Roberta Writes – Book review: Pull by C.J. Finch for Rosie Amber’s Book Review Club

Picture caption: Cover of Pull which features what appears to me to be ink swirling in water. The colours are dark and light grey.

What Amazon says

Alex isn’t just running from his past—he’s running from everyone’s.

Born with the ability to see people’s memories by touch, he spends his days trying to shut out the lifetime of traumatic memories he’s collected while he focuses on his work at his brother’s tech company, desperate for some semblance of a normal life. But that proves difficult with rumors of security breaches at rival companies, and the mysterious disappearance of a beloved employee.

Just as he feels he’s about to take a step toward normalcy, a violent kidnapping turns his world upside down. Unable to stand by any longer, Alex must turn to his ability to search for clues in the memories of the people around him to find the perpetrator before the ransom clock ends.

Pull is a mind-bending thriller with a plot that twists and turns, leaving you unsure who to believe and asking yourself… are you one of the good ones?

My review

I reviewed this book in my capacity as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. If you would like your book reviewed, you can contact Rosie Amber here: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.

This is a unique and fascinating story about a young man, Alex Hemsley, who has the ability to absorb other people’s memories when he touches them. This gift is not small and manageable as he does not read flashes of memories but rather every memory the person has. This talent has a positive side as he can ‘pull’ someone and gain all their knowledge thereby gaining a huge intellectual advantage. The down side is he also sees anything bad a person has done. He can also feel the persons dark emotions.

The story kicks off with Alex assisting the police with the interrogation of a suspected child molester and murderer. The murderer deliberately touches Alex thereby passing all the details of his unbalanced and cruel mind and emotions on to Alex, along with all his memories of the numerous murders he has committed.

The story then moves on to Alex in his job as the head of security for his brother, Drew’s, data storage company. Some of the data stored is highly sensitive and relates to details about people who have made information deals with the police in exchange for new identities. Many of these people are very evil and, through the eyes of the families of their victims, do not deserve police protection. Drew’s company and the companies of his competitors, make a lot of money out of the data protection services they provide.

Drew informs Alex that one of their competitor company’s has suffered a major data security break and that information has been leaked. He tells Alex to tighten security in anticipation of a similar attempted breach. The brothers quickly become embroiled in a murder and kidnapping where the ransom is the provision of their company’s data in each for the life of the victim. With the clock ticking, Alex and Drew set out to try and find the kidnapped woman and Alex is pressed into using his skill as a ‘puller’ to help their investigation. During the course of inquiries, Alex discovered another type of ability called ‘pushing’ where the ‘pusher’ can implant false memories into the minds of their victims thereby manipulating their memories, thoughts, and actions. The kidnapper appears to be the mysterious ‘pusher’ but who is this person, and why does he/she so desperately want the secret data held by Drew’s company?

Due to the nature of the villain and their ability to ‘push’ people and override their real memories, the story takes on an unreliable narrator perspective which is very interesting. It does mean, however, that the reader needs to read with attention as there are periods in the book when you don’t know what is real and what isn’t. The reader has to stay on his/her toes to pick up the unreliable parts and where the story changes.

I enjoyed this novel and this clever plot immensely and recommend it to readers who like a book that’s different and a bit challenging.

Purchase Pull by C.J. Finch from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GTN68QSM/

Roberta Writes – W3 Poetry Challenge, d’Verse – Jump, Sunday Stills and Thursday Doors

David is this week’s host and he has asked poets to write about life changes as follows:

Sometimes life changes enough that something familiar becomes new again.

“Think of something you have experienced in the past, are experiencing now, or imagine experiencing in the future: doing an ordinary thing you have done many times before, but under changed circumstances that make it feel like a first time.”

