Good, Bad or Otherwise

Okay, so the age of Artificial Intelligence is here. Yes, it has been around for quite a while, but now it is in your face, everywhere. Have you ever seen a picture of cute otters on Facebook? Everyone in the comments oohs and ahs over them, saying how adorable they are...on and on. 

Do they not realize that the majority of these cute critters are just the product of AI?

Here you see my otter "photo shoot". Isn't he sweet and adorable"?

Full disclosure, the snow scene in a recent post was AI generated, just for fun.

What else does AI do? Well, it can write recipes for you. There is a site called goblin tools and it has a "chef" (link at the end of the post). You can put in your ingredients and it will give you a recipe. For the most part, these recipes will work, but you do have to check each one closely. If you leave out an ingredient such as broth, it may not automatically assume that more liquid is needed to make the dish work.

For example, my ingredients were ground beef, potatoes, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, onion powder, garlic powder. I intentionally used one can of soup and no additional liquid. It have me a recipe with one can of soup. I changed it up and did not specify the amount of soup, and it assumed two cans would be necessary. 

Dish Name: Creamy Beef and Potato Bake

- 500 grams (1.1 lbs) ground beef
- 4 large potatoes, thinly sliced (approx. 500 grams or 1.1 lbs)
- 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
- 200 grams (7 oz) egg noodles
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. In a large skillet, cook the ground beef over medium heat until browned. Drain any excess fat.
3. Spread half of the sliced potatoes evenly in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream of mushroom soup, onion powder, and garlic powder. Mix well.
5. Layer half of the cooked ground beef on top of the potatoes in the baking dish. Pour half of the soup mixture over the beef.
6. Add a layer of egg noodles on top of the soup mixture.
7. Repeat the layers with the remaining potatoes, ground beef, and soup mixture.
8. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender.
9. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbling.
10. Allow it to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Give it a try for yourself. https://goblin.tools/Chef

Until next time, take care and stay safe.

And the Rains Came Down

A little January porch time.

In my last post I said that we would soon be having warmer temps, but that they would come with rain. Well, that was a complete understatement. Twice in the past 5 days, we have been inundated with enough rain to strangle frogs. 

It started Wednesday with some showers during the day and rain overnight and Thursday. Pull out the water pump for the basement...again. We had just gone through this several weeks earlier, before the cold snap.

It was a nice sunny-ish day on Friday with a high of 72. This is not unusual in this part of the country, but still...wow!

Then on Saturday - round two. Fortunately, it didn't start until late afternoon, but when it did it didn't let up until well past dinnertime. More water pumping ensued.

Sunday started off with some clouds and high fog, then a shower (which did not show up on the radar), and cleared up and the sun came out. Still way cooler than Friday at around 54, but nice enough.

We seem to be in the clear until Wednesday, and maybe we can get our basement dried out.

I hope the weather where you are is what you want. Either way, feel free to tell me about in the comments.

Until next time, take care and stay safe.

Just Another Day in January

It has long been said that January is the longest month in the year. In reality, it ties for the longest month with March, May, July, August, October and December. My thoughts on this are that January is one of the coldest months in most places in the northern hemisphere. When you combine cold with dark and often wet, windy or snowy, you get a LONG month.

Weather update here. We have climbed out of the freezing temperatures and will be quite balmy during the daylight hours for the next five days or so, hitting the mid sixties a couple days. Now we will still have two of the three elements for a long month...the dark and wet. Yep, our nice days come with some showers, again. It would appear that January will not duplicate this scene, but there are still eight days left, so we'll see.

Until next time, take care and stay safe.

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

It is another chilly day in the sunny South. We never got any snow in my area, nor sub-zero temps, but mind you it did get down into the teens for several nights. It is supposed to warm up in a few days and then the rains return.

This was a typical Sunday afternoon, going to lunch after church. We went to McDonald's for their Big Mac deal, buy one get the second for a dollar, and then a quick stop at Dollar Tree (now $1.25 Tree).

In days gone by, there would have been a group of us meet up after the service to decide where to go for lunch. Well, when the plague hit in 2020, that put an end to that. Services were streamed and group lunches were a thing of the past.

Even when we were "allowed" to go back to in-person worship, things were changed forever. There is now one service at 10 a.m. Hubby and I still get lunch out and perhaps pick up a few things at the store on the way home like today.

