Author: Sally

A to Z Blogging Challenge · Blather · Life

A-to-Z Theme

Sally7 Comments

There was an occasional blogger
Who was something of a slogger
She decided to see
If she could go A-to-Z
Using finish-my-limerick fodder

It looks like I missed the Theme Reveal for the A-to-Z Challenge. I read March 12-18 as INCLUDING March 18 — which is today. When I went to the site though, it said that the theme reveal was closed.

I’m learning to take these things in stride.

Seriously, does it really matter? Does anyone really care what my theme is?

The older I get, the more I realize how few things there are that really matter.

The self-portrait exercise (from my Lenten devotional) was meant to force an eye to the basics, to the things that really matter. My 15-second self-portrait could have been drawn by any child who recognizes those basics: eyes, nose, mouth, hair.

In my room, I often stare at the row of portraits that my parents had done of their five children. The boys are all looking off to the right. My sister and I are looking at the artist. Mine is the only one with a tilt to the head.

I do that still — tilt my head. When I realize it, I upright it. I like to think, though, that the head tilt is a listening posture. Listening, and trying to understand. I do that, too.

The Stream of Consciousness Saturday word is “tape.” In my room, I often also stare at the many things I have taped here and there. On the back of the door. On the wall. I even have something taped on a piece of artwork to cover a place it’s damaged and to remind of a poem that the picture brings to mind.

Tape is a handy-dandy thing.

Back to my theme-reveal. I realized that limericks neatly fit the 23 word limit I’ve given myself most days. Especially if I let YOU finish it. Also, there’s no ache in writing a limerick. They’re light and silly. I have enough struggles in my days that I thought, maybe a month of silly — with an occasional collage thrown in — would be fun.

So starting April 1, I’ll post the first four lines of a limerick, and you can tape your answer on to finish it. The A-to-Z part will be the name of the person in the limerick. For example, “A” might begin “There once was a man named Arnold” — but I can’t really think of anything that rhymes with Arnold, can you?

And even though I missed the theme reveal, I’m revealing it today, because, you know, it doesn’t really matter. Right?

Uncategorized

23 Words from ChatGPT

Sally5 Comments

Warning: I’m going to go way over my limit today.

I was going to cheat by asking ChatGPT to give me a profound quote of 23 words. What it gave me was 13 words and they weren’t terribly profound. I shouldn’t have been surprised — I mean, it’s not a person. What does artificial intelligence know about profundity? I thought that it would at least be able to count.

My oldest daughter had introduced me to ChatGPT on our road trip. For her work, it can be invaluable. It can summarize sections of Medicare policy that would take her hours to review. I played around with it and asked it about some local historical research I had been working on and it was less than helpful.

Over and over this evening I asked for 23 words. Not a single 23 word anything.

When I asked for funny, they were funny. Here are some of the best ones (word count in parentheses):

  • Yesterday I saw a guy spill all his Scrabble letters on the road. I asked him, ‘What’s the word on the street? (22)
  • I used to play piano by ear, but now I use my hands. (13)
  • Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. (10)
  • Did you hear about the kidnapping at the playground? They woke up. (12)
  • “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” – Groucho Marx. (12)
  • Whenever I try to eat healthy, a chocolate bar looks at me and Snickers. (14)
  • Parallel lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet. (13)

Finally, I asked it to count the words in a sentence. It couldn’t.

Here are two screen shots to illustrate my point

So I asked to show me how it arrived at 23 words in one of the sentences it had given me:

Does this make sense to you?

Travel

As I was going…

Sally7 Comments

As I was going to Virginny, I met a Mat who was quite skinny.
Upon each hand, he wore a mitt.
Upon each mitt, a mot* was writ.
Within each mot, there was a mutt.
Inside each mitt, a hand was put.
Met. Mat. Mitt-mot-mutt.
This may mean something; I know not what.

*My new word for the day — MOT (pronounced ˈmō ). It’s short for “Bon Mot” or a pithy saying.

Here’s a mot with a mutt in it:

A mutt is couture-it’s the only one like it in the world, made especially for you.

Isaac Mizrahi

I’m a little punchy after a long day of driving yesterday. I worked 5am – 11 am, then left my house a little after noon to drive to youngest-daughter’s college where I was meeting up with oldest-daughter who was driving with me to visit middle-daughter. Got that?

I think the sun was out when I left home. After collecting daughter #1, we drove off in the snow. “Winter Advisory” signs flashed at us all along I-81.

And I had opted to drive first. Ugh.

It was slushy sloppy slippery slow driving for about 4 hours. Shortly after she took over driving, the weather and the road cleared.

I dozed.

A lot.

We didn’t meet a single Mat, skinny or otherwise. (Side note: I really do know a Mat with one “t”) No mitts, no mots, no mutts. But that was the prompt given for Stream of Consciousness Saturday: mat/met/mitt/mot/mutt.

All I could think about was going to St. Ives.

For those of you not familiar with the St. Ives riddle, here it is: