Made it, kind of.....

We did make it to Las Vegas the other day but didn't really spend any money and didn't get my National Park Pass either.  Wandered around looking at things but nothing was quite right so we kept our money.  All we got was tired.  The only money we spent was for lunch and that was pretty reasonable.  Went to BJ's Brewhouse.  It's a chain out here in the West that we'd never visited before.  They have some lunch specials for $8-10 that are pretty good.  Having lunch for $20 plus tip isn't bad!  Not drinking at lunch does make it more affordable!

I've been trying to cut back on the amount I drink and lunch is an easy one.  Especially if we are in Las Vegas, I don't need to be drinking then driving in the crazy town then driving the 60 miles (100km) back home.  We used to have a couple of drinks with lunch just as a matter of course.  Not doing that has to be good for my health as well as my wealth.  I do like a couple of glasses of wine with dinner though and late at night a scotch tastes pretty good.  I'm getting better at moderating the whole thing though.

Thursday was fun; I went to the dermatologist and he found three moles to remove.  I'll find out in a couple weeks if they were just ugly or if they were nasty as well.  It was all pretty painless.  You get a shot near the area; there was a slight prick but nothing much.  Then in comes the doctor with a scalpel, slice and it's gone.  Then there is a little pop and the smell of burning flesh as he cauterizes the wound.  A band-aid on each, a pat on the hand and you are out of there. 

It just keeps getting better!  Gotta go check out the supermarket.  Have a good one.

Back to the big city....

Off to Las Vegas again today.  This time it's for fun!  Well, kind of.  Our daughter emailed her mom the other day saying that she would like to shop for a few things for their cruise the next time she's in Pahrump.  My wife responded "What do you want from WalMart?".  That really is about our only option.  There is an Ace Hardware/General Store but the only clothing you can get is athletic uniforms and sneakers.  There is a place where you can get 'gangsta' crap; a place that sells used clothing but that's about it.  If you want a towel; you'd better like what they have in WalMart.

This isn't really a complaint.  We knew when we bought the house that frequent trips to Las Vegas would be part of our lives.  It is actually a part that we like.  Las Vegas is there but it's far enough that it's quiet out here.  We walk in the morning in the desert, not on sidewalks.  We see the mountains, not a bunch of houses.  We think 6 cars in front of us is a traffic jam.  We are 'regulars' at the casino for breakfast.  We are home.

I"m going to take my camera and I hope to come back with something I can share on the blog.  NOT a 'seen at WalMart' kind of photo but maybe something a little classier.  "Seen at Best Buy?"  LOL  No, maybe something more like Red Rock Canyon.  Hmmm, I'm over 62; I should stop by and get my Senior pass.  Just another day of life in the fast lane.  Have a good one!

Colonoscopy - Part 2

Went in to Vegas yesterday afternoon to get the results of the colonoscopy.  Forgive me if this is more than you wanted to know but ... well, frankly, it's important.  The two polyps that were removed were flat, pre-cancerous polyps.  That means that they are difficult to spot and more difficult to remove.  The big deal though is that if I hadn't had the colonoscopy, in a couple years I would have colon cancer.  Damn it, get checked!  Don't wait, don't say maybe next year, just do it.  The doctor wants to see me in another three years.  So I'm drinking that cool-aid.

After that little visit, we went out to dinner.  Went to the same place we went with our daughter a couple weeks ago.  My wife had mussels and clams; I had a chicken pasta dish.  She was happy; I thought it was ok but not out of the park.  Drove home arriving about 21:00.  I think it's the 2nd time we've used the headlights at night on the car!  LOL Don't get out much do we?

Thought I'd end with a happy note.  We got used to buying flowers for the house when we lived in Europe.  Here's our latest bouquet.

And if you will forgive my vanity in posting a self-portrait:

Have a good one!

Quiet Sunday

All right, it's just not right.  I haven't heard a single thing about today being 10/10/10.  Sorry, I just had to say it.  My wife and I both noticed and we aren't all that hot on numerology.  Isn't the world supposed to end or something?

Had a nice quiet day.  Started with our walk then went to the casino for breakfast.  Snowbirds are coming back to Nevada (or at least through it) and the place was crowded.  The Las Vegas paper says August gaming revenue was up so that's good news for the state.  It doesn't do anything for the housing market but in time it should help. 

This afternoon I did my carnitas.  The pork shoulder I bought was bigger than we needed so I have some meat left over.  Don't know what that will become but it should be interesting.  Right now I'm thinking chili but we'll see.  The last time I got inventive I made ham and bean soup using pinto beans instead of navy beans.  It tastes ok but looks like something the dog threw up.  Nasty! 

Gotta go.  I'm going to try using the charcoal grill again tonight.  I expect an ass-whipping but maybe my luck will change.  Have a good one!

Back to normal?

Normal is one of those words that doesn't say much but I think we are 'back to normal'.  Got up this a.m. and walked.  Found more stones we are using to outline the driveway.  It was only about 50F (10C) when we walked but it is warming up nicely.  Should hit 85F (30C) or so today and warmer early next week.  This is pretty nice weather for us so we are doing what we can outside.  We do have a breeze but nothing like those tornadoes they had in Northern Arizona a couple of days ago.  Then we showered, had breakfast; normal sorts of things.  Yesterday we did most of the cleaning we wanted to do in our trailer so this morning we finished that up then put the trailer back in it's shelter.  It will probably be there until after the holidays.  Then I wandered around town spending money like we have it.  Didn't buy anything special just everyday necessities.  (As long as you include scotch as a necessity!)

I bought a big chunk of pork shoulder to make carnitas.  I think that means something like 'little meats' in Spanish.  My version is taken from a comment left on a version listed on Epicurious.Com.  The guy gave a rough account of his version and I've gone from there.  I use pork but I've seen recipes that used beef.  There is a fair amount of fat but after it sits in the fridge it's easy enough to remove.  I'm sure it is too Americanized for many folks but we sure like it.  The Rotel and the chili powder gives it a very mild spice.  It is very moist; traditionally you fry it to dry it out if you want it in tacos.  My wife makes homemade salsa so we can always spice it up.

pork roast - cut up roughly
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Rotel original
1t curry powder
1t chili powder
1t oregano
1t ground cumin

Salt & peppered the pork & gave it a 2 minute brown.  Cooked for about 2 hours; broke up the meat with a spoon & served.  Turned out just delicious.  Good flavor.

Have a good one!

Couldn't resist!

Another Sharon Angle idea:  Muslims are taking over cities in the US.  Will the people of Nevada actually elect this nutbag?  I sure hope not.  I'd just as soon see some real change in the Congress but I'd like someone a little more mainstream to represent me.  I got an email from someone the other day with this idea.  Now here is an idea that I do like!

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for  sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do  not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. 


Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution  

"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States".

Home again, naturally!

Well, obviously I made it through the procedure which is terribly minor on the scale of things.  Loved all the comments.  Poor Croft, no more popsicles!  Here they are recommended so our insurance covers them for us older people.  Maybe you aren't old enough!  No results yet, I get those  late Monday when I see the quack again.  And, as it happens, I gained .2 lb according to the Wii.  So I don't know what to say.  I'm more full of it than ever?  Laxatives don't help my problem?

The procedure was done at a Catholic hospital and my wife was saying about when she was a girl the Catholic hospitals were run by actual nuns; habits and all.  Here there wasn't a habit in sight.  It does me good to go some place like that to be reminded that everything done by a religious organization is not bad.  Of course reading in the paper about some nitwit who is protesting at the funerals of soldiers killed in the middle east didn't do me any good.  Apparently this asshole thinks that since the US is becoming less homophobic we are going against his religion and that's the reason these young people are being killed.  Apparently if we started stringing up gays and lesbians our troops would be unassailable.  Or something equally asinine.  Glad I got that dose of 'religion can be good' to keep me somewhat sane.

