A Daily Diary - "November 2010"

Entries for November 2010

NOTE: Don't forget to double click on any of the pictures below to view them full size. Then use your browser's "Back" button to return to the original screen.

For the month of November, I decided to feature some of the panoramic pictures that I have taken over the past several years to each daily post. Hope you enjoy them.

TUESDAY 11/30/2010 - Well, here it is the end of another month! Just 25 more days till Christmas and 31 more days till another new year. Hard to believe. It was our normal morning routine as usual. At noon we headed to the library so Connie could pick up some new reading materials. For lunch, we decided to use a coupon for a lobster special at Monstah Lobstah. Two Maine lobsters for $24.95. We hadn't had lobster since July and what a delicious treat it was. Check our our review of this great new restaurant here ... Monstah Lobstah. After lunch we went over to the "M" for a little play, but neither of us had any luck. Came home and had some nachos for dinner over a few TV shows and headed off to bed.

My Samsung Epic 4G

MONDAY - 11/29/2010 - We decided to stay home today. I spent most of the morning installing and configuring software and accounts, e.g. Gmail Calendar, Sprint TV, Amazon Music, Android Market Place, Documents-To-Go, Yahoo e-mail, G-mail, GPS, bluetooth headphones, etc. After more than four days, I think I'm finally done. For lunch, using our Thanksgiving leftovers, we had another complete turkey dinner; plus I think there is still enough left for two more meals. We watched the movie, "Braveheart", which we had prerecorded on our DVR player.

Vizit Photo Frame

The UPS man came just as we were finishing up the movie and delivered the Vizit Photo Frame that I had ordered for my mom for Christmas. I spent the rest of the afternoon setting up and playing with it. I think it is going to be a really neat gift. With always-on cellular connectivity, I, or anyone I give permission to, will be able to sent her "instant" pictures by email, MMS, or the web at any time from anywhere. from either a computer or phone. Check it out here ... http://vizitme.com/index.php. I believe it is, without question, the best digital photo frame on the market!

SUNDAY - 11/28/2011 - Spent most of the morning playing on my computer and setting up various accounts on my phone while Connie read. My friend, Jeff Stecker, was scheduled to come over for dinner, so after lunch I set the table and began making the necessary dinner preparations. Jeff had been here for only about an hour, just finishing some apple cider cocktails and munchies, when he got called into work. We decided to try again tomorrow night, and after he left I left the table set and put all the food back into the refrigerator. We decided to have left over chili for dinner over the netflix movie, Duplicity.  After the movie we had some pumpkin pie, watched one TV show and then headed off to bed.

View of Snow on Mt. Charleston taken near Jim Herring's House

SATURDAY - 11/27/2010 - Got up early and started reading the user's manual for my new phone in an effort to learn how to use all of its features. Boy, does it have a lot of features. Also loaded 8 GB of music and photos onto it. After several hours of playing, I drove over to North Las Vegas to check on Jim Herring's house. Using the GPS feature on my new phone I found a shorter way that actually shaved 9 miles off the route I took the last time we drove over. While I was there I tested the sprinklers; everything appeared fine. When I got back home, I picked up Connie and set out looking for a new restaurant, Monstah Lobstah, for lunch. We were disappointed that they were out of Haddock. We ended up ordering two seafood chowders and a large order of New England fried clams. Though the chowder was just average, the fried clams were delicious. We plan on going back next Tuesday for a lobster special - two Maine lobsters with corn on the cob and hush puppies for just $24.99.  After lunch we went to GVR and the "M". Neither of us had any luck. Came home and had pumpkin pie for dinner over a couple of TV shows and Connie went to bed while I did some more reading on my new phones user manual.

FRIDAY - 11/26/2010 - We watched some TV shows over breakfast and I worked on the computer while Connie read. I made hot turkey sandwiches with stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce for lunch and we watched a few more TV shows. Whew, we are almost caught up. On the way over to "M" to play in a special holiday tournament, I stopped at the Sprint store and ended up buying a new phone - a Samsung EPIC 4G. Got knocked out after two hours, but picked up a couple of hundred playing live which paid for the tournament entry fee and gave me a $100 profit. Came home and had some pumpkin pie with Connie over a TV show before retiring for the day.

THURSDAY - 11/25/2010 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Today is also our 40th wedding anniversary. WOW! It's hard to believe we've been married for 40 years. It was only 36 degrees this morning and there was more snow on top of Mt. Charleston. We opened a few anniversary cards over some delicious pumpkin bread cake that I picked up at Trader Joe's. We then got ready to settle in and watch the New England Patriots play the Detroit Lions in Detroit, which due to the time difference came on here at 9:30 am.  Though we were a little worried after the first half, the Patriots came back big time in the second half to win by 21 points, 45-24.

