A Daily Diary - July 2011

    Entries for the Month of July

On Mother's Day we gave my mother a digital picture frame from Vizit.com. If you ever want a great gift for sharing your pictures with a distant relative, check this site out.  Each month I will be featuring some of 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/

SUNDAY - 07/31/2011 - First off, we went to Sunset Casino, the nearest place where you can get cash for change. Connie ended up cashing in $52 worth of quarters, nickles and pennies, some that my friend Jim had given her and some that we had saved up. We then drove to Ellis Island casino to play $10 in free slot play. From there we went to the Palms casino and had their Sunday Champaigne and crab-leggs brunch on a 2-1 coupon. Next we stopped at the RIO where Connie had another $10 in slot play. Finally, we ended up at the "M" where I still needed two hours play to qualify for the August freeroll tournament. By the time we headed home Connie had only lost $10 and I ended up winning $45 in the poker room. Still not too hungry after our big champaigne brunch, we just had PP&J sandwiches for dinner over Tom Clancy's "Clear and Preset Danger". We've probably seen this movie four times over the years and still loved it again. Great movie! We then watched "So You Think You Can Dance" and finally headed off to bed.

SATURDAY - 07/30/2011 - Because I had been spending so much time helping Jim over the past couple of weeks, I had not been playing as much poker. I had to get 12 more hours of play before the end of July to qualify for the upcoming $33,000 freeroll holdem tournament. After doing some "catching up" on the computer, I tried to get in some relaxation time at the pool, however it was so hot and humid, that I ended up coming in after only an hour. While having lunch with Connie, I got a call from my brother Tommy. We talked for nearly an hour catching up on getting mom some new hearing aids, his daugther's moving out in August and his life in general. I then headed over to the "M" poker room and played for 10 hours. Only ended up loosing $7. Got home around midnight. 

FRIDAY - 07/29/2011 - Got a wake-up call at 3:30am and left for the airport at 5:00am. Got him checked-in, parked the car, and wheeled him to his departure gate. He boarded the plane at 6:45 and was off to Florida. Connie and I went to the "M" and had a relaxing lunch buffet. I received a couple of calls from Jim noting that he finally made it to Clearwater and that his kids picked him up at the airport. Called my sister to wish her a happy birthday and talked for about 2 hours about mom, her hearing aids, and Tommy's daughter coming out to live with him. Watched two hours of "So You Think You Can Dance" over ice cream sundaes and went to bed exhaused. 

THURSDAY - 07/28/2011 - Spent the day with Jim. Had breakfast at the GVR buffet. Went to the bank and transferred the cashier's check we had gotten into his acct in Florida. Sorted through all his paperwork, balanced his checkbook, paid bills, made a list of what drugs he is suppose to take and when. Went to dinner at Tides and had a very good meal. He went back to the room to sleep and I went and played poker until mid-night before going to the room to sleep.

WEDNESDAY - 07/27/2011 - This is the day Jim moves out of his apartment and goes to GVR for two nights until I pick him up for the airport early Friday morning. I spent part of the morning cleaning and putting away a vacuum cleaner and some "stuff" that Jim had given us that he wasn't shipping. I then played on the computer the rest of the morning while Connie read. I made chicken salad sandwiches for lunch. After lunch I took Connie to the library to pick up some new books and then dropped her off at GVR while I went to pick up Jim and his luggage and bring him back to check into GVR for a couple of nights. After I got Jim settled into his room, we all played for a while before having dinner. The play was that Jim was going to treat us to dinner at Tides, GVR's Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant. Unfortunately, he took too many meds and started to pass out at the dinner table before we ordered. We had to get a wheelchair to take him back to the room. As we were worried about his health, we went and had a 'Fatburger" and then I took Connie home and I ended up spending the night with Jim at GVR. 

TUESDAY - 07/26/2011 - Went to Jim's at 7:30 this morning as we had to call his bank in Florida early to try and get some things accomplished. The only thing we had to do today was make some arrangements with his bank, finish packing one box and three suitcases. A very long story, this took until 1:30 in the afternoon with me coming home totally frustrated and stressed out. After I got home and showered, we went over to the "M" so I could play, "veg out" and relax for a few hours. When we got home I popped some 'Pizza Rolls" in the oven for a light dinner, watched two prerecorded TV shows and called it a day.