 We are going to clean the rig today and put it away in it's shelter.  It's been sitting out beside the house waiting to be cleaned and we've just been too lazy to bother.  That reminds me that I've got two, and only two, photos to share from our San Diego jaunt.  The first is of the Point Loma Lighthouse.  It was neat to visit; when it was first erected it was a day's travel to get back to San Diego.  Now, of course, it is surrounded by one of the nicer residential areas.

The second is a reminder of the military presence in San Diego.  It is a magnificent natural harbor and the Navy has made good use of it.  We saw a ship coming into the harbor as we were leaving the light house.  It was foggy; making for very poor photos of both the lighthouse and the ship but I tried!

Between Point Loma and San Diego is a Naval reservation and a huge national cemetary. I wanted to take some photos of the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery but couldn't find a good opportunity.  It is huge and very beautiful.  It would be a lovely place to while away eternity with a great view of San Diego, the bay and the airfield.  Come to find out one of my wife's ex-father-in-laws is buried there.  Ex-Navy, of course!  The cemetery is still in use.  In fact, we stopped at a Subway for lunch and at the next table were two members of an Honor Guard getting re-fueled for another funeral.  It must be an honor to participate but depressing as well. 

Have a good one!  I'm going to go take a walk.

Fall!

Fall has arrived in Pahrump.  It was 49 degrees (F) this a.m.  That's 9C for all you linear thinkers in the rest of the world.  We aren't expecting it to last long; it has been so slow in coming we expect it to be wintery pretty soon.  When we took our morning walk I needed a sweatshirt. And I got a little more exercise that I was expecting; we collected some largish rocks, about the size of a loaf of bread.

As I've said before, our yard is entirely rock with only 4 small cacti.  The fact is though that all rock is not created equal.  There is driveway rock and decorative rock; many different decorative rocks in fact.  The driveway rock has some clay mixed in with it causing it to compact really well so it can support being driven on better than just decorative rock.  Our problem is that people can't tell the difference easily so they are driving on the decorative rock which pushes the rock down in the dirt and it will just go away.  So we've decided to line the driveway with large rock so people will know where to drive.  The thing is that walking 2.5 miles is not too difficult but carrying large rocks in your hands for the last half makes it a lot more daunting!  I'm going to have one hellova handshake by the time we get the drive lined.  We are also outlining the different kinds of decorative rock with medium sized rock (fist size) but those aren't nearly as difficult as the driveway markers.

We had rain the other night.  It rained hard for about 10 minutes then it was gone but the smell remained for a couple of days.  It's funny how there is a smell to rain.  You don't notice it in most places but it is very obvious in the desert.  The next morning it was dry enough that we could take our usual walk out in the desert.  (We go a block on our street then we are out on a dirt track across the desert.)  The dirt was all loose; no longer packed down by traffic it was like we were explorers in a new world.  Then the next day it was fun to follow our own tracks.  The dog gets a big kick out of ranging far and wide at first but by the time we are headed home she is tired and comes to heel without being told.

My only other news is that I'm having a colonoscopy tomorrow morning.  Today is the day for laxatives; what fun!  Here's hoping the doctor doesn't find anything nasty and I get turned loose for another five years.  I was careful to weigh myself this morning so I can find exactly how full of it I am really.  I MAY share that news or not. 

Have a good one!

Home!

Sorry for the absence but I've been long gone.  We headed off to San Diego to visit our son last Wednesday.  It was a too-quick trip; leaving on the Saturday.  We drove to Las Vegas on Sunday; then spend Monday and Tuesday in the city; to come home on Wednesday.  In retrospect it was way too short a time but what do I know! 

Got to visit Point Loma; the site of a famous lighthouse and hear a lot of Navy activity.  My wife's family has been in the Navy for generations so she's loving that.  My dad was in the Navy in WWII that's my only connection.  It was fun looking at the lighthouse though and thinking of those poor people who were at that time a day's travel from San Diego. We did get to take our son & his SO out to dinner; they chose a steakhouse that's been around for a while  Perhaps, too long.  Anyway, everyone else had a good experience and my steak was at least ok. 

The approximately 350 mile trip there and back would take 70 gallons of diesel at $3 a gallon.  The campground was $27 a night so the whole thing was in the $300 range.  My wife will have exact figures later but that's pretty close.

The reason for returning to Las Vegas rather than here was twofold:  my wife needed shopping time for the cruise she is taking with our daughter and I had an appointment for my colonoscopy.  The wife managed to do great with shopping; unusual for her as I have mentioned before, and the doctor was ok except for the amount of laxative he prescribed for me to have before my procedure.  Yeah, I know; it's gotta be drunk but it is still a real experience.

Went to dinner with our daughter to a fish place:  King's Fish House.  It's a small chain that is mostly in California.  Wife had swordfish, daughter a blackened salmon and I had salmon cakes:  it was pretty good but no dish really called out to us.  The swordfish was rather small; the blackened salmon wasn't all that blackened and the salmon cakes were thin on the promised mustard sauce.  I'll go back but will try to look for just plain fish. The fish WAS nice, fresh and well cooked.

Anyway, now we are back in Pahrump and, wonder of wonders, there isn't any news about the DA drinking,  Maybe tomorrow.  So, until tomorrow, have a great day/week.''

Better!

My back has finally gotten tired of making my life miserable and is pretty much 'back to normal'.  Sorry, I couldn't stop myself.

Went into Vegas yesterday to do some shopping.  My wife has this odd idea that all her clothes shouldn't come from Walmart!  She is a most unusual woman.  Not only does she put up with me but she hates shopping.  Honestly.  I do almost all the everyday shopping and the only reason I don't buy her clothes is because the sizes are all different.  If she could she'd order stuff via the internet and never go into a store.  However, she desperately needs some clothing for a cruise she and our daughter are taking in October so we decided to look.  MUCH to my surprise, we scored 4 pieces of clothing.  This is a woman who wears things for years.  We were talking about buying her a new belt; she has 2 and they are at least 20 years old.  Weird gal but I love her.

Saw a story today about Jimmy Carter; he's got a new book out and is mouthing off trying to make it interesting.  I kind of liked him but never thought too much of his Presidency.  One thing I have heard that I expect is true (because of the source) but haven't verified is that he set the rules for the use of uranium so that once it is used it must be discarded.  Other countries allow the re-use thereby reducing the amount of waste that they create.  Odd if he did that since he was a naval officer and took part in the nuclear submarine program and should have known more about the technology than almost any President.  Who knows!  I was looking him up in Wikipedia and it reminded me that when he ran for re-election one of his opponents was John Anderson.  Hell, I voted for John Anderson!  How's that for a historical fact that no one cares about?

As you can tell, I don't have much to say today.  Have a good one anyway!

Oh my aching back

Friday morning I woke feeling fine.  Went out to the garage to add a little paint to a shelf I've been working on.  That done I came back in and somehow my back started bothering me.  By noon I could barely walk and by 14:00 I was helping myself to some prescription pain killers I got about nine months ago.  Not a good day.

Today I am considerably better but still at only about 75% effectiveness.  Odd stuff this getting older.  And not always fun.  Hope you are having a better day.

Exciting day yesterday

Yesterday was pretty exciting by my standards.  We started the morning with our usual 2+ mile walk (3.5km or so) then decided to try planting some of that cactus that we bought at the Springs.  Now that was life in the fast lane!  Too fast for me actually.  First we have to scrape the rocks away, then dig the hole, then make sure it 'perks' then put in the plant.  Sounds ok but the dirt we have here has a lot of clay in it.  Since it is dry, it is hard clay.  Very hard clay.  Digging four holes a foot deep was more than enough work for me. The plants are in very dry soil so, of course, the root ball on one just fell apart.  We finally managed to get it planted but we are only hoping that it will survive the rough handling.  By 09:30 we were both exhausted and even a shower didn't revive us.  I think I drank a gallon of water too.

