Sunday, November 30, 2014

On the Last Day of November 2014

Jamal (Beauty), 8 Qawl (Speech), 171 BE - Sunday, November 30, 2014 about 4:31 pm Pacific Standard Time.

November 30
the last day of
National Novel Writing Month,
I am a winner
because I completed the challenge
and wrote 51,108 word
and 30 chapters
of my novel
The Mark of the Blue Wolf.

I am a winner
because I took up the gauntlet
and charged forward
writing, writing, writing,
in the month of November.

Friday, November 28, 2014

My Favorite Black Friday Activity

Istiqlal (Independence), 6 Qawl (Speech), 171 BE - Friday, November 28, 2014 about 9:55 am Pacific Standard Time

My favorite Black Friday activity is to stay home and eat Thanksgiving leftover. I am blessed today to have leftovers because I ate Thanksgiving dinner at a neighbor's home. I brought a plate home with me yesterday, so I could have leftovers today.

On Black Friday
pumpkin pie makes a good breakfast,
with a cup of hot coffee.

I will warm the turkey and dressing over for lunch with the rest of the leftovers. I still have a piece of apple pie, so I may eat it either for supper or breakfast on Saturday morning. I would rather eat leftovers on Black Friday then go shopping. In fact, I am not leaving the house to go to the mall or the grocery store today because I do not like to shop on Black Friday.

On Black Friday
the malls are crowded
with Christmas shoppers
and the city streets are jammed
with drivers going to and from various stores.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Tuesday Technical Difficulties: November 25, 2014

Fiḍal (Grace), 3 Qawl (Speech), 171 BE - Tuesday, November 25, 2014 about 9:23 am Pacific Standard Time

My printer will not work without a cartridge. I thought I had both a colored cartridge and a black and white cartridge, but I was wrong. I have cartridges I have for the printer is a color cartridge and a photo printing cartridge. Neither of these is going to solve my printer problem because I need to replace the black and white cartridge. I may have to replace the colored one as well.

Fortunately, I have enough money in the bank to purchase one, perhaps two cartridges, for the printer. I ope that solves the problem because I have to scan something in and e-mail it. I suppose if it does not solve my problem I will have to find someplace that will let me scan and e-mail the  item or call the 800 number to see if they have a fax number I can fax the information to. At least the technical difficulties I am confronting today are those that I can solve.  

Monday, November 24, 2014

Time to change from cool air the warm air on

Kamal (Perfection), 2 Qawl (Speech), 171 BE - Monday, November 24, 2014 about 4:16 pm Pacific Standard Time

It's time to change from cool air to warm air. I turn the air unit on long enough to change the settings. Now I have to decide if I want to keep the warm air set at 70 degrees or lower it to 68 or 69 degrees. I do not use the unit at night because it bothers my sinuses to have the air on all night. It also causes the power bill to go up if I keep the air on all night.

I do not plan to use the unit at all until after Thanksgiving. I may change my mind if it gets too cold especially of a morning. I may have to turn it on so that I can take a bath without getting too cold. On the other hand, I may just go to one of the stores and purchase a small heater for the bathroom. I can live with the rest of the house being cool because I put on sweaters and long sleeved sweat shirts during the day. At night I have a flannel night gown which is warm.

This is Las Vegas so, most of the time, it does not get that cold during the day. Nights are when it gets really cold so I have to have blankets and long sleeved nightgowns or pajamas to wear. Perhaps I will get me a new pair of pajamas, the only thing I have left from my old pajamas are the shirts. I lost the bottoms in the move or I packed them and they are stored in my sister's garage.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Sunday Supplications: Thanksgiving Week Begins

Jamal (Beauty), 1 Qawl (Speech), 171 BE - Sunday, November 23, 2014 about 5:18 am Pacific Standard Time

It is Sunday of Thanksgiving week 2014 the temperature in Las Vegas at 4:56 am was 56 degrees Fahrenheit. A cold front moved into the area sometime Saturday evening, so the weather forecast for today is windy and cooler. The high for today is expected to be 63 degrees and the low 49. At 6:00 am the temperature is supposed to drop  to 48 degrees.

a chilly Sunday
with wind caressing palm fronds
grateful for coffee

Today is a hot coffee and soup day, which means I will finish off the celery soup I made. I have to go to the store on Monday to get more ingredients for soup or some canned soup. The problem with canned soup is the salt and potassium content.  I think I will stick  to making my own soup because I have some control over the potassium and salt content.

a windy Sunday
look at the wind chill factor
I give thanks for soup

Thursday, November 20, 2014

One Week Until Thanksgiving

Istijlal (Majesty), 17 Qudrat (Power), 171 BE - Thursday, November 20, 2014 about 2:54 pm Pacific Standard Time

Thanksgiving is one week away,
what is there to write or say
except the memories of yesterday.

This will be my second Thanksgiving without Mom. The memories of sharing a Thanksgiving meals come back bring tears to my eyes and a smile to my lips. I miss Mama. I miss drinking coffee with her in the morning. I miss hearing her chant God's Most Great Name. I miss eating pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce with her at Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is one week away
I let go of the tears,
while keeping the smile.

