mid week post.

Good afternoon.
Well, the last week or so has been interesting. We have this invasion of Grasshoppers!

I took these pics of a neighbors home a few mornings ago.
Fortunately, there haven't been as bad here as down on the strip.
Apparently, our wet mild winter and wet spring has caused this massive explosion of these bugs.
They say they'll only be here for a couple of weeks as they're moving north. I guess they are so bad on the strip because they are drawn to the lights. The news says it's happened before. One reporter says he's seen this 3 times in the last 60 years.
Anyway, I'm still walking every morning. It was pretty warm and humid this morning. 87 and 31%. That's due to the monsoonal weather that's been trying to move into the valley. It mostly hits Arizona and Utah, but occasionally reaches us.
Who knew there would be so much going on in a desert!
Had lunch Monday at the Cheesecake Factory, treated by neighbors as thanks for getting their mail and watching their house while they were gone. I always say they don't need to do anything. That's just what neighbors do, but they always insist. It pays being a nice neighbor.   :-)
Seen just one coyote the last month or so. But that's probably enough to keep the rabbit population in check.
Don't know much else.  ....

Taco Tuesday

Good morning.
Been a busy couple of days.
Made another batch of my breakfast Muffins....

Turned out tasty as usual. And I finished another puzzle....

And yesterday we went with 5 other neighbors to the Salted Lime for Taco Tuesday...

This is starting to become nearly a weekly gathering. But they do have pretty good reasonably priced food, it's close, and it's currently too hot to sit outside on a patio in the afternoon.
And speaking of hot, we're getting the seasons hottest weather this week. Several days of 110! Even in the morning when I walk, it's near 90. And the monsoonal season has begun which is bringing chances of thunderstorms and more importantly....humidity!! It was 23% this morning when I walked. And with temps near 90, that's pretty humid!
But I'll still take this over Michigan's long winters.  :-)
Have to take the Jeep in this morning. Got a recall notice. Something about the fan.
So that's all I got for now...

another post.

Good afternoon.
Here's some pics from one of my morning walks......

Yep. It's the ducks. The top pond is actually our large fountain at the main corner of our community. The opposite side of the pic is the sidewalk corner along Elkorn and Aliante Blvd. During the day, there is a 30 ft fountain of water shooting up from the middle.

The baby ducks are as big as the parents now. They all scrambled to the lower pond by the driveway where I was. I believe people come out and feed them so they were expecting me to also.
After picking up the neighbors mail this morning, (I didn't get it Saturday. I was to lazy to walk all the way down to the cul-de-sac where their mailbox is located) I walked around their houses to check on things and discovered a large package from Amazon by the side door.  I was about to put it in their garage when I noticed a different name on it. And then, a different address. Yep, it had been delivered to the wrong house. How does that happen? We all have our house numbers prominently displayed on the front of the garage. It was suppose to go to 7741, and it was at 7749. So I took it over to where it was suppose to be. She was happy to get it as she was expecting it the past weekend. And this has happened more than once!
I think some of the Amazon drivers they subcontract to don't know how to read.  :-/
Anyway, went to the doctors office this morning for my regular biannual visit. All my test results were normal so he spent the time talking about my up coming trips. Guess he wanted to make sure he spent enough time with me.   :-)
One of my walking neighbors comes back tomorrow, so I shouldn't have to walk by myself in the morning for a while.
And here's the last 2 puzzles I did.....

Both of them fireworks themed.
Been trying to talk Craig into a Mediterranean Cruise, but he just doesn't like the idea of a 15 hour flight to get there. Oh well. Maybe I'll find something else.

playing catch-up

Good morning.
Now that I've returned from my trip and recovered, time to do a few catch-up posts......
Here's a couple of pics from our monthly community magazine they mail to every homeowner.....

This was the July issue.

It's a glossy, very nice magazine that covers news from the board of directors and various departments, plus news from the many community clubs, and activities and entertainment.
And as fancy as it is, it doesn't cost us a penny. The ads they sell not only pay for the cost of production, but generates a little profit too!
And here's a couple of pics I took around the 4th....

