A Daily Diary - May 2011

On Mother's Day we gave my mother a digital picture frame from Vizit.com. This month I am featuring the pictures that I have sent to her frame. You can enlarge any of the pictures below by just double-clicking on them. Then click on your browser's "Back" button to return to the original screen. To see more pictures go to http://kensphotogallery.blogspot.com/

 Entries for the Month of May 

Mr. & Mrs. Mallard Strolling at the Pool

TUESDAY - 05/31/2011 - Finally another nice pool day. The maintenance people did a great job of cleaning the spa and pool, however didn't get it finished until nearly noon. Connie decided that we needed to go to Walmart today and do some grocery shopping.  What a mistake that was - a day in Walmart HELL. After filling our cart and getting in line (three deep) at a register, their system went down and they were unable to finish checking anyone out. This continued "up" and "down" for more than an hour. By the time we got out of their Connie's hip was killing her. It seemed like it took me forever to put everything away when we got back home and we didn't sit down to have lunch until nearly 3:30 in the afternoon. By then we were starved. I made some nice turkey wraps with avocado, cheese, scallions and cucumber along with some potato salad and chips. We hadn't had 'wraps' for a while and they tasted really good. Now that the nice weather is finally here we are looking forward to having them a lot more. We watched some prerecorded TV shows and the season premieres of "So You Think You Can Dance" and "America's Got Talent" before retiring for the day.

The Outside Spa at Our Pool

MONDAY - 05/30/2011 - MEMORIAL DAY - Guess what? No wind this morning - amazing. Suppose to be in the 80's. I headed to the pool around 10:00 while Connie continued watching the French Open tennis.The pool and spa were pretty dirty from the wind of the past few days. The maintenance people were off due to the holiday and I spent most of my time cleaning up the spa. Looking at our calendar and coupons, we had $32 in free slot play between us today at three casinos. We started with free play at the Ellis Island Casino, then went to the "M" where we had lunch at the Deli and finally ended up at Green Valley Ranch. Connie ended up a winner for the day and I lost at poker. Came home and popped a pizza in the oven for dinner and watched a movie we had prerecorded on the DVR player. Hit the sack around 10.

Baja Fairy Duster

SUNDAY - 05/29/2011 - The wind the past couple of days has been unbelievable; 25-45 mph. Connie said its been like a Nor'easter without the snow. Haven't really felt like doing much the last couple of days, so we stayed home and played on the computer, read and watched the French Open, the Senior PGA Championship and the Indianapolis 500.  I cooked up a breakfast of hash browns, a pepper, onion and cheese omelet, and English muffins to eat over the Indy 500, which started at 9:00 am here.  It was sad to see the leader, rookie driver JR Hildebrand, hit the wall on the last turn before the finish line. At least he was going fast enough that he made it over the finish line in second place. What an unbelievable finish.  After the race we got to see Tom Watson win the Senior PGA Championship at 61 years old. What a great achievement. I made nachos for dinner and we watched a four hour movie we had prerecorded on the DVR.

Prickly Pear Cactus

FRIDAY - 05/27/2011 - Pretty much our normal morning routine; computer, reading, tennis on TV, etc. Around noon we headed over to the "M" for two free lunch buffets. I had pretty much breakfast with ham, bacon, scrambled eggs and hash browns; Connie chose a variety of their Chinese selections. After lunch we played for a couple of hours and then came home and watched a Netflix movie and some prerecorded TV shows including the season opener of, "So You Think You Can Dance." I worked on a couple of new pages for my photo blog before heading off to bed. Check them out here ... Bird of Paradise Yellow and Agave americana

