Tuesday Writing Thoughts: I Walk Therefore I Write

This morning I took a walk half-way down the block. I walked east from my apartment going toward Eastern Avenue. I walked down to the point across my old apartment building I lived in fifteen or twenty years ago. It is a two story apartment building painted puke green. The windows are boarded up and the court yard is mostly cement with a few dying weeds around the edge. There are also dying weeds in front of the building. 

That building is part of a two building complex. Each building is two stories high and both are painted the same color. That complex is obviously condemned. I want to use the complex or one of the buildings in a story, but I am not sure what kind of story. The courtyard would be a good setting for a mystery of some type. The apartments themselves might make a good place for squatters or a ghost story. I could also use my memory of the apartment Mom and I lived in for the setting of a story. However, I like the idea of using the complex as it is now for part of a plot. 

The Last Sunday in June 2016

It's the last Sunday in June 2016 with four days left in the month. I have completed 18 out of the 44 stories I committed to writing this year. If I reach 22 stories in July then I will have finished half the stories. I pray that I will complete four more stories by the end of July. 

The name of the next story is The Empty Chalice which is about a woman on a quest. I think I will open the story with her walking through a forest. That is a good way to begin a story, but I could just as easily begin with her walking through the streets of a modern city where she encounters a space-time portal that takes her to another dimension. Perhaps let the portal open onto a forest or a ruined city on another planet. 

I need to finish story 19 on or before July 1 that way I will only have three stories to worry about in July. I also want to write a poem about the 4th of July, but I'm not sure how to approach it. Do I want to describe a memory from my childhood? I have a lot of memories about celebrating Independence Day with my Grandma and Grandpa Newland in Blackwell, Oklahoma. Actually we very seldom celebrated the 4th in Blackwell. Usually we went to The Lake outside of Blackwell or to Lake Carl Blackwell several miles away in another county. I'll decide before Monday, July 4, what to write about. 

Thursday Thoughts: I Think I Have a Secret Admirer

I don't read my Horoscope much anymore. When I took the newspaper everyday the daily horoscope was the third item I read. I read the comics first followed by Dear Abby or Ann Landers depending on which local paper I subscribed to at the time. I know why I read the comics and Ann Landers, but I'm not sure why I read the horoscope because I didn't believe what it said. Perhaps I read it for the entertainment value. 

This afternoon I clicked on one of the online horoscope (I have the URL of this one in my favorites). According to this one I'm having an encounter with an affair of the heart, which I presume refers to a love interest or, at least, a physical relationship of some type. The only thing I can think of this referring to is a secret admirer because I don't have a love interest and I'm not looking for a relationship in that area. 

Maybe it's encouraging me to join a dating site. Every time I see an ad by one of the online dating sites, I contemplate joining it. If I did that I would have to figure out what kind of man I was looking for. I know I don't want the type I usually get involved with because they were losers. Once I figured out that all they wanted from me was someone to make them a living while they verbally abused me, I decided I was better off without a man in my life.  

I've been contented without a man in my life for sometime now. I've live a celibate life for several years and haven't encountered any bad side effects. I don't have dozens of cats or dogs, In fact, I don't own any cats or dogs. I enjoy writing, reading, and meditating. I'm also going to start taking long morning walks around my neighborhood. I will speak to the people, but I don't expect to meet any men I might be interested in. The walk is for exercise and not meeting me. If I wanted to meet men then I would go to the Senior Center and take an exercise class there. 

Prompt Me Monday: Summer's Arrival in Las Vegas

Prompt from a blog group on writing.com: We are dealing with Dangerous Heat here in Las Vegas. The National Weather Service has issues an Excessive Heat Warning for Southern Nevada (Las Vegas) northwest Arizona and Southern California until 9:00 PM on Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to get as high as 115 degrees. Write a story about someone dealing with excessively high temperatures. 

Ways to deal with extreme heat: (1) drink plenty of water and juice, (2) cut down on the coffee, (3) fill the bathtub with ice and sit down in it, (4) take a cold shower, (5) wash your head in cold water, and (6) take the dog for a walk in the early morning or late evening, and (6) put chocolate in the freezer so you don't get chocolate on your hands when you eat it. 

I know that isn't a short story or flash fiction about dealing with extreme heat. I might think of a story later today. If I do then I'll write it. This morning I'm just trying to warm up my writing. Even in extreme heat a writer has to warm up before writing a story. 

Writing My Saturday Thoughts: Is it more than just the Blues?

I want to cry! I want to sit down and bawl my eyes out. I have to do something about this brown study. I have to do something about this depressed feeling I've dealt with lately. I'm not sure when this episode started, but I think it was a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes it gets better and sometimes it gets worse. I know I'm depressed because I'm having difficulty focusing and I want to cry. 

I've attempted to write it out through blog entries and short stories, but that doesn't work for very long. Sometimes I can overcome the sadness by reading a funny story, poem, or joke. That works for a little while; however, eventually the darkness comes back. I'm going to have to widen my approach with a visit to my doctor, increasing my exercise routine, and focused meditation. I don't like the idea of talking to my doctor because the last time I brought up the subject she wanted to give me medication for the depression. 

I'm taking enough medication for other problems. I don't think medication for depression is going to help anyway. The depression passes when I write. The depression passes when I meditate. The depression passes when I say prayers. The depression passes when I exercise by walking. I still haven't answered the question: Is it more than just the blues I'm feeling? 

I suppose it could have something to do with the change in weather or my weight. I do need to lose some weight, but I get so discouraged when the weight doesn't come off the way I think it should. Come to think of it there's a lot of things that make me discouraged and discouragement encourages depression. I have to make an appointment with my doctor next week because of another matter, so I'll talk to her again about the depression. 

Thursday Writing Thoughts on Father's Day

Father's Day, Sunday, June 19, is a depressing day for me because both my Father and Grandfather passed on  several years ago. Both  of them died in the last century so the only things I have left are memories. I have more memories of my Grandfather then I do my Father. This is because my parents divorced when I was in grade school. After my parents divorce Grandpa Frank, my mother's father, became my Father Figure. 

My father died in 1996, but I didn't find out about  that until I did an internet search for him. I'm still depressed about not getting to say good-bye to him, who is buried in the cemetery in Lincoln, Kansas. I was able to say  good-bye to Grandpa Frank, who is buried in the cemetery in Blackwell, Oklahoma, alongside Grandma Mary.  I don't know where Grandpa John, my father's father, is buried because he died before I was born. 

I'll attempt to write a Father's Day poem to Grandpa John and my father. I have a picture of them taken sometime after 1921. The picture shows Dad sitting on a plow horse with his father standing beside him. I'll also write a Father's Day story or poem dedicated to Grandpa Frank. I've written sever dedicated to Grandpa Frank because he is my father figure. 

Success Saturday: At the End of an Interesting Week

The week of June 5-11 was a successful and an unsuccessful week. I succeeded in posting several of my mother's poem to her book of poetry. I have two more to post and then I have to start cleaning out the other two drawers of my desk. I don't know if I will find any more of Mom's poems. I don't know if I will find the item I'm looking for because I suspect it isn't  in the desk. 

I'm not sure where I put the item when I put it in a place I knew I could find it. All right, I know better than to put anything away where I'm sure I can find it because I usually can't find what I'm looking for where I think I put it. Does that make any sense? I hope it makes sense, but at this point I'm not sure. At this point I would be happy to find anything with the number I'm looking for on it. 

I'm not making any sense in this entry. I think the only reason I'm writing anything is because I'm depressed. I should say I was depressed because I can't help but smile at what I'm writing. I suppose if I make myself smile that is a good thing. An entry that makes me smile can be considered a successful entry. I'm going to post this now and get on with something else. 

Midweek Reflections on Summer Poetry

The writing.com newsletters arrived in my inbox this morning. The title of this week's edition of the poetry newsletter is "Summertime Celebrations with Poetry". In this newsletter the editor covered several different  poetry forms that can be used to write poems that celebrate events in a person's life. Covered in this newsletter were wedding or marriage poems that intended to be sung, which focus mainly on the bride and the groom. 

Also discussed in this newsletter was Joseph's Star and Music Poem. The Joseph's Star appears to be a good Father's Day poem, so I will discuss this poem on Sunday, June 12, which is Father's Day. I will write a poem about either my father or grandfather. Probably my grandfather because he is the father figure I grew up with. 

Tuesday Afternoon Writing

It's been a busy  and fun day. This morning I made an entry in my writing.com blog about the writing I have planned for this week. Then about  11:30 I went out to eat with friends. We went to Carson Kitchen on the corner of Sixth Street and Carson Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada. Carson Kitchen is a cozy restaurant with good food. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good food and a pleasant atmosphere. 

After lunch I came home, picked up the mail and decided to get online. I played a couple of hands of Gaps Solitaire while deciding what to do next. I finally decided to make an entry in this blog before going to writing.com to review and then work on one of the stories I have started. I still have to vote in the primary election early voting before Friday, June 10, but I think I'll do that on Thursday. 

A Good Friday Afternoon

It's a good Friday afternoon, 

I finished a jackalope story, 

I read and reviewed a political poem, 

I wrote a story about being kidnapped by Gray Aliens. 

It's a good Friday afternoon, 

With temperatures rising into the triple digits 

And mice scurrying across the floors 

In the neighboring apartments, 

I haven't see any mice yet, 

But it's the temperature is sure to drive them indoors 

Where it's cool. 

Midweek Reflections From Las Vegas on Brown Outs

It's not  even summer yet and we're experiencing triple digit temperatures in Las Vegas. We also experienced our first brown out today. It's always a shock when the electricity goes off for no apparent reason.  It didn't stay off very long, but it was long enough to cause my modem and other internet equipment to manually reboot. It cause my computer to shut off which is always upsetting. Fortunately, I  wasn't in the middle of writing a story  or poem. 

This incident reminds me that I need to save my work every five or six minutes. Each time I want to take a sip of coffee or water, I will save my work. That way if the electricity does goes off suddenly I won't lose a too many words. I hate it when the electricity goes off when I written over fifty words without saving them. When the power goes out it interrupts my train of thought which is a problem if the electricity stays off too long. 

I planned another entry for today's post, but the electricity went off. After it came back on I decided to write about the brown out. I suspect this is something I'm going to have to put up with all summer long. It's bad enough that the triple digit temperatures cause the  power bill to go over the moon, but the power outs cause the air conditioner and refrigerator to stop working. I don't deal well with triple digit temperatures when I don't have cool air and ice water.