rain....rain

Good morning.
Another rainy day yesterday, but fortunately, it didn't start until after my walk.
So far this year, we've had 9.51 inches of rain. Our yearly average is 4.15 inches, so a rainy year for us! And, that's helped lake Mead, our main water supplier. The vast reservoir is currently 9 feet higher than 2 years ago. That's a lot of water!
 Here's the latest puzzles I've done.......

And all the rain really brought down the leaves, as seen along Aliante Blvd on one of my morning walks.....

Had a nice quiet Christmas. We don't exchange gifts. I do have a couple of neighbors that bring us food, but we had a nice day. Cooked a bacon encrusted pork Tenderloin we got on clearance at Smith's. They are very expensive, and the only time we eat them is when we can find them on clearance. They are tasty!
Been doing some house cleaning and  enjoying retirement.

Yes! A balcony!

Good afternoon.
Cold weather has settled here in the valley. We had our first freeze 2 nights ago when it got down to 30. We'll be warming up a bit from that, but still colder than usual. But it's sunny and 57 today and Craig and I went for a nice afternoon walk.
Here's the latest puzzles I've done......

I'm cranking them out a bit faster as they are all 500 pieces. The dollar store hasn't had any new 1000 piece puzzles in quite a while.
And here's a pic of the ship we'll be on when we cruise Hawaii......

The red arrow points to the approximate location of our balcony room on the 9th deck.
That's right! They accepted our bid for a balcony room!
So even with the cost of the upgrade, we saved over $1000 per person over the listed price of a balcony room, when we booked the cruise with an inside cabin.  So, instead of this room.....

We'll have THIS room! And besides a patio door and balcony, a couch too!

Or, from an in room perspective, instead of this room....

We'll have THIS room!

And even though we really aren't in the room that much, for the extra price, it sure will be nice!
We loved having a balcony room on our Panama Canal Cruise and the Mexican Riviera cruise.
So very happy about that. I then was able to print out our cruise documents, and our luggage tags. I even got a beverage exemption!
I'm suppose to avoid caffeine, and so I usually drink Caffeine free diet coke with my bourbon. Well, Carnival carries that, but Norwegian carries Pepsi products, and we discovered on the Panama Canal cruise, no caffeine free diet Pepsi. All they had was Sierra Mist. And that was nasty! So I called my agent and asked if the ship could add a case of caffeine free diet Pepsi. The person from the ship sent a nice e-mail apologizing, but they are unable to accommodate everyone's special requests. But, she did say they would add an exemption to my e-docs and I would be allowed to bring my own pop on the cruise. It just has to fit in my carry-on. So I'll take a 6 pack of Coke so I can have my Bourbon and Coke once in a while, or, maybe I'll get hooked on Mai Tais!
And I'm slowly getting the yard ready for winter. I've trimmed back the Lantana in the front yard, rolled up the hoses and put them in the garage, and put insulated covers over the faucets. Just have to blow out all the leaves that have come down, but that will have to wait until after the holidays, as all my extension cords are being used for the outside lights.
Well, I think that's enough for now....

where does the time go???

Good morning.
Where does time go????
Can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post.
Anyway, here's all the puzzles I've done since then........

And after I picked the Thanksgiving carcass clean, Craig made a batch of broth......

Also, with the somewhat turbulent weather we've had over the last few weeks, we got to see some unusual clouds, like the pic below.

We don't normally see a band of clouds through the middle of the Sheep mountains. Usually see the tops engulfed or above the mountains, when we see clouds at all!   :-)

I've got the house and yard decorated for Christmas, and working on Christmas cards.
Picking up the mail for just one customer right now.
Still doing my morning walks. It's been in the low to mid 40's in the morning, reaching around 60 in the afternoon. With the rainy day we had last week, our rainfall total so far this year is over 8 inches! nearly 4 inches above our normal. And Lake Mead, where Vegas gets 90 percent of it's water, is 6 ft higher than the same time back in 2014! Won't have to switch to drinking Vodka anytime soon!   :-)
Got new brakes on the Jeep a few days ago.
Can't think of anything else! Later!

winter weather

Good morning.
Winter like weather has filled the valley. Temps we normally see in January. Highs near 60. Lows in the low 40's. At least we don't have snow....in the valley anyway.  :-)
Had a little repair job to do.