A Street View at Monte Lago Village

THURSDAY - 05/26/2011 - We were woken several times during the night from the sounds of heavy winds, which continued for most of the day. We stayed home most of the day, me playing on the computer and Connie some more of the French Open. In the late afternoon we decided to go see the new Pirates of the Caribbean in 3D with Johnny Depp. We thought it was OK, but not as good as the previous ones. After the movie we headed over to what used to be one of our favorite places to go, the Lake Las Vegas Resort with its 320-acre lake and surrounding golf courses. It's been nearly two years since Casino Monte Lago, the Ritz-Carlton and two of the three golf courses were all devastated by the recession and filed for bankrupcy.  Today was the beginning of a five-day Memorial Day holiday weekend celebrating the reopening of the new Casino Monte Lago and Aston Monte Lago Village Resort. There was a Red Carpet pre-opening party outside the casino entrance with entertainment provided by the Phat Strad Orchestra, a group which we have seen before and absolutly loved. 

Dinner at Auld Dubliner

We had dinner at The Auld Dubliner Irish Pub & Restaurant. It features many authentic Irish dishes, premium beers and spirits, and is set in a genuine village pub interior that was hand crafted in Dublin, Ireland. We were boring this time and just had the grilled chicken sandwich and a couple of Sam Adams. After sunset they had a minimal fireworks show before the casino opened it doors. The casino was pretty much the same as it always was; we were just glad to see that it was open again.

Agave Century Plant

WEDNESDAY - 05/25/2011 - I played on the computer while Connie did some ironing and watched tennis. Our first stop out was at GVR where Connie had $17 in free slot play. Next, we headed over to the "M" and had two free lunch buffets before playing for a couple of hours. I finally got in the 50 hours of play I needed to qualify for the freeroll poker tournament in June. We picked up the day's free gift, two bottles of wine and headed home. I put together some cheese and crackers for a dinner snack and then we settled in to watch the two hour finale of American Idol. What a show it was! The star studded entertainment with the likes of Lady Gaga, Steven Tyler, Judas Priest, Gladys Knight, Jack Black, Tony Bennett, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, etc., was fantastic. Although I really wanted James Durbin to win, my choice of the final two, Scotty McCreery beat out Connie's pick, Lauren Alaina.

Crocus from our yard in Greenland, NH

TUESDAY - 05/24/2011 - I spent the day at the "M" earning hours for the June freeroll Texas-holdem tournament. After a loosing day I came home and made us two huge strawberry shortcakes for dinner. Watched a couple of TV shows and American Idol and then went to bed.

MONDAY - 05/23/2011 - Too windy again today to go to the pool. I spent the morning updating my blog and working on sending pictures to Mom's photo frame. Connie continued watching the Roland Garros French Open tennis in between doing some wash and ironing. After showering and dressing, I once again headed out to the "M" to gather some more hours for the tournament. After about 5 hours of play I won $130, used a poker comp to pick up a chicken Caesar salad at the Vig Deli and headed home. We watched the finale of Celebrity Apprentice over dinner. We were rooting for John Rich and were glad to see that he won. We then had some chocolate cake over the movie, “Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost,” starring Tom Selleck, that we had recorded from Sunday.

John's Sandhill Crane

SUNDAY - 05/22/2011 - It was so nice this morning that I almost went out to the pool, but got caught up working on pictures on the computer instead. This past week has been quite grueling. So far I've spent more than 30 hours playing poker at the "M" Casino trying to earn the 50 hours I need for their $33,000 Freeroll Texas Holdem Tournament in June. They are paying up to 30 places, with $15,000 for first place. Today she decided that she wanted to come along. We headed over around noon and had a huge chicken salad sandwich and chips at the Vig Deli when we arrived. I then settled in to play while she headed to the slots. After about five hours of play we decided to call it quits for the day. Put some frozen pizza rolls in the oven and called it dinner. Had chocolate cake for dessert, watched some prerecorded TV shows and went to bed.

The Bee and the Begonia

SATURDAY - 05/21/2011 - Connie had $12 in free slot play at GVR, so we headed up there for a few hours of play, had two free lunch buffets, after which I took her home and then headed over to the "M" Casino and played poker the rest of the day. After about five hours, I called it quits. I won $40 for the day, picked up their free gift of the day, a bottle of Coconut Rum, and came home and watched some TV shows with Connie before retiring for the evening. 

