This morning shall be short, but sweet, as I’ve a breakfast date with my four month old granddaughter. She’s discovering food…
While she’s not actually eating food food, she is starting out with all the pureed fruits and vegetables. Small beginnings, right?!
Well, I’m off for some life stuff, so the writing shall have to wait.
Have a lovely day, all. I certainly will!
Hugs
Over the years of my life, I’ve learned that if I say never about a thing, I will most assuredly end up eating my words!
To be honest, there isn’t really anywhere that comes to my mind, as a place I would not want to visit. What if there were a valuable purpose in going somewhere, that I might only know about, once I get there?
My existence no longer revolves around any woulda, coulda, shoulda, sort of thinking. I walk forward in faith, looking up at all times. I don’t want to miss anything that God has planned for me on this journey!
Here, don’t forget to grab your cookie…
Well… how else is a camel supposed to take a bath?
There is positivity floating all around, if one takes the time to look for it!
While I may not have a large and/or extended family, when it comes to genetics, I’ve actually a huge family tree.
You see, I was adopted into an enormous family. Not only do I have my own husband and children, but I am also one of many sisters and brothers. Fortunately, I am a part of the family of God, so at any given moment, I’m being prayed for and/or being gifted something directly from my heavenly Father.
Sometimes God works through my husband, while at other times He may choose to act through one of my children, or a brother or sister in Christ. Still yet, there are those times when God chooses to act through a complete stranger; someone completely unaware that they are being used to complete a task for God.
At times, the positive things done by a family member may seem rather small and insignificant. Take for example, my husband will often surprise me by picking up a special food item that’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and safe. It may not seem like a big deal, til you factor in how I don’t like to leave the apartment until needs force me to venture out. My husband often does things to make my life easier.
Now, there are things that are much bigger positive’s than others. Like when my daughter makes it a point to face-time me each week, so that I can have special MeeMaw chat’s with my grandbaby. These video chats are the highlight of my week.
there’s a positive thing that I get from you, each and every day, when we interact with one another. We read others writings, share some of our own, and leave comments back and forth together. For me, that is considered positive family connection… as I consider everyone here on WordPress to be my family, in a manner of speaking.
Let’s consider these cookies as my positive offering …
Sometimes, trying to create an idea or image that fits with a story can be tricky. You can have all the right tools, resources, and materials, but still feel clueless. At times, I find myself feeling sort of like the little girl in the above image. She has everything needed for that letter, except the pen to write it!
Now that I’m preparing to work on Volume II of my book series, it’s important that I have a good working image or two, of the main characters within the story. It was rather easy to create our dragon, as I’ve always had a clear picture in my head of what he should look like. Maybe it’s because he was a baby when all this began. Who knows.
All I know is that it’s not been that easy to come up with visuals for our heroin, as I’m always focusing on the dragon in the story. Now that we’re entering the second leg of our characters’ journey, the heroin needs to find herself, in a manner of speaking. For this, I’ll need an image in my head that captures exactly who she is.
First, I set about asking Norbert, my ai assistant, for some images of a cloaked woman with a satchel over her shoulder, walking along a path…
While I like her face, I don’t like the suitcase. Not only is it the wrong style, but it’s also a completely inaccurate depiction of what I consider a satchel. It’s far too modern. Not only was the bag wrong, but since she’s walking in the wrong direction, I can’t really get a working image for creating the avatar.
I corrected the wordage on my prompt to reflect a frontal image, as well as, changing the style and positioning of her satchel…
Much better, but a bit too sultry. We aren’t doing a Victoria Secret photo shoot, here. Plus, she needs to have more of a hooded cloak to reflect a mysterious traveler. I don’t want that image of her face, but I will be able to use it for a pose image when I make the actual character.
I changed a few key words in the prompt, and asked again…
Much better, I thought. Her face is softer, and a bit more moody.
