some yard pics.

Good afternoon.

It was a beautiful weekend. Didn't feel like a holiday, as we get no extra days off anymore.   :-)
But we did 'celebrate' the holiday. Had t-bone steaks on the grill. Were delicious!
Just shipped some hair  care products to a customer back in Lansing. He's had a hard time finding it and apparently our previous Salon wasn't selling enough to keep it in stock.
One of our neighbors who goes to the casinos quite a bit gave us a certificate for 3 nights at the Harrahs casino in Laughlin.  Was very nice of her and we'll probably use it late summer.
Just about have our dates finalized for our Michigan trip this summer. Looking forward to seeing people.
And my Mom has been bugging me for pics of the yard. I told her most of my plants are in between blooming, but here they are.....

 Purple spreading Lantana. Not as big as they should be because of that damn giant grasshopper. But they'll do better. Behind is a Baja Fairy Duster. It gets real pretty fluffy flowers, but it's in a resting mode right now.

 The orange flowering bushes are called bells of Fire. They are doing real well as are the tall cactus.

 The Autumn sage is resting right now also with just a few scattered flowers.

And there's Craig on the patio.
But we love our little yard and it's plenty enough work for me.   :-)
That's about all I have for now.....

a downtown excursion

Good morning.
Yesterday, we went down to the Fremont street area, (old downtown Las Vegas) and had lunch at the Triple George Grill.

We sat in the large outdoor dining area. We had gotten a gift certificate to Open Table as one of our many going away presents. I went online and found this restaurant. It's about 2 block from Fremont Street. I had the Lobster, Avocado BLT and Craig had a Reuben. Both were very tasty, and we have enough on the certificate for maybe 2 more visits.
After lunch, we walk down to Fremont street and over to Binion's Casino.

Way back in Jan for Craig's birthday, we went down to Fremont street and used free play coupons at 5 different casinos. So we had to get a players cards at each one. Well, I got a letter from Binion's saying they were giving me $20 in free slot play added to my card as a welcome present. . I was able to turn that free play into $26.00 cash when we left. Craig ended up losing $10, so we still left ahead.   :-)
And, we've been going every Wed. to a Station Casino for their free senior slot tournament. It costs nothing to play and you have 5 minutes to try and get as many points as possible. If you hit 50,000 points in that 5 minutes, you get a chance at a money prize from $5 to $1000. You have to go back at the end of the day or next day to find out if you win anything. Well, we've never even got close to hitting the minimum threshold and Craig thought it was just a waste of time. But I told him it gives us something to do, doesn't cost anything, and I get my little gambling fix satisfied.
Well, this past Wed. Craig hit 67,000 points! So we went back Thursday morning to see if he won anything and he got $25! Apparently they pay the top 100 point getters and Craig fell right in the middle. He now doesn't think it's a waste of time anymore.   :-)
So a slightly profitable week.    :-)
And one day we walked at the Nature Discovery Park just across the highway from our community and saw these odd looking ducks.

At least I think they are some sort of ducks.
And baby geese in the large pond....

And turtles sunning on rocks.

This park also has a huge playground with all sorts of things for kids to do. And on Sat. the entire side of the park is filled with soccer games.
And with a number of pavilions and a lot of grass, it's also popular for picnicking. It should be packed all weekend!
So happy Memorial Day weekend. Have a safe and enjoyable one, and remember why we're able to enjoy it.

Craig's finger looking better

Good morning.
Just a quick update on Craig's finger.

Most of the dead skin has flaked off and he's been massaging it with vitamin E oil. It has really helped. Especially since it originally looked like this......

The physical therapist recommended the vitamin E oil. He is also exercising the finger every 2 hours. The PT also gave him a little compression sleeve to put on the finger to help with the swelling.
So now, his finger is once again straight, and he can almost completely close the hand so he is slowly getting some flexibility back.
Not much else going on.

Is that a grasshopper?

Good morning.
Saw something new yesterday that I haven't seen out in Vegas before.......

A giant Grasshopper! That bugger must have been at least 4 inches long!

It was on the wall above our patio door. I got out our bug spray and gave it a good shot. That's when it flew over to the chair. I hit it again and it flew over by the grill. It then tried to fly toward the gate, but the effects of the spray started to work.
I was surprised to see this here in the desert. But then, I've seen quite a few birds/animals I wasn't expecting to see. I wonder if that was what was eating my purple spreading Lantana. I was beginning to think it must be some type of rodent. But I'll keep an eye on them and see if there is any more nibbling.

yellow everwhere.

Good morning.
We've had beautiful weather, with highs in the 80's, but now a heat wave is coming. We reached 95 yesterday, and the forecast for today and tomorrow is 100. But we sat on our patio yesterday afternoon, and in the shade with a light breeze, it was very comfortable. Of course, the humidity level was 1%.  I keep trying to tell people that even 90's to 100 is not bad without the humidity. I'd compare it to 75 and humid. Anyway, it's true once the temps get past 100, it is just plain hot. But unlike Michigan winters where it's just bitter cold all the time, our summers are very nice in the morning and late evening. So you do what you want outside  early, and stay inside in the afternoon.
Anyway, here's a pic I took on our walk yesterday....

