From the Archives (2023) Answers From the Past…

Daily writing prompt
Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.

I found an old post from last spring that I thought rather fitting, if you twist the daily prompt’s meaning just a smidge…

This was one of my ‘Investigating Truths’ episodes, but it seemed fitting, somehow.

For as long as I can remember, I have made sense of myself and this world in two realms of thought.  One realm of thought is in the actual and physical sense.  What we see, do, talk about, eat and feel are things in the here and now. The second realm of thought is what I think of as my storybook, or cartoon version, if you will.  Let’s call this part the “Behind the Scenes of My Truths,” the adventure version. 

What follows is written in storybook version…….

I am wild from the top of my head all the way down to my toes!  It is all that I can seem to remember of myself.  My journeying, or running if I am being truthful, has always found me far out in the desert.  For as long as I can remember, there has been a path worn, from one hidden oasis to another, by my very own feet.  I have hidden them well, though, so most that wander by are unaware of my presence. 

As the years of my life rolled forward, I found that there was One who had been following my footprints, always leaving little packages of love for me.  On one of my journeys along the outskirts of the Cities of Souls, I came to realize that the One whom I had sensed, was in fact my True Father!  It was both joyful and difficult to become aware of Him. 

I stayed…

Before I knew it, time seemed to have sped forward in my journey, by a great many years!  I discovered that I had settled down right inside the walls … building relationships with others, and trying to live and do things the way all of the others thought was right. 

My Father showed me the gifts given to me, but instead of being at peace, I became fearful…

I believed that I was losing myself, and would simply become a nothing, moving along by habit!

So this wild child ran!!!

I fled into the desert with as much speed as possible, for my feet had become softened over the years spent within the walls built by man.  Many times I fell, stumbling over rocks and debris that had been left on my paths.  Had it really been that long?  I was not sure if the way had become obstructed or if I had simply forgotten my exact path.  Many seasons were spent wandering, clearing out my old and unused paths. 

Time rolled on…

Oh, I would come near the outskirts, just close enough to remember what I left behind.  The intensity of my pain and fear, along with the guilt over my failure, drove me away again and again…

My last act of running into the desert, or defiance as I see it, nearly cost me my very life, but that is for another time.  For now, I leave you with this thought…I am still that wild child inside, but my Father has been revealing to me the graceful Phoenix that He is rising up from the ashes of her truths…

You didn’t think I would forget your cookies, did you?

Come on in…

Daily writing prompt
What does your ideal home look like?

I’ve known for some time now that I could very easily live in either a library or a bookstore. But, after thinking on the prompt this morning, the idea of living above my own bookshop/bakery… now that does has a whimsical feel to it, if I do say so myself!

There would be numerous rooms for reading…

All with different styles to choose from, thereby allowing the reader to find their favorite chair, as well as finding just the right amount of light…

or maybe just the right amount of pillows…

Here’s where things get rather interesting. You see, my ideal home would be somewhat magical. There’d be a desert trolley, effortlessly rolling from room to room, all by itself. My magic trolley would offer up the best kinds of cookies and pastries one could imagine…

Why?

Because, all of my reading rooms will come with a complimentary tea/coffee service, obviously! Nobody likes having to put a good book down, just to eat or drink, sheesh! Most avid readers would just choose to starve, I’m guessing. But I say, “Not on my watch, they won’t!”

Now, let’s talk about ambiance, or atmosphere, if you will. What’s a good reading session, without the accompanying sounds and smells of a delicious bakery, just up the stairs…

That’s where I’d spend half my day, baking my heart out! Oh, and I’d have one of those air blowers on my kitchen vents, pumping the smell of sugar cookies out into the streets.

The front of my bookstore would offer both an indoor and outdoor seating area…

And, just behind my bookstore would be a beautiful city park, filled with lush green trees, fragrant flowers, and numerous kinds of birds and other small wildlife…

So, there you have it, folks! My ideal home, all rolled up into a dreamy oasis of cookies, characters, and creature comforts!

Cookie?

Oh baby!

Daily writing prompt
What brings a tear of joy to your eye?

While, I can unashamedly admit that crying is something I’m rather good at, there are certain moments, experiences, and memories that bring about those joyful drops of emotion that WordPress is inquiring about.

Among the list of crybaby culprits, we have everything from a good song to an old photo album. But nothing get’s my facial sprinklers going like the first cry of a newborn baby!

The miracle! The first sounds of new life! And, they used to say that the louder a baby cries, the stronger the lung’s, so there’s even more joy bubbling up to my fully operational fire suppression units!

In fact, I cried just as much for all my children’s’ firsts! If we’re all being fully honest about the depth of our joyful tears… it has to be babies, children, and and/all small helpless living thing. Just being honest, here.

The picture I shared is of my middle daughter, shortly after her birth. She will soon be celebrating her 33rd birthday, and on or near that date is the expected due date of her first baby. Our newest grandchild shall be the cause of countless joyful tears. But I have to stop talking about her, or those pesky waterworks will short out my keyboard. I’m trying to answer this silly prompt!

Ok! I know it’s Labor Day, so I will not tax your holiday brains with anything further… well, maybe just a few seconds longer.

My answers always come with cookies…

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Did I just type into a therapy session?

Daily writing prompt
How are you feeling right now?

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…

Waking up…

Daily writing prompt
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?

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!

How’d he spell his name?

Daily writing prompt
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?

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 …

From the Attic (2023)It was a Wild Kingdom…

Photo by Marik Elikishvili on Pexels.com
Daily writing prompt
What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

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…

Photo by Rutpratheep Nilpechr on Pexels.com

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…

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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…

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com
Photo by Dmitry Limonov on Pexels.com

Photo by Magali Guimaru00e3es on Pexels.com

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…

Photo by Matilda Iglesias on Pexels.com

Is this a set up?

Daily writing prompt
What’s your favorite time of day?

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?!

Click Here to Upgrade your Building(2023)…

Photo by Polesie Toys on Pexels.com

Daily writing prompt
How would you design the city of the future?

While I have no aspirations or dreams of designing anything for the future, in the real world that is, I do have a good bit of experience in building imaginary cities, animal houses, and really good armor.

It is Friday everyone, and it’s sprinkling outside… tap tap tapping on the roof of our RV. I think my boycott of the summer heat is working! The rains have finally blessed me with a cool early morning walk.

Even though I have no idea for a city of the future, at least not one that any of you want to hear me go on about, I can still be useful to you guys and WordPress. If you are ever in need of a Gorilla Habitat, an upgraded Concession stand, or maybe a specialist in breeding Great Dragons, I got you covered!

Before I take off on my rainy walk along the river, here is Brekkers for everybody… please remember to eat the blueberries, as they are full of antioxidants …

Photo by Vincent Rivaud on Pexels.com

And drink the juice too…

(Oldie but goodie)Now Don’t Start Tha’ Again…

Daily writing prompt
Where did your name come from?

This prompt question made me think of that scene in “The Jungle Book” where the vultures keep asking the same question, over and over again… “So, what ya wanna do?”

I have had to explain my name, and/or nickname, so many times now that I’m pretty over it… sorry, not sorry!

Here, have a cookie…

At least I’m not trying to serve you the same cookie, over and over again… or am I?