As if that weren't enough excitement, I got to visit with another blogger.  Ed is a full time rv'er who has decided to make Pahrump his legal residence.  I've been reading his blog, Peregrinating Graybeard, for some time.  He's traveled widely and had some interesting experiences.  And, yes, he sure does have a gray beard.  We met at one of the casinos and talked for an hour and a half or so.  If I hadn't had some errands to do it would have been much longer.  I also got to see his rv; an absolutely immaculate class C.  Not that it was a surprise since I've read his blog but it was pleasure to meet such an articulate and thoughtful person.

Two posts in one day.  What's getting into me?  Have a good one.

OMG

This morning on Yahoo there is a story about Gov. Ed Rendel of Pennsylvania being embarrassed by some homeland security memos suggesting that there might be violence at all kinds of ordinary protest meetings.  I was so happy to hear an official saying this:

"I am deeply embarrassed and I apologize to any of the groups who had this information disseminated on their right to peacefully protest," Rendell said at an evening Capitol news conference.

Rendell called the practice "ludicrous" and said the fact that the state was paying for such rudimentary information was "stunning."

All too often our officials think they can run roughshod over basic human rights in the name of 'security'.  Thank goodness that there is at least one person in authority who remembers the constitution.

Vegas Baby!

We made the trip 'over the hump' to Las Vegas yesterday.  The occasion was the Springs Preserve fall plant sale. When we bought this house there were 20 or so dead trees planted around the yard.  The previous owners had purchased trees that need irrigation then hadn't provided any.  Duh!  We want plants that, after they get started, will not require watering.  Or at least not much!  Cacti!  This way we can still travel and not worry about the irrigation system dying.  In Florida it seemed that all we had to do was think about taking a trip and the sprinklers would start having problems.

I've not been to the Preserve before and we didn't visit it this time but now I am going to make it a priority.  It looks like a great place with lots of information about this area.  And they had some lovely plants for sale.  There were enough people for me but one of the guys working there said the spring sale is when they have many, many more people.  Ain't that great.  Anyway, now we have four different plants awaiting the big day when they taste the soil on this side of the mountain.

We also got in lunch and a little shopping.  I even got an early birthday present:  a micro hi-fi by Sony for my den.  Now I'm loving Bolero as I type.  The speakers on this laptop just are not the same and wearing earbuds all the time hurts my ears.

Gotta go.  It's my day to cook dinner - pork roast on the barbie, salad and a vegie.  Have a good one.

More quiet times....

It certainly doesn't surprise me that we are having some quiet times these days.  We seem to need quiet times more, the more we have them (if that makes any sense).  Besides the news gives us lots of excitement.

Our local District Attorney Bob Beckett was found "asleep behind the wheel" of his county vehicle.  Here's the local paper version.  When tested both at the scene and later at the station his blood alcohol was almost half again the legally drunk level of .08.  Where was he?  On one of the many streets that has been platted but is just a light coating of gravel going out into the desert.  There is nothing there folks and while I have no idea of where Mr. Beckett lives, you can bet it isn't out there!

In April 2009, he pleaded guilty in California to misdemeanor reckless driving in conjunction to two accidents in the same day; as part of his probation he is not to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in his bloodstream.  I'm waiting for the next episode of this farce. And just to add a certain touch, he was reported by Heidi Fleiss whom you may remember as a famous Hollywood madam. 

Also in local news one of our County Commissioners, Butch Borasky, is having trouble with the Ethics Commission.  Seems he may not have been as out of the construction business as he claimed.  He is awaiting a hearing. 

With all of this you would think I couldn't get past the local news but.....   Well, there is that idiot in Florida who wants to burn a Quran.  Jeez, I know Muslims attacked us on 9/11 but that is no reason to shit all over their entire religion.  I'm an atheist; I think all religions are wrong in their beliefs about God/Allah or whoever.  But that doesn't mean I'm going to go burn Qurans or bibles or any other religious tract.  I believe in live and let live.  Disrespecting another's beliefs IS something I'm against.  And I don't care what weird thing you believe.  It's the American way!

I did manage to read one national headline:  "Obama:  Voter anger could hurt Dems in elections".  OMG, imagine that!  By God (the one I don't believe in), you just can't keep things from that man. 


Have a good one.

OMG!

Rain!  First in a long while though Vegas did get some a few weeks ago.  This was the view on our morning walk before the rain.

And here is the water gushing off our roof.

It's not exactly like the water coming off the roof when we lived in Florida but it works for us.  The air is filled with the smell of rain.  I guess the smell was there in Florida as well but it seems much more intense here.

Have a good one.

Whining

Here's what our local Fox affiliate thinks the weather is going to be like in Vegas for the next week:

I'm loving it!  There is a pawn shop in Vegas that contributed $100 to a charity every day it was over 100F (38C) - I think they are right at $6,000 now.  It's a bit cooler here but not much!

I heard some woman on the radio this a.m. suggest that we should fly the flag on 11 September to remember the 'heros' who died that day.  I think that is so stupid!  Those people are victims, not heros.  People who can't tell the difference need to spend some serious time learning what a real hero is.  It's not someone who is killed at work; it might apply to the firefighters and cops who lost their lives but it sure doesn't apply to the guy sitting at his desk playing a video game  rather than working.

Just for fun....

The sun is pretty strong around here. Here is a sign that's just around the corner from our house. Thankfully it's not much of a turn.

This poor sign has clearly seen better days.  Maybe that's why the county put another below it.

That Dead End is clearly dying. 

Hot again

First a dog update.  She came through the surgery just fine and seems to be back to her happy self even though she has a six inch scar on her chest and a fair sized hole on her right rear leg.  She's been throwing up though so we aren't totally happy.  The vet thinks it may be a delayed reaction to the drugs she's been given so we are giving her chicken broth & keeping her on the tile!

I've talked of the Senate race here in Nevada.  The Republican candidate is fairly popular out here in the sticks; I saw this sign on the lawn of one of her supporters.  The funny thing I see here is that like her politics, her sign leans to the right.  Honest, this is straight on; I didn't tilt the camera at all!

Her web site here has some interesting stuff on it. Statements like:

On Energy: America must build upon her vast coal and natural gas resources to expand our domestic oil resources.

Now just how does using coal and natural gas resources expand our domestic oil resources? Doesn't make sense to me but it was only a bullet point so maybe she has an idea here that the website didn't make plain.

On Taxation: She sponsored the Angle Property Tax Restraint Initiative (aka Nevada's Prop 13) which placed a hard cap on property tax increases that future Legislatures could not repeal.

I am just basically against laws that 'cannot be repealed'. I prefer more flexibility rather than less in almost everything. We have to pay for all the wonderful government we are getting somehow.

National Security: She supports strong sanctions against rogue nations that export, support or harbor terrorism and believes that we must do whatever necessary to protect America from terrorism.

I'm actually ok with sanctions against nations that harbor terrorists; and I much prefer sanctions to going to war. It is that phrase 'whatever is necessary' that bothers me. Already this anti-terrorist terror has resulted in phone taps that are not approved by a court; incredible bureaucracy; travel restrictions and I don't know what else. Anyone expect these rules to go away soon? I sure don't.

Family Values: Sharron worked to pass the Constitutional Protection of Marriage Act in Nevada, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

I'm just against this. If a religion wants to mandate marriage as between male and female; fine. I don't think it is the business of the U.S. government.

Gotta go. Have a good one!

Dog days....

