Muse Monday: Early Morning noise

On Monday my muse

Wants to write poems to my

Neighbor’s barking dog

I get up between 3:00 and 4:00 AM (when my alarm goes off). About first light this morning, a neighbor’s dog was barking. This is unusual because they do not leave the dog out at night. That dog usually goes outside later in the morning, however, today he or she was barking at something.

I set on my bed listening to the dag. It was not an angry bark, so I do not think the dog saw any strangers in the neighborhood or its yard. A cat may have startled it or another dog. It did not bark very long, when it stopped I got up. Sometimes I enjoy just sitting on the side of my bed and listening to the noises in the neighborhood.

One of the neighbors’ has a Harley, I love listening to that bike as he rides to work in the morning. I think the sound of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle is beautiful. I enjoy just sitting and listening to it and the other neighborhood noises, especially this time of year.

If I listen carefully, I hear baby birds chirping in their nest. I hear adult birds singing, marking their territory with song. There are all sorts of wonderful sounds early in the morning, if a person just stops to listen.

Beautiful Sunday in Las Vegas

Beautiful Sunday

Sunshine and hazy blue sky

The wind did not blow

It was a beautiful Sunday in Las Vegas. The only time I got to be out was when I took a sack of trash to the garage. I even left the front door open for a little while this morning.

Used to I did not see any sense in leaving the door open when we have central air, but I have changed my mind. I do not turn the cool air off; I just leave the door open for a little fresh air. Maybe I am mellowing in my old age.

Saturday Review: Recapping my Week

It’s been a busy week. On Monday, I had an ultrasound of my right leg, there were no blood clots and the veins are healing nicely. On Tuesday, I stayed home, did laundry, and hung on the drying rack or over chairs I need a dryer.

On Wednesday, I picked up the Senior Commodities for Mom and me. Then I went to the wound hospital to have the bandage on my left leg changes. The doctor removed the bandages and said I should wear my compression stockings. In my rush, to get out of the house I forgot to put one on and the other in my purse. I was lucky to get out of the house with my teeth in my mouth.

On Thursday, I attended the 9^th Annual Southern Nevada Caregiver Education Conference. This lasted from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. I have a lot of litterateur and notes to go through. I will post more about this conference once I have reviewed the information I brought home.

On Friday, I attended a Caregiver’s support meeting. At the meeting, I replanted two different types of herbs and brought them home. My main goal for the next couple of weeks is to keep them alive. I need to replant them, but I have to empty the dirt out of the big planters and purchase a bag of planting soil from Home Depot.

On my way home from the caregivers’ group, I stopped at Office Depot to purchase a SD disk for my new digital camera. When I got into the store, I found they had a sale on one of the disk that would fit my camera. I also stopped at the grocery store for bread and other items before coming home.

In addition, I also got some writing accomplished. Then today (Saturday) I did some computer maintenance. Mom and I have almost finished a carafe of Hazel Nut coffee and I am considering making another carafe this afternoon.

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Top ten Tuesday: Ten Things I enjoy during the spring

1. Writing haiku
2. Picnicking in the park
3.  Going to the lake
4. Listening to the birds sing
5. Writing about the memories from my childhood
6. Drinking sun tea
7. Drinking iced café mocha
8. Eating homemade potato salad
9. Watching the neighbor’s cat watch the birds in my backyard
10. Getting up at dawn to say prayers

Schick Xtreme 3 eco razor

The Schick Xtreme 3 eco razor, its handle made from recycled plastic products, is associated with the Schick Eco contest. Watch the video below and then submit your creative recycling ideas to Facebook.com/shickxtreme3.

Monday Mumblings: Upcoming Caregiver Conference in Las Vegas

I am attending the ninth annual caregivers’ conference this week, so tomorrow I have to stay home. Tomorrow, I have to find something to wear to the conference and clean out my car. I have to take everything that is in the backseat and bring them back in the house.

I think the only things I have are some winter blanket, which I have either to take to the laundromat or throw away. The last time I looked at them, they did not look very good; I think they have seen better days. Still I do not like the idea of throwing them away. Maybe I will wash them and see if the animal shelter wants them. I will worry about the blankets next week; tomorrow I will bring them in and put them in the spare room.

