Just some quiet time...

We aren't doing anything much these days.  It is usually in the 104-110F temp range (40-43C) so staying inside in the a/c is pretty tempting.  We have some new houses being built in our neighborhood for first time in at least 5 or 6 years.  This isn't a 'development' where you see a builder doing 8 or 10 at a time.  These are 1 acre lots (something over 4,000 sq. m.) so it's not like your back fence is right in your face.  There is plenty of that in other parts of town.  Of course we don't have a golf course and we have to have our own well for water.

I had a doctor's appointment the other day and when that was over I called my wife to see if there was something I should be picking up.  She didn't answer.  Well, that is kind of worrying.  When I got home I discovered she'd fallen and twisted her toes!  We decided to check with her doctor and they suggested an x-ray and darned if she hadn't broken two of her toes!  So now she is back in her wheelchair for a bit.  It does slow you down when you cannot walk.  And it gives me a lot more to do.  LOL 

We've been having a nasty infiltration of bugs lately.  They are mostly extra small cricket like critters.  For some reason they really like our front door area.  It is on the north side of the house and covered so I imagine it is cooler there than other places but it is really just nasty.  I've been sweeping it every day and they just keep coming.  Here's from a couple days ago where I'd swept them away from the door but not off the concrete quite yet.

We did have a nice sunrise the other day.

Then yesterday I had to go to the store in the mid-afternoon.  I pulled the car out of the garage and it was raining!  I was so shocked I had to go back into the house and tell my wife.  Of course this is Nevada and rain on our house doesn't mean rain a quarter of a mile away.  Sure enough it was dry as a bone by the time I got off our street.  There was this rather nice rainbow though complete with the moon peeking out from under the cloud.

I guess that's all the news from this corner.  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands and stay away from the sick people!

July is moving along!

Jeez, I know I'm getting older and older but this speeding up of time is just crazy!  It was only a couple days ago that I took this on the 4th.

Yeah, I didn't even go outside to take the photo.  I wonder why I was such an idiot?  Hmmm, maybe this?

Those are dead and dying bugs in front of our front door!  I've been cleaning it every day or two.  That's just wrong but it's been going on for the last 10 days or so.  The only thing I can think of is that the porch is shaded on the North side of the house so it has to be quite a bit cooler than being out in the sunshine.  And when we are talking 115 F (46C); well, it's nasty out there in the sun! 

Of course those bugs like the ceiling too.

Needless to say I've been spraying around the doors.  We are still getting bugs into the house.  Actually, the population is nothing like outside but finding a dozen every day is kind of depressing.  

We have finally tried leaving Gus, the dog, alone for an hour or so while we go out to lunch.  He tends to find a place where he can see the front door, the garage door and the back door; and that's where he stays!  It's a big improvement over last year where he would be barking and running around.  

And just to prove that I'm not the only one with a camera on my phone, here's a photo my wife took of the sunrise this morning.

That cloud cover made for a nice morning.  Not cool but under 80F (27C).  Well, that's all the news from out here in nowhere.  Have a good one and keep washing those hands!

No, I did not watch the debate!

Ok, I started watching it but after about 10 minutes of listening to Mr. Trump lie I just couldn't take it any more.  Wow!  And to think that there are people who actually admire him!  What can they be thinking?  And poor old Joe Biden looked so, well, old.  It was just nasty.

The 4th of July is coming up pretty quickly and that's a big deal around here.  We have at least 3 huge fireworks stores in our little town.  Of course you are only allowed to use fireworks at a public area well out of town; not in your back yard or anywhere like that.  And people in Las Vegas can't use fireworks; people in California can't use fireworks; but somehow the stores stay in business.  Hmmmm.  Do you think some folks are breaking the law or maybe just storing fireworks for a day when they will be made legal? 

These folks usually have a flag flying but when it comes to a special holiday they do kind of add to the display.  And, yes, the business is named "Area 51 Fireworks"; a nod to the well known extraterrestrial area just over the mountains from us.  It's maybe 50 miles 'as the crow flies'.  Actually I was on a civilian board advising the government on communicating with the public about the Nevada Test Site.  We got to visit much of the Test Site and even got a long distance view of Area 51.  We were no way close enough to actually see anything aside from dusty desert.

We had an interesting morning a couple days ago.  I really liked the cloud layer.  And it was fairly cool since the sun wasn't baking your body.

Still, that was unusual.  It is usually 'not a cloud in the sky' and something over 100F (38C).  You can tell it's warm when the birds are hiding in the shade wherever they can find it.

Well, that's all that's fit to print this morning.  Keep washing those hands and keep away from the sick people!

Nothing very exciting here.

 Well, it's been right around 3 weeks since I've updated the old blog.  I have an excuse though; my laptop just spent 4 days in the repair shop!  I'm not really sure what it's problem was; things just weren't working right but they did figure out that the battery was deader than anything so I imagine that was it.  It was a $40 part and a $50 install but let me tell you being without a computer for that long was a terrible experience!  I wasn't aware how much of my life is tied to this little thing.  Well, now things are back to normal and I can even update the blog.

The news is all about the election and I've got to admit that I'm spending way too much time reading about it.  There isn't a thing I can do about it until I vote on Election Day and reading all the guesses about what the various courts are going to say about Mr. Trump and his legal problems are just a waste of time.  I have been looking at https://jobsanger.blogspot.com/.  He posts a lot of very insightful comments about Mr. Trump.  I try to find other things to read but, darn it, there doesn't seem to be a lot of other news except the stupid crimes (including bad driving) that people are committing.  I'll tell you, I wish people could suddenly start being nicer to one another!  And not just in this country; those wars going on in other countries are not making my days any brighter either.

I did get a nice sunset photo a few days ago.

