Just checking in...

I don't really have much to report.  It's quiet around here and getting warmer every now and then.  Now we are up to the mid-80's(29-30C) most days and we probably won't be gettting much more rain for a while.

Haven't really gone anywhere or done anything since my last post.  Well, I've been making good use of the bbq and the smoker but otherwise it's been quiet.  This week I did a personal best when I smoked beef jerky one day and smoked salmon the next day.  There's only so much excitement an old guy like myself can take!  High point of today, after waking up of course, is going to the grocery store and seeing this sign.

I'm not sure if $19.99 is good for Titos but considering it is a new product - VOKDA - I imagine it's good.

I did visit our local marijuana dispensary the other day.  Since it is legal in Nevada, I want to try it again.  I went into the store on Friday early afternoon and they did seem to be doing a fair business.  The other customers were clearly repeat visitors.  I sure felt like the newbie.  We tried some 2 years ago when they first opened and it just didn't do a lot for either of us.  I keep reading about what a huge market it might become and figure this is something I can test personally.  Besides, I was pretty bummed about how dull the stuff was 3 years ago.  I was impressed though that the guy behind the counter could see my previous purchase in their records!

We keep talking about going places but so far something seems to come up to keep us here.  The house was built in 2005 and we've lived here for 10 years.  Things are needing work; nothing big but lots of little stuff.  Well, it's better than not being able to take care of it.  Gotta go.  Thanks for stopping by.

We are just hanging around home.

We were all tired out when we came home from our Panama Canal cruise so have planned for this year to be fairly quiet.  Lately, as I've been whining, we've had a full-time job spraying weeds but that is over for a moment or two.  This is a pretty good time of year in Southern Nevada and our daytime temps are squeezing into the 70's (22C) so wandering around is fun.  There are a few things we need to do around the house and this is the time to start in on them.  I'll whine about them when they get underway.

My wife and I are of an age when aches and pains are a regular part of life; therefore ibuprofen.  Unfortunately there are things the miracle drug cannot cure and one of those things has taken a woman whom I only met once but via her husband's blog felt I knew her.  Croft is a guy who liked to write about their travels and his wife Norma was always there keeping him 'in line'.  Lots of us guys need a woman like that and Croft was lucky enough to have found his.  I wish him the best adjusting to the loss of his friend, lover, wife and so much more.

Life here is going on with the usual panache.  The headline on our newspaper this a.m. was that we now have a Starbuck's store!  We had a Starbuck's counter in one of the local grocery stores but I guess that wasn't enough.  I'd put up a link but they haven't updated the website with that burning news.  In other local news, our county, Nye, has been involved in a reality tv show:  Live PD. The sad news is that our local sheriff's officers will not be followed by their film crews from now on.  I'm not sure why we are getting the boot but I expect it is because we don't have a lot of 'action'.  Let's face it, there aren't that many people living here (and most of them are old) so we can only have so many drug busts. There goes our moment of fame.

I manage our investments and I've been fascinated by the marijuana industry that seems to be growing by leaps and bounds.  Part of the reason I find it interesting is that it is legal to possess small amounts in Nevada.  We have a local dispensary for legal recreational and medicinal weed.  We also have a couple other places offering CBD, a non-psychoactive form, that is supposed to have considerable medical uses.  Of course every sleezy salesperson (sorry, financial advisor) is pushing one company or another.  Believe me, I have no special insight and haven't bought anything yet!  There is a lot of interest in Canadian companies since they have legalized marijuana nationally.  There are also the brands that are associated with alcohol distributors but that is also primarily a Canadian connection.  I'll probably buy into some of the Canadian interests only because President Nutbag (I mean Trump) and his idiot Cabinet could turn on marijuana in an instant and amp up the pressure on the states to resind legalization. 

Well, that's what is wandering around in my head today.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day.

Second step!

A couple weeks ago we decided to try some of the recreationial marijuana that is newly legal (kind of) here in Nevada.  Well, we bought it a couple weeks ago.  After that we had a few things going on that kept us from actually trying the stuff.  Finally we got to a day when we thought we could try the little mint things. 

The mints contain 5mg of THC oil.  They come in a package intended to be difficult to open to deter small children and it would take a determined kid to get into it.  Sure they would eventually make it but at least the company is making an effort.  You are directed to place the mint under your tongue and let it dissolve.  That is kind of a pain but after about 15 minutes it is gone.  They say you might not feel the effect for up to two hours.  Neither of us really felt anything at all.  No high, no low, no nuthin.  Next time we are thinking of trying two of the mints.

A few days later we decided to split one of the cookies.  They contain 20 mg of THC oil.  Well, that was very different.  We both felt the effects this time but they weren't particularly wonderful.  My wife said she felt a little woozy but that she could continue with whatever she was doing.  I felt slightly dizzy so retired to go watch tv for the rest of the afternoon.  It was fine but a couple glasses of wine would have probably brought about the same desire to veg out in front of the tv.  Long story short:  it will be a long time before we have to go refill our supply if we ever do bother.  The liquor store is in no danger of losing our custom to the marijuana pharmacy.

