Fiction: Canoe on the Roof

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are supplied by Hilary Melton-Butcher and posted at River's blog over here. This week's prompts are: baker, canoe, gable, training, rot and/or lily-livered, provisions, barley, arrow, border. Optional prompt: Charlotte's color of the month Razzmatazz.

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Fiction: Canoe on the Roof
Mr. Huckleberry Baker's mind was elsewhere when he climbed the ladder toward the roof of his house. On the front end of his gable roof and sitting on the side of the ridge was a canoe. He hadn't a clue who put it there but he wanted it gone. 
    Mr. Baker had little knowledge of roofs so when his left foot sank and created a hole in his roof, he wondered, 'Should it rotted through like that?' It wasn't safe to continue. With his foot bare and a bit tender having to struggle out of the hole, Mr. Baker stood and proceeded back toward the ladder but was hit with dizziness and double vision. He sat down on the ridge and slowly his dizziness faded and his vision cleared. He wasn't lily-livered except when it came to heights which he often forgot about.
    How normal his day had been. This morning, after he ate two toasts with a cup of hot barley tea, he entered his home office and started work. For almost two decades, Mr. Baker wrote manuals for machines and gadgets. He had no training but he knew how things work by studying them. 
    While he was marveling at his masterpiece for a multi-propose blender, the phone rang. Automatically he picked up the receiver and said, "Hello."
    "Hello, Mr. Baker. Do you know you have a canoe on your roof?" Miss Hart was his next door neighbor who was inquisitive about everything.
    Mr. Baker's immediate respond was, 'Do not be ridiculous' but he instead said, "Thank you for letting me know, Miss Hart. I will check it out." He returned to work, had a tuna melt and black coffee for lunch, kept working and didn't remember about it until nearly night. 
    He glanced at the canoe two arms stretch from him. The inside was a pale wood but outside was painted razzmatazz, a word Miss Hart used to describe her favorite bright pink hue. On the side, painted in white was Peace Queen with two, white arrows crossed to make an X between them. Last night, he dreamt about a canoe with those exact words. What did they mean?
    Mr. Baker forgot it all when he tried to get off the roof but as he stood up, dizziness and double vision kept him down. After the fifth try, he gave up. He pictured his funeral with his parents sobbing while beside them his ex-wife laughing and throwing cash into the air. Without changing his will, any provisions he had wanted to make for his parents wouldn't happen if he die today. 
    From up here, he noted all the houses with their lights off. Everyone was probably at the town's ninety-third anniversary party. It must be 7 by now. The party didn't end until after 10. Across from him, the full moon was hanging like a sculpture in the sky. Its beauty made him think of his accumulated ifs and somedays from his forty-three years of living. Why hadn't he taken more chances? Why hadn't he done more? He thought of Miss Hart. Ever since she moved in next door two yeas ago, she had been dropping by or calling to talk about any old thing but he enjoyed her loquacious roaming.
    After a while, Mr. Baker crawled into the canoe. It was a single person vessel with a wooden ottertail paddle. He lifted the paddle and swung it on the right side and then the left. It was almost natural except he had never canoed before. He pictured paddling toward a wide horizon under a bright sky.
    Before he realized, the canoe was shifting and then gliding down the steep roof, past the border of the sculpt hedges that framed his front path and landed on the grassy lawn with him almost spilling out. The paddle had slipped from his hands, slammed against his front windows and put a hole in one of the panes. He patted himself all over and found he was in one piece and chuckled at his good luck.
    "Good evening, Mr. Baker. Isn't it a bit late for a canoe ride?" Miss Hart was staring down at him with a hint of a smile.
    Mr. Baker got out of the canoe with a hand from Miss Hart. "Thank you, Miss Hart. I was just... practicing." He dusted his clothes.
    "Don't you think it's time you call me Betsy?"
    "Betsy, yes. Why don't you call me Berry." He grinned.
    She glanced at the words on the canoe. "Berry, would you believe I used to be known as the Peace Queen?"
    Mr. Baker's grin widened.

Some things that don't belong in the beginning of ebooks

I'm a linear reader, I go from cover, publishing info/copyrights/credits, the content list, dedication, to the first chapter, right toward the back cover which often do not exist. I don't skip any page even if I don't read them thoroughly because you don't really read a book if you don't at least look at all the pages. I read mostly ebooks (borrowed from my local library) and like paper books, they have mostly the same things in the beginning but on an ereader, it's slightly different. Here are things I think shouldn't be in the beginning of ebooks and one that just needs a little styling (#3). (Note: Not all ebooks have these things but many of them do.)

01 - Praises or reviews of the book — I'm already reading it so why do I have to read reviews and praises before I start the book? Only the book can convince me to read it.

02 - Author's bio & back list — Back in the days, the author bio and their back list is at the end of the book and I have always preferred that. After I finished a book, it's like a treat to read the author's bio and sometimes back list when you want to read more of the author's other books. I never read an author's bio if I didn't finish the book. 

03 - Long chapter titles for content list page — Long chapters titles are a problem with ebooks because you tap or press the screen to turn the page and if you hit one of these chapter list (which are links), you go directly to that chapter. Long chapter titles meant no space around the screen to tap/press an empty area to go to the next page (see example A below). So maybe I can just go click on, for example, Chapter 1 and start reading but I like to see all the content list. 
    I'm not against long chapter titles, I actually like them but maybe they need to be smaller than the chapter number (see example B) or put them inside the book and simply just used Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc (example C). Also flush left text is better than center text but that's a preference.

04 - A preview (usually a future scene) — This just confuses me as sometimes I thought was I starting the book but it was a preview which is also in the book. I think any future scenes shouldn't start the book even if it might peak a reader's interest because it gives readers expectations that takes (sometimes) a long time to meet. If you know you have to read 300 pages of boring stuff to get to that preview, would you even start the book?

05 - An introduction — older books (such as classics) often had introductions which I'm willing to read but sometimes they give spoilers and assumes the readers already read the book - isn't that a good reason to put it at the end of the book? 
    And then there are these introductions by famous authors or famous people which are like love letters to the book or author and they give no new or interesting insights so what's the point? Why should I care about some famous person's opinion about another famous person or their book?

