The Old Year is a Closed Gate

The garden blooms with flowers of different colors and scents. In some areas the sun beats down on dry packed soil while in others areas puddles or snow lays on the ground. The gate is closed and locked barring entrance back into the garden. The the stonewalls are high with spikes at the top.

There is no way back into the garden of last year. There are only multicolored memories of blooms and scents. There is no going back to take a path that seemed interesting or more beautiful then the one taken through the garden. The garden gate is shut and locked; the only things to do is stand and look into the garden or turn your back on the gate and continue down the path toward the next gate and the next garden.

So take a deep breath, make one more pleasant memory and turn your back on yesterday. The gate to the new garden lays just around the next corner or just over the next rise. The sun is setting and the new garden is waiting for exploration.

My New Year's Eve Plans

Mom and I are staying home New Year's Eve. We are going to watch the celebration on television. Then on New Year's Day, I will make black-eyed peas with ham. My grandmother made black-eyed peas every year on New Year's Day.

Black-eyed peas and ham
fixed with onions and honey
a Happy New Year.

A new writing year cometh

There are only a couple of days left in 2009 and then we begin a new year. I have my 2010 planning calendar set up with the important days and deadline indicated. I know other important days and deadlines will come up in 2010.

A New Year cometh
days and deadlines on the way
interesting life.

Clouds again in Las Vegas

Hidden behind clouds
the sky is blue, the sun shines
I wear two sweaters.

New Calendars for a New Year

We have five new calendars for 2010, so there won't be any excuse for not knowing what day it is. I hung the calendar with the large print in my mother's bedroom. The appointment calendar will go by the telephone. One calendar will hang above my desk, one by the entrance to the living room, but I'm not sure where to hang the last calendar, perhaps in the kitchen or the dining room.

I didn't buy any of the calendars because they were sent to us by business. All of them have beautiful pictures on them, it's almost a shame to throw them away at the end of the year. However, that's how it goes, unless one collects calendars and I don't collect calendars. I suppose a person could glue the pictures to a piece of card board and make a puzzle out of them.

At the end of the year, most people just throw away calendars with beautiful pictures and art work on them. I wonder if that says something about our civilization, about our society. That is an interesting thought, perhaps it could be incorporated in a story or poem.

I got a promotion today

Today is my birthday and I got a promotion from 62 to 63, another year of wisdom to pass along to the next generation or anyone that will listen.

A chilly birthday
the air feels like snow and sleet
no clouds can I see.

When I went out for the paper this morning the air felt like snow. There is no wind or clouds today.

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Another Winter Solstice in Las Vegas

A short cloudy day
without either rain or snow
the chill is bone deep.

It wasn't very cold today, however, the cloud cover made the day seem colder. I don't think I accomplished very much. I did pick up Mom's meds, but that was it. I think I need to get out more.

Happy Winter Solstice

The Cloud covered sky

Gray clouds conceal
winter's cold blue firmament
no snow for Christmas.

The clouds extend from mountain range to mountain range. The earth turns, the day passes without sight of the sun. The clouds hold the heat in the Las Vegas valley, so the temperature outside is warm enough for a light jacket.

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Christmas falls on Friday this year

Christmas on Friday
three day winter holiday
with no place to go.

All right,
I don't celebrate Christmas so it doesn't matter that I have no place to go.
The weather in Las Vegas is nice without a sign of snow.

Writing in Las Vegas

It's a good morning to write in Las Vegas. True, I overslept again this morning; however, today I managed to write one product review, two blog entries, and an offline journal entry before noon. That's good for someone who didn't get out of bed until 6:45.

Las Vegas writing
on a good day is easy
a good start today.

Next Thursday is my birthday

I don't know how I'm going to celebrate my birthday. I will write poem, perhaps several poems. I will be 63 and I think I should do something special to celebrate my birthday, I just don't know what to do.

Birthdays are special
another year older wiser
chocolate is nice.

Chocolate ice cream and cake would be a good way to celebrate. I like chocolate cake with chocolate frosting covered with chocolate ice cream. I'll have to research some of the restaurants in town and see what I can find.

I made stew today

I made stew today. I used a pork roast cut into chunks, sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, onions, and garlic. The veggies were in the refrigerator and I had to use them up before Friday, so I made stew. We didn't eat it all, so I'll warm it up for tomorrow.

Winter is stew weather. The warmth of the stew helps warm you up and the meat gives you energy to withstand the cold. I like making stew and this is the first time I've used a pork roast for the stew meant.

Stew with a little beef or pork roast is easy to make. Just cut the roast into chunks, put it in the slow cooker with garlic, onion, and enough water to cover the meat. After the meat is cooked then add the veggies. I like using a roast better then stew meat because the roast is tender and cooks up better then stew meat.

This is stew weather
meat, sweet potatoes, veggies
Grandma remembered.

I've went too long without posting

I think I've been depressed, which is no excuse for not posting or writing. Especially since writing get me out of the darkness. I probably have good reasons for being depressed, none of which I'm going to get into now.

The darkness conceals
reasons behind charcoal clouds
only light reveals.