I don't know the name of the tree or bush, but the tree has green bark and get covered with yellow flowers. They are all over the valley. They are very pretty with the green branches and yellow flowers, but I'm glad we don't have one in our yard, as when the flowers fall, the ground is solid yellow. It's hard to see the bush in front, but I believe it's a type of Butterfly Bush. It gets long conical blueish flowers. There are a lot of them around too! My yard is in a lull between blooming but when it starts up again, I'll post some pics.
During our cooler spell, Craig made a meatloaf, and have enough leftovers for 2 extra meals. We had one last night, and we'll have the other tomorrow. Today is leftover pork cutlets I cooked 2 days ago on the grill.
And our camera system is working out good. Craig was in the living room reading and had the cameras on the TV screen when something caught his eye. A dog came up the the front door and then wandered off. I pulled up the recording to see it came from the north and went back that way, with no owner in sight. Our HOA states that all pets must be on a leash. So this dog must have gotten loose. We opened the front door and a few minutes later, it came back. I cautiously opened the screen trying to feel the dog if there was any aggression. It was very friendly and came to the door waging it tail, and then promptly laid on it's side. There was a tag on the collar so I was able to call the owner who ended up living about 4 blocks away. Craig brought out a bowl of water for the dog while I waited for the owner to pick her/him up.
So not much else going on. Time to get Craig up for his PT appointment.

post 2016

Good afternoon.
Yep, I've actually done over 2000 posts. But of course, I started  back in 2006.   :-)
Can you believe I'm still doing this after 10 years?
Well, the days go by quickly!
Here's a pic of some type of Yucca Tree, I believe, in full bloom we saw on one of our walks....

It's very large and quite impressive! And here's a before and after pic of Craig's hand before he had his stitches removed today.....

They put these tine bandages on and cover them with what the nurse called super glue to protect the tiny holes left by the stitches. You can see his finger is still a little swollen. That will last a few more weeks according to the doctor. The next thing will now be all the 'dead' skin that will start to flake off. It wasn't pleasant for Craig having all those stitches cut and pulled out. I originally thought there must have been near 30, but there were actually only 17. I'm sure Craig thought it felt like 100 when they were taking them out. But they're now gone, and Craig can start the next process of healing.
I had my first appointment with my new doctor yesterday. He seems very nice and laid back. Looks just like Ichabod Crane. If you remember who that was.   :-)
But he switched my blood pressure meds. I think that was the problem with my  being lightheaded.  We'll see.
I've talked to a few people from Lansing this week. Everyone was anxious to share the news. A building in the apartment complex we lived in or the last year completely burned up. All 12 units destroyed. I already knew that since I subscribe to the online version of the local newspaper. But it was nice to talk to them and catch up.
So, that's it for now!

a small pic post

Good morning.
 Not a lot going on, so here's a few pics......

Took this from our patio. Craig thinks it's the replacement for the B-52. It was a huge plane with 4 engines on the wings and flying real slow. At least compared to all the other planes we see.
When we bought the house, we had to sign a form stating that we were told our house is in the flight path for Nellis Air force Base. Didn't bother us since back in Michigan, we lived near an airport. Usually we see all sorts of small jets. Mostly fighter jets I guess. Usually in groups of 2-4. Sometimes in a formation, other times just one after the other. And always very loud. But this big guy wasn't loud at all. Pretty quiet actually. But we like watching all the different planes going over.
Next pic I used my zoom on the camera, and I again cropped the pic trying to get it closer.

It's a mommy Humming Bird feeding a baby. They were on the tree in the neighbors yard. We see the mommy every day as she visits our flowering bushes. We've seen more hummers here than back in Mi.
And here's a WARNING!
The next pic is of Craig's stitched finger.
So leave now if that sort of thing makes you queasy.
...
...
...
...
...
Last Chance!
....
....
....
...
...
...Okay, here it is!
...
...
...

This pic was taken last Friday at his weekly post op check. They almost took the stitches out but decided to wait one more week. This pic is 16 days after surgery.

He's making pretty good progress. He can almost curl the finger all the way to the palm. Once the swelling completely goes down and the stitches are out, I think he'll be doing real well. He's doing physical therapy twice a week. and home exercises every 2 hours during the day.
Well that's all I have to say for now.

yummy food.

Good morning.
Apparently the raving I did about a chicken enchilada dish that one of my neighbors brought to a patio party made an impression, because Tuesday she brought another dish of them to us.

So, we had to change our dinner plans for the evening, but it was well worth it!

They were delicious!