I still have to find something to wear. I do not want to wear something different then I wear everyday. Maybe there is something in the spare room, I have not looked in that closet since last year and I know there were some clothes hanging in there. I think I need some new clothes, perhaps next month. If I go shopping for clothes tomorrow I will not get anything else accomplished.

A new dress or suit

Something stylish modern

Blue or lavender

A gripe on Earth Day in Las Vegas

My biggest gripe about plastic trash bags are their size. They are all too big for my household of two people. If I used one of those, I would end up taking the trash out only once a week, but I have to take it out every day or it draws ants and other creepy crawlies.

I use small trashcans in both bathrooms and the kitchen because we do not have enough trash to fill tall trashcans. Sometime I do put the tall plastic trash bags in the cans, but then I feel guilty because I do not have enough trash to fill one, but I have to take the plastic trash bag out at night.

I have found a method that does work, but I am not happy about this solution. I use the plastic shopping bags to put trash in because they are small enough to put in the trashcans and I can take them every day because they are full. There must be another solution, but I have not figured it out, so until I do this is my solution for my small household.

I know I am not the only person with this problem. I know there are other household containing only one or two people that encounter this issue. I have not read anything about it, so until I discover another solution I will continue using my method to solve this problem.

Sunday Scribbles on Earth Day

Mother Earth’s birthday

Lighten your carbon footprint

Recycle your trash

Another year has past and it is Earth Day again. I recycle as much as possible and I could do better. In the coming year, I will try to do better at recycling. Sometimes it is difficult to recycle; however, that is not excuse not to do it.

Help Mother Nature

Recycle plastic bottles

And anything else

Tying up loose ends Saturday: Another week past

Another week past

With some success and failures

Saturday at last

Saturday seems a good day to tie up some loose ends, at least around the house. I know that I can accomplish just so much in a twenty-four hour period and I have to sleep sometime. Today, I need to put the clothes on the drying rack away, finish washing my clothes, and another load of sheets. I also want to try a homemade bug trap.

Now to the writing project I have to work on. I have the writing.com fantasy newsletter to finish and check four website I usually do not check on Saturday or Sunday, but since I did not check them yesterday, I have to check them today. In addition, the things I usually do on Saturday, with one addition.

Mom will no longer have a Personal Care Assistant coming in on the weekend, so I have to add making her bed to the list. This should not be a problem since I only have to do is remove the sheet from her bed if they need changing and put fresh sheets on. I usually fix Mom’s meals on the weekend anyway.

Warming up in Las Vegas

The temperatures rose into the 90s. It is getting hot in Las Vegas and it will get hotter. This morning, when I went to the grocery store I didn’t know how hot it was until I got to the grocery store. I didn’t listen to the news and weather this morning; however, I have to start so I can dress appropriately. Since I don’t have cool air in my car I have to be more aware of the temperatures.

Temperatures warming

Pushing ninety-five degrees

Las Vegas is hot

I have set the thermostat to 79 degrees and I hope I can leave it at that temperature this summer, but that depends on my mother. Mom is ninety-one years old, she has Alzheimer’s disease, and she get cold, even in summer she gets cold. This morning she complained about being cold and it was about 75 degrees in the house. If Mom complains about the cold when she is home, then I have to raise the indoor temperature so that the cool air does not come on often.

Perhaps, there is another solution. I will have to think about this, maybe move the couch because it sits right under one of the vents. I could also have Mom sit on the love seat, which is far enough away from the air vent. I’m not sure I can take having the thermostat set higher then 79 degrees again this year.

Weary Wednesday: Page(s) Unresponsive

Just the thought of everything I have to do, have to write makes me tired. The computer’s snail pace wears me out as I wait for a response. Then the message “Page(s) Unresponsive” appears giving me the choice of “kill” page or “wait”. I inhale. I exhale. I breathe in. I breathe out. Then I click the “wait”.

I will wait, but I will wait on my term. I get up and go into the breakfast room. I check the coffee carafe and find it about half full. I find a coffee mug and fill it with cold coffee. Then I take the mug into the kitchen and put it in the microwave. I set the timer at 1.25 minutes. Then I walk back into the living room, to the computer and see that the page is still unresponsive.

The microwave’s timer goes off, so I return to the kitchen. I take the mug out of the microwave and take a sip of hot coffee. Then I return to the computer and find the page is now responsive. I set my coffee mug down and stare at the screen. I know I accessed the website for a reason, unfortunately, during the wait time the reason slipped my mind. Wearily I shake my head.

