Happy Monday and Happy February. Things are finally beginning to thaw here. The roads are clear but there are still thick patches of ice where the sun can’t reach.

I did a fun experiment during my hibernation. I needed to cook a meal and didn’t know what I wanted, so I asked ChatGPT for suggestions. I told it I had a chicken breast, wide noodles, red bell pepper, onion and broccoli. Then it asked me if I had any lemon and garlic to which I replied I did. It gave me several recipes to choose from and I made the first one. I have to say it was really delicious and I ate on it for a couple of days. But after I fixed it, I went back in and told ChatGPT I had fixed the first recipe and that it was yummy. Then it said, “Anytime you are staring into the fridge thinking, ‘now what?’ I’ve got you.” Seriously that’s what it said. It was like talking to a real person and a polite one at that. 🙂 Maybe AI has its uses.

I forgot to mention last Monday that my granddaughter’s play, Matilda, got postponed because of the ice storm. She was SO disappointed. They had all worked to hard and it was a blow to not be able to perform it even once. They are talking about doing it in April, but that means doing all the grueling rehearsals again as they will have forgotten by then. But it’s a lesson for the kiddos. Things don’t always work out.
Another thing I’ve been doing through this cold snap is drinking herbal teas. At the store where I work, we got in some new teas that are SO good, they are worth crowing about. They are called Magic Hour Angel Teas and each blend has a number and an angel association, such as 111 with the angel, Seraphim. I don’t see a way to order them from our store’s website, but if you love tea blends and get a chance to pick any of these up, they are outstanding! I have tried the 111 and 444 and so far, my favorite is the 111. Next, I am trying 888. I did find a link, if you’re interested, or you can look for them in your local stores. https://clubmagichour.com/collections/angel-frequency-teas

On the writing front, while in hibernation, I moved full-speed ahead with editing the short story collection. With the headway I made, I am thinking I can bump up the release date from April to March. There’s still work to do, but I got a lot accomplished. At least the first-pass editing is done and most of the stories have been through a beta-reader. What’s left is the Lyric section.
If you follow my blog, you already know it hasn’t been showing up in the WordPress Reader for a while now. So, again, because I had some time on my hands, I tried to figure out the reason for that. First, I tried to contact my web guy. I sent emails, then texts, then tried to call and got no response. He has fallen off the face of the earth. So, what did I do? I turned back to ChatGPT, explained what I needed and oh my goodness, it gave me step by step instructions of things to do, to try and fix it. Along the way with all these steps, I discovered there was another domain hanging out there associated with me that I had no idea of. I was able to delete it. It was a process and took hours, but as of Friday, my blog showed up in the reader. Thank you, ChatGPT. I am in talks with another web person who can get my website rebuilt and OUT of Elementor. Fingers crossed that I will be able to afford her and get it all straightened out. It’s been a mess for a while. But there’s hope!
On the reading front, I’ll be sharing my January reviews soon. I’ve read some great books and love sharing my thoughts on them with you.
In the meantime, I’m dog-sitting my two granddogs while my kiddos are on a short cruise. Ace loves to play ball! He has so much energy. A boy in the neighborhood is coming a couple of times to walk him because I just can’t. It’s too cold and he is too hard to control.


Remember I mentioned I had decided to give Substack a try? I can see it has some real value, but the problem is that I can’t get over there to post regularly, so I’m not sure it’s going to work for me. I wish there was a way to share my regular blogs there automatically, but there isn’t. It simply adds more to my already overflowing plate.
I’m still loving my new car and when I did eventually venture out, it did great on the ice. Yay!!
I’m working on the lesson plan for the in-person workshop that kicks off in a couple of weeks. I am hopeful we will have some great response and fill every seat! I am sharing all the information with local writing groups and also paid for a FB ad. We shall see. But gathering materials for the class is a refresher for me.
I fell in love with this meme when I saw it. It’s a profound truth.

Here’s the tarot thought for the week ahead.

