Friday Afternoon

Friday afternoon 

A few clouds cover the sky 

The birds are singing 

The birds are in a happy mood after the rain Thursday night. I enjoyed sitting in the house listening to the thunder roll across Las Vegas. After the rain it was cooler, in fact I had to sleep with a light blanket which is unusual during the spring and summer. 

Thursday thunder rolled 

Sent shivers through Las Vegas 

A beautiful rain 

I did check the weather report today because it doesn't matter to me whether it rains or not. I doubt it will because the cloud cover doesn't suggest rain. Clouds are nice just to look at or meditate upon. When I meditate on clouds I usually see the most beautiful and inspiring clouds shapes.  

Some Days I Don't Want to Write

Some days I don't want to write, 

But I write anyway. 

Today, or rather this afternoon, is one of those days. I finished responding to three blog and a poem prompt on writing.com before I decided I didn't want to write anymore. The problem is that I know still have one item to finish and I may have a couple of writing items to finish. If I don't work on thos items today then I will fall behind. When I fall behind I get depressed and don't want to write. 

I can't let myself get behind today because I know I'll get behind tomorrow. Wednesday we are going to a local food bank and then to a farmers' market. We need to go to both of those because it is the end of the month and the end of the money. Actually we ran out of money before we ran out of month. So we have to go to the food bank and, since I have $30.00 in coupons for the farmers' market, we can go there for fresh vegetables and fruit without it costing us a cash outlay. 

On Wednesday, I may get behind on my writing because I have to leave the house. That's all right as long as I do not get too far behind. Getting out of the house gives me ideas for blog entries and stories. I have not written a poem or story about the farmers' market. I wrote a poem about a food bank in December of 2015, but I have not written a food bank story. Maybe I will do that after I finish story number 10 of 44. 

Sunday Speculations on Poetry, Fear and Death

Death will take us all 

Eventually 

Fear is a 

Form of 

Death 

Fear stops the poet from writing. Fear kills the muse. Fear is not something a poet or a writer can afford to remain in the mind. This thought has haunted my mind for the past several days. I have been writing poetry, short stories, and essays for some time and posting them on a writers website. I even do a fantasy newsletter on that website, but that is as far as I have gone. I have not attempted to submit anything in several years. Last week I realized why. 

A few weeks ago, I subscribed to Poets & Writers magazine. On Friday, April 22, I received the May/June issue. I immediately began looking through it to determine which article I wanted to read first. I came across some websites for submissions and I immediately began feeling stressed, nervous and fearful. I realized then that the only thing that has been stopping me from submitting my work is fear. 

I know that I have issues with some  technical aspects of writing, which can be dealt with by consulting grammar websites or books. I also have a bad habit of attempting to edit a story in a document instead of printing a copy off to edit. This is a habit that I can break by printing a copy off as soon as I finish writing. When I edit online, I miss obvious typos. All right, typos are as obvious when looking at a computer monitor as they are on a hard copy. The typos I usually encounter concern words that are spelled right but are not the words I intended to type. 

Success Saturday: A good week for writing poems

A creative week
Seven days equals seven poem
Is not a record

I think seven poems is a low estimate. If I counted all the poems I posted in this blog and my writing.com blog it would exceed two dozen. I am not going to go through all the blog entries to count poems. The seven poems are those I wrote for a poetry writing challenge I am participating in on writing.com. Since April 15, when the challenge begin, I have completed nine poems. I will edit them after the challenge is completed.

Another story done
Thirty-five left to complete
A very good week

I finished story number nine of the forty-four story challenge for 2016. I will begin story number ten either this afternoon or on Sunday evening. I have not decided on a theme. I have not found a prompt. I have not considered a plot. I will have to find a prompt and decided on a plot before I begin the story.

Thankful Thursday Thoughts on nature and Las Vegas

On Thankful Thursday
I contemplate gratitude,
as I listen to traffic.

My front door is open so I can hear the traffic on the expressway echoing through the neighborhood. It's the sounds of modern civilization that come through my front door. Sounds that indicate a bustling and thriving city. I wonder how well human beings thrive when not in touch with the natural world.

Where are nature's sounds?
Sometimes I hear singing birds,
Cooing of pigeons.

Las Vegas a city spread across a desert valley in the Rocky Mountains. In the suburbs citizens can look out their front doors to see green grass, trees, or desert landscaping. In urban area apartment buildings we look out our front doors to see concrete, blacktop, and important palm, pine, or olive trees. Where is the joy of walking through an old forest? Not in the city of Las Vegas.

Tourist see the strip
they seldom leave the city
visit the suburbs.

Tourist and locals who remain in the city see very little of the natural world. There are places in and around Las Vegas that people can visit for a glimpse the beauty of nature. I wonder how many tourist visit Mount Charleston, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, or Las Vegas Springs Preserve. I wonder how many tourist think to go outside of the Casino Corridor to see what mother nature offers. I wonder how many locals have visit mother natures tourist attractions.

Tuesday Afternoon: A Poem

Tuesday afternoon
Las Vegas temperatures rise
Ice cream truck drive past

Tuesday afternoon
Memories of my childhood
Accompany the music
Of the ice cream truck

Monday Meanderings

It's Monday again. All right this day comes around every week about this time. The work week appears to have gotten off to a good start. I'm going to presume it's a good start anyway. This morning, I had to turn my phone off vibrate because I didn't do that last week when I went to a meeting. The problem is that I go to so few meetings that when I do remember to turn the phone onto vibrate then I forget to turn vibrate off.