You can join in here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/08/12/w3-prompt-224-weave-written-weekly/

The Same but Different

different

yet much the same

or the same

yet somewhat different

some differences

are better

others

are much worse

is this because

I am the same

and find adjusting

to what’s different

difficult

or is it because

I am different

and others like things

to remain the same

I hope

that what’s different

but definitely worse

can evolve

into something

different but better

and that

what’s essentially the same

but done differently

making it more tolerable

with not deteriorate

if not

my disillusionment

will remain the same

just in a different

environment

d’Verse: Jumpstart your poem

De Jackson’s prompt is to write a 44 word Quadrille using the word jump. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/08/10/quadrille-353-jumpstart-your-poem/

During our trip to the Kruger National Park last week we had the tremendous good luck to see an African fish eagle landing on its nest. It was making its iconic call known as the Sound of Africa.

I am introducing my poem with a video of the cry of the African fish eagle.

Loud, haunting

the yodel-like call

disrupted the music

inside the vehicle

Sound of Africa

ringing forth

evocative and stirring

We jumped. Looked

Encircled by leafy branches

African fish eagle landed

on its messy nest

head thrown backwards

projecting the sound

far across the veld

Picture caption: African fish eagle landing on its nest. I love the encircling tree.

Picture caption: The typical calling posture of an African fish eagle with its head thrust forward.

Sunday Stills (again) and Thursday Doors

You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/08/13/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-cathedral/

You can join in Sunday Stills here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/08/09/sunday-stills-monthly-color-challenge-yellow-hues-featuring-ochre-and-saffron/

Picture caption: This large safari vehicle has doors. The reason I took the photograph though was the little silhouette on top of the cab. What could it be?

The little creature on top of the cab in the vehicle photograph is a vervet monkey. This are adorable but also little terrorists who will steal very efficiently and effectively. This one had just pinched food out of the vehicle of a family of tourists. The family was quite shocked and horrified at having a bag of treats snatched out of the hands of a small child. Naughty it might be but it was so adorable with its look of complete innocence as it ate its treat.

Vervet monkey chewing on a treat. The monkey was turning towards me.

And for Terri’s golden Sunday Stills a few pictures of Borke’s Luck Potholes. We were so lucky with our timing and the mellow winter sun turned the rocky facings to gold. Have I mentioned that yellow is my favourite colour (grin!)

River running through the gorge. The rocky facings on the left are bathed in golden light.

Close up of the potholes in the rock with a small rapid flowing from the centre pothole. The surrounding cliffs are bathed in golden light

Roberta Writes – Reblog: My thoughts on Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Famous Books and Authors – Famous American author Kurt Vonnegut and a review

Roberta Writes – d’Verse, care quadrille and light and truth of painting, Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour

d’Verse

I wrote for two d’Verse challenges this week but didn’t find time to post my poems until today.

The quadrille about care if for Sanaa’s prompt here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/07/27/q-252-quadrilling-without-a-care-in-the-world/

The second poem is for Melissa’s prompt here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/07/28/launch-light-and-truth-of-painting/. I did choose my own Henri Rousseau artwork though.

Care Worn

For many

marriage ends our carefree days

Financial obligations mount

as we work relentlessly

towards building a home

Children introduce

financial and emotional cares

We teach and guide

these precious young souls

Beflore they fly

aging parents bring

new responsibilities

The circle of duty

Pink Flamingo (shadorma)

giraffe bird

decked in shades of pink

flamboyant

featherhead

thoughtfully contemplating

fish filled waterway

Henri Rousseau painting featuring a bright pink flamingo with its long neck angled down to the ground. The bird is in a lovely garden filled with flowers.

My Mind

constantly in motion

ebbing and flowing

like the oceantides

I like to keep it

well fed with books

and other fodder

I’m afraid

if I don’t

it may fall back

on itself

and consume me

I wrote this poem today after sorting through my work week in my head. It was a good week. I got a lot done. My young colleague told me on Thursday afternoon just before I left for the week that she was exhausted. She also got a lot done because I give delivery dates for work that I then review. I think its a good thing the team has Friday’s to recover from my tyranny – haha! I am getting a 40 hour week’s worth of work done in 24 hours and that takes drive and determination.

Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour

Terri decided to suggest flowers in planters for The Flower Hour this week. Eeek! I don’t take many photographs of plants in planters. Then, I remembered the indoor conservatory in the delightful hotel TC and I stayed in in Paris. It is called Hotel Keppler and was very old fashioned and delightful. I also took photographs of some of the doors in the hotel so this is a double whammy for Dan’s Thursday Doors too.

You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/07/30/austrian-room/

You can join in The Flower Hour here: http://secondwindleisure.com/2026/07/28/the-flower-hour-41-in-a-planter/

Hello, and welcome to Hotel Keppler.

TC in a red seater standing outside the Hotel Keppler with our luggage. — Picture caption: Bonjour TC. I like the red seater he’s wearing. I chose it!

Please take a seat in the guest lounge while we complete your check in. (Well, I got to sit, he had to stand at the desk and fill in forms.)

Picture caption: Guest lounge at the Hotel Keppler with a double glass door onto a small courtyard. — Picture caption: Guest lounge with double glass doors onto a small courtyard

Picture caption: tables and chairs on the other side of the guest lounge where you could order alcoholic drinks or, if you are me and brazen, Earl Grey tea in a teapot. The same double glass doors are in the background.

Two slightly different photographs of the indoor conservatory in the dining room of the Hotel Keppler. It was very pretty with lots of greenery and lovely flowers. The food was very good too.

Roberta Writes – WordCrafter Book Blog Tours presents A GEM for your Pre- or Type 2 Diabetes

The Giveaway

Got a question or an observation about the book, the GEM method, the author, or the tour? If not, just say, “Hello!” Comments at each stop earn entries in the Giveaway for a chance to win one of four signed print copies (If you live outside the U.S. a free digital copy will be substituted due to the high costs of international shipping.)

About A GEM for your Pre- or Type 2 Diabetes

Picture caption: Cover of A Gem for your Pre- or Type 2 Diabetes featuring the sun rising over the ocean

Have you just been diagnosed with prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes and don’t know where to turn, or have you tried different weight-loss programs or medications that haven’t done enough?

GEM—Glucose Everyday Matters offers a practical, science-based approach to preventing and managing prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes by focusing on one powerful idea: reducing blood glucose spikes that can quietly damage health, energy, mood, and motivation.

Developed from decades of clinical research and real-world coaching, GEM helps readers understand why blood sugar rises—and how small, realistic choices can improve it. Rather than rigid diets or exhausting exercise plans, GEM teaches flexible strategies that fit everyday life: eating smarter, moving with purpose, understanding your body’s signals, and using glucose feedback as a tool for empowerment.

Inside this book, you will discover how to:
• Lower blood sugar naturally and sustainably
• Reduce cravings, fatigue, and energy crashes
• Lose weight without feeling deprived
• Improve motivation, confidence, and emotional well-being
• Use simple movement and meal strategies to reduce glucose spikes
• Personalize diabetes management to fit your lifestyle and goals
• Build lasting habits that support long-term health

Whether you are newly diagnosed, trying to avoid diabetes, struggling despite medications, or supporting a loved one, GEM provides a compassionate, evidence-based roadmap toward better health—one manageable step at a time.

This is not about being perfect.
It is about discovering what works for you and making meaningful changes.

To learn more about diet and blood glucose control, see A GEM for your Pre- and Type 2 Diabetes at your favorite retailer here: https://books2read.com/GEM

Becoming Aware of Choices

How Do Carbohydrates Really Affect Blood Glucose (BG)?

There are three classes of foods, called macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. These categories can be further divided into many subgroups. Of these three macronutrients, carbohydrates are the primary nutrient that significantly raises blood glucose (BG). Most foods contain a combination of all three macronutrients. See the examples in the table below.

Standard reference estimates are provided.