There are things hidden that we cannot see and may feel trapped, or maybe we’re afraid to look at a situation. But it’s all a matter of taking off the blindfold and seeing what’s around you. The landscape it peaceful and beautiful, but the figure on the card can’t see it. At it’s core, this card represents indecision and inner conflict. You may be stuck between two choices and don’t know which way to go. As always, the advice is to trust your intuition.
That’s it for another Monday. Have a great week ahead!!
Sorry about your granddaughter’s play, Jan. I know she’s disappointed, but hopefully it can work out. I also discovered a way to use ChatGPT last week, and I was pleasantly surprised. I hadn’t thought about recipes, but I’ll try that next. Have a great week!
Thank you, Teri. Disappointment is part of growing up and these kids are resilient. It’s kinda nice to find positive uses for ChatGPT. Let me know if you try any recipes it suggests. It’s hard not to refer to ChatGPT as a male, but maybe that’s just me. 🙂 I appreciate you stopping by!
Hi Jan, I’m sorry your granddaughter’s play was cancelled. Very disappointing for her. I’m glad you put AI to good use and got some help.
Thank you so much, Robbie. I’m happy you stopped by!
Aw, what gorgeous dogs! Yes, I understand how some dogs can be hard to control. (I had a great Dane when I was younger.)
Thank you, Priscilla. They are such pretty dogs and so smart. Ace just has so much energy, but thank goodness for the boy in the neighborhood!
That herbal tea sounds very delicious. Maybe I can find some here. But, dear Sister, I have a birthday coming up…….. I’m very hopeful I can start formatting your short story book soon. Wow! March is coming fast. Love, Love your quote. That’s so true. We are all in the same storm and at times it’s a doozy. I hope my boat is sturdy enough. Have a beautiful day. Love you.
You do have a birthday coming, sister. 🙂 I still have a ways to go before we can format the short story collection,, but once I get back home, I’m going to move on into the Lyrics section and that shouldn’t take long as I already know a lot of what I want to include. I loved the quote too. We often refer to being in the same boat, but we really aren’t. We are, however, in the same storm. So glad you stopped by and here’s to sturdy boats! Love you!
So glad to see this back in my feed. Cuisine by Chat GPT sounds adventurous.
I am super glad to have it back in the WP Reader feed, Craig. It damn near took an act of Congress, but thanks to my stubbornness and ChatGPT’s knowledge I got it. Thanks for dropping by and if you check out ChatGPT for recipes, let me know how it goes.
I have been workin with ChatGPT for the last year. There are some great uses and there are some not so great. I have not tried recipes yet but I’m sure it will do well. Sorry about granddaughter’s cancellation. As you say, things happen and it’s good she is getting some experience at that life fact.
I agree, John. There are some great uses of AI and some not so great. I was impressed with the recipe it gave me. If you give it a try, let me know what you get. 🙂 It’s also true about life lessons. They are usually not pleasant, but lessons nevertheless. Thank you for visiting!
I really liked this post, Jan. It was fun, graceful, busy, and peacefully going with the flow. I use Chatgpt all the time. It’s so helpful with ordinary things that I used to have to search the web for – how to fix my drill, how to weatherproof my boots, and great recipes for whatever is sitting in the fridge and pantry! Lol. Sorry to hear about the play, but glad that the car is well-loved. And thanks for the feedback on Substack (I needed that). Enjoy your writing and teaching and all the fun stuff you have going on. <3
Thank you for stopping by, Diana. I agree about how ChatGPT can help in many situations, such as my blog not showing up in the reader. My grandson says he uses it for coding sometimes and it saves him hours of work. Maybe we will all get lazy and let AI do things for us. But never writing! Nope! Not going down that slippery slope. I honestly think Substack has merit, if only I had the time to devote to it. I’d have to let my blog to here to do it all on Substack and I’m not willing to do that just yet. Still, it’s been an interesting experiment.
AI is terrible at writing, but it is a time saver for things we once had to search out on the internet. 😀
The recipe sounds like it turned out well. The ingredients were a nice mix to start with. I’m sorry about your granddaughter’s play getting cancelled. I hope they have the time and energy to put it on in April. Good news on the car, and the editing. You made good use of your brief hibernation.
Thanks for dropping by, Dan. I will challenge ChatGPT again to help me come up with recipes. It was fun. And it’s so polite and supportive. 🙂 Thanks for all the good wishes. And yes, I tried to use my hibernation time wisely to make progress.
Sorry about grans play, but glad they are still getting a chance to do it later. Can’t control what mother nature throws us. Thanks for your tea recommendations. I took their quiz and found one I might try. I can’t do any caffeine but they have lots of wonderful options. Yay for being ahead with your collection. Can’t wait to read it and will help out in any way you need for release. Great recipe, I may have to break down and try chat. Fantastic quote, and when without a boat we float. That card sums me up right now, my answer to removing the blindfold is writing poetry. Have a great week xo
Thank you for your lovely comment, Denise. I’m happy you checked out the teas. My favorite is definitely the 111 and I like it before bed. I sleep really well when I drink it. Thank you for offering to help with the release of the short story collection. I’ll definitely take you up on that offer! Give ChatGPT a try for some recipe ideas. No harm done. 🙂 Glad you know the answer to removing the blindfold. Knowing is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Have a great week ahead! Hugs!
Oh my goodness, it must have broke all their hearts. After all the time and rehearsals. You would think they could do it sooner than that, but what do I know. I love getting to dog sit my granddogs. I hope the weather warms up and things thaw out soon.
I agree with you, Carla. The parents of these kiddos are definitely not happy with them putting it off so far away. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be able to do it sooner. Things are thawing here. Anywhere the sun can reach is pretty much melted, but in the shady areas, there’s still thick ice. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and leave a comment!
Sorry about your granddaughter’s cancellation, Jan. Hopefully it’s a delay until the weather changes enough. Dog-sitting those two must be enjoyable, even if you can’t take them for a walk because of the weather and the one being uncontrollable.
Thanks, Tim. We are hoping for a new date for the play sooner than April! These two dogs are both so smart and loving. It is a joy!
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