Wednesday's Word: Morning

The scent of coffee
Permeates morning's silence
Rousing both my mind and muse

It's about 6:27 am here in Las Vegas. I'm attempting to wake up so that I can get ready for my day. I have to go to the store later this morning for some necessary items. I don't want to leave the house until I'm fully awake and the store is open. The drug store I'm going to doesn't open until 9:00 am so I have a couple of hours to fill until then. At least I think it opens at 9:00, if I get there and it's not open then I'll just go to one of the twenty-four hour supermarkets on Maryland Parkway.

This morning the only thing I feel like doing is drinking coffee and writing. I don't want to do housework and I don't want to take the trash to the alley this early. I'll roll the trash to the alley when I leave the house to go to the drug store. After yesterday's bout of housework, I have a 13 gallon trash bag full of trash to take out. I'm not going to lug a 13 gallon plastic bag to the alley because it's too cumbersome to carry and use my cane at the same time.

I'm using my cane a lot more lately, especially of a morning when I take the trash to the alley. The cane helps me stand up straight while giving me something to help balance. The problem is carrying small plastic grocery bags to the alley while attempting to stand up straight and balance. I don't appear to have a problem with balance any other time. I also use the cane to help me up and down steps or curbs.

With my wooden cane
I stand up straight when I walk
My back feels better

 

Tuesday's Tip: Early Morning Writing Necessities

A cup of coffee
brewed fresh after the long night
and sipped while waiting for dawn

I go into the kitchen to pour myself my fresh cup of coffee for the day. I open the blinds and look out into the partly cloudy morning. I pour coffee into my favorite unwashed cup and then go to the front door. I stand at my front door looking into my neighborhood and listening to the noises of people and animals waking up.

I sip my coffee
contemplate the beauty of dawn
give thanks for another day

In order to meet today's writing goal, I have to begin my day early. Sometimes I begin at 1:00 or 2:00 am. Sometimes I overs sleep until 6:30 or 7:00 am. Sometimes I write for a hour or so after I wake up and then I go back to sleep. Sometimes I write before my first cup of coffee, but most of the time I write while sipping my coffee. I'm not fully awake until I've drink at least one cup of strong black coffee.

Coffee ambrosia
wakes up my mind and my muse
precious gift of God

Seven Reason to get Out of Bed on Tuesday Morning

1. Medication: I can't take my thyroid medication if I stay in bed because I don't keep it on a stand next to my bed. I keep the pillbox containing the thyroid tablets on a desk that is located in the living room.

2. Coffee: I can't brew coffee while I'm still in bed because I don't have one of those fancy coffeemakers that I can set a timer on at night to have the coffee brewed in the morning. Even if I did have one of the fancy coffeemakers, I wouldn't use the timer. I enjoy making my own coffee in the morning right after I take my thyroid pill.

3. Sunshine: If I stay in bed I can't stand at my front door and watch the morning sun cast palm tree shadows across Sunrise Avenue.

4. Breakfast: I can't serve myself breakfast in bed. If I could figure out a way to do it then I might do it, which wouldn't be a good thing because I would probably spill my cereal and coconut milk in the bed. That would mean changing the bedsheets more then once a week.

5. Exercise: I can't exercise in bed. It's difficult to remain in bed and walk into the living room or kitchen at the same time. I have to go into the living room to take my pills and then into the kitchen to brew coffee. My morning exercise consists of walking through my house.

6. Blogging: I don't have a laptop, therefore I have to get out of bed, walk into the living room (where the computer is located) and turn the computer on before I can make a blog entry.

7. Trash: I can't lug the sacks of trash to the dumpster in the alley if I remain in bed on Tuesday morning.

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.

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.

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: I Miss My Mother

Coffee cup empty
I live alone; by myself
No one to share my coffee

I miss my mother everyday. Everyday I make a fresh carafe of coffee in a 5-cup Black and Decker coffee maker. Monday through Friday I can make and drink the coffee without crying, but on the weekends I want to cry. I miss my mother most on Saturday and Sunday because those are the days we could sit together talking over a good cup of coffee. I miss having someone to talk to while drinking my Saturday or Sunday carafe of coffee.

I miss my Mother
I miss making and sharing
Breakfast and coffee

I miss having someone to make lunch for on Saturday afternoons or breakfast on Sunday mornings. Mom and I didn't always have a big breakfast or lunch, but we ate them together on the weekends. I miss the sharing, the laughter, and the talking. Sometimes it is difficulty to make a good breakfast or lunch because I cook for myself. It is much more enjoyable cooking for two people.

Coffee with Mama
Was always an adventure
Talking and laughing.

I'm tired of living alone. I thought I would be all right living alone. I have found out differently because I have no one to make coffee or cook for. I think I need to find another apartment and a roommate so that I have someone to share the coffee and the food.

Form Friday: Two Tercet Poetry Forms I Often Use

Tercets are three line poetry forms or stanzas. There are several different types of these three line forms. Two of the types I use frequently are Japanese forms called haiku and senryu. These two forms are composed of seventeen syllables traditionally written in line phase as 5-7-5 with each form having a different subject. The subject of a senryu is human beings or culture. The subject of a haiku is nature.