Flax

FRIDAY - 05/20/2011 - Connie stayed home and watched the French Open tennis tournament while I went to the "M" Casino and played poker most of the day. I won $38 for the day, got the free give-a-way, a pen and keychain set, and came home.  Had some double-stuffed Oreo cookies for dinner, watched some TV shows and went to bed.

Bird of Paradise Yellow

THURSDAY - 05/19/2011 - After taking the day off yesterday, I decided that I needed to "get in gear" and get serious about playing some hours at the "M". I need a minimum of 50 hours play by the end of the month to qualify in their $33,000 freeroll tournament in June. I got a food comp from the poker room and we had a free lunch of Hot Pastrami sandwiches at the Vig Deli. Connie went off to play her $7 in free slot play and I headed to the poker room. By 6:00 pm we were both tired and decided to call it a day. Popped a pizza in the oven for dinner, watched a couple of TV shows and headed to bed.

WEDNESDAY - 05/18/2011 - Yesterday was another cool and windy day and we stayed home played on the computer, read and watched TV all day. Today, with a high of only 62-degrees, was the coldest day on record for this time of year. We had high winds again last night and this morning, up to 50 mph guests, for the third day in a row, with rain off and on throughout the day. Connie made French toast for breakfast. I spend some more time on the computer re-organizing my photos while she read a book. After showering and getting dressed, we headed to  the Palms Casino where Connie had $20 in free slot play. Had lunch at McDonald's and then drove to the "M" where they were giving away two bottles of wine. Connie lost on slots, but I picked up a couple of hundred in the poker room. Watched a Netflix movie when we got home - "The Hard Corps" with Jean-Claude Van Damme.  Just Average. Cooked up Mac-and-Cheese and hot dogs for dinner. Watched American Idol and a couple of TV shows and headed off to bed.

MONDAY - 05/16/2011 - This morning I had to take my neighbor friend Jim to a VA medical appointment on the other side of Las Vegas. Another real disappointment! After fasting all day on Sunday, and taking medicine in preparation for a Barium Enema that had been ordered by his surgeon, they cancelled the procedure indicating that it was potentially too dangerous and said they were going to schedule him for a CT Scan instead. Unbelievable. Since he had been able to eat since noon on Sunday we stopped and had lunch at Guys and Fries on the way home. Connie and I stopped by GVR to play some free slot play before heading to Smith's to do some necessary grocery shopping. We popped a pizza in the oven for dinner and watch some prerecorded TV shows and the finals of Celebrity Apprentice between John Rich and Marlee Matlin. As much as we like Marlee, I think we're rooting for John Rich.

Desert Globemallow

SUNDAY - 05/15/2011 - As predicted, today was extremely windy - 71-degrees, but with guest of greater than 40 mph. Too cool for the pool, so I worked on the computer and creating pages for my photo gallery site. First, I added a couple of posts of wildflowers I had taken pictures of over the past couple of weeks. The first being the Indigo Bush  that I captured on the way to Reno last week. Next was the Checker Fiddleneck  that I shot on a hike near Potosi Mountain a couple of weeks ago. Then I created a post for the Incense Cedar  tree that I saw with my brother in South Lake Tahoe last week. Finally, was the picture of a Bumblebee  that I had taken a couple of years ago. For lunch I cooked up some fried eggplant, spaghetti with mushroom and garlic sauce, and corn which we ate over the finals of the Italian Tennis Open with Nafa Nadal against Novak Dejokovic. Dejokovic pulled it out in two straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. We then watched a couple of prerecorded TV shows, read and played on the computer before getting ready to watch the three hour finale of Survivor: Redemption Island - we've been rooting for Rob Mariano, more commonly know as "Boston" Rob. I heated up some more chocolate pudding cake for dinner and we settled in for another long night of TV. God, we are so boring. The good news, Boston Rob WON the million dollars plus the $100,000 for the most strategic player.

SATURDAY - 05/14/2011 - Though the next couple of days are supposed to be back to "windy and cooler", today was again a beautiful day, up in the low 90's. After a couple of hours at the pool I picked up Jim, my ex-neighbor, and drove over to the Senior Center for a vintage car show, yard sale and breakfast. Guess what? Wrong Day! It's next Saturday. We went to Steak and Shake for lunch. Worst burger I have ever, ever had! This was my second time there and we were not pleased the first time; I will never go back. Went back to Jim's and helped him deal with some medical paperwork and then came home and put a frozen lasagna in the oven for dinner. Watched some TV shows and went to bed.   

 FRIDAY - 05/13/2011 - Today was a gorgeous day, upper 80's, and we decided to take a day off from our normal routine to stay home and use the pool. I made a breakfast of hash, eggs, English muffins, and applesauce. After our normal morning routine we spent nearly three hours at the pool. The birds were providing a full cacophony of sounds. We had grilled hot dogs and beans for lunch. Watched our Netflix movie, "The Inside Job", a documentary on the banking, Wall Street and housing mess that caused the 2008 to present recession. It's seems just amazing that those involved have not only been rewarded financially, but have never been prosecuted. As Connie said, it's enough to make you sick. I then put together a blog page on my photo site of our recent trip to Reno to see my sister. Our Reno Visit w/Bonnie. We then had some chocolate pudding cake for dinner, watched our favorite, James Durbin get voted off American Idol and a few more prerecorded TV shows and went to bed.   

THURSDAY - 05/12/2011 - I spent much of yesterday and most of the morning working on pictures of our visit to Lake Tahoe and my brother over Mother's Day weekend. Eagle Falls - South Lake Tahoe. Connie had free slot play at three different casinos, so after lunch we started our trek by heading to the "M" casino first; then down to the Palms on the Strip, and finally back to GVR where we used a 2-1 comp for their dinner buffet. Being a long day, we came home, watched American Idol and Survivor and headed straight to bed. 

TUESDAY - 05/10/2011 - Our first full morning back was a busy one. I spent the morning cleaning up emails on the computer, recording our trip spending over the past week; Connie did unpacking and laundry. At lunchtime we decided to go to the "M" and have the lunch buffet on a poker comp. After and afternoon of playing we broke even, I made what Connie lost. Came home and had light appetizers for dinner over some TV shows. Connie went to bed and I stayed up working on our trip pictures to Lake Tahoe over Mother's Day. Here is the Mother's Day page I made for my photo site ... Mothers Day - 2011. 

Kingsbury Pass, Tahoe, NV

MONDAY - 05/09/2011 - Well, after nine long hours on the road, we finally made it home. It took us nearly an hour to get out of Tahoe this morning and over the Kingsbury Pass due to a snowstorm. Even after we got over the pass, it continued to snow for almost a half hour. The rest of the trip was pretty much normal. We stopped at the "M" to pick up two free Caesar salads to go from the deli on my poker comps. Came home and unpacked the car, sat down to dinner and watched a couple of TV shows to unwind before heading off to bed

SUNDAY - 05/08/2011 - Got up and checked out of the motel and went to Tom's for breakfast. We then went over to Mom's and picked her up for church. After church we took Mom to the Red Cup Ice Cream Parlor and we all had 'huge' hot fudge sundaes. Connie and I then went back to Mom's, gave her a Mother Day's gift of a digital photo frame and chatted for three hours. Connie and I then left and went to a movie; The Conspirator. Because we were a little early for the movie, we hit a bar and had a couple of beers and a hot crab and cheese dip appetizer for dinner, before the movie. We then went back to the motel, packed and watched Celebrity Apprentice before retiring for the evening. 

