Driving in the rain in Las Vegas

wiper blades squeaking

raindrops striking my windshield

driving across town

When I left the house this morning the sky was cloudy, but there was no rain; at least on my side of town. I stopped at the ATM to withdraw some cash to pay a bill and then headed for the west side of Las Vegas. I drove west on Sahara, hoping I would get all the way to Durango without encountering rain.

About half way to my destination, it started to rain. I turned on my windshield wipers and realized I need to buy new wipers. I have not invested in windshield wipers for a couple of years. Fortunately, it did not rain hard or fast. My wipers worked OK under the circumstances; however, I need to buy new ones this Friday. Of course, by then the rain will have gone away and I will not use the windshield wipers for a couple of weeks or months. I am going to buy new wipers anyway.

I was lucky today. In some parts of Las Vegas, it rained harder and it flooded. In fact, we are still under a flash flood watch. Since I am not going any place tonight I can stay home and not worry about Las Vegas streets flooding. I am not planning on going out again until Thursday or Friday and then I will get new wiper blades and perhaps stop and pick up a pizza.

More the just Window Shopping in Las Vegas

I need to do more then just grocery and window shop in August. I need to purchase about a dozen new spoons. I do not want an entire sit of flatware because I have plenty of knives and forks, true there are several different patterns in the silverware drawer, but I have two-dozen individual knives and forks; it is the coffee spoons and the serving spoons I need to buy.

Since my flatware is all miss matched, the pattern of the spoons does not matter. The only thing that is important is the spoons themselves. If I am lucky, I thought I had about half-a-dozen spoons left, I cannot find that many. Therefore, in August I have to go to the dollar store to buy spoons. However, spoons are not the only items I have to buy.

I have to either fix or get someone to fix the toilet stool seat. I guess I need to take a picture of the toilet seat I have to fix and then go to the hardware store for advice. The seat cannot be that difficult to fix; at least, I hope it is easy to repair. That is all I can think of now, but I know I have other things to buy, so as they come to mind I will put them on the list.

Midweek Reflections: On Summer in Las Vegas

It is Wednesday. It is summer. In Las Vegas, the temperature depends on whether or not we have clouds and monsoonal moisture. We have had several triple digit days and we can look forward to many more before fall arrives.

Las Vegas summers

Triple digit temperatures

Blow dryer effect

Triple digit temperatures mean that when we do get wind then we deal with the blow dryer effect. There is also the possibility of monsoonal moisture and high humidity. We have had high humidity for a few days this summer. When the humidity rises, then clouds blow in and temperatures fall into the double digits. This makes going outside nice for a little while.

When you go outside

Always carry cool water

It helps in summer

When you go outside a cool house, always carry a bottle of cold water. It helps keep you cool and it gives your body important liquids. In Las Vegas, a person has to be watchful of dehydration. If you carry water with you at all times you can take sips of the water whenever you want and you will not become dehydrated.

Las Vegas summer

Water is necessary

Carry it with you

Leftover Coffee for Wednesday

Leftover coffee

Waiting for me to reheat

Maybe on Wednesday

I made fresh coffee yesterday and drink the entire carafe. I made fresh coffee today and drink about half a carafe, so on Wednesday I will drink leftover coffee. This is about normal lately; I make a 12-cup carafe full and drink only about half of it. Sometimes less then half, but I am not going to waste coffee by pouring it down the drain.

Coffee reheated in a microwave tastes all right. It is not fresh, but it taste good. If I want ice coffee rather then hot coffee it is easier to make with leftover coffee because all I have to do is add the ice and whatever else I want in my ice coffee. I do not drink very much ice coffee, but the days are getting warmer so I will start drink a glass or two every few days.

What else can I do with leftover coffee? I suppose I could use it as an ingredient in a recipe. I will have to check the web to see if there are any recipes requiring coffee. The temperatures are rising in Las Vegas, going into the triple digits and hot coffee does not cool me down like ice coffee. When I make ice coffee, I usually put milk in, but when I drink hot coffee I seldom add anything except chocolate.

A Cloudy Day in Las Vegas

The clouds are gathering. Dark charcoal gray rain clouds cover the sky and conceal the sun. In the distance, thunder grumbles promising rain. It is cooler this afternoon then this morning when I went out to pick up the Las Vegas Review Journal. Somewhere in Las Vegas, it will rain today.

I would like to see rain in my neighborhood. The only time the oleanders and trees in my yard receive water is when it rains. I enjoy sitting in the living room and watching the rain. My car is in the garage so I do not have to worry about the car windows being opened or closed when it rains.

I rolled the windows in my car up when I drove it into the garage on Saturday. I always remember to roll my windows up when I park my car in the garage. My problem is rolling them up when I leave the car parked in the driveway. I do not know why I am so careful about rolling the car windows up when the car is in the garage and not the driveway.

charcoal gray rainclouds

cools down the triple digits

a nice summer day

I cannot focus on writing

It is Sunday afternoon and I cannot focus on writing. This morning my virus detection program took over six hours to check my system and found no threats or warnings. I spent the time doing housework, cooking, and getting Mom out of bed. Once I got Mom out of bed, fed, dishes washed, and the trash taken out then the virus scan completed its scan.

The virus scan did not end my problems with technology. It took another three hours to figure out why I could not get online and that taken care of. By the time I finished that, it was time to eat again and we eat or at least Mom eat; I am was not longer hunger for anything. I am still not hunger, so I probably will not eat anything the rest of the day; however, I do have to get Mom something to eat because it is about 3:00 PM and time to give her another pill.

This may be my last weekend blog entry; I am seriously considering going to weekday blog entries only. If I do that it will make weekends less stressful because I will not have to worry about making an entry in this blog. The down side is that it will make accomplishing my daily word count goal more difficult, especially on the weekends. However, I cannot see any other solution. I am under stress and I cannot think. I am tired. I would like a short nap, but that is out of the question.

Friday was my day without the Internet

Friday, July 20, was my day without the Internet because when I returned from the grocery store I was too tired to write anything. I went to the store about 10:00 or 10:30 am and returned home about 11:30 or 12:00 pm. When I returned home, I put everything away and then sit down on the couch to rest. I turned on the T.V. and dozed off. Going to the grocery store took more out of me then what I thought.

Eat a little food

Before any shopping trip

For some energy

I think the problem was that I did not eat anything before going to the store. Therefore, the next time I eat something, even if I have to stop at a restaurant or a fast food place. If I have a day without the internet next week, it will be on either Saturday or Sunday. It is better for me to take one of those days off then a weekday. Sometimes it stretches me to work online and drive in triple digit temperatures, but if I prepare before going out of the house there usually is not problem. Friday I did not prepare by eating something and taking some water with me.

The multitasking writer

It is easy for me to multitask because I have a slow computer. It takes two or three minutes to save a document. Then an additional two or three minutes close and to retrieve another document. This gives me time to put clothes in the washer or fold clothes in a basket.

The speed of my computer is driving me nuts. The computer seems to slow down for no apparent reason and I know there is a reason for it slowing down. The technology issues I have dealt with this week are frustrating and irritating. It wears me out just thinking about everything.

I am tired. I want to give up. However, instead of giving up, I get up from the computer and do something else for a little while. I do something physical like carrying the trash and recyclables to the garage. I also do laundry, wash dishes, sweep and mop floors. The problem is there are just so many floors I can sweep or mop. I do not get an entire floor swept or mopped before going back to the computer to work and become frustrated.

I think I will try to clean the hard drive off this coming week. Most of the stuff on my hard drive I can either move to another disk, print, or discard. Doing those things might help speed up the computer. Of course, there is no guarantee of that, but it is worth a try. I will still be a multitasking writer, but at least I will be doing something that might help increase my computer’s speed.

Technological Issues: 10 hours to run a virus scan

It took over ten hours for the virus scan to check my computer system today. The scan began at 4:45 AM and ended sometime after 3:00 PM. I would say that I am irritated, but I think that is an understatement. As a result, I am behind on today’s writing and word count goal. I am behind on several projects because of the time it to the program to inform me that it found no threats and no warnings.

There is, of course, a bright side to this. It is true that technical issue has an unseen benefit; you sometimes have to look for that lining. The unseen benefit here is that I got the fabric soften dispenser in my washing machine cleaned out. It looks nice without the fabric softer gunk in it. I still have the washing machine tub to do a bit more cleaning; however, since the virus scan seems to take longer everyday, I might get the washing machine tub finished tomorrow.

