It’s Friday, not Monday, and overly personal queries from a rolodex question generator are bumming me out!
I vote we keep our personal feelings personal, just now, and do what we love to do… eat cookies til they make us feel sad! Maybe by that point we can overshare about our tummy aches!
Let’s do this…
Thought #1 – What would the world become, if whenever one says or does something hurtful to another, they experienced the exact emotional pain that their victim felt?
Thought #2 – What’s a baby dreaming of when they smile, or even laugh out loud while sleeping?
Thought #3 – My oldest daughter was a sleep laugher, a sleep talker, and a sleep walker. Nothing scarier than waking up in the middle of the night, with a five year old child standing beside your bed, staring at you in the darkness… it’s creepy!
Thought #4 – I shall truly miss you, Bacon, but if you won’t go on a diet and become less salty… well, it’s not me, it’s you!
Thought #5 – I miss pizza!
Thought #6 – Maybe I should visit an actual tea shop in search of something other than peppermint. I’ve tried peach tea, which was gross tasting after the first or second sip. Many years ago, someone invited me to a full tea service lunch, and they served this tropical sort of coconut flavored tea that was divine! Maybe this flavor should be investigated further.
Thought #7 – I wonder if my granddaughter will have light or dark hair?
Thought #8 – It’s settled! I am truly loving my self-crafted pixie haircut!
Thought #9 – Good Grief! How is it that we can look so old on the outside, when we still feel young on the inside?
Thought #10 – I miss that kitty so much! Gidget was her name, if I recall, and she was the loveliest long-haired Calico I’d ever set eyes on!
Thought #11 – It’s funny how I can’t remember things like my favorite grade school teacher’s name, or much of my childhood years, but I can remember the names of every pet that entered my life… from the beginning. My mother’s poodle Buttons, my first cat, Leroy Brown, my first pony, Candy, and our old Mule, Jack. Then there was my dog Rags, an Old English sheep dog, and our twin white cats named Nip and Tuck. One had a black tip on his tail and the other a black tip on one of his ears, but otherwise they were identical.
Thought #12 – Wow! This is a rabbit hole that could consume the whole day, and I simply don’t have time. The list, so far, has only been in the first 8 years of my life.
Thought #13 – Maybe I should write a short story for each of my Furbies, one at a time, just to relive those joyful memories.
Thought #14 – I don’t think that money changes people… maybe it just brings out who they really are on the inside. I’m fairly good at being poor, but will I be as honorable of a person if given better finances?
Thought #15 – My thoughts lead me back to scripture…
“For I know the plans I have for you,“ declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
I suppose that waking up is a good start to one’s daily quality of life, wouldn’t you agree?
I mean, one can fill their day with a myriad of differing habits to enrich their daily lives, but not if we’re still sleeping.
Personally, I make every effort to spend time in scripture, each morning. While studying God’s word, I’m praying, worshiping through music, and writing in my journal. The rest of my day is spent repeating habits from the day before, like cleanliness, nutrition, my writing, time spent with my husband, and the list could go on.
My point is, time waits for no one! So, if I desire an improved quality of life, the first habit for success… wake up!
Cookies! Now cookies are also very good for our quality of life, so don’t forget to take one, or even two…
Make eating cookies a daily habit, I say!
Eustace is hoping he still has a job when he get’s back to the office Monday morning. He didn’t exactly give them a heads up about his summer plans. From what he’s told me, it went something like this:
Eustace: I’m feeling quite tired, today.
HR: Go home and get some rest. You’ve got sick leave, you know. If you need a few days off, it’s ok!
Eustace: Oh yeah, I forgot I had sick leave! Are you sure it’s not a problem? I sure could use a little break.
HR: Take as much time as you need, Eustace. It’s going to be a slow couple of days.
Eustace: Really? Thanks!
And then Eustace just left without another word… to anyone! He just left the office and went home.
Unfortunately, somewhere between resting for a couple of days and the here and now, Eustace neglected to call-in, so to speak. He just left work, paddled his way out to The Torrent on a make-shift raft, and never looked back.
The camel hopes there’ll be a welcome back party waiting, but I’m not so sure. It’ll be a miracle if he even has a job when he get’s back!
I wonder, do camels qualify for unemployment? Perhaps, a doctor’s note or something might make him eligible for disability? I told him not to hold his breath on the disability stuff… I’ve been denied twice! For a camel? It’d be easier for him to fit through the eye of a needle, or something like that.
Oh well, we’ll figure things out, once we get back home. There’s plenty to do around the barnyard if he needs a job. I offer room and board to all my crew… whether they be on, or off the ship!
I’ll answer the prompt, though I doubt it will be all that exciting. The last thing I searched for online was a name. Captain Barbosa’s name, in fact. There’s not much that’s more embarrassing for a writer than a misspell… I hate it when I do that!