Good Friday Coffee:
A Senryu

Good Friday coffee
It is a two carafe day
A day for writing

Good Friday Wind:
A Haiku

Pine boughs sway at dawn
The wind carries morning's scent
Sparrows laying eggs

Success Saturday: Valentine's Day and Leftover Christmas Candy

I'm alone on Valentine's Day. I have no one to share the day dedicated to lovers. No one sent me roses. No one sent me a heart shaped box of chocolates. I made breakfast for myself this morning just as I do every morning of the year. I do have candy in the house. I have leftover Christmas candy to celebrate the day of love.

I have gourmet candy corn that taste like peppermint to eat with my coffee. I like the candy corn. I like the coffee. Once in a while I would like to be able to share the candy corn and the coffee with someone. I don't want to share my apartment with someone, I just want to share a carafe of coffee and some candy. I would like to be able to cook for someone else beside myself once in a while. I would like to have someone take me out to eat on Valentine's Day or to a movie. I would like someone to send me a heart shaped box of chocolates (never mind that chocolate isn't on the diet the doctor gave me) and a dozen red roses.

Thanks to the peppermint candy corn and strong coffee, I will be over this mood shortly. Once the mood has passed I will be able to get back to writing and doing housework. This morning, I got on a step stool and put the clean bath towels in the cabinet in the bathroom. I also put the clean sheets and pillow cases in that cabinet. This week I wrote two short stories and a poem, so I have had some small successes this week. I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal routine after Valentine's Day is past.

Writing Coffee on Saturday Morning

I made my coffee a little weaker then usual this morning because I thought I had about a scoop and one-half of fresh grounds in the canister. I dumped those into the basket of the coffee maker and then added another three scoops. At least I think I added another three scoops, since I needed a cup of coffee this morning before making coffee I am not sure how many scoops I added.

I also need a cup coffee before dialing my cellphone of a morning. I know this because I dialed the wrong number when I attempted to call my wireless provider to see how many minutes I had left on the phone. I used a lot of minutes yesterday while waiting on hold, so this morning I decided the check my minutes on the providers website; however, when I logged in it did not show me how many minutes I had left.

I dialed the 800 number, which is in my phone's memory. Instead of dialing the wireless provider, I dialed my brother in California. Fortunately, it was one of my brothers I dialed and he was not upset because he is used to getting weird calls from me at odd hours of the morning. I finally dialed the proper number for my wireless provider and found how many minutes I have left.

My Muse is Calling

My muse is calling,
shouting at me in my dreams
waking me
in the middle of the night
to write.

My muse is calling
as I sit waiting
for the light to change
from red to green
encouraging me to write
an ode to the traffic light.

My muse is calling
while I wait for the coffee to brew
encouraging me to write a few
stanzas to my coffeemaker.

Thursday Thoughts: Wandering Thoughts

This morning
my thought are wandering across the universe,
unfocused and distracted.

I am not sure what is going on this morning. I woke up and finally managed to roll out of bed; fortunately, I did not roll onto the floor because, with my osteoarthritis, I find it difficult to get off the floor once I get down there. All right that is enough of my weird humor  this morning I have to attempt to finish this entry this morning. A difficult job since my thoughts are unfocused and my mind wants to wander.

Sometimes writing helps
pull my wandering thoughts back
to today's activities.

What helps retrieve my wandering thoughts? Four things bring my thoughts back in focus. First, prayer because my mind focuses on the words I am saying. Second, chanting God's Most Great Name because I have to chant and while my finders are moving prayer beads along the string. Three, coffee because I can sit back and sip the coffee while my mind focuses on the exquisite and delicious aroma or taste. Fourth, writing because I have to focus on the words.

Waiting for coffee to brew
my eyes wander to the computer's clock:
Has it been an hour since I took my thyroid medication?

I have said my morning prayers. I have brewed a fresh carafe of coffee. I have composed this entry. I am ready to get my day going. When I take my next meditation or prayer break, I will intone God's Most Great Name. If I do not take several spiritual breaks through they day then my mind starts wandering again and I lose my focus of concentration.

Motivation Monday: Does a writer need more motivation on Monday then the rest of the week?

 Does a writer need more motivation on Monday then the rest of the week? Today, Monday, August 18, 2014, the answer is yes. I wake up unmotivated this morning, so a pushed the snooze button on my cellphone alarm several times. I finally managed to drag myself out of bed about 5:00 am and took levorthroxine tablet, which I usually take at 4:00 am.

After taking the thyroid med, I attempted to sit down at the computer and write or do some surveys. I did not get too far with either, so I made coffee and took a bath. After my bath I again attempted to write, but still found myself unmotivated. I washed the sharp knives and put them back into the knife drawer. I carried two small bags of trash to the alley and then checked my mail box because I did not check it Saturday or Sunday. In fact I did not get out of the house at all on Saturday or Sunday.

I finally found some writing motivation, so I posted a journal entry to my writing.com journal and another entry to Poet 999 - A Butterfly Emerges from Her Cocoon. I also posted a Facebook status update by informing everyone that today is Bad Poetry Day. I have not managed to write a bad poem yet, but I will do that later today and post it on my Facebook page.