At noon I had to leave to pick up the Thanksgiving dinner to go that I had ordered at Mimi's Cafe. Everything came neatly packed in a huge cardboard box. It was a full meal deal - a full turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, pumpkin bread, cranberry sauce, all cooked and ready to heat and eat. I also made a green bean casserole. Oh yea, did I forget, pumpkin pie with whipped cream. We had a neighbor coming over for dinner around two. My brother called while we were having our dessert to wish us a happy anniversary and happy Thanksgiving. He said he had been plowing snow for two days straight, and that they were expecting more snow this coming weekend. By 6:00 pm we were all sufficiently stuffed and talked out. After Jim left, Connie and I watched a few TV shows before heading off to bed.

WEDNESDAY - 11/24/2010 - It was only in the mid 40's when we got up this morning. Just another cold, windy, overcast day. Seems like the norm this week. We went to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast this morning before before heading over to GVR and the "M" to pick up three free pumpkin pies. We had the new Avocado BLT Omelette that was filled with garlic spinach, diced tomatoes and topped with bacon, sliced tomatoes, jack cheese and avocado and served with home fries,blueberry muffins and orange juice.  Absolutly delicious!  Even though Connie lost on the slots, I won $300 in the poker room at the "M". We picked two chili dinners to take home at the deli, got our third free pumpkin pie for the day and headed home for dinner. Got a call from my mom in Tahoe wishing us a 40th Happy Anniversary. She noted that they had received more than three feet of snow over the past weekend. We talked for more than an hour and she really sounded good. We then watched Survivor and some prerecorded TV shows before calling it a day.

TUESDAY - 11/23/2010 - Connie decided to stay home today. I did some shopping for Thanksgiving, upgraded my phone plan at the Sprint store and then headed to the "M" to see if I could hit a $1,000 four of a kind flop in the poker room. No luck with that, however I was able to win $60 for the day. Came home, popped a pizza for dinner and watched a movie and some TV shows.

MONDAY - 11/22/2010 - The past two days have almost seemed like winter in New England - raw, cold and very windy with gusts of 30-40 mph. As a result we decided to cancel all our weekend plans and stay home. Sunday night however, we did go over to home of one of our neighbors to have some wine, Hors D'oeuvres, and watch a DVD.

FRIDAY - 11/19/2010 - Got up early and headed to the "M" poker room to try and hit one of their hourly cash drawings. No luck with the drawings, however, Connie won $35 on slots and I picked up $40 playing poker. On the way home we stopped at GVR and I picked up another $60. For dnner I cooked up some steamed asparagus and garlic on toast points topped with melted cheddar cheese. Had chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. Got a late call from my brother Tommy just before heading to bed. Having not heard from him for more than a month, we conversed for nearly an hour.

THURSDAY - 11/18/2010 - Today we headed to the RIO on the Strip where Connie had $10 free slot play. She made $28.00 and we left for the South Point where we enjoyed two free lunch buffets that we had gotten the last time we stayed there. They had an excellent butternut squash soup. It was so good that we both went back for seconds. From there we headed to the "M" where Connie had another $5 free slot play.
By the time we got home it had been a full day. Had chocolate cake and butter pecan ice cream for dinner, watch a couple of TV shows and went to bed.

Movie Unstoppable

WEDNESDAY - 11/17/2010 - Normal morning stuff!  At noon we walked to our clubhouse for a free thanksgiving lunch and some face time with a few neighbors. They had ordered turkey subs (The Bobbie) from Capriotti's. It is a sub with fresh turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayo. We've had them before and they are quite good. They also had chips, soda, apple pie and pumpkin pie and coffee. After lunch we headed over to the South Point Casino to see the movie, Unstoppable  with Denzel Washington. I guess you could say it was predictable; see our review for more ... Unstoppable.  From the movie we went to the "M". I had a mixed bag of luck. The first hand I played I caught four eights on the flop for a $72 jackpot.  If I had gotten the same hand yesterday when I was there, I would have received $1,000. BAD TIMING. A little later they drew my name for one of their hourly drawings for $100. On the way home we picked up some groceries. We had chocolate cake with butter pecan ice cream and whipped cream for dinner. Watched a couple of TV shows and headed to bed.