It’s bad enough that I am a punctuation fairy, but everybody already knows that’s my thing. Plus, having a name like Wiwohka means that I, more than most, am used to mispronunciations, misspells, and butchered shortcuts… I get it! Names are important, I think, and how one spells their name is part of their identity. There’s that!
Anyways, I have to use Google quite often for name or phrase spell checking, as I happen to be a fountain of useless information; filled with pithy phrases, old wives’ tales, and well used sarcastic quips!
LOL… I just realized that I’ve actually turned into an old wife telling tales, for real!
Oh, and a cookie master! Can’t forget that accolade, can I …
Major stages of Peanut’s creation:
I took the initial image that I’d begun with several months ago, combined it with some of the newer images, and asked the AI to create an updated version of our little troll.
These are the first images that were offered using the new character, asking for Peanut to be exploring a pirate ship, and suggesting that he wear a blue shirt and denim coveralls…
While Peanut looks rather cute, I wasn’t pleased with the AI’s freedom with changing up the shape of his face, willy nilly. The ship also looks as if it were crafted of either Lego’s or Lincoln Logs… ewww! No thanks!
I went back to the texting suggestions and asked that it give me a photorealistic image, only to be offered these next images:
Still getting images of a toy boat! If need be, I can always remove the background later, or place Peanut in an entirely different image. Some days I get lucky with the first image, but other days cause me grief, but it is only AI and it’s only as good as it’s user! Though Peanut is rather cute in several of the shots, it’s hit or miss as to whether he’s skinny, chubby, or plastic looking.
The funny thing about the AI, is that it remembers. When I have those really good pics, I put a star on them and keep them in albums. My guess is that Norbert (I named the AI) can remember the images I liked, the ones I discard, and any changes I’m asking it to make. Over time, Norbert is able to create successful images without nearly the amount of failures as there were in the beginning.
So, I starred a few and asked for the same thing, but gave Norbert more freedom for creativity. I only lowered the slider bar about 5 percent, but was rewarded with a few much nicer images. Keep in mind that I’ll be transferring the little guy to a far more impressive pirate ship…
So, we know that Norbert is getting better at showing me an adorable troll, but what’s with the hands and feet? He either has too many fingers and toes, or they simply look like they belong on a doll. Luckily, I’ve a draft board that allows for correcting things like facial expressions, and/or mutated body parts like those ridiculous hands and feet.
First step, make Peanut look less plastic:
Not perfect, but much better, I think! Now to fix the ship…
However, that level of editing is not as easy as it seems. I spent over an hour with little to no success. This will take a bit longer than today’s post, so bear with me. At least Norbert, our AI, is becoming far more agreeable to preserving Peanut’s key features, so there’s that!
Stay tuned til next Tuesday’s Tinkering for the final Peanut, as well as, the reveal for our final ship naming ceremony. Hopefully, I shall see you there…
To this day, everytime I remember back on this show, I can remember the lyrics to the insurance add that ran during the commercials… Mutual of Omaha… people… you can count on when the goings tough…
I would spend every Sunday evening watching this show, as it played right before the Wonderful World of Disney. My parents would finish watching their line up of the Lawrence Welk show, and Hee Haw… finally relinquishing the entertainment box to the small humans. Back in the day, most families only had one television in the house.
Marlin Perkins was such a wildlife superhero to this little girl! I wanted to grow up to be a National Geographic journalist. I would spend most of my free time pretending I was out on that African safari, making friends with the baby Giraffes I saw onscreen…
Or I pretended to find wild baby Cheetah cubs, carrying my poor cat around in a blanket in the middle of summer… til he got hot and escaped my clutches…
Mostly, this show instilled a deep love for creatures within my spirit, so deep that it is running strong to this day…
In honor of Marlin and all of those involved in that show, I leave our morning snack. You may need to share with the wildlife…
Just flick any dirt or hair off with your fingers… it’s ok, these guys are all clean… I think… probably.
If it’s a little too wild for you, I’ve left you some cookies, as well…
While I’d love to spend my morning filling you in on all the goings on around here, I’ve only enough time to say that we’re all back aboard The Torrent, safe, sound, and headed home. It’s sort of funny, if you think on it, because when I say that we’re headed for the barn… we are literally headed for our barn, lol!
There’s far too much to do around the ship, at the moment, so you’ll just have to wait til we get home for more information regarding our tiny troll’s decision about where to live. At least, for now, Peanut has a desire to visit our barn. I assured him that we would assist him in finding his way, and that he could stay as long as he wished to do so.
If the weather stays fair and the winds hold, we should make it home by Friday. As a pirate would say, keep a weather eye on the horizon… or as Gandalf told Aragorn, “Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East.”
Ok, well maybe it won’t be quite as dramatic an entrance as that, but I think you’ll get the idea.
The point I’m trying to make here is simply this…
We’re coming home!
