High Tech Hyacinth

I almost didn't blog today, mainly because it's been a pretty quiet day.  Not much has gone on, other than knitting and watching football.  More about that in a minute. 

I've been playing around with AI here lately, and yesterday, I uploaded a photo of The Incarnation Of Evil to ChatGPT with the prompt, "Turn my cat into a plushie".  This is what it gave me. 

Then I uploaded the exact photo with the exact same prompt to Gemini and got this. 

One more time with Grok, and got:  

To be honest, I like ChatGPT's interpretation the best, and if I'm being completely honest, I think I like the cat better as a plushie -- at least today I do.  She's run in and out so many times, I'm starting to understand why my mother locked the door on us when we were kids.  

Not to be outdone, I tried the same thing with the Christmas tree photo.  I posted ChatGPT results yesterday, then I uploaded the exact same photo with the exact same prompt to Gemini

and to Grok. 

As with the cat photo, I like ChatGPT's result the best.  It seems to have more personality, if AI can have personality.  I guess they can.  I mean, Hal did...

Speaking of, most of you know by now that Amazon has its own delivery service now for many parts of the country.  What I like about it is that you can stalk your delivery driver right there in the app.  

It makes me feel like a high tech Hyacinth Bucket.  

And what was in that Amazon package I was stalking the deliver driver over?  Nothing so exciting as watching it get closer and closer.  I ordered a screen for my bathroom sink to keep me from dropping stuff down the drain.  And also, some cotton spice bags. 

I'd seen a photo posted online where you could put cloves, cinnamon, anise seed, and chili flakes into a spice bag and the strong smells are supposed to repel mice.   I thought it wouldn't hurt to try.  I didn't have chili flakes, and powdered chili just sifted through the fabric, so I put some of my dried peppermint in instead.  We'll see if it works.  

Even if it doesn't, I now have spice bags for cooking -- like when I want to make broth or something.  

Speaking of things that smell, back before Christmas I'd bought a new wax melter, because my old one had broken.  Alas, the first or second time I used it, the bowl cracked and the melted wax seeped down into the part that holds the bulb and ruined it. 

No matter how diligently I cleaned the wax out, I never could get it to work again, so I tossed the whole thing.  The next time I went into the store, I bought one of these kinds that has the heating element instead of the light bulb. 

I don't know if it's because the bowl is shallower and wider, or what, but those wax melts really smell so much stronger.  I'd bought some a while back that were Creamy Cinnamon Clove, and had been so disappointed in them.  They smelled so good in the package, but hardly put out any scent at all in the melter.  

On a whim, I put one into this new melter this morning, and boy howdy the whole kitchen smells soooo good now. That melter was definitely worth the money.  

In knitting news, I finished another square for my sampler afghan.  

Yarn:  Red Heart The Pounder

Colorway:  313 Aran

Pattern:  Annie's Attic Sampler Afghan Square #4

Needles:  US 8/ 5mm

Then I cast on another sailor hat. 

Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Rainbow

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8/ 5mm

I haven't knit a whole heck of a lot this week, mostly from being so tired when I get home from work.  I hope that once I get back into the routine and more accustomed to the physical exertion, I'll be able to knit more. 

And finally, a bit of sad news, I broke up my gingerbread house this morning to start eating it. 

I figured it would be hard as a rock, because although I had it covered with plastic, it wasn't air tight.  Still, I thought if I dunk it in my coffee or tea, that'll soften it up enough to eat.  

Slowly but surely, I'm getting all of the Christmas sugar either eaten up or vacuum sealed and frozen.  I'm still thinking I might get my new candy molds out and use the leftover chocolate chips to make some of those.  Once they're hardened, I can vacuum seal and freeze those, too.  Then next Christmas, I can make thumbprint cookies and use those for the chocolate bits...

Man, for someone who started this blog saying that nothing happened today, I've sure babbled on a lot.  I guess that means it's time to end this post, and go make myself some popcorn.  

Laters.