When I picked out my favorite fruits for this prompt, none of them seemed to be too thrilled about it! It was all I could do to get them to sit in the same bowl together, and the fussing and crying was more than I could take… so I just ate them!
I’ll spare you the visuals of the mess I made, but I will say that it was rather shameful… banana peels, mango skins, and a pile of those little green tops to my strawberries lay mixed into a pile of mango and peach skins. That’s all that remains in the bowl now.
Oh well! In honor of those that were lost, I baked some cookies to make it all better…
Do you know how hard it is to work on my computer while at sea? I’m reliant on multiple back up batteries for power. Add to that, our internet connection is spotty at best when the weather is disagreeable. But, regardless of what the clouds are doing, I’m not one to give up on a task that I think should be done… like my tinkering.
Bailey suggested that we get high speed internet that’s wireless, so we only need be near land for our connection. We won’t even have to get off the ship! I knew she was a very smart puppy, but didn’t expect that the dog would think of a solution before I did. Don’t I feel silly.
Now that we’ve ironed out all the kinks, as they say, let’s get to work!
I thought it might be a good idea to design some better pictures of our ship, so as to reveal what a wonderful vessel we sail upon! I wouldn’t want you thinking that we were gallivanting across the sea in a cardboard raft, or something of that nature.
Obviously, she’s quite a big girl!
She would have to be enormous… that is, if she’s to carry all the babes, myself, and Brutus. I realize that the dragon can take any form or size that he wishes, but sometimes he just likes to relax in his natural state… like us wearing pajamas and slippers on a Saturday morning.
Speaking of enormous, the amount of food we go through on this boat is staggering. Due to the sheer number of mouths onboard, I made sure that our galley came fully stocked with all the sundries required for this journey…
Food isn’t the only thing truly necessary for a comfortable trip across the waters, no no! If you’ve ever had to deal with a little one that’s running on little or no sleep, which then means that you’re also running on no sleep… well, you can understand why I took such great efforts to ensure these babes get plenty of rest…
Before you start thinking that I stuffed all the babes in the same cabin, I want to assure you that I am most certainly not that silly! This is just Lilly’s room. As you can see, all the girls like to have slumber parties, tea parties, or just parties for the sake of having a party.
This is Dinky and Boomer’s cabin…
Tilly shares a cabin with mini me, along with both Bailey and Auzzie, as those two need constant supervision…
There’s a another cabin that was meant for the rest of the boys, but their never in it!
Eustace actually prefers to sleep on a pillow in the Captains Quarters for some strange reason, and Squagon has taken to sleeping in the crows nest full time. He says it’s to be on the lookout for any danger, but I think it has more to do with wanting to sleep in a tree. He is a squirrel, you know.
I didn’t make a cabin for Brutus because he generally sleeps wherever suits him at the time. Sometimes the dragon sleeps on deck, fully stretched out to his full size. On the more stormy nights he likes to sleep down below, to comfort the little ones.
Myself, well, it was important that it be comfortable an spacious…
You can’t imagine how often my bed is filled with sleepers from down the hall. Oh, and did you notice the nightstand there, next to my bed? That’s for Nugget!
Anyway, my battery is dying on this ole laptop, so I’ll wrap this up. I just thought you’d want to see what our ship looks like. Before I end this message, there’s one last thing that must be settled… our vessel has no name yet!
If you would do me this small favor, would you please offer up some possible names fitting of such a fine ship? It seems fitting that you be a part of the naming, since you’re the ones who give wind to her sails. Besides, if it’s left to everyone aboard the ship there’s no telling what name might be agreed upon.
I shall wait for your suggestions, but not for too long. We’re already far out to sea and I’ve heard that it’s quite dangerous to sail an unnamed vessel. I apologize for rushing things, but you understand the urgency, right?
When I say shush, I don’t mean for you to shush. I mean for myself to shush… in answer to the prompt, of course!
As far as one small improvement that I can make in my own life, I would have to say that it’s listening more than speaking. Well, I might actually learn a thing or two, ya know?!
Oh, and I should probably start baking larger batches of cookies for everybody…
It’s funny how dreamy one gets when living aboard a ship full time. Days and nights lose all sense of time, in terms of minutes and hours. Our days simply move between daybreak and sunset. Things also become reliant on the weather cooperating. If the winds are kicked up and the waters get rough, we spend our time within the ship’s comfortable cabins. Those are days for baking, stitching holes in little socks… and storytelling, which I happen to be rather good at. Needless to say, I think that the babes prefer the stormy days to the sunny ones.
This morning finds me sitting in my cabin, with great plans of writing some grand adventure quickly drifting away with the breeze. While I have many things I could write about, its all I can do to keep myself sitting here, as I can hear the crew having so much fun out on deck!