Other than that experiment we've been staying indoors a lot.  Daytime highs are in the 105-110F range (40-43C) so the a/c doesn't get a rest.  Nighttime temps are cooler but (78F or 25C) but that is in the hour before sunrise so we don't really open the house.  We do take our morning walk and have been trying to get out between 05:30 and 06:00.  The sun gets over the mountain shortly after 06:00.  This morning was kind of a bummer.  We found a rabbit that had been hit by a car just in front of our neighbor's house.  Then we found a burrowing owl that had apparently been hit as well.  Finally, when we went out to breakfast we saw a cat that had been run over.  It was just a deadly night for the critters. 

To make my morning special I decided to deal with Vanguard Group.  We have an account that contains a couple mutual funds and they apparently want us to change to a brokerage account.  Turns out that since the account is in the name of our trust it is just a giant pain.  Fifteen minutes on the phone with a representative and it turns out that they will have to send us paperwork to sign and enclose copies of the trust paperwork.  What a stupid way of doing business.  I want the account to be secure too but we already sent them copies of the trust paperwork when we set up the account.  What idiots!  I'm tempted to tell them to close the account altogether and move the money into a company that actually wants our business.  Grrr!

I'm going to end with a photo I took while in Las Vegas a few months ago.  We were sitting at just the right table in a restaurant looking across the parking lot with a light pole in just the right place.  What should I see but the ASS Christian Church!

It is, of course, the OASIS Christian Church but I sure had to look twice!  I'm sure it is a wonderful organization and that they help many people but I got a kick out of the mistake I had made.  Thanks for stopping by.

First step

Today we took a first step towards checking out the recreational marijuana situation here in Nevada.  As of July 1 it has been legal to buy recreational marijuana.  You buy it at the same dispensaries set up for medical marijuana and we (my wife and I) found the whole thing really odd.  Of course we remember when you would buy from a friend or acquaintance.  You'd get a partially full baggie of dried leaves for $10 or so.  It's different now.   Boy is it different!

We have a dispensary here in our town so we stopped by after lunch.  You are admitted to a waiting room where you have to turn your driver's license over to a young woman who is safely behind what I expect is bullet proof glass.  I don't believe you have to be a resident of Nevada but you do need to be 21.  They had a couple informational handouts that talked about two different strains of cannabis and what effect you might expect from them.  Sativa is said to produce positive emotional effects; increased energy and enhanced creativity.  Indica is said to produce a relaxing effect; relieving pain and giving a feeling of well-being.  There is also a hybrid that does both in some degree or another. 

After a short wait a young man came out and called our names, introduced himself as our 'butdtender' and took us into the showroom.  The room had display cases along one side and the end.  They had all kinds of product you could buy.  My wife is a former smoker and wanted nothing to do with smoking so we bypassed the actual marijuana.  The first product the young man showed us was a liquid that came with a dropper, like an eyedropper.  Our budtender told us that you would simply put a drop under your tongue and you are on your way.  Then we came to the edible products.

This is more what I'd been thinking of trying.  Back in the day adding marijuana to brownie mix was a fun thing to do.  The problem was measuring the correct amount.  Now you can buy candy bars, gummy bears, cookies, even drinks.  Each product has a measured amount of the compounds that cause the effect you are desiring.  We ended up buying some chocolate mint bites and some orange zest mints. 

The chocolate bites are round and about an inch in diameter.  According to the package they are a cookie covered with chocolate and mint.  The cannabis oil, approx. 20 mg, is contained in the cookie.  The package of 5 cookies was $30. 

The mints are called 'Awakening Mints' so I guess are supposed to make one feel more alert.  You are instructed to place one mint under your tongue and enjoy it.  They contain 5 mg of THC oil each.  The package of 16 mints cost $25. 

We paid our 'budtender' his $55 and off we went.  One thing is that this is a cash only purchase.  The federal laws against marijuana keep them from accepting credit cards.  How's that for dumb? 

That was enough excitement for one day.  We'll try our new treats another day but today we had places to go and things to do.  Thanks for stopping by.

I'm Back

Well, I'm in a much better mood than in my last post.  I've discovered all I have to do is ignore everything going on in the human world and it's all better!

As proof of my new theory I offer this.  My wife turned on Fox News this a.m. - that would be Fox 5 Vegas.  I swear their 'news' was 60% feel-good crap and 40% someone shot someone else.  They are ignoring every piece of news except what happens here in the valley.  In their defense they do claim to deliver local news; not national or international.  I guess it's just the wrong channel for me.

One of the local news stories that I AM following is recreational marijuana.  It is set to be legalized on January 1 however somehow the government decided to try an 'early start' to sales and that begins July 1.  Medical marijuana dispensaries are going to sell the recreational stuff as well.  So the local dealers are all crazed about the prospect of a five or ten-fold increase in customers.  I sure would be!  We are certain to give it a try.  I smoked a little about 40 years ago but never made it a part of life.  My wife is an ex-cigarette smoker so you can bet we won't be smoking any but who could say no to a brownie?  I'm sure I'll report on it when we finally give it a shot.

We are getting up with the sun these days so we can take our walk.  It's about 2.5 miles and we don't hurry.  I joke that I'm doing it for our Neighborhood Watch but it's really just our daily exercise.  Mostly we look for wildlife which means bunnies, Jack rabbits, quail and today, coyotes.  Today while walking we met 2 pickup trucks and there was a scooter that crossed the street behind us.  That's representative of our 'traffic' out here.  Of course it was 06:00 so it is really just a couple of people going to work.  I took this photo of our shadows the other day. 

That's life in the fast lane for today.  Hope things are going well for you.  Thanks for stopping by.