Muse Meanderings
Skipping through various themes
Looking for something to write

Today I managed nine reviews on writing.com. I also responded to two blog prompts. I still have another blog prompt and a poem to write before I go to bed tonight. All right, maybe bed is the wrong word. I don't sleep in a real bed. I sleep on a recliner because it helps to relieved the pain in my back and prevents my legs from swelling. I've had the recliner for a couple of months and it's helping both problems.

A used recliner
No use purchasing one new
When a used one works as well

 

Evening in Las Vegas

Sunset approaches
transforming blue afternoon
into black velvet.

Evening in Las Vegas is always an interesting experience. I live in one of the poor areas of town where we do not get a lot of tourists. If I walk into the middle of my street I can look west and see Mount Charleston, but I do not do this very often. It is dangerous to stand in the middle of the street because cars speed the wrong way down this residential neighborhood.

I live on a one way street with of speed limit of 25 mph, at least I think that's the speed limit. I do not remember seeing a speed limit sign on this street. I have seen one-way signs, but no speed limit sign. The speed limit in all residential neighborhoods are 25 mph, not that anyone ever pay attention to speed limit signs or one-way signs. So it is probably just as well that we do not get many or any tourist in this neighborhood.

I love evening in Las Vegas.
It is a time for me to relax,
take a deep breath
and recount the good events
of the day.

 

Midweek Reflections on Wind and Rain In Las Vegas

When will the wind blow
Today is calm and sunny
Without any clouds

Today's forecast is mostly sunny with temperatures in the low 80s. Tomorrow's forecast is mostly sunny with wind and temperatures in the high 70s. Friday's forecast is a few showers with wind and temperatures in the low 70s. A few showers usually means it might rain somewhere in the Las Vegas valley.

Will the rain return
Cooling the late spring air
Making it muggy

We had several nice rain showers here on Monday and Tuesday. Monday we received quite a bit of rain in my neighborhood. When I talked to my sister this morning, she said it rained so hare din Searchlight that should could not leave her house on her days off. I can understand that because several neighborhoods in Las Vegas experienced flash floods.

This afternoon winds
Will increase in Las Vegas
Will the wind bring rain

Motivational Monday: Not A Blue Monday

Not a blue Monday
A day spent on reviewing
And encouragement

I don't know why people call it blue Monday because I haven't been depressed all day. I spent most of the day reviewing on writing.com. I also made an entry to my writing.com blog Melting Snow. My online name is Prosperous Snow, so I give my blogs names that contain references to snow.

Not a blue Monday
With a mostly cloudy sky
Promising more rain.

This morning I went to Smiths Food and Drug Store to pick up a prescription. After that I stopped at another store to pick up a brand I couldn't purchase at the grocery store. The sky was mostly cloudy with very little blue sky peeking through. I enjoyed clouds because the mean rain and rain is needed here in Nevada.

Success Saturday: At the End of a Productive Week

At the end of a productive week
I say a prayer of thanksgiving
for all the writing I've accomplished.

This week I responded to several blog prompts, wrote several poems, a 1,000 word plus short story, and reviewed numerous items. Today I opened a bottle of water easily. Now this may not seem like much of an accomplishment to some, but to those of you who have arthritic fingers know what a triumph it is to open a bottle of liquid on the first try.

For the coming week
another 1,000 plus word story
and several more poem.

 

Midweek Reflection on Writing Poetry and Barking Dogs

It's National Poetry Month, so far I have managed to write at least one poem a day. I have not read the poetry books I planned and I do not think I will get them read this month; all though I could be wrong about that. Since this is the first full week of April I am not sure what the rest of the month will hold.

Poetry writing
the neighbor's dog is barking
interrupts contemplation

I suppose I should complain, but I am not sure what good it would do. The dog does not bark all the time. This morning I think someone was knocking at their door, which cause the dog to bark. I hope the dog woke the family up, as it did with everyone in the neighborhood except me. I woke up early today, took all my morning meds, brewed a carafe of hot coffee, and started to review or write. My day got off to a good start before the dog started barking.

Monday afternoon in Las Vegas

This afternoon, we went to pick up one of my prescriptions. I intended to pick it up tomorrow, but since Tuesday is laundry day and we needed money for the machines in the laundromat we had to go today. It was warm but hot in the car. When we got to the supermarket, where I pick up my prescription, all the handicapped parking places were taken. I have a handicapped placard, so I can legally park in one of those places. The problem was, that one of the cars taking up a handicapped place was illegally parked (it didn't have a handicapped placard or tag).

As s results, I became a bitch. I'm 69 years old and use a walker because it's difficult for me to walk across a parking lot without getting winded or tired. I have a right to be a bitch when someone is illegally parked in a handicapped only place. It isn't that difficult for a handicapped person or elderly person to get a placard. If a driver or passenger in a card needs a placard then go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and get a piece of paper to take to your doctor. If a driver or passenger does not need one then pick a parking place a little farther away.

It's Monday afternoon in Las Vegas
I'm just cooling down
and transforming
from a bitch
to a fairly rested person,
however, my mood may change again
if I get pissed off.

Success Saturday: The first Saturday in April 2016

It's the first Saturday in April
a day of bright sunshine
a to celebrate of achievement.

This week I finished story seven of the forty-four stories I committed to write this year. I have thirty-seven left to write before December 31, 2016. I begin working on story eight on Thursday and completed about five hundred words. I still have over a thousand words left to write.

On the first Saturday in April
I contemplate
all my achievements for the week.

I did a good job of writing this week. In the coming week I want to achieve more then writing. I want to clean off my computer desk and the stand by my recliner. The problem is that I get so focused on writing that the let other things go by the wayside. Therefore, next week (starting on Sunday) I designate a specific time to clean of the side stand and the desk.