it into the lost and found! I didn't even think to ask if the building had one until my little granddaughter mentioned the lost and found at her school when I told her I had lost my ring. It's been a few weeks, and I searched everywhere, finally resigning myself to never seeing it again. But I called, and they have the ring! I didn't have time to pick it up today (it's in a separate building a few blocks away), and I will do it tomorrow. The freezing cold weather is making my fingers shrink, though other parts of me seem to be expanding, so I will have to be more careful. This was a special ring because I had bought it with my beanie baby profits (no seriously), and my mom was with me that day, which makes it a nice memory. 

The question is... should I get a cupcake at Sprinkles tomorrow after I pick up my ring, as I practically have to almost sort of walk right by Sprinkles to get back from the other building? I shall ponder this as I drift off to dreamland...