Thanksgiving: Gratitude’s Holiday

This is gratitude’s holiday
a day to count our blessings
and give thanks for the joys we have received.

This is gratitude’s holiday
the day each year
we remember
the gifts that life has given us.

This is gratitude’s holiday
so give thanks
for the gift of life.

Monday of Thanksgiving Week

It’s Monday of Thanksgiving week and even though I did not make many blog entries, I did write. I worked on my NaNoWriMo novel. I also took care of Mom. On the weekend, I have no one to help me, so I have to do everything by myself. It is always tiring, but this last weekend was especially tiring.

On Saturday and Sunday, Mom wanted to get out of the wheelchair. I understand why she wants to get out, but if she gets out by herself, she will fall. I have to help her and Mom does not want anyone to help she wants to do it herself. On Sunday, Mom expected someone to come to the house and pick her up. I do not know where she planned to go, I am not sure Mom knew. She finally calmed down and went to bed.

This week Mom will be home Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I am not sure what we are going to eat for the Thanksgiving Feast, probably canned chicken and canned veggies with a gelatin desert or a cake, probably without frosting. I will know more about what we are having on Wednesday. Right now, I just tired and cannot focus on more then a few things at a time. Perhaps I will write a Thanksgiving poem or story and post it in this blog.

Star in your personal Vienna tour

Star in your personal Vienna tour and win a trip for yourself and three of your friends. First, you upload your picture. Second, enter your name. Soon you will take a personal tour of Vienna in your personal video. Click on the video below to see how it works.

Haibun-Haiku: Autumn birds

in the day’s first light
a bird serenades the sun
warming morning’s air

This morning, when I went out to pick up the newspaper I heard a bird singing. I am not sure what species of bird because I did not see it. It could have been a sparrow or a nightingale. The bird nested in the pine tree that grows in my front yard. The bird continued to sing until dawn and then it moved to my back yard, where it sing while I heated water for Mom’s bath.

Haibun-Haiku: Bean Soup Weather

chill in the night air
announces winter is here
this is soup weather

The nights have turned chilly. It is time for soup, so this evening I put red beans in the slow cooker. I will soak the beans over night and in the morning plug the cooker in. While the beans are cooking, I will add the honey baked ham bone I have in the freezer.

When my grandmother made red beans, she always used pigs’ feet or ham hocks to season the beans. I prefer seasoning my beans with honey baked ham because it gives the beans a slightly sweet flavor. I have not decided whether to freeze part of the beans or just eat them for the rest of the week. Since there are only two of us in the house, I should freeze part of the beans; I will make that decision tomorrow.

NaNoWriMo Update: Days one to ten

Words written so far this month

Day 1: November 1, 2012 word count = 1,685
Day 2: November 2, 2012 word count = 1,701
Day 3: November 3, 2012 word count = 1,722
Day 4: November 4, 2012 word count = 1,691
Day 5: November 5, 2012 word count = 1,706
Day 6: November 6, 2012 word count = 1,676
Day 7: November 7, 2012 word count = 1,722
Day 8: November 8, 2012 word count = 1,695
Day 9: November 9, 2012 word count = 1,680 Day
10: November 10, 2012 word count = 1,728

Total Word count = 17,006

Haibun-Haiku: Late Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas

sunset transform clouds
the gray afternoon becomes
a fiery evening

All afternoon the clouds were light gray, gray, or whitish-gray. Sunset has transformed them into orange fire. I look out my living room window and watch the orange deepen to reddish-orange as the sunset.

All day the temperature has been cool. When I went outside, I had to wear a long sleeved dress to keep my arms warm. Even in the house, it felt chilly, but the indoor temperature remained at 72 degrees without the heat coming on. The heat has just come on, so it is getting cooler.

scarlet evening clouds
precede the long desert night
colder temperatures

Happy Birthday Bram Stoker

Today is Bram Stoker’s 165th birthday. Mr. Stoker wrote “Dracula” and defined the vampire genre for a century. Bram Stoker’s book inspired several movie makes to produce films about Count Dracula, who Stoker based on a real person in history. He also inspired several authors to write about vampires.