Food / Beverage	Carbohydrates (g)	Fiber (g)	Protein (g)	Fat (g)
6 oz grilled salmon	0	0	34	18
Red wine (5 oz)	4	0	0	0
Cabbage (1 cup, raw)	5	2	1	0
Peanut butter & jelly sandwich	40	4	10	16
Potato chips (1 oz)	15	1	2	10
Oatmeal with raisins (1 cup oats + 2 tbsp raisins)	49	5	6	3
Whole milk (8 oz)	12	0	8	8
Raisin bran with whole milk (1 cup cereal + 1 cup milk)	58	7	13	—

This table illustrates an important point: not all foods are created equal when it comes to macronutrient composition.

Even more importantly, not all carbohydrates are the same. As shown on nutrition labels, some foods contain fiber, a form of carbohydrate that is not digested and therefore does not raise blood glucose. To estimate the carbohydrates that actually affect BG, you can calculate net carbohydrates by subtracting grams of fiber from total carbohydrates.

Some ketogenic and “low net carb” products also include sugar alcohols, which are carbohydrates that may be only partially absorbed, digested more slowly, or excreted before fully impacting blood glucose. For this reason, some products subtract both fiber and sugar alcohols to estimate net carbohydrates.

Why does “net carbohydrate” matter?

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have estimated that, on average, one gram of carbohydrate raises blood glucose by about 4 mg/dL (though individual responses vary).

Using the examples above, a meal of grilled salmon, cabbage, and red wine might raise blood glucose by approximately 28 mg/dL, while a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a bag of chips and a glass of milk might be expected to raise it by approximately 248 mg/dL.

Understanding these differences highlights the powerful role that food choices can play in blood glucose management.

To learn more about diet and blood glucose control, see A GEM for your Pre- and Type 2 Diabetes at your favorite retailer.

If you have had type 2 diabetes (T2D) for 24 months or less and would like information about our ongoing NIH GEM study, contact Jacqueline Rodriguez at ZMT8XG@uvahealth.org or 434-422-2653.

Food Choices

About Daniel J. Cox

Author image of Daniel J. Cox. He has a trimmed moustache and beard and wears glasses. He is wearing a white lab coat. — Picture caption: Author image of Daniel J. Cox

Daniel J. Cox (Dan) is a professor of Psychiatry, Internal Medicine and Ophthalmology at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center and a member of the Center for Diabetes Technology. He is a longstanding investigator of behavioral diabetes- how behavior affects diabetes and how diabetes affects behavior. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and industry (LifeScan, Abbott, DexCom, Lilly).

In 2010 he shifted his research focus from type 1 to type 2 diabetes (T2D) following his own diagnosis of T2D. He was not optimistic about losing weight and was not thrilled about a lifetime of medication, so he developed an alternative and effective way of managing T2D. Glucose Everyday Matters focuses on preventing high blood glucose (BG) by choosing foods that do not raise BG much and by lowering high BG with physical activity. Since an initial diagnostic A1c of 10.3 (reflecting a three-month BG average), GEM has put his diabetes in remission-lowered his A1c below 6.5 with no medication. This transformation was achieved with significant critique, support, and help from his wife Debbie.

Tour Schedule

Mon. 7/20: Short Trailer & “How Does GEM Work?” – Poetry by Mich: Hotel by Masticadores: Masticadores Philippines

Tues. 7/21: “Becoming Aware of Choices” & “Food Choices”– Roberta Writes

Wed. 7/22: “Dietician Monica Davis Interviews Daniel J. Cox” – Patty’s Worlds

Thurs. 7/23: “Bringing Down BG with Pysical Activity” & “Gem’s Research Findings” – Undawnted

Fri. 7/24: “Protecting and Extending Your Investment” – Writing to be Read

____________________________________________

Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

Roberta Writes – d’Verse, Tanka Tuesday, W3, The Flower Hour and Thursday Doors

Two ladies in costumes from the cast. They saw my taking photographs and posed for the camera.