We had a tough day today though perhaps things will work out ok.  Our dog, Sammie, had an operation about three years ago.  She had two different cancers; one on her chest another on her abdomen.  Today she had another operation to remove a fatty mass from her chest.  It is in almost the exact same spot as one of her cancers.  The doctor wasn't too happy about getting all of the mass.  We didn't bother to have it analyzed; we'll know soon enough anyway if it was cancerous or not.  The dog is home now but is still pretty sleepy from the drugs.  I don't like the helpless feeling I get when all I can do is wait. 

That's a tee shirt she is wearing; she can't really get at the site of the incision but she is leaking a bit of blood.  She had a sort of wart on her rear leg and the doctor took that off as well.  I'll update the blog as things go along.

Idiots!

We are surrounded by idiots.  Sometimes it is just more apparent than others.  Here's a sign here in town.

First, I'm in only in favor of lawful felony's; those unlawful ones can lead one to spend time in the pokey.  Secondly, I've no idea what 'abandon or cruelty' means.  And why do you have a big sign about cruelty to animals?  Doesn't everyone know it's illegal?  Or is that one of those lawful felonies? 

The sigh, by the way, was placed between the lanes of a divided road which eventually widens into a small local park.  Go town sign planter!

BS!

Yahoo Finance has an article today about the Hindenburg Omen which is supposed to warn of a stock market downturn.  What is it?  Here's what they say.
    * -- The daily number of NYSE new 52-week highs and the daily number of new 52-week lows must both be greater than 2.2% of total NYSE issues traded that day.
    * -- The NYSE's 10-week moving average is rising.
    * -- The McClellan Oscillator (a technical measure of "overbought" vs. "oversold" conditions) is negative on that same day.
    * -- New 52-week highs cannot be more than twice the new 52-week lows. This condition is absolutely mandatory.

Now I don't know if you remember what I think about statistics but my opinion is pretty low and it gets lower with every increase in complexity.  You gotta know the Hindenburg Omen is down there a ways!  I don't have much time for stock market chartists anyway.  I just keep remembering the disclaimer on every prospectus:  past performance is no guarantee of future results.  If you are that worried that the market is going to go down (and of course it will from time to time), then get out.  Back after the dot-com meltdown a friend said his father had lost about a third of his money and was taking the remainder out of the market for good.  Doing that, he missed out on a great rally but maybe he slept better knowing his money was safe.  Whatever works for you!

Have a good one!

Duh, just special stuff

It's just a great day here in the world.  Here's a link to some idiot who thought there was easy money to be had in day trading without any knowledge whatsoever.  Jeez, this idiot is certainly going to get off the hook but why?  Ignorance is just ignorance and this guy is way too dim to procreate!  At least the government should cut off his balls.

Tiger Wood's wife has finally dumped him.  Why should this be news to anyone?  Jeez!  He is such an idiot!  Granted she was way idealistic but don't we all want to expect the best from our spouse? 

Went into Vegas yesterday to get a tire replaced on the truck.  We were driving along in Oregon when we had a choice:  either every road we were traveling over was total crap or we had something wrong with the truck.  After some discussion with my BIL, we actually looked at the tire and you could see a bulge in the sidewall.  NOT GOOD!  We put the spare on.  Many miles later, the guy at the dealership just took a quick look and started finding me a new tire.  It took all afternoon but I have to say he managed it.  Good on you Gaudin Ford!

That Mexican weather I was grouching about is finally about to dissipate.  We have clouds and 20% humidity, a chance of rain (not likely!) and the weekend is forecast to be in the 90's (~36C)!  Ok!  Works for me!  Here's what our sky looked like tonight.

 
Hmmm, we might make it through this summer after all!  Have a good one.

Quiet Sunday

We were scheduled to have the daughter and her latest boyfriend here today but they canceled for some reason.  We've never met the guy but generally she has pretty good taste in guys so we aren't too worried.  Having the day to ourselves, we were both extremely lazy.  I surfed a good part of the day and my wife watched tv.  Life in the extra-slow lane.

I'm going to try my luck with the charcoal bbq again tonight.  My victim will be a pork tenderloin that  we found in the freezer.  You know, I was over 60 before getting the bright idea to itemize what was in the freezer.  Jeez, talk about slow!  Anyway, we have these cryovac'd tenderloins so we are coming up with three different ways to serve them.  I'm a little worried because we have quite a wind going today.  It's hot but breezy; weatherbonk says 17 mph and I believe them; at least!  I'll do indirect heat using only the briquette charcoal.  That lump stuff is for experimentation when I get better with the stuff I used to know.

There is a nice piece in the Vegas paper entitled "To insult idiots, call them 'politicians'" The guy is so 'right on' it's amazing.  Of course we have people like President Obama who came into his job with a pretty good rating and now he's in Bush country.  If only he'd stop waffling and do something!  There was a story this week about the last combat troops leaving Iraq; of course there are still a few thousand 'advisers'.  Bah humbug!

There's a line in 'Pride and Prejudice' that I love:  "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?''  The thing about politics in the US is that while it is absurd, the same is true for other countries.  Belgium, for example, can hardly remain one country it is so divided between the Flemish and the Walloons.  Australia is doing it's part by not electing a majority government; much as the UK did a few months ago.  In the UK they seem to have found a temporary agreement, let's hope Australia can follow their lead.  What would we do without politics to complain about?

Have a good week.

UPDATE:  I must admit to a small success in my war with charcoal.  The tenderloin was a tad dry but not bad at all.  Maybe next time I'll have the courage to top it with some bacon?  It was 97F (36C) while I was out watching the bbq; I was sweating lightly but the breeze caused the perspiration to dry almost immediately making me comfortable or even slightly chilly.  Amazing!

Harry Reid?

There is an election scheduled for November and the newspapers are full of the race for our Senate seat; it's between Harry Reid, the incumbent, and Sharon Angle, his Republican challenger.  Here in rural Nevada it's likely that Ms. Angle will carry the day since people out here are generally more conservative than in the cities.  Of course there are a lot more people in the cities so....  However, in addition to being one of the power elite which is not a good thing this year, Harry has managed to piss a lot of people off by his associations with President Obama.

We have tons of signs around town for candidates for various offices but very few for either state or national positions.  I did find one for Harry Reid which, unfortunately, has been the victim of graffiti.

A couple of blocks farther along is this sign; not so professional but full of meaning.

I don't know but Harry might be in trouble around here.  Have a good one.

Mountain!

I'm trying to pretty the place up a bit so added a photo of Mt. Charleston; the view diagonally out my office window.  It may or may not stay; but I'm happy about it for a first effort. 

Darned Mexicans!

Now if it wasn't enough that we've got this illegal immigration problem, the weather man says the Mexican's are sending us up some warmer weather!  Jeez!  Low 100's today (39+C); another 5 or 8 degrees (42+C) later this week.  Grrrr!  Even the people who've been here a while are getting tired of it.

I was reading that the Mexican President has said perhaps they should consider legalizing some drugs, like marijuana specifically.  His justification is he wants to reduce all the violence that the drug cartels are causing.  I think legalization makes perfect sense.  The country could tax it and we could all go over the border and have a quick joint if we wanted.  Hell, it would probably increase tourism 200%.  (I can just see Croft trying to figure out how to stay there year round.  LOL  Just kidding!)  Actually, we ought to legalize in this country as well.  Logically we'd have to let about 25% of the people out of our prisons (since they were in for something that was no longer a crime) but that savings wouldn't be too painful to the states and the tax income from the weed would be most welcome. 

These hot days I'm spending my energy trying to figure out how to cook things without warming the house.  The crockpot is in use as is the bbq.  I got my first gas bbq about 20 years ago; before that I was a charcoal guy.  Now I've decided to try charcoal again but it's kicking my ass!  I think I've complained about it before but it's still killing me.  Made a real rookie mistake the other night.  Put a pork loin on that I'd made slits in for little pieces of garlic.  I'd done something similar on the gas grill just a couple weeks ago and it was great!  Unfortunately, I forgot that the charcoal grill is much cooler and didn't sear the meat the way the gas did.  Ended up with a fairly dry pork loin.  Bah humbug.  Like I say, a rookie mistake.  Next time I'll just put the garlic on the outside and we should be good to go.