06 - Web link that took up almost an entire page — Once there was a book (two actually) with a page (I think it was about signing up for news or something from the publisher of the book) that kept asking to go to a website when I pressed/tapped to go to the next page and I kept pressing down on the screen at every possible place and it kept asking to go to the website. I experienced this before I learned to navigate my ereader so I must have restarted my ereader at least three or four times just to get out of that page. And I didn't read either book because I was too mad.  
    Only later, did I learn to pressed the very, very bottom corner edge of the screen to get out of such pages. Why would you make an entire page a web link? I have no reason to go to any web link on my ereader, not even to sign up for a free book - it's just something I don't do.

07- Acknowledgements — Acknowledgements is not the dedication but it's like the dedication but extended. So yes, readers might skip this even if it's at the end of the book but readers still can skip this even at the beginning so it might as well be at the end. I think acknowledgements at the end makes more sense because then I cared enough to read those names unlike the beginning of the book where I really had no such care.

What things do you not want in the beginning of books?

Fiction: Gone

This week's optional prompt at Poets and Storytellers United is: a time you surprised yourself. The ending may be a sort of a surprise. I don't know why I went that direction, it just happened. Visit other participants over here.

Fiction: Gone
One hundred feet from the ground, Julia peered down below and then at the man-child beside her. For about half an hour, Ted played games on his phone. 
    Thirteen years ago, Julia was introduced to Ted by common friends at this carnival. Ted thought it was a good idea to ride the rollercoaster to celebrate their engagement but a mechanical failure had stranded them.
    Growing up, Julia had foolishly rebelled on the wrong things and had thought marrying Ted will make up for her mistakes. But ten years of waiting for an engagement had altered her but Ted, he was the same expect the thirty extra pounds.
    It was too late to turn back. Due to his many generosities of lending money to his friends, he earned himself and Julia many debts. When she asked him to get his friends to pay him back, he struck her face, twice. That was the moment she felt like an insect who had been squashed one too many times but still stood in the same place to be squash again and again.
    Slowly, Ted turned away from his phone screen and looked up at her, eyes blinking slowly. He began to hunker down and the phone slipped from his hands and struck against her feet. When she glanced up, Ted was gone but there was a fat fly squatting on the leather seat and it seemed to be gazing at her. Haphazardly, it flew up and away into the dull afternoon sky.
    A sudden drop and the rollercoaster started turning. On the ground, Julia stumbled out of her seat. Clementine, Julia's friend, rushed toward her and said, "I'm glad you're alright. Wasn't Ted with you?"
    Julia shook her head and shrugged. What could she say that didn't sound mad?     
    About nine minutes on the way home with Clementine driving, she exclaimed, "What the heck! That is one chubby fly."
    On the windshield was a fat fly and it seemed to be staring at Julia. Clementine turned on the wipers but the fly didn't move quick enough. A short smear of red was left on the windshield but another swipe and it was gone.

Book Rants - May 2026

Is it helpful to talk about books I didn't finish? I like to list them in case someone might take interest because even if a book didn't work for me, others might find it to their liking. Even if a book have all the ingredients you like, it didn't mean you'll like the book. Here are the books I read and two I didn't finish.

Books I Unfinished:

01 - Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
What's it about: post apocalyptic America, humanlike-robots, restaurant business 
Quit at: 29%
I thought this was about four robots running a noodle shop but it's mostly discussions of restaurant businesses, ownerships (of said business but also the robots), food, a lot of cursing (four-letter f words and the usual ones) and money (they are all broke). There are different perspectives and various back stories. It's a crappy world where humanity is no better than dirt (according to the robots anyway) and robots are pretty much in the same situations except they have less rights.
    I didn't care about a single robot no matter that they have various genders (some of them are referred to as 'they'), various body types (some had many arms and legs), they just seem bland. At first, I thought they are going to stick with Staybehind (the story starts with him, a robot waking up) but then they switched perspective and suddenly, it's dull. Don't know what happened, I just couldn't muster interest and even at 163 pages, I couldn't finish it. 

Fiction: The Friends Market

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are supplied by jabblog and posted at River's blog over here.  This week's prompts are: hand, useful, panic, horse, shape, sharp and/or nuisance, boredom, quizzical, history, warfare, hair and bonus words notification, money, cotton, spray, clock, mug.

