Tag: Family

Thursday Thoughts…

Wiwohka19 Comments

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

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka6 Comments

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…

Probably…

Wiwohka5 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Was today typical?
View all responses

Let’s see…

I woke up, got out of bed, and started heating water for my morning tea.

I took meds for my stomach, climbed into the shower, and proceeded to cry my eyes out in prayer for about 20 minutes.

Spent time in the word while drinking my peppermint tea, still crying.

After a time, the crying subsided, to be replaced with a comforting peace.

My daughter texted me last night to say that she’d be getting married in several weeks and that her father and his wife would be with them. She offered for us to go and get our nails done or something, just she and I.

I try not to think about how much it hurt when she asked me if I would babysit her dogs when she goes into labor.

I haven’t said anything to my kids about my hospital visit, nor my other procedures. None of them know that the suburban and all our things are gone. None of them know that the Edge was towed and then taken from us, as we had no money to pay for the tow. I’ve said nothing about our having not a dime to our name, nor the gas to even drive the one truck over to visit. None of them have come to see the apartment. I am relieved that they don’t, truth be told. We’ve still no clothes, no cleaning supplies, toiletries… basically, anything that food stamps won’t cover, we don’t buy.

I don’t say anything, because they prefer it that way! Everyone prefers it that way! Nobody really wants to watch the car wreck that I call my life, longer than they have to… everyone has life problems, I was told, so it’s not always about me!

It’s only 9:43 in the morning so there’s not much else to write about whether or not my day was typical… I got hours left!

But ya, it’ll probably be typical… it has been, thus far!

Cookie?

From 2023 (Game On…)

Wiwohka10 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What’s the story behind your nickname?
View all responses

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!

Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com

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…

Here is your cookie…

P.S. Please share…

REEEEmix…

Wiwohka6 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Write about your first crush.
View all responses

There wasn’t any point in trying to re-answer this prompt, as my memory hasn’t changed, nor have any of the character’s in my story about that first crush. Instead, I went and pulled my original prompt answer up and set to work, touching up the edges… and adding cookies, of course!

Photo by Dellon Thomas on Pexels.com

Ok, so maybe this is more about the shoes than the boy, but still…

His Name was Louie and we went to school together, but I’m not certain how old we all were… maybe 5th or 6th grade?

He used to sit on the steps in front of our school during lunch break, every day. There was a group of boys who always congregated around him, fully inflating his ego, maybe. I would wander over to where they sat nearly every day, hoping he’d look my way. In my silly mind, I was sure that he liked me by the way he always smiled and laughed at what I thought was funny. In reality, it was probably him just being kind, as I think he must have been a nice kid.

One particular afternoon, I had worn my new Cherokee Wedge high heeled shoes just to look especially pretty. They were really just giant floor level erasers, I am certain of it!

Anyway, as soon as the class bell rang, I was up and off to freshen myself up in the girls lavatory. Feeling like a model, I began my promenade down the corridor toward the school’s courtyard. Out the doors and down the steps I sashayed, coming to stand near the group of boys that always crowded around Louie.

Now my friends had been teasing me earlier that week, regarding my view of how he must feel about me. They all said I was just making it up. I was intent on showing them all!

I started up my usual flirty convo, laying on the demure smiles and light giggles that were supposed to be what you did to get a man. What happened next must go into a play by play of sorts, or a back and forth screenshot for your brain…

*I teased him about something, and to this day, I have no idea what it was…

*He made the gesture as if to pursue me, maybe to tickle or pick me up in his arms to circle me around in the air for the world to see his true love for me, showing all those girls a thing or two… wait… ok, maybe that was my thoughts, but all he did was lean forward with a smile on his face… I know Right? God bless my imagination!

*I turned around, thinking him to be in pursuit, and proceeded to run across the entire front courtyard of our school, just like Julie Andrews did in the Sound of Music. The only differences were, for starters, I was wearing those ridiculous eraser shoes. And, the other key thing to remember is that he was NOT following me! I thought he was, but never looked back to confirm.