Flags on all the street posts throughout  the community.

And of course, a flag on our house!
And a couple of days ago, I took this pic during my morning walk. It was a full moon.....

Took mail over to one of my neighbors that just returned. Still picking up mail for 2 others.
After my walk this morning, another neighbor asked me to look at one of her bushes. Some of the leaves were looking scorched. I was thinking maybe not enough water getting to it. Had her turn on the dip system to discover that one of the 2 drips was barely putting out any water. I adjusted it and as I was checking others, discovered a leak in the front yard and sealed that.
I try to check my own drip system about once a month. Since the drips run very early in the morning and very late in the evening, you don't normally see if there's an issue.
Just one of the many different things about living in the desert.
That's all for now...

post Michigan trip.

Good evening.
I figured it was about time to do a post on my trip to Michigan.
The last post showed you a pic of me and my Mom. Here's one of me in Lansing with the woman and her husband that bought my Salon....

Not a very good pic. I don't know why.
Anyway, my brothers spent the entire weekend before we moved Mom, getting her furniture in the new place and getting it all set up so she would hopefully feel at home. It was quite the adjustment for our Mom. Going to an unfamiliar place with a completely different setup. She got used to the nursing home where everything was done for her and the new place expects her to do most of everything for herself.
But our flight to Grand Rapids MI went well. We left at the crack of dawn on a Wed. arriving in Michigan late that afternoon. After getting our luggage, and the car rental and checking into our hotel, grabbed a bite to eat at a sports bar next to the hotel.
The next morning, we got up early, (remember, MI is 3 hours ahead of Vegas) and drove to Muskegon. I was able to get my Mom's hair cut before they discharged her at 11am, and I took her over to the new place. She seemed to like the large room and private bath.  Brian, Louie and his wife Bonnie worked to get everything put away and organized that we brought from the nursing home. They came and took Mom to lunch and we chatted while they finished up. Mom came back and we visited a bit and then left for the drive to Lansing.
Spent 2 days there visiting friends and former co-workers. Then back to Muskegon on Sunday morning to see Mom for a bit before we headed back to Grand Rapids. We were supposed to fly out on Monday at 12:27pm, but got continuously delayed until we finally flew out at 1:45 am!!!  We were in the airport for nearly 13 hours!! They did give us $100 voucher each, and $16 food voucher for a meal.
Didn't get back to Vegas until 2:30 am Vegas time. We were exhausted!!
But we've finally recovered. All in all, we got there safe, and got home safe, so a good trip.
I'm happy I got to see Mom, but sad she doesn't like the new place. Hopefully the place will grow on her. She didn't care for the nursing home at first either.
Now, it's only 8pm, but I'm going to bed. Still tired from the trip I think.

Seeing Mom

Visiting my Mom in her new assisted living apartment.
We decided to coordinate our outfits.

Will write more later.

Nice walks

Good evening.
I've just returned from an after dinner walk. A little warm for walking at around 100, but not bad.
I've been doing more of them along with my morning walks. 
Craig cooked a ham with scalloped potatoes and steamed carrots. Very yummy.
Here's a few pics from one of my morning walks along several fairways on the golf course that snakes through our community....

I mix up walking on the fairways and on the streets. Depending on my mood, and who I might be walking with. Right now, I've been walking mostly alone.

This is a drainage area that most of the year is just stones. But with our cool wet spring, the grasses and tumble weeds have thrived!

And here's our little resident lizard....

He/she is on the wall just to the right of the middle of the fountain.

We've seen quite a bit of him/her. We think it might be living in a big crevice in the wall behind the left pot of cactus. When the wall was built, the bottom row of blocks has a gap about every 3 ft. It's for drainage, but probably the perfect size for a nice little den.
Tomorrow morning, we have blood tests for our twice yearly check-up. Then later, we're doing Taco Tuesday with 6 other neighbors.
That's all for now....