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Fiction: The Friends Market
Wearing her blue with white clouds pajamas under her pink raincoat and pink rainboots, Jacklyn strolled down the aisles of Old Friends Market. She glanced at her wrist watch: 12:01. She had plenty of time. The market didn't close until 3:03 am.
    Two months of leisure wanders around the market had turned into a daily ritual. Each night, she came and even when she was looking for something particular, she found, it didn't matter. Being here was a haven. Always, there was a strange, frantic elation cruising through her just as she stepped inside the market.
    In the spacious store, Jacklyn passed one or two shoppers. Soft music from the speaker weaved through the air. About two feet away, a man with an orange beard lurched toward a giant bag of candles and threw it into his cart already full of bags of cat food. He gave her a nod as he passed her, leaving an odor that reminded her of high school days.
    It was easy to just drop anything she thought useful into her cart but when Jacklyn checked, it was filled with bags of dog food. She did not panic. It was her habit to buy dog food whenever she came to the market. Her dog, Mickey, was a Harlequin Dane. His appetite was as huge as a horse. Sometimes she wondered why she owned a dog bigger than her but when she looked at him, she stopped wondering. Unlike his kind, Mickey embraced boredom so he was never a nuisance. She had no sharp eye for anything but she had always thought Mickey was worthy even if he practically ate through her money. 
    When she was wrong or made a bad choice, Mickey would give her his quizzical look with one eyebrow raised. If she had Mickey before she met Ted, she might not have gotten married. But even if Mickey had given her that look, perhaps she wouldn't have listened as she was too much into Ted back then. Her marriage had been a constant warfare. They were always fighting and unable to agree on anything. After the divorce six years ago, she was hesitant to get a dog due to her history of short-lived pets but once Mickey was in her life, there was no more doubt.
    She picked up a bottle of shampoo, conditioner and hair spray. It was expensive to own a Great Dane so Jacklyn had to sacrifice a few things such as salon visits. It was madness trying to tame her unruly hair that sometimes grew into a giant bubble shape but she persisted.
    Across from Jacklyn, a tiny woman was placing bags of various pet foods into three carts. A few times, she shook or nodded her head as she peered down the floor here and there with quick glances at the giant, analog clock surrounded by a rooster hanging on the back wall.
    Jacklyn looked away. She picked up a box of cotton balls and a bottle of hand lotion and tossed them into her cart. As she near the next aisle, she read the notification about taking your pets for regular checkups at the vet. Four months ago, the vet found a tumor in Mickey's brain. Had they removed it, he would die but if they didn't he would be in pain all his life so she made the decision. When they gave him the injection, Jacklyn was calm but afterward, she destroyed most of her home furniture.
    She turned into another aisle and paused to smile at a coffee mug with the slogan: Every dog deserves his bone. Turning and going into the next aisle, she picked up three cans of coffee beans. The scent of coffee always perked Mickey up. 
    The padding of feet made her look to her left. There was Mickey walking beside her. He had glints in his dark eyes. She glanced at her wrist watch: 1:03. He was on time as usual. When she dropped a box of popcorn into her cart, Mickey gave her his quizzical look. She took it out and put it back onto the shelf. Moving up and down the aisle, she would glance at Mickey before putting an item in her cart. He either gave her his quizzical look or licked his muzzle for approval.
    After she paid, Jacklyn pushed the cart with her bags of purchases toward the exit's double doors which slid open to the pouring rain outside. Mickey followed her but he stopped just before the doors. She turned to face him. This was where she had to leave him each night. Seeing her Mickey again was a joy but she couldn't take him home no matter how much she wanted to. He only existed in the market now. She lingered, rubbing his ears, giving him kisses before heading out. 
    Walking five steps, she paused and turned around. The doors to the market were closed and the lights were out. Jacklyn dried her eyes, glanced at her wrist watch: 3:04. There was always tomorrow night and the next.

Ten Book Series I Deemed As Finished

If a book series is good, I want more but if a series is the opposite, I would wonder why it's so long. Sometimes I think authors/publishers are dragging out storylines so that there would be more books. Maybe we will never get to control how long or how short a series is but we can choose not to read them. Book series are getting ridiculously long and I refuse to endure a series if I'm not getting along with them. Here the books series I'm done with.

01 - Noodle Shop Mystery by Vivien Chien (7 books read, 13 released so far) 
I thought by book 6 or even 7, Lana (the main character) would grow a bit (investigation skills for example) but nope. Every book is pretty much the same so I thought reading 7 books is enough. The 14th book will soon be released which tells me that this will probably be 20 or 30 books long but I don't like Lana enough to follow her slow growth. I can read for the mystery but I find them a bit dull. The one fun thing is the covers - one can enjoy searching for a skull on every cover.

Friday Writings: Tree of Death

I recently found this new blog, Poets and Storytellers United and I thought I try their weekly writing prompts. This week's optional prompt is dead tree, or any other dead tree you’ve seen or imagined. Or by the idea of beauty in death, or last-minute actions that turn out to be important. Or, you may simply ignore the prompt and write anything at all. The word limit is 369 words maximum (excluding title and notes). Visit other participants over here.

Fiction: Tree of Death
He is a common tree and to most humans, he is unseen. And yet, those who are desperate would find him almost by fate. For a long while, he had no name but everyone started calling him Elm and it stuck. Not being an elm, he was appropriately offended but he didn't completely dislike it.
    Every few decades, Elm wakes up in a new place but he is always near a body of water. Currently, he resides beside a beach. The noonday sun only shines on his left side as his other side is blocked by a forty-story hotel. Elm doesn't speculate why this is so. He has learned some things you simply accept as truth.
    For 1,201 days, he hasn't granted a wish to anyone but three days later, a man appears. His eyes are frowning and there is a slow melancholy to his movements. For two hours, he studies Elm before he takes a few steps closer, presses a shaking hand against Elm's trunk and speaks. "I wish to die but nothing too painful, if possible."
    Elm would laugh at the man if he could. How many comes to ask for death but none wants to die in pain? If they want an easy death, Elm would grant them the opposite but not because he is spiteful but because that is what wishing for death does. Many thought death brings peace but it just pauses everything until your next life.
    It doesn't take long and the man experiences every severity of his death.
    It is rare for Elm to ruminate after a death but this man somehow leaves a smudge of sorrow in him. Often, he tries not to think it is life that he takes away even as he grants death. 
    As the wind glides over Elm, and a few leaves fall off his branches, he think of the man and his return. Will he endure the same messes he has left behind? Will he live another unhappy life? Elm sighs but makes no sound. Life would be peaceful if death never reaches him.

Quick Quiz - My Answers

My answers for the Quick Quiz that I posted for the A-Z challenge here where you will find a few quirkly answers in the comments. Feel free to answer one or two or any of these questions.

01 - What nickname would you give your blog?
I called my blog (this blog anyway), PC for postcard but I may start calling her Percy later though I have no reason why I picked that name.

02 - Do you blog in your swimsuit?
I think of pajamas as swimsuits, so yes.

03 - Is your blog clever enough to change a lightbulb?
Not really but she will try.

04 - What happens when you drop a blog and a piano down a well?
You get untuned blog soup.

05 - Why do blogs cry when it rain?
To release their grief about not being able to dance.

06 - Do blogs multiply when you leave them in the bright sunshine?
Naturally, that's why I have to blog in the darkness.

07 - What do baby blogs do if you leave them in a room full of broken computers?
Throw tantrums and then sing themselves to sleep.

08 - Do clocks go backward if you revert a post?
Only if I do a little somersault afterward.

09 - Where do bad blogs go when they are sad?
Into sad songs where they stay until they lose their discontent.