I don't know how see makes them, but they are very tasty! We do have some very nice neighbors. She keeps saying it's for taking care of their house while they were in Europe, But all I did was get their mail for 10 days. And they already gave us a gift certificate to Kohl's and she paid for lunch at the golf club. But I'm never one to turn down home cooking!  :-)
I also got another roll of chicken wire. I put chicken wire domes over the red spreading Lantana in the front yard because bunnies were eating them. They were just planted last year and aren't large enough to withstand the nibbling yet. Well, something is eating the purple spreading Lantanas in the back yard. It can't be rabbits since my backyard has a wall around it and I put chicken wire over the bottom of the gate. One neighbor thinks it's flying rabbits. Another neighbor thinks it might be the Quail. Since I've never seen any flying rabbits out here, I'll go with the Quail. I tented them until they are large enough. See, even out here in the desert, I still need to deal with critters.
That's all for now!

puter maintenance and pie

Good morning.
Yesterday, I decided to clean the puter. I don't think I did it in Jan like I usually do, and the fan was making noises. Normally you can even tell the puter is on except for the light on the front. When that happens That usually means to much dust built up on the coils and blades. But it's easy to do. My tower has just 2 screws in the back that I take off to remove the entire side of the tower. Look at the dust just on the side vent....

And on the back......

Of course, make sure you unplug the tower before messing with it.
See how dusty it was?

I used canned air and blew it all out. Now the puter is quiet as a mouse.   :-)
I also made another blueberry pie. It turned out delicious, but messy. It just isn't jelling up enough to get a piece out without it falling apart. I put in 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, but maybe that's not enough? I do fill the pie crust way over the top. But it was tasty nonetheless.
Craig had another physical therapy appointment yesterday. Now he has a break until Friday when he sees both the pt and doctor.
Had lunch with a neighbor over at the golf club. We all had the Avocado BLT. And I must say they have very good fries and onion rings. And of course, a great view of the golf course and mountains!
Well I guess that's it for now.

Believe it. 1% humidity!

Good morning.
After flirting with 90 earlier this week, today is forecast to be 70. But in a couple of days we'll go back to our normal 80's.
Here's a pic of Craig relaxing on the patio 2 days ago when the temps were 94 and 1% humidity.

It really was quite comfortable. Low humidity and shade make a huge difference.
The plant to the right is our new Bougainvillea  which is just starting to re bloom after we bought and re-potted it. The plant to Craig's left is called Elephant's Food. I put it on the table because something has been eating it. We haven't seen any Elephants around, so not sure what's been getting it. I'll see if it does better up on a table.
And we had a last patio get together with a neighbor who leaves this morning to go back to Minnesota for the summer.
And Craig had his second therapy appointment and they are really working his hand and finger. He also has exercises he does at home every 2 hours during the day. He got a little aggressive with the exercises yesterday and had some blood on the wrappings so he's backing off a little until the stitches heal more. He goes back to the doctor next Friday and they may take out some of the stitches then, but the rest will probably be in until the following week. So his finger is slowly coming along.
And that's it for now!

look if you dare

Good morning.

Warning!

- -

-

-

Possible gross out! 

 --

--

-- 

Heavily stitched finger pic ahead!...

...

...

Here's an update on Craig's finger.....

This pic was taken on Tuesday at the the therapy office. They took his old bandages off and added a different finger brace and Velcro straps so he can easily remove it at home to do his finger/hand exercises So they let me take a pic while everything was off.

It looks like it hurts more than it does. Craig took pain pills for just the first 3 days. Now he occasionally takes aspirin. But says it doesn't bother him unless he touches the stitches. He's started doing exercises at home between therapy appointments. That is making his hand ache some. Can't bend that finger much, but it's still a bit swollen, and I don't think the stitches help with movement either.
The stitches will stay in for another 10-12 days according to his surgeon which he sees again on Friday.
In other news.....
Not much. There was a patio party at a neighbors yesterday. Lot's of tasty food. I loaned our patio table and chairs as there were more people than they had furniture for. Was a beautiful afternoon/evening.
I thought my laptop was totally dead. I left in on one day burning a DVD while we went to another patio party. When I got home, it wouldn't wake up. I forced a shutdown and it wouldn't power back on. I'd get the logo screen and then it went dark and just sat there. Couldn't get it into safe mode either. I went online with my desktop and tried everything . Finally, I was able to to get to a place where I had an option to completely reinstall the system. So I tried that, and it seems to have worked. Of course, now it's just like a brand new puter,  as everything I had added to it over the last 11 years was wiped out by the reinstall. But at least it doesn't look like I have to get a new one. So I'm busy reinstalling stuff, and I hope it continues to work.
Neighbors are starting to get ready to leave. A lot of residents just spend the winters here and go back 'home' for the summer. They start leaving around early May and by June, our community will be a lot quieter. The patio party yesterday was a sort of a goodbye for the summer party.
So I think that's all for right now.