*When I got to the other end of the yard, I turned to realize what had actually been the scene…

No one following me… me running like a Robin Williams version of Julie Andrews… the majority of my classmates rolling on the grass laughing… and to my horror, ALL the boys on the steps hooting and hollering to join the choir!

We were all so young, and it might seem as a bad memory, but it one of the funniest things I remember doing, and you know what, I think that nice boy really did like me. I actually remember him laughing with the others but he didn’t look like he wanted to. Honestly, I think he felt bad for me…

Kids say and do some of the funniest things, and I am forever grateful for all of my youthful funnies, as I am sure that you are as well. I was and am a pretty funny person! Not because I am a great mixer of words and jokes, but because I can laugh at myself without being judgy, and I love to tell others about something I did that I thought was really silly or funny, and they get to laugh with me, not at me. There is a difference!

Hope this brought out some laughs. God Bless!

Don’t forget your cookie…

What’s a baby?

Wiwohka6 Comments

One of my favorite songs about babies has to be from Lady and the Tramp, when Lady first meets the new baby. Put an adorable dog together with a baby and a tender song and what do you get? I get all emotional and start crying!

So it seems that it is fitting and right that I start your Monday off with the sniffles… but in a good way, of course!

Guess what?

It’s a girl!

Well, she’s here but not ready to come out of hiding just yet. That’ll be on or near November 25th. It makes me smile whenever I think on that date since my daughter’s birthday is the 18th. Wouldn’t it be the funniest thing if she is born on my daughter’s actual birthday day?!

They’ve still not quite settled on her name, at the moment, and neither have I. NO, I don’t get to name her! But, what I do get to do that nobody else can is to give her a special Meemaw name, just like I’ve done for all my other grandbabies.

Let’s see, there’s my first grandson “Peanut”, then my little Peach, my pinecone, and Little Man. Following them is my Chipmunk and our little Firefly, too. That makes five in all, so far. I’m also a Godmother to a very special Peapod.

Why the namesakes? Simple terms of endearment left with each of them for their memories… and, let’s be honest here… my memories, too!

It’s funny that I started doing this all the way back when my girls were born. My girls would never forgive me if I stopped referring to them by their personal nicknames, no joke!

I guess it never occurred to me how important it was for them, til a few weeks ago. I was sitting with my oldest grandson and talking about when he was smaller. I thought to apologize to him for always calling him Peanut when he was little, as he always made a fuss at me for doing it.

When I said that I was sorry, my grandson stopped what he was playing on the computer, looked at me funny for a moment, and then said, “why are you sorry?” I told him that I thought it bothered him, but he just smiled and shook his head in disagreement.

Apparently, he would like me to continue calling him Peanut… I’ve been given the all clear!

Ever since that conversation I’ve not stopped thinking about the importance of those little things, those tiny details. Often we find ourselves getting so caught up in doing the big things, we lose sight of what’s possible in a tiny, tiny thing…

All big things begin small, right?!

So, now that you’ve been given way more information than you probably needed for this next part… it’s time we think on a very special name for our newest family member. Yes, I said we! Don’t you want to help me think up an adorable new nickname for my soon-to-arrive granddaughter? Give it some thought if you would and then let me know in the comments. If we all put our heads together I know we can come up with something really adorable.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday … hugs

Tinker Me This…

Wiwohka1 Comment

My heart is so grateful to have Tilly back, though she’s still rather overwhelmed with the loss of our babe’s, as well as being lost in the woods, herself! It will take time for her to feel up for any questions, as she still cries frequently. I realize that Tilly loves me, but she feels so lost without all the others. Not only is the little mouse concerned about our missing babies, but she’s filled with fear that the church down the lane will be gone, as well. We’ve not seen any sign of her handsome suitor, young Henry…

While it seems rather simple to just trot down the lane and see if the church is there, but here’s the problem… if we can’t locate the barn, I’ve no way to know where to search for the church. See what I mean?

I’ve a great deal of things on my to-do list here, what with searching for the lost ones, looking for clues on the whereabouts of the barn, worrying about mini-me searching all on her own out there, and repairing the places within the lobby that disappeared in all this mess!