SATURDAY - 05/07/2011 - After Continental breakfast in our room, we headed over to Mom's. She made us lunch and we sat around and talked for several hours. After we left Mom's we went over to Tom's to visit. He made us a chicken and rice Chinese dinner. Later we had Boston Cream Pie and butter pecan ice cream over a couple of TV shows. Went back to the motel and watched another TV show and went to bed.

Eagle Falls, South Lake Tahoe

FRIDAY - 05/06/2011 - We checked out of the Atlantis in Reno and drove directly to Tom's. After a brief snack of ham, cheese and crackers, we decided to drive to Falling Leaf Falls. Unfortunately, the snow was still so deep that we couldn't get up the road to the falls. We ended up at Eagle Falls, which was ok, but not as nice as Falling Leaf would have been. (Click the above picture to view full-screen) When we got home, Tom started on making a nice pot roast dinner with roasted asparagus, mash potatoes and homemade bread. He called Mom and invited her over for dinner and we surprised her with out presence. She seemed really thrilled. We talked with Tom some more after Mom left and then went back to the motel and retired for the night.

THURSDAY - 05/05/2011 - We had a Continental breakfast in the room, then went down to the spa and pool where we again spent three hours reading and relaxing. We stopped at Red Robin for lunch before heading over to Bonnie and Paul's. They drove us around the area where they live and up to the highest spot in their neighborhood where Paul and I proceeded to get out and take photographs. Back at their place we looked at the afternoon's photographs and then Bonnie made us dinner. After dinner we went back to the Atlantis, watched American Idol and went to bed.

WEDNESDAY - 05/04/2011 - When we got up we went directly down to the spa and pool. I bought some coffee and Danish and we sat around relaxing for several hours. We have stayed here several times in the past and just love the inside pool with its mesmerizing waterfall. At noon we drove over to Bonnie's for lunch. She made a nice homemade soup and cornbread. We sat around and talked for hours. Paul and I worked on pics  and the picture frame that we were giving Mom for Mother's Day. When we got back to the Atlantis, Connie played some slots while I played some hold-em in the poker room. We broke even, I made what Connie lost. We then pick up some hot pastrami sandwiches and potato salad from the deli and had dinner in the room over a couple of TV shows before retiring for the evening.

View Looking North Towards Lovell Canyon and Mt. Charleston

TUESDAY -  05/03/2011 - After a long eight hour drive we finally arrived at the Atlantis Casino in Reno around 5:00 pm. I called Bonnie and she and Paul came over and joined us for a nice casual and relaxing  dinner. It had been a long day, so we went directly to the room and bed after Bonnie and Paul departed for home. Because I'm going to be away from my computer for the next week, I won't be making any posts until we return from our trip to Reno and Tahoe. 

Lava Man

MONDAY - 05/02/2011 - I vacuumed the deck, the apartment and my computer. Cleaned and packed my camera equipment and then went out and picked up some emergency car supplies,  After lunch we finished packing for tomorrow's trip to Reno to visit Bonnie and Paul. Got some great news today; our rent is going down $35/month starting upon our renewal in June. We'll now be paying $13/month less than what we were paying when we moved in in 2003. I recording the TV shows we wanted while we were going to be away; we watched a Netflix movie. I Made PP&J sandwiches for dinner, watched some more TV shows and retired early.

Indian Paintbrush

SUNDAY - 05/01/2011 - Well, it's a New Moon and a new month! We're glad April is over; it's been the coldest, windiest April in more than 10 years here. Though today is still windy and in the mid-70's, it is suppose to be in the upper 80's and low 90's in the upcoming week. At least we're not experiencing the devastating tornadoes that the rest of the country seems to be having. I decided to go get the car washed this morning before we went out to pick up a few items we needed at Walgreen's and Smith's. We then drove over to the "M" casino and had two open-faced barbecued pork sandwiches for lunch at the Vig Deli before picking up a couple of free bottles of wine and returning home. Connie broke even on the slots and I picked up $80 playing poker. Watched a some TV shows over munchies and finished the last of the chocolate cream pie before calling it a night.