I took this image, along with three others that offered differing angles of our subject, and plugged them into the Character Creation machine…
I like her, though the clothing will need to be altered to fit the story. I was able to add another character to her image, which was helpful. There are two main characters in the story, so I needed some images of them together…
Now that we’ve a real heroin to work with, I just need to get this handsome fellow into his own avatar. But that’s for another day. For now, I will be satisfied with our somewhat successful creation of our first main character. She may change a bit, as time goes on, but I am connecting with both of these two adventurers… hopefully, you are, as well.
MeeMaw’s Kitchen is the best place to share a meal, share some laughs, and leave feeling fully loved!
Along with walking away, carrying a full belly of homecooked goodness, the only cost for said meal is your time! And the beauty of it is, I’m always open!
Whether it’s a meal, or maybe just a cookie, you will know that you are loved unconditionally!
Here, have a cookie…
psssst… I love you! Hugs
My journey is far from over. There are many directions my path may take me, but they all lead to the same place… home.
I’m so far from where I was just last year. There’s no telling where I’ll be this time next year, let alone in 10 years.
It would be lovely to be further along in my publishing journey, but who’s to say. Life doesn’t come with a playbook, as we discover early on in our lives. Just a good number of road signs, traffic lights, and fender benders.
One learns early in life that nothing is for certain, no path written out in stone, and no guarantees that we won’t come out on the other side, unscathed.
There is hope, there is faith, and there is love for one another. Aside from that, all bet’s are off. When you come to fully understand this, there is great peace in taking each day as it comes. One day at a time, moment by moment, so we don’t miss the beauty in the journey. It is there, you know, if you search it out!
Cookie?
So what gives with these s’s?
How is one to know the proper time to put the ‘ in the word? It’s very confusing to young readers like myself.
While I understand the logic of possession, where you use the ‘ to reflect that whatever it is, the item belongs to it. But then they go and throw in the side rule that says it’s also happens to be a shortened version of it is.
They have a whole list of words for this adorable little side rule, such as, you are = you’re, they are= they’re, and we are = we’re. These are just for starters. There’s a whole list of them, like the one I just used. It goes on and on.
The more I tried to understand the use of ‘ , the more confused I became. I guess it’s time t0 ask Mr. McGoogle why we’ve added all the extra ‘s’s to our vocabularies…
AI Overview
It’s is a contraction for “it is” or “it has” (e.g., “It’s raining”). Its (no apostrophe) is the possessive form, meaning “belonging to it” (e.g., “The dog wagged its tail”). A quick tip: If you can replace the word with “it is,” use it’s; otherwise, use its.
Detailed Breakdown
Why this answer doesn’t really help us, at all!
I already understand how to decide if I want to say it is, or it’s… but, what about all that possession stuff? All the ai wants to say is that little tiny bit about a tree?
Come on! It’s time to scroll a bit further…
According to Grammarly,
“The difference between its and it’s comes down to function: its shows possession, while it’s is a contraction of it is or it has. Its is the possessive form of it, used to show that something belongs to or is associated with something else. It’s is a contraction that combines it is or it has, with the apostrophe replacing the missing letters. To choose the right word, use the substitution trick—if you can replace it with it is or it has, use it’s; if not, use its. Avoid common mistakes, like using it’s to show possession or adding an apostrophe to its just because it “looks right.”
I guess if this is the rule we must abide by, then I shall not pursue the argument. As I am but a young, and newly educated ant, I shall follow the masses with this one. It’s just not worth arguing about, and I already seem to be doing it out of habit.
It is what it is, and it isn’t what I thought it’d be, with its rules about itself and all it’s exceptions, too. I guess it’s more about its uses in it’s daily life that makes it more about itself than about its use in our sentences, regarding it’s proper usage.
I thought I’d leave you with a tongue twister, but I’m sure there are mistakes in there, somewhere…
it’s alright.
The Wharf
Episode III
Maiyah woke with a start! She’d been awakened by the sound of a very grumpy Ogre, angrily cursing at one of the kitchen staff. There would be trouble if she wasn’t where she should be, so late in the morning.
She’d overslept!