Finding Tilly has given me hope though,

being able to restore the smile that we all fell in love with…

From the confidence gained in finding her, I began my next search for Dinky and Boomer. I thought to go back to the forest that I found Tilly in, hoping that maybe they hadn’t wandered too far off from where I located the missing mouse.

My search was rewarded within only an hour or so of looking. Deep inside the forest, hunkered down together behind an old dead tree, sat my two lost dragons. I’m sure that it’s them, but I must prepare you for the changes that have occurred with both dragons during their absence!

Dinky seems to have shrunk herself back down to the size she was when I first discovered her, probably due to the trauma of being lost in the woods… you know how she gets! But I do know with certainty that it is her, for there is no mistaking her eyes, wouldn’t you agree?!

Though it might not be too terrible that Dinky returned to her original size, as she’s often done whenever feeling frightened or upset. However, I am a bit concerned for Boomer…

The playful, fun loving, and tender Boomer seems uncomfortably different…

He seems more stoic and aloof than before! We must give him time, I think, to soften up and come back to the affectionate little guy that we’re used to seeing. But, keep in mind that he may never be the same, never again resembling that little one… for one thing, he’s much larger now.

The dragon that once mirrored the emotional color and features of his sister, was left to bravely protect Dinky from harm, as well as trying to calm her fears. I have a feeling that the changes are irreversible, either from the trauma or simply because the young dragon was forced to grow up quickly!

Time shall heal the wounds of his heart though… of this, I’m sure! The Boomer we know and love is still in there, even if he looks a little different….

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka11 Comments

You know how I’ve been going on about puppies? Well, it suddenly occurred to me that even if I can’t have an actual puppy at the moment, what I can do is create a virtual one… why not, right?!

No need to clean up poo doo, no complaints from the neighbors, and no weighty expenses for all its needs!

So, I thought you might join me in the creation of our lobby’s first furry version of a greeter… you know, like Walmart but better!

Anyways, the first thing one should consider is the look of said greeter. I know that I want a miniature Dachshund of the silky variety…

And yes… it should be oh so fluffy! I would love the color to be that of the creamy vanilla kind, beings that I love coffee and all.

Ok… perfect!

Honestly, I wouldn’t even mind if there were some accent colors…

That’s awful cute, don’t ya think?

Now comes the hard part! Remember how I said that if I were to have a boy, his name could be Gabriel, and if it were a girl, I could call her Bailey? This is the part where we have to choose a boy or a girl…. ughghghghghgh… so hard!

I’m sort of stuck here, folks! I would honestly love to hear your opinions on our choice here, so I can’t move forward until that has been determined.

I will say that if it is a girl, she will have her own little blog entries’ called Bailey’s Daily (puppy fashion critic)…

And if we were to choose a boy, then he would have his little blurbs called Gabe’s Flav’s (puppy food critic)…

Until we make a final decision, I shall be spending some play time with them both… just to be fair.

Seriously, just to be fair…

I’m doing this for you, not me…

The things I’m willing to do for this community… I sure hope everyone knows how much I’m willing do… the sacrifice… the agony of effort… sheesh!

Tuesday’s Twinkling… I mean Tinkering…

Wiwohka7 Comments

As you can see, it’s Holiday Picture Day in the barnyard!

It is so hard for me to choose between pictures, when it comes to these little ones… their so doggone cute! I’m just going to share the pictures from this mornings photo session and then give it a few days before I make my pics…

Miss Tilly is changing so fast…

She looks so grown up in this dress that it kind of makes me sad.

I like this pic of Dinky, but I don’t think she’s such a fan of that scarf.

Don’t you think she looks happier in this one?

Sooooo hard to choose…

She’s soooo squishieeeeeee!

I think Boomer’s trying too hard to be grown-up in this pic.

Dinky thought so too, and she can change her brother’s appearance in the blink of her eye…

While Dinky thought this was funny… I did not! I told her to lose the ridiculous Santa bangs and try again…

She did a much better job on the next go.

I didn’t need more than one photo of this young lass…

Spot on! This is the Lilly we know and love, wouldn’t you agree?

Auzzie Clawzee kept ruffling his feathers in protest of the scarf…

So it took several tries to get the little guy to settle down.

So I’m now faced with two good choices for the furry bird… I love these shots!