MONDAY - 07/25/2011 - After some pooltime, I drove over to my friend Jim's to help him with some last minute packing and errands he needed to accomplish in preparation for his move back to Florida on Friday. His dementia is so bad, I'm amazed he still remembers who I am. He literally can't remember what happens three minutes before, causing us to spend four to five times the time needed to accomplish even the simplest tasks. It is SO frustrating.  After I finally got back home, I picked up Connie and drove up to GVR for the dinner buffet. After dinner she played her $7 in free slot play. We then stopped the the "M" where she had another $5 dollars in free play, before heading over to the South Point casino to play $50 in free slot play. By the time we finally came home she had made $45. Still full from our big dinner buffet, we had some ice cream, watched a couple of TV shows and then headed off to bed. 

Desert Mallow

SUNDAY - 07/24/2011 - I woke up this morning around 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to come out and play on the computer. Can't believe where the time goes! It has been nearly a week since I last updated this blog. Well here goes. I then sent some pictures to my mother's Vizit photo frame. After Connie got up and made breakfast, we decided to go to the pool early. I started my new audio book by Jeffery Deaver, The Burning Wire, his latest Lincoln Rhyme" series. After the pool I went over to Jim's and took him to Subway where we picked up some roast beef subs for lunch and another to put in the fridge for his lunch tomorrow. I then went over to the "M" and played poker while Connie stayed home and watched a couple of prerecorded movies she had on the DVR player. I played for five hours and ended up loosing $15, however I got a $10 comp to the deli and a free bottle of wine. Picked up takeout at the deli and came home and ate over a couple of TV shows before retiring for the evening.

SATURDAY - 07/23/2011 -  Just another "hot one" as they say, so we hit the pool early. I finally finished my last audio book, "Dead or Alive" by Tom Clancy. Typical of Clancy, this was a long one, over 21 hours. It was narrated by Lou Diamond Phillips and though long, I really enjoyed his naration. Even though I haven't been reading as much lately, when I went to add this to my "Book Reviews" page I realized that I hadn't been doing a very good job of keeping up with the reviews over the past several months, so I spent most of the afternoon updating this page. We had PP&J sandwiches for lunch before going over to the Southpoint to play our $30 in free slot play. We then stopped at "M" to play for a while - I've been trying to get the 50 hours I need in the poker room for another freeroll tournament in August. For dinner, we heated up the leftovers from last night's meal at Brazilia and thought it tasted even better that last night. Funny how that works sometimes. Watched a couple of prerecorded TV shows and went to bed to read for a while before calling it a night. 

Inside Bratalian

FRIDAY - 07/22/2011 - I went to the pool this morning and tried to finish my audio book, but our downstairs neighbors showed up and we ended up talking too much. When we came in for lunch, we ate the other chicken Caesar salad from the night before over a TV show. I then dropped Connie off at GVR while I headed over to my friend Jim's to help him do some more packing. It was a VERY frustrating afternoon. His dementia is so bad that he couldn't remember that he already had airline reservations for his trip back to Florida and called and made them for another day, cancelling out what we had spent weeks arranging. I couldn't believe it. I ended up talking with his daughter in Florida and finally letting her know how bad his condition had become. By the time left and picked up Connie, I was extremely stressed from dealing with all of this. We decided to go have dinner at a new Italian restaurant, Bratalian, for which I had a $25 dining coupon. We were impressed. They had a three-course special with six appetizer choices, 10 entree choices, five dessert choices and a glass of wine for $33. The food was really good, the portions were huge, and we really liked it. We couldn't each half of what they served us. 

THURSDAY - 07/21/2011 - I spent some time at the pool, though Connie decided it was too hot and stayed inside doing laundry and reading her book. We had a light lunch and headed over to the "M" so I could get some more hours in the poker room for the upcoming tournament. I won back what I had lost the day before and Connie only lost $20. We picked up two chicken Caesar salads to-go on comps at the deli and a hamburger and fries for my friend Jim.  Dropped off Jim's dinner and went home and watched a Netflix (Rango) and some TV before retiring for the evening. Though this type of movie usually isn't our cup of tea, we rather enjoyed it.

