lovin it!

Good morning.
The weather here has been near perfect! Sunny and warm.    :-)
I finally had a calm morning and blew out all the leaves from the stones in the front yard.....

Filled a large lawn trash bag. It never really looks that bad until you do it and see all the leaves. I should be good for about 6 months now.
Here's a pic of my fingerling cactus in bloom....

It has such intense orange flowers!

And surprisingly, my pansies are still going strong in this heat.
I can see, my geranium won't last through the summer. After our little early heat wave last week when temps hit 98 one day, a couple days later, most of the flowers on the geranium were black and wilted. The plant itself looks fine, but apparently, the flowers can't take the heat.
Well, then it'll be time to take it out and put in Vinca. They did really good last summer.
And yesterday,we went downtown to Fremont Street for a little people watching fix.....

The shirtless men in the fatigues were posing for pics with the tourists. They were making pretty good money while we sat at a bar across the street.

There was a band playing next to the patio we were sitting in. We even got my White Castle burger fix!
You certainly see all kinds of people. We met a couple from Spokane, Washington and one couple from Pennsylvania.
Back at home....
Here's a pic I took om one of my morning walks....

I believe it's a type of Century plant. This flower stalk must be about 12-15 ft tall! They live for years without blooming, then they finally bloom, and the entire plant dies. You can see the leaves wilting at the base of the stalk. There were hundreds of honeybees on it.
Also, the latest puzzle I worked on....

 I also sprayed for weeds at a neighbor's yard, and watered and fed their new palm tree while they are gone.
So, keeping busy enough for me.   :-)

pretty roses

Good afternoon.
First off, here some pics of all the beautiful roses I see on my morning walks......

And these are just 'some' of the many I see. Like I said, the desert climate must be very good for them.
Sprayed bug defense all around the outside of the house since the last rain. Did some flower deadheading. Also, I cleaned the bathrooms today too.
Yesterday, we went to Big Dog's Tavern for lunch. Had their delicious, smoked sausage.
Also stopped at the beauty supply store over near there to pick up products I ship back to Michigan for an ex customer/friend.
Since my neighbor Barbie is gone for a while, I've been walking quite a bit with Dave and Gloria.
They don't walk as long as I like to, so after I walk with them, I usually go for a longer walk.
Having pork cutlets on the grill for dinner along with roasted potatoes and carrots.
That's it for now!

catching up.

Good afternoon.
Last Saturday, Craig was in a mood for a little road trip, so we drove down to Boulder City. I think it's about a 45 minute drive. It's just a little south of the valley on the way to the dam.
Actually, the city was built as a place for workers on the dam to live. As such, there are no casinos in the city. They put it in the city charter so as to keep the workers focused on the building of the dam. And even though the dam was finished long ago, they've kept the casinos out. Probably the only city in Nevada without a casino.   :-)
But of course, there are casino's not to far from there.
Had lunch and did some window shopping. Was a nice little getaway.
Made another grape/cranberry pie today.....

I don't precook the grapes like most recipes call for as we like a little more firmness in ours.
And here's a interesting plant I saw on my walk the other day....

It's some type of Aloe. I don't seem to have much luck with them myself. I think I over water everything.

But my geranium and daisy are going gangbusters, so I can do something right.   :-)
Here's the latest puzzle I finished this afternoon....

Craig cooked a shank ham for Easter Sunday. Very good! He thinks good hams have to ahve a bone. I'd have to agree. They do taste better.
And the neighbor that 'rented' space in my fridge to thaw a turkey, brought a plate of leftovers that we ate today for lunch. It was yummy also!
Well, that's my quick little update.

another week.

Good morning.
I've just returned from my morning walk and ate my bowl of Kellogg's Cinnamon and Pecan cereal.
Here's another pic of roses I see on my walk....

There's two bushes there and they are huge!

And here's the latest puzzle I just finished.....

Another challenging one but still enjoyable.
Here's the full moon this morning on my walk......

If you click on the pics, you'll see Mt Charleston in the distance, still covered in snow, even though we'll be near 90 here in the valley.
And this is another sight I saw on my morning walk.....

This house sits across from a road that comes into the main road, Widewing. From people I talked to, it appears someone had a medical issue, and either couldn't turn the corner, or stepped on the gas instead of the brakes. Came right across the street and up the drive and into the corner of the garage and courtyard. Hope he/she is okay.
I was going to bake another pie, but I don't have room in the fridge to store it right now. We have a large ham on one shelf ready to cook for Easter Sunday, and a turkey on another shelf thawing for a neighbor who is having a large family gathering and didn't have any room in her fridge.
In exchange for 'renting' space in my fridge, she said she'll bring over leftovers. Sounded good to me!
So other than picking up 2 neighbors mail while they are gone, I've been cleaning, trimming, working on puzzles, and enjoying retirement.

a good buy

Good afternoon.
The rain is moving in, along with a cold front. 75 yesterday, and windy, rainy, and 67 out today. But, as usual with Vegas, tomorrow will be sunny again and 74, and warming up to near 90 by Sunday.
Last Saturday was the community wide yard sale. They have this twice a year. I didn't have a thing to sell, but we fixed our morning coffee, and went for our walk. Thought we could get both walking and window shopping in. Never know what you may find at yard sales. Well, we no soon left our house, and 5 doors down the street, where a new neighbor moved in, they were having a sale. Had just moved up here from Henderson, which is in the far southern area of the valley. I found this lamp for sale there....