Mundane Monday: Writing reviews and laundry

I am taking a few minutes between reading and reviewing on writing.com and doing laundry. Laundry is one of the things that I can accomplish while doing something else. This is why I like having a working washing machine in the house.

Since I do not have a laptop or tablet computer, when I read and review or do anything else I have to be at home. I probably need to get a laptop or some type of tablet computer, so that I am not stuck at home. All though, since most of what I do when I leave the house is grocery shopping, doctor’s appointments, and paying bills; I am not sure that a portable computer will do me any good. The only places I could use a tablet computer would be the doctor’s office and since I usually do not have to wait, long to see the doctor buy a tablet computer may not help me when I work online.

I live in Las Vegas. It gets too hot in summer to leave a computer or any other technical equipment in the car. I could not take the computer or tablet with me when I go to the grocery story or pay bills. I think I just talked myself out of a tablet computer. I am going to post this now and get back to reviewing.

Fear of Friday the Thirteenth

It is Friday, April 13, 2012. Friday the thirteenth, for anyone with friggatriskaidekaphobia, is dreaded day of the year because it bodes bad luck. Friggatriskaidekaphobia, is fear of Friday the Thirteenth, I comes from a combination of the name Frigga, the Norse goddess after which Friday is named, and triskaidekaphobia, fear of thirteen.

Another word fear of this day is paraskevidekatriaphobia, which is a combination of two Greek words. The first is Paraskevi, which means Friday, and the second is dekatreis, for thirteen. The phobia in both friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia means fear.

One of the intriguing facts about 2012 is three occurrences of Friday the Thirteenth. Those “fearful” days fall on January 13, April 13, and July 13. Another interesting fact about Friday the Thirteenth is that it always falls in months that begin with a Sunday.

Exquisite Beauty

Exquisite beauty

The aroma of the rose

A pleasant fragrance

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Midweek Reflections: Hump day at last

Wednesday at last, I know under normal conditions that this would be a “Thank God It’s Friday” entry; however, I am not dealing with normal conditions. The truth is I have not been dealing with normal conditions for a long time. It has been so long since I encountered “normal conditions” (or at least my definition of normal conditions) that I do not think such a thing exits any more.

I have been so tense, or perhaps I should say worried, that when Mom’s P.A. broke a cup while washing dishes I almost cried. That is not a normal reaction to a cup breaking. True, it was one of my favorite cups, but that is still no reason to cry. Then there is the fact that I forgot to order my pain medication yesterday so that I could pick it up today after going to the wound hospital.

I did take an empty bottle with me, but it was not the pain medication. I had to wait until I came back home and then call the prescription in. I will pick it up tomorrow after I see my mechanic. I was stressing over how much the car will cost, until I realized that it does not matter because I have to have the work done and it may cost more if I wait.

Hump day at last, perhaps the rest of the week will go better. If it does not, then I will have a good poem or story idea.

Mundane Monday: Another Wind event expected in Las Vegas

I am not exactly sure what the meteorologist meant my wind event. We have had several wind events over the past few weeks. Sometimes the wind gusted as fast as 25 miles per hour. Every time the wind blows, I get nervous. Fortunately, it has not blown down the pine tree in my front yard. One of the wind events did blow a dead limb off that tree.

I have to find the money to get that tree cut down before one of our wind events takes it out. The wind here can blow fast, sometimes we get gust blowing at 40 miles per hour. When those wind gust happen trees fall, which is why I get nervous.

The pine tree does not look healthy. It leas toward the street, it is not planted close to the curb, but it is a tall tree. I know it will cost between $800.00 and $1,000.00 to get the tree cut down. That is a lot of money to come up with all at once, especially with mortgage payments, power bills, water bills (which is going up this year), and gas prices. I will just have to figure out something. In the mean time, I am going to say prayers for protection.

A sweet chocolate treat on Easter Sunday

Solid chocolate

A sweet Easter Sunday treat

Eat the bunny’s ears

A chocolate lover always eats the chocolate Easter bunny’s ears first. The reason for this is that there is more chocolate in the ears. That makes sense to me.

