Fall is fast approaching, bringing with it many of our favorite holidays, savory homecooked meals, sweaters, and nostalgic old movies, right?!
Fall also marks the anniversaries of several wonderful beginnings, for me personally. I believe that Tilly’s journey began during Christmas time nearly three years ago, and I began the story of my journey with Brutus in the early fall almost two years ago, as well.
With the holidays come new adventures in all the Barnyard Babes’ stories, so it’s especially exciting! There are some really wonderful events in store, new cookies to bake, and scads of holiday music to be shared. The lobby is going to be alight with activity, laughter and celebration… so buckle up!
Again, I will put out the request for participation, virtual Christmas lists, and the sharing of holiday joys with one another. Let’s turn our WordPress Street into a Holiday Wonderland!
As you may already know, I’m going to be doing it with or without you… so don’t make me do it all by me onesies, savvy! Yes, I made a Jack Sparrow reference… I can’t help it!
Phone a friend for no other reason than to say you were thinking about them.
Pat yourself on the back when someone cuts you off and you didn’t use a bad word.
If you want to do good, just do it.
If you know it’s wrong, just walk away.
Take a long hard look at “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” (Jesus)
If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all! (Thumper said this)
In respect to the above list of messages, these are mostly what I’m telling myself. I just figured that if I needed to hear them, maybe somebody else does too.
Now, I’m certain that you were expecting wax poetic over my prayer life, studying the word of God, and/or the incredible love of Jesus Christ… but, I think I do that already. This morning, I opted for something different!
So, in all seriousness, when IBS decided to have a field day with me nearly two months ago… oatmeal has been my life’s blood!
After things were said and done, they kind of just sent me home with a sack of medications. Apparently, I would be on my own from that point, as they didn’t seem bothered by the results from my two procedures. That’s the beauty of IBS… it won’t kill me, but it will never go away.
I had to start at the bottom of my health pile, sifting through every single detail of my own body’s struggle with foods, stress, trauma, poverty, and circumstantial solitude. I shall have to walk this path alone, as far as doctors are concerned. I’ve come to peace with the 4 medications I’ll be taking from now on, as none of them effect the brain. My spirit and emotional health belong to God, and him alone.
This is where my joy of oatmeal arrives… it’s the single thing to eat each day that doesn’t hurt! Even with the removal of caffeine, gluten, and lactose products, I’m still far from home on the IBS Safari Tours!
I’ve adopted an intermittent fasting lifestyle, somewhat. Though the schedule allows for me to consume calories for up to an 8 hour stretch, my body only seems to be happy with eating between noon and 5 o’clock. Part of the issue comes from all the medications I use throughout the day to coat my stomach and intestines. I have to take them 4 times a day in order to eat, and there’s time restrictions for before and after each dose. 5 hours is easier to work with, truth be told.
Why is 5 hours easier, you ask? Because, my roommate IBS tends to lose all trust in my ability to feed myself when she gets upset… always has and always will! No matter how my mind copes with stress and trauma, IBS will always have her day in court, so to speak.
Thankfully, she readily accepts the oatmeal with a tablespoon of brown sugar and a bit of Oat Milk. Work with what you got… and I got oatmeal, baby!
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…
Journey With Me! 