Another thing I have noticed is how people respond now to getting sick. Do you remember when folks got a cold, or the flu, they would just say "I've had the crud"? Now it seems at the first sniffle, they get themselves tested. Unless you're seriously ill, why bother? Just my opinion, of course. 

I had the flu in early 2020 before the Vid was officially in our state. It was the same as any other time I had the flu. Now I must be clear here that it was a "flu-like illness" since I have never been tested for the flu (or anything else for that matter). 

Here it is four years later and the most I've had since is a very minor cold back in September. Could it have been the "thing"? Possibly, but most likely not. What would it matter anyway?

Now I'm not a doctor and don't give medical advice. You do what works for you and I'll do what works for me. 

Until next time, see ya round!

Getting Inked or Not

The prompt for Day 2 of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge is Inked.

When Gina picked up her daughter after school, Tamara told her mom she wanted a tattoo. "I'm thinking about a spider web and a black widow hanging in the center. 

When her Gina said no way, Tamara brought up the age-old reasoning of every teenager, "but Mom, Jody has one." Jody was a new kid at her school and she was also goth. "Hers is really cool, and she said it didn't even hurt...much." Gina wasn't sure she liked this new friendship and felt Jody might be a bad influence on Tamara.

Her mom responded with the parental logic of, "so if everyone else walked off the cliff, would you follow?" This was typical of many of their mom/daughter discussions, and usually resulted in Tamara huffing off to sulk, and her mom sighing in disbelief at the stubbornness of teens.

"Please" begged Tamara again.

"No! For the last time NO. You are not getting a tattoo" her mom said emphatically. To her it was absolutely unthinkable to "decorate" one's body in such a manner, besides, no one under the age of 18 could get a tattoo without parental permission.

The final word had come down. "No one in this family gets inked! End of discussion!"

When they got home, Tamara marched into the house and to her room where she promptly slammed the door.

Gettin' Cheesy With It

 Well, ladies and gents, it looks like we have a chill in the air. 20 Days of Chill to be exact. The January writing challenge is back in gear, so let's see if I can get motivated. The first prompt is "Gettin' Cheesy With It".

So what do we mean when we say something is cheesy? Cheap, tacky, lacking in taste? 

That's one way to look at it, but I much prefer to take a culinary view, and that is definitely not lacking in taste. On the contrary, it is quite tasty. In addition to it's delectable goodness, here are some interesting and unusual facts about, you guessed it, cheese.

• The calcium in cheese makes it great for your teeth and bones. 

• Cheese can help you sleep.

• Some cheeses are safe for the lactose intolerant.

• The same bacterium causes both smelly cheese and smelly feet. 

• The world's most expensive cheese is made with donkey milk.

• It's not the carbon dioxide that causes holes in cheese, but instead it is tiny flecks of hay in the milk.

• Mice don't actually like cheese. [It is my personal experience that they DO like peanut butter.]

Click here for the full story, and don't forget to visit the other participants.

    

Make me a Dream

Image source: Pixabay

Dream maker, dream maker, dream maker man

Make me a dream in your dream maker pan

Make it with sugar and make it with spice

Make it with everything happy and nice

Make it with silver and make it with gold

Make it with stories that ne'er have been told

Make it with sunshine and make it with rain

Make it with wheels from a slow moving train

Make it with ashes and make it with pine

Make it with wonder and all things divine

Dream maker, dream maker, dream maker man

Make me a dream in your dream maker pan

As The Seasons Change - New for 2024 on Rosie B. Designs

Front Cover

My 2024 calendar is out on Rosie B. Designs. I bought one so I could see for myself what it looked like in print. Here is a preview of a couple months and the cover. These are just cell phone pics, so eh.

However, the quality of the printing and the materials is very good. I got the large, and believe me when I tell you, it is large. [Note to self, get a smaller size next time.] 

Keep in mind that these dimensions are closed. The length will be double when open, so plan for your space when you order. There is a link below so you can see all 12 months, and your options for style, wire color, etc.

All pictures are my original digital artwork as indicated on the back cover.

Small: 5.5”l x 7”w

Medium: 8.5”l x 11”w

Large: 11”l x 14.25”w

 

April

 July

 Link to calendar on Rosie B. Designs

This Is A Wrist?

Hubby had a medical test this morning, and when he returned home we had breakfast. After we had eaten and chatted for a bit, he pondered the question, "Do you suppose it's time for me to take this [elastic bandage] off of my wrist?"

To which I responded, "I do believe that your wrist has moved."

