(2024) Hoomans Don’t Make No Sense At All…

Wiwohka2 Comments
Bloganuary writing prompt
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
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I suppose if we were able to make our pets understand us, we’d have results landing on both sides of the proverbial coin! In one way it would be great if we could help our pets understand why we do some of the things we do, while on the other hand it might backfire, leading to animal world domination!

I personally don’t think it would be the best idea for us to give our pets any more information about us, as I’m not so sure that it would cause them to love us more than they already do… in fact, it might give them cause to rise up and put us in cages, just because WE pooped on the floor.

With that being said, if I could make animals understand deeper about anything humans have done, are doing, or will be doing sometime in the future… it would be to tell them we’re sorry!

Last year I had to rehome my pug of 4 years, as well as my two cats that I found under a shed when they were tiny. I waited for 3 years to get my pug, loving her ever so much… she was my baby! My sister-in-law found a batch of kittens under her porch, keeping one and handing the other two my way… I hand raised both boys from about 10 days old and I adored them! I had to make the most painful decision, last year, of rehoming all of them due to our situation… it was awful!

I guess that if it were possible, I would want to try to explain my actions, and say how sorry I am!

I pray that my choice was for the animals betterment, but it is still difficult to hold the last memories of letting go. Sometimes, doing the right thing does NOT feel good, yet it is still right! I cannot say for sure what they were feeling throughout the painful process, but if I could communicate with them, this would obviously be the conversation on the forefront of our discussion. What would they say… would they forgive me if they understood… maybe.

The best information to give our pets, in the effort of better understanding about us hoomans, would be the knowledge that we often behave in ways that don’t align with our feelings. Often times, we do the right thing for the wrong reason, while at other times, we do the wrong things for the right reasons… it’s what we do!

It’s not all bad, and I didn’t say ALL people, nor did I say ALL the time… it’s just that sometimes the numbers are stacked against us, that’s all!

There’s no way to know if I’ll ever have flurbies journeying with me again… perhaps, perhaps not! Just as our pets probably don’t plan ahead most of the time, thinking to build contingency plans for difficult situations… I would want them to know that often times, we hoomans don’t either! 

Issabella Pugalini
Ghost and Ash

Here, I need a cookie, so you better have one too…

Wednesday Words…

Wiwohka4 Comments

Eustace has taken it upon himself to watch over me, when it comes to health and nutrition. Watching me waste away has caused the camel to go full military on me!

He ensures that I eat my bowl of oatmeal, though I can no longer afford to put oat milk in, thanks for the good ole State of Washington to not only revoke my food stamps, but also demand that we pay back their overages, lol. Isn’t that a hoot!

Eustace also threw out both the Sucralfate and the Bentol I’d been prescribed to take, as the doctors never took the time to notice that the diagnosis they strapped onto my case (Gastroparesis), is exacerbated by those very medications… again, lol, isn’t that a hoot!!

They won’t even listen to my appeal until mid March, lol, and another hoot given!!!

I have been surviving since last June, on one bowl of oatmeal with a handful of raisins, two tsp of white sugar and one of brown, for my first of only two meals each day. My second is one serving of white rice, one cup frozen peas and carrots, and a 1/4 cup of peanuts if we don’t have 3 oz. of any boneless skinless chicken breast available (thank you again, Washington State). Chicken isn’t cheap anymore, nor is anything else, and my husband has to eat if he’s to finish his degree.

Wait for it, wait for it…. what a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eustace refuses to let me carry on with all the bloody details of this exercise in futility that one calls Government Assistance… he wants to take me to the desert for the rest of this wild ride. I’ve been to the desert before, but this is one I’ve not traveled across.

Thankfully, I’m with my trusty camel. This time, I’ll not be walking through the deadlands without aid… My camel carries our water, our bags… and me! I fear that this is one journey where my own legs have given out. I hadn’t realized til this moment how valuable Eustace is, and has always been, for my survival.