I was so desperate to find writing motivation this morning that I checked my horoscope. My horoscope told me to put my "ambition into action". I am supposed to be "feeling energetic and positive", my outlook is better now then it was when I got up. I feel positive, but not energetic. Maybe the energetic part will come as the day progresses and I force myself to do what I planned to do today. I am still not as motivated as I would like, however, I am pushing through the lack of motivation and writing. I can always rewrite tomorrow or the next day.

Sundry Sunday: A Beautiful Sunday Morning in Las Vegas

It is the third of five Sunday's in August. It is a beautiful and cool Sunday morning here in Las Vegas with the temperature creeping from 79 or 80 degrees toward a predicted 106 degrees for the afternoon. I still have the door open so that the cool morning air can air out my studio apartment. I know I will have to close the door soon and turn on the air conditioner, but for the time being I will enjoy looking out at the beautiful clear blue sky and the deep shadows cast over the concrete from the bright morning sun.

beautiful morning
the pine tree across the street
casts long dark shadow

On this beautiful Sunday morning, I made cafe mocha using rich chocolate flavor Ovaltine©. T his is my favorite way to make cafe mocha at  home, which is  the only place I drink it  anymore. Why should I go out to have my favorite coffee flavor when I can make it at home with my favorite coffee and Ovaltine©? When  I go out to a coffee shop or a restaurant I order raspberry ice tea or some type of flavored hot tea that I do not keep at home.

beautiful morning
a rooster crowed at first light
announcing Sunday

On the third Sunday in August writing a haibun haiku is a good exercise to start off Sunday writing. I think I am composing this poem-prose properly, but I should research it a little more before I explain exactly what it is in another entry. I know that this type of exercise relaxes me and helps me focus on everything I have to do today.

Midweek Reflections on Prayer, Writing and Coffee

I intone a morning prayer before I put the coffee on to brew or sit down to write. As I listen to the coffee brew, I turn my computer on and wait for it to wake up. Once my computer is awake, I pour myself a cup of coffee, take a sip, and then sit down to write.

Morning is inspiring.
Prayer is inspiring.
Coffee is inspiring.

I do not always write about prayer, meditation, coffee, or computers. Sometimes I write a funny story or a sad poem, but my creative efforts always follow prayer and coffee (in that order). Is this a ritual? Is this a way to wake up my muse? Is this a habit? The answer to all three questions are yes because I cannot write without beginning my day with gratitude or a prayer asking forgiveness.

I have a favorite coffee that is the color of black silk and strong enough to carry my memories back to my grandfather who brewed "Cowboy Coffee". Sometimes I have a favorite prayer, which covers some difficulty I am facing. Sometimes I open my prayer book to a random  page and read the first prayer I lay eyes on. Life is to short to go without prayer, coffee, or writing.

Monday Matters: Monday Morning in Las Vegas

I woke up, set up on the love seat, checked the time on my cellphone (2:50 am), pulled my security blanket over my head, recited my morning prayer, and mediated. I got off the love seat at 3:25, took my thyroid medication, brewed a fresh carafe of coffee, and turned off the alarm on my cellphone at 4:00. I then turned on the computer, opened Google and found that today is the fortieth anniversary  of the Rubik's Cube. After that I logged into writing.com to check the e-mail and respond to whatever needed a response. I then checked my Facebook account and updated my status for today.

As I set here, sipping a cup of iced coffee, my mind goes back to the first Rubik's Cube I got. I received this toy sometime between 1974 (when it was invented) and 1980 (when it was named toy of the year). I enjoyed playing with it in my spare time because it kept my hands and mind busy, something I have to do otherwise I fantasize. I do not know what happened to my Rubik's Cube, it got lost in one of my many moves. It could still be somewhere in Oklahoma waiting for me or someone else to find and play with it.

Maybe my Rubik's Cube is on the Island of Lost Toys patiently or impatiently waiting for someone to find it. That would make a good plot for a short story. I think a good title would be Where in the Word is My Rubik's Cube? Next time I go to the mall, I need to stop at a toy or game store and see if I can find a Rubik's Cube.

Join the Coffee Revolution

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Morning Weariness

I tossed and turned all night
listening to strange noises
that would wake me with a fright.

I am weary of sleeping on the couch
watching the reflection of headlight
off my apartment walls.

I overslept  and feel rushed,
but I wait patiently for coffee to brew
so I can start my day off right.

Question: Can a machine connect two strangers over coffee?

Is it possible for a coffee machine to connect stranger from all over the world? The Coffee Connector is ready to make its debut at the Time Warner Center in New York. Click on the video below and find the answer to the question "Can a machine connect two strangers over coffee?"

Fragment Friday: Before my first cup of Coffee

Before my first cup of coffee
thought fragments
flash though my mind;
unfocused ideas
waiting for me to write
them in black ink
on a white page.

I check the clock
has an hour passed
since I took the thyroid medication?

No!

I sigh,
I go to the coffee maker,
and prepare to brew coffee
knowing that
by the time it is finished
I can have a hot cup.