All right, my sense of humor is a bit weird tonight. That is because it took ten hours for the virus scan to check my computer system. I am not a happy writer right now. I am not happy with my computer system (I think I need to upgrade it). I am not happy with the virus detection program I have; therefore, I have to do some research by contacting my internet service provider to see it they have a firewall and virus detection program. Then figure out how much it will add to the cost and if I have enough room on my system to download it.

Writing in Recovery

I hate being sick because the only thing I want to do is sleep. I was sick late Saturday afternoon or early evening, all day on Sunday, and this (Monday) morning. When I am sick, I cannot sit in front of a computer for very long. When I am sick I do only what is essential. What I did Sunday was feed Mom and take her to the bathroom. I did not fix myself anything to eat Sunday, which means I did not take my pain pills. Late Sunday, after I got Mom to bed and took a short nap, I finished the writing.com fantasy newsletter late Sunday evening.

This morning I completed the entries for the July follow the leader blog challenge. That was as far as I got this morning before falling asleep at the computer and falling off my chair. I need to get a chair with arms to place in front of the computer. At least then, if I do fall asleep I will not fall off the chair. However, as you can read I am fine or I think I am all right. I have not checked for bruises yet and I do not think I want to check for bruises.

I am still a little weak because I did not eat Sunday and only ate a couple of hamburger patties this morning. I need to fix myself something to eat, but I do not know what. Maybe some dry cereal and milk or applesauce. Anyway, I am recovering nicely.

Why are you crying? A conversation with my Mother

I hear her crying. I go to her and ask, “Mom, why are you crying?”

“I don’t know!” She says and stops crying.

I would like to know why she is crying, but it does no good to ask because Mom does not know the reason she cries. Part of the cause is depressions. I know she swallowed the pill she gets for depression because I watched her put the pill in her mouth, drink the water, and swallow the pill. Another reason for her tears is Alzheimer’s disease.

Mom suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, but she does not realize that is the problem. Mom has short-term memory problems. Mom has anger issues. Mom is depressed. Mom takes medication for everything. The medication sometimes helps, especially with the agitation and anger issues. The medication slows the progress of the disease, but it does not cure it.

If Mom cries too much, then I have another pill I can give her that will help a bit, but when she takes it, she wants to sleep. Most of the time distracting her helps the tears.  Sometimes she will stop crying if I give her one of her stuffed toys or a doll. Sometimes giving her something to eat helps, the problem here is the calorie intake. Mom now weighs 140 lbs. and if she eats too much high calorie foods, she gains weight she does not need.

Then there is the issue with the high fiber foods, because she is on a low fiber diet. I have to watch her food intake to make sure that she eats a well balanced diet with out too many high fiber or high calorie foods. Watching is a balancing act and then there is the problem of getting her to drink more liquids. Then there are the tears and sometimes nothing will stop her from crying except medication.

It looks like rain in Las Vegas

the birds are singing

under a gray cloudy sky

will it rain again

It has already rained once in my neighborhood, all though I am not sure the small rain shower we got earlier today constitutes a shower. There are gray clouds covering the blue sky, I suspect the clouds are here to stay for a while. I have not had a chance to check the weather report yet, perhaps I need to do that later today and see what the meteorologist has to say about rain.

ESCADA SPORT spring/summer 2013 Fashion Show

Runway highlights from the spring/summer 2013 fashion show in Berlin. Check out the video to learn about Mercedes-Benz Fashion week in Berlin. After viewing these highlight I know I need an entirely new wardrobe. I love the hats and the colors.

Frightening Friday in Las Vegas

It is Friday, July 13, 2012, and it is supposed to be bad luck. It is the end of a workweek and the beginning of the weekend. It is Mom’s last day at the daycare center until Monday. I am staying home today, but not because Friday the Thirteenth is bad luck.

I am staying home because I am behind on housework (a normal condition) and writing assignments. I have to complete all of the writing before Monday; therefore, I expect to be up most of Friday and Saturday night. I might as well be working on something because I do not sleep very well any more. Keeping an ear out for Mom crying about something prevents a good night’s sleep.

Mirinda Carfrae 2010 Iron Man World Champion my After Part 4

What does Mirinda Carfrae do after she has completed her grueling training sessions for the day? She goes to the All Sports Recovery Club and drinks low fat chocolate milk. Check the video below to see how Mirinda Carfrae recovers from her training sessions.  