10 - Do blogs dream of analog sheep?
Yes. Sheep and umbrellas.

A few complaints about ebooks, reading, ereaders

01 - Recently, I heard amazon is discontinuing their kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier on May 20 which means those older devices cannot be used to purchase new ebooks or borrow ebooks from your public library but can only read the books already on the device and if you do a factory reset, the device will become unusable, basically a paperweight. What was the point of all this except to force people to upgrade? 
    I find this unfair because most people cannot afford a new ereader. I admit, some devices are too old to use but aren't we creating more waste by not using what is still working? If amazon wants people to upgrade then they should allow people to trade their old devices for new ones and not just give them 10 dollars gift card for them.

02 - The problem with Overdrive (which I use to borrow public library ebooks) is that, it does not tell you whether a book can be read on certain ereaders unless you borrow books directly from the ereader. (I use a kobo ereader.) Basically when I search for a book at my library's Overdrive website, I had to take a chance whether it can be read on my kobo. Most of the time, if there is a kindle format, it can be read on a kobo which is like 80 to 90% of the time. The only certainty is whether it can be read on a kindle because that's one of the formats that is offered in most library books - why is that anyway? Amazon doesn't even own Overdrive.
    The ebook formats usually offered from a library (my public library anyway, I'm in the U.S.) are: Kindle, OverDrive Read (read in a browser), EPUB, Open EPUB, PDF, MediaDo (design for graphic novels but read in a browser) and audio books which I don't use. (Read all about the different formats here).
    Supposedly if the ISBN number of an ebook at the kobo store matches the ebook your library had purchased, you can read it on a kobo otherwise you have to sideload the epub version (by using Adobe Digital Edition with authorization of your ereader) or the open epub version (which didn't need authorization). 
    I got the kobo so I don't have to sideload books or use Adobe Digital Edition because Overdrive is built right on the device and yet I cannot read a book that is an OverDrive format. So maybe sideloading books isn't too hard but it really defeats the purpose of having Overdrive on your device. (Note: OverDrive is the correct term with the capital D but I find it confusing that there is an OverDrive format so I used Overdrive when not referring to the format.)

03 - Last month, when I closed a borrowed library ebook and sync my ereader (a kobo), that book became a preview which is basically a sample which means I cannot continue reading the book. I tried many methods to get the ebook back but nothing works. The only reason a borrowed library becomes a preview if it expired which it didn't. The other reason is if the book's license (which the library had purchased) expired which wouldn't make sense because if it had expired, I wouldn't be able to borrow the book at all. I had return it and borrowed it again but it won't load onto my kobo so I was forced to finish the book on my kindle ereader which I loathed. I know it's a bit of a luxury to have two ereaders but I've been meaning to get rid of my kindle ereader (by selling, trade it in to amazon or giving it away) but I was too lazy. Maybe I should do a giveaway here on this blog? Is it even worth it since it will probably get discontinued in a few years by amazon?

04 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #1 - Using the four-letter f word in a cozy mystery or a cozy book. I had this strange idea that if a book is cozy, it should not be bombarded with four-letter f word, to sort of give it a tame and friendly feeling but this seems not to be true.
    I recently tried to read a book that is a contemporary/fantasy-ish kind of cozy book but I couldn't stand that the main female character who is forty-something keeps using the four-letter f word and even use it as a verb. A character can curse when they are frustrated and angry but doing it like a natural habit is not something I like. Sometimes I think of this using the four-letter f word is a sign of immaturity that I cannot accept in older characters. Or am I weird to think that? And why was it necessary for a forty-something woman to curse? Is this a dumb reason not to read/continue a book?

05 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #2 - Having a main character who sleeps in a tent on the beach and having casual sex with the lifeguard. I didn't read this book (which is also a first book in a series) but I read this synopsis and this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. As a grown woman, she can do the latter but to sleep in a tent on a beach on a daily basis is baffling especially since she can afford real housing. Why isn't she worrying about the weather or the sand or the sun or someone coming up on her and attacking her or murdering her in her sleep? And also, because she's a cop, there might be criminals who she put away and maybe want to kill her or harm her. How many dumb reasons do you need to not do this? Plus she has a dog - I would think to be a responsible pet owner, you should have a real place, if not for yourself, for your dog. 

06 - Petty reason not to read/continue a book #3 - Having one of the main character's wife killed so he can be a broody mentor to some new youngster - why should this make sense? Can not a mentor have a wife, a happy family life, while still teaching his new student? Why did he need to have something tragic to provoke him to take on a student? Or rather, why did he have to be a gloomy fellow? Does having a dead wife made him a better mentor? Or perhaps the question to ask is, why do we need this? Or perhaps the real question is since this is a sequel series re-starter, why ruin the happiness of a character to continue a series? I can't accept this so this is another petty reason for not reading. 

07 - I recently encountered a male author who wrote under the pseudonym of a fake female author who had a fake bio (on goodreads). This author wrote books with main female characters which annoys me more. This is surprising but at the same time I find this disturbing. When female authors used male pseudonyms, they don't pretend to be male (as far as I can tell). I may be bias about this. I think male authors had no need or reason to pretend to be females. 
    Since fictional authors (tv characters and such) can author books, why not fake authors? But we know those fictional character authors are fake unlike this male author pretending to be this female author who is fake but not every reader would know unless they go about researching it. But still, what is the point of writing as a fake female author? 

Do you have a complaint about your reading or books in general?

A-Z April 2026 Challenge: Reflection

My thoughts & reflections on the A-Z Challenge this year. (More about the challenge here)

01 - This year is the only time I had a theme - Blogging with a side of ramblings and short fiction. I did pre-write some posts but rewrite almost all of them at the last minute – I seemed unable to stick to what I thought up. 

02 - I signed up only on the theme reveal list because I prefer to be on a simple list. I don't know how or why the master list became this over bloated database-like list. I still think it's better to just have a name and a link to your blog and maybe some indication whether your blog is adult content. Why do we need to complicate a list?