I'm also trying 'real charcoal' aka lump charcoal.  The stuff that doesn't fall through the grate burns pretty quickly and the charcoal I add doesn't really take off well.  It's to the point that I stopped and bought some Kingsford briquettes yesterday.  I've never used lump charcoal before so going back to something that I have at least used before ought to help with this re-learning process.  I spend quite a bit of time on the BBQ forum but some of those folks are really close to professionals!  Not that they aren't helpful, it's just they are on a whole different level. 

Gotta go.  Tonight I'm the garlic bread guy to my wife's pasta cooking.  Hopefully I won't screw that up.  Have a good one.

Or Not!

Went over to Vegas yesterday to celebrate my wife's birthday.  Moderation was certainly NOT the name of the game as we were in around $150 a person before gratuity (can't call anything that size a 'tip').  It was very good and we got plenty to eat though the individual plates were pretty small.  The restaurant was Aureole in the Mandalay Bay.  Nice place, fine food and good service; can't ask for more than that. 

There is an item in the news about some ex-state workers in Colorado who are suing the state because the state is changing the rules of their retirement.  I don't know the whole story but apparently there was some kind of built-in cost-of-living adjustment written into the law which the state legislature has overturned.  It's hard for me to imagine a state legislature with the political courage to do such a thing (congratulations Colorado!!) but I believe it is going to have to be done in many more areas.  It is done in the private sector all the time.  Our health benefits keep getting smaller and being more expensive; that wasn't supposed to happen.  Our pension income has never gone up and I doubt if it ever will.  This economic hole needs to be attacked and ex-government workers cannot be exempt. 

Short post today; I'm off to cut up some meat for beef jerky.  I cut it and marinate it today and tomorrow it goes on the electric dehydrator for five or six hours.  I think I'll add a little cayenne to the marinade; make it just a bit hotter.  Have a good one.

Moderation

I'm a big fan of moderation in all things.  Lately we've been getting a little moderation on the weather front and are loving that.  There's a big difference between 95F (35C) and 105F (40+C).  In the wider scheme of things I'm also a fan of moderation in a lot of ways.  Investing is certainly a place where I believe you will be more successful if you are moderately invested in different areas - of course that's usually called being diversified.  Wine, women (or men) and song are also places where moderation is beneficial; at least in my experience.  If your experience has been different, I'd love to hear about it!

I've been reading a lot about are we having inflation or deflation or will we have one of them and when.  Another place where moderation is a good thing.  Inflation is easy for me to understand but deflation is tougher.  My problem with the entire question is that the truth, whatever it is, will be obscured by the fact that the U.S. government has been fooling with the Consumer Price Index (CPI)  for so many years that I don't think it tells us a thing.  For me that's a big problem; if your own government is lying to you, you're screwed.  Governments lie, of course; they are made up of people and people certainly lie.  It's the pervasiveness of the lying that bothers me.  I gave up on the CPI many years ago when they took gasoline out of it because "it was too volatile".   Well, most of us have to buy it so I really don't give a damn if it fouls up your statistics.  It is extremely important to us consumers and it's cost should be reflected in the CPI. 

To get back to the inflation-deflation question:  a lot of us remember when we had some pretty severe inflation in the 1979-1980 time frame.  I remember hearing of a Certificate of Deposit that paid 14% interest!  Today Wells Fargo will keep your money for 49 months and pay you less than 2%.  Deflation is much tougher for me to comprehend; I had to look it up here in wikinvest.   Of course if things become cheaper that means that there will be less tax income (sales tax & property tax anyway); and businesses will have a tough time remaining solvent so maybe that is what's happening.  I know this house that we just bought in 2009 has lost almost 20% of it's value and our property tax bill has dropped by approximately the same amount.  We have seen several of the small businesses in the area fold but, of course, many do even in the best of times.  However, having just used 300 gallons of diesel in our travels, I can categorically state that not EVERYTHING is in a deflationary state. 

Our society has so many constraints on the economy that I don't know that 'pure' inflation or deflation is possible.  The federal government has such an influence:  employees; military; retirees; Social Security; Medicare (and whatever Congress just voted in).  It's quite a list and those people aren't going to get a reduction in their payments.  Then there are the large companies who have unionized workers; it's possible to change those contracts but it would certainly be slow and difficult!  Anyway, I'm definitely confused.

Maybe it's time to just go have a beer!  Have a good one.

Sunrise!

As a result of an unquiet night, we took our morning walk earlier than usual today.  It was so lovely!  Walking along the dry track looking at the clouds over Mt. Charleston; the rays of sun climbing over the cloud; the slow lighting up of the Nopah mountains to our west.  Absolutely beautiful.  Did I have my camera?  Hell no!  Of course not.  There was the smell of rain in the air but it would be pretty surprising if we got any here; the mountains are probably getting some though.  (Here's a pic from a walk last year about this time.)

It's kind of funny but this whole area is a flood plain.  You climb over the pass from Las Vegas and here is a sign proclaiming a flash flood area for the next X miles.  In fact, our house is in a flood zone and our mortgage requires that we have flood insurance.  It strikes me as kind of funny since in Florida our house was at an elevation of about 12 feet (say 4 meters) about 10 miles(16 km) from the ocean and it wasn't required there. 

As usual, we've got a quiet day planned.  The highlight will probably be washing the car.  How's that for life in the fast lane?  Speaking of "Life"; I really enjoyed the post on Random Roger this morning.  He's talking about the importance of taking responsibility for your life.  He's had a couple posts recently that generated comments about his insensitivity to people's problems.  I don't find him insensitive at all.  He, and I, are strong proponents of living below your means.  That means that we have a Toyota not another BMW; we have a travel trailer not a diesel pusher motorhome; we have basic cable tv not every extra channel you can imagine. 

This is how we have always lived.  When we were working, we always lived in a house that either of us could afford if the other lost his/her job.  We are intelligent people (well, give me a break!) and were working in exciting positions for strong companies but you never know what's around the corner.  I have every compassion for someone who has been crushed by the world:  I know there are people who had a moderate mortgage, a good job, a happy life but things just all went sideways and now they are homeless, jobless and crazed.  I have none for someone who bought a house they couldn't possibly afford or who thinks the world owes them a living or who thinks relationships are painless. 

I kind of think being an atheist gives me an advantage here:  there isn't any super being out there who cares about me.  It's all my problem and all my solution.  Of course, having parents who had lived through the great depression (the 1930 one!) helped too.  The news is full of 'the new consumer' who ISN'T buying everything in sight; those folks who saw that depression didn't buy a lot of crap they didn't need either.  And, you know, that sunrise this morning was so absolutely beautiful, so priceless and it didn't cost a dime.  Go smell the roses folks.

Have a good one.

Warm enough?

Turns out we went on our trip during the hottest month of the year.  Traditionally July is the hottest month but this year was a new record.  According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal "July's average temperature of 96.2 degrees (35.6C) was the highest of any month since record keeping began in 1937."  That average is both the high and the low so it didn't get that cool at night either.  We've been in the low 100's (38C) since we returned but nothing in the teens.


Speaking of our trip; we put 3,174 miles (5,100km) on the truck; towing about 2,500 (4,000km) and used almost exactly 300 gallons (1,135 liters) of diesel.  A long trip for under a month.  Here's a photo of the GPS when we were going up to see Mt. St. Helens.

Nothing like driving in a straight line!  Have a good one.

Off to Las Vegas

I'm headed to the big city today for some shopping.  In Pahrump if Walmart doesn't carry it, you don't need it.  That's just not our lifestyle.  I was astounded when we first moved here that I'd be in a store looking for something and if they didn't have it they would send me to Walmart.  I worked in retail and sending a customer to Walmart would be really low on my list of suggestions. 