WEDNESDAY - 07/20/2011 - We both stayed in this morning. I worked on pictures and my photo site while Connie read. Wednesdays are 2-1 Senior days at the "M", so we headed over for the lunch buffet. Played the rest of the afternoon and came home and, still full from lunch, had cookies for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

TUESDAY - 07/19/2011 - After some time at the pool we went up to GVR for a couple of free lunch buffets before driving over to the South Point to play Connie's $50 in free slot play. We then stopped at the "M" on the way home where we got two free bottles of wine. She ended up winning $45 for the day and I picked up $95 in the poker room. Watched a Netflix and a couple of TV shows and went to bed.

MONDAY - 07/18/2011 - I set today aside to help my friend Jim finish packing for his return to Florida and to take boxes to the UPS store for shipping. Connie stayed home and read and watched some prerecorded TV movies. This took until 2:30 in the afternoon. We then stopped at the house and dropped off some "stuff" that Jim had given me, picked up Connie and went to Five Guys, Burgers and Fries for a late lunch on Jim. Okay, so a standard double patty burger containing 800 calories and 19.5 grams of saturated fat coupled with the standard large order of fries with almost 1,500 calories (though it can feed 3–4 people), it is one of the most unhealthy meals available at any U.S. chain restaurants. Still, in a nutshell, thought the burger is just alright, the fries here are awesome; the best I ever had anywhere!. By the time we got home, put away the "stuff" he had given us, gone through the mail, paid some bills, and showered, it was 6:30. I made us ice cream sundaes and we sat down to watch a few TV shows before falling into bed. I was exhausted.   

SUNDAY - 07/17/2011 - We decided to stay home today and watch the final round of the British Open. Before the golf, I spent a couple of hours washing and waxing the car. For lunch I made some chicken salad sandwiches to eat over the golf. What a tournament it was. The weather was just horrible, heavy winds and rain. Phil Mikelson got off to a great start with four birdies and an eagle, to tie Darren Clarke, the leader. Unfortunately, he tanked the back nine holes and ended up tied for second. I played some more on the computer while Connie read. We then watched a couple of hours of prerecorded TV shows before heading off to bed and calling it a day. 

SATURDAY - 07/16/2011 - Went to GVR early because the jackpot in the poker room was up to $850 per player. Using my poker comps, we had two free huge breakfast buffets. Not winners today, we both lost about $40 by the time we got home. Watched a Netflix movie, "Battle: Los Angeles",  over dinner. Not bad for a sci-fi; kind of reminded us of the old movie War of The Worlds. I worked on putting together some more sideshows and pages for my photo gallery site while Connie read. We then watched some TV and headed off to bed, once again calling it a day.

FRIDAY - 07/15/2011 - After breakfast, I headed over to Jim's to help him run a few errands in preparation of his move back to Florida. When I got back, I made tuna sandwiches for lunch before Connie and I went to GVR and the South Point casinos to play $37 in free slot play.  Connie made $20 and I had a bad day at the poker table. Came home and had ice cream sundaes for dinner over some prerecorded TV shows. Before going to bed I played on the computer while Connie read for a while.

THURSDAY - 07/14/2011 - Stayed home today. I worked on the slideshow pages for my photo gallery blog. Connie did laundry and read. I made grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches for lunch. We watched several prerecorded TV shows and a movie. Then I went back to the computer to finish my slideshow project. To date I now have created 16 shows. Click here to view them ... Slideshows. Cooked up two frozen Chinese Pinapple Chicken dinners and watch a couple more TV shows waiting for "So You Think You Can Dance", afterwhich we headed off to bed.

Hummingbird at Pool

WEDNESDAY - 07/13/2011 - While at the pool this morning we hooked up with two of our neighbor friends and decided to join them for the lunch buffet at the "M". Today is 2-1 senior day. We enjoyed a nice leisurly lunch. After they headed off to run some errands, we sat down and played for a while. Neither of us won anything. Came home and watched some prerecorded TV shows. Had ice cream for dinner over "So You Think You Can Dance" and then headed off to bed.