Today is Friday at last and I do have it off. My work hours are under severe threat and I’m going to have to increase them for three months as I have a big project on the go. There is no use in working the hours and not getting paid for them. Anyhow, onwards and upwards.

d’Verse, Tanka Tuesday and W3

I’ve used the d’Verse theme of night provided by the wonderful Dora for both my Tanka Tuesday and my W3 offerings this week.

You can join in Dora’s d’Verse challenge here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/07/14/my-god-its-full-of-stars/

Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge is to write a bussokuseki. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/07/14/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-73-bussokuseki-7-13-26/

This first poem is a bussokuseki about the African bush at night.

Night in the Bush

darkness in the bush

shines like polished black marble

healthy and glossy

splattered with bright, sparkling stars

by comparison, town dark

appears anemic and pale

Jaideep’s challenge is to write a three line poem merging a cultural tradition and modern technology. You can join in W3 here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/07/15/w3-prompt-220-weave-written-weekly/

I selected the tradition of using the Southern Cross constellation as a directional guide combined with working on a computer.

My Artificial Life

Dark night of my computer screen

loads itself into start mode.

Logon criteria flash,

artificial Southern Cross.

Guiding my entrance into

another working day.

The Flower Hour

Last week I mentioned that I’d attended a partner conference in my new job. These photographs are of the gorgeous pincushion protea flower arrangements that graced the lunch tables.

You can join in Terri’s The Flower Hour here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/07/14/the-flower-hour-39-something-about-orange-flowers/

Flower arrangement featuring three pincushion proteas in red, orange, and yellow.
Close up of a single pincushion protea. The red tipped orange petals are narrow and curve inwards above its yellow centre hence its name – pincushion protea.
A slightly more distanced shot of the three pincushion proteas flower arrangement.

Thursday Doors

On Sunday past, my family attended the Rocky Horror Picture Show at Monte Casinos Pieter Torien theatre. It’s been more years than I’m going to tell you since TC and I last saw this show and I’d forgotten how graphic it is. I was a bit worried about Michael’s friend, Jenna, but she took it in her stride and enjoyed it.

You can join in Dan’s challenge here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/07/16/korean-heritage-room/

These are some beautiful doors from outside the theatre.

Doors painted with an Italian street scene during summer from a distance.
Close up of doors painted with an Italian summer street scene featuring lots of greenery.

These photographs are of the stage:

The closed curtains on the stage lit up with blue and pink.
Two ladies in costumes from the cast. They saw my taking photographs and posed for the camera.
One of the set doors on the stage in the form of a balcony to the side.

Roberta Writes – Tanka Tuesday, W3, Bird of the Week & Thursday Doors

It’s been a crazy week! Is there any other kind of week, I wonder. I attended New Partner Induction on Monday and Tuesday and a Partner Conference from Wednesday to Friday. So many new ideas and new people. My coping mechanism is to draw and paint and write poems so I have three poems to share with you today. I have also started a new art project – my biggest to date and perhaps my most ambitious. Michael thinks its ambitious but I just think its just bigger. All my art projects are very ambitious at the time of initiation. I push myself further with each new painting.

Tanka Tuesday

Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challege this week is to write a tanka Puente poem with the theme of light vs dark.

Colleen has also announced the submission dates to the new Sunflower Tanka anthology 2027. I would love it if you participated and submitted your syllabic poems. You can find out more by reading Colleen’s post here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/07/07/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-72-tanka-puente-7-7-26/

Something New, something older

room of new partners

most young – bright eyed and bushy tailed

full of excitement

ready to take on the world

determined to make their mark

AI won’t replace humans, but humans who use AI will replace those who don’t—Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI

sprinkling of old hands

pockmarks on golden surface

engaged yet cautious

veterans of corporate wars

survivors of constant flux

More excitement with Sunflower Tanka! Colleen and I are running a new series to promote the anthologies. You can read the first post here: https://sunflowertankaanthology.com/2026/07/10/introduction-to-contributor-chris-hall-her-review-of-sunflower-tanka-an-anthology-of-tanka-tanka-prose-experimental-tanka/

W3

Jodi’s prompt is “For this prompt, write a poem in which every line is a lie — except one.“

No, I didn’t write about AI – hehe! You can decide if what is a lie, if anything. Lies in this poem are in the eyes of the beholder.

