Sunday Speculations on June 2015

What will June bring into my life? Some of the things I know will happen in June are...

01. ...eating out with a friend on Monday, June 1.

02. ...picking up my eye drops prescription either on Monday, June 1, or Tuesday, June 2.

03. ...picking up my Senior Commodities allotment on Wednesday, June 3.

04. ...paying my rent online on Wednesday, June 3.

05. ...going to visit a friend at her home sometime between Friday, June 5, and Sunday, June 7.

06. ...going grocery shopping either on Tuesday, June 2, or Thursday, June 4. Probably on Tuesday if that's the day I pick up my prescription at Smith's.

07. ...a doctor's appointment either the second or third week in June. This depends on when the office gets my blood test results back and the doctor looks at it.

08. ...participating in writing activities on writing.com.

09. ...cleaning house to prepare to move sometime in July (I think). I'm supposed to be moving into a two-bedroom apartment with my sister. She officially semi-retires on July 1.

What else will June bring into my life? I'm looking forward to June to find out what other exciting things are going to occur.

Success Saturday: May 30, 2015

This week I experienced the following success events:

01. I completed one 700 plus word romance story and submitted to writing.com contest.

02. I completed one love poem written from the point of view of my grandmother to my grandfather. I submitted it to a writing.com contest.

03. I participated in and finished a weekend challenge on writing.com.

04. I survived the last week in May 2015 without running out of coffee.

05. I survived the month of May 2015 with $10.00 in cash in my purse. This is enough to purchase gas if I should go somewhere this weekend.

06. I woke up early enough every morning to witness the sun rise over Sunrise Mountain.

07. I did not fall asleep at my computer and drool on my key board this month.

08. I posted at least one Facebook status update everyday.

09. I accomplished my daily review goal on writing.com everyday.

10. I went to my doctor's office for my blood tests before I completely ran out of my prescription medication.

Thursday Thoughts on the Passing of Spring

Morning advances
the birds have stopped their singing
and the day heats up.

It's Thursday morning about 8:00 am. I'm sitting at my computer staring out the open door into a bright and cloudless May day. There is not wind to cool off the rising desert heat. The wind doesn't help much on hot summer days, but during the spring and fall it helps cool Las Vegas.

Summer is coming
triple digit temperatures:
I need more coffee.

I just checked the temperature on one of the local news websites. According to the meteorologist the temperature at 7:56 am was 79 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature is supposed to get up to about 96 degrees today, which means I will have to turn the cool air on sometime this afternoon.

Birds fly to their nest
returning home from hunting
another warm day.

Sunday, June 21, is the Summer Solstice. My sister and I are supposed to be moving into a two-bedroom apartment sometime in June. I'm not looking forward to moving in triple digit temperatures which are supposed to arrive this week end or early next week. However, it really doesn't matter whether I'm looking forward to moving or not (I've never liked moving any time of year) I will move because it's the best thing to do.

Tuesday's Tip: Ten Ways I Overcome Writer's Block

01. I open my front door each morning in order to hear the birds sing and the rooster crow. As most of you know, I live in a studio apartment in Las Vegas. You do not expect to find rooster in the city, however, I live in a section of town where someone has a rooster. He does his duty everyday at dawn and announces the rising sun.

02. I visit my doctors (yes, I have more then one doctor) at regular intervals. When I go I take a journal or a note pad and a pin so that I can write down any ideas I get. I also take note of any unusual things I see. After all I do live in Las Vegas were unusual thing happen all the time.

03. I make myself a fresh carafe of coffee every morning because cause coffee is one of my muse. I can wax poetic (excuse the cliché) about my love for coffee.

04. I take one or two small plastic grocery bags of trash to the dumpster in the alley everyday. I do this for three reasons (1) the trash has to go out every day or it pills up, (2) walking to the alley is good exercise, and (3) I get ideas for stories or poems from simply going outside for a little while each day.

05. When I receive a check, I go to the bank to deposit it rather then doing it over my phone. This gets me out of the house so that I can meet people (Las Vegas is full of intriguing people) and get ideas for characters.

06. I do my own grocery shopping. Going to the grocery store three or four times a month allows me to interact with people. It is amazing how friendly people are in the grocery store. I also have new experiences, just the other day I rode in one of the little electric shopping carts. This is an experience I can use in a story.

07. I wash dishes by hand. There is nothing more relaxing then standing at the sink with my hand in hot dishwater staring at the wall in front of me while I contemplate a story or poem. I even wrote a poem about washing dishes.

