Entries for February 2011
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Tuesday
A Daily Diary - February 2011
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Old Windmill at Wee Thump |
MONDAY - 02/28/2011 - The end of just another month, though I must say, spending February in Nevada is much nicer than it was in New England. Some trees and flowers are already beginning to bloom here. My neighbor and I are planning to take a trip to Death Valley in two weeks to see the spring wild flowers. We went to the "M" today to use our last 2-1 buffet coupon for the month. Well. apparently, so did everyone else; there must have been at least 200-300 people in line. We ended up eating at the deli. By dinner time, Connie had broken even on the slots and I picked up $250 in the poker room, which made up for last weeks losses. On the way home we drove to Red Robin for dinner as this was the last day Connie could get her free 'birthday' burger on her Red Robin card.. We shared the burger, fries and an order of onion rings for a total of $5.50. Such a deal! Watched some prerecorded TV shows when we got home and then headed off to bed
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Prickly Pear Cactus |
SUNDAY - 02/27/2011 - Today was just another lazy sit around and read day. I continued reading The Unofficial Quintessential Guide for my new camera; Connie read a murder mystery. I made turkey wraps for lunch. Got a call from my brother Tommy and mom who were driving back from dropping off his daughter Kristin at the airport. She had been visiting from North Carolina for the past week. His phone kept dropping the call, so we didn't get to talk much. Later in the afternoon we began watching the Oscars. Received a call from my sister Bonnie in Reno. For dinner I cooked up some curry chicken tenders, wild rice and frozen peas. After watching five hours of the Oscars, we headed off to bed. The picture of the Prickly Pear Cactus on the right was taken at the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area on my hike last week with the rock hounds from the Henderson Senior Center. Click here to learn more ... Wee Thump Wilderness Area.
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Title - "Veins of Gold" |
SATURDAY - 02/26/2011 - Still fighting flu like symptoms, though I don't think it's the flu. Worked on organizing and backing up the past couple of weeks worth of pictures and making changes and updates to this site. Lately I've been having problems with IE8 and decided to download the new IE9 a couple of days ago. Still many of the same problems. So, today I downloaded Chrome, Google's new browser. So far, so good! Some of the problems I was having went away. Now I have to learn how to setup and use another new program - I hate it when that happens. Talked with my now ex-neighbor Jim this morning, who still isn't feeling up to par. At noon I went to the kitchen to prepare us some avocado and Swiss cheese turkey wraps for lunch. After lunch and a movie, I decided to shower for the first time in three days. Afterwards we went to the "M" and played for a couple of hours. Neither of us had any luck. After we got home, my neighbor friend Marc came over for an hour or so to get some pointers on using his new camera. We also made tentative plans for some future photo excursions. After Marc left we watched an old Robert Redford movie (Legal Eagles) that we had recorded off of Showtime. It had been so long since we had seen this movie we had both forgotten how good it was. We both really enjoyed watching it again. Had some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for dinner over a couple of TV shows and then called it an evening. The picture above shows some crustose lichens that I captured on some rocks along the Joshua Tree Highway, west of Searchlight, Nevada.
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Joshua Tree |
FRIDAY - 02/25/2011 - Today I awoke with a severe sore throat and an overall flue like feeling. As a result we decided to stay home for the day. I spent the better part of the day working on placing pictures to my photo gallery site while Connie read. Connie made some Ramen soup for lunch. After watching a couple of movies on TV, I went back to working on pictures. You can view the end result here ... Joshua Tree Wilderness Area. Had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, watched some more TV and went to bed.
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Title - Westward Ho! |
THURSDAY - 02/24/2011 - Even though I didn't feel great today, I still got up and drove to the Senior Center for my scheduled hike to the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area, just west of Searchlight, Nevada. There really wasn't too much hiking, mostly easy walking, which, because I wasn't feeling great, was a good thing. When I got home we decided to stay home instead of going out for dinner. I made tuna wraps which we ate over some prerecorded TV shows. I then went into the den and started working on the days' pictures. Even though I didn't take as many pictures today as I normally do, I still came home with almost 200. After deleting the really bad ones, and 'fixing' some of the remaining ones, I ended up with about 30 that I felt were good enough to place on my blog site.
WEDNESDAY - 02/23/2011 - Neither of us felt too strong today, so we stayed home, read and watched TV.
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Jumping Cholla Cactus |
MONDAY - 02/21/2011 - The temps this morning were in the mid-thirties and there was more snow on all the mountains for the third day in a row. We decided to stay home again today. I added a couple of new categories and pages [ Nevada Mine Samples ][ Jumping Cholla ] to my Photo Gallery blog while Connie read. After lunch, I visited my ex-neighbor Jim at his new apartment. He still hasn't been feeling up to par since I took him to the hospital a couple of weeks ago. I spent some time helping clean up his living room and dining room which were still filled with boxes from the move. On the way home I ran some errands picking up clothes at the cleaners and stopping at Trader Joe's. I cooked a ot roast skillet meal for dinner. We watched some prerecorded TV shows and then both headed off to bed to read.