Some Days

Some days the sun does not rise

Golden horses do not pull the fiery ball

across the blue washed sky

Cotton tailed clouds do not gambol and play

Flowers do not bloom

do not expose fragrant centres

to buzzing bees and butterflies

the day does not progress

all remains in darkness

Other days

the sun leaps into the sky

washing the world

in golden light

Bird of the Week

You can join in Bird of the Week here: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/bird-of-the-week-invitation/ and read the latest post here: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/common-gull-birds-of-the-week-clxxvi/

Racing or The World’s Dumbest Bird

Kori bustards are Africa's largest bird that can fly. They have grey and white feathers on their longish necks, small heads with a black feather 'cap' on top, brown body feathers and long slim legs

Two kori bustards

racing down the road

are they trying to escape

our slow paced vehicle

(perhaps its TC’s purple jersey

I hate it too)

is the male chasing the female

male kori bustards

have a bad reputation

for playing the field

attempting to breed

with as many females as possible

but taking no responsibility

for the resultant off spring

(Hey! that sounds familiar …)

One goes left

the other right

they appear the same size

more or less

but males are up to 40% larger

my perception must be wrong

(what about yours?)

Mr Right looks confused

(there’s a surprise!)

glancing over his shoulder

as I hang out of my window

(you’re not supposed to do this!

what if I fell out

got eaten by a lion

or worse yet

kidnapped by a baboon)

snap! snap! snap!

As we slowly pass

Mr Right warms up to the idea

of posing for the camera

gives me his best side

(can you see his smile?)

Picture caption: kori bustard posing for the camera

Thursday Doors

My blogging friend, Brian, featured a photograph of the gargoyles of Notre Dame pre the fire. You can read his post here: https://equinoxio21.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/random-travels-umpteen/. I am sharing a few pictures I took of Notre Dame and its gargoyles so Brian can rest assured they are thriving. My shots aren’t as good as his!

The doors are for Dan’s Thursday Doors challenge which you can join in here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/07/09/old-sturbridge-village-6-26/

First Notre Dame and its doors:

Notre Dame from the front with its ornate front door and two towers
The ornately carved entrance and doors of Notre Dame (front doors)
Another door into Notre Dame. This entrance was closed so the shot didn’t have people in it.

These are the gargoyles. My friend, Chris, also likes gargoyles. You can find Chris’ blog here: https://lunas-online.com/2026/07/10/a-spaceship/

A row of gargoyles on the roof of Notre Dame. The front one has horns.
The silhouette of a gargoyle on the roof of Notre Dame. He has wings but no horns.
A long row of gargoyles along the side of Notre Dame. There is scaffolding in the background.

Roberta Writes – Reblog: Famous Books and Authors – The World According to Garp by John Irving

I found this book to be completely fascinating and absorbing. My thanks to Barbara from https://bvitelli2002.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/book-review-fox-by-joyce-carol-oates/ for pointing me in the direction of this book.

Famous Books and Authors – Best-selling author and Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Irving and a review

Roberta Writes – Tanka Tuesday, CFFC, Thursday Doors & Sunday Stills

It doesn’t rain in Johannesburg during the winter. At least it never did until this year. This week, after the winter solstice, we got rain and a heavy mist. While in the traffic on my way into the office, I wrote this poem and took the accompanying photograph. Unusual for my home city.