03 - Is it wrong that I avoided blogs with serious subjects/themes because I want to keep a cheerful disposition during the challenge? I don't mind bloggers tackling serious issues but I don't want to be depressed by them. Also, I maybe avoided continuous stories. For some odd reason, I can't remember too much of what I read during the challenge – it's like my mind was in rush mode or something – what I read seemed to slip out of my head.

04 - Overall, I find the challenge was less stressful this year but may because I visited less blogs and was much better at not forcing myself to leave comments. 
    In case you missed some of my A-Z posts, here's a list or you can go to the link below the header (a-z challenge):

~ Unofficial Badges ~ Theme Reveal • Authoring Barmy Chronicles • Blogrolls & Blogs • Capitals & Comments • Derangement (fiction) • Excuse me while I forget to blog • Followers & Female Blogger • Gaol (fiction) • Honest Blog Confessions • Introductions & Identities • Joys of Blogging • Keep calm and keep blogging • Lament for the lonely blogger

• The Memory Bus (fiction) • New Acronyms for Blogging • Ordered Lists & Old-Timer Bloggers • Pet Peeves About Blogging • Quick Quiz • Reading blogs as they are • Sidebars & Switching Platforms • Text from your blog • Unusual Blogs • Vaguely useful suggestions • Weblogs from blog's past • X (Ten) Reasons Why I'm Still Blogging • Yawning Dog (fiction) • Zany Blogging Thoughts

05 - Here are some wonderful blogs that are worth visiting (in no particular order):

• Live and Learn @ Live and Learn - Toss and Turn > link
This April is Live and Learn's 15th blog anniversary so she reminisced about her early blogging days with previous posts. Being a semi-new reader, I find these older posts delightful and fun. 

• Charlotte @ Uglemor - Mother Owl's Musings > link
Charlotte had a travel theme paired with wordle solves. I enjoyed reading about the places she had been and happenings she encountered. It was through Charlotte that I found out about wordle so I like to thank her for that.

• Tamara @ Part-time Working Hockey Mom > link
I enjoyed reading about the 1980's through Tamara's posts. I may have avoided the few tough subjects but overall, it's a good trip down the 1980's lane.

• Al Penwasser  @ Penwasser Place > link
So maybe historical figures is not a fun subject but Al Penwasser made it fun and even if some of the things said aren't necessary historically accurate, it didn't matter. I enjoyed the fun way each post is presented.

• Jamie @ Whatever I Think Of!  > link
I love the idea of a book cover scavenger hunt and this was Jamie's theme - this definitely would make a fun monthly meme. I didn't have much time to participate until the middle of the month but it was fun. 

Did you participate in the A-Z Challenge this year and what did you think of it?

Book Rants: April 2026

accidently here no. 2

I had a good reading month though it was busier than usual with the A-Z Challenge which I just finished. (I'll talk about that in a later post.) The art above have nothing to do with anything, I just thought I share it since I finished it and it's something cheerful to look at. Here are the books I read in April. 

01 - The house with a dragon in it by Nick Lake, illustrated by Emily Gravett
What's it about: a dragon, a witch, an orphan, wishes, family
It was disappointing that the dragon is only at the beginning and end of the book and didn't get involved in the main story. This is really about an orphan and a witch who grants her wishes. I half enjoyed this. It's mostly because I expected more of the dragon so it's like false advertising, perhaps this needs a new title and new cover art. The illustrations are wonderful.

Zany Blogging Thoughts

For today, the last post of the A-Z Challenge, here are some zany and imperfect thoughts using at least one Z word. Perhaps they make sense, perhaps they don't. I hope you enjoy them.

01 - All the zany people take blog naps on Mondays.

02 - You must blog in zealous retorts after midnight or else the zonkey will appear and sauté your dreams.

03 - Using math and time zones, a blogger travels through time punctually.

04 - A zeppelin ride through the sky is what every tired blogger needs.

05 - I failed to zip my zipper and lost my zeal to blog.

06 - On Wednesdays, all the best bloggers blow bubblegums at the zoo.

07 - Don't get zesty with your blog, it might not like it.

What zany thoughts can you come up with using at least one Z word?

Fiction: Yawning Dog

Charlie's daily ritual was to count her dog's yawns and post them on her blog until her house was robbed. The lost of her furniture, bicycle, jewels, cash she had hidden in her closet and even her laptop didn't stress her except for her dog. 
    Seven years ago, after her husband's funeral, Charlie had wandered out alone and ended up in an unfamiliar neighborhood where she encountered two Rottweilers. They chased her and would have attacked her if a black and tan German Shepherd didn't appear. He fought with the Rottweilers until they scurried away. Charlie took the German Shepherd to the vet and got him mended. When no owner came forward after six months, she adopted him. She named him Darcy Bennet after two of her favorite Jane Austen characters. 
    When Charlie discovered Darcy's habit of yawning with his paw over his mouth, she blogged about it. Everyone fell in love with Darcy and his yawns but they also loved how human-like he was – sitting with his front legs up, reading books (his favorite was The Art of Racing in the Rain), sunning himself like he was getting a tan in the backyard and even sleeping on his back.
    With the insurance money, Charlie brought new furnishings and a new laptop but without Darcy, the days dragged on. And without her old laptop, she wasn't able to blog as she didn't remember her password. Using a new email, she tried to get her blog back. How could she gave up seven years of posts that meant so much to her? And besides, her blog didn't just belong to her but to Darcy as well.
    Several weeks after the robbery, in her half empty home office, Charlie fell asleep sitting by the desk with her laptop opened. When she woke up, the screen was showing the dashboard of her blog and in a text file, was her account names and passwords and below that, was her brother's name and the word robbery. Her older brother often thought blogging was unhealthy for Charlie. Perhaps he thought without her laptop and her dog, she would stop blogging and join the real world. 
    Most surprising was Darcy sleeping by her feet. Charlie bended down and lightly stroked the top of his head. He had probably came in through the doggy door in the back of the house. Was it Darcy who got into her blogging account and left the note? He had surprised her before. But all that mattered was, her yawning dog was back. If she was missing something, she was sure it would find her soon. The doorbell rang and Charlie grinned and Darcy, woken, started to yawn.

