Tag Archives: Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

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Did anyone else find this week’s prompt a bit challenging?

I live a peaceful life that honestly wouldn’t fit in well with dramatic, high-action stories.

Here are a few films and books about quiet, introverted, bookish people that remind me of myself.

William Thacker from the romantic comedy Notting Hill

Why: The main character owns a bookstore and is bashful about publicity. I enjoyed working in a bookstore years ago and also try to avoid the spotlight.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Why: I love spending time in nature, whether that is by taking a brisk walk/hike, bird watching, or sitting quietly and observing what is around me. Like Thoreau, I also like going back home and enjoying my share of creature comforts at the end of the day.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Why: Francie and I both grew up in working class families that highly valued formal and informal education. Having extra money does makes it easier to raise children, but you can still give a kid a wonderful life on a tight budget if you focus on what’s important.

Rosa is third from the right in this poster.

Detective Rosa Diaz from the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine 

Why: Rosa and I are both private people who steer clear of office gossip and politics. We’d much rather get the work done as quickly and accurately as we can.

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

I interpreted this week’s prompt to be a slightly tongue-in-cheek question about the unique things that give our lives meaning. That is to say, I won’t be mentioning food, water, oxygen, or other stuff that every human needs to stay alive. I’m also assuming necessities like glasses or medicine aren’t supposed to be included. Here’s hoping you all interpreted it in similar ways!

Internet Access. You all might giggle at this, but I often choose vacation destinations based on whether they have Internet access and how strong their signal might be. While I do spend most of my vacation time offline having adventures, I really like being able to text the people I travel with or google the history of the places I visit.

Stories. They can come in the form of books, TV shows, films, or true anecdotes about my loved ones.  I adore stories of every shape, size, and origin.

Spending Time in Nature. Yes, most of the time this involves visiting urban parks where I still have that all-important Internet access. LOL! There is something so soothing about being surrounded by trees, grass, flowers, and the occasional babbling brook. It’s even better if I can take a long, brisk walk through it. I sleep like a baby after those excursions.

Non-Competitive Games. That is to say, I love playing board and card games if no one cares about winning and/or if we play a game that encourages everyone to cooperate to reach their goals. I adore banter and the silly things people discuss when they’re playing a game whose only purpose is to encourage everyone to spend time together.

Dairy-Free Chocolate. Any dentists participating in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge may not approve of this answer, but I relish good chocolate. It’s the best sort of sweet there is in my opinion. I even like 100% chocolate that contains little to no added sugar in it. An adult relative was once surprised by how much little Lydia liked dark chocolate, especially since they’d just finished telling me that it wasn’t something children liked.

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

It was difficult to narrow my answer down to only one book this week.

There are so many amazing biographies and autobiographies out there, but in the end I had to go with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for reasons I’ll get into below.

One, Ms. Angelou had a unique story to tell. Her childhood included very difficult experiences like moving between multiple households/caregivers as a small child and recovering from sexual abuse a few years later. (The incident itself was not included in her autobiography from what I recall, but I thought I should mention it for anyone who would rather not read about the after-effects of that topic).  With that being said, she was also surrounded by adults who loved her and who did everything they could to help her heal.

Two, the author had a poetic and descriptive writing style that is well-suited for an autobiography. She brought the heartwarming moments of her childhood to life in exquisite detail, and there were quite a few of them.

Three, everyone goes through tough times at one point or another. I find comfort in reading about the coping skills other people have relied upon when they experienced loss, trauma, grief, or other hard stuff. No two stories are every alike, but you can find many common threads in them if you pay attention.  It’s also encouraging to see examples of people persevering and eventually finding their way to happier chapters in life.

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The saddest book I’ve ever read was The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

It was a dystopian horror tale about a man who was trying to keep his young son alive in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth in which every plant and animal they found had died.

The writing itself was decent, but there were so many awful things that happened during the course of the plot that I really struggled to finish it.

If you decide to read it, I strongly recommend reading some spoiler-y reviews first or asking someone who has already read it to warn you in advance about certain scenes. Some of them were pretty disturbing, and that’s coming from someone who read horror for years.

I don’t read books like this one anymore. My tastes have since shifted to require more hope in plots and endings, but kudos to those of you who enjoy this type of horror.

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Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

The photo I included in today’s post is of a fantasy world. If only it were real!

My perfect vacation would include plenty of time out in nature, especially if it involved beaches and mountains. It would be marvellous to be somewhere that made it possible for both of these things to happen in the same day.

Nature is incredibly soothing to me. I love hearing the tide lap up against the shore or leaves rustle in the wind.

There’s nothing like seeing the majesty of sharp mountain peaks reaching up to the sky after hiking for an hour or two.

Ideally, I’d convince my parents, siblings, sister-in-law, and nephews to join my spouse and I on this trip. I’m quite lucky to have a family that all gets along with each other well. We could rent a couple of houses next door to each other so everyone could find the perfect balance of alone time and family time since many of us are introverts!

What would I do during this trip?

• Build sand castles with my nephews and whomever else wants to join in
• Swim
• Hike
• Create Land Art from leaves, rocks, shells, and other natural materials
• Eat whatever delicious meals my sister-in-law made because she loves to cook and is wonderful at it
• Splurge on a professional massage one day
• Sing or share stories around a bonfire at night
• Laugh at old funny family stories
• Nap (Vacation naps are the best ones ever!)
• Visit nearby historical sites or museums with likeminded relatives
• Have an alcoholic beverage or two. I virtually never drink, but sometimes the family will recommend or make something sweet that I enjoy a little bit of

In my experience, the best vacations are the simple ones that you allow to unfold as they will. There’s no need to spend a ton of money on specific excursions or events every day to make me happy.