Midweek Reflections on Excessive Heat Warnings

'Idal (Justice), 5 Núr (Light), 173 BE - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 about 3:19 {M Pacific Daylight Time 

It's that time of year again when temperatures rise into the triple digits and the national weather bureau issues Excessive Heat Warnings for the Las Vegas valley. This means that you need to make sure your pets have plenty of water and shade. In addition, you need to provide a fan for your outdoor dogs to keep them cool. Yes, I wrote a fan. I heard on  the news last night that there is a law that states you have to provide a fan for  your dogs if they stay outside. 

I think this is a good idea. I know when I had a dog she was stressed if she was left outside during the day. Of course, I always brought her into the house during the day. It's always cooler for dogs in a house with air conditioning. I owned a Springer Spaniel, so every year at the end of March or the beginning of April I would take her to the groomer (which was in the vets office) to have her shaved. She didn't seem to mind losing all her winter hair at once. It helped her stay cooler and it cut down on how much hair she shed. 

 

Motivational Monday: Today's Motivation

Kamal (Perfection), 3 Núr (Light), 173 BE - Monday, June 6, 2016 about 5:47 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

What motivated me today? This morning my writing motivation was a question about the difference between prose poetry and a short-short story. I did a little research to find out the difference. I found that prose poetry focuses on metaphor, simile, and imagery with passages of rhythm, rhyme, and meter. While a short-short story focuses of character and plot. All right I already knew  that, but there is nothing wrong in doing a little research to find out that what you already knew was right. 

I was also motivated to pick up my Senior Commodity allotment today and go  to one of the food banks to get some other items. My SNAP allotment was cut down the last time I applied, so I will have to go to other food banks for some more food later this month. Next month I have to recertify for the Senior Commodities, so I am motivated to make out the paperwork for that. 

The only other interesting thing I did today was to apply for a burial plan. I am 69 years old and, even though I am in fair health, my eventual death and burial is something I need to consider. I have a burial lot paid for, but, as I found out when we buried my mother in 2012, there are other costs besides the lot and the casket. The burial plan will cost about $50.00 a month which means I am now motivated to figure out where that $50.00 will come from. You see, I am living on a fixed income so that money cuts into something else. However, I have to consider the extra cost of burying my body when my soul passes into the next world. 

Thankful Thursday: The First Thankful Thursday in June 2016

Istijlal (Majesty), 18 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur), 173 BE - Thursday, June 2, 2016 about 1:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

What am I  thankful for today? 

I am thankful that my checking account is not overdrawn. 

I am thankful that I still have an active internet connection to my apartment. 

I am thankful that I still have electricity to my apartment. 

I am thankful that I have a working air conditioner in my apartment. Today the temperature is supposed to reach 105. 

I am thankful for fresh brewed coffee. 

I am thankful that my sister came into Las Vegas today. 

I am thankful for cold bottles of water. 

I am thankful for this beautiful late spring day. 

I am thankful that I have some cash in my purse. 

I am thankful that I found my Grandmother Mary's clothes brush when I cleaned out a desk drawer. 

Happy Last Day of May

Fidal (Grace), 17 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur), 173 BE - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 about 7:40 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

The last day of May 

Seven months left in the year 

Two desk drawers cleaned out 

It's the last day of May 2016, I have three desk drawers to clean out before the end of the  year. I plan to have them all cleaned and straightened out before the end of June because I have several boxes in my bedroom that I have to organize and clean out before December 31, 2016. 

I'm looking forward to see what I find in the other drawers. In the last drawer I cleaned out I found my Grandmother's clothes brush and a ring with a red stone in it. I suppose I should take the ring to the pawn shop to see if it is a ruby. I doubt the stone in the ring is a ruby, but the ring itself might be gold. I'll hve to consider taking it to the pawn shop sometime in June. 

Welcome to the Last Sunday in May 2016

Jamal (Beauty), 15 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur), 173 BE - Sunday, May 29, 2016 about 8:21 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

Last Sunday in May 

And it's a beautiful day 

I'm writing the blues away 

Welcome to the last Sunday in May 2016. Here in Las Vegas under bright sunny skies I am dealing with the Sunday morning blues. I am attempting to write them away. It would be easier if I knew why I was feeling this way.  

There could be several reasons I am feeling this way. I most obvious reason is that it is the end of May. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and the only thing I have planned for summer is to remain home. I am planning to read several books, write some stories, and poem. I also plan to listen to the neighbors dogs barking for no obvious reason.  

Figuring out why the dog is barking could be a good plot for a stories. Now I have to figure out whether it is a mystery or horror story. I am attempting to get out of my box and write genre I normally don' t use. I read mysteries, horror, fantasy, and science fiction, but I usually write science fiction and fantasy. 

Writing the blues away seems to be working. I am in a better mood, but that could be the coffee. I just finished my first cup of coffee. I will post this so that I can get on with something else. I want to write a Memorial Day poem, but I have not  decided on a subject. 

Sunday Speculations on My Coming Week

Jamal (Beauty), 7 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur), 173 BE - Sunday, May 22, 2016 about 4:09 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

I have a full week of planned of cleaning out desk drawers. My computer desk has five drawers which I decided to clean out last week. I cleaned out  one drawer. That was a difficult job because I had to figure out what was keeping the drawer from opening. I finally managed to get the item out and discovered it was an empty plastic CD holder. 

