Cookies?
56 years of being the last one on the list, the one at the end of the line, or the stand-by friend has done it’s damage. You know what they say about the truth of things… If everyone else in the room disagrees with you, then it must be you that’s wrong. Personally, I think that adage stinks like a bag of rotten eggs!
I’ve simply decided that I want to go home, I don’t really like it here anymore. I’m on an adventure of faith… the faith that my heavenly home is being prepared for me, as I speak! There shall be NO security upon this broken and fallen world… not for me! I’m going home! This world is just a process I have to get through to reach my destiny… Home!
I am a woman of God, a child of the Creator of the universe, and right now, I’m struggling with each and every passage in scripture… but I’m reading it anyway! Why? Because it’s not always about doing things only when you feel like it, that’s why.
The bible tells us that we will have troubles in this world because of Him, but we should still be encouraged because He did all the heavy lifting, long ago. He has made a way home for us, but we need to follow that path if we really wish to get there.
In my mind, that’s a fairly big adventure! I’m on my way home one day at a time, for only God knows my arrival time. I get to choose how I get there, though. I suppose that I could just give up and wait for my own departure, like a petulant little girl. Or, I can do it with grace, keeping a smile on my face, praise on my lips, and hope in my heart.
I’m going with the hope of heaven, rather than the cry baby part. I really do get sick of hearing myself complain, so instead, I write strange and wonderful adventurous stories of myself and my imaginary friends. We fill our days with adventures that I shall never do, travel to exotic lands that I’ll never visit, and be the hero that I’ll never really be. These are my adventure in search of security! Anyone is welcome aboard this vessel, if you so choose to join us. Adventures are always more fun with friends, wouldn’t you agree?
There’s unlimited cookies for my crew!
I would have to say that my sense of humor has improved with age… sort of like a fine wine. The older I get, the funnier things seem to be getting. Either that or I’m just crazier than I used to be… it’s possible, you know.
Cookies?
We’re still in uncharted waters and the weather has been rather difficult, lately.
Nobody feels well, what with all the constant rocking back and forth. That’s wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t accompanied by sudden jolts from waves slamming into the ship’s side.
Somewhere, deep in the heart of the ship, there’s a broken support beam… I can feel it! We’ve set a course that should bring us within sight of land soon, hopefully.
This vessel is valuable and has seen me through many dangers, difficulties and hardships. With that in mind, it’s vital that we locate the damaged beam and repair it before it causes irreparable damage to the rest of the ship.
I have no fear of the water, nor will this vessel sink… she’s a tough old thing! We’ve just been through a few more storms than I am used to navigating in one single sailing season. That is the reason for my lack of correspondence, of late.
I’m confident that we should reach land before the week has ended. Once there, I don’t foresee repairs to take more than another week, after that. If I have time, I’ll try to send word.
For now, I’m off to check on the babes…
It’s no problem! I can make more…
See, I told you so!
Instead of offering you his usual pearls of wisdom, Eustace thought a selfie might accomplish the same thing this week. It did make me laugh, and they say that laughter is often the best medicine for what ails ya. In this case, its helping you sail through the day with a smile on your face!
While I’m not in the mood for writing today, there is always room for tinkering, right?!
Remember when you were little and stuck in the house for whatever reason, with nothing to do but entertain yourself? We didn’t have cell phones, tablets, or computers when I was little. There was a radial phone attached to the wall in the kitchen, and we had one of those televisions that were encased in half a tree. Those old televisions didn’t come with cable, so forget Netflix, YouTube, or even a video recorder. Music came out of our car radio and television was only for Saturday morning cartoons and Sunday night Disney specials… otherwise, it was meant for the grown-ups.
So…. what did we all do for fun when left to our own devices? I don’t know about the boys, but us girls played dress-up! We loved to sneak into our mother’s closet and pretend to be a grown-up, stumbling around in her high-heeled shoes, tripping over the hem of the dress we’d been parading around in. My mother was an avid Avon customer, having boxes under the bathroom sink that were filled with sample lipsticks and perfumes. By the time I was finished with my self-makeover masterpiece, I both looked and smelled like an old French whore, as some might say.
Well, I’m far older and no longer even wear make-up or fancy dresses. I probably don’t own more than half a dozen outfits, mostly sweats… and high-heels left the building years ago! Thanks to modern technology, I’m able to enjoy a little playtime, sort of like I did as a child, but virtually! Back then it was dress up for myself and my baby dolls, alone in my bedroom. Today, I use a computer program to create beautiful, imaginative and entertaining things… and I get to see myself as the younger me, the way I remember.
