Research Topics: Planning my research

Research topics are normally Tuesday’s theme, since I did not get this posted yesterday (Tuesday, February 28) I am posting it today. There are ten months left in 2012, I want to research these topics in the upcoming months. These subjects may or may not be in research order.

1. Children’s literature
2. My mother’s and my medication
3. Dystopian and utopian fiction
4. Poetry forms
5. Macular Degeneration (for a story)
6. Vacations (I need a vacation, but the only one I am planning is a virtual vacation)
7. Whales (need the information for a novel)
8. Alzheimer’s disease (for a story)
9. Mystic poets and poetry
10. Recipes for beans, rice, and pasta (the main items in my pantry)

I forgot a character’s nam

I am writing a series of blog entries for a contest on writing.com. The entries compose a story written in serial form. Today’s entry is the last one in the series. When I began writing it I realized I had forgotten a character’s name. I had to go back to a previous entry to find her name.

I know it is a result of stress and not short-term memory lose, at least I hope stress is the cause. It is scary to forget a character’s name, especially the main character. It is an especially scary experience for me because my mother has Alzheimer’s disease and I am her caregiver.

I know there are other symptoms of Alzheimer’s besides short-term memory lose. I have not shown any of the other symptoms, so this incident with the character’s name is just a brain hiccup. Still it is upsetting because the first I thought when it happened was Alzheimer’s disease. My second thought was relax and do not panic.

Mundane Monday: Wind chill in Las Vegas

On a windy day
With a wind chill factor of
Wear a heavy coat

It is cloudy and windy. If I am outside too long I need a coat. I went after food this morning. When I left the house, it was nice; it was not too cold or too hot. Therefore, I did not wear coat. When I arrive at my destination, the air felt cold when I got out of the car. A good think I left my heavy coat in the car last week.

Three days remain in February

The year is moving fast, there are only three days left in February. The first day of spring is March 21, Easter Sunday is on April 8, and tax returns are due April 15.

I am ready for Easter. I bought our chocolate bunny last week. Mom and I do not celebrate Easter; therefore, the only thing I normally do is buy us a chocolate bunny so that we can eat it or begin eating it on Easter morning with our coffee.

I am getting ready for April 15, but the preparations are not complete, I still have some items to print off before I do or have my income tax returned prepared. I think this year; I am having someone help me with my income tax return because I cannot take the stress anymore.

Poetry form of the week: Fourteenth Century Stanza

A fourteenth century stanza is composed of six lines, with a syllable structure of 4-9 syllables per line and a rhyme scheme of a, a, b, c, c, b or a, a, b, a, a, b. This type of poem can have more then one stanza.

Fourteenth Century Stanza ~ My first attempt

The wind blows through the pine trees,
Oleanders wave in a gentle breeze,
Thank God for this beautiful day,
Oak limbs are touched with pale green
The warm sun melts an ice-covered stream,
Spring is a few weeks away.

More information about the Fourteenth Century Stanza.

Weekly Writer’s Quote: Staring at a blank page

A word is a bud attempting to become a twig. How can one not dream while writing? It is the pen which dreams. The blank page gives the right to dream. Gaston Bachelard

Stare at a blank page
It beckons a writer’s soul
Calls the muse to life

I have found that if I stare at a blank page something comes to mind and I want to write. I want to put words on its surface. I want to change it from a blank canvas to a work of art. I want to write my dreams and sometimes even my nightmares.

The blank page a friend
Asking the writer to share
Her soul deep secrets

When I am tired, like I was this morning, a blank page is refreshing and invigorating; it encourages me to write something, anything that will fill the page with words. A page without words seems lonely and unloved, until words, sentences and paragraphs fill it.

A blank page is cold
A snow bank hiding new growth
Warm words melt the snow

If I have problems fill the page, then it becomes a focus of meditation. That meditation beckons my soul and opens my mind to possibilities. My muses cannot wait to help me fill a blank page.

Thankful Thursday: A nice day in Las Vegas

This evening I am thankful that it was a nice day in Las Vegas. The weather was not too cold or too warm. I drove to the west side of town with my window down. The wind blowing through the car as a drove felt good. The only time the wind blew today was when I was driving the car.

There were a few clouds today. They were beautiful and I saw one that looked like an angel flying through across the blue sky. I enjoyed the drive, even though I did get a bit lost on my way to the meeting. I had not been to that building before, so I was not surprised when I got lost. However, I found my way to a street I recognized and got to the meeting a little late.

On the way back home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up something for Mom. Then I came home, I wish I could have stayed out a little longer. However, I had to be home before 3:00 PM. Today I would have liked to go to a park, sit at a picnic table and write poetry. Oh well, perhaps I can do that next week or next month.

A Good day online

Today was a good day for writing and paying bills, which sounds like a good subject for a poem. I got us caught up on the water bill and the trash collection bill. The trash collection was not as high as I thought it would be, so I was able to pay the whole thing.

I have gone paperless with the electric bill and the water bill. I now have to go paperless with the Republic Services (they pick up our trash) bill. I would like to go paperless with all the bills, but I do not think that is possible, especially with some of the medical bills. Anyway, it has been a good day for me to catch up on bills.

There was a time when I drove all over town to pay the bills or wrote a check and mailed it. Usually, I drove all over Las Vegas because the bills were due and there was not enough time for the check to get there through the mail. Now I just go to a website, either the company website or my bank website. I usually go to the company website because the payment is posted immediately, even when I set the payment to come out of the bank two or three days later.

Paying bills online
Life is so much easier
Do not use the car

Happy Birthday Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

Today’s Google doodle celebrates the 155th birthday of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz. See How Heinrich Rudolf Hertz revealed the invisible world.

Gas prices

Gas prices go up
I live on a fixed income
No vacation now

On the news this afternoon, they said that gas prices are going up. This means staying in town and no vacation or even a staycation without a financial balancing act. My doctor is on the west side of Las Vegas, so I will have to see what else I can do on that side of town when I have a doctor’s appointment.

My mother’s hearing aid

The

feedback is annoying

like a neighbor’s barking dog

the screech prevents

sleep.

Form: Laterne is centered with no rhyme scheme required. One of the lanterne forms follow the following scheme: 1st line = 1 word, 2nd line = 3 words, 3rd line = 5 words, 4th line = 3 words, and 5th line = 1 word.

Mundane Monday: Presidents Day

It is Presidents’ Day and I am not going grocery shopping. The grocery stores and service stations are open today, but I am not sure how many other business will be open, so I am staying home. I have plenty to do here such as laundry and moving a box containing a shower chair from the entrance hall.

On Presidents’ Day
Laundry is necessary
One load is enough

Last week was educational

Last week I learned that I can write at least two hundred words when I chose a subject and start writing. The subject I wrote about had to do with daily life and the events that happened to me. Last week was educational concerning more the just writing.

I went to the grocery store on Friday. I learned that I have to change the way I go shopping because walking through the store pushing a shopping cart was work. I need to go a little slower through the grocery store or start using one of the electric carts people ride through the store.

I suppose I could simply divide my shopping trips into two or three during the week instead of attempting to buy everything in one trip. More then one shopping trip per week will cut down on what I can accomplish at home. I enjoy grocery shopping more then I enjoy housework. I enjoy writing more then I grocery shopping.

I have to set aside two day a week to go grocery shopping, perhaps Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday. I will have to see which is best, but I think Tuesday and Thursday at this point because I like to keep Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for housework and doctor’s appointments.

Finally a chance to focus on writing

It’s Saturday evening and I finally have a chance to focus on writing. I am seriously considering giving up the attempt to write anything on Saturday or Sunday. I know I should write everyday, but sometimes it just is not possible to focus on writing and taking care of Mom at the same time.

Today was especially stressful. Mom is wearing oxygen; the problem is that she wants to remove the tubes. At least, today she wanted to remove them. Sometimes she does not have a problem, but today she did. I am not sure why the oxygen was an issue today.

She did not want to discuss it; she just wanted to take the plastic tubes out of her nose. The oxygen was not the only thing Mom has an issue with today; she did not want to take her medication either. Eventually, I got her to take her meds. I still have one more tablet to give her at 8:00, but normally she takes that pill without any problems. I think that is because I have to wake her up to give it to her and she just wants to get back to sleep.

Thankful Thursday: Sweaters

On a cold morning
A sweater keeps me toasty
Drives out the day’s chill

I am looking for office furniture

I am looking for office furniture. I need to get several pieces because I am moving my home office out of the living room and into the spare room. I already have two computer desks so I am going to buy the things I do not have first. I do not have filling cabinets or a good office chair. Therefore, I am looking for those items first.

I think the first thing I need in my new office is filling cabinets. I need to organize my stories and poems. Right now, I have the stories and poems on disk or in fill boxes. It is difficult to find the pieces I want to rewrite or submit, so I need to redo my entire filling system and to do that I need new filling cabinets because fill boxes are not secure enough for my needs.

I am searching online for fireproof filing cabinets. After considering the different types of cabinets I could buy, I decided these types of filling cabinets would work best for me. I feel a fireproof filing cabinet would give one less thing to worry about. I still have to decide whether I want two drawer or four drawer filling cabinets.

Las Vegas now has a National Museum

Valentines’ Day 2012 in Las Vegas

Yesterday I wrote this: “Today the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement opened in Las Vegas.”

I have not yet visited this museum. I do not like to visit museums or anything else the first day it opens. I will wait a couple of weeks before going to the museum. The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, also known as The Mob Museum, is located at 300 Stewart Ave. It is open Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tomorrow is Valentines’ Day

It’s that time of year again,

when couples are giving each other

flowers and chocolate

in heart shaped boxes.

I’m single

so the only one to buy me flowers

or chocolate

is myself.

I have to go out tomorrow to pick up some Band-Aids and coffee. So I may as well buy myself some chocolate. I’m not going to get myself flowers simply because I prefer chocolate. I prefer chocolate over almost anything else, with the exception of coffee. In fact, my favorite coffee drink is café mocha.

I like café mocha so much that I keep instant hot chocolate mix at home so that I can have café mocha whenever I want without leaving the house or going to a special coffee shop. I should buy some more hot chocolate mix tomorrow when I buy the coffee. That way I will not run out of either coffee or chocolate.

Since tomorrow is Valentines’ Day and I’m single, I will need several cups of café mocha to get through the day. Being single on Valentines’ Day is interesting, I almost said not fun, but it can be fun if I approach the day with the proper attitude. A cup of hot café mocha will help improve my attitude about Valentines’ Day.

A conversation with my mother

I miss the conversations my mother and I used to have before the doctored diagnosed Mom with Alzheimer’s disease. Mom and I still talk, but the conversations are “odd”. I know there must be another word, but I cannot think of it at this moment. Today, as we sit on the couch Mom and I talked; we talked about who was going to pick her up and where she was going.

I still have no idea where Mom wanted to go or who was going to pick her up. I know Mom is or was waiting for a woman to pick her up and take her to a “station”. I am guessing Mom believed she was going shopping with someone and just could not think of the word “store”. This happens with Alzheimer’s suffers, it is upsetting and I want to cry. The problem is that I cannot cry in front of Mom because she would not understand.

Mom could not understand why the woman was not here yet. She wanted to call her, but could not think of the woman’s name or phone number. I offered to take Mom anywhere she wanted, but she still could not remember where she was going. I finally convinced Mom to lay down on the couch and take a nap. By the time she wakes up she will have forgotten all about wanting to go some place or anyone coming to pick her up.

Free-write Friday: Staring at the screen

Time began: 9:51:42 AM

It’s Friday. I’m at the computer. I can’t think of anything to write. I’m tired perhaps that’s why I can’t think of a subject. This is a free write, so I don’t suppose it has to be about any particular subject. This is just as well since I can’t think of anything to write. Perhaps that why I can’t think of a subject. I’m telling myself I can’t think of anything to write and that’s becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.

           

All I need to do is write 200 words because that’s the word count goal for this blog. You would think that I could think of a subject, but I can’t seem to do that. A blog entry should cover one subject or most people won’t read it. This entry is, is what I just forgot what I was going to write. I suspect I’m thinking instead of writing. A free-write is not something to think about it’s something to write about. Just sit down at the computer and begin to write about anything that pops into your head. I don’t know if anyone will read it or not. I just want to make the entry, so that I can go to the store and pick up a prescription. Once that is done, then I can come home and get some more work accomplished here.

I think I’ve reached the end of this entry. Writing what I have written was a struggle since I couldn’t think if anything to write in the beginning. Perhaps I need to keep a list of subjects to write about. Perhaps I should change Free write Friday to some other subject. Perhaps I should take a nap, but I have to go to the pharmacy and I have to buy some other items at the store as well.

Time finished: 10:00:14 AM 

I’ve decided to go to the public library next week

It’s been a while since I went to the public library, so unless I can find my library card I have to get a new one. Today I’m planning to go Tuesday or Wednesday, but that depends on what happens on Monday.

I used to go every week or so, but since I became my mother’s caregiver it’s become difficult to get anywhere. However, Mom is in Adult Daycare during the do, so I can get away for a few hours. I miss going to the library. I always enjoyed looking at the books on the shelves and deciding which ones I wanted to check out.

When I go, I usually look at the new releases first because I always find something that is interesting. I’m looking forward to my visit next week. I need to do more fun things, now that Mom is doing well in daycare.

Thankful Thursday: What am I thankful for today?

Today I am grateful for...

1. The mild winter we have had in Las Vegas
2. Compression stockings
3. Medicare
4. Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly sandwiches
5. Hostess Twinkies
6. Freshly ground hot coffee
7. Writing.com
8. Jalapeno Peppers and Chipotal (dried Jalapeno Peppers)
9. The Internet
10. Chocolate

The day of gratitude

Thursday is the day of gratitude,
The day to list your blessing one by one,
Ten items that have made this week delightful,
Someone that blessed your life with a smile,
Or brightened your day with his/her presence,
A joke that made you laugh all day long.

Tomorrow is Thankful Thursday.

It is time to start thing about your gratitude list.

Website Wednesday: Poetry Forms

A good place to find different poetry forms is at shadowpoetry.com under Types of Poetry.

If you are looking for a rhyme then check out RhymeZone.

Tuesday Research: Neutron Stars

Notes on Neutron Stars for use in a poem

1. compact
2. creation – massive star cores during supernova
3. core collapses
4. proton & corresponding electron crushed into neutron
5. diameter approx. 10 miles
6. sugar cube size neutron weighs 100 million tons
7. get heavier as it gets smaller

Neutron Stars

Happy Birthday Mr. Dickens

The Complete Works of Charles Dickens

Happy 200th birthday,
Mr. Dickens,
if you were still alive today
what would you say
about the way
we celebrate Christmas Day.

Charles Dickens

Mundane Monday: Not Today

Another workweek
Doctor’s appointment today
Monday not Mundane

As I waited fro my ride to the surgical center, I began writing a Trois-par-Huit about a Unicorn. About halfway through the poem, I realized I was using the wrong for this subject. This Monday is definitely not mundane.

Special discount on annual membership for Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Special offer from Walgreens on a yearly membership to its Prescription Savings Club. You can get a family membership for $35.00, which covers everyone in your immediate family. This includes any dependents 22 years of age and younger, your pets, and your spouse. When you join you receive discounts on your prescriptions. The price of the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club membership for individuals is $20.00. So check out this special offer for  Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. A discount on an annual membership will help save money on many more items the just prescriptions for yourself or your family.