Happy Easter

Another technology is wonder when it works entry

My virus scan is set to run at 11:36 PM, usually put the computer into hibernation and I go to bed before that. However, for the past couple of nights I have been going to bed later then usual. The virus scan has begun to run, but the computer has automatically gone into hibernation before the scan completed.

As a result, the scan continued after I turned the computer on the next morning. I checked the scan report the next day and it reveal that it took virus scan 9 hours to run. I’m not very happy about that. Tonight, I’m going to say up and see why the program is doing this. I just updated that program from the 2011 to the 2012 version.

Because the scan takes so long to run it cuts into my morning computer time. It’s difficult enough to get anything done online when my computer is normally slow. The CPU slows down even more when I attempt to work while the virus detection program is running.

I’m considering contacting my internet provider and see if I can subscribe to their virus detection program. It can’t add too much more to the monthly bill. The more I think about that option the better it looks.

The noise of the wind ~ A poem

Wind fingers the mail slot

on the security screen

sounds as if someone

is knocking at my door.

Patience and a leg wound in Las Vegas

My left leg bandaged

Waiting for the wound to heal

Patience a virtue

I went to see the wound doctor today and I have to have the bandage on another two weeks. I go back next Wednesday to have the bandage changed and the week after that to see the doctor. I bought some tall kitchen plastic trash bags to cover the leg to prevent the bandages from getting wet.

Pittsburgh Penguins the Consol Energy Center

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Night in Las Vegas

Night intensifies

The noise in my neighbor’s yard

A dog is barking

Last night every noise in my neighborhood seemed louder then normal. Sometime it sounded like the noise was in my own yard. Tonight there are no unusual or loud noises. I don’t know what was going on last night since I didn’t want to go out and investigate.

Silence comforting

A car door carefully shut

No barking tonight

Carmelo Anthony refuels with chocolate milk

After a tough game, Carmelo Anthony refuels with lowfat chocolate milk. After watching this video, I want a glass or two of lowfat chocolate milk. Click on the video below and see what you think.

Mundane Monday: April wind in Las Vegas

March is usually associated with wind, but this year April began with high winds. The wind began blowing either Friday, Mach 30, or Saturday, March 31, it is still blowing all though not as hard as it was two or three days ago. The wind reached about 40 miles per hour in some sections of Las Vegas.

I remember hearing the wind Saturday evening. It sounded strong and it carried all sorts of noises. I heard the wind blowing my patio door open and closed. I also heard music, somewhere there was a party going on and the wind carried the party noises all over the neighborhood. The wind blew so hard that I though it would take out the pine tree. I felt relived the next morning to find the pine tree, minus a few branches, still standing.

The wind is not blowing as hard as is it was, but it is still moving the branches of trees and scattering trash across everyone’s yards. I looked out the kitchen window earlier and saw a plastic trash bag snagged in one of the oleanders. I will have to get it out of the limbs, but I am not sure how. It is higher then I can reach, so I will have to use the latter or find something to hook it. I am not looking forward to getting up on the latter, at least not while my right leg is still bandaged.

Plastic grocery bag

Caught in oleander bush

White flag in the wind

The wind blew all night in Las Vegas

Howling singing wind

Over forty miles per hour

A chilly morning

The wind blew all night. The wind howled and somewhere in the neighborhood people partied because I could hear, music and singing carried on the wind. The wound of the wind and the music invaded my dreams, which made them more thought provoking then usual.

I usually have intriguing dreams. On rare occasions, I have nightmares. Last night my dreams echoed the wind and the music. I cannot remember the entire dream, but I do know that my Grandfathers were in the dream. Normally, only my Grandpa Newland is in my dreams, because I have memories of him.

However, last night my Grandpa Darbe was in the dream. I do not have any childhood memories of this grandfather, which is why he usually does not appear in my dreams. I simply know the other older man in my dream was my father’s father. Sometimes you just know these things and have to accept the dream.

They stood side by side

As the wind howled through my dream

Smiling comforting

Poetry form of the week: Cameo a 7-line unrhymed poem

Coffee

On a cold morning

Warming the cockles of my soul

Wakes me up

My Grandfather’s favorite brand

A rich Columbian blend

Tasty

A Cameo is an unrhymed 7-line poem, with a syllable structure of 2, 5, 8, 3, 8, 7, 2.

For another example of this form, see Cameo Turtles by Nancy Lee Shrader.