Our Road Runner

TUESDAY - 11/16/2010 - I made green pepper, onion and cheese omelets for breakfast this morning. After watching a couple of TV shows we went back to the den to play on the computer and read. I printed out and framed two pictures of a friend of mine winning a $8,888 jackpot at the Green Valley Ranch poker room last year. I hadn't been able to get them off of my phone until I recently installed a bluetooth adapter on my computer. As we were heading out on our way to the "M" for dinner, a roadrunner ran accross the driveway in front of us and then pearched on our boundary wall. Even though we, and several of my neighbors have spotted him before, this was the first time I was able to get a picture. Because we were going over to Ethel M's cactus garden later in the evening, I had my camera with me and snapped this picture. 

Christmas Lights at Ethel M Cactus Garden, November 2010

After playing for several hours we left and headed over to Ethel M's Chocolate Factory to celebrate the lighting of their Botanical Cactus Garden. With more than a half million lights and a dozen more lighted reindeer and other displalys, it was the best display since we started going! Tonight's opening event was hosted by Louie Anderson with performances by several local school choirs singing holiday favorites. Even though we had to wait more than an hour for them to turn the lights on, it was well worth the wait. To view a collage with more pictures, click here ... Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden Not only were the colors beautiful, this year they were enhanced with 3-D glasses that gave each light a beautiful snow flake like appearance.  Located only about six miles from where we live, this is a pilgrimage that we make at least once each winter.

Approach to the Hoover Dam at Sunrise - Oct 2010

MONDAY - 11/15/2010 - After a simple breakfast of english muffins, I played on the computer while Connie read. Around noon we decided to shower and get dressed and head over to the "M" for two free lunch buffets. We played for about three hours afterwards; I won about $130 in the poker room, Connie lost about $20 playing slots. Came home and watched a Netflix movie that had been sitting on the coffee table for about 10 days. We weren't too hungry, so I popped some pizza rolls into the toaster oven and called it dinner. Watched a couple of TV shows and hit the rack.

Skywalk at Grand Canyon West - October 2010

SUNDAY - 11/14/2010 - I went out to do some shopping this morning. Bought a new billfold and 2GB SD card for my phone at Walmart. Went to Trader Joe's and picked up some things for Thanksgiving dinner. Connie and I then headed to TGI Friday's. We both had the "Friday's Shrimp". They were deep fried in a vary light batter and not overcooked. They were so good that we told the waitress to send our compliments back to the chief. We then shared the "Brownie Obsession" for dessert. Warmed and topped with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce, drizzled with caramel sauce and covered with chopped pecans, it was heavenly. With a 2-1 entree coupon and a coupon for a free dessert, it was a great deal. After lunch we headed to the "M" and picked up a free bottle of Raspberry SKYY Vodka. After playing there for a couple of hours we drove to Green Valley Ranch where Connie had $15 in free slot play. We both ended the day up about $20 dollars.  Came home and had some snacks over TV shows and headed off to bed.



Monument Valley - October 2009

 SATURDAY - 11/13/2010 - After our normal morning routine, we went up the street to Green Valley Ranch to have their all you can eat Crabs Legs Champagne Buffet Brunch. I had a coupon for 2 free buffets that I received in the mail from the poker room. We are such pigs! After stuffing ourselves on crab, eggs benedict, chicken fried steak, French toast, mushroom soup, prime rib, mashed potatoes, chocolate mousse and lemon meringue pie, we waddled out into the casino to gamble. I sat down in the poker room to play while Connie played slots.After the table I was playing at hit a "table bad beat jackpot", I ended up leaving the poker room $650 up. Connie also made about $40 for the day. It was a great afternoon! Came home and watched some TV shows and went to bed.

Grand Canyon, South Rim - August 2010

FRIDAY - 11/12/2010 - We headed over to Mimi's Cafe to use a 2-1 breakfast coupon. We both had the 3-pancakes, 2-eggs and 4-strips of bacon breakfast. Next we drove to the "M" where they were having drawings in the poker room for $100 cash every hour. No luck with the drawings, however I did win a big "splash" pot. After several hours, we pick up our free gift of the day, three free bottles of tequila, came home and popped a pizza in the oven for dinner and watched TV shows till bedtime.

