When I first started writing this post, it was still before last Sunday, and we were finding ways to beat the insane heat that came upon us. My three also attempted to cook an egg on the concrete in our backyard (sunny side up, not kidding!)

And then time got away from me, and before I knew it, we were waking up to the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning unexpectedly. It seemed like things were going to cool down for us a bit. But no, that thunder and lightning simply were omens of what was to come. Today, the Bay Area is battling fires for the seventh(?) day in a row. As I write this, all I can see out the window is smoke-filtered eerie sunlight, and all I can smell is – smoke.

Looking at the map and seeing where we are located seems like looking at a tiny strip of land right between two of the most massive fires California has ever seen. It is unsettling. We have friends who have been evacuated from their homes and are staying elsewhere (with family, at hotels, at emergency shelters setup for the purpose) and they have no idea what awaits them when they can finally return. It is sad. I have the list of emergency items printed out; I know where each of the items on the list is and that it is easily accessible; but I cannot get myself to put them all together. I am holding on to hope.

Poetic Sundays

The Forms so Far

• Eintou
• Pregunta
• Kenning
• Gnomic Poem
• Magic 9
• Balassi Stanza
• Alphacouplet
• Limerick
• The Harrisham Rhyme
• Concrete Poetry and the Loop
• ZaniLa
• Slam Poetry
• Triveni
• The Luc Bat
• Copla de Pie Quebrado
• Sijo
• The Quinzaine
• Chatushka

An Ode to Those Heroes

Today, I do not have a poetic form though I had planned to include praise poetry here (so maybe next week) but I include a poem I found online below (source: https://www.poemsearcher.com/topic/fireman#&gid=1&pid=5)

Since I Last Scribbled

Well, since I last scribbled, a lot of things did happen as I have talked about at the beginning of the post.

On the one side:

• My daughter went on a overnight backpacking trip planned perfectly social-distance style just before school reopened. She and her fellow scouts backpacked and camped in the property owned by a friend of one of the scouting families. It was convenient, local, and close to beautiful Castle Rock State Park.
• Then came the heat waves and the dry thunderstorms causing lightning fires leading to those smoke-screen skies all over (I talked about this earlier)
• And Castle Rock State Park is right outside the CZU Lightning Complex zone that is currently burning in the Santa Cruz/San Mateo counties. The property owners where my daughter backpacked (while are still outside of the active fire zone/CZU complex) have had to leave as part of the mandatory evacuation orders. Thankfully, all the chickens and other birds they cared for are now safe with other friends in the area.
• Sadly, we have lost a part of history with severe damage to the first and one of the most beloved state parks of California – Big Basin Redwoods State Park. You can check out these articles from The New York Times and BuzzFeed for more info.

On the other:

• A new school year began(virtually, of course) and we have two high-schoolers in the house now! How time flies..
• My son is almost done with the benches (final touches pending) for his Eagle Scout project (photos next time when it is all done)
• And of course, disasters like this also bring to the forefront the strength that is humanity. Those first responders and firefighters braving everything to help protect

My Most Recent Posts

My latest posts: (since the last scribbling!)

• Where Dreams Descend – Blog Tour and Book Review
• I Would Watch These Books on the Screen
• I Don’t Know Why I Never Reviewed These Books
• Book Review: The Book of Lost Names
• Sunday Scribblings #42: Learning Something New

MyPhotoADay

My bookstagram attempts

ONE

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Children's Book Review: The Wish Carvers by Kathleen Gauer and illustrated by Sari Richter ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2 (4.5/5) . A charming and beautiful fable – in words and illustrations – with a powerful message. One that will delight the readers in its reading! . You can read the complete review on my blog here – https://bit.ly/3irmUNd . . . #TheWishCarvers #KathleenGauer #SariRichter #SkippingstonePress #fables #bookstagram #childrensbooks #bookreview #readingforfun #readingforpleasure #readingisfun #readingislit #lovereading #kidlit #childrensliterature #bookworm #bookishpost #bookstagrammer #bookworm #booklover #fictionbooks #instareads #bibliophile #girlswhoread #reader #booknerd #booklife #bookblogger #ladyinreadwrites @skippingstonepress @saririchter1

A post shared by Vidya (@ladyinreadwrites) on Aug 8, 2020 at 9:25pm PDT

And the others

ONE

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Day 11: Ice Cold (?!); Day 224, 2020: “I blinked my eyes and in an instant, decades had passed.” ― John Mark Green, Taste the Wild Wonder: Poems . This pic is from eons ago, but the memories are like it was yesterday.. Totally unprepared for all the snow we saw here at beautiful Mt.Shasta that day, but could not resist playing there for a bit. And then, the ice cold snow snuck up my sneakers!!! . . . #rebelsunitedaug2020potd #rebels_united #picturethis365 #224_memories #ladyinreadwrites #analogphoto #mtshasta #timefliessofast

A post shared by Vidya (@ladyinreadwrites) on Aug 11, 2020 at 6:24pm PDT

TWO

Those smoke-screen skies I was talking about..

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Day 19: Fluorescent;; Day 232, 2020: Smoke filtered sunlight today in the Bay Area. This is the sun today morning at 9ish… as California burns …. Thank you to all the first responders.. . . . #mybackyard #rebelsunitedaug2020potd #rebels_united #fluorescentsun #nofilter #calfire #staysafe #thankyoufirstresponders #ladyinreadwrites #californiastrong #sanjosecalifornia #gotd_2659 #gramoftheday

A post shared by Vidya (@ladyinreadwrites) on Aug 19, 2020 at 9:03pm PDT

THREE

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Hoping for an end to these fires… Our visit to this dream of a beach was just two weeks ago; and so much has changed since then.. . . . #raw_snap_beachdream #raw_community @raw_community @raw_challenge_ @raw_beaches #ladyinreadwrites #lovecalifornia #californiastrong #beachesofcalifornia #californiabeaches #highway1

A post shared by Vidya (@ladyinreadwrites) on Aug 22, 2020 at 10:47pm PDT

Upcoming

On My Blog and Home-front

I have a whole stack of books waiting to be reviewed so I will pick a few and post them here. And I also have a couple other type of posts I hope to publish.

This Week’s Celebrations

A wide variety this week for you!

• Food – National Peach Pie Day and National Waffle Day on the 24th, National Banana Split Day on the 25th, National Chop Suey Day on the 29th and National Toasted Marshmallow Day on the 30th; and I forgot about National Pots De Creme Day on the 27th , National Cherry Popsicle Day on the 26th
• And in an ironic twist for us, where most of our local parks are burning, it is National Park Service Founders Day on the 25th; and here is hoping that the beaches offer some relief in their beauty – it is National Beach Day on the 30th
• National Women’s Equality Day on the 26th
• Celebrate just because as it is National Just Because Day on the 27th of August.
• And a chance to be thoughtful National Thoughtful Day  on the 28th and National Grief Awareness Day on the 30th
• According to Hoyle Day is a very cool holiday that comes on the 29th
• and if you are a music-lover, then celebrate International Strange Music Day on the 24th

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, this was it for my Sunday Scribblings. I would love to hear your comments on my post(s), poems, poetic Sunday section, and anything else. And which of these days do you plan to celebrate (or any other)? 

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon.