I wanted to love this game - I really did! I did like it a lot til I hit level 40 or so and ran out of the freebie boosts they give you when you first start out. Then, I realized that no matter how cool the game looks, it is going to cost you to move forward - either money or sanity - your choice!

Pros:
No ads. None, not even the ad's that offer a free something if you watch it - which I actually don't mind since I don't pay real money for these games.

Gorgeous art and interfaces.  Harry Potter nerd? Yes, I am and this game is just eye candy all around.

There is no time limit in the game - which I like - but there are a set number of moves you have to complete the level. Which I hate - see cons.

Cons:
They really don't offer a way to earn boosters, gold, or spells or what not easily. You can join a club to ask for more lives but otherwise, you slog along or pay real money.

It is costly - see photo.

You get 5 lives at a time and it takes about a half hour to get a new one. So, you are going to have to wait to play - again unless you pay.

It does offer some free unlimited play for signing in daily BUT you need to use it as soon as you sign in or it is gone and you waste it. Sign in when you are ready to play.

The set number of moves to finish the level is annoying - I get it, you aren't timed but without power ups - you are going to fail over and over again.  

GO SLOW and pick your moves carefully. Try to create power ups when you can. Also, if you wait long enough, the game will show you a move - 9 out of 10 times it is a useless move and will waste your turn. I use it when I want to be sure it isn't showing me a power up possibility. Otherwise, ignore it.

Without the game boosters/spells you are going to run through those lives fairly quickly and then get stuck waiting- which trust me, is annoying. See next con.

You will literally end up with needing one more move before you run out of total moves. Over and over and over and over and over  - I am not exaggerating here - I have played some levels 20 plus  times before I get lucky enough to create my own power ups to clear the level.  You will want to throw your phone at the wall. (see photos)

The game is buggy - for lack of a better word. Not the interfaces but inside the puzzle - there are times when it literally has no match three moves and has to keep shuffling. It is annoying as all get out - it forces you to use any power up you might have created and wastes moves. I once had a game reshuffle 6  times in a row. That is bad programming.

So, you can enjoy the game if you have a few minutes and feel like slogging through the same puzzle over and over until by "magic" you finish it.  But it isn't going to be any great addiction like my love of Disney's Emoji Blitz or Angry Birds 2. 

#harrypotterpuzzlesandspells 

I have been doing a lot of inner work lately.  I was feeling so stuck and lost and forgetful because of the days all blending into each other and finally had enough.   I have been focusing on catching all my dreams as well as journaling and working with the Moon daily to help me stay focused and to show me where best to send that focus.

I also needed a new planner and I am a very picky planner person. (nice alliteration!)  Anyway, I finally decided to try this one (in the photo) and am loving it so far.  The Moon Journal - A journey of self-reflection through the astrological year.  I am using it along with The Oracle of the Radiant Sun and Yasmin Boland's Moonology book/website.  The journal is nicely made and the pages are thick enough so that nothing ghosts through them - well markers might, but a ink pen will do nicely.

I'll show more pictures later, but it has blank sheets for each sign and for you to journal everything on as well as information on each Moon cycle, journaling prompts, and so much Moon information and goodness! 

Also, my dreams last night - wow.  At first I wasn't going to bother writing it down, never do that, ALWAYS write them down. And this one hit hard with all the inner work I have been doing.  I remember going into my room to get ready for the day and everything seemed slightly off, like I was in a new room or a foreign hotel room, where nothing is quite what you are used to?  I was doing my normal morning routine and then when I was done, decided to go down a few houses  to meet and introduce myself to the people there.

It hit me while I was getting ready in this world, that everything was off here too LOL Not in a bad way, I just kept doing things out of order from the way I usually do and instead of getting annoyed, it all had a humorous slant to it. Like things that normally annoy me weren't a consideration, it wasn't worth being annoyed. Dream work WORKS! 

My dream was interrupted by a call of nature - So I had to cut into it and then I really couldn't get back into it - sadly. It was a interesting one.

I was in a large building like a school or castle and was getting ready to board a train to go learn more. But the train was full of dead boys/their ghosts.  A man next to me sent in his familiar? Another ghost, to get the hoard of ghost boys off the train and they left in a mass and I could see them running along side the train - it was darkish, like early morning.

I remember most of them were gone so I jumped up on a platform in between cars and 2 of them stopped to stare at me. I said in a low flat voice that they had to GO NOW they weren't to be here and they ran off. Like I had some power to also make them go?

That's when I woke up - I need to try to re-enter this dream later.

And being a NASA junkie - 
Also of note today is a NASA launch! From their website:
A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifting off on a Falcon 9 rocket at 4:33 p.m. EDT May 27, from Launch Complex 39A in Florida, for an extended stay at the space station for the Demo-2 mission. The specific duration of the mission is to be determined.
As the final flight test for SpaceX, this mission will validate the company’s crew transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, and operational capabilities. This also will be the first time NASA astronauts will test the spacecraft systems in orbit.

So, the other day I was getting ready in the morning and I saw a largish spider come in the bathroom window. That happens sometimes -they usually come in and hide somewhere for awhile.  But this one came in the window and then did this very obvious circuit around the bathroom walls, pausing as if making sure I actually saw it - kind of hard to not see a large orangy spider be-bopping around above my head LOL

Anyway, it made its rounds and then went back out the window. I have never seen a spider do that in there. Then again this morning a wee spider walked up the wall above my computer and just sat there. Yes, yes, I see you. Ok, I hear you.

Spider Medicine:
Weaving and creating. Also, the web is like the Wheel in Tarot, ups and downs and knowing things change all the time. It is about knowing where to stand and what to decide and to keep moving so we don't freeze up with fear.

When Spider drops in you should look to be creative - either my making something or finding creative ways to get past an obstacle or tricky situation. And be aware of what is around you - perhaps something you started on awhile ago is now bearing fruit.

This was good timing as a dream I had this morning had me waking up with creative energy which hasn't happened in awhile. 

  So, yeah, cigarettes?  It was an odd snippet of a dream and I only wrote it down because I am out of practice of writing them down (they all seem so blah while I have been stuck inside for so long) and because it was so odd.

So, in this one, I was at my parents house and my dad came in and I asked him if he needed anything at the store. He said Doral cigarettes, menthol, the kind with the green stripe.

First I was annoyed that he needed anything as I really didn't want to go to the store for anything and then WTF? No one in my family smokes.  I asked him if he had enough and he didn't so I went to the store.

My brother and I are now at the checkout counter and I ask if I can get them there or if I have to go to the "cigarette desk?"  They say I have to go there and I am annoyed again because the only thing I really came to get were the dang cigarettes. I honestly have no idea if there was anything else in my cart as I don't recall shopping at all. So, I send my brother to get the smokes and I pay the clerk with a check, only it was written on the back of an old ratty business sized envelope with tears in it so I had to tape bits of it together.

Then I woke up.  I had another dream after about making out with Rob Lowe which was much more satisfying but a noise woke me up and I couldn't finish it LOLOL

It's memorial day. Just thought I'd add that in there. I am trying to get back into the blog habit to keep track of days and life and hours before they all fly by.

That was actually me around day 14 - I was waiting to cut my hair around my birthday (March 27) as I might have had jury duty and wanted to look semi decent. Then covid shut the world down and I missed my hair cut, which was last done in December. It. Is. Touching. My. Neck.  (I hate that)

I am actually surprised I haven't cut it myself - yet.  

It looks like things are starting to slowly reopen this weekend. I saw that Hobby Lobby was open yesterday - HOBBY LOBBY! I cannot wait to get in there for the smell of the store alone. I cannot describe it but it is one of my favorite smells. Like a bookstore smells of ALLTHEBOOKS - Hobby Lobby smells of ALLTHECRAFTS. I have missed it greatly.

I used to whine a lot about having to go grocery shopping and now I miss the easiness of how it used to be. Shopping now requires a mask and planning LOL   Although, some changes I absolutely love - the curbside pickups are fabulous. Drive up, pop the trunk, drive away.  That needs to stick around!

Amazon has more things available for Prime free delivery now too.  During the first weeks it was impossible to find puzzles and paint by numbers kits at all and if they had them there was at least a $10 shipping charge and you might get it in June.  I was able to get stuff here in a few days last week and for that I am grateful as I am running out of puzzles.

​This:

I mean, really? How perfect is that?  I have been amusing myself with Disney's Emoji Blitz - mostly to collect the emoji because they made everything else either too complicated to do or impossible unless you spend real money.  But you can still collect coins and emoji. And apparently the number of the beast too :)

I am not kidding about that. I have lost all track of time and I know I am not the only one. Every day melts into the next and I hate that.  It probably doesn't help that I never bought a wall calendar this year and while I have a daily planner I don't see it unless I  go look at it and right now, who needs a planner?!

Get up
Eat
Look at computer
Stare at things
Puzzle, craft, paint stuff
Eat
Contemplate news
Fight depression from news
Snack
Sleep not sleep because wtf is happening in the world

Sigh

Still - my current planner ends in June so I spent some time looking for a new one. I decided I needed to work a bit more with my highs and lows and the moon. Since I have always been so in  tune with the Moon, I want to track daily, how I am feeling and what is going on etc. So, I got a Moon journal and Moonology and am hoping that will help me stay grounded in whatever fucking day it happens to be and I stop thinking its Friday when it is actually Sunday.

I watched a birthday/graduation parade yesterday in front of my house. A ton of cars decorated their windows and tied balloons to their bits and drove up and down the streets honking and playing music and celebrating their people.  Because we are still being isolated and it can be so sucky. So watching that made me all teary eyed. I am blaming my period but still.  There is often too much negative news and not enough stuff to make me smile and that made me smile.

This is a not so brave new world happening and cabin fever is making me itchy to see what happens next. Also, I really hope toilet paper and paper towels are more available soon.  I am pretty sure the people who hoarded it back in March will have enough til 2050 at this point. Save some for the rest of us, huh? 

73 says between blogs. 73 days of staying indoors and watching the world via computer screens. 73 days of watching covid change everything. 73 days of not cutting my own hair off.  73 days of wondering what comes next.

I was commenting yesterday about the ridiculous toilet paper hoarding going on because of the coronavirus, covid-19. I mean, seriously, there are people buying 50 packs of tp and going back for more. But... there wasn't any shortage! Panic buying is going to cause one though and then that is going to screw EVERYONE up. 

Just buy what you need people.  Because, if you need that much toilet paper for a 14 day quarantine?  Then you have bigger problems than the jumped up flu.  

I get it. People are concerned because this is new. But let's keep some perspective, ok? Also, don't be an asshole.

My PSA for a very sleepy Daylight Saving Time weekend. Carry on.

First of all I have no idea what I am doing with this game. I am learning quickly though!  I mostly started playing because I was looking for games similar to Bejeweled and Candy Crush and this one had Disney emojis so well, there you go. But I HATE timed games that make me frantic and give me anxiety LOLOL

But it is cute. And painful.  But mostly cute.

Disney's Emoji Blitz!  

The first pic is me finally getting Tink to a higher level score - which takes FOREVERRRRRR.  The second pic is one of the challenges you can do to get more stuff.  I was so frustrated at trying to get 600 emojis cleared in one game because I have only a few emojis right now that can do that sort of thing but omg 599!?!

The last pic was from the opening screen on the app. They were doing a special event and Sir Hiss kept flitting around the screen and I LOVE SIR HISS and his little propeller tail.

​Anyone else addicted to this game? Any tips? LOL

Yeah Yeah - My blog has been dusty but I have a reason. I hate January and had little to say about it. 

I did remember to say Rabbit Rabbit though - I am not sure if it works but it can't hurt and Bungerston is adorable, yes?

So, January. I am not a fan. It's cold and dark and makes me stabby.  I get ideas and then I just let them sit there because I am not in the mood to create them yet. I think maybe I am waking up a bit but I can't tell if that's because January is over or just because it's 80 degrees today. But will be back to cold tomorrow. Meh.

I did read a lot, which makes the day better in my humble opinion. 
Books For January:

The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
The Masked City - Genevieve Cogman
The Burning Page -Genevieve Cogman
The Lost Plot - Genevieve Cogman
(Yes I re-read all the Invisible Library Series and I just loved the new one. I was having trouble waiting for it to release in the US and happily I snagged a UK copy of it (The Secret Chapter) The dragon plots thicken!

Night Sins - Tami Hoag
Dark Paradise - Tami Hoag
(I usually don't read the crime suspense books but these were light and easy to get through and fun)

Under the Dome - Stephen King
(re-re-re-re many re-reads LOL I love this book though.  Aside from what causes the Dome, the horror of what people can do makes this one even scarier)

Island of the Lost - Joan Druett
(I wanted to like this book and it had a lot of interesting information and the story was awesome and full of adventure but, it dragggggged. It's about two real ships that crash land on and island at the same time but they don't realize it and how they have to wait to be rescued or find their own ways off - it was just dragggy)

The Stand - Stephen King
(another major re-read but is one of my favorites - not sure it was a good idea with this Corona Virus sprouting about the world)

A Map of Days - Ransom Riggs
(From the Miss Peregrine series, I have the first 3 and had no idea he had written more. I grabbed the ebook version of this book 4 and it was great. A lot darker than the first 3 and book 5 was just released a few days ago.)

From the Corner of His Eye - Dean Koontz
The Face - Dean Koontz
(Aside from the Odd Thomas books, these are my favorite Koontz books and I have re-read them many times. Some of his stuff can get a tad dark even for me - I hate reading about some forms of cruelty, but these two just make great stories)

The Passage - Justin Cronin
The Twelve -  Justin Cronin
The City of Mirrors -  Justin Cronin
(And I have now re-read these 3 or 4 times now.  My head is still in the story as it was so well done. I cried several times at the ends of the various storylines and wish there was more.  It may be about the end of the world, apocalypse dystopian type thing and it is all of those things. But it is also about humanity and what we can get up to as well as love. I think overall, it is a love story and that is what really counts in our lives.  


And that brings us to February. ..
The Party Bears are back! Yay!

Did we all remember to Rabbit Rabbit this morning? I actually did!  

I was quite happy about the noise levels last night. 2019 New Year had my neighbors throwing a karaoke party til 3 in the morning - it was painful. This year, some fireworks and then oddly, quiet. Then a really LOUD FIREWORK that woke me up - then quiet LOL

My friend asked me if I stayed up til midnight on New Years Eve and I said no, unless I was just up already. I used to - but then I realized it was just another day and another year and the only thing that changed was the year's number, which back then I had to really try to remember because we wrote out things long hand without a pre-fill and I was constantly forgetting to update the year on checks.

It's funny, the one new years eve I really remember as being awesome was probably also the most boring sounding but it was nice! I was in junior high and I recall it being the year we got this thing called SelecTV? It was like cable and was a huge deal since my parents rarely went for that kind of thing.  So my family was all up and watching the movie 9 to 5 which was pretty fun and I remember around midnight getting off the couch to get a snack of Pringles and bologna - and being happy to be up and not having school the next day.  Yep, that was it, but it was nice!

Now, I like my sleep - LOL Also, I don't really write checks anymore so I by the time I have to write 2020, I'll have it ingrained in my head.

​Happy New Year!