If we look at all the different descriptors of glass, they all seem to fit with my character or personality, if you will.
Just like glass, I have the ability to protect or harm, help or hinder, and can be a 100% water resistant. If you think about it for a moment, it kind of makes sense.
For example, if one fills a glass bottle with air, it becomes unsinkable…
But, filling it with liquid causes the bottle to drop into the depths!
Glass can protect that which is within it, or drown it beneath the waves.
While others may not see it, I am not strong, at all! I suppose if glass had feelings, it might reflect that it can be strong if used properly. However, if one mishandles it, glass can shatter into a myriad of tiny pieces with only a pebble.
Guess what?! The repairs have been completed… all of them! Not only that but Creed made some upgrades and changes to the ship’s overall design, and I think you’ll like them…
Can you believe how many sails she’s got?
Not only did we get bigger and better sails, but that huge beam you see jutting out the front of the ship is much larger than the original. We needed it for the additional sails being added, and I guess it will also help us break through the waves better when we’re under full sail.
I know it might be hard to see him up there, but Squagon’s already claimed the crows nest! He looks so tiny doesn’t he?
Anyways, now that the ship’s had all these upgrades and improvements, it’s a good thing that we named her because she’s a lovely sight…
Problem #1 – where do we put the name? Creed did such beautiful work on the details, I don’t think I want to paint anything on the wood. It’s been weather sealed and then stained such a beautiful rich brown, I don’t have the heart to tarnish it with some gaudy paint job, ya know what I mean? We could put it on the sails somewhere, but I think I’d want to sew it on like a patch or something… the paint will just wash away after the first good storm. Now that I think about it, maybe it’s not such a good idea to put anything on the sails. Whatever we decide on, I think we should put it somewhere on the front, don’t you?
Problem #2 – what materials can we use that won’t wash off, fall off or break, and won’t mar the beauty of the ship’s natural wood? Not long ago, my friend Lou Carver made me a large wooden spoon for our ship’s galley. It’s a beautiful spoon, carefully treated, carved, and then soaked in oils… I am blessed to have it! It’s just lovely!
This gave me an idea! What about something like this…
or…
Granted, these two pictures are just some quick ideas but I think you get the idea. I’ll try to come up with a selection of ideas for you to choose your favorite!
It’s a bit sad, really, because with our departure back out to sea, Creed will be heading back to the barnyard. With college classes keeping him busy, traveling abroad will have to wait. I did take some pictures of him, for framing. Want to see one?
As we all know, I don’t do well with short answers… in honesty, they are no fun!
My memory pulls me back to my childhood, to a time when my Nana was alive. Nana was the only one to ever call me Antonia, most likely in protest over my parents laziness when I was born a girl. They expected a boy when they chose Toni Rae, but got me instead, and just stuck with the same name. But alas, this memory is too far back, nor was that name technically a nickname, so I will move ahead in time…
My children were sleeping, as well as my ex husband, so what does an overworked and underpaid mom do for fun, I took it upon myself to have a couple glasses of wine. The house was quiet, and I had the office to myself, so off I went to the World Wide Web. Alcohol does funny things to a person…
There I was, at two in the morning, heavily under the influence… don’t judge… Alcohol gives confidence and courage, but not always wise choices, so consider us all lucky that this is the only thing I got up to in the middle of the night!
So anyway, as I was perusing the internet, I came up with this hairbrained idea, to find a really cool game handle. I loved video games, especially the mmorpg ones, and everyone had awesome names for their in-game characters, or toons. I was in search of The One, if you will, game name wise…
Stumbling upon those name generating search engines, I began to look for a Native American word or name, that I could assign myself since nobody else ever wanted to do. Yes I think I am maybe Native American, and no, I did not make any valid name choice for this girl from the wilderness. Remember, wine was involved, so I make no valid claim to the name I settled on. I finally found a site that was pretty cool, in that it gave really decent explanations for the meaning and spelling/pronunciation. I came to this…
WIWOHKA – roaring, raging water…
In honesty, I cannot remember the rest of the definition, and highly doubt that it would do me any good now. For whatever the reason, the name stuck, and I have used it now for over 20 years…
Funny thing, my husband and I looked the name up once, and aside from the definition not being there anymore, we did discover a long lost Indian Tribe located somewhere near the great lakes, and they were called the Wiwohka Tribe… I can aspire!
Don’t pop my bubble by saying I am full of it… I know that I am, but where is the fun in having a really cool nickname, if there was not an amazing story behind it… I am proud of my name, even it only means that I talk a lot, and am such a cry baby that everybody gets wet when I am around! At least, maybe, you will remember me from either laughing or crying…
We were all born with gifts, but only get one lifetime to use them. No one knows of their own departure date, so when you see an opportunity to use your gifts, don’t waste it!
Give as much love as you can, even when it hurts! No, this doesn’t have anything to do with allowing yourself to be used, abused, or discarded. It means giving of yourself without expecting anything in return… just do it for the sake of love.
Make the best use of your time, your life, your love, and yes, your might! Be the best version of who you are and to the best of your ability, because no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
If God gives you a gift and you don’t waste it, He will always bless the work of your hands. Why? Because He knows you to be a good steward of that which He bestows upon you!
Think in terms of a cup that has a leak in the bottom… not a major hole, nor unrepairable tear, but tiny little cracks in the bottom. Over time, the water slowly escapes through those tiny fractures. Or, better yet, think of a flower pot that has a hole in the bottom. When the plant is watered, if the water just sits in the bottom of the pot, it will destroy the roots of the flower. Thus, the need for the hole. Simply water the flower often enough to keep the soil moist, while letting the extra water drain off, allowing the soil to remain healthy and fertile.
You know me, always writing about rushing water and broken pottery.
Well, we did it! Don’t ask me how, because the main mast snapped five miles offshore, nearly flipping the ship on her side. Thank the good Lord, the ship righted herself, though the entire main sail sank into the sea. Another blessing was the free tow into land we were given by a nearby vessel. They’d seen the whole thing and rushed into give aid… Sailors are some of the nicest folk you’ll ever meet!
Anyways, the ship was pulled up onto shore. ..
The damage from that snapped pole was extensive! It caused two other beams to splinter, tearing through most of the other sails. That wouldn’t have been so bad, in and of itself, but when everything crashed over the side of the ship, it ripped all the side railing off and tore into the actual frame of the ship. Honestly, looking at the ship from dockside makes me glad to have made it to land, at all!
While I’m quite sad at how much damage was sustained, there were two huge pluses in all of this mess. The first huge plus was the fact that I’d already sent Brutus and the babes off in the little dingy, to land further up the coast. With the ship up on poles, along with scads of workers climbing in and out of it, there’d be no way to hide anybody. Something told me to send them on ahead. Thank Goodness for small favors, lord!
The second huge plus was the surprise that had been waiting for me on the dock…
You guessed it! Creed was standing there smiling at me as I climbed off the ship, like he’d been expecting my arrival. How on earth did the man do that? He always seems to know when I need him the most. Love is such a funny thing, always showing up in ways we never saw coming.
Oh! I think that I’ve settled on a name for our ship. How does “The Torrent” sound for our soon-to-be seaworthy vessel? With Creed in charge of the repairs, she’ll be right as rain in no time!
Journey With Me! 