Here is a photo we took at the Escapee's park in Sumerlin, OR.  We were in the club house looking at the books and saw this out the window.  Fortunately my wife had her cell phone (with camera).  It seems the leaves on the tree were tasty but when she got an apple; that was special!

Have a good one!

Hmmmm

From Yahoo news:  "Leading Republicans are joining a push to reconsider the constitutional amendment that grants automatic citizenship to people born in the United States."  I don't think anything will come of it; since when have politicians had this kind of courage?  However........

Well, at least I consider this a step in the right (i.e. correct) direction.  Clearly the amendment was written at a time when people made a huge effort to move to this country and make a place for themselves here.  Modern travel methods have clearly made that effort obsolete.  Now there is at least the fear that people come to this country for a day just to have a baby here and obtain the associated rights for that baby.  And for the child's parents. 

I guess that perhaps I would like to modify the 14th Amendment.  Let's think about the different children we are talking about. 

1. A child born of a woman who simply walked across the border for the day. 
2. A child born of a woman who is here illegally; either by overstaying a visa or by sneaking into the country by some other means.
3.  A child born of a woman who is here legally; though of limited duration - i.e. a student visa.
4.  A child born of a woman who is here as a legal immigrant (with a green card).

It seems to me to be obvious that the first two examples are people who need not be granted citizenship.  The third example is at least questionable; if the mother isn't intending to stay, why would the child?  However the final option would seem to be completely reasonable candidate for citizenship provided that he or she was willing to take the oaths required of new citizens. 

BTW, my FIL is the son of a wetback so this discussion hits close to home. 

Is it really August?

I guess it must be.  The local radio station talks about the weather being 'in the low hundreds'; after it gets into triple digits who cares?  We are taking it easy though getting caught up with 'normal' life.  I'm doing lots of laundry & exciting stuff like that.  (Yes, I do the laundry in our house; not sure how that happened but....)  Our daughter is coming over today so I'm bbq'ing a pork loin roast and some corn.  Keeps me off the street.

I've been researching high-end restaurants in Las Vegas because my wife's birthday is coming up.  It's one of those special ones (ends in a zero) so we are going to try one of the nicer places.  If anyone had any suggestions, I'd be willing to listen because we haven't been to many places in the big city.  From the web sites I've checked out I'm expecting to pay in excess of $100 a person plus $50-100 for wine.  The good news is that I won't have to worry about us getting drunk at those prices! 

Gotta go.  This computing is getting stuff done.  Take care.

Home again

Made it home about 14:30 yesterday.  Glad to see that things were as we left them!  One minor problem occurred, about a million little black bugs decided to die (mostly) outside our front door.  I've no idea what the deal was but there is a pile of them.  We've never had anything like that before.

Our last day driving was pretty trouble free; there were a couple idiots who don't know how to pass who are still alive because I was able to pull off the road but otherwise all was serene.  I backed into the yard and plugged the rig into the power.  We'll get it completely unloaded in a day or so. The truck is absolutely filthy so it's off to the car wash for me. 

Our next-to-last night was spent in a campground that is part of a working ranch.  They had this old John Deere tractor sitting under the trees.  I imagine it might be worth quite a lot to people who collect tractors; it certainly seemed in good condition. 

Have a good one!

"We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there."  Charles Kettering

Nevada!!! Not home but....

Stopped for the evening in Hawthorne, NV.  There isn't a lot here but there is the Hawthorne Army Depot; a huge weapons storage area that makes for a lot of the jobs in the area.  We found a nice rv park with concrete pull-through spaces and excellent internet.  What more could we ask?  How about a couple stories from the road today?

We are back in the desert though here it is at the 4,000+ foot level  (1200+ meters); Pahrump is around 2700 ft (825m).  Had a good day driving through country that reminds me of the old tv show Bonanza - lots of scattered pine trees with lush green meadows.  We did have a good laugh not long after we got on the road.  This road is in the middle of nowhere; miles to the nearest gas station much less anything else.  Along come two state patrol cars leading an extra-large and wide load going somewhere.  Following was another state patrol car - and, what made us laugh, about 30 cars full of people who thought they would be moving at 65 mph (105kph) but were instead doing about a third of that.  Yes, I know it was cruel to laugh at them but gee, they all looked so happy! 

An hour or so later we were climbing this really steep grade on a narrow 2 lane road when we see a line of three traffic cones across our lane and a state patrol car pulling away up the hill.  We carefully go around the cones and find a large semi broken down in our lane of the road and the cop putting out yet more cones on the uphill side of the breakdown.  In my heart I know the cops help people every day but today I actually got to see two instances of them doing it! 

We were pulling into Susanville, CA - slowly because there is a big hill for us to go down west of town.  The hill is signposted for trucks at 35 mph (56kph); I was going a bit faster but not a lot more.  We were right on the outskirts of town going through a piece of road that was blasted out of the rock leaving about a foot of shoulder (35cm).  Here were two little deer strolling along the side of the road; no horns and they were both really small.  I braked to the point of almost stopping but the deer just kept walking.  Finally I honked the horn and they hopped up the almost vertical rock face to safety.  I was sure glad they went the right direction! 

Should be home tomorrow.  We are both looking forward to it.  It's been a good trip but we are home-bodies.  There will probably be a few more pictures that I haven't shared yet in the next few days.  Have a good one.

Californication.....

Here we sit; all Californicated in a place called Hat Creek.  Interesting, kind of, but really a sack of s*#t.  Paying excessively to sit in the woods and watch a bunch of idiots playing horseshoes is not really something I'll be doing again.  We were hopeful though; we are trying to make the journey from Sutherlin, OR to Pahrump a three day journey - days of approximately the same length.  This would be a good first days run but this park just isn't going to do it.  The only thing that can be said for it is that we have internet and a bit of a breeze.  There are other parks around here that we'll try next time.

We spent the last two days just resting at the Escapee's park in Sutherlin - resting defined as cleaning the rig and doing laundry.  My opinion of the organization is no secret; I'm a huge fan.  The park is nice, blacktop roads, big spaces and not at all expensive.  Oh, and the people that we met were all great too!  The drive from Reedsport to Sutherlin was along the Umpqua River valley; that was downright beautiful. 

The road here was ok.  Interstate-5 through the Siskiyou range - in summer it's got some challenging spots;  I've heard that in winter it can be downright scary.  Lots of 6% grades both up and down with a few slow curves interspersed.  Needless to say, there's lots of traffic.  After you leave the interstate, it's a narrowish 2 lane road with lots of ups and downs.  The cars following us may not have been too happy but that's not something we can do much about.  There aren't lots of places to turn off.  The state of California also is part of the problem:  if you tow anything the speed limit is 55 (88kph); otherwise it's 65(105kph).  We are a built in moving blockade for other vehicles.  Happily most people are pretty cool about it.  Only saw 4 California Highway Patrol vehicles today.  Unfortunately saw three deer hit by cars; a buck and two doe. 

Should be in nowhere Nevada tomorrow; then home on Friday.  Drive carefully where ever you are.

Last days on the coast

We have spent a last couple days just being lazy not going far from Lincoln City.  There is an outlet mall that we had to check out.  Spent a few bucks but nothing special.  Neither of us are great shoppers.  Yesterday, for example, I went to a Dollar Store and bought new toys for the animals - $2.  NOT too great for the local economy!

The weather has been weird; it may be sunny at our park but foggy in Lincoln City 5 miles away.  You've got to take your coat wherever you go.  There were tons of people in town.  The city is strung out along highway 101 and turned into a giant line of cars all just crawling along.  What fun. 

Today we are south down 101 a bit more then we turn inland and head for Interstate 5 and home. 

Take care!