08. I take my clothes to the laundromat. The laundromat I go to has all the modern conveniences that a person could want. I do not have to carry quarters with me because the washers and the dryers take a special debit card. I just put fives or tens in the debit card machine and it gives me a card to use.

09. I take an afternoon nap every day about 12:30 or 1:00 pm. It is amazing what a little nap will do for my muse.

10. I pray and meditate every day.

Sunday Speculations: The Last Monday in May

The last Monday in May,
Memorial Day,
the day sit aside to honor
the sacrifices
of American soldiers.

On the last Monday in May
3:00 pm local time
is the National Moment of Remembrance,
the moment set aside
to breath a silent prayer,
or think about
those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Just a few thought on tomorrow's holiday. I remember my grandparents calling it Decoration Day as we drove across northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas placing flags or homemade paper flowers on the graves of family members who had served in the military. I remember commemorating Memorial Day on May 30 rather then on the last Monday in May.

Success Saturday: A Good Writing Week

I completed two short stories and a poem this week. The poem, Loving Las Vegas, mentioned some of the attractions off the Las Vegas strip. One of the short stories was a romance and the other was a spiritual story about transformation. I also found out that my sister will be moving to Las Vegas sometime around July 1, which means I have to get busy finding us a two bedroom apartment and getting ready to move.

Moving attitude
Take a hint from the sparrows
Who build a new nest each year

I can't say I'm looking forward to moving, but then I've never looked forward to moving anywhere. I enjoy driving and getting out of the house when I don't have to move anywhere. Since I intend to be ready to move by the end of June, I need to get started preparing for the move. I'm not sure where to start so I'll just pick a place and start.

Thursday Thoughts: Thankful Thursday Writing Interruptions

I should call this interruption Thursday instead of Thankful Thursday because I keep encountering interruptions to my writing. I am the one interrupting myself. This morning I was reviewing on writing.com, I interrupted the review to take out two bags of trash. My reasoning was logical, I needed to take the trash to the alley before it became too hot. Considering the wind and the nice spring temperature this morning that may not be true. If it remains cool the rest of the day I will consider taking another bag out this evening.

Taking the trash to the alley is not enjoyable, so maybe that is why I find ways to put it off. Writing is normally one of the ways I put off taking the trash out. That did not work this morning. In fact, putting off taking the trash out because I am writing may be come a thing of the past. I need to lose weight, so walking from my apartment to the alley is good exercise. I will use this as exercise for the rest of the week and then increase my walking.

Right now, I am encountering another potential writing interruption. I am sleepy. I am about to fall asleep at the keyboard, which is not a good idea. Because of the type of chair I use when I type there a good chance I will fall off if I go to sleep while typing. Therefore, I think I will post this, finish my breakfast dishes, and take a nap.

Tuesday's Tip: Do Not Attempt to Write When You are Tired

A person shouldn't attempt to write anything when he or she is tired. This seems obvious, but it isn't because people do this all the time. Write, like driving a car, is something that should be done when you are rested and awake. I know expect this advice to be ignored because people ignore advice about driving cars when they are tired.

I went to the laundromat this morning. I returned home about 1:00 pm and managed to push the cart with my clean clothes back into the house. I should have left the clothes in the car until I was rested, but I knew that if I didn't take them in today they would not get in the house until tomorrow. The clothes are still in my cart waiting for me to find a place to put them. The problem is finding a place for them in this studio apartment.

When I returned home, I ate some watermelon. That helped a little, at least it gave me enough energy to review and write. I'm not su re how much more I will accomplish today. I know I have to do the dishes, but I'm not taking the trash out until morning because I have to lug it to the alley and I'm just too tired to walk back that way again today.

In the laundromat
the washers and the dryers
use debit cards and not coins.

 

Monday Motivation: Coffee and Writing Motivation

A strong cup of joe
Unadorned with anything
Sipped from a white cup.

The best motivation for writing on Monday, or any other day of the week, is coffee. Strong, hot, black, and smooth coffee. It does not matter if you call it joe or java. It does not matter if you drink out of the same cup everyday or have a different cup for each day of the week. It does not matter if you wash your cup everyday or just once a month. These things do not affect the taste or enjoyment of the coffee itself.

On Sunday I washed
My favorite white cup
For the first time this month

I confess! I wash my cup either once every nineteen days or every thirty days. It is my coffee cup and I am the only person using it. It does not matter how often I wash the cup. Washing my coffee cup everyday is not a priority. Washing the other dirty dishes is a daily priority because it is sort of like taking medication.

As I sip coffee
I listen to the birds
Writing motivation.