God Bless you, Eustace, my valiant steed!

Let this leg of our journey begin…

His name is my name too…

Wiwohka6 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
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First things first…

No, this isn’t my baby, and I doubt we share the same name, so let’s not get stuck on the title I just pilfered from a children’s song.

My point is simply this…

They don’t name babies like they used to, if you know what I mean. If you don’t know, let me explain. In days of old, babies were named for family lines, generational connection to our predecessors, and/or strength and stature toward the child’s hopeful future.

Not so, these days…

Some name their babies after favorite anime characters, others choose their favorite cars, movie stars, and/or favorite foods. The best way to tell where we are as a society, is to do a search of popular names, using the phrase, “back in the”, and then fill in whatever generational years you want to see. I would suggest starting with something like “the 1600’s”, and then bump it forward in increments of say, 0ne or two hundred years at a time. It’s entertaining, if nothing else!

Hi, my name is Toni. My mom wanted a boy. She never even bothered to change my middle name… it’s Rae.

Now you understand why I ask to be called Wiwohka. If no one else cared enough for selecting my name, I wanted to make a bit more effort than they did. I think I’m worth it… even if no one else did!

Cookie?

I made a list…

Wiwohka3 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
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If one wants to answer this prompt adequately, we must first come to a clear understanding of what we consider clutter.

Essentially, the word clutter refers to a bunch of things laying about in a mess. That means that it’s going to look different, depending on whose looking, and in my opinion, isn’t limited to one or two categories.

Since the word clutter is classed as a noun, it has the potential to represent anything from a person, a place, OR a thing! Bearing this in mind, I considered what my tidying up checklist might look like…

Clutter Clean-up Checklist!

  • Too many people cluttering my doorway… nope… Check!
  • An overfilled laundry room, with no available working machines… nope… Check!
  • A library of unread books… nope… check!
  • A closet full of unused dirty clothes… nope… check!
  • Cupboards full of old, unused household items, outdated cleaning supplies, and moldy hamburger buns from behind the cabinet… nope… check!
  • Expired food in the back of the refrigerator… nope… check!
  • Shelves filled with trinkets, toys, bits and bobs from over the years… nope… check!

    The only clutter I’m really dealing with is that of the mind. Stacks of broken dreams, and painful memories, lay strewn along the roadside of the mind. That’s where the real clutter is for most, and it’s far more destructive that a pile of dirty old boots, or an overflowing Tupperware drawer in ones kitchen.

     Whether one is referring to physical clutter, or that of the mind, I think that the bible speaks of both…

    “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

    Oddly enough, sometimes Google’s AI does a fairly decent job of explaining a thing, and today was one of those times…

    “Store up treasures in heaven” means to focus on eternal, spiritual values rather than temporary earthly wealth, investing your life, resources, and heart in acts of generosity, faith, and love that have lasting significance, as taught by Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21. It involves shifting your priorities from material accumulation to spiritual riches, knowing that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.  

    I’ll leave you with that. Well, that and cookies…

    Wednesday Words…

    Wiwohka2 Comments

    Eustace came home on a major health kick, so buckle up buttercups, as we’re all about to enter the Vegetable Zone…

    Why the silly camel had to give us a play-by-play visual display of his shopping trip, I’m not sure. But hey, maybe there’s method to his madness.

    Let’s see where things go when he tries to fit into the kitchen, while doing all this healthy cooking stuff…

    (2024)My Fingers…

    Wiwohka5 Comments

    I’m a writer, and as a writer I tend to write… with my fingers. My fingers are attached to my hands, which are attached to my arms, which are connected to my body at the shoulders. And, my body holds my noggin, which tries with all it’s might to oversee what the fingers do… that is, write!

    Bloganuary writing prompt
    In what ways do you communicate online?
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    My writings are how I communicate with others, within in an online setting. My phone rings from only 4 sources… hubby… my chica… my longtime friend Christine… and the Doctor’s office! For the entire rest of the world out there, my fingers are the only form of communication, giving more light to the cause of why I right so darn much, these days.