Bram Stoker was born on November 8, 1847 in Dublin, Ireland. He died of a stroke on April 20, 1912. Celebrate Mr. Stoker’s birthday by reading one of his books, writing a story, writing a poem, or seeing a movie about a vampire.

Haibun-Haiku: Beauty reflected in Las Vegas

beauty reflected
morning star precedes daybreak
Las Vegas awakes

I saw the morning star again today when I went out to pick up the paper. The sky was slowing turning from silk black the cloud white, all though I did not yet know yet if it was cloudy or just the color of the sky preceding the dawn.

As I write this, I look out my window and watch as the rising sun turns clouds pink. I can now see that it is partly cloudy, I do not think we will have rain. The clouds are not rain clouds; they are just the ordinary clouds that float across the desert’s blue sky this time of year.

the pinkish-white clouds
announce arrival of dawn
a new day begins

Toot Your Horn Tuesday: Accomplishments so far in November 2012

This is toot your horn Tuesday, so here are a few of the things I have accomplish so far in November.

NaNoWriMo Day 1 word count = 1,676

NaNoWriMo Day 2 word count = 1,695

NaNoWriMo Day 3 word count = 1,712

NaNoWriMo Day 4 word count = 1,684

NaNoWriMo Day 5 word count = 1,697

Today, Tuesday, November 06, 2012, I went to the polls and voted.

Farming Frontier 2012 in Japan

Farming Frontier 2012 offers Japanese agriculture products and food to everyone who attends the event. Click on the video below to find out more about Farming Frontier 2012 in Japan.

Haibun-Haiku: Time falls back

autumn time falls back
the morning star shining bright
in the predawn sky

This morning, when I went out to pick up the paper I saw the morning star, a beautiful diamond in the black silk sky. Today the morning star was above the neighbor’s oak tree, so all I had to do to see it was stand in front of my garage. Normally, I have to look for it and move closer to the street or the fence because the tree branches hide the planet.

Daylight savings time ended on Sunday and time fell back. This morning, I realized that I had not set the clock on the coffee maker or the microwave back. I set the clock on the coffee maker back when I got up, I will deal with the clock on the microwave later today. The clock on the microwave is a bit more complicated to set then the one on the coffee maker. It always takes me two or three tries to get the microwave clock set properly.

Fortunately, I did not have to set the time on my cell phone, my computer, or the cable box. That is the wonderful thing about technology, it does the little stuff for you like setting the clock back when daylight savings time ends and forward when it begins. I can remember when I had to set four or five clocks back or forward in autumn or spring. It was a major project because I had to make sure I set every clock properly and then I always missed one.

Haibun-Haiku: In my backyard

crabgrass is growing
the pink oleander dead
white flowers in bloom

I stood in the kitchen, looking out the window, while waiting for the microwave to heat a mug of leftover coffee. I noticed the crabgrass green and growing, taking over my backyard. The pink oleander is dead, but the white oleanders are still blooming oblivious to the death of one of their garden mates. I also think that the red oleander is in the process of dying, at least one of its branches has turned brown and there are no flowers.

I have to find another yardman to remove the crabgrass and the dead oleander. I am not removing the other oleanders until they die. I have had living oleanders removed before, but they just come back. Weeds are like that no matter how much I pay to have them removed the keep coming back. I will have someone pull the crabgrass; however, I am letting the oleanders remain while they live, but if they die like the red one then I will have them removed.

I think this time I will consider hiring a professional gardener. I know it cost more then hiring the homeless men I have hired, but professionals are dependable. I am tired of having to look for a new yardman every year or every other year.

Happy NaNoWriMo 2012

It is November 1 and National Novel Writing Month has begun. It is time to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. Yes, it is possible to do this astounding feat. I am working on my first day's word count and have to make this a quick entry. I paused because I came to a stumbling block and thought that writing something different would help. I hope it works because I have a long way to go.

I know I can write the novel. The problem is getting started, but I think that happens when anyone begins a new project. I simply have to sit down and begin writing. Once I start writing then I get into a mind set and nothing can stop me. I am going to close this now by wishing everyone who is participating in NaNoWriMo 2012 good luck.