Oh well, she’d heard Ollie yelling at the staff nearly every morning. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. The grumpy Ogre often yelled at everyone, as that’s usually what he did when he wasn’t eating, drinking, and/or carousing with the pirates that visited the tavern. Mornings were the worst, so Maiyah hurried to get to her assigned tasks before her tardiness was noticed. It never made for a pleasant day if the boss was cross with you… and the young barmaid made it a point to avoid trouble, at all costs.
Hurriedly, she set about finishing all of her morning duty’s about the tavern. As she worked, Maiyah couldn’t help but wonder if her gifts had been accepted by whatever had installed itself behind the fish barrels. She’d tried desperately to stay awake long enough to see it emerge the night before, but fell asleep soon after sitting down beside the bedside window. One was rarely afforded a short work day, nor an early night to bed around the wharf.
One of Maiyah’s morning duties was to bring in the day’s first catch. Ollie prided himself on the fish he offered his guests. Many of the taverns morning customers were the owners of the other businesses along the Wharf, as well as travelers passing through. The drinkers were all still passed out in any one of the many alleyways along the wharf.
This particular morning, she hurriedly finished collecting the fish from the dock, and made her way back along the wharf. She knew that she shouldn’t, but she made a point to pass beside the fish shed. Maiyah’s curiosity was driving her to go against every rule she’d written for her own preservation.
Some part of her was calling out to offer aid to whatever might be hiding behind the fish shed. Maybe she felt compassion, or perhaps it was pity. Perhaps it was the memory of her own lonely beginnings, driving the young barmaid to break one of her own life preserving rules. Most probably, she was simply curious.
You know, many a brave sailor had fallen into Piracy, or worse, out of simple innocent curiosity. The barmaid had learned this while sailing with many of them.
But those days were long behind her, thanks to Ollie. The grumpy old ogre had purchased her from a band of pirates, for only two barrels of ale. Maiyah made every effort not to give the ogre any reason to regret his decision.
This morning was no exception. Carefully emptying part of the fish basket on the kitchen counter, she turned to leave. Without drawing attention to her actions, Maiyah casually slipped a few food items into the pocket of her apron. She then returned to the fish basket on the counter, carrying the rest of the unused fish out the doorway, and toward the fish shed.
Looking one way, and then another, Maiyah quietly slipped behind the fish shed. Kneeling down between several barrels, she placed the food gifts she’d pilfered from the kitchen. Sitting back on her heels, she wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her chin on her arms. And then she waited…
After several long moments, there came a soft shuffling sound from behind one of the barrels. Slowly, and timidly, a small head emerged from hiding.
Maiyah sat quietly watching, as the tiniest of tiny little creatures peeked out from behind the fish barrel. Why, it was a baby orc! But, how on earth did it get behind the shed?
Softly, Maiyah whispered, “Hello there, little one. What on earth are you doing back here?”
The small creature said not a thing, but slowly reached out and picked up a piece of the bread, nibbling at it’s corners, nervously. Tucked into the folds of it’s tiny coat was what looked like a scroll of paper. Reaching forward slowly, Maiyah retrieved the scroll while the little orc was preoccupied with eating the fish.
She didn’t want to linger behind the fish shed, as it would begin to look rather suspicious why she was climbing around back there on her hands and knees. Somehow she must hide this little one, but the only safe place was her own room. She wasn’t even sure the little thing would come with her, let alone allow her to stuff him inside the fish basket she carried…
What was in the note?
Where did the baby come from?
How will Maiyah get the orc into her room without being seen?
Be sure to leave your answers in the comments.
See you next Friday…
Hugs
The easiest way to describe how new hands were such a positive change for me, is to just show you…
The old hands held onto so many painful things from the past, but with new hands on board, I began to let go…
When this began happening, I noticed how much strength began to return to my body. With two new hands, now free of waste, I have the freedom to use these hands for so much more… so much good!
There is freedom to reach out in love now, more and more each day, without guilt, shame, bitterness, resentment, anger or poison from the past.
… and, that also leaves oodles of spare time for one of my favorite hobbies. Take a wild guess…
ummm, baking cookies for you, of course!
Journey With Me! 