Wow! You go for a minor medical test and unbeknownst to you, your body parts have been rearranged. It makes you wonder just what was in that stuff. I think I'll stay out of hospitals. 

A Walk in the Park

With Christmas just around the corner, let's take a step back in time and drive down a peaceful country road and enjoy the fall leaves as they near their peak.

We had taken a day trip to Hanging Rock Park in Danbury to have lunch at the River Rock Cafe (their French Dips are definitely a treat) and do a little walking. 

After lunch, we headed to the park. It was a spectacularly nice day for the third week in October with barely a cloud in the sky, and the leaves were gorgeous. We walked out onto the fishing dock where a guy was fishing and another couple was strolling around and taking pictures.

Next, we made our way to the huge shelter just above the lake. There was a cool breeze coming through the large "windows" which are just openings in the wall. We sat in large Adirondack chairs and chatted with another couple who chose rocking chairs.

Eventually we excused ourselves to go walking before it got too late. We chose a short loop walk, relishing the chance to be outdoors and back to nature even for a short while. I got the video clip on the way out of the park. It's not great quality, but it is a nice reminder of a fun afternoon.

Always remember to make some time for the fun things...it's all about balance.

How To Save Money On Your Food

Are those pesky "best by" dates getting you down, hinting that you should discard the product or suffer dire consequences?  I'll let you in on a little secret. They are just guidelines for maximum freshness and have zero to do with product safety.

Example #1: This is spaghetti that I obviously purchased in April of 2017. This has been in kept in my cabinet in it's original packaging ever since. It has a best by date of December 6, 2018.

Now note the date I opened it...October 3, 2023. That is six and a half years, folks. Now you know. Don't worry if you find a package that has apparently gone walkabout and just now shows up for dinner. It's okay! 

Need more proof? Example #2:

A can of corned beef hash.

Purchased in May, 2015.

It has a best by date of March 15, 2018.

So what did I do? Well, let me see... I cooked it and we ate it. Guess what happened next? Nothing!

If your can is not severely rusted or dented so as to damage the seal and is not leaking, open it. If it doesn't spew, give it a sniff. Does it smell like it is supposed to? Yes, then prepare it and enjoy!

Note: Any time a canned product is bulging, leaking, spews when opened or smells bad, toss it immediately.

The majority of your canned food will last significantly longer than the date printed on the can. As for pastas and rice, kept dry and away from pests, they will last for many years. 

Now, how to save money on your food. Stop throwing out food because of the "best by" date. Use your eyes and nose. If the can and food look good, smell good and didn't forcibly eject itself from the can when you opened it, you're good to go. 

The same is also true for your peanut butter, mustard, mayo, ketchup and hot sauces.

This has been a public service presentation that will save you money in the long run with prices going nowhere but up.

Here is a useful source of information. 

What about the foods in your pantry? Most shelf-stable foods are safe indefinitely. In fact, canned goods will last for years, as long as the can itself is in good condition (no rust, dents, or swelling). Packaged foods (cereal, pasta, cookies) will be safe past the ‘best by’ date, although they may eventually become stale or develop an off flavor. You’ll know when you open the package if the food has lost quality. Many dates on foods refer to quality, not safety. See FSIS’ Shelf-Stable Food Safety fact sheet for more information.

A Pleasant Fall

This picture was taken a few weeks ago at the Old Homeplace Vineyard. It is a lovely setting and a great place to sit and relax with a nice glass of wine and enjoying the amazing view.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and for the most part it's still T-shirt weather in my part of the country. It is also very dry. Hubby cleaned the yard of leaves the other day, and the dust cloud was enormous. He said we should probably offer the neighbors gift cards to the car wash. I used the leaf blower to get enough dust off of him so he could come inside. He went to the basement to finish cleaning off with the vacuum cleaner...shoes, socks, jeans, etc. At that point, he could take a shower.

Yes, it was that dusty. We are hoping for a little rain early next week.

This is pizza night! What that means here, to anyone, not familiar with our tradition, is that every other Friday night I make homemade pizza. So, at this point, the dough is rising and we eagerly await the deliciousness.

Some of the men of our church are putting on a short play during the men's breakfast tomorrow. I've seen them run through it five times during rehearsals and it is good and funny, although not a comedy. The guy who plays the director asked me if I was a glutton for punishment. Eh, why not.

If this seems a bit on the rambling side, it's not your imagination. It is exactly that. I'm just trying (again) to revive this blog of mine. Please drop a note in the comment section if you stumble across this. 