The toilet in the second bath had started to squeal after it filled. It was like the shutoff  lever wasn't closing completely. I tried to oil it. I changed the water fill level. Nothing seemed to work but to remove the top and 'jiggle' the lever. I finally got tired of it and went to Home Depot, bought a new fill assembly, and swapped it out. Was actually very easy. And now.....it's quiet again.   :-)
Here's my latest puzzle.....

 A very challenging one! This one took a while. But it was also 1000 pieces.
And the cold weather has brought snow to the Spring and Sheep mountains.....

Our Sheep mountains rarely get snow, and if they do, it's in Jan, but this cold spell has brought the snow level down to about 5000 ft. Looks pretty.....up there!    :-) Will probably be gone in a few days.
Had a nice quiet Thanksgiving. Craig cooked a Turkey as usual. Watched the parade, and some of the dog show. There sure are a lot of odd looking breeds!
And for the first time in nearly a year, I think, I'm not picking up anyone's mail but my own. Feels kind of odd.
And that's about it for now.

a little late again!

Good afternoon.
Been a very busy week!
 Here's a couple more puzzles I did.....

And our neighbor and fellow morning walker, Barbie, who's husband passed away 10 days earlier, arrived in Vegas last Friday, and Craig and I picked her up.

We didn't want her first trip back to Vegas without her husband to have to Uber the 18 miles to her house all by herself.
Craig got the idea to dress up like a 'chauffeur' and stand there waiting as she came off the plane and through security. She 'loved' it! And was sooo happy we picked her up.
Another neighbor, Gloria and Dave invited us all over for dinner that evening, which was very good!
After dinner, Barbie sent me a text and asked me to come over and sit with her as she was feeling very lonely. We sat and talked until she was tired enough to go to bed.
Saturday, Barbie, Craig and I went to lunch at BJ's. She seemed in better spirits. I imagine she'll have good days and bad as different things trigger emotions. Sunday afternoon, a group of neighbors got together on her patio. Monday, we did lunch again, this time at Big Dog's Tavern.
Today a group of 10 neighbors are getting together for Taco Tuesday. Then on Thursday, She has old friends from Wisconsin coming out for a week, so I'll get a break from entertaining her.  :-)
Other than that, I've been cleaning and working on puzzles.

better late than never??/

Good afternoon.
I guess I'm overdue for a post....
Here's some of the puzzles I've done since my last post.....

And here's a visitor we saw one afternoon when we were sitting out on our patio...

This large owl took up residency in out Desert Willow tree. Stayed there most of the afternoon, sleeping.  Or at least, looked like it was sleeping.
Flew off later. Boy was it big!
Didn't seem to get any of our resident lizards. I counted 4 out there this morning.
Weather has been perfect this past week and should continue into next week. Lows in the 50's and highs in the upper 70's.
Been doing some yard work and dusting.
Booked our excursions for our cruise.
Norwegian opened bidding, so we bid for a balcony room. We booked an inside room. If you remember, we booked an inside room for the Panama Canal cruise and successfully bid up to a balcony. This apparently is what Norwegian does. We saved hundreds on the Panama cruise, and hope to do the same with this one.
Now time to go out and deadhead my Geraniums and Pansies. They grow very nice here in the cooler weather.

fall....

Good afternoon.
Fall has suddenly descended on us. Our temps this week will feel more like January than late October. We might even get a freeze on Thursday night! But it's sunny, so we're happy.  :-)
And it's still better than Michigan!
Here's a couple of pics from the yard......

You can see the long fall shadows even here!
And my latest puzzle.....

Made a batch of breakfast muffins yesterday. Been sitting out front in the driveway during happy hour. More sun there than the back yard. Seems to be attracting neighbors, so I had to bring some of the chairs from the backyard out front. Going to Taco Tuesday tomorrow. Got a group of about 11 going.
Still walking in the morning. Usually a long walk by myself, and then a short walk with Gloria. Sometimes a third walk in the afternoon with Craig. You'd think I'd be a lot thinner, but I'm not!   :-)
 It must be true you're metabolism slows down as you get older, cause I don't eat near as much as I used to, but am fighting this weight all the time!
I've got apples for a pie, and hopefully will make that tomorrow.
And with that, this post is done!

flu shot time

Good Afternoon.
Beautiful weather this time of year! Highs around 80, lows around 50's.
Here's a pic of my cape Honeysuckle.....

