UPDATE: The winner is…Anne Marie Flamini!
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Okay, so you’re probably thinking my topic is kind of weird, but hear me out.

Coming up with topics on a daily basis isn’t always easy. Yes, I can talk about books, but doing that every day…? Boring. I have guests, so that changes things up. When I’m reaching for a topic, I love to check the calendar for weird holidays because I love an excuse to celebrate. Today’s holiday was VCR Day, and I thought about it, but got nothin’. So, I moved on. Then I thought about the History Channel’s website. Every day, they have a “This Day in History” post, so I headed on over to steal some ideas.

Some of today’s offerings were…

• Muhammed died (632)
• Robert F. Kennedy was buried (1968)
• Apache chief Cochise died (1874)

Those are sacred dates, so I know better than to have fun with them. Then another one popped up.

• Ghostbusters released (1984)

I remember when the movie came out. I think I was pregnant/giving birth at the time, so I didn’t see it in the theaters, but back in the day, we had HBO and a new-fangled way of watching movies we wanted, whenever we wanted, called a VCR (see how I worked that holiday into here?!). Ghostbusters was one of the recordings we made so we could enjoy it whenever we wanted. When my family went with me to Germany for my second tour there, all those taped movies we’d made were sooooo important! Remember, that was before streaming, and sometimes, we only had one channel, AFN (Armed Forces Network) to watch. The library on post had a ton of classic movies (most in B&W) to check out, and I attribute my love of classic movies to that period. However, it was our library of movies recorded off of HBO that saved our sanity. There were many, many kids’ movies among them…

Anyway, Ghostbusters it is, and I did manage to find an image I could use without getting into trouble with a copyright, so enjoy the puzzle!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what classic movies you might have seeing made into a puzzle.

UPDATE: The winner is…Pamela Reveal!
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If you didn’t already know, the next Boys Behaving Badly Anthology will release on July 30th! It’s filled with intriguing stories. So, I thought it would be fun to use the themes for the stories inside this upcoming volume for our puzzle today. And if you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, remember, it’s only $0.99 for 14 sexy stories you won’t want to miss! Here’s the link:  Secret Identities

In the meantime, here’s a little contest! For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me which of the themes intrigues you most!

UPDATE: The winner is…Kerry Pruett!
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As I start typing, I can tell this is going to be a meandering post. Sorry—not sorry.

I had a good night’s sleep. I’ve had my first cup of coffee. I’ve been reflecting that the summer is off to a good start. The kids have activities lined up. Opportunities for earnings (special chores). I have little fetch-and-carriers who can run up and down the stairs so I don’t have to as I work away at my desk. The pool is gradually getting clearer. (We added clarifier last night, so hopefully, the last of the fogginess will dissipate.) We want to be able to see the snakes.

Anyway, we’re finding our summer groove. One thing we love to do is watch movies, whether in the theater or at home. Usually, in the summer we limit our ventures to the theater to once a month, if that. It’s so dang expensive to take six people to the theater! But to kick off the first week of summer, this past Thursday, we drove the 45 minutes to a neighboring city to catch the movie If. The kids and I loved it. My daughter and SIL complained that it wasn’t as crazy/zany as they would’ve liked. Yes, I cried too many times during the second half of the movie, but I couldn’t help it. Folks reuniting with their imaginary friends… Who wouldn’t want to live that? When I watch a movie, I’m in the movie. It’s my experience, too.

Yesterday, the 15 and 10 year-olds joined me in my living area to watch Interstellar. I’ve made it a goal this summer to watch every Christopher Nolan movie, and since the 15-year-old and I are the only ones in the house who LOVED last year’s Oppenheimer (the others thought it was too long, too boring–what!?), but she was as riveted as I was, so she and I have committed to watching CN movies this summer together. I hadn’t seen Interstellar since it originally came out, so I’d forgotten a lot about it. The three of us (even the 10-year-old) were again riveted.

Aside from my stated goal of watching every Chris Nolan movie ever made this summer, months ago, I bought a poster I adhered to my bedroom door—one of those “100 Greatest Movies Ever Made” things. It’s a big scratch-off list, and I’ve decided I am going to force myself to watch every movie on the list, and hopefully, find some company in the house to do it with me, too. I worry the kids are too fixated on their phones or TikToks and need a little film history education. So, I scratched off the first one—Shawshank Redemption. My dd and the 15-year-old watched it with me. Great movie, just not one I would want to repeat because admittedly my favorite genres are Sci-Fi, action, and comedy. Next up on the list is The Dark Knight—which will kill two birds with one stone—it’s a Chris Nolan flick!

So, that was my long meander. Sorry (not!). For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me whether you ever had an imaginary friend when you were a child.

UPDATE: The winner is…Eileen McCall!
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Last night, we experienced heavy thunderstorms. I thought for sure we’d lose power at some point, but we were lucky. Today, it’s still stormy outside, and the forecast is for more rain and storms over the next few days.

So, the pool is not in my forecast.

It’s sad, but today and tomorrow, I’m taking a papermaking workshop. I’ll be in the art center, staying dry. And learning something new. I’ll take pictures. Like I need a new artistic skill, but you’re never too old to learn something new.

With a heavy workload this week, I fell off the wagon of producing a new piece of art every day. I’ve been writing on my new story and have tons of editing gigs. I finished up two of those the past couple of days, so I have a little breathing room. Not much. And the workshop cuts into my schedule, but hey, I jumped at the opportunity. So what if I have to put my real work on the back burner for a weekend. I’m ready to have fun. And again, since the pool isn’t an option…

So, that’s what my weekend looks like. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what you have to look forward to this weekend!

UPDATE: The winner is…Deborah Brown!
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It’s Saturday! There’s one more week ahead of getting kids up early for school, then we can ease into lazy mornings! I can’t wait. But it’s not today. Too much to do. So many pages to edit!! Enjoy the puzzle!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me something about the couple you see here. Why are they there? Does their setting cause some issues? Can they breathe? Have fun with it. 

UPDATE: The winner is…Kerry Pruett!
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Last weekend, my daughter and SIL splurged on a new Blackstone griddle. Frankly, I’d never heard of one, and when they explained it to me, I thought, yeah, a new barbecue, right? Well, my daughter is very, very serious about her new griddle. She has never once expressed interest in our grill or our smoker. In fact, the first night we had it, after she seasoned the griddle, she cooked our entire breakfast-for-dinner (eggs, bacon, sausage) on the griddle in a quarter of the time and dishes we would have normally in the kitchen. Plus, we ate at our patio table outside, steps away from the griddle. The following morning, the 19-year-old made a ton of French toast in minutes, and again, we enjoyed our meal on the patio.

Okay, I’m sold. Instead of multiple pans and cooking times, everything is done on one surface at the same time—outside. And clean-up is quick!  Cool. We’re going to make hibachi and smashburgers this coming weekend, and I can’t wait.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then make some suggestions for other things we might cook up on this new outdoor griddle.

UPDATE: The winner is…Anna Marie Flamini!
*~*~*

A rare geomagnetic solar storm has some folks very excited. When it was announced, we were disappointed that we wouldn’t get to see them this far south in Arkansas. However, last night, some of the 19-year-old’s friends shared pictures they’d taken with their phones of faint glimmers of the aurora borealis affect.

So, she went outside and took these.

Cool, right? Our big old trees blocked most of it. Okay, so it’s not spectacular, but we NEVER see the lights this far south.

I’ve always wanted to go someplace like Iceland to experience the truly spectacular Northern Lights, but maybe someday.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, have you ever seen the Northern Lights? Enjoy the puzzle and Happy Saturday!