SUNDAY - 02/20/2011 - I spent a good part of the morning reading the book I purchased on how to better utilize my new camera. Just before noon we had a visit from our ex-neighbor Jim who had been dropping off the keys to his old apartment. After Jim left I made turkey wraps for lunch which we ate over our Netflix movie, 'Home of the Brave'. The movie tells the story's of how four American soldiers returning from their tours of duty in Iraq must face the memories of war and deal with both their physical and psychological injuries as they try and return to civilian life. Even though the script writing could have been better, we still felt this was a powerful film. After the movie we read and played on the computer. Later on we had cherry pie for dinner, watched TV and went to bed. |
Cactus in Eldorado Canyon |
SATURDAY -02/19/2011 - Connie made French toast for breakfast. I spent most of the morning posting pictures from last Thursday's hike to my Picture Gallery blog site while Connie read. Around noon we made our monthly grocery run to Walmart. After putting everything away, I made us some roast beef sandwiches with baby Swiss cheese and avocado for a late lunch. After a few TV shows, I went over to Marc's to help him order his new camera. He decided to get the same one I bought. When I got home I finished working on my blog site. Check out the new postings here ... http://kensphotogallery.blogspot.com/ We had pie again for dinner over some TV shows before retiring for the evening.
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Techatticup Mining Camp in Eldorado Canyon, NV |
FRIDAY - 02/18/2011 - It was kind of cool this morning so Connie cooked some hot oatmeal cereal with raisins for breakfast. The rest of the morning I worked on cleaning up pictures from yesterday's hike while she read. We decided to head over to the "M" Casino for lunch at the VIG Deli. We decided to try something new and both ordered the barbecued pulled pork sandwich and were both very pleased. It was excellent. After an hour and a half of play we picked up two free cherry pies and headed over to the South Point casino for popcorn and a movie. We saw the Unknown" with Liam Neeson. It had some pretty good action and we both enjoyed it. Then again we're easy. After we got home, my neighhbor friend Marc came over to discuss cameras. Also in the market for a new camera he had narrowed his search down to two and wanted to get a 'hands on feel' for mine. Came home, had cherry pie for dinner and watched some prerecorded shows before retiring for the evening.
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Nelson's Landing, Nevada |
THURSDAY - 02/17/2011 - Today was hiking day, up at 5:30 am and over to the Senior Center to catch the van. At 7:00 we headed off to Nelson's Landing. About 40 miles south of Vegas, it is located on the Nevada side of Lake Mohave, about 16 miles north of Cottonwood Cove by water. It is a small boat launch and village located in a steep dry wash along the banks of the Colorado River. The town of Nelson is located way up the wash, away from the flood channels. This is a small town that looks like it came right out of the 1950's. There are also several ghost towns in the area.
MONDAY - 02/14/2011 - VALENTINE'S DAY: After Connie read her Valentine's card we enjoyed a breakfast of banana pancakes over the "Sunday Morning" show that we recorded yesterday. Because I was not happy with the calendar app on my EPIC 4G, I recently downloaded a new app called CalenGoo. Because it is much more detailed that the old one, it took me several hours to learn how to use and customize it. The good news is, I love it! While Connie read her book, I read the new book I received ...
The Unofficial Quintessential Guide (to my new camera) The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2. Learning all of the many features, settings and menus on this great camera has been a daunting task, and this book is a blessing. Though I'm sure there are parts I will have to read more than once, it is really great on explaing how to get the most out of the cameras' many functions. For lunch we decided to use a coupon to Red Robin. After a nice lunch we stopped for dessert at our apartment's clubhouse on the way home where they provided some special Valentine's Day treats - a chocolate fountain with strawberries, marshmellows, angel food cake and bananas, decorated cupcakes and cookies. After a few TV shows we watched the 2011 Grammys that we had recorded the night before. We were really impressed and thaought it was a great show. Being rather late, we went right to bed afterwards.
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The Social Network |
SUNDAY - 02/13/2011 - We turned on the Celtics game at 10:00 am and watched them beat the Miami Heat in a close game - 85-82. My neighbor friend Jim, who moved out last Thursday, stopped by for a visit. After he left I made us an Italian lunch of spaghetti, fried eggplant, and cheese stuffed Manicotti. We ate lunch over our latest Netflix movie, The Social Network. We weren't sure if we were going to like this movie, but ended up really enjoying it. After the movie we both read for a couple of hours before watching any more TV shows. After several TV shows, we headed off to bed.