I do not drink decaf! I attempt to avoid instant coffee. I have a small jar of instant coffee in the freezer. I keep the instant coffee as my second emergency backup. I also have a package of whole bean coffee in the freezer. The whole bean coffee is my first emergency backup. I keep two emergency coffee backup because I do not intend to wake up some Monday morning and find I have inadvertently ran out of coffee.

How often do you eat with your family?

How often do you eat with your family? Food is better when you eat it together. Click on the video below and then click on #IKEAtemporary.

Success Saturday: I finished Short Story

I finished a short story today. I have worked on this story all week and today I finally finished it. The final word count is 8,116. The story is a romance crime story. I know there are people out there that think all romances are crimes; however, I am not one of those people. When I started writing the story on Sunday, May 10, I just started writing. I wrote the story letting my subconscious or the characters move the story forward depending on your point of view.

I found out long ago, after much trial and error, that I cannot plan a story. If I am going to write a story and finish it then I just have to write. I begins with the idea for a character, usually a female, and then let the words fall where they may. Now that the story is finished, I have to edit it. I am going to let the editing on this story wait a couple of weeks. While I was writing this story I got a couple of ideas for poems which I can now work on until I start another romance story on next week.

Wednesday Word: Tomatoes

Beautiful red fruit
Adorn dark green vines waiting
For me to eat them

This morning, I went to pick up some food at one of the food banks here in Las Vegas. One of the things they gave me was tomatoes still on the vine. When I came home I took some chicken out of the freezer and made soup. This afternoon, for my lunch I ate a piece of chicken with a couple of tomatoes. I love to eat tomatoes right off the vine, when I was a child one of the items my grandparents grew were tomatoes. When the fruit was ripe we would pick them, cut them up, put a little salt and pepper on them, and eat them that way. I also like fresh tomatoes in salad.

An editable fruit
tomatoes go with lettuce
in my green salad.

When I was growing up, I thought that tomatoes were a vegetable rather then a fruit. Maybe it was because my mother and my grandmother always put tomatoes in our salads. When I went grocery shopping with my grandparents we always found the tomatoes with vegetable rather then with the fruit. The only problem I have today when I eat uncooked tomatoes is the desire to put salt on them, which I am attempting to resist. I have taken the excess salt out of my diet as a results I do not purchase salt when I go to the store. I try to use other spices or use chips to put in soup when I eat it.

Tuesday's Tip: Coffee and Peanut Butter

What, you may ask, does coffee and peanut butter have to do with writing? My answer is that both of them help me write. Coffee helps wake me up while peanut butter, eaten directly from the jar, makes a quick breakfast. I don't know about anyone else, but I cannot write on an empty stomach. I can struggle through writing with an uncaffeinated mind and body; it is not easy, but I can do it for short periods of time. However, I have difficulty focusing on writing when my stomach is growling.

I eat peanut butter directly from the jar because I have to cut down on my bread consumption. I decided that i would rather have a turkey burger sandwich then a peanut butter sandwich. I am not sure why, but eating a turkey burger without out bread and hot mustard is difficult. On the other hand, eating peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly without bread is no problem. This is my opinion and I sure that other people have their own opinions on this subject.

Sunday Speculations: Another Mother's Day Without Mama - A Mother's Day Poem

Another Mother's Day
without Mama.

It's the third one
in a row
and it hasn't
gotten any easier.

Memories -
starfish upon the beach -
flow into my mind,
my tears fall,
and I whisper a prayer
for the progress of her soul.

I contemplate
the grave
that contains
her mortal remains...

A vision enters my mind
of Mama
and grandma
walking in paradise
beneath the Tree of Life.

Success Saturday: A successful writing week

It is the end of a successful writing week. I completed a 5,000 plus short story and a Mother's Day poem. I am rewarding myself today by doing on of my favorite things. I am eating lettuce unadorned. I plan on adding some chicken and salad dressing latter to make a chicken salad, but right now it is just the lettuce without salad dressing of anything else. I has been a long time since I ate lettuce this way. I love the natural sweetness of the lettuce and the way it crunches between my teeth.

Unadorned lettuce
Saturday afternoon snack
The crunch when I chew

I also put all the bottled water and ginger ale I purchased in the refrigerator. I put it in the top shelf so that it would be easy to reach without bending down. The next thing I have to do is the second shelf which is the one I use for canned fruit. I prefer my canned fruit to be cold when I open it especially in spring and summer because it makes good afternoon snack. Maybe I will try some of the fruit with the lettuce tomorrow.