My gut reaction is to answer “Daytime”, but it feels like I’m being played, here!
Like one of those pull my finger sort of jokes, or something. If I were to fall for such an obvious trick, it would be all over WordPress Daily news, which is right down the block from The Lobby.
I’d be too embarrassed to show my face out in the street, what with Oscar the Grouch’s garbage can perfectly placed right on the corner. You know, he can be very rude sometimes! On any given day, one might find him entertaining himself by reading the daily newspaper out loud, from his can. I know it doesn’t sound so rude, at first, but let me finish. Oscar doesn’t simply read the articles… no no. He shouts the words as loud as he can, and does so in the direction of whoever walks by his garbage can. See? Very rude, in my opinion.
While I do prefer the quiet of the morning, I’m not going to answer, on the grounds that it may incriminate me, somehow.
What I will do, however, is make a double batch of cookies for everyone, to make up for the ones I forgot the other day. Though you may not think it a big deal, I have a reputation to uphold. In the words of Captain Barbosa, “Don’t dare impugn me honor boy!”
May these cookies served to you, here, this morning, fulfill my duty to me ship, me WordPress family, and me crew!
Double fudge chocolate…
or,
Ok, so maybe these one’s are more like cupcakes. Fine! They’re actual cupcakes, so what? But I should still get credit, what with all the work I put into baking them for you. And, two is still two, right?!
Well, we did it! It’s all a bit of a blur, if truth be told. Two days of wandering in search of our lost troll, while simultaneously wrangling a passel of wild babies behaving as if they’re on holiday, nearly drove me crazy! It’s a miracle that none of them are hanging by their shirt collars from random trees within the forest. I’m not terribly proud of having the urge to hang them from the branches, but come on! Even the best of grown-ups have their limits, am I right?!
Besides, even if I tried to hang them from the branches, they’ll simply squirrel their way out of it. Get it? Squirrel their way…
I thought it was hilarious, but I guess you’d have to be there. And, I’ve heard it said that if I have to explain it, then it wasn’t that funny. Well, at least Squagon thought it was funny!
Anyways, while I was running through the forest chasing Bailey, who was chasing Osrig, who was hunting a dragonfly… the ever faithful camel went and found our missing troll, Peanut.
Eustace is the hero of the day!
He tracked down the location of my grandson’s old house, and found Peanut’s hiding spot under the wooden bridge, nearly tripping over our missing troll. After making proper introductions, Eustace and Peanut packed up all of the trolls tiny treasures, and then returned to our camp.
While I had basically wasted a full hour, making futile attempts at regathering all of my wild ones, Eustace had used his brain. In his camelly wisdom, Eustace started cooking breakfast, which is what I should have done in the first place! And yes, I did say camelly, because it sounded cute!
Breakfast!
What a silly thing to have overlooked. How could I have forgotten that food works like magic for this crew? It was a rookie mistake, if I’m being fully honest. Well, you can’t expect me to remember everything, really. That’s quite a lot to keep up with, wouldn’t you say?
Well, it doesn’t really matter anymore, now that we’re all safely back at camp. We’ll stay a second night before heading back to the ship, in order to let everybody get to know young Peanut, as well as, calming the little guys nerves.
It must be quite an adjustment to go from isolation and solitude, to suddenly being the center of attention. It must be very confusing, and a little frightening for Peanut. Though I’m sure he remembers me, it was my grandson that first befriended the troll. Another night around the campfire will give him time to get more acquainted with everyone.
My first thought was to take him all the way to my grandson’s new home, but it wasn’t my decision. I desperately want to make things right for Peanut, but am I choosing for myself, for my grandson, or for Peanut? What might he want?
Perhaps, when my grandson moved away and left Peanut behind, the tiny troll felt it was his own fault. What if he still felt hurt, at being unwanted or merely forgotten? I can certainly understand those feelings, but what if he didn’t want to come back to the barn with us, either? What then?
What if Peanut doesn’t need me? If the troll wants to go somewhere other than the barnyard, am I willing to help him find a different home? I write all of the time, regarding the things I do, the things I desire, and the things I strive to do… but sometimes, it’s not about me, is it?
Sometimes, in order to truly love another, we must make choices for their betterment, without expecting any payment or reward, nor any recognition at all! It isn’t easy, often hurts, and seemingly makes no valuable sense… but it’s still the right thing to do!
So, today shall be a new beginning for Peanut, and hopefully for us as well, if he chooses to come back to the barnyard. We will be spending another night here, sitting around the firelight, sharing love, light, and laughter with the little guy. But we’ve still a whole day ahead of us. Questions of where he wants to go, can wait until tomorrow.
For now, maybe there’s something to all this running around in the forest, chasing one another. Maybe I’ll join in the chase this time… or better yet, maybe they’ll chase me…
Journey With Me! 