A Missed Anniversary

Well, another year (plus a few months) has passed. I totally missed my anniversary in the Blogosphere this year. Roses to Rainbows is still open for visitors, although the proprietor is seldom here. There are a lot of gems buried in the archives. 

Time passes and life goes on, and yes, everything is fine...for some measure of "fine" in the world today. 

Sophie celebrated her 17th birthday in May, and she is hanging in there. Prices are higher and the containers are smaller. Many places have been hiring for months or even years, yet fewer people seem to be employed.

But to everything there is a bright side. We have had some beautiful fall weather, and our front porch has been replaced and looks great. Now, after many months, I can walk out my front door again. The birds are singing and the squirrels are playing or gathering nuts for winter.

We took a few short day trips to various parks around the area, and got back to nature. We listened to two Barred owls having a conversation. That was SO cool.

Two of the parks had a lake, and that is always peaceful. That is what we need most in the world. If you are a praying person, please pray for our nation and our freedom.

I'll be around occasionally to sweep the floors and change the light bulb...it is always on for you. If you happen to stumble upon my humble abode, I would love to see a comment now and then.

Until next time, take care and stay safe.

The Real Rainbow

The original picture from Roses to Rainbows...in a Rose Garden

I missed posting on my blog anniversary this year. It turned 13 on September 30 of this year. What can I say? Times are different and I've lost any readership I had. I do darken the virtual doors on occasion and this topic has been on my mind for a while. My blog is not about rainbows or rose gardens, although both rainbows and roses do appear randomly in pictures I've taken.

That said, on occasion, I have used a rainbow design or rainbow colors as an illustration for a post. As I reflect on those posts, I often regret using anything other than an actual photograph of a rainbow. Why? Because real rainbows only occur in nature when it rains and the sunlight hits the droplets forming one of nature's most joyful sights.

If you are wondering why I object to other uses of the rainbow, I will tell you. The original rainbow was God's promise to Noah that He would never again destroy all flesh with a global flood. Now that sacred symbol is used to represent the pride of a certain group of people. 

What adult people do among themselves is their business, and I'm not here to judge that. I do think, however, that things have evolved from a personal, "live and let live" motto to a very public "Hey, look at me" kind of thing.  It seems to me that no one group (or community as they are often referred to) should be of any greater focus than any other.

In contemplating this post, I did a search and found that the rainbow had been co-opted to represent this community all the way back in 1978. Had I considered that at the time I was searching for a blog name, I may not have chosen Roses to Rainbows, lest potential readers get the wrong idea. Anyone actually reading here would surely know otherwise.

During my search, I also found an article called "Taking Back The Rainbow" which was written in 2007. I believe that one's faith is personal, and again, I am not here to judge anyone for theirs. However, the article, based on the author's faith, clearly states the origin of the rainbow and why it is still important today. I would very much like to "take the rainbow back".

Below are links to how my blog actually got it's name. There was an real rose garden and a rainbow after a summer rain.

Reynolda Gardens (How I Named my Blog - Part I)

It's All in the Name (How I Named my Blog - Part II)

Celebrating 12 Years And Some Rambling

Today is September 21, 2021. I have been tapping away in this space (more randomly of late) for 12 years as of yesterday. A lot has changed. We have gone from three cats in the house to one and she is the queen, or so she thinks. Good times have been had and memories made. Many of those documented here on this blog. 

Facts and fiction have been written upon these virtual pages. Challenges issued and answered. Ideas shared with occasional wit and wisdom. Much of my writing has fallen by the wayside for a host of reasons. Leading up to this post, I have been re-reading some of my stories and looking at the pictures. I have characters that need to have their stories either continued or wrapped up. However life of late has not been conducive to creativity. 

There were once a number of writers whom I read regularly and traded comments with. They inspired me to put my best foot (or words) forward. But bloggers come and go, moving on to other things or just living life in real time. I do know that blogging is not dead. Hubby and I continue to read many interesting and informative blogs written by real people with real wit and wisdom and the ability to ferret out and present facts, which are getting harder and harder to come by.

Another thing that is in short supply, and I don't mean toilet paper, is common sense. I find that seriously lacking everywhere I turn these days. It seems like so many peoples' brains have just turned to mush and they can no longer think for themselves. They allow themselves to be spoon-fed whatever the so-called "experts" are dishing out. 

