I suffer from Psoriasis

‘Idál (Justice), 15 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Wednesday, July 8, 2009 about 4:21 PM Pacific Time

I suffer from Psoriasis. I am presently dealing with flare-up. The medication I use can only be applied for 14 days at a time. It is applied twice a day to the affected areas. Psoriasis is itchy and painful, I put the itchy first because that is the most difficult for me to deal with during a flare-up.

Today I received a book in the mail called Speaking Clearly: Living well in a world that doesn't understand psoriasis and is put out by Abbott. I forgot about requesting the book, probably because I have been under a lot of stress lately (which encourages psoriasis flare-ups). I am glad the book arrived today because it will help me deal with the disease.

The book has eight chapters

• Chapter One - family, friends + support
• Chapter Two - intimate relationships
• Chapter Three - in public
• Chapter Four - at work
• Chapter Five - on the road
• Chapter Six - look your best
• Chapter Seven - feeling fantastic
• Chapter Eight - comfortable in your own skin

I will begin reading the book this evening.

The 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11

July 20, 1969, forty years and another century ago a man left a human footprint on the moon. I remember seeing a picture of the Earth from the Moon. There were no human created boundaries marring the surface of the Earth. There were mountains, rivers, oceans and clouds. Earth was a beautiful blue-green planet, with white clouds, white snow peaked mountains and brown deserts. When I saw that picture of the Earth from the moon, I became a citizen of Earth and not just a citizen of a single country on the planet Earth.

I don't know if the photo of the Earth from the moon was taken at the same time as the Lunar Landing. I know I always associate the picture and the Lunar Landing in my mind. That's one of the interesting things about memory, each person remembers the same event in different way because we each see each event we witness from a personal point of view.

July 20, 1969 at 4:18 P.M. EDT, two men walked on the moon. Two human beings left human footprints on Luna and the world became smaller. The Lunar Landing changed the way many of my generation saw the world. As we watched the landing on television, our concepts of Earth and humanity expanded.

Summer in Las Vegas

It's summer in Las Vegas. I have the thermostat set at 79 degrees, which means the central air doesn't come on until the temperature reaches about 86 or 87 degrees. I haven't checked to see when the air comes on, I'm going to have to do that because I may have to set the thermostat slightly lower. I'll have to decide that after I see the next power bill.

The hottest temperatures in Las Vegas are in August. The bill will probably be high in July (which isn't due until August 6) and August (that is due September6). A year or so ago I have due date changed from the third week of the month to the first or second week (depending on when the 6th falls).

The power bill is now due a few days after the largest check hits the bank account. This helps; also, the past few bills have been under $200.00. Since I haven't see the next bill yet, I don't know how much it is, but I suspect it will be higher then the bill due on July 6. Fortunately, we're caught up on the power bill; therefore, I can put that out of my mind for a while and deal with other issues.

I upgraded to Explorer 8

Fidál (Grace), 14 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Tuesday, July 7, 2009 about 1:14 AM Pacific Time

I upgraded to Internet Explorer 8 yesterday. I think I am going to like it better then the earlier version. Of course, today is the first day I have used it, so I might want to wait until I have more experienced with this version. It is easier to tab browse and it fines the e-mail links I click on without any problems. I still have a telephone line connection to the Internet, all though I am planning to get DSL within the next couple of months.

I went four days without downloading mail into my Outlook box

‘Kamál (Perfection), 13 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Monday, July 6, 2009 about 4:19 PM Pacific Time

I did it again. I went four days without download my e-mail into the Outlook box and with my telephone connection that is a mistake. The problem with the phone line connection is the speed of the download. Sometimes the server times me out or my connection drops. The connection dropped twice.

After the last time, I called my provider's technical support and had them delete all my e-mail from the server. It felt good to make the decision to do that. Normally, I would be reluctant to do something like that because I might have an important message. I am no longer worried about that possibility. If I lost an important message, well too bad I last it. I'll never know anyway (unless it was from a family member and then someone will contact me at another e-mail address or by phone).

This is something new for me. It must be part of the process of spiritual transformation. I put the entire situation into God's hands and then made the decision to have the e-mail deleted from the server.

The 4th of July 2009

Jalál (Glory), 11 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Saturday, July 4, 2009 about 8:04 AM Pacific Time

The 4th of July has arrived
with memories of yesterday,
memories of sparkling fireworks displays,
picnic and grandma's traditional potato salad.

Independence day,
a day to celebrate America's Independence
tell the story of freedom's struggle,
watch parades,
and eat at barbecues.

