UPDATE: The winner is…Anna Marie Flamini!
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I couldn’t escape work this morning. I had a small file of edits shipped to me last night, and because I wanted my day cleared for family fun, I rose early to get those out of the way first.

The adults in the family are heading to the movie theater today, a matinee featuring Oppenheimer, the start of our “Barbenheimer” experience. And yes, I broke down and bought the T-shirt, although it won’t arrive in the mail in time for me to wear to either movie.

I’ve been gobbling up interviews with the actors and director of O, reading reviews. The movie sounds amazing, and since I’m already in love with Cillian Murphy, I know I’m going to be blown away. I’m just glad my daughter booked the tickets before she realized it’s three hours long!!!! I’ll be buying a very small drink to go along with my very large popcorn. 🙂

This will be the third movie I’ve seen in a theater since COVID erupted. We like the matinees—fewer people. The theater is nearly an hour away, so it’s always a big deal to go. I’m a movie person. I love film. I love really good movies and really bad movies. Good movies have to “move” me or teach me. Bad movies are for pure entertainment. B-movies are my steady diet. Horror, action, sci-fi. If the movie has a shark in it or a lava-loving tarantula, I’m there. Cocaine Bear is the latest B-movie I’ve seen. What a treasure!

Anyway, that’s going to be the highlight of my day. Three hours with my seat tilted back and my feet propped up, with a large buttery popcorn in my lap while I feast on Cillian Murphy’s gorgeous blue eyes. Envy me. LOL

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle (you know you want to), then tell me what B-movies you’ve enjoyed recently. I might put them on my “Must See” list!

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
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Today’s puzzle is a picture I took on a recent hike with my family. The trail is only a mile long, taking us from a street in town into the forest to a high bluff overlooking the Ouachita River. (Ouachita is pronounced WASH-it-tah around here. 🙂 ) That river is where our family loves to make our annual floating-the-river adventure.

The bluff is called the DeSoto Bluff, named after the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, who led an expedition through these parts in 1541-2. It’s our local claim to fame unless you count the 1997 F4 tornado that swept through Arkadelphia and flattened 60 city blocks.

Mostly, Arkadelphia is a quiet little town with a great high school football team and two universities. We have two rivers (the Ouachita and the Caddo), so this area is dubbed the Twin Rivers. And I don’t know why I’m giving you a mini-tour because all I wanted to do was share my photo.

So, here it is. Yes, you have to solve the puzzle to see it! Then, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC, tell me about some obscure claim-to-fame your area is known for!

UPDATE: The winner is…Eileen McCall!
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I’m so not motivated this morning! I finished a BOOK yesterday, y’all (Jackson—you’ve pre-ordered it, right?). I got up late today, drank coffee from the biggest cup I could find, watered my plants (my babies—everyone gives me their dying houseplants to revive!), fed Loki (my betta fish—I fed the cats last night!), and now? The morning’s half over. I should just call it a day, right?

Except, I need to find the surface of my desk. It’s so cluttered with mail, a dusting cloth and beeswax spray, pens of all colors, washi tape rolls (WHY?!), gum, and cough drops. My inbox is 8 inches high. I have three empty coffee cups, waiting for my lazy butt to carry them upstairs.

So, what will I do next? I think I need breakfast. Maybe after that, I’ll swim. Then maybe I’ll shower (yeah, I should do that!), then maybe I’ll check my planner and see what I SHOULD be working on today… We’ll see. I kind of like the idea of heading back to bed to play Charm King on my phone.

The puzzle’s picture today is NOT a selfie, but I can so relate. You’ll see! HaHa!

Solve the puzzle, then tell me the lazy things you want to do this weekend! Join me! There’s a $5 Amazon gift card for the winner!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beckie!
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Today, already, is hot as hell here in Arkansas (it’s 85 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 AM). The temperature will be over a hundred. We tend to stay indoors when it gets like this, then wander out to the pool when the sun dips below the horizon. The pool is so warm it offers little relief, except for the lovely feeling you get when you’re soaking wet and enter the AC-cooled house. My daughter doesn’t deal well with the heat. She loves winter—sweaters, leggings, and boots. Summer makes her ill. Just sitting outside this morning, talking to me over a cup of coffee, made her nauseous. AND IT’S ONLY THE FIRST DAY OF JULY. I’m down for it. Of course, most of my day is spent in my cool-ish window-less basement office. When I rouse to step outside, I enjoy the bright light and looking at the flowers blooming. My dd would love to mow the lawn, but she pretty much has to do that at dusk or dawn. Like a vampire. LOL. I think today, we’re going to take a break from the heat and head to the indoor flea market. Whee!

So, thinking about summer and lovely things I wish I could do, I searched for a photo of my dream vacation spot. It’s today’s puzzle challenge. Enjoy!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know if this would be anywhere on your bucket list. If not, what would be?

