Haibun-Haiku: Caught off Guard by the rain

a surprise rainstorm

early in the afternoon

it caught me off guard

I went into the grocery store to buy some hearing aid batteries about 12:30 PM. I spent about a half hour in the store, when I returned to my car I found it had rained. I left the window on the driver’s side down. Fortunately, the seat did not get very wet. Apparently, the rain did not last long.

I want to watch free TV online

I like to watch TV online especially late at night when I cannot sleep. When I begin watching a show, I like to finish watching the complete show. However, if lay down on the couch or in bed to watch I sometimes go to sleep before the show is over. If I sit down on the couch at night or in the daytime, I will go to sleep. If I sit at my computer, I will not go to sleep that is why I like to watch TV online.

I found a free television guide for Online TV. SPREETY TV online is easy to navigate, family friendly, and contains links to free TV shows online. SPREETY TV has links to any show I want to watch. SPREETY TV has a blog, which contains helpful information about the televisions shows that I may want to see.

SPREETY TV has links to Classic TV, TV Genres, TV Premieres, Popular TV, and Free Movies Online. I line Classic TV show because they bring back memories from my childhood. I like TV Genres because I enjoy science fiction and fantasy, as well as, TV shows about history, science, and spirituality. SPREETY TV also gives access to television sites. I am looking forward to watching my favorite shows online and finding new shows to watch.

Haibun-Haiku: A Las Vegas Afternoon

several scattered clouds

now decorate the blue sky

a hot afternoon

It is hot outside. I do not know how hot because I have not watched the news nor checked the weather online. I know its hot because it looks hot and feels hot when I go outside. When I look out the window, I see two or three white clouds. The clouds do not appear to be moving very fast or changing shape very much. A slight breeze moves the limbs on the neighbor’s trees.

Haibun-Haiku: Morning Star

Venus Morning Star

diamond in the predawn sky

a new day begins

This morning, when I went out to pick up the paper, I saw Venus again. Venus has been in the predawn sky for the several days now. Today saw Venus alone in the sky, with neither the moon nor another planet near. For the past few days, either the moon, another planet, both were in the sky with Venus. I am not sure whether the other planet was Jupiter or Saturn, I think it might have been Jupiter.

Funny Friday: Banter between Two Siblings

Brother: What day is it?

Sister: Friday, if it doesn’t rain.

Brother: What day will it be if it rains?

Sister: A rainy Friday.

I am not sure where I heard that, it could be a memory from my childhood because it sounds like the banter between one of my younger brothers and me. I hope it gives someone a laugh, I think people should laugh at least once a week.

Writing Exercise: A Rainy Wednesday in Las Vegas

It is a rainy Wednesday in Las Vegas. I hear thunder rumbling. I see lightning flashing. I watch rain falling from charcoal gray clouds. I watch a breeze moving the limbs of elms and pine trees.

This is not a good day to drive through the streets of Las Vegas. It is not a good day to walk through grocery store parking lots; however, I did both today. When I left the house at 8:30 AM, to go to Smith’s Food and Drug Store, it was cloudy, but not raining. When I arrived at the store, there was still no rain, so I took my time shopping.

When I left the store, it was raining. It was a continuous and gentle rain; unfortunately, I had left my umbrella in the car. I walked through the rain, unloaded my groceries, pushed the cart to a cart corral, and then returned to my car. As I drove home, I noticed that most drivers had the headlights turned and were driving carefully. I arrived home safely and unloaded my groceries.

Coffee, technology, and Housework

The coffee is hot

The washing machine has stopped

I would rather write

I have to find a place to hang up the towels, but I would rather sit at the computer sipping a cup of coffee and write. Writing is not easy this morning because my computer is extremely slow, which is aggravating. A cup of hot coffee helps because I can sip the coffee while I am waiting for my computer system to respond.

Throw in the towel

Just give up and clean the house

Better write at night

I wonder if the computer will be faster tonight. If I thought my system would speed up then I would wait until after dark to write. However, I do not think the time of day has much to do with how fast my system runs. I suspect I need to upgrade the technology.

Patience will pay off

I need to take a short break

Then back to writing

Writing Exercise: My Mother and me on Saturday ~ A Description

It is Saturday. I sit on the couch watching Mom doze. Her hair is white, with streaks of brown left over from her youth. She is sitting in a wheelchair with her head resting in her right hand and her right elbow on her right knee. Her feet are up on the couch because her legs are swollen. He doll is sitting on her left leg, its head resting against the left side of the wheelchair.