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Carp at Lake Mead Marina |
SATURDAY - 02/12/2011 - Today was "Valentine" gift day. First, we went to Monstah Lobstah for breakfast. We sharred a breakfast with 3-eggs, ham, hash-browns, and wheat toast and both order the blueberry pancakes. They have the best bleberry pancakes; made with small, sweet Maine blueberries. We then headed to the library so Connie could get some new books. It was thenover to the Fiesta Casino for two boxes of Russell Stover Valentines' Day chocolates. We then drove to the "M" where the were giving out apple pies. On the way home we stopped at GVR for two more boxes of Sover's Valentines' Day chocolates. What a haul. Connie will be eating chocolate for months. We had apple pie with melted cheddar cheese for dinner over some prerecorded TV shows. I opened some mail and packages containing "more" stuff for my new camera, including a book I had ordered on how to better use all of its features, menus and functions.
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Beach Along Lake Mead's Lakeshore Drive |
FRIDAY - 02/11/2011 - Today was pool day with Ron, my downstairs neighbor. After a couple of hours of shooting pool, I came home, picked up Connie, and drove to the "M" for another buffet lunch. After playing most of the afternoon, I won $2 and Connie lost about $40. Came home and watched TV. Got a call from my sister in Reno and talked for an hour. Paul is heading to Hawaii on the 24th for a weeks visit with his family. After a few more shows, Connie headed to bed and I stayed up working on yesterday's hiking pictures.
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Desert Sunflower |
THURSDAY - 0210/2011 - Today was "hiking day" with the rock hounds from the senior center. This morning we were scheduled to do the south shore of Lake Mead. We started with a hike of the Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail, a 3-1/2 mile hike through five old tunnels and along an old rail bed that was used to service the building of the Hoover Dam. After that we drove to the Lake Mead Marina for lunch and then took the shouth shore road home making a couple of stops along the way. My neighbor friend Jim decided a few weeks ago to move into another apartment complex a few miles away; and today was moving day. After changing from the hike, Connie and I drove over to see his new apartment. We didn't like it that much, but wished him well. We then went to Annie's Gourmet Italian restaurant for dinner. We had never been here before, but I had a 2-1 Groupon that I bought off the Internet. We both thought the stuffed mushrooms were outstanding! The rest of the meals were very good, but not what I would consider "gourmet". The decor was simple but warm and the price was right. We will probably try it again. Came home and watched some show and went to bed.
WEDNESDAY - 02/09/2011 - Didn't really do much today. Checked in on my friend Jim, who appeared better, but not great. He had made an appointment with his doctor later in the day and anothher friend was driving him over. At noon we drove up to GVR and had their lunch buffet. After lunch we went over to the "M" to use Connie's free slot play. Came home early and watched prerecorded TV show till bedtime. Talked with Jim on the phone and ne noted that his doctor had told him that he had been having a bad reaction to a recent drug change that the VA had made and told him to stop taking it and go back to the old drug.
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The Couple |
TUESDAY - 02/08/2011 - My neighbor friend Jim called this morning because he wasn't feeling well and wanted me to come over. It appeared that he blacked out the previous day and couldn't remember what had happened since Sunday. He couldn't remember when he ate last, was pale, shaking, disorientated, had no equilibrium and his eyes were terribly bloodshot. I took him to the emergency room at St Rose Hospital. They admitted him and ran a series of tests. In the afternoon Connie and I went to the "M" and had a late lunch at the Deli. Even though we didn't loose much, neither of us had any luck playing and came home relatively early. Got a call mid evening from Jim saying that none of the tests showed anything; that they had released him and another friend who was visiting at the time brought him home. I went over and talked with him for a while; he still seemed very weak and was having trouble walking. I told him I would check on him in the morning.
MONDAY - 02/07/2011 - I spent the morning working on my picture blog and catching up on posts for this blog. Around noon we decided to shower and get dressed and head out to find lunch somewhere. We decided to have New England Clam Chowder and the Seafood Salad at Tides, the seafood restaurant at Green Valley Ranch. We played most of the afternoon. I picked up $150 in the poker room and Connie lost $20 playing slots. After we got home, Connie made chocolate brownies which we ate for dinner. Watched some TV shows and went to bed.
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Just take the picture, this is my best side! |
SUNDAY - 02/06/2011 - SUPER BOWL 45. I made a green pepper, onion and cheddar cheese omlets with roast beef hash and English muffins for breakfast that we ate over the Sunday Morning show. Connie watched the Celtic game while I worked on pictures. Since OUR Patriots lost, we pretty much didn't care who won the Super Bowl, though we were rooting for the Steelers, as our next door neighbor is from Pittsburgh and a huge Steelers fan. Oh well, so much for that thought. At least the Celtics won! I had to head over to North Las Vegas to check on Jim Herrings house. He had an extremely high water bill and wanted me to make sure there were no leaks anywhere. Everything appeared fine. I stopped at the Floyd Lamb Park on the way over and got some great pics of the peacocks and water fowl. I then headed to the "M" for some special promotions they were having in the poker room. I won one of the $100 drawings, $50 playing and a nice bottle of Merlot. Not bad for an afternoon's play. Came home and watched a couple of prerecorded TV shows with Connie. After she went to bed, I worked on cleaning up the day's pictures and posting to my blog site. Go here to see more pictures of peacocks and geese ... Ken's Photo Gallery.