Not just me, but you get to see all the barnyard babes going and doing things that I don’t get to do in the real world. Speaking of going and doing things, we’ve been adrift for days without the tiniest bit of wind to fill our sails. It’s been stiflingly hot in the cabins below deck, but brutally hot on deck, where the sails hang limp and useless. With nothing to do, compounded by the discomfort of the heat, all crew have holed up in the galley. It’s mid level of the ship, and nearest our water supply. Plus, I built a make-shift wading pool for us to put our feet in, for a little relief.
I think the nautical term for things is called Doldrums, not that it makes things any better in the knowing of such a term. I don’t even know what brought it to mind. Since we’re all too hot to touch each other, let alone don a bunch of hot and cumbersome outfits out of a smelly old chest, I pulled out my laptop… yes, I do happen to have a magic laptop that has an imaginary extension cord attached to it, so what! Think inner child, here…
It all started with Nugget! Well, a picture of today’s dress-up star, as I needed a volunteer subject. Who better to tinker with than our quirky little sailher… get it? Sail her, Sailher! Well, hopefully you got it…
Anyways, back to our magic make-over session, for today’s tinkering adventures! In the editing section of my AI program there’s this drop down list labeled “Stylize”. It’s where you can choose from a number of color/style/backdrop environments to enmesh with your character/model. I’ve never really used it before, due to being so picky about facial expressions and the mix between realism and whimsical in nature… basically, I’m a control freak with an overactive imagination. At times, I really do feel sorry for my AI assistant!
I took the above image of Nugget and simply began going through the list, making two images in each template, with the creativity setting on 7 out of 10. The higher the number, the more creativity I give over to the AI. It would take all day for me to run you through the dozen or so templates, so I’ll just show you some of the ups and downs and then my favorites, if you’re still actually here. I’m bored, ok! So suck it up Buttercup, as I like to say, and enjoy the goofy pics…
While they were fun to play with, it was merely for testing out of this particular feature, not for altering Nugget, in any fashion… get it? Fashion… oh, for Pete’s sake! I refuse to give disclaimers each time I do an incredibly corny play on words! I can’t help it that I am married to a man who loves to turn everything into a bad Dad Joke… it’s worn off on me, I think.
As far as the future use of this particular tool, I’m not so sure I like it for much of what I do, but it did render some positive results, as far as enhancing a backdrop or something like that. I’ve noticed that the program has a tendency to alter the appearance of my character’s face, or replace my model for an entirely different one, which isn’t what I wanted. Unfortunately, I also discovered that it only works on artificial characters… it doesn’t recognize my character, nor Mini-me or even the puppy, Bailey. Mainly, it worked with artificial and animated creatures. At least, it was the overall result from today’s two hour tinkering session.
Out of the entire experience, I really only found one image that was able to really hold onto Nugget’s key facial features, well, maybe two. I’ll show them both and let you decide…
Saying that spirituality is important in one’s life seems uncomfortably broad to me, personally. Nowadays, referring to spirituality can go in many different directions. I’ll answer the question from the perspective of a child of God.
In honesty, I live a spirit-filled life every single day! It’s a very deep and intimate relationship with my maker, God himself! He is my comfort when I am sorrowful, my strength when I am weak, and eternally faithful to sustain me, in all things.
It’s kind of like traveling through a desolate and parched land. Know where your water sources are, if you wish to survive the sands! I’m fairly certain that water flows throughout the desert, deep underground. It’s there, but the traveler must know where to find it. After you’ve traveled to to those sources enough times, their location becomes embedded in your muscle memory… you just remember.
As far as my actual spirit-filled life, the bible is one of my water sources. That muscle memory I just mentioned? In this instance, I’m referring to my brain’s ability to recall a thing I’ve read and/or learned… you know, use it or lose it! Then there’s my prayer life, which is my source of sustenance, peace, grace, forgiveness, and so much love… I’m in the presence of my creator!
As for that spirituality part of the prompt, I am filled with the Holy Spirit, which is part of God’s spirit, sent to dwell within this vessel. It says so in the bible,
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14
Anyways, that should answer the prompt in an honest and honorable manner without dragging things out for hours. I could, you know!
Because I love you, I’ll settle for handing out cookies instead…
If ever I’m feelin down, or just plain overwhelmed with life in general, I bake!
Depending on the reason that get’s me in the kitchen, what I might bake varies, greatly. Breads bring comfort, whether sweet or savory.