Next up, we need to throw that critical race theory right into the rubbish and get back to practicing good old-fashioned critical thinking. We need to rejuvenate our problem-solving skills and question everything before jumping on the bandwagon du jour.

And while we're at it, please stop rewriting history. It is ours...own it. For better or worse, we earned it. A new chapter is being written today. What will that teach those who come after us? As it often is with history, it will be lesson in what not to do.

As I move into my 13th year in the blogosphere, what stories shall I tell? Will they be fact or fiction, or more ramblings such as this from someone who longs for the world to be restored to the one she grew up in, however imperfect it was.

I'll see ya when I see ya! The virtual door is always open, so make yourself at home.

Freedom

The basic test of freedom is perhaps less in what we are free to do than in what we are free not to do. - Eric Hoffer

Now there is something to think about!

Welcome Spring!

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke 

This quote really sums up spring in my neck of the woods, and I assume it to be true in many other places as well. Often we have "spring days" in February. Tomorrow is the first official day of spring 2021.

A lot has changed over the past year all around the world. For months we have lived with the "new normal". Now things, it seem, may be slowly returning to the normal we have always known, albeit with some remnants of the recent past, such as curbside pickup. That is not something we ever did prior to covid, but we will likely continue for at least some of our shopping. 

We have not been in Walmart in over a year, and only last week did we actually "dine in" at a restaurant since March 9, 2020. Baby steps! Our church has been streaming services (as of Sunday) for a full year now. They are planning to return to in-person church on Palm Sunday.While things may normalize through the summer, the world, overall, has changed. I do not know what the future holds, but what I do know is that we should stay positive and live life fully. 

 How are things in your area?

The Ides of March

The Ides of March are upon us! 

Lest you think I am spreading bad vibes here with the Ides of March theme, it is actually NOT a time of doom and gloom as you read in books or see in the movies. Ides, as well as Kalends and Nones were really ancient markers used to reference different lunar phases. The Ides of March used to represent the beginning of spring, thus bringing with it rejoicing and celebrations. So let us rejoice the Ides of March and the coming of spring.

Source: Ides of March

Profiling Sophie

This is our beautiful Sophie. She will be 15 years old in May and she came to live with us in November of 2007. At that time we only had Rosie inside, and Dood still lived outside. After he was injured and had to come inside, Sophie had two boys to deal with. Rosie was 10 years old and Dood was 7. She was the baby at 1 1/2, and it was fun to see all the interactions of the three as they sorted out the pecking order. It was soon established that Rosie was the alpha cat, despite his gentle spirit. 

However, for the past 6-plus years, Sophie has been the Queen of all she surveys. She visits you in the bathroom, loves life on a pedestal, even if it is just a piece of paper, and give her a box and she is thrilled (it seems a new one arrives every other day).

I miss my boys very much, and as much as I would love to open my home and heart to a new furry friend, I think Sophie is perfectly happy as things are and I don't want that to change. So for now, I love my Sophie-girl.

Getting Started

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one. - Mark Twain

Sounds simple, right? It is and it isn't. We, and I speak from experience, look around at our house, our list of projects and suddenly feel overwhelmed. We may even utter the words "if only..." At this point it may seem easier to battle space aliens than deal with our tasks at hand.

It is easy to let things get out of hand and pile up to the point that we have no idea how it happened or where to begin. It can start by putting off one thing, saying "I'll do that tomorrow". We continue to do this in favor of what we'd rather be doing. After a while we have a backlog of undone tasks. 

These are often things that would have taken only a few minutes had they been done in a timely manner. Now we are faced with tackling a laundry list of tasks, one of which may actually include doing laundry.

As Mr. Twain states, break down your big task into little tasks. We will use a desk as example, and this is particularly apt with more people working from home these days.

First start by putting away everything that doesn't belong there. My desk is a catch-all for everything I don't want to deal with at the moment, and you know how quickly that can get out of hand. 

Next sort out the papers into file, recycle, shred piles. Put the recycles and shreds into their appropriate bins. Now you're left with filing, and that's everyone's favorite thing to do, right? No peeking at my desk now. To make filing easier, sort papers into related piles, e.g. bills, receipts, medical papers, work-related, and miscellaneous (which translates to "I still don't know where that goes".) Hopefully you already have a filing system –⁠ albeit neglected...or we wouldn't be here would we?

Most of us know these things, and once we have gone through the onerous process, we vow that we will never let it get that way again. Let me know how that works for you.