SATURDAY - 02/05/2011 - I spent most of the day Friday working on pictures from my hike on Thursday. This morning I continued working on pictures, email, and paying bills while Connie read. We then drove up the street to GVR for two free lunch buffets. We both played for a while afterward, but neither of us did very well. Came home, had dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.
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Blue Herring at Tule Springs |
THURSDAY - 02/03/2011 - Today was "hike" day again, so it was up early and over to the Henderson Senior Center to catch the bus. Burrr! Today was one of the coldest days of the entire winter; 27-degrees at 6:00 am. Needless to say our first hike of the morning at Tule Springs was pretty cold. Though a little warmer by the time we got to Corn Creek, inside the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, it was almost 60 by the time we got to the Las Vegas Wetlands Park just before noon. I spite of the cold I still managed to get several pictures of the many birds and water fowl that the park is noted for. Click here for more pictures ... More Pics at Tule Springs. When I got home we used a 2-1 coupon at Mimi's Cafe for an early dinner. She had the Fish (Haddock) and Chips and I had the Blackened Mahi-Mahi. It was a long day for me and after a few TV shows we both went to bed early.
WEDNESDAY - 02/02/2011 - Today was just plain raw, cold and windy. I went out around 10:00 am to run some errands and buy some "stuff" for tomorrow's hike and it was only 37-degrees. After shopping, Connie and I headed to the Palms Casino on the Strip. They didn't have a No-Limit game in the poker room so we only stayed for a couple of hours. I won $10 playing $2-4 limit. Had lunch at Faminglia's Pizza in the food court. After lunch we drove to the "M". We only stayed for a couple of hours. I won $20 in the poker room and Connie lost $20 playing slots. We both picked up a free bottle of wine and headed home. I made grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches for dinner that we ate over a couple of prerecorded TV shows. I updated some stuff on the computer and got my camera and stuff staged for tomorrow's hike before heading to bed.
TUESDAY - 02/01/2011 - Here it is yet another new month already; and today is CONNIE'S 71st BIRTHDAY! To celebrate, I made a nice late morning breakfast brunch that consisted of Eggs Benedict, corn beef hash, toast and champagne. Just before breakfast she received a call from her sister Patti wishing her happy birthday. She got a wonderful card and letter from Cheryl yesterday, and this morning she received a happy birthday email from April and opened cards from my mom and Nancy Barlow, one of her best friends back in NH. Just before noon she received a call from her brother Rick in Colorado.
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Four-Story Chandelier Bar |
We then decided to go someplace today that we had yet to see, the new Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino at City Center down on the Strip. Having just opened in the middle of December this past year, it has been getting rave reviews for its beauty and architecture. Though not much on the outside, the inside was fairly impressive. The fifth story pool area overlooking the entire Strip, has without a doubt, the best view in Vegas. Probably the most striking element is the multi-deck Chandelier Bar. This is a three-level imbibing and hobnobbing haven encased in an enormously audacious chandelier that is strung with more than 2 million beaded crystals. It is truely awesome, and no matter your physical size, you instantly feel small when encountering the tri-decked bar space. We ended our picture taking tour by sitting and having a drink directly beneath The Chandelier.
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The Salad Bar at Texas de Brazil |
We then headed over to Texas de Brazil for dinner. They had sent Connie a free $50 dinner coupon via email for her birthday. When we got there around 4 p.m. we found out that they close between lunch and dinner (2:30 - 5:00). With an hour to waste, we drove back out on Las Vegas Blvd to where the famous "Entering Las Vegas" sign is located opposite the Executive Airport to watch the planes land and takeoff. I forgot to turn the car lights off while we were there and when we were ready to leave my battery was dead and the car wouldn't start. After flagging someone to give us a "jump start", we drove around for 15 minutes to let the batter charge before going to the restaurant. Even though we had just been here for dinner about a month ago, we both agreed that the meal was the best we've had there. They even had a new item (Seared Ahi Tuna) on the 60 item salad bar that was outstanding. As usual, we were stuffed by the time we finished. Our first dinner here was for our anniversary back in November of 2008. Check out my 2008 review ... Texas de Brazil. The car started without problem after dinner and we came home and watched TV until 10:00 trying to give all that food a chance to digest.
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