When I finished cleaning out the drawer I found numerous poem and story beginnings, which I kept and put back in the drawer to work on at leisure. I will work on them, as soon as I get the other four drawers cleaned out. I'll start on one of the drawers, the largest of the four, on Monday. Think I will begin cleaning it out in the afternoon after I finish writing and doing some surveys. 

I did some surveys today. The surveys I completed were rather long, so I am going to limit myself to one or two survey websites a day. The total surveys well be no more than six and  no less than three. That way I will at least ear a little money or a few points while I am cleaning out my desk drawers. After I finish the desk drawers, I have to start on some boxes in my bedroom. 

Thankful Thursday: Gratitude on a May afternoon

Istijlal (Majesty), 4 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur), 173 BE - Thursday, May 19, 2016 about 7:32 PM PDT 

I am thankful for the wind this afternoon because it makes the day cooler and gives me ideas for poems. 

I am thankful for the long days because it means there is more daylight time. 

I am thankful for cold bottles of water because it help keeps me cooler on warm days. 

I am thankful that I found some more of my mother's poems to put with here collection. 

I am thankful for program with a spell and grammar checker because it helps me find the minor errors in a document. 

I am thankful that I could afford to pay for my prescription today. 

I am thankful that my checking account is not overdrawn today. 

I am thankful for the coffee I had before breakfast this morning. 

I am thankful that I could afford to pay the electric bill this month. 

I am thankful that I could afford to pay my internet provider this month. 

A Tuesday Afternoon in May

Fidal (Grace), 2 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur), 173 BE - Tuesday, May 17, 2016 about 4:07 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

It's a beautiful day in Las Vegas. This afternoon the sun is shining. There is no wind blowing right now. There  was a wind this morning. When I went out to check the mailbox it  was chilly. I didn't put on a jacket or a sweater because I wasn't going very far. I suppose I could have used a sweater, but by the time I decided I needed one I was halfway to the mailbox. 

A windy morning 

A little bit chilly but 

Nice all the same. 

Yesterday I cleaned out one of my desk drawers. I threw some stuff away, but I kept the poem and story starts I found. I will begin working on some of them later today. The poem's shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. I'm not sure about the story starts because I'm not sure what I intended to do with them originally. Maybe I will use them as beginnings for some of the 44 short stories I'm writing this year. 

Sunday Speculations on Technology and Phobias

Jamal (Beauty), 19 Jamál (Beauty), 173 BE - Sunday, May 15, 2016 about 8:11 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

If I were superstitious then Friday's incident with technical difficulties would make me make me afraid of Friday the  Thirteenth. Despite the problems I had Friday everything seems to be working well today. I am not superstitious about things like that. I do not know what caused the problem on Friday, but it appears cleared up  today. 

I have to admit that technology could make a person prone to phobias. I am not saying a person does not have something to fear from technology especially if you have liquid around a computer. A leak in the roof above a computer could cause problems as well. However, none of these warrant unreasonable fear and that is what a phobia is. 

I really do not need to acquire any more phobias. I finally managed to deal with arachnophobia and I can now kill a spider in my house without screaming. I can also deal with mice without jumping up on a chair and screaming, but I am not sure I can say the something about rats. Of course, we do not have any rats in the apartments I live in. We do have mice, but no rats. 

This Isn't Funny Friday

Istiqlal (Independence), 17 Jamál (Beauty), 173 BE - Friday, May 13, 2016 about 3:10 PM Pacific Daylight Time

This isn't funny Friday! I attempted to open a document I had on the cloud, but it won't let me edit it in the browser. This means I either have to print off a copy and retype it or see if it will let me copy and past to a file on writing.com. I then attempted to open a new document on the same cloud without success. I have a newsletter to get out this weekend, which I was going to put on the cloud, but since the word documents are being difficult I will compose it and save it on writing.com.

This is a busy weekend, what with the newsletter and offline work I have to do. On Monday I will print the documents I have saved on the cloud and then clean delete all the documents. Of course, by Monday everything will probably be working the way it before today, which means I won't have a problem until Friday the Thirteenth rolls around again next year.

Tuesday Afternoon Thoughts

Fidal (Grace), 14 Jamál (Beauty), 173 BE - Tuesday, May 10, 2016 about 2:32 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

It's Tuesday afternoon of the second week in May 2016. The year seems to be flying past with one day barely ending before another begins. I'm sitting in front of my computer composing this blog entry while somewhere in my neighborhood a dog is barking. I'm not getting up to see why the dog is barking because by the time I got out the front door the dog would no longer be barking. 

The day seems to  pass slowly but the week is swift in its passing. It seems like just yesterday it was the beginning of the week, but now we are almost half over. As I pause to contemplate the passage of time while eating a grape  I wonder where the past four months have gone. I'm not sure that I've accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish by this time. I still have several months to go before celebrating another year, so I have a little time to accomplish the things I want. 

I know if I push myself I can get a few goals accomplished before the end of 2016. I have to push myself harder then I've been doing. I also have to look at my 2016 goals again. I think the last time I looked at them was in January. I remember one of them, which is the one I will accomplish by the end of May. I'll have to look at the rest to remind myself of what they are.