As you can see, the dragons have taken charge of everything above deck! While I am grateful that they’ve taken that part off my hands, I think it has more to do wind and wings than it does about work… if you know what I mean…
I can’t tell you how many times Brutus has had to pull one of the babes out of the waves. Squagon is the worse, by far! You know, the sea air has even gotten Nugget up on deck…
For a dreamer who normally finds joy in existing within my bedside drawer, life on the water has made her more outgoing.
While our winged babes take pleasure above deck, learning all they can from Brutus about everything nautical, the other babes spend more time below deck.
Lilly tends to spend all her time going over the maps on my desk. She’s always been rather good at puzzles and riddles, so I suppose that she sees all our maps and clues as just that… pieces of a bigger puzzle.
She’s working on a successful course that might lead us to the whereabouts of our missing troll, Peanut.
There’s plenty to keep the rest of the babes happily occupied, what with baking, and things of that sort…
I think that they play more than bake, if I’m being fully honest. Oh well, it makes them happy, which in turn, makes me happy!
And now you see why I’ve gotten nothing done this morning, aside from rambling on about our daily comings and goings. I suppose this is what it should be like, anyway. How else are you supposed to know what’s going on aboard our ship, while we sail the high seas? Getting to where one is going takes time. Who on earth would want to simply read the introduction to a story, only to turn the page and find that they’ve already arrived at the conclusion? That would be so boring and unfulfilling.
If I’m to write anything of value for this mornings Monday Message, it would be this:
The getting to a place isn’t what an adventure is about. It’s about all the things that happen while you’re getting there…
Ok! Once again, we’re all loaded onto the ship and ready to set sail for distant shores. All that is, except for young Henry, the very mouse that we sailed all the way up the river to locate. Why? Well, young Henry has responsibilities to his aging parents that require him to remain at home. Before you start worrying that Tilly will be broken hearted, Brutus saved the day, once again. He’s given Tilly his word that whenever she wants to go and spend time with Henry and his family, Brutus will fly her home and stay til she’s ready to come back. See… problem solved!
Do you know that it’s taken all day to get ready for leaving port, just so that all the babes could pick out their best sailing outfits? I’m not joking! The worst of them was Eustace and Bailey, which I never expected. It’s all about the shoes, according to those two…
I advised Eustace that his choice of enormous backpack and fur lined flip flops would most assuredly cause him to loose his balance and end up over the side of the ship, so we compromised…
Much better!
Now Bailey was more about dressing like a lady, than wearing something that might give off the wrong impression at some port that we visit…
I warned her that she might be mistaken for a caravan belly dancer with these sandals.
As I am Baileys mamma, so to speak, it’s my job to protect her reputation. I like these shoes, because she looks well insulated…
She threatened to stay home, so we had to agree on something we both felt happy with…
There, she can show a little bit of toe… but no more than that and absolutely no ankle showing!
The rest of the babes chose their own outfits and I didn’t even have to say much, at all!
Since we’ve been aboard our ship, Squagon has taken to stretching his ears up into his horns. I know that he looks up to Brutus and all, but I don’t want him to grow up too fast, you know? When I asked him to tone it down a bit, he was quick to adjust them…
Awwwww…. now, there’s my sweet boy!
What is the deal with all the fancy ankle cuffs… sheesha!
Nugget’s favorite snack is honey, so you can see what the problem might be.
While I think the outfit is absolutely adorable… still not gonna work with sticky fingers.
I know it takes more work to keep the hat on, but that’s what ears are for, so it’ll do. Once we settled on the hat, it was easy to get Nugget to lose the sleeves.
Lilly didn’t want to wear anything at all, aside from the hat…
I didn’t want her to get sunburned, though..
Much better, little lady!
Oh, and Tilly?
She’s gonna be just fine… it’s as if she’s a different mouse, ya know?!
Check out Dinky and Boomer…
They chose each others hats.
Why no shoes? Well, Duh! Dragon’s don’t wear shoes, do they.
Anyway, now that everyone’s finally ready to go, let’s do this!
The first order of business is to determine our course. After that, we’re free to set sail. Where will we go first, you might be wondering? Well, without going into too much detail, what I can tell you is that we have a map. If we can successfully navigate to the correct location marked on the map, there is someone waiting… someone who was left behind, just like our young Henry.
This time, however, we shall be traveling for the sake of another… for my grandson, actually. You see, when his family had to move to a new home, they left someone behind. When we talked about his missing friend, the idea came to me that we should seek the little guy out, because it seemed like the right thing to do. No one should feel alone… no one!
His name is Peanut, and yes, he’s a troll. Please don’t judge the little guy to harshly for being a troll. He’s really sweet, honest!