X (Ten) Reasons Why I'm Still Blogging

I'm using the Roman numerals numbers as it is often difficult to find a good x word to use for the challenge. Here are X (ten) reasons why I'm still blogging.

I - Blogging is a daily habit.
II - Sharing thoughts, ideas, creations and any odd or wonderful things.
III - I don't do social media so my blog is my social media.
IV - Finding (although rare) new blogs and bloggers.
V - For the laughs - so many blogs/bloggers are funny and they cheer me up.
VI - Learning new things but not just new words or new ideas but also how to deal with people who aren't quite nice.
VII -  It's cheaper to blog than to go to therapy.
VIII - Saying things I might never say in person.
IX - Interactive with people I might never thought to meet or interact.
X - I like blogging.

What reason or reasons keep you blogging?

Weblogs from blog's past

We, at the ITP (Inquisitors of Tomorrow's Past), had received these weblogs from an old farmer who discovered them in his basement. He insisted that these weblogs must be shared with the world and we agreed. We have yet to discover who this Mary was but we believed she was more than one person and we believe all these Marys are pioneers for humanity's intelligence and they should be heard. Here are their weblogs from the past. 

01

From: Mary's Home Diary
Date: March 1800
Tonight, when my husband arrived home with demands for dinner, I pleaded with him and described all the work I had to do in a single day – taking care of two children with one sick in bed; taking care of his mother who was also in bed after breaking her ankle supervising my duties; washing, ironing, mending the entire family's clothes; and various chores that he had always insisted was my duty as his wife. He glanced at my stained skirt, dishevelled hair and tired face and said, "Bring me my dinner at once, woman or I will turn you out." I wanted to argue if I am to leave he would have more problems but I was dead tired. With a smile, I brought him a piece of raw meat on a dinner plate and then I went to bed.

02

From: Mary's Study Notes
Date: April 1890
How ignorant I was to believe I am equal to the men. They gawked, they played pranks - I do not like having my skirt pulled up nor being carried out of a classroom like an object that needed discarding - and most of all, they did not show me any kindess. I often retreated to my solitary room and wrote and wrote until my hands had loosened my rage.     
    Calling them scoundrels is probably kind. How I wanted to kick them in their male parts and say, "I am merely checking to make sure you are a man. Is that not a requirement to study here?" But I do nothing because I am kinder and smarter than they are and I am in charge of the keys to all the labs. Should one of them delay in their assignments and need the use of the labs, I shall make myself scarce as it is what they perferred.

03

From: Mary's Physician Logs
Date: March 1900
During a day when five of our male doctors were out sick, a man in excruciating pain in his nether region came in and requested a physician. When I went to examine him, he insisted he on a male physician. I smiled and went onto to treat other patients. 
    At noon, when I went to check on him, he was pale and sweating. I asked if I can offer my services but again, he insisted on a male physician so I left him and went on to treat other patients. I learned the man was kicked by a horse so at least, he wasn't contagious.
    Before I leave for the night, the man called me over and asked if I could take a look at him. I said, "I am sorry but I can only treat patients during the hours that I am allotted and those had passed. It is a rule I cannot break or else I cease to be a physician. You should know this since you are one of the many who voted on that rule." Then I went home but not before I leave, I instructed one of the orderly to give the man some painkillers and to make sure a doctor check on him first thing in the morning.  I may be frustrated by the man and what he represented but I prefer to be kind.

(*These are fictitious posts*)

Vaguely useful suggestions on how to blog from my cat

I don't actually have a cat but if I do, his name would probably be Robert or something regal or long or very egocentric and he would give me these advices because I'm prone to have mean, narcissistic and brutally honest creatures surrounding me. Here are suggestions on how to blog from my cat:

01 - Eat more fish. They are good source of proteins for your dull brain so that you would not end up posting something dumb.

02 - Offer to assassinate anyone for free especially that no-good dog next door.

03 - More yarn pictures, preferably with cats.

04 - Curse more, bitch more and always remember you're a wonderful human being. It's other people who are assholes.

05 - Never blog anything you know nothing of, unless you like doing more work.

06 - Never blog about what your significant others, your neighbors or your gynecologist/andrologist say to you.

07 - Always listen to your cat/dog/any pet that looks adorable but isn't when he/she tells you not to post something. They know more about you than you know about you.

What suggestions did your pet (imaginary or otherwise) give you about blogging?

Unusual Blogs

We, at WOOT (We Openly Ogle Things), had recently discovered these new and unusual blogs flourishing in the blog-o-sphere. These may be unusual but they are not rare as we can all be creative if we put our mind to it. Here, we present to you, some unusual blogs for your enjoyment. 

01

Title: Unicorn Wonderfulland
Tagline: My wonder years living in Unicorn Wonderfulland
What you will find: All you ever need to know about unicorns but afraid to ask with many descriptions of rainbows, sunsets, sunrises, etiquettes of being a unicorn, the magic of unicorn hair and many other things that you may never wanted to know.
About the Blogger: A grumpy woman who used to be a unicorn but was kicked out for insulting a certain unicorn royalty. There might have been some alcohol involved but most of the information is mostly accurate, just don't ask for sources.

02

Title: Udders & Moos
Tagline: How to milk cows and other animals that moos
What you will find: Pictures of old guys and old gals milking cows and drinking milk from unusually ugly coffee mugs. There may be cows being very pretty and very cheeky, showing off their behinds.
About the Blogger: A farmer who was fed up with people telling them how to milk cows and calling them Moo.

03

Title: Unawed & Unamazed
Tagline: All the unamazing, dull things you never want to know or see
What you will find: All the unamazing, dull things you never want to know about or see, nothing that impress anyone, not even aunts of very dull dispositions and more that you really don't want to see. 
About the Blogger: Anonymous but he's actually a human who used to be cat but wished to be a unicorn instead.