This poem is a lai comprising of nine lines for Melissa’s Tanka Tuesday challenge. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/06/23/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-70-the-lai-6-23-26/

Slish! Splosh! Splash!

grey cloud hovers low

golden headlights glow

splish splosh

car snake ultra slow

drizzle impacts flow

my gosh

large puddle – oh no!

mud streaks quite a blow

must wash

Picture caption: A picture of two cranes in Sandton on my drive to work. They are obscured by mist and look rather ghostly and ethereal

Thursday Doors, CFFC, and Sunday Stills

Dan’s CFFC challenge is blue. I have found blue pictures for Dan’s Thursday Doors challenge and Terri’s Sunday Stills wild animals challenge.

You can join in Dan’s CFFC here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/06/22/the-crayola-box-of-8-blue-cffc/

You can join in Dan’s Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/06/25/czechoslovak-room/

You can join in Terri’s Sunday Stills here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/06/21/sunday-stills-animal-of-the-month-where-the-wild-things-are/

Picture caption: I loved the doors of this building, 3 Place Denfert-Rochereau, Paris. The late evening sky turned the white of the building blue and the light glows a lovely yellow from the inside. I liked the arched shape of these large doors with the square inlay.

Click on the slideshow to view two giraffes that I saw at Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Waterkloof, South Africa. This is a series of three photographs of the heads and upper necks of two young giraffes against a bright, blue sky. In the first photograph, the two animals are close together but apart. In the second and third photograph, the two giraffes have crossed their necks at the top so that their heads are pointing in opposite directions. In the second photo, the animals are looking straight ahead while in the last photograph they are looking up with their heads angled upwards.

Picture caption: Dam at Pilanesberg Game Reserve with autumn foliage in the front and hills in the background. the predominant colour is misty blue

Roberta Writes – d’Verse, W3, CFFC, Bird of the Week, and Sunday Stills

Another crazy week has come to an end. My mother has had a terrible few weeks with blepharitis and severe eye pain. This condition, combined with her chronic dry eye has made her quality of life very poor. She’s been wearing a hat pulled right down over her eyes and the antibiotic cream made her practically blind. Very worrying for me from a fall risk point of view.

I took her to my optometrist at 7.30am this morning (she squeezed her in) and she now has a whole treatment plan to treat both chronic conditions. I’m hoping she will have no pain and be able to read again soon.

TC has also been in India for the last two weeks. He arrives home this afternoon. When he’s not home I have to do everything so life feels even busier than usual.

This is the main reason why my post is late this week but, as I always say, better late than never.

I’ve put a few challenges together again today.

d’Verse and W3

Nancy’s prompt is to write a poem in four-stanzas with eight syllables per line about a hard-earned accomplishment. You can join in here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/06/17/w3-prompt-216-weave-written-weekly/

Lillian’s Tuesday d’Verse challenge is Get out your crayons and come colour with me. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/06/16/get-out-your-crayons-and-come-color-with-me/

I’ve been learning colour theory for my painting. I am very happy with the results and will share a new painting incorporating my new skills soon. In the meantime, here is a poem about colour theory.

Splat and that

world of colour theory opens

mixing and matching a great game

drop of red enhances golden

tones that ignite into bright flame

***

splashing orange into umber

instills richness into brown

change like wakefulness from slumber

remarkable shade turnaround

***

smear of scarlet into China white

uplifts it to the palest pink

now white painted sections look right

retraining mind on how to think

***

Van Dyke brown enhanced with light blue

brings a greater deepness to dark

eye perceives subtle change in hue

enriched pigment resets benchmark

d’Verse and Bird of the Week

De Jackson’s prompt is to write a quadrille (44 word poem) about a myth. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/06/15/quadrille-250-mything-poems/

You can join in Bird of the Week here: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2026/06/16/egyptian-goose-birds-of-the-week-invitation-clxxiii/

My poem is about the myths surrounding the African Fish Eagle which I was privileged to see on my recent bush trip.