    In fact, the tougher life gets on me, the more I write! Did you know that while freezing my toenails off, I wrote another children’s book?! Go figure!

    Online communications has actually been a Godsend for this ole girl… I used to have to write all this stuff down with a pen and paper, and quite frankly, my hands were really suffering for it. The keyboard has actually allowed me to write at a rate that seems unprecedented, compared to what I was capable of writing before modern technology intervened!

    The only downside comes from mankind’s inability to create an autocorrect that functions properly… as many have seen from some of the text massages we’ve all been subjected two. See how I did that… hehe!

    One of my favorite things about all this online communication stuff… virtual cookies! 

    Here is a cookie with zero calories… all the fun without any guilt or unhealthy side effects… perfection! I do love technology when it works in my fingers… I mean favor!

    Tuesday Tinkering…

    Wiwohka7 Comments

    Norbert is in a timeout!

    I’m already having to do his job, so it’s best he be in timeout, rather than scrapping the whole project out of frustration. At this point in the game, the ai simply cannot comprehend how to create an image with more than one subject character.

    Without paying to upgrade both characters, or paying to rebuild two entirely different characters with the new upgraded features, I’m still left with an editing board to copy, cut, paste, and/or delete any given image.

    If nothing else, I’m stubborn, so there’s that!

    I refuse to allow Tilly, nor any of my other characters, to be swapped out for differing other ai generated pictures… I’ll not stand for it!

    Let me show you what the (now in timeout) ai sought to produce for my requests, and that way you cans see why I refuse to compromise with Norbert.

    This is what Henry should look like,

    … see what I mean? Now, this is our Henry!

    And, this is our Tilly,

    In my opinion, she is unmistakable, with her soft doe-like eyes, those adorable ears, and the gentleness that always shows on her face, as well as the way she carries herself. Tilly is just Tilly, ya know? I can’t think of any other way to explain it.

    Now, watch what happened when I prompted Norbert to put them in the same image:

    As adorable as this young couple may be, while exchanging their vows… they aren’t anything like Henry or Tilly. The ai recognizes the two characters as themselves in any given individual query I ask of it. But the moment that I ask it to combine the two, Norbert goes on some random field trip to two entirely different characters, of which I do not recognize in any fashion!

    The new upgraded video creation, is still far off from being any good, unless I simply allow the ai to take over… and that AIN’T gonna happen!

    Until further notice, all my tinkering will be strictly my tweaks and adjustments… NOT Norbert’s!

    It may take me more effort, along with extra time at the editing board, but I’ll do whatever I must to honor each individual character’s true self, that is their visual integrity…

    It’s still far from perfect, but it’s workable. We’ll get there…

    (2024)I’m Still On The Road…

    Wiwohka1 Comment
    Bloganuary writing prompt
    Think back on your most memorable road trip.
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    I can hardly believe that it’s been two years since I wrote this! Though we’re no longer in that beat up old R.V., this road trip is far from over. With that in mind, it seemed appropriate to re-use this old prompt response… hugs.

    I don’t have to think back too far, as we are still living in an RV, living like nomads wherever we go, and for however long we stay. We don’t really have any home left, here on actual earth, so we rumble along on this road trip, taking safe harbor wherever it can be found. 

    If you think about it, everyone is on a road trip of sorts, and I would imagine that we all feel like it’s quite memorable. I appreciate the prompts use of the word most, while referring to the road trip, as they could have used best, worst, happiest or saddest… but they chose most memorable. Life IS most memorable, wouldn’t you say?! 

    Don’t we always say things like, it’s a wild ride, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride, it’s a crazy ride, or Baby, what a ride? So I don’t need to think hard on why my thoughts drifted this way, once I began reading the prompt question.

    Life is most definitely a journey, or road trip if you will!