I’ve actually met him, you know. I spied him one day, hiding in the ditch beside my grandson’s house. He’d been watching the children play in their yard, quietly wishing he might join them… I could see it in his adorable eyes. For a time, I actually passed notes back and forth between my grandson and the tiny troll. I believe that’s where their friendship started.
Anyway, I thought to go in search of the little guy, in hopes of inviting him to stay at the barn. We have tons of room now, what with the barn being renovated and expanded. This way, my grandchildren can come and visit him at the barn whenever they wish. Plus, the lonely little troll will have all the babes for company, as well. No more being alone.
A journey such as this seems fitting for our first voyage, wouldn’t you agree?
With so many brands out there to choose from, how can I possibly decide. Besides, the answer will always change, depending on the cow.
For instance, color plays a big part in deciding what brand works better than others…
Notice how the white lettering stands out well against the darker fur in the photo above. Yet, if we change the coloring of the letters, things are far different…
Personally, it just makes the cow look naked! And it brings a whole new meaning to the question, “Does this color make my udders look too big?”
What about the shape… of the letters, I mean?
Just asking… for a friend, of course!
Finally, attitude plays a big part in how one carries their favorite brands…
Go ahead, tell her that you think cows with udders shouldn’t have horns like a steer… go on, I double dog dare you! See what I mean, though, attitude really does make that brand bling she’s wearing really pop!
I have more proof, in the whole attitude department…
If you have an unsure and confused look about you, it just really clashes with her choice of brands. Oh well, never mind. By the look on her face, I’m not so sure that changing the brand will improve much in her appearance.
Wait… I’ve the perfect idea for our brandless bovine!
See, I told you that cookies make everything better! Help yourselves to a cookie, or three! She’s been at it all morning so there’s a ton of cookies laying about.
Spring is definitely in full swing, with summer already sneaking in, here and there. Every single one of my little plants are stretching their tiny leaves toward the windows. I might live in a tiny apartment, but the plants bring so much color and life to the place that it doesn’t feel so small. And, I feel good every time I look at them.
Eustace has also decided that he likes the whole gardening thing, though I have to make sure he doesn’t eat the ends off the leaves. Oh, and our cultivating camel asked me to give you a message. He suggests that if you don’t have a little green plant on your desk, you should really consider getting one!
I had to laugh when I saw this prompt, as it brought up a memory that had been lost to me… so thank you, WordPress!
I swear that I might have been born in the wild, because my earliest memories include riding bareback while still in diapers… ya, I have a mind like a steel trap!
Anyways, camping is something that came naturally to this girl, and so, I passed it on to my children. My daughters have been camping since before they were born, as I freely went camping during my pregnancies. When my girls began to grow, we began traveling with a group of about 4 or 5 other families during the summer months, camping and fishing throughout the great Northwest. From southern Oregon, across Idaho and into Montana, and even into British Columbia.
Needless to say, my family are avid campers, fishers, hikers and hunters! They weren’t always so experienced at this stuff, and it took a great deal of training and practice, especially in the bathroom department, if you know what I mean? I had three girls!
How does one raise a little girl to be a tough camper, and yet still be a little lady? Like I said, we traveled with a huge group of camping families, which meant cooking together, bathing in close proximity to others, and yes, using the restroom in groups, for security! With little ones running around, we grown ups thought it was easiest to make an appropriate code word, to signal our restroom intentions. If one needed to use the restroom, we simply said, “I have to go camping”, and anyone who needed to go, simply agreed to come along.
Now, this went on for nearly an entire summer before one of my girls finally asked, “Mamma, how come the grown-ups keep saying they’re camping and then disappear into the woods?” I explained that it was a polite way of saying that we needed to use the restroom, without saying it in front of others. She didn’t question me further, and seemed not to even understand what I’d said. About a week later, all the families gathered at our home to plan the next upcoming adventure.
There we all were, standing around my kitchen talking, when my daughter marches into the midst of the group and boldly announced, “Everyone, I need to go camping… that means I have to go poop!”
I nearly dropped the plate in my hands! The entire room went silent for a moment, and then erupted into laughter! All of the adults in the room knowing laughed themselves silly, while my daughter marched off to the bathroom. The rest of the day was filled with children running around the house, loudly claiming they needed to camp and then laughing about it!
Well, it is springtime, and the waters are looking rather inviting, so why shouldn’t I let Eustace learn to water ski? Oh, I don’t know… maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, but the crazy camel insisted!
If you’re treading water like this camel, beings as it’s the middle of the work week, just don’t let go of the rope that’s pulling you towards Friday.
You’ll probably be all wrinkly and wet, smelling like a sweaty camel, but hey, now you’ll know how to ski…
Journey With Me! 