Quiches, casseroles, and stews comfort loneliness, somehow. I think they bring back memories of my mother, my daughters, and even the good bits of my own childhood. There weren’t many but I cherish the ones I have…
Now, if ever my moods of being overwhelmed are simply due to stress… well, that’s when sugar gets involved! Stress baking is most often going to have chocolate and/or caramel in it. Not always, but most often, anything having chocolate in it, is for my husband. He loves chocolate! While I’ll admit that the man loves most anything sweet that I bake, it’s the chocolaty bakes that make his heart the happiest.
Now, chocolate works fantastic in most of my cookies, mousse’s, and pies. But I’m rather talented at baking an unforgettable Snickers Cheesecake!
Sometimes, things are a mixture of stress, aggravation and/or any other factors that give me an excuse to bake… oh, did I just type that? Ok, fine! I just want to bake, ok? I have days where nothing makes me happier than baking a really good pie! Apple crumble, or a cherry cobbler… ooh ooh, and don’t forget peach cobbler. Nothing tastes better than a good cobbler with some old fashioned vanilla ice cream (I just buy that part)…
Yesterday, I shared about the changes in my health, coupled with my need to completely change my diet. It’s not that I need to lose weight, because I don’t really eat most of what I bake. The problem is that I taste everything I bake, so I have to find some satisfactory substitutes for some of my ingredients. THANK YOU, GOD it’s not sugar, chocolate or anything in the sweet department! It’s the flour, the butter/oil, and any dairy. Never fear, my sweet cookie eaters, for this shall never stop my baking self-care, no no…
Caffeine free, lactose-free, Gluten-free, low cholesterol, low sodium is not the end… it’s only the beginning!
Besides, much of what I bake is done for putting smiles on others faces! That’s the part that makes me happy, more than the flavor of the bake! Now take your cookie…
You’ll never be able to taste the difference… Honest!
It’s a quiet Sunday morning, here.
Currently, I’m laying low and allowing my system some serious down time, if that makes any sense. I realize that I said body heal thy self, but it’s a bit more than that. While my mode wishes it to be so, I’ve placed myself in the hands of a rather competent physician, opting for a compromise in the “do it myself” department.
Careful selection of medications paired with a radical change in diet should hopefully allow my body to do some internal repair and restoration. I’d like to say that I was an iron clad warrior through our little sojourn in the wilderness, but it wasn’t exactly like that. Sadly, no muscle bound wild woman roared out of the darkness, but rather, a very exhausted, sick, and humble grandmother of six literally limped into this apartment. Can you believe it’s been two months already? Well, something like that… I’ve honestly lost track of time.
One of the medications I’m currently on is used for repairing the lining of my stomach. It must be taken four times a day for at least a month, possibly longer. The struggle has been to take the prescribed four doses without eating for several hours on either side of each dose. Add to that, my diet now restricts lactose, gluten, and…………… caffeine! Nooooooooooooooooooooo!
Yes!
It’s actually not so bad, now that I’m used to decaf with non-dairy creamer mixed with oat milk. So far, so good, right?!
This last rough patch simply took more out of me than I wanted to admit. My mom had several strokes, a heart attack, due to both a history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. She was also a diabetic. The woman oozed bad health for the entirety of her life, eventually passing from Dementia. This last set of bloodwork really made me pay attention to this history. I did a bunch of reading on the relationship between cholesterol and blood pressure, and I don’t want to follow my mother’s health journey. I’ve got a new grandbaby due in November, you guys. I need to be on deck!
So, until things start going in the right direction, health wise, I focus on nothing more than sleep, medication, reading, working on my final read through of a manuscript, and eating like a bird. Honestly, I don’t even mind eating sparsely right now, what with all that medication in my stomach. Not much of anything sounds good, aside from oatmeal and bananas.
The good side of this seclusion is that my imagination is on fire!
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying myself with adventures on the high seas, along with wrapping up this first novel. It’s time to begin the second volume. What better way to prep for it than to read the first story again, so it’s fresh in my mind.
Just because I’m turning lemons into lemonade Wiwohka style, it doesn’t mean that I’d recommend such a radical shift in lifestyle to anyone. This has been my modes operandum for a lifetime… feast or famine… highs and lows… joy and grief! Nothing in life worth having comes without cost, nor can we always have what we want without the cost taking it’s toll. I wanted to smoke cigarettes’ as a kid and it took me 40 years to quit! I wanted children and lost five babies in the attempt to bear the three beautiful girls I’ve got! I wanted my freedom from my first husband and it cost me the relationships I had with all three of my children! So many lessons in life have taught me how entwined the good is with the bad. No matter how hard we try, we cannot seem to have one without the other.
Maybe that’s the whole balance thing…
Journey With Me! 