    It would take us all a very long time, to write down all of what we’ve seen, felt and experienced, along each of our personal highways… oh wait… that’s what I’ve already been doing, right here on WordPress… you’re welcome!

    Here, have a cookie…

    Copy that, or do I pass…

    Wiwohka8 Comments

    A word caught my eye this morning, as I was reading. When I first saw the word duplicity, my word rolodex spun up, and then shuddered to a stop.

    Whenever I read a word that makes me pause, I find it’s a good idea to look it up, just in case I’ve misunderstood a thing. It happens to everyone, I’m sure, what with the English language having so many words, meanings, innuendos, and side rules for certain words and letters. Why they had to make things so darn hard, I’ll never understand.

    But, I didn’t make the rules, so there’s no point in griping about them, right?!

    Well, when I thought on what was bothering me about the word, it’s meaning fit in the context of the sentence I was reading, but I kept wanting to read it as duplicate, even though that word isn’t necessarily a negative one.

    So, yes, I googled it!

    First things first, I looked up the actual definition for duplicity…

    Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

    du·plic·i·ty /do͞oˈplisədē/ noun: duplicity

    1. 1. deceitfulness; double-dealing.”he was accused of duplicity and branded a traitor”. Opposite: honesty

    archaic doubleness.

    So, in the light of what I was reading, duplicity certainly fit, but why did my mind go to duplicate? Look just above this sentence, at the bottom of the definition. I guess my mind was triggered by the old form, which apparently was called doubleness. What does doubleness mean? Well, I checked…

    doubleness /ˈdəb(ə)lnəs/ noun: doubleness

    1. the quality or state of having two parts; duality.”the focus is on puns that reveal the doubleness of the poet’s meaning”

    I get what doubleness means, and in a negative light such as duplicity reflects, I agree with the words usage.

    Why then, did I get stuck on that silly word, duplicate, when I knew it was not the right word? Most likely, it was simply the similar spelling of both words. I deduced that part in the first five minutes, but went down a tiny rabbit hole, provided by none other than Google.

    If I’m to share the definitions for duplicity, as well as, doubleness, we have to look at duplicate… just to be fair.

    du·pli·cate adjective: duplicate /ˈdo͞opləkət/

    1. 1. exactly like something else, especially through having been copied.”a duplicate license is issued to replace a valid license which has been lost” Opposite: different

    noun: duplicate; plural noun: duplicates /ˈdo͞opləkət/

    1. 1. one of two or more identical things.”books may be disposed of if they are duplicates”
      • a copy of an original. “locksmiths can make duplicates of most keys” Opposite: original

    verb: duplicate; 3rd person present: duplicates; past tense: duplicated; past participle: duplicated; gerund or present participle: duplicating

    Did you know that duplicate is considered an adjective, a noun, AND a verb, depending on it’s usage? Call me crazy, but I didn’t realize this, til I looked it up this morning. I also discovered that I’m not the only one who has come upon this little conundrum. It’s true! There’s already an explanation out there for the difference between duplicity and duplicate… go figure!

    Check this out, and then I’ll leave you alone.

    The word duplicate is derived from the Latin word duplicare, which means to double. Duplicity means deceitfulness, treacherousness, underhandedness, fraud or dishonesty. Duplicity is a noun, a related word is duplicitous.

    This made more sense than all three of the other definitions. I wish I had have read this at the beginning of my research… sheesh!

    Fair food, of course…

    Wiwohka4 Comments
    Daily writing prompt
    What snack would you eat right now?
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    If I could eat anything I wanted, without any penalties, it would definitely be something from the fair!

    While I could regale you with all of my favorite snacks, I think that Templeton should take over from here…

    I couldn’t have said it better, myself!

    Now that I’ve probably gone and made you hungry, I thought it prudent to offer up some worthy fair food substitutes. And what would be worthy, you ask?

    Well, I knew that you knew that I would know to offer you cookies…

    Funny, isn’t it?