Bryce Canyon, Utah - October 2009

THURSDAY - 11/11/2010 - I got up early this morning to drop the car off at the garage again. Had my neighbor Jim come over later in the morning and pick me up and take me to the "M".  By the time he came back around 3:00 pm to take me home, my car was ready for "pick-up".  Because this was the 2nd full day they had worked on my car trying to fix the AC and transmission shifting problem, I was expecting a "big" bill. Imagine my surprise, that after an initial potential estimate of $900+ to fix the transmission, that there was NO CHARGE! After further investigation, they determined that it was a faulty transmission wiring harness causing the problem. They also determined that there was a Freon leak in the AC system. They injected a dye into the system and told me to bring it back in a couple of weeks so they could see where it might be leaking. Again, NO CHARGE! It has taken me 7 years to finally find an honest mechanic/garage in this town, but I have to admit I really like this guy (Loren Kiner @ Imperial Auto, 1251 American Pacific) and would recommend him to anyone. He is as honest as the day is long. When I got home, we had a chicken Caesar salad I picked up at the "M" deli and watched several prerecorded TV shows before calling it a day and heading to bed.

Sunrise at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival - October 2009

WEDNESDAY - 11/10/2010 - Played around all morning on the computer while Connie read. After a quick snack for lunch, we headed out to perform some errands and go to the library. Next we went to the Rio Casino where Connie picked up $11 on her $10 in free slot play. We then headed over to North Las Vegas to check on our relative friend, Jim Herring's house. Afterwards we went to Texas Station for their dinner buffet on a 2-1 LVA coupon. We both had several items on the buffet that we thought were very good including a delicious chicken curry dish, a Mexican chicken vegetable soup, a made to order steak & cheese quesadilla, and fresh baked bread pudding for dessert. The drive home in rush hour traffic was horrible. Got home and watched several TV shows and headed to bed.

From the Bridge at Hoover Dam - October 2010

TUESDAY - 11/09/2010 - I had my neighbor friend Jim drive me over to the garage this afternoon to pick up my car. After almost a week and $380 they still didn't have everything fixed. I have to take it back again on Thursday so they can try and fix the AC problem. I'm beginning to wonder if it almost isn't time to think about giving her up and buying another car, though I still hate the thought of a new car and insurance payment. I spent most of the last two days working on updating programs on my TREO 650 PDA Phone. I haven't been able to sync it with the computer I bought a couple of years ago because they didn't have any software that would work on a Windows VISTA x64bit system. I recently bought a Bluetooth adapter and was able to sync all my programs again, however, it took me two days to update the programs and old data files.

Grand Canyon West - October 2010

SATURDAY - 11/06/2010 - Yesterday was not a good day. My car was still not fixed yet! This morning we borrowed my neighbors car to go to GVR for a buffet brunch and play a little. When out pulled out my wallet, my billfold was missing. Thought maybe I left it home. Searched everywhere when we go home no luck. I somehow must have lost it yesterday - $1,700.00 in cash. Yikes. A REAL BAD DAY! Just when things were going good, life sucks and then you die!

Eastern Entrance to the Grand Canyon, August 2010

FRIDAY - 11/05/2010 - Here it is Friday and the garage still doesn't have my car fixed yet. They have apparently been having trouble finding the right power steering unit. They had to send the first one back. I called this afternoon and they said they finally got one, but didn't have it installed yet. It is supposed to be ready some time tomorrow.  In the meantime, my neighbor friend Jim has been taking us back and forth to the casino each day. Today they drew my name in the poker room for a $50 drawing, however I still ended up with a loosing day. We had lunch with Jim while watching a horse race that he had bet on. He won $340 on the race. Came home and tried to use the spa, but it was out of order. I made a salad for dinner, watched some TV shows and headed to bed.

WEDNESDAY - 11/03/2010 - Yesterday I picked up 75 tickets for a drawing they were having today in the poker room - $100 every hour. So I wanted to get their early today in the hopes of "hitting" one of the hourly drawings. We decided to go to Blueberry Hill, one of our favorite breakfast places. It is a locally owned pancake house chain.  They have excellent waffles! On the way to the "M" after breakfast the serpentine belt on our car broke and we barely made it to the casino before she died. I called Triple A had had her towed to my mechanic. They called later in the day and said that it was caused by a wobbling power steering pulley and that it would be about $400 to fix both. The good news is that I won $200 before we had my neighbor friend Jim come and pick us up later in the day.

MONDAY - 11/01/2010 - The beginning of just another new month. Today's high was in the mid 70's and the rest of the week is suppose to be in the 80's. Gotta love Nevada this time of year. On the way home from the South Point we stopped at Walmart and did some grocery shopping. By the time we got home and unloaded groceries and unpacked, it was so nice out that we went out to our pool area and sat in the whirlpool and then sunbathed while we did some reading. I made turkey wraps for lunch and we spent the rest of the day catching up on some of the shows we had prerecorded. I did some work on the computer and then called it an evening.

Click here to read all of our Daily Diary Entries for previous months:

Previous Entries by Month