It is strange how things change as one grows older. When I was a child, Mom would never let us put our feet on the couch. Age and time has brought a reversal of rolls. Now that I am the mother and she is the daughter I let her put her feet on the couch. In fact, I place her feet on the couch myself and I lock the wheels of her chair, so that she cannot wander through the house.

There are dangers in the house for an Alzheimer’s patient. There are dangers in the kitchen. There are dangers in the bathroom. There are dangers in the bedroom. Therefore, wherever Mom goes in the house I go with her watching over her. I am the mother to my mother.

The Ballerina Stunt

Two Volvo trucks speed down a highway in Croatia with a woman walking on a line between them. The woman has to make it across the line before the Volvo FH trucks reach the tunnels ahead. Watch the video that demonstrates the handling power of the new Volvo FH. Click on the video below and watch the excitement of the ballerina walking on the line between two trucks.

Thankful Thursday: I answered the house phone

We have two phones, a cell phone and a landline. I normally do not answer the phone connected to landline. It is in the breakfast room, so unless I am in that room or the kitchen I cannot get to it before the caller hangs up or leaves a message.

This morning, I went into the breakfast room to pour myself another cup of coffee. The phone ring and I answered it. I am thankful I did because it was Big Brothers and Big Sisters requesting donations of clothing. There are many nice dresses, which no longer fit either my mother or me taking up closet space. Now I have some place for them to go and all I have to do is fold them up and put them in a box.

An empty closet

Now I can buy some new clothes

Gratitude abounds

Multimedia Church Sound Systems

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Haibun-Haiku: A Trip to the Car Wash

a clear blue morning

there is not a cloud in sight

time to wash the car

The sky was a beautiful cloudless blue this morning. The temperatures were in the upper 80s, so I went to have the car washed. It cost me only $6.00 and the machines, with some help from a human being, did a good job of getting the bird poop off my car. The car looks nice for a change.

Driving to the car wash was pleasant because there was no humidity and the temperatures were nice. It felt good to drive down the street with the window on the driver’s side down. The only problem I encountered concerned the seals on the driver’s side door; apparently, they don’t work as well as they did when the car was new.

As I sit in the car while it went through the wash, I felt water on my left arm and, since the window was up, the only explanation is the seals on the door. This probably explains why the driver’s seat gets wet when my car is park in the driveway during a rainstorm. I don’t think there is much I can do because I suspect it would cost more money then I’m willing to pay to fix the problem.

The Race Variant Prosthesis used in the Paralympics

C-Walk vs. C-Sprint: This is the walk of life an informative video, which illustrates the difference between a normal walking prosthesis and the race variant prosthesis that is used in the Paralympics. Click on the video below to see the difference between the C-Walk and the C-Sprint.

Haibun-Haiku: A Blue Monday morning in Las Vegas

a cloudless blue sky

cooler morning temperatures

the birds are singing

It is cooler today then on Friday. When I went out to pick up the newspaper, I heard birds singing. As I look out my living room window, I see a cloudless blue sky. It is a nice day in Las Vegas.

The race variant wheelchair is used in the Paralympics

Watch this informative video, which explains the difference between an ordinary wheelchair and the race variant wheelchair used in the Paralympics. Wheelchair vs. Basketball wheelchair is an illustrated video demonstrating the difference between a race variant wheelchair and an ordinary wheelchair. Click on the video below to watch.

Haibun-Haiku: Raindrops on concrete

lightening and thunder

raindrops falling on concrete

a refreshing sound

It rained last night. I sat in the living room watching the lightening. It lit up the sky, like flash bulbs at a family reunion. The thunder rumbled rolled across the Las Vegas valley like ocean waves. I listened to the raindrops striking the cement, because it rains so little in this area, at first I did not recognize the sound. The raindrops falling on the cement of my driveway sounded like bacon frying in an iron skillet.

Writing and meditating myself out of my rut

All right, I know that one usually climbs out of a rut, but when I get into one my writing suffers. I have been doing a good job of posting everyday, the problem is that sometimes I get the feeling that my writing becomes stale and uninteresting.

I feel this way because for the past couple of weeks I have had difficulty writing poems. Usually I write poem using several different forms, but lately I have found myself stuck in just one or two forms. Therefore, I will research and attempt to write in some new forms. In addition, I am setting aside time each night for prayer and meditation.

Normally, I pray and meditate in the morning. Then at noon, I say a short prayer and a prayer at night. Instead of saying just a prayer at night, I will meditate after I say the prayer. I used to do this all the time, but for some reason I stopped meditating at night.