The Tracks of Raindrops in Las Vegas

my driveway is wet

raindrops leave track on cement

spatter car windows

When I took some recyclable out to the garage, I noticed the tracks of raindrops on my driveway. It didn’t rain very much, just enough to spatter car windows and leave tracks on cement. I hope it rains more because we need the rain in Las Vegas.

Mirinda Carfrae 2010 Iron Man World Champion my After Part 3

Mirinda Carfrae, the 2012 Iron Man World Champion, trains for Kona 2012. After her grueling training sessions, she refuels with low fat chocolate milk. Check the video below to watch her training sessions. I know that the next time I go out to eat I am going to order some chocolate milk.

Writing a Thankful Thursday Gratitude List

A thankful Thursday gratitude list usually consists of ten items. These can be anything from a cold glass of chocolate milk on a hot Las Vegas day to a new toaster oven. Sometimes I list the items without saying why I am grateful for those ten things. At other times, I make my gratitude list adding the reason I am grateful for those things. I like to make a gratitude list once a week because it gives me something look forward to besides paying bills and cleaning house.

Mirinda Carfrae 2010 Iron Man World Champion my After Part 2

Mirinda Carfrae’s reveals her training for Kona 2012. Click on the video below and watch what her training includes. After training, she refuels with low fat chocolate milk. Just watching Mirinda Carfrae train makes me want a glass or two of chocolate milk.

Today I am thankful for the cooler weather in Las Vegas

Clouds cover the sun

And the humidity rising

But cooler today

The clouds indicate rising humidity and cooler temperatures, at least this morning it did. I went to the gas station, the grocery store, and then came home. I bought everything I planned, so now I can relax until Monday without worrying about going to the store again.

I am thankful for

The cooler temperatures and

Clouds promising rain

Mirinda Carfrae 2010 Iron Man World Champion my After Part 1

Mirinda Carfrae’s triathlon training includes refueling with low fat chocolate milk after her taining. Mirinda Carfrae’s training also includes running, bicycling, and swimming. Check the video below to watch part 1 of Mirinda Carfrae’s training.

Midweek Reflections on writing and technical difficulties

It is Wednesday and I spent the morning dealing with technical difficulties, which makes writing difficult, but not impossible. Persistence is the secret of handling technical difficulties. Since my system runs slow as a frozen waterfall, I started keeping track of the issues two or three months ago.

I found that I am dealing with the same issues repeatedly. One of the issues is the virus scan, which normally takes about 40 minutes to run, even when it finds warning and threats. However, sometimes it takes between one to six hours to run. The cause of this is the computer going into hibernation when the scan has completed about 51% of the items it checks.

Another issue is the virtual memory. Several times a week and sometimes several times a day the messages “Windows – Virtual Memory Minimum Too Low” and the computer does something to increase the virtual memory. This is aggravating especially since other issues force me to restart the computer two or three times a day.

Today, when I turned the computer back on after turning it off, the system ran chkdsk. Whatever repairs the program made caused the system to run faster. I am not sure how long this will last, but I think that from now o n I will run the chkdsk myself about every 30 days or so. This may help some of the problems I am having with my system. I will continue to keep a record of the problems I am having because that is the only way to find a solution to the problem.

Another Excessive Heat Warning in Las Vegas

115 degrees

an excessive heat warning

two days in a row

I think the meteorologist said the temperature was pushing 115 degrees today. Yesterday the temperature rose to 113 or 114 degrees, which meant another excessive heat warning in Las Vegas. Any time the temperatures get above 110 degrees, we get excessive heat warnings.

I drove in the excessive heat yesterday and I can testify that it was excruciating. However, I had a chance to do something I don’t often get to do, so I took the opportunity. I’m remaining in the house today and I may stay home tomorrow and go out on Thursday and Friday. According to the meteorologist, there is another excessive heat warning for Wednesday and then we can expect a cool down. I will see how I feel on Wednesday morning.

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Technical difficulties and writing goals

A stressful morning went into the afternoon. This was “Technical Difficulties Friday” so it is a good thing today is not Friday the Thirteenth. Next Friday it July 13 and hopefully I will have fewer technical problems then today.

The main issue today was nonresponsive plug-ins, specifically Shockwave Flash, which gave me the most difficulty this morning. There were other issues as well, mostly nonresponsive websites and programs. I know that part of the issue is “Virtual Memory”, but that, like the Shockwave Flash plug-in, is not the only issue.