I think I will bake a pumpkin pie either Saturday or Sunday, I have to check to see if I have a cookie tin or something to sit the pie on in the oven in case it over flows or something like that. I don't clean ovens very well so I have to be careful when I bake.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

A Chilly Tuesday Morning in Las Vegas

Fiḍal (Grace), 15 Qudrat (Power), 171 BE - Tuesday, November 18, 2014 about 10:07 am Pacific Standard Time

It is a chilly Tuesday morning in Las Vegas. The temperature at 9:56 am was 56 degrees Fahrenheit with scattered clouds and a wind chill factor of 56 degrees. The temperature is supposed to get up to 57 degrees by 11:00 am. It is autumn in Las Vegas. It is autumn in the desert.

I ate vegetable soup for breakfast this morning. I still have some of the vegetables left over so I can have them with some type of meat for lunch unless I decide to fix the T.V. dinner I have in the freezer. I need something warm to eat because that is the only way to keep warm.

The temperature has not descended below 50 degrees while I have been awake I have not turned on the warm air. I think the temperature got down to 46 degrees early this morning, but I was asleep so it did not matter. I do not like to sleep with the air on because it stuffs me up and causes me to wake up when I cough. I can always put more quilts on the bed if the cold wakes me up.



Sunday, November 16, 2014

November Haibun

Jamal (Beauty), 13 Qudrat (Power), 171 BE - Sunday, November 16, 2014 about 7:15 am Pacific Standard Time

chilly November
ghost clouds float across the sky
sun cast dark shadows

It's typical November Sunday morning with bright sunshine and scattered clouds. I look out my window and notice a slight breeze ruffling the palm fronds. I know the day will warm as the sun rises higher in the sky, therefore, I will wait until around noon to take out the trash.

a chilly morning
the middle of November
hot cup of coffee

I made one carafe of coffee this morning. It's almost gone because I used some of it on my cold cereal instead of milk. Normally I make only one carafe of coffee a day, but this morning I will make another because it warms me and brings back memories of my childhood.

Grandpa drink coffee
he brewed a pot every day
sometimes more then one

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thankful Thursday: November 13, 2014

Istijlal (Majesty), 10 Qudrat (Power), 171 BE - Thursday, November 13, 2014 about 1:55 pm Pacific Standard Time

It is Thankful Thursday and it is Peanut Butter Lover's Month, a wonderful combination since I have two small jars of peanut butter in the house.

Today I am thankful...

01. ...for the loaf sandwich bread because I can have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

02. ...for the jar of grape jelly have sitting on the shelf in my kitchen because my favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich is made with grape jelly.

03. ...for the two unopened jars of peanut butter I have because I can stay home this weekend without worrying about running out of peanut butter.

04. ...for the coffee I have in the Tupperware© canister because I can have a cup of hot coffee with my peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich.

05. ...that my checking account is not overdrawn today.

06. ...that I was able to pay the power bill this month without asking someone for help.

07. ...that the weather is not too hot or too cold because that means that I do not have to turn the central air unit on.

08. ...that I was able to fill up the gas tank of my car this month. Normally I just keep the tank half full because that is all the gas I can afford to purchase.

09. ...that I have a bowl of mixed fruit and Jell-o© salad in the refrigerator for snacks this weekend.

10. ...for the two slices of cake I  received today when I picked up my food bags because now I can have cake and coffee for breakfast.

Sunday, November 09, 2014

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts on the Blahs

Jamal (Beauty), 6 Qudrat (Power), 171 BE - Sunday, November 9, 2014 about 12:56 pm Pacific Standard Time

Blahs refers to boring stuff. I think I have the blahs this afternoon, which means all I want to do is play solitaire games.  I have other things to do and to write besides an entry on the blahs. Perhaps I should say I have a case of the blahs.

The problem I am facing at t his moment is finding something to write about. I open a document and sit looking at a blank screen. My mind is also blank, which may explain why I am having difficulty spelling simple words.

Last week I got behind on my post. I got behind on my e-mail. I got behind on the surveys I do. I did not get behind on my NaNoWriMo novel. I did not get behind on my writing,com reviews. I need a schedule that I can work by; however, I there is a good possibility that it will get messed up sometime during the week.

I am trying too hard to compose this blog entry. Therefore, I wish everyone happy NaNoWriMo.

Friday, November 07, 2014

Foodie Friday: Whatever You Call It Soup

Istiqlal (Independence), 4 Qudrat (Power), 171 BE - Friday, November 7, 2014 about 12:36 pm Pacific Standard Time

I made
Whatever You Call It soup today
I put in all the leftovers
instead of throwing them away.

I put
all the leftovers
in the electric frying pan,
let them simmer,
and then added
a dash or two of hot pepper sauce.

I will eat the soup this weekend
so that on Monday
I can start from scratch
cooking new leftovers
for another batch.

Sunday, November 02, 2014

November Poem: Daylight Savings Time Ends for 2014

Jamal (Beauty), 18 'Ilm (Knowledge), 171 BE - Sunday, November 2, 2014 about 6:39 pm Pacific Standard Time

extra hour of sleep
end of daylight savings time
for 2014

This is Day 32 of my 95-Day gratitude challenge and one of the things I am grateful is automatic time updates. I do not have to change the time on my computer or cellphone. That means I only have to deal with the microwave clock and the clock in the stove. I will change the clock on the stove sometime today and check to see if I have to change the clock on the microwave. Sometimes I do not spring the microwave clock forward so I do not have to change it back in November.

do sparrows observe
daylight savings time in song
they have their own time

It is November with shorter days, longer nights, and cooler temperatures. These things added to the change in time make the first week of November a bit hectic and confusing. Confusion comes with moving the clock back an hour because I think it should be later then what the clock reads.

morning temperatures
descend into the sixties
I need a sweater