Other benefits include discounts on pet prescriptions, flue shots, diabetic supplies and nebulizers. You can save on over 8,000 generic and brand-name medications. In addition, when you purchase photofinishing services or any Walgreens brand products you will receive bonuses. 

Thirty-five dollars for a twelve-month membership on a prescription savings club is something I will tell all of my friends and family about. I also want to check heck out Walgreens on Twitter and Walgreens on Facebook to stay updated and to support Walgreens. Go their now to get an update and to let your friends know about this great offer. 

Poetry form of the week: Tetractys

Tetractys is a 5-line poem, which does no require rhyme. The syllable structure is 1, 2, 3, 4, 10.

Write
each day
line by line
rhyme and stanza
practice metaphor, simile, and form.

See Tetractys Poetry and Poems.

Weekly Writer’s Quote: Write Something

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”’
~ Ben Franklin

That quote emphasizes what every blogger and tweeter across the planet is attempting to accomplish. At this moment, I am so physically exhausted that the only thing I can do is write. Therefore, I am going to write.

I like writing for two reasons. First, it lets me express my opinion. Second, it gives me a chance to rest between household tasks and today I have a great deal to do. I still have a load of clothes in the washer that I have to hang on the drying rack, because I do not have an electric dryer and it is extremely tiring to take them outside to the clothesline.

I am probably getting off topic, which I should not do when composing a blog entry. My only explanation is that I have to split my attention between my mother and this entry. Mom needs assistance to do anything and I am the only one in Las Vegas to help her on the weekends. I have to post this entry now, because I hear Mom crying, so I have to go see if I can solve the problem.

Free-Write Friday: The Oxygen Machine

Time Begin: 5:20:58 PM

The wind is blowing, kicking up the dust and causing allergies to act up. Mom sees to have a more difficult time with allergies then me. For the past couple of week whenever the wind kicked up, Mom’s allergies reacted and she had to use oxygen.

When they bring her home from the daycare center she wears a portable oxygen tank, but at home, we have an oxygen machine. I put water in the container and then I plug the machine into the electrical outlet. The machine begins to run and it makes a noise. At first, the noise sounded odd, but I have gotten used to it.

The oxygen machine sounds like someone or something breathing. When Mom first begin using it, I had to stop typing or whatever I was doing every few minutes to see what the sound was, but now I am used to it. I notice if it is not running, but when it is on I do not notice it, I do not pay attention to the noise.

Mom did not want to wear the oxygen at first, she would fight it and take it off, but now she seems to have gotten used to it. Mom does not wear it all the time only when the wind blows and her allergies act up. I have allergies as well, but Mom is having a more difficult time with them. I think the reason is that she is older and has other health problems.

Time Ended: 5:30:26 PM

Thankful Thursday: Dystopian Fiction

I am thankful for
Dystopian Fiction and
Internet research

This week I am researching dystopian fiction because I am considering using this topic in my next writing.com fantasy newsletter, which is due for distribution on Wednesday, February 29, 2012. I have to get started researching ideas after immediately after the publication of one newsletter.

Groundhog Day: Thursday, February 02, 2012

Punxsutawney Phil
Saw his shadow today so
Six more winter weeks

I have to admit, I am not looking forward to six more weeks of winter. Not that winter has been that cold in Las Vegas. We have had a very mild winter, so far. During the first two weeks of December we experienced freezing temperature, but other then that the weather has been nice.

Reflections on January Writing

It is Wednesday, February 01, 2012. I had a bit of trouble posting everyday. I have no excuse. True January was a stressful and busy month, but that is no excuse to stop posting daily or every other day at least.

I managed to post every day to my writing.com blog. I participated in a 30-day blogging challenge, which required that I respond to prompts. I did not have any problem responding to prompts. The issue I encountered was planned topics and those are a bit different from prompts. Therefore, I will attempt prompts in February and see if I can post consistently.