More coastline

We wandered south from our park yesterday afternoon just looking at the view.  We found it was easier to access the actual coast and enjoyed that.  There were even a couple places where we could have gone down to an actual beach.  Unfortunately that 60F (15C) and 20mph (30kph) breeze dissuaded us.  It was pretty though!

We got to see the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.  You can actually go up in it since it is no longer used and has been taken over by the state as a recreation area.  We didn't; there were already lots of people in line and you know what I think of standing in lines!

I loved the view of the bay that you got from the point.  The rocks offshore are rather close but far enough that they are home to lots (!) of birds.  Kind of hazy but very beautiful.

We stopped at one viewpoint that was inhabited by a different species - landscape painters!  (Sorry couldn't even approximate the latin name.  Hell, I'm lucky I can spell it in English - or is it American?)  At least they can cut out the haze in their work.

I was liking that old tree but clearly they were after something else.  Gotta go.  Have a good one.

Oregon Coast

We have finally made it to the Oregon Coast; yes, it's beautiful.  You can certainly believe there won't be any bikinis on that beach though!  It's barely 60F (15 or 16C) and there is a nice wind blowing. 

We found a park near Lincoln City - it's another PA (PassportAmerica) park so the cost is very reasonable.  Sometimes such parks are not really nice but this one, though crowded, is pretty nice.  No dog run but it works for us.  It's Coyote Rock RV Resort & Marina - they have a big sign talking about the biggest fish they've had taken this year.  The kind of place where it's really quiet at 21:00 but you start hearing people out and about at 05:00.

Yesterday we did a loop up to Tillamook and back.  Tillamook has a cooperative that has been making cheese and other milk products for many years.  We visited the factory and must admit it was pretty awful.  There were zillions of kids; crazed parents and angry drivers in the parking lot.  Not much to see either; just some bored people cutting and packaging cheese into bricks.  Of course it would be a great place to buy an ice cream cone; if you didn't have to stand in line for 10 minutes!  I'm way too old for that shit.


Going to go down south today.  Hoping for more good views and maybe a walk on the beach.  Hope you are having a good one.

A Mountain - and wine country

My wife and I visited Mt St Helens a couple years after the first eruption.  We were living in Seattle at the time so it wasn't tough to visit.  Last year we tried to visit it again but it was socked in.  This year we succeeded in finding good weather.  We were worried; it was cloudy down where the rv park was located.  We decided to try it anyway and our wishes came true.

The interpretive centers are well done; the scenery is great; even the road is good.  It is a worthwhile stop on any journey, especially if the weather is clear.

Now we have moved on; but only about 90 miles.  We are near the town of McMinnville, Oregon; a town of many wineries.  There is also an aviation museum that houses the famous Spruce Goose airplane; Howard Hughes' famous 'largest aircraft in the world'.  It may not be that any more but I've got to see it anyway.  Wine and a famous airplane, what more could I ask? 

Now, if I can only find a laundromat!

Catchup.....

I've been in an internet-free zone for the last week; that is staying with family who are not technologically advanced. Anyway it's been an interesting time. Got to my wife's sister's place on Thursday afternoon. The truck was riding like the road was made of individual rocks so we figured we might have an out-of-balance problem. Took it to Les Schwab, a big local tire chain that has a pretty good reputation. On the way over, my BIL noticed a squirrely motion when we were stopping and suggested we might have a bulge in one of the tires. Anyway, the tire people didn't ask us anything, they just took it for a test drive then got us in and balanced the front tires. On the way home, it was better but still not great. We decided to check the rear tires and sure enough, there is a bulge in the sidewall of one of the tires. Put the spare on and that fixed the problem.

The reason for our trip is that my wife's step-dad is turning 80. Had the big birthday party on Friday: prime rib, oysters from their own beach, lots of sides. Very good party. Our daughter flew in from Vegas to attend as a surprise for the FIL. The champagne was really flowing but my wife and I managed to refrain so when evening came we were half-way sober but feeling good. It was really warm all day, I think Seattle hit a record in the mid 90's and it must have been close to that where we were.

A telephoto view from the sister's 2nd floor deck:

Saturday we spent recovering; well, we rested and our hosts recovered. They had put a lot of work into the party and needed nothing but some quiet time. I went into town to do a couple errands and proved that changing the tire was what we needed. My wife and daughter went to see the latest Twilight movie; thought it was pretty good, much better than the second. Had a lovely dinner on the patio with leftovers from the party. There's a good chance it was all better the second time around!

Sunday we headed north towards Sequim, WA up on the Straits of Juan de Fuca where the parents live; it's only about 75 miles. They are in a private rv resort having stopped traveling after about 15 years full-timing. A friend has an empty lot so we get to stay here at nominal cost. Makes it very convenient but we sure don't get much exercise. Sunday and Monday were devoted to eating and talking. I am typing this on Tuesday. Today we are off to see my wife's brother & SIL.

They are an interesting couple. Live near Port Angeles, WA which is a rather 'artsy' community about 40 miles from here. Nice people who are developing into rather artsy people after having retired from a rather constrained life in the military. The BIL is doing wood-working and we are to collect a table he made out of driftwood for my wife. We already have one and are looking forward to another. His wife is a poet and we brought along a copy of her first book for her to autograph.

A view of Canada (Vancouver Island) from their deck:

We'll be here for another day then leave on Thursday. We are headed to Mt. St. Helens to try to view the mountain. We were there back in the mid 80's when everyone was just amazed at how fast the mountain was recovering from it's eruption. Tried to visit it last year when we were here but it was socked in; maybe we'll make it this year. After that we are headed for Oregon. We'll be staying near McMinnville where there are wineries and also, Howard Hughes' airplane, the Spruce Goose. I'm looking forward to seeing that!

It's Wednesday, 14 July. It's our last family day and I'm sitting alone in the trailer while three young people are outside washing and waxing it! This is the life! We intended to get it washed and waxed before we left but it just didn't happen. This is much easier. LOL Of course I'm going to have to part with some money but what's it for if not to be spent? Besides, these seem to be nice young people and I'm sure they need the money. According to my FIL, their dad delivers propane to the park. They also have a relative who lives here. I hope they get lots of business; they are doing a fine job. They thought $150 quite generous; it took 3 people four hours, good enough pay but not incredible.

After the kids got done with the trailer, I joined my wife and her parents for a lovely meal. (They do three meals a day - breakfast and a lunch/dinner thing with a snack just before bed.) Lots of good food and mostly good talk. There were times when we were near talking about some unpleasant stuff that's in the past but we managed to skirt it. We got back to our nice clean trailer about 18:00. Now we'll say 'good bye' in the a.m. and head out.

The visit with the BIL & SIL yesterday was great. We sat on their deck and ate crab and smoked salmon that they had caught and smoked. Then went inside for steaks with all the trimmings. Yum! I had to skip the crab, of course, because of my allergy but smoked salmon is a treat that I can eat. The Coast Guard was doing some practice rescue stuff out in the Strait so we even had some entertainment; kind of noisy though! The local native tribes are doing a long distance paddle next week so I guess the Coastie's were getting in practice. Don't want to screw up during a big event!

The weather has been pretty amazing. It started off HOT and morphed into simply perfect. It's in the low 70's and sunny. If it were like this more often this place would be as crowded as Southern California. Happily, it gets gray and nasty quite often. Most people who live here and can afford it like to vacation elsewhere in the middle of winter.

Walking the dog this evening I was consumed by a feeling of "being home". It's funny because I truly feel that "home is where my hat is". It is true that I lived in the Northwest for 18 years. However, I lived in Iowa for my first 21 years; I also lived in Florida for 14 years. But when I lived in New Jersey; just a year and a half, that was home. When I lived in the Netherlands; only two years, that was home. My wife and I both commented; landing at Schipole was "coming home". Odd that this evening I should have that feeling.