It's called a bankers lamp for some reason and I've wanted one since we moved here for my desk. I just didn't want to spend the money for it.

Well, he had it for sale for $3. I snatched it up! It's perfect for the little stand on the side of my desk. And yes, that is a 32 inch monitor. It's really a nice size for someone who needs reading glasses. But with this monitor, I don't.   :-)
Wandered around some more, but didn't find any thing else we needed/wanted.
And here's a pic of another beautiful rose bush at a neighbors yard....

This afternoon, we're heading back to Taco Tuesday at the Aliante Casino. Three other couples are joining us including the new neighbors.  Should be a good time to get to know each other.
Haven't seen any coyotes on my walks, and very few rabbits. I think yesterday, I walked around 45 minutes, and counted 4. A couple of years ago, I could have counted over 50.
So, that's about it for now.
Now time to head over to Salted Lime for a Margarita!

Spring

Good morning.
Just finished my walk. Since my main walking partner is gone for a few weeks, I've been doing longer walks. About an hour. My walking partner, though much younger than me, is basically lazy.   :-)
So she likes shorter walks of about 25 minutes.
Anyway, Craig and I have also been walking about 3-4 times a week in the early afternoon, so getting some exercise.   :-)
Here's a couple of puzzles I've finished this past week.......

And I made a Grape/Cranberry pie.......

I have to agree with Craig. The Cranberries add a nice tang to both the Apple and Grape pies.
I use about 3/4 cups of sliced Cranberries to about 2 cups of other fruit. And with a 0 calorie sweetener, and a crumb topping, a lot less calories! And to savor it for more days, we slice it into 8 pieces.
And here's a pic of some roses from my neighbors yard.

She's the one that just left and said someone should enjoy them. Roses seem to do really well out here. Either it's the soil, or very low humidity, but they all look very robust!
We also went to the Salted Lime inside our Aliante Casino for Taco Tuesday with about 6 other neighbors. $4 Margarita's, $1.50 street taco's, and $3 taquitos. A tasty meal and drink for $10!
Then we decided to stay and play the slots a bit. I happily hit a small progressive on a penny machine for just over $100! Also did pretty good on another machine called Money Roll. Unfortunately, as what usually happens when we go out to gamble, One of us loses and one of us wins. Craig lost this time. But after we were done and I cashed in my tickets, we were still up $85 !
So we were lucky this time.
Also.......
As neighbors are leaving for the summer or for trips, I'm getting busier.
I'm picking up mail for 2 neighbors right now, and the newspaper for a neighbor that is out of town for a few days and didn't want to stop it. So free paper for me!
 I guess that's my update for today.

spring update.

Good afternoon.
And a beautiful one it is! Sunny and 73. Can't get any better! And as promised, a few pic of my flowers.....

The geranium was planted last fall. Made it through the winter with mainly flower buds getting the brunt of the cold. But as the weather has warmed, it's really going to town!

And this is the daisy like plant I planted last year. It also has really gone to town!
And my latest puzzle.....

Another hard one! But still enjoyable, as I like the challenge.
      Even though I flew our Michigan State flag all week,

it wasn't enough. Our Spartan's fell to Texas Tech in the Final Four.
       My walking companion in the morning is heading back to Illinois next week, so it looks like I'll be going solo for a while. But I do have music I downloaded to my phone.
Went to lunch yesterday at our golf courses grill. Split a Avocado BLT with fries. Seems to be our go to item there.   :-)
Craig and I also washed, waxed, and cleaned the inside and outside of the jeep. Looks and smells brand new!
Well, that's all I can think of for now...

catching up

Good evening.
Another beautiful day today, and we went to lunch at Metro Pizza again, but this time with 7 other neighbors.
They have an outdoor patio and the weather was great!
I sprayed for weeds the other day. With all the rain we've had this winter and spring, for Las Vegas anyway, the weeds are really coming up through the stones.
I also trimmed up our weeping Rosemary bushes.
And of course, I've been flying our Michigan State flag, as our Spartans in in the Final Four!

I have to remember to take some pics of the back yard. Our daisy is blooming the best ever, and so is the geranium we planted last fall. Our Cape Honeysuckle and our Bougainvillea both look like they've died way back from our harsh winter, but are coming from lower with much vigor.
I've waited to trim them back in hope they would leaf out higher, but I think it's time.
Our neighbor had her house painted. It looks nice and 'fresh'.
I'm still walking every morning, and most afternoons with Craig. And Saturdays I go to the fitness center. Trying to keep my weight decent so I don't have 'retirement' fat when we go back to Michigan.   :-)
And it isn't easy. Too much dining out and patio parties. But soon, a lot of the neighbors will be gone for the summer, and it will be very quiet around here. One is leaving tomorrow, and 2 more the end of April.
So, that's it from Vegas!