I had my lower plate adjusted today

Istijlál (Majesty), 9 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Thursday, July 2, 2009 about 5:40 PM Pacific Time

I had my lower plate adjusted today. I haven't be able to eat with it very well, so I went to the dentist at 8:00 AM. After having it adjusted, we went out to eat breakfast. I had an easier time eating this morning, after the adjustment, then yesterday afternoon. I don't know if I'll have to have it adjusted again or not. I'll know that after Saturday.

I'm going to a 4th of July barbecue on Saturday. I'll see how eating goes that day. I think I'll put the dental adhesive on the plate before going to the barbecue. I don't use the adhesive on the upper plate anymore, but I do use it on the lower plate sometimes. Life is an adventure and learning to eat again with my false teeth is becoming an adventure.

I Graduated from Shawnee High School in 1966

‘Idál (Justice), 8 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Tuesday, June 30, 2009 about 8:39 PM Pacific Time

I graduated from Shawnee High School in 1966. I haven't thought about Shawnee, Oklahoma, in a long time. However, this evening when I checked my yahoo.com e-mail there was a message about a Pizza Party for the class of 1966.

I doubt that I can go, so I'm going to have to send my regrets within the next couple of days. I would love to go and see my high school classmates, so before I can actually say either no or yes I'm going to have to take a hard look at the finances.

My gut feeling tells me I won't be able to go and my gut feeling is usually right. Still, it won't hurt to say some prayers before I make the final decision and let my classmates know I won't be there. I don't like to make any decision without praying about it; not that I haven't made decisions without prayer, but I have more regrets about the decisions if I don't pray before making them.

At 62, I've came to realize that regrets are wasted efforts, wasted thoughts. So I pray before coming to a final decision, even if my gut feeling tells me I can or can't do something. Prayer will reinforce the gut feeling or open a path.

In the heat of the afternoon

Fidál (Grace), 7 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Tuesday, June 30, 2009 about 12:35 PM Pacific Time

Daily writing practice prompt for Friday, June 19, 2009 was “In the heat of the afternoon.”

In the heat of the afternoon, I wonder how we will pay the power bill this summer. I wonder how we can keep the power bill down to an affordable level. We do not use a dryer because the it broke two months ago and we are hanging cloths outside to dry. We do not use the dishwasher, but instead was each meals dishes as we go through the day. We have switched from old fashion light bulbs to the long lasting bulbs.

The refrigerator we have is not new, but it does not run 24/7; still it uses more electricity then a new model. I have one area fan, which I can use to cool one section of the house. I need to get another area fan to help circulate the air. I suspect the only other option I have is to weatherize the house, to have someone inspect it to see what we can do to keep it cooler without running up the power bill.

This is Las Vegas in summer and the temperatures are only going to get hotter.

Some call it the bewitching hour

Daily writing practice prompt for Tuesday, June 23, 2009 is “Write about an hour of the day.”

Midnight, twenty-four hundred hours, some call it the bewitching hour or the witching hour. For me it's just another digit on the clock in another sleepless night. Perhaps I don't need a lot of sleep, maybe it's an age thing. After all, I'm 62 years old and I'm not getting any younger, sometimes I'm not sure that I'm getting older, but I do know I'm not getting younger.

Grandma Newland did housework when she couldn't sleep. She would get up in the middle of the night and mop the floor. Sometimes she cleaned the bathroom or the kitchen, but she never lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Normally, I don't lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Often I get up and work at the computer.

Sometimes I lay in bed and stare out the window counting the time Metro's helicopter flies over the neighborhood. Sometimes I check the front door, the sliding door, or go outside to make sure the car doors are locked. Usually I get up and work at the computer, all though I have been know to wash dishes or mop a floor, but those are rare occasions.

Lately I've been saying prayers. I open my prayer book and read the evening prayers. I also read the Long Healing Prayer revealed by Baha'u'llah. I like that to read that prayer, especially on night I can't sleep.

I have one less item in my garage

Kamál (Perfection), 6 Rahmat (Mercy), 166 BE – Monday, June 29, 2009 about 1:57 PM Pacific Time

A young man came to pick up the old refrigerator, which was in my garage. I plugged it in last Friday after I came home from the dentist and its run ever since. The fridge was recycled and the parts are useable. The fridge run 24/7 and kept things cold, so it was a good candidate for recycling.

Anyway, I have one less item in my garage now. The only things left to remove are the dryer, the couch, and the soda machine. I'm want to see the dryer and the couch go next, once they're gone then I will have room in my garage for my car again. Of course, before I put the car in I'm going to have to sweep the floor and rearrange the trash cans.

Maybe I'll just have the garbage truck take the old aluminum trashcans. I have a new plastic trashcan that rolls, so I don't really need the old cans. I can get rid of them and just use the new trashcan.