Thursday morning: we have a foggy start to the morning. Walking the dog we didn't see any wildlife; only a kid with a back pack waiting for a bus. Funny, I don't expect bus service out here but there it was. Now we've made it down to Mt. St. Helens. Staying at the Mt St Helens RV Park - ok but a bit expensive. The sites are terraced so if you don't like backing into a spot, you're out of luck! Looking forward to seeing the mountain tomorrow morning.

Have a good one!

Mt Shasta, CA

Managed to make it to Mt. Shasta, CA to Abraham's RV Park on Tuesday night.  We've been here before.  The spaces are still not level and the water pressure has declined to Not-Great AND they have decided that they want $28 (cash or personal check only) for a night.  They do have cable and wifi but really!  It's not that wonderful.  I would stay here again but only if it fit into our plans REALLY well.  There is one redeeming thing:  close to the mountain.

For a place a mile off the interstate, that's not a bad view when you take the dog for a walk. 

Headed north today and ended up in the Portland-Woodburn RV Park about 15:30.  Another place we've stayed several times before.  It has it's own private gate to a discount mall which may be a selling point.  For us, it's not.  They have managed to raise the rate to $35 this year so, again, we may not be stopping here again. 

The folks in Oregon seem to have taken Interstate highway building lessons from Louisiana;  if I didn't know better I'd think we'd lost wheel weights on all four tires!  It's still beautiful though.  We were watching Mt Hood get bigger all afternoon.   We are just lazying around; it's 94F tying a local record for the day.  Hotter tomorrow.  Out on the coast there is a split between warm and cool.  On the northern Oregon coast it's in the 90's (33C) but the southern Oregon coast it's 58F (14C).  What a difference in just a few miles!

More later.  Hope things are well with you & yours!

"We don't have to worry about anything. No nation in the history of the world was ever sitting as pretty. If we want anything, all we have to do is go and buy it on credit." Will Rogers

Traveling

It's been a while since we've been on the road.  Today we are just outside of Reno, NV; not a lot of a change for us but it did take us until 17:45 last night to get here!  It wasn't a bad drive; mostly 2 lane roads with not too much traffic.  We did have the occasional idiot who doesn't know how to pass but otherwise uneventful.  We did have two people who made illegal passes.  I wonder what they think they are doing?

We are staying in Fernley at the Wild Rose RV park.  It's a Passport America park so for $17 you get a nice concrete pull-through space with cable and wifi.  It doesn't have much of a dog run but that's the limit of my criticism.  It's a rack-and-stack kind of place but for a night, it's lovely.

Headed  into California this morning; should end up somewhere around Mt. Shasta or Weed.  Not a very long day but it will give us the energy to do a couple things around the rig that we didn't get done before leaving home. 

"There's two theories to arguin' with a woman.  Neither one works."  Will Rogers

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope that you and yours have a good and safe day wherever you may be.  In the states, let's be careful mixing booze, celebration and fireworks!

In honor of the birth of our nation I would like to introduce you to an amazing man, Charlie Reese.  Charlie has been a newspaper man for most of his life.  He is now retired.  Some of his writing is collected here.  His writing wasn't the kind of thing you always agreed with but it was always reasoned and thoughtful.  Charlie has forgotten more about history than I ever knew.  He is from the South and proud of it.  I was looking at the titles of some of his pieces; "The US Government is Corrupt From Top to Bottom" would be a favorite. "The Drug War Hogwash" is another.  In it Charlie reminds us that Prohibition changed the Mafia from a few poor crooks into a lot of very wealthy ones. "Why Obama Can't Win" proves his crystal ball was sometimes cloudy.  The fact remains, Charlie was a great American voice.  I highly recommend checking him out.

"We are all responsible for ourselves, our family, our community and our nation. We need to shuck this "It ain't my fault" syndrome and start taking care of business." - Charlie Reese

Dog and cat days....

Having lots of fun getting ready for our trip.  Today was dog and cat maintenance day - brushing, trimming and washing all around.  Oh my aching back!  But everyone looks better (to human eyes anyway) and touching their coats is again a pleasure.  The dog was pretty cool with the whole thing.  The cat yowled a lot but at the end of the day, that's all he did and he's already been on my lap.  Can't be too pissed off!

We have piles of stuff around that are ready to be loaded into the trailer.  Cold weather clothes, blankets, extra water hoses, the bbq, there's just a ton of stuff that gets taken off the rig for one reason or another.  Tonight I'll start the refrigerator and in the a.m. start the a/c. 

I went to the store for a few things and it turned into one of those WTF moments.  It's Independence Day on Sunday so it's ok to expect the stores to be busy.  What I wasn't expecting was the general incompetence.  The kid behind the meat counter told me he had two days training; I'm surprised he could tell hamburger from ground pork.  What did they do?  Lay-off the butcher and hire this kid?  Heaven knows!  The ordinary check-out lanes were crowded with people with lots-o-stuff.  There are four self check-out lanes:  one was out of order.  A customer was on one and had fouled it up somehow so there were two left.  A family with two kids were fumbling with a third; that left one for the rest of us.  The idiot who oversees the self-checkouts even carded some guy buying a six-pack of beer - even I could see he was pushing 40!  Makes you glad you don't have to get anywhere in a hurry!

So, if I don't get to it tomorrow, Happy 4th of July everyone!


"Laws for the liberal education of the youth, especially of the lower class of the people, are so extremely wise and useful, that, to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant." --John Adams

FIRE!

Our news today is mostly concerned with two wildfires in the Las Vegas area.  One, near a tiny town called Moapa, has destroyed homes and other structures.  The other, on Mt. Charleston, is in the forest.  That fire was started by an illegal campfire, the fire service hasn't given any information of the start of the other.  (Fires are banned from April through November in the area.)  Right now the fires are reasonably small but you have to feel for the firefighters.  We are looking at another 105F (40+C) day with 15-25 mph (24-40 kph) winds.  It has to make a tough job much worse and they certainly will not get them put out today.  Go here or here for photos.

Personally we are just continuing to get ready for our trip.  Today I'm off to buy carpet protector material; we are tired of cleaning the carpet in the trailer!  We can't really shave the dog & cat so we are going to try protecting the carpet with plastic.  At least it will give us a fighting chance.  Tomorrow I'll do most of the loading.  We need warm weather clothes for the first couple days then cool weather stuff for Washington; they are supposed to have a high of 63F (17C) today.  It will be quite a change for us!

Have a good one.

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.  I travel for travel's sake.  The great affair is to move."  Robert Louis Stevenson

Good trip yesterday

Had a good trip yesterday.  The ladies got all painted and I stocked up on booze for our upcoming trip.  Here the adult beverages cost about half what they are in the NW so it only makes sense to plan for it.  We are getting excited about the trip.  It's only the NW and we've been there three times in the last 2 years but it's still fun.  Plus, this may be the last one for a while; how many family visits can you have?  We just have to go check out new places; Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, California, Arizona, New Mexico - they are all calling to us.

Had a little dog fun this a.m.  I looked out the window and saw a roadrunner of all things sitting on the patio table.  I didn't recognize him for what he was but we don't need him taking up residence there so I let the dog out the back door.  Well, the chase was on!  And I have to admit for a 75 lb 9 year old mutt, she did pretty good.  The roadrunner actually had to fly off to escape.  Happily for the dog, there was another distraction, a bunny had decided to enter the back yard.  The dog goes flying past the bunny while chasing the bird then realized what she was seeing.  Fast U-turn and bunny decided it was time to leave.  Zoom, away want bunny under the gate to safety.  Bottom line, it's a good thing we feed the dog, she'd be pretty hungry as a predator.  But she's great at keeping her yard free of strangers.

"The poor dog, in life the firmest friend, 
The first to welcome, foremost to defend."
Lord Byron