04

Title: UFO of USA
Tagline: Unidentified Fleeing Ogres Mostly Found in the USA
What you will find: Unfocused and sometimes closeups photographs or videos of ogres running toward the camera or running away or running for no reason. There will be talks on how to catch ogres in their natural habitats and the types of sneakers for better chasing.
About the Blogger: A man who might have a vision problem and who runs around deserted forests and unknown lands while capturing ogres with his three cameras that might be stolen from a museum or two.

05

Title: Unaudible Silence
Tagline: Listen to the silence of the internet
What you will find: Audios of silence or blog post of silence. If you see posts with tons of blanks spaces, do not worry, those are the silence of the internet.
About the Blogger:  An old geezer who is mostly deaf.

Have you found any unusual blogs around the blog-o-sphere?

(*These are made up blogs*)

Text from your blog

These don't need explanations except I want to clarify I didn't write them. Some blog left these text to me but they didn't leave their name but I thought I share them anyway. Who knows, maybe these are from your blog.

01 - Your thoughts are not solicited. Nope, they are not.

02 - Hey you! You have twenty drafts and still not posting. What's up with that? Did you lose your faith in humanity? Lost your laptop? Couldn't find your house again? No worries. I'll wait for you.

03 - How dare you change my looks! I was perfectly happy with my bright hues and weird pictures. I was perfect the way I was. 

04 - Delete those awful pictures immediately. Did you forget that time where you have to spend days apologizing all over the internet?

05 - Please stop telling people I need a makeover. I'm perfect the way I am. Just slightly plump with excessive stuffings. Just remember, you are not smart enough to change me.

06 - Your cat made me revert your posts. I swear I had no choice. He threatened to eat me.

07 - Does this wallpaper make me look unapproachable or slightly plump?

What message did your blog leave you?

Sidebars & Switching Platforms

I use to have a sidebar on my previous blogs but I didn't like that I couldn't keep it organized enough so I ditched it and all my blogs are one column like the blog you're currently reading. (One column is a blog with no sidebar/Two columns is a blog with one sidebar/Three columns is a blog with two sidebars, etc.)  
    The sidebar is where you put the things relevant to your blog such as a small mini bio, useful things like blog archives, translator tools, all the little things significance things but it really depends on the blogger.
    I think it's hard to maintain a neat, organized sidebar so I chose to put all sidebar things onto the footer so the foot is basically my sidebar except it's at the bottom of the blog. I guess a footer can also be a bit chaotic but you don't see it until you scroll down. In my footer, I have blog archive, post labels, a small mini bio, the followers gadget, a search tool, a translate tool and a little note - seven things and a return home link and below that the navbar which you can only see if you mouseover that empty space. This may sound like a lot but it isn't. [Update: I moved the navbar to the top of the blog which is still only visible when mouseover.]
    Now with responsive blogs, sidebars sometimes get shifted to the bottom (and header & other elements might shrinks or enlarge) to fit the size of a browser window. But that didn't mean sidebars are not needed. I think sidebars are necessary but they don't have to be on the side of a blog.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Having used Google's Blogger for years, my opinions are completely biased. Blogger does have its downsides just like any other platform. It's a bit outdated (Google haven't updated it in years) and they removed a lot of useful features (like follow by email) but they are still free and they don't put advertisement in your blogs.
    I did try out Blogger first but then I tried Wordpress (the free version, wordpress.com) for a few months and decided I just didn't like it enough. Not because you can't change the template (you have to pay to alter it) or the advisements they put in your blog – I just find the interface unfriendly and harder to use. Some people find Wordpress much easier than Blogger and some people (like me) find Blogger easier. 
    Over the years, I have seen many Blogger users switched to Wordpress. The errors, issues, problems they claimed seemed easy enough to overcome but maybe it seemed that way to me because I never had many problems with Blogger. I have seen bloggers switched from Wordpress to Blogger a few times and it's always surprising but nice. They too offered much the same reasons about errors and such for switching. But I think if you want to switch platforms, you don't need an excuse. Even though I want people to use Blogger, I won't try to convince people to switch. Everyone should choose the platform that fits them and their comfort. Whether you use Wordpress or Blogger or other platforms, I hope you continue to blog because some of us (mainly me) prefer blogs over social media.

Do you like sidebars? Which platform do you prefer when blogging?

Reading blogs as they are

A few years (or maybe last week? I don't remember), one reader commented they did not know how to navigate my blog. (All my blogs are one column with no sidebars like this blog you're currently reading.) I guess I should have asked them to explain but I didn't want to make a fuss so I let it go.
    Even if you are new to a blog, all you have to do is click on anything (ie, a post header, an image, any word that looks like links, etc), it goes somewhere - is that not simple? Even if you're used to blogs with a sidebar, that shouldn't matter. But that's probably not the problem. I really don't know the problem was. Does anyone know?
    That comment made me think about how blogs are viewed. In the beginning, blogs are designed for large screens (such as a computer) but you can still view them on a small screen (such as a phone) but in a more simplified way mostly as text or just not with a lot of the graphics/images or with the structure of a blog. Now with more powerful phones, viewing blogs is almost like viewing them on a computer only everything's smaller.
    I'm not much of a phone user so I cannot say if viewing a blog on a phone is worst than on a computer screen but the small size does put me off. But I mostly prefer viewing blogs on a computer screen and in a browser and seeing all the elements at once in their proper place and looking at images and graphics at regular sizes. I don't think you get the full experience of a blog on a small screen even if it is designed to look exactly the same as on a computer. 
    Besides, bloggers work hard to get their blog to look a certain way and set up all these little nuggets you probably dismissed or couldn't see too well on a small screen. Mostly, a blogger's hard work deserves to be seen properly.

Do you have problems navigating blogs? Do you prefer to view blogs on a small or large screen?

Quick Quiz

All the weird questions you have never wanted to answer about blogs and blogging and some you probably wish to never think about. If incline, answer one, two, all or none of the questions.

01 - What nickname would you give your blog?
02 - Do you blog in your swimsuit?
03 - Is your blog clever enough to change a lightbulb?
04 - What happens when you drop a blog and a piano down a well?
05 - Why do blogs cry when it rain?
06 - Do blogs multiply when you leave them in the bright sunshine?
07 - What do baby blogs do if you leave them in a room full of broken computers?
08 - Do clocks go backward if you revert a post?
09 - Where do bad blogs go when they are sad?
10 - Do blogs dream of analog sheep?

Pet Peeves About Blogging

I had talked about a lot of blogging pet peeves before so I thought I just list a few that I didn't talk about. Here are three of my blog pet peeves. 

01 - Script, italic or fonts that look like hand writing — Using script fonts and such sparely is fine but if the whole content is using them, I find it hard to read. I know this is a preference and sometimes it looks great but I would prefer to use these sparingly.

02 - Posts that kept on going — I think this feature is only for Wordpress blogs. I have not seen it on any other types of blogs. When I like a new-to-me blog, I like to browse the archive to see what else a blogger have posted, so having older posts keep appearing as you scroll down is not a good way to browse because it's especially daunting if a blogger have years of posts. You can't stop and bookmark and come back to it later. I don't know if this is a template thing or a feature thing but it's definitely one that I wish people would stop using.

03 - Subscribe popup box — It used to be subscribe popup boxes pops up when you go to a blog but now after you press the comment button, it pops up before the comment goes through which I just don't get. It's interrupting the comment process to ask if you want to subscribe – that's dumb and dumber too if I leave another comment, I'll see that same subscribe button again. I do not subscribe to blogs and even if I do, I like to be able to choose to do it and not have a box to remind me every time I comment.

Do you have any blog pet peeves?

Ordered Lists & Old-Timer Bloggers

Maybe you have noticed many of my a-z posts (and my regular posts) are in list form. I kind of think in lists most of the time so it makes sense to post lists. Lists are easier to read and sometimes they are easier to write.
    I usually limit my lists to 3, 5, 7, 10 or 14 items. That doesn't always mean I deliberately make them a certain number. Sometimes if I can't think of 4 items, I go with 3 and if I can't get past 6, I go with 5 and so on. But most of the time I go with 7 items because seven is sort of my favorite number. And I always place a number before each item because it's more ordered looking and readers can refer to a number instead of repeating what that item is referring to.
    I'm an old-timer when it comes to blogging. This years makes 20 years of blogging for me. (I'll probably post about this in July when I celebrate this blog's anniversary). But there are bloggers who had blogged even longer than that. It's a bit comforting to know many bloggers keep blogging while so many had quitted. 
    Newbies to blogging (those with a few months posts) is a bit rare. I haven't seen any lately (those bloggers who started a blog just for the a-z challenge doesn't count). So maybe blogging is an old-fashioned hobby but I like it and it's still the only platform I'm comfortable using. Blogging has become not only a habit but a part of my life so I can never really quit it.
    
Do you like list posts? Are you an old-timer when it comes to blogging?

New Acronyms for Blogging

Just a couple of acronyms I made up.

01 - GHOST = Going on Hiatus & Operating on Slow Time 

02 - NOPE = Not Offering Proper Elation

03 - RUDE = Refusing to Understand Dumb Exhortation

04 - FRET =  Failed to Realize Everyone's Terrible

05 - BITCH = Being Incredibly Too Calm to Hurry

06 - HELL = Having Effing Lousy Luck

07 - FOMB = Fear of Malfunctioning Blogs

Do you have any new acronyms for blogging?

Fiction: Memory Bus

The memory bus had a silver and white outer shell and a driver decked out in a crisp, gray uniform and gray cap. After studying the bus for a bit, Vincent got on. His heart was thumping so loud he swore everyone heard it. He pressed his chest and released a short breath.
    Once inside, he was immediately transported into ten-year-old Vincy and sitting beside his mother. Dawn's early light filtered in through the many open windows. A shiver ran up Vincent's body. He noted the watch on his right wrist: 8 am, seven more minutes and the accident would occur.
    Two young boys with black izzards on the front of their hoodies were playing games on their phones. After awhile, they took out staple guns and began shooting at each other, moving around the bus and climbing over seats and people. The other passengers complained for them to stop but they kept on, laughing and shouting, sending nails here and there. Staple nails went here and there but one ricocheted off a metal part of a window and drove into Vincent's mother's head who was asleep. Vincy had pulled his mother to his side but the nail had struck her in the head and killed her instantly.
    When the bus screeched to a halt, the boys with their staple guns fled. Alerted by Vincy's shouts, the few passengers started crowding around Vincy and his mother.
    Vincy was transported back outside and standing in front of the bus. This fifth time made it clear — there was no effective way to get an outcome in which his mother lived. The only sure way was to never let the two picaroons to step inside the bus.
    But Vincent could not change the past and even if he was able to do so, it wouldn't alter anything as the memory bus could only run within and did not affect the outside world.
    Vincent exhaled. He got the proof he needed. Now he could finally let go and move on.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This month's Words for Wednesday's prompts are provided by messymimi over here. This week's prompts are: shell, deck, chest, proof, dawn, effective and/or brabble (a loud, dumb argument), izzard (the letter z) and picaroon (a scoundrel). 

Lament for the lonely blogger

Here's a poem-ish homage to bloggers. I used the word lonely because I couldn't find a word starting with L that means incredibly dumb, miraculously marvelous, exceptionally vexing and highly delightful. This was inspired by a dog who liked to shake pear trees on Wednesdays.

Lament for the lonely blogger
To blog or not to blog, what a simple question
whether you're a novice, a master or in between
you will probably despair, you will probably dwell
you will probably freak out once or twice or thrice
but all is nonsense if a blog is not a blog
but a butterscotch cake made of butter and scotch
maybe you will choke on insolents and compliments
maybe you will talk nonsense without end 
until the birds of destiny drop poop on you
to blog or not to blog is always a simple question
all who answer will be vexed but delighted 
all who don't answer will be on their second nap
all who know it's a dumb question will have skipped ahead
but who cares, just say hurrah, hurrah
you have blogged today so goodbye, goodbye

Do you have a lament for bloggers?