Cold fruit on lettuce
A healthy alternative
On warm afternoons

I am learning to eat healthy snacks while I write. I used to reward my writing successes with candy or cookies, but that has changed. Now all I have to do is give up the sweat soda. I have changed from dark soda to light soda like ginger ale. I smell the chicken so I guess I better post this and see if it is ready to eat.

Avicii: Feeling Good (Oficial Video)

Click on the video and watch the official film for Feeling Good. Watch this intriguing film which is a creative collaboration with Acicii. Set back and relax while you enjoy the song, the video, and notice the car. Remember that sometimes you have to go back in order to move forward and go further.

Wednesday Word: Wind

The wind blows litter
west on Sunrise Avenue
partly cloudy sky.

I heard a noise, looked out my front door. and saw the wind blowing litter up the street. It calmed a little now only the limbs of the pine, olive, and palm trees are blowing. The wind and the clouds mean a cool afternoon. At least, I hope it means a cool afternoon. I have not turned the cool air on today which is a blessing. The less I have to turn on the air the lower the power bill.

Sudden gust of wind
partially clears the litter
for a little while.

Sudden gusts of wind does not help my allergies. In fact it raises issues with the pollen from the olive trees growing along this street. It would not make any difference where I lived in Las Vegas because there would still be olive trees.

Tuesday's Tip: Open the Front Door

Are you having a problem with Writer's Block? I suggest opening your front door (if your door faces the street) to see what is going on outside. There is not much going on outside my door today. Once in a while a car drives the wrong way down the one-way street in front of my apartment. From where I sit, I can see the shadow of the palm tree planted to the left of my front door. I can hear the birds singing in the pine tree across the street. At least, I think that is the tree containing the sparrow's nest. I suppose the sparrow could be nesting in one of the palm trees across the street.

The neighborhood trees
palm, pine, olive, and oak grow
along Sunrise Avenue.

I just saw a car driving the right way (which is going east) along Sunrise. This is not a rare occurrence because I figure about seven cars out of ten drive in the right direction when they drive on my street. Since I have never counted the number of cars driving up or down this street, I am not sure how many go the right way. I very seldom drive either way along Sunrise because I park my car in the back of the building.

On this one-way street
cars drivers ignore traffic laws
and drive the wrong way.

I park in back of my apartment building because the parking places in front are across the street. It is easily for me to walk back and forth to my car then it is to step up and down on the curbs. The cubs are high, or at least they seem high when I use them. If I walk to the back then I do not have to step upon or down on a curb. Also by parking in back I can take the trash out when I go to the car so that I do not have to make a special trip on the days I have to leave my apartment.

Sunday Speculations: A Weird Encounter in the Supermarket on Saturday

I have a weird encounter in the supermarket on Saturday morning. I left my apartment between 9:00 and 9:30 am to go to the bank and deposit a check I had received on Friday. I went to the bank, deposited the check (I cannot use my cellphone to deposit checks), and then went to the supermarket, which is located a couple of blocks east of my bank. As I was walking through the aisle looking for croutons and other stuff, a woman stopped me. She ask me if I was on Medicaid, when I said yes she gave me her card, which was for home care and told me to call her with my Medicaid number so that she could see if I was eligible for home care services.

I am 68 years old with osteoarthritis in both knees. As a results of the osteoarthritis I sometimes walk like a zombie. This does not mean that I am incapable of walking short or long distances nor does it mean I am ready for home care. It means that I am much more careful and slower when I walk. I suspect the gal is running a can to get the Medicaid and/or Medicare numbers of the elderly. I am not going to call her and, even if I did need home care, I would not call the number without investigating her or her home care agency.

Form Friday: What is my favorite poetry form?

What is my favorite poetry form? I do not have one. I write a lot of free verse, senryu, and haiku, but that does not mean they are my favorites. Even though I have not written very many prose poems, II enjoy reviewing them. Today I reviewed a beautiful story written in prose poetry form about an elderly woman on her deathbed. The poem, which was written in line phased form, had the rhythm of natural speech and used internal rhyme to emphasize the theme and subject. I usually write prose poems in paragraph form; however, after reading this poem I think I will attempt a prose poem in line phased form.

whispers from my soul
reverberates through my mind
creates poetry

What types of poetry forms do I like when I write? I like haibun poetry, which is a combination of prose and line phased poetry. I like to use haibun because it pushes me to write short descriptive paragraph, which helps when writing short stories. Haibun is difficult to write because it requires me to include other types of short poetry forms. I usually use senryu and haiku, but not always. Sometimes I include short free verse poems in my haibun entries.