Not sure if i posted a pic of it before. It sure has done good this year!
And I'm getting real good at making omelets, and Craig sure likes them!

My neighbor Obbie that is gone for the summer has an Aloe plant on her patio I've been watering, and now it's going to bloom!

I don't think I watered it enough in the summer, and started watering it more the last several weeks. I 'm thinking it thinks it's spring, cause that's when it usually flowers.
And here's my latest puzzle.....

It was a challenge! And it's not food!   :-)
Had lunch today at Outback. Used up the remaining balance on that gift card. Today was walkabout Wednesday. We each got a 5oz steak, fries, and a small draft for $10.99 each. Then we added the coconut shrimp. Yummy!
Tomorrow, our neighbor Eva, is taking us to lunch. Not sure why, she's been bugging us for a few weeks now. Haven't done much for her. Changed her air filter and hauled a piece of furniture out for bulk pickup. But we'll go and make her happy. I never turn down free food!   :-)
Tomorrow we also get our flu shots, and my second pneumonia shot. We wanted them closer to the cruise so they'll be more effective.
And that's all I have for now!

annual medicare enrollment time.

 Good evening.
Weather has been great! Sunny and low 80's.
Been walking every morning, and with the cooler temps, Craig's been joining me on an afternoon walk.
Had a community garage sale last weekend, and managed not to find anything.   :-)
Been cleaning the house and dusting.....a lot! It's kind of dusty out here in the desert.   :-)
Was very busy today. Today started the open enrollment period for Medicare plans.
Been online all day looking at next years prescription drug plans.
Both Craig's and mine were going up a little bit,
and I wanted to see if I could find something cheaper.
Well, I did!
I'll be switching mine to Clear Springs Health Rx and will save about $70 a year.
I'll switch Craig's to Wellcare Wellness, and he'll save $34 a year.
Hey, every little bit helps! And the reason we're doing different plans is because we each take different meds. I take a different  blood pressure med and a different cholesterol med. And the pricing of plans are affected by the drugs you take.
And we can both get them at Smith's.
Tomorrow, I'll look at supplemental plans, although we expect to stay with Humana as the price went up just a few dollars. But I'll check and make sure it's the cheapest "F" plan, and if it isn't, make sure our doctors are in their network before we change.
I will say, the Medicare website is so very user friendly and helpful.
Anyway, no pics with today's post.

road trip

Good afternoon.
We've just returned from a road trip!
This one took us 5 days, and 1170 miles. We left Vegas last Monday, and drove to Page Arizona. Just before Page, we stopped at Lake Powell and the Powell Dam.

We even stumbled on a wedding in process at the overlook!

We spent the night in Page with our room overlooking the dam.
Then it was on to Moab Utah the next morning, with a stop at Monument Valley on the way....

 Then on the way to Moab, we of course stopped and took a pic on this famous highway......

We spent 3 nights in Moab at a BW right in the center of town.  A little pricey, but so very convenient to walk to stores and restaurants. Then the next day it was off to Arches National Park, just outside of Moab.

It was very busy. Found out October is one of the busiest months because of the milder weather. We thought since school was in, it wouldn't be as busy.  Wrong! But it was fun to refresh our memory from our first visit nearly 20 years ago.
The next day, we went to Canyonlands National Park. About a 45 minute drive from Moab.

Not quite as busy as Arches. But very cold as a front moved through during the night. A good 30 degrees cooler than the previous day.
But we saw what we wanted and enjoyed our stay. Got up Friday morning, and made the 7hr drive back to Vegas. Like I always say, if you get there safe and get home safe, it's a good trip. And yes it was!.   :-)

puzzle time

Good morning.
A neighbor I collected mail for while they were gone for the summer, gave me a gift card to Outback, and found me a puzzle to do.
It's a 3D puzzle.......

It even has a working clock! It was fun to put together, although it took only a couple of hours. But it was a very thoughtful gift.   :-)
And here's a regular puzzle I recently finished...

And my Honeysuckle is coming into bloom.....

And I made an omelet for Craig for lunch.

I've gotten pretty good at making these!   :-)
The weather has been really nice, but then, that's why we moved out here.   :-)
Still walking every morning, and doing the fitness center on Saturdays. Just not always every Saturday....if you know what I mean....    ;-)
But that's about it for now....