Before I write in my blog about my reasons for being depress, I have to cover the subject in my offline journal. I'm in the process of doing that now.

Another Cloudy Day in Las Vegas

The cloud covered sky
hides the seasons happiness
a dreary Friday

Winter in Las Vegas

Last night it rained in Las Vegas and it snowed in the Spring Mountains. Winter is finally here and it's getting cold.

Freezing temperatures
snow in high elevations
Las Vegas winter.

We received our power bill today. I expected it would be larger then last month's bill and it is. The bill is now over $200.00 and this is only December, so we have about one or two more winter months of cold temperatures. I'm not looking forward to the temperature or the power bill, but there isn't a lot I can do about it because we need to stay warm.

: Getting online sometime difficult

Getting online in this morning was impossible. That doesn't mean I didn't get anything accomplished. I've set the virus scan to run in the morning. The virus scan runs while I'm involved with morning crises. For the past several months every morning has brought a crisis, which needs dealt with immediately.

I usually choose the blog topic when I get online, but that isn't working. It takes too long to make an entry; therefore, I'm going to use preselected topics and notes to compose my entries. I hope that this will cut down on the time it takes to make an entry.

Four new 2010 Calendars

I am ready for the New Year. I have four new 2010 calendars with beautiful pictures each month to inspire my muse. I have a Wildlife Calendar, an Americana Calendar, a Norman Rockwell Appointment Calendar, and a Water Smart Calendar. I have places to put the calendars; I just have not decided which calendar goes in which room yet.

A new calendar
a fresh start to 2010
my muse is singing.

Looking for a Newsletter theme

I'm looking for a theme for my edition of the writing.com fantasy newsletter. Last year I wrote about making a writer's plan. However, I'm not going to use that theme for the January 2010 newsletter.

I just submitted the December 2009 edition, so I could let this topic rest for a day or two, but I have to get started soon. I don't like waiting until the last minute because it's too stressful. I don't need any more stress in my life right now.

The only thing I can think of is reviewing. Maybe write something on the differences in reviewing science fiction and fantasy. That theme doesn't strike me, but at this point I can't think of anything else.

Charter’s Newest and Fastest High-Speed Internet

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If I had charter ultra fast 60 I could watch my favorite movies on my PC without any lag. I can imagine the joy of watching my favorite science fiction and fantasy movies without annoying jumping or pauses. Then I could play online game without worrying about lag or download updates without waiting until midnight because of the excessive download time.

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Charter's Ultra High-Speed Internet, which is a hit in St. Louis, is now available in Southern California. Charter will soon be available across the northwest giving people access to even higher Internet speeds through its new phatband technology. If I had this type of technology working online, would be a completely new experience and give me the ability to find new publishing opportunities quickly while taking minimum time from my writing.

The benefits of this cable technology make it possible for writers, gamers and ordinary surfers to search across the planet for new opportunities. DSL is much better then dial-up because you can download faster without tying up the phone line. However, with DSL there are periods when one experiences lags in the download and slow access to website. This type of cable technology eliminates these periods and the irritation they cause.

You know it’s that time of year when

You know it's that time of year when ...

• the temperature drops twenty five degrees over night
• you have to defrost the morning paper to read it
• you get a dozen offers in your e-mail box to receive personalized letter from Santa
• the neighbors deck their houses with blinking red, green, white, and blue lights
• you can't face another day of leftover turkey
• the cat sleeps on your head all night and won't move in the morning
• you are thankful it didn't snow you in last night
• winter birds huddle in your garage waiting for sunrise
• you remember summer's 110 degrees fondly

Freeze Warning for the Las Vegas area

Autumn has finally arrived in the Las Vegas area. There is a freeze warning in effect for the next couple of mornings. According to the weather e-mail I receive we have the best chance of a freeze on Friday night or Saturday morning.

I would be happy if it waited until Saturday or later to freeze. However, neither mother nature or Jack Frost cares what make me happy. I have heating and a new thermostat, so the central heating unit should turn off when the desired temperature is reached. The problem is that in order to keep the power bill down, I have to set the temperature lower then what I would actually like. This means putting on long sleeved blouses and sweaters.

I think I have two sweater and two long sleeved blouses. I'm going to have to check in my sweater drawer to see what I do have. I know I have two sweatshirts, but I don't think six warm items is going to work well this winter.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Red, green, and white lights
Reindeer, Christmas tree, holly
Art of the season

My neighbors are getting into the Christmas Spirit. The family across the street decorated their yard with lights. The shapes formed by the sparkling colored lights look like reindeer, Christmas trees and wreaths of holly.

Researching Psoriasis

I've decided to do some research on psoriasis. I'm attempting to find out what treatment options are out there. I need something that works better then what I'm using right now. I found twelve websites that have information on the subject.

The problem is getting to me because I can't seem to find relief. Perhaps it's just a matter of finding something that works for me. Part of the problem could be stress, I didn't notice the issue with psoriasis before 2007 when my mother went into the hospital. Since then I've been under a lot of stress and the psoriasis seems to get worse. I want a solution or at least something to give me relief most of the time.