This is Day 4 of the First Annual 10 Days of Heat writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Diving into the deep end. Please join me in checking out the other hot stories.
Nope, not me!
Unlike going off the deep end, diving into the deep end is entirely within your control. Control being the key word here. I like to be in control of my circumstances, and I am not a risk-taker, so there are a number of things you won't find me doing. Among them are diving into any body of water, or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane (or boat), unless of course doing so is significantly less dangerous than remaining where I am. In which case I will likely expire from fear anyway. And should you ever find me doing any of the above-mentioned things without extenuating circumstances, you will know that I have, indeed, gone off the deep end.
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This is Day 3 of the First Annual 10 Days of Heat writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Orange. Please join me in checking out the other hot stories.
First I'd like to direct your attention to our den window, covered by a sheer orange curtain. In front of the window is one of Sophie's favorite places.
Now on to something nearly as sweet. Oranges, my favorite being the Navel orange. They are not, however, just the simple fruit from which we get our morning OJ, so here are some interesting orange facts I had not heard before. What came first, the color or the fruit? The fruit, which derived its name first from the Arabic naranj, then coming to English as narange in the 14th century. Did you know oranges unknown in the wild? They are a hybrid of tangerines and the Pomelo, also known as the Chinese grapefruit. They were green instead of orange. Today Vietnamese oranges and Thai tangerines are green on the outside and orange on the inside. Aren't they pretty?
Since oranges are a subtropical fruit, the climate plays a major role in their color. In cooler climates, they will turn orange when the weather cools. In hot climates, however, they will remain green. How can I tell if my orange is ripe? Well, not by the color, no matter where they are grown. You see, an orange, if left unpicked, can stay on the tree until the next season. Because of fluctuation in temperature, it can change from green to orange and back to green without affecting the quality or flavor of the fruit. A ripe orange should have thin, smooth skin with no soft spots. It should also feel heavy for its size. To make oranges more visually appealing to the consumer, green oranges can be exposed to ethylene gas, such as produced by bananas and apples, but his does nothing toward ripening the fruit. If you like oranges, what is your favorite variety? More about all things orange here. If you enjoyed this post, please leave your calling card in the comment section or click the visitors box below to let me know you stopped by.
This is Day 2 of the First Annual 10 Days of Heat writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Tokyo, Japan. Please join me in checking out the other hot stories.
The continuing adventures of FBI agents, Charlie and Alex. Charlie grinned as he hung up the phone. "Wow, that's new. Interpol wants us to help track down a Japanese art dealer." "Okay, I'll bite," replied Alex who had been lounging in the doorway, "Since when does the FBI track down art dealers?" "Since the art dealer deals in stolen art and is also a murder suspect in Tokyo. They want us to find him and send him back," Charlie said shaking his head. "I think we're getting singled out for the unusual cases." "That couldn't be because we have been racking up results and solving unsolvable cases out the wazoo, now could it," quipped Alex. "I mean just look at these new digs" waving his hand around to indicated Charlie's new office. "Way to go lead agent in the Atlanta field office." Always ready to dive into a new case, Alex asked,"So where do we start? What do we know other than the dude is Japanese, a murder suspect and apparently here in the city since we're the ones who got the call." "Interpol is sending us the file." Charlie grinned again, "In the meantime, we are going to work on our cover." Now Alex was the one grinning. "I thought you'd like that idea," said Charlie. "Just remember, nothing ever goes as planned." He thought for a moment, and said "I'll be a shady art dealer and you can be a rich collector. That should get some attention of the unsavory kind. I'll have Sheila get us a list of museums, auction houses and art dealers so we can start playing our roles." "A rich art collector, huh? I like it," said Alex striking a pose. "Don't get too carried away now. This guy's a murder suspect and I expect he'd like to stay on the outside of the iron bars," Charlie cautioned. "Now speaking of bars, let's go get a couple cold ones while we plan our strategy." "I second that," said Alex. "Are you driving?"
This is Day 1 of the first annual 10 Days of Heat writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is On a hot summer's night. Please join me in checking out the other hot stories. As is often the case, the start of the challenge arrives to find me staring blankly at my screen. The gun is fired, they're off and I am scrambling to catch up. It has been a busy summer (and a hot one, too, hereabouts). However, I've never missed a challenge day yet, sometimes flying by the seat of my pants and clinging to the last shred of my sanity, so without further excuses and whining, here we go. After one look at today's prompt, I immediately felt relief. I have an out. Actually, I have an earworm, which I will happily pass along to all you unsuspecting souls. You're welcome. 😉 We were browsing around the store the other day...yes earworms can linger for days. Anyway, they were playing some pretty good music, none of which I remember...except this one.
They were farm kids way down in Dixie They met in high school in the 'sixties. Everyone knew it was love from the start. One July in the midnight hour, They climbed upon the water tower, Stood on the rail and painted a ten foot heart In John Deere green, on a hot summer night. He wrote Billy Bob loves Charlene in letters three foot high, And the whole town said that he should've use red But it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green. They settled down on eighty acres, Raising sweet corn, kids and tomatoes, They went together like a hand and a glove. On a clear day, from their front yard, If you look and know what to look for, Off to the east you can still read his words of love He wrote Billy Bob loves Charlene in letters three foot high, And the whole town said that he should've use red But it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green. Now more than once the town has discovered Painting over it ain't no use. There ain't no paint in the world that'll cover it, The heart keeps showing through. In John Deere green, on a hot summer night, He wrote Billy Bob loves Charlene in letters three foot high. And the whole town said that he should've used red But it looked good to Charlene in John Deere green.
I hadn't heard that in years, but wow that took me back and had my feet tap-tapping right there in the store. I mentioned to hubby that I felt sorry for anyone who had to view the security videos. For anyone wanting revenge, please feel free to leave your own earworms in the comments.
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We found this cute little fellow on our back door as we were heading out to the store. He was up near the top of the screen, so hubby snapped a picture for me. He is known as the Eastern-Eyed Click Beetle, but those lovely spots for which he is named are not really his eyes. He was probably about 1.5 inch long, and definitely an attention grabber. These interesting creatures are harmless to people, i.e., they do not bite or sting, nor do they damage property. Like other click beetles, these click or snap to right themselves, or to avoid predators, and they can also fly.
They are actually garden friendly, so if you see them, just let them go about their merry way. I've never seen one before so it's nice to encounter a friendly critter amongst the usual bombardment of ants and mosquitoes. If you're interested, you can read more about them hereand here. If you enjoyed this post, please leave your calling card in the comment section or click the visitors box below to let me know you stopped by.