UPDATE: The winner is Kerry Pruitt!
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This is just a reminder that Along Came a Spider will release on Tuesday! It’s a very sexy, action-filled story with SEALs coming to the rescue. Should be right up your alley!

All this SEAL wants is time alone to recharge after a grueling mission, but what he gets is caught in the crossfire of passion and danger.

After Spider follows a fellow SEAL’s advice to take some downtime and try fishing to get over his restlessness after back-to-back missions, he finds himself even more irritated until his fishing lure gets caught in the bushes, and while trying to free it, he notices men armed with tactical equipment moving through the forest. Curiosity piqued, he follows and is just in time to prevent the men from harming a lone female camper.

Jessie Tamberlin hoped to hide out in the woods until after her wedding to a billionaire, following her discovery that he is an illegal arms dealer. However, she knows secrets he’s determined to keep silent; he’s never going to let her go. When she finds an ally in the woods, who helps her escape, she has to make an on-the-spot decision to trust him.

Together, they work to stay one step ahead of her ex-fiancé while trying to ignore their growing attraction for each other.

Note: This novella was previously published in the Men in Uniform anthology.

Pre-order your copy here! 

Saturday Puzzle-Contest

 For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card: 1 ) Solve the puzzle (share your time, if you like!), and 2) Tell me a story about what you see. The story doesn’t have to be long, or even good. Just have fun with the challenge!

UPDATE: The winner is…Ellen Blakley!
*~*~*

This morning, I’ll be sitting in a workshop with my daughter and one of my granddaughters, learning a new craft. Something I’ve never tried before. WE’VE never tried before. And I can’t tell you how excited I am. Yes, I have an art room filled with supplies for a ridiculous number of arts and crafts already, but I’m on the side of there’s never too much STUFF to learn. I’m nearing 65, and I have to fit it ALL in before I go.

So, when I post this and walk away from my desk to get ready for the fun, I have a question for you to ponder, perhaps a challenge you might accept.

Today, or this weekend, or this month, is there something NEW you want to try? A new craft? A new recipe? Shopping at a new store? Eating at restaurant you’ve never tried? A trail you’ve never hiked? Some new adventure you want to undertake—big or small? Say it here then accept the challenge of actually doing it! Life is about collecting memories and experiences, about sharing journeys. Name something you will make happen!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, share the challenge you will undertake! Enjoy the puzzle!

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

It’s Saturday after the first full week the kids have been out of school. Not much happening for me other than swimming, editing, and cleaning. The kids and my dd have had their hands full.

If you saw the video of the ducks being released to the pond recently, that did not last long. We lost two ducks that first night, so it was back to the chicken pen for the rest. The poor things followed my SIL like he was the Pied Piper all the way back to the enclosure because they were so stressed out. So, we filled a kiddy pool for them and they’re perfectly happy. We have 4 ducks now. My daughter got the idea of adding geese to the mix because they are larger and more intimidating, and if they like the ducks, they’ll defend them. We have 3. Maybe, one day, we can try the pond again. But in the meantime, we have baby geese and they are smellier and ugly. Gah, we really do have a menagerie.

My dd put lawn chairs in the chicken pen and they sit out there in the evenings petting the fowl and watching them. I think it’s a bit weird, but then, they think my hermit-like existence when I’m in work-mode is a bit weird, too.

Yesterday, I spotted this beside the fence surrounding the pool. Ignore my weedy grass! We live in the country, and nicely manicured lawns are stupid here.

I’m not sure what kind of snake it was. The thought that a shed skin could be that big and that close to the pool was a tad disturbing. I did have a snake slip over the side of the pool once when I was swimming. I’ve never climbed out that quickly.

And the fact that those two pictures were worthy of sharing with you tells you how peaceful and uneventful it’s been. I do love my life. The past couple of days, the 14-year-old has been helping me with cleaning and organizing my art room. I have 1980s square industrial tile on the floor. It gets gross and dull. She cleaned it and waxed it yesterday for me. I like the old tile. It’s utilitarian, and it doesn’t break my heart when I drop paint on the floor that dries and is there forever. The 9-year-old’s rabbit had been outside during the nice Spring weather, but now that temperatures are approaching the 90s, he’s back in his indoor cage—on my art room floor. I bought a big rubber pad and paper puppy pads to put under it to try to save the wax. The 14-year-old has been doing a slew of special chores for me because she wants a betta fish (like my Loki) with tank, etc., so she’s been looking for little jobs to save up. She’s almost there—and then we’ll be adding to our menagerie.

Puzzle-Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, give me some suggestions about what to do with the geese and ducks. Have fun with it. Even silly ideas count!
And isn’t this painting lovely? I’ll have to try something like this. I love the texture!

Open Contests

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Along came an exo-whatsit? — Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Word Puzzle: Possible Boys Behaving Badly Themes — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. A Poll! Help me choose the next BOYS BEHAVING BADLY theme! — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabbi Grey: Being one of the cool kids (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!