My Reading View at Pool

TUESDAY - 07/12/2011 - Just another beautiful morning. After spending some time reading at the pool we headed up to GVR for a couple of free lunch buffets. We both agreed that the buffet here has gotten better over the past several months. We both had a little luck playing; Connie won $40 and I picked up $80 in the poker room. Came home and played on the computer while Connie read. Still full from lunch, we just had some cheese and crackers for dinner. Watched some prerecorded TV shows and called it a night.

Techatticup Mine Emergency Exit Shaft

MONDAY - 07/11/2011 - I finished another "daytrip" page on my photo blog while Connie read. Check it out here ... The Techatticup Mine Tour. After buying some boxes, I headed over to Jim's apartment to help him start packing for his move back to Florida. Got back from Jim's around 2:00pm; picked up Connie and headed over to he South Point to play our $50 in free slot play. Connie also had free slot play at "M". I think we ended up about even for the day. Picked up some groceries on the way home. Had PP&J for dinner and chocolate cake for dessert. Watched some prerecorded TV shows and went to bed. 

SUNDAY - 07/10/2011 - After reakfast we headed to the pool to do some reading. Our downstairs neighbors joined us and we chatted obout about books and restaurants. When we came in I doctored up a frozen pizza and popped it in the oven for lunch. We spent the majority of the afternoon watching the Davis Cup tennis finals. We then watched a movie, "Batman Returns".  My mom called from Tahoe and we talked for a good half hour. She finally found a church she likes and a good walking group. Loves the Vizit photo frame and the pictures I've been sending.  I then talked with my brother for nearly an hour catching up on his life. He sounded pretty good. I made chocolate sundaes for dinner which we ate over a couple of TV shows before finally retiring for the day.

Lower Las Vegas Wash

SATURDAY - 07/10/2011 - Connie decided to watch some more of the Davis Cup tennis while I worked on another blog page -Daytrip to Las Vegas Wash.  I then went out to the pool for a while before heading over to Jim's to take pictures of the furniture and stuff he's selling so we could place some flyers on the mailroom bulletin boards. When I got back, Connie and I headed over to the "M" to play. We both lost. Got a comp from the poker room and picked up a couple of take-out orders of chicken fingers to bring home for dinner. Watched some TV shows and then Connie went to bed and read while I worked on putting together the posters for selling Jim's furniture and stuff. I finally finished around 11:00 and went to bed.

FRIDAY - 07/09/2011 - We went out to the pool and read for a good couple of hours. At noon we headed over to the Southpoint Casino and ate at their deli. We split a "huge" hot pastromi sandwich, potatoe salad and chips before seeing the movie, Horrible Bosses".  Though somewhat hard to rate, we both agreed that we enjoyed this rather crazy "R" rated comedy. After the movie we played $30 in free slot play; Connie won $20 and I broke even. On the way home we stopped at the "M" where Connie had some more free play. No luck here, so we only stayed for a little while and came home. Had the second chicken Caesar salad for dinner over some prerecorded TV shows and finally headed off to bed.

Petroglyphs at Valley of Fire State Park

THURSDAY - 07/08/2011 - In the morning I continued making updates to pages and slideshows for my photo blog. Today I created pages on a daytrips to the Redstone Loop Trail and the Valley of Fire State Park. After lunch and a movie we drove over to the "M" for a couple of hours of play. Using a 2-1 coupon and poker comp we picked up two free chicken Caesar salads at the Vig Deli. Came home and watched a prerecorded movie and a couple of TV shows and finally headed off to bed for the evening.

Geese at Floyd Lamb Park

WEDNESDAY  07/07/2011 - We decided to stay home today. Did the pool for a while. I spent most of the day updating and making changes to my photo blog. Because this page, Floyd Lamb Park, had so many related links and slideshows, in between lunch, dinner and some TV shows, it took me almost all day to complete. 

Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

TUESDAY - 07/05/2011 - Well, my neighbor friend Jim has decided to move back to Florida to be closer to his children. He has not been in very good health these past several months and it seems like a good decision. Today I went over to his apartment to help hime get started on packing and selling his furniture. When I got back, I picked up Connie and we drove over to the South Point Casino where we had $25 each in free slot play. Connie won $45 and I won $75 in the poker room. We then had two free lunch buffets using comps. I created another new page [Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge] for the "Daytripping Series" on my photography blog. Not too hungry for dinner after our big lunch, I made some vadalia onion dip which we had on an assortment of crackers and some grapes and wine over America's Got Talent. PICTURE NOTES: This view of the bridge, taken from the walkway across the top of the dam, emphasizes the height of the bridge above the Colorado River, almost 900 feet below.

Winged Bronze Statue

MONDAY - 07/04/2011 - HAPPY FOURTH of JULY! Again, we headed over to the "M" early to see if I could hit any of their special Fourth of July promotions. When I got there, a couple of people told me that they pulled my name for a $400 drawing yesterday AFTER I left! Just the way my luck seems to be going lately. We played for more than 5 hours with no real luck, even though we both made a few dollars for the day. On the way home we stopped at Romano's Macaroni Grill and used a 2-1 dinner coupon to pick up our favorite dish here, the Porcini-filled Mushroom Ravioli sauteed with a Marsala cream sauce and fresh mushrooms. When we got home I made some garlic bread and opened a bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc. Perfect! Before going to bed I created another new page [Hoover Dam] for the "Daytripping Series" on my photography blog. PICTURE NOTES: The picture shows one of the two bronze statues located on the nevada side of the Hoover Dam. Created by Norwegian-born, naturalized American Oskar J.W. Hansen, they are called the Winged Figures of the Republic" and, according to Hansen, express "the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment."

And the Winner Novak Djokovic

SUNDAY - 07/03/2011 - Today was a strange one. We left about mid morning for the "M" to see if I could win any of the special drawings in the poker room. On the way we noticed that the sky was filled with smoke and ash from the wild fires that have been going on out of control for the past two weeks in New Mexico and Arizona. It was so bad that visibility was limited to just a few miles. We had hamburgers and fries for lunch at the Vig Deli. Neither of us had any luck, so we came home abut mid-afternoon. I made turkey and swiss cheese sandwiches for dinner which we ate over the mens Wimbleton Tennis finals. Djokovic demolished three-time champion Nadal to become the 2011 Wimbledon Champion and capture the rating of the number one player in the world. It was quite a match. My sister called and we talked some more about my mother's hearing problems and other conditions. Seems like we may have to start getting more involved in her day to day living. After Bonnie's call we had a huge storm go through with high winds, heavy rain, rolling thunder and lightening that lasted for nearly an hour. We then watched a couple of TV shows over chocolate sundaes with fresh pinapple, strawberries and whipped cream. Delicious. Connie retired to the bedroom with a book and I played on the computer for a while before calling it an evening.

At the Techatticup Mine

SATURDAY - 07/02/2011 - Today was airport day. We got up and drove over to Jim Herring's house in North Las Vegas to pick up him and Patrick for their return trip back to Kansas. We decided to go to the Green Valley Ranch brunch buffet on the way to the airport. Patrick treated and we got to spend some more time chatting. Yesterday they saw the Cirque du Soleil show "O" at the Bellagio. In typical "Cirque" fashion, "O" is an aquatic production that combines ariel artistry, surrealism and theatrical romance. They both thought it was fantastic. Guess we'll have to put it on our agenda. After dropping them off for their flight, we headed over to South Point to play $30 in free play. We then stopped at GVR and picked up two free six-packs of Pepsi before coming home and calling it a day.

FRIDAY - 07/01/2011 - Another new month and another year half over. Today was carpet cleaning day. We spent most of the morning moving furniture, cleaning, dusting and getting ready for the cleaners. When they were finished, we headed out to the pool to waste some time while everything dried. We came in around 1:30; Connie couldn't stand the heat any longer. The carpet was still damp. We spent the afternoon slowly putting things back in order as it began to dry out. I made chicken salad sandwiches for lunch that we ate over the Whimbleton men's semi-finals. Unfortunately, after a great first set, Murray began to fall apart and Nadal finished him off rather easlily. Djokovic defeated Tsonga who had knocked out number three seed Roger Federer yesterday. After tennis we watched a couple of prerecorded TV movies, had the last of the chocolate cream pie and headed off to bed.