I have to reboot several times this morning and this afternoon. The programs just seemed to freeze up for no particular reason. I do not think it is a virus or spyware issue because I do a scan everyday and most of the time nothing shows up. The problem is that the technical difficulties interfered with writing and that interfered with accomplishing my writing goals.

Fortunately, I can stay up a bit later to night then normal. Tomorrow is Saturday and Mom will be at home all day. Since Mom is here all day, I will not leave the house, which means I can stay up and write tonight. As long as I am up by 5:30 AM everything should work out. I have to make sure I get the trash to the curb by 6:00 AM.

Happy Independence Day

a cloudy morning

winds blew into Las Vegas

cooler temperature

It was windy and, I thought, cold this morning. It was cooler then normal with clouds and moister. It rained in some parts of Las Vegas; however, my neighborhood did not receive rain. It rained only about 0.03 inches, which was not enough to put a damper on the fireworks displays this evening.

It will be a nice 4^th of July. It was a nice day for Mom and I. We ate hotdogs (all beef), watermelon, mustard potato salad, cherry berry pie and ice cream. Mom had a difficult morning, but her mood changed about noon and then again about 3:00 PM. I think part of the problem was Mom missing her parents. I wished Mom a Happy 4^th of July this morning and then we watched a little television. Overall, it was a nice day. It was a Happy Independence Day.

partly cloudy sky

the wind no longer blowing

fireworks for tonight

Samsung Series 9 Monitor for Tech Geeks

The better-then-HD picture quality makes the Samsung Series 9 Monitor the dream of anyone wanting the latest technology. The Series 9 Monitor has a 27-inch screen, built-in stereo speakers, and accurate color presentation. It is perfect for viewing online videos. I am sure this is the monitor for me. Click on the video below and see what you think.

Let it rain in Las Vegas

My garage is clean

Let it rain in Las Vegas

My car won’t get wet

It has been about 63 days more or less since we had rain in Las Vegas. It is July and monsoon season, the monsoonal moister will soon arrive bringing rain and thunderstorms. In addition, the streets will flood and people will drive through water when they should go around. This is something one learns to expect and live with in Las Vegas.

Samsung Series 9 Monitor for Photographers

The Samsung Series 9 Monitor is the monitor photographers dream about. It has everything a photographer could want. The Samsung Series 9 Monitor is professionally color-calibrated. It has a built-in calibration engine and accurate color. Click on the video below and see what you think about this beautiful monitor. I know I want one.

Monsoonal Moister in Las Vegas

It is July and the monsoonal moister will soon bring thunderstorms and rain. When I watched the news this afternoon, the meteorologist predicted a change a thunderstorms on Thursday or Friday. I believe he said we had a 30% chance of rain somewhere in Las Vegas, he just did not say which section of Las Vegas. It can rain in the north part of the city and not in the south section. The same goes for the east and west sides of Las Vegas.

Monsoonal moister

When it rains in the desert

It usually floods

Samsung Series 9 Monitor for Movie Fanatics

The Samsung Series 9 Monitor has everything movie fanatics want. It has an adjustable stand that allows the user to create a cinema set up, multi-media capabilities, a multitude of color settings, and a 178-inch viewing angle. After watching the video below I know I need a new monitor. Take a look and see what you think.

The beginning of the week and the beginning of the month

The first of July

Another coincidence

A new week begins

An interest fact about months that begin on Sunday ~ every month that begins on a Sunday has a Friday the thirteenth.

Beautiful Sunday

New beginning and new start

It is a good day

The first thing I need to do is play my Independence Day menu. Mom will be home that day, so I think we will have a traditional Fourth of July meal. I am planning to purchase hotdogs and hotdog buns, with sweet relish and mustard. I also plan to purchase a watermelon because when I was a child we always had a cold watermelon on Independence Day. I think I also want a cherry pie and potato salad.

July holidays

Independence Day fireworks

We plan to stay home

I think I will purchase an individual seedless watermelon. This type of melon is big enough for Mom and I to share without having any leftovers. I don’t mind having leftover hotdogs or hotdog buns, but I do not have room in the refrigerator for a huge watermelon. In addition, I do not want to freeze leftover watermelon, so Mom and I will each have half an individual watermelon for the Fourth of July.

Buy a cherry pie

Good memories from my childhood

Vanilla ice cream