Meditation time

Relaxes mind and body

Refreshes my soul

This should get me out of my rut and help me write. I can write much easier if I am relaxed and my mind refreshed. Prayer and meditation helps me to unstress.

Thankful Thursday August 9, 2012

It is Thankful Thursday and I know I need to find ten things or ten blessing I have encountered this week. Encountered, that is an odd word to use for blessings, but it fits my mood more then experienced. What am I thankful for this week?

I am thankful that I still have a working computer. My computer has been acting strange, acting up; I need to upgrade the technology. Despite the was it is acting, I still have a computer and I can still access the internet.

I am thankful for the cool indoor air. It is hot outside, today the temperature is supposed to get up to 112 degrees. This morning when I watch the news the meteorologist said there were heat extreme heat warning for Las Vegas.

I am thankful for my car. It is difficult to get around Las Vegas without a car; therefore, I am thankful I have one that works and enough money to put gas in the tank.

I am thankful that my garage is clean so that I can park my car in the garage instead of in the driveway.

I am thankful for the white thunderheads I see when I look out my living room window. They do not do much to cool the temperature, but they look pretty, so bright and fresh in the afternoon sun.

I am thankful that I just exceeded the word count goal for this blog. I am going to post this, even though I did not list ten items, and get me a cold drink of water.

Thunderheads in Las Vegas

bright white thunderheads

peek above my garage roof

will it rain today

This morning the sky was cloudless, but now as I look out my living room window I see thunderheads approaching from the west. The wind has begun to blow and the tree limbs are slowly waving. Since I did not look at the news this morning, I do not know what the meteorologist predicted for today.

Coming Soon an Ultrabook Race

The four challengers are Daniel, Anusha, Leon, and Mark and they are racing around the world for a $10,000 prize. Follow #Ultrabookrace for live updates. How far can your passport, social network, and an ultrabook get you? Click on the link below and find out more about the Intel Ultrabook race.

Writing Time: My virus detection program scan time interferes with my writing time

I used to write in the morning, but that has changed. Mom needs my full attention Monday through Friday between 8:00 and 8:30 AM and on Saturday or Sunday until I put her to bed around 5:00 or 5:30 PM. This makes writing difficult because I cannot focus my full attention on the writing at these times.

After Mom leaves for the daycare center then I have shopping and business to conduct outside the house, which means I do not get any writing accomplished until about 11:30 AM and sometimes later then that. Mom gets home between 3:00 and 3:30 PM, which means she needs my attention until she goes to bed.

Today, my virus detection program did not finish scanning my computer until about 12:00 PM. The program began scanning my computer about 11:36 PM on Sunday, August 5. Yesterday it took about three hours for it to scan my computer, which is longer then the 45 minutes to an hour it usually takes.

I am not a happy blogger or writer. I have a set amount of words to write each day. If the virus detection program takes longer to run then I have to stay up later to complete the word count goal. This means that sometimes I am writing half asleep, which is not a good idea because a computer is heavy equipment. I think my only solution is to change virus detection programs.

Haiku of the Day: Sunday, August 05, 2012

partly cloudy skies

temperature one hundred four

birds stay under trees

Funny Friday: Looking for a Laugh

Looking for a laugh

Something amusing online

Need to laugh each day

It is Friday and I am looking for a laugh. In my search for something to laugh about, I found the following website with both amusing and funny items. Check out the website and find something to laugh about because laughter is good for your health.

I Can Has Cheezburger?

Thankful Thursday: A Humming Bird Flies

a humming bird flies

at my living room window

does not hit the pane

Today I am thankful for the humming bird I saw flying at my living room window. It did not hit the pane, but flew close to it. I think it may have been flying toward the oleander bush at the side of the house when it saw it reflection. It flew away almost immediately, but I did get to see it, which is unusual for the time of day.

There are a lot of humming birds in Las Vegas, but I normally see them early in the morning or late in the evening. It did rain yesterday, so that may have had something to do with the humming bird being in this neighborhood today.

A good beginning to August 2012

Raindrops on concrete

The lights go out in the house

I sit in the dark

Despite the fact that the lights went out for a bit this morning, August started out nice. It rained and left puddles in my driveway, but the sun is out. The sun is peeping through scattered clouds and drying up the water.

I sit in the dark

Without cell phone or flashlight

The lights come back on

After the electricity came back on this morning, I found both of my flashlights and they work. I panicked when I realized I did not know where the flashlights were and my cell phone was on the charger. The flashlights were easy to find once the lights came on and I calmed down. One flashlight was in the breakfast room and the other in the living room.

The cold morning rain

And scattered afternoon clouds

August has begun