Can you choose? I sure can’t, right this moment!

Oh, and I took a few of Brutus and I, just for fun!

Ha Ha!

Not sure about the red in my hair.

Could I go blonde? I hear they have more fun, but I have a good bit of that already… what do you think?

Barnyard Business…

Wiwohka1 Comment

Messages…

When I opened the barn door this morning, there were babes running around everywhere, squealing in excitement about something, of which I had yet to understand. That is, for all of about 15 seconds! 

I heard some very important words rise up from all the chaos…

Above the ruckus, came the familiar names of both Tilly and Squagon, put to song, as they danced about the room. Then the entire barn would switch from that song, over into songs about Christmas, oddly enough! 

Looking about, I spied miss Tilly over in the corner of the room, turning in circles with a dreamy look upon her face.  As for everyone else, well, they were all taking turns at climbing on a hay bale, for a chance to be flown around the barn… and by none other than, guess who? 

Boomer, that’s who! 

He must have learned to fly, at some point…  

Most probably, while being launched over the pond last week, Boomer has now figured out how to do exactly that… fly! 

All I could do for several moments, was stand there in the middle of the barn watching, with my mouth hanging open in surprise. Thankfully, the babes were only being flown around inside the barn, and safely above the hay that’s covering the floor. Boomer isn’t strong enough to carry his friends for long, before loosing his grip and dropping them. 

*Note to self* set up some barn rules about flying, especially with each other!

As I got my bearings, what with all the goings on in the room, I noticed both Brutus and our Lilly, sitting quietly in the midst of everything… simply waiting for things to settle down. 

Brutus sat holding two pieces of mail, with miss Lilly balanced upon his shoulder wearing my favorite reading glasses.  No, ants don’t usually need glasses, but you know miss Lilly, always doing things her own way.  She looked adorable, I must say!

Anyway, after untangling Dinky from one of my legs and baby Maurgarite from the other, I made my way across the room to collect the letters that had caused all the morning’s excitement.  Taking the messages from Brutus, I saw that the first had come from Pinion Valley, and the second was actually from the North Pole… No wonder the barn was up in arms!

I, myself, was taken aback at the letter from Santa. Not only am I nowhere near ready for Christmas, as of yet, but the letter wasn’t even addressed to me… it was addressed to Tilly! 

I hadn’t even considered that Santa would call on my tiny friend again, after delivering her to the barn just this last spring! It hasn’t even been a year since she arrived, and the thought of her leaving already, well, I just can’t imagine it! 

Thankfully, after reading the entire letter from Santa, he’s just borrowing Tilly for the delivering of gifts to those chimneys that are too small for him, which does make a great deal of sense, I suppose. Santa made it clear that Tilly would only be gone from the barn for several days, just before Christmas. The elves need to make the final adjustments on her outfit, along with the tiny safety belt being installed in Santa’s sleigh… you know how important details are to the elves. They’re even giving her a quick elf-in-training class, which they offer each year in the workshop. 

At the end of the letter, Santa assured me that Tilly would be home by Christmas morning, with plenty of time for opening gifts. Everyone knows that Santa keeps his promises, so I see nothing to worry about, really. Tilly will be in good hands.

Placing the letter back into it’s envelope, I handed it to miss Tilly, since it did belong to her, after all.

The second letter came from Pinion Valley, from the Royal House, itself! Shakily, I opened the letter…

It was an official letter, inviting me to attend Squagon’s first ceremony of Royal Robes (classes on how to behave as a Prince). Brutus and I will be flying to Pinion Valley on Saturday night, so that we might enjoy the festivities of their Royal Nut Festival… it’s the banquet being given in Squagon’s honor! 

Sunday, after the ceremony has finished, Brutus and I will have the whole of the afternoon to spend with Squagon, freely.  I can’t wait! I miss Squagon so much that I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep a wink til then… 

No wonder the barn has been partying all morning!

If Boomer were bigger and stronger, I would join the babes on that silly hay bale, hoping to catch a ride! 

Fortunately, for all our sakes, I won’t be doing that… I’ll just give piggy back rides for now. My dragon ride will have to wait for Saturday night!