And here is a shot of the moon going down behind the mountains.

We have transitioned into summer around here.  Our days are in the 104F - 107F range (40C - 42C); the nights getting down to 65F - 75F (18C - 24C).  Humidity is in the 10-15% range.  Going outside and remaining in the shade is possible but I cannot imagine how the people who have to work out in the sun manage it.  I'd be sweating buckets.  I am thinking about those folks because for the first time in a very long time we are having houses built in our neighborhood.  There is one that has roofing on it already and the wallboard is up.  There is one that only just has it's foundation and there are two that are just holes in the ground.  Around here you dig a hole about 3 feet deep then fill that with gravel or something similiar for the foundation to sit upon.  We have areas in the valley where if you don't do that your foundation will be breaking up in a couple of years.  And that would be nasty for the builder, the realtor, the plumber, the purchaser and anyone else involved in the thing.  Houses in our area also have to have a well dug (ours is 200 feet deep per our well guy - around 60M) and a septic tank/field installed.  It's all very nice but far from cheap.  Houses that are on the re-sale market are in the $450-600 thousand area.  Of course there are some that go way higher!  Needless to say, when we bought this house 16 years ago things were a lot cheaper.

I've been having a lot of trouble standing up and walking is pretty nasty as well.  After all kinds of medical fooling around I finally got an MRI of the lumbar region of my spine.  There are 7 bones down in that area and the doctor looking at the results found something wrong with almost every one.  Now I'm scheduled for some sort of spinal injection to ease the impact of my spinal stenosis.  If that doesn't work then we'll be looking at more surgery and I'd sure love to avoid that.  I've got to admit that while the doctors have all been pretty nice, they sure take their time about scheduling you for care.  That injection is scheduled for August 1st!  I wonder how many patients that doctor has waiting for care.

That's probably all the news that's fit to print.  Take care and try avoiding all the sick people out there.

Mr. Trump and his 34 felonies....

Wow!  What a news flash!  I mean it's not like he shot 34 people or even beat them up but 34 felonies!  That isn't something that normal people should accept.  Of course we've all seen quotes from 15 or 20 Republican members of Congress (or Fox News) talking about how very wrong the verdict was. Of course several of those people are hoping to be the next Vice President under Trump.  Doesn't everyone cover up for the person who might be their next boss?

I was reading a guy's blog today (jobsanger.blogspot.com) where he pointed out that the Republican party used to be known as the party of law and order.  He's pretty sure that isn't the case any more and I can't say I disagree.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure the Democratic party has that honor either.  

I must say that I'm not really thrilled with either party.  My first, and simplest, complait is that both candidates are going to be older than I am!  I mean where are the 50 year old candidates?  Oh yeah, they are more busy trying to get laws passed to make money or slash taxes for their supporters. One of the things I've always liked about Joe Biden is that he seems to be someone who can work with members of both parties. Maybe there are some members of Congress who are doing that work these days but they sure aren't getting the credit/newscoverage they deserve.

At the end of the day I'm just thrilled that Mr. Trump was found guilty. I really cannot find anything good in the man. He started out being a draft dodger during the Vietnam War era. In business he clearly has lied and cheated others as well as the government. I heard, and I know many others heard, a tape recording made while he was being interviewed for some reason in which he claimed he really liked fondling women's genitalia even if he didn't know them. And lately his speechs have become totally confused babble.

One of the things that surprised me was the list of things that he will no longer be able to do as a convicted felon. There are apparently 40 countries that do not allow felons to visit. Of course the various states have their own rules that include things like voting, the right to own guns and various social benefits.

It's an interesting world and this is certainly not clearing things up! Let's see what tomorrow brings. Take care and keep washing those hands!

Memorial Day

Just another day but no, Memorial Day, a day to think about people who have given their all for our country.  I had to look up my post from last year where I explained our families service.  That's what I usually think about on Memorial Day.  This year let me not be so self-centered.

Our small town has a city park/playground/resting area named Ian Deutch Memorial Park.  Ian Deutch was a young man who became a sheriff's deputy.  He got married and fathered two children.  He also joined the US National Guard.  Well, his unit got called up and got sent to Afganistan.  Yeah, not a very safe place.  Yet, he returned and had a couple of weeks to recover from all that before he resumed his job as a deputy sheriff.  On his first night on duty back in 2010 he was one of two officers called out on a domestic problem at one of the local casinos and in the midst of all that crap he was shot and killed.  His first night back on his admittedly dangerous job but, really, after surviving time in a war zone?  He was only 27 years old.

Today is the day to remember and honor those people who have given so much.  There is a saying about how "all gave some, some gave all".  That's what today is about.

People who are helping others are hardly rare:  doctors and nurses spring to mind along with teachers but even servers in restaurants are there to help you. Usually we concentrate on the folks who are more immediately helping:  the EMS folks and the police but it's still true that there are plenty of people working to make life easier for others.  I hate to tell you this but as you age you'll probably notice those 'unusual' helpers more!  

Enough of all that!  Personally it's probably going to be a pretty quiet day.  I've already promised my wife a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast.  If she can't get meat she'll go for cheese!  It is forecast to be in the low 90's today (32C) so we won't be running around outside too much.  Maybe a quick grocery store run but that will probably be it.  The week is full of fun:  a couple of Physical Therapy visits, a visit with the doctor who ordered my MRI, a visit with the vet  to see how the dog is getting along.  Nothing but fun! 

 

 So, hava a good one and try to keep safe - without help! 

What the heck?

I follow quite a few bloggers who publish every day or so. I just cannot imagine how they manage it.  I guess I could take a photo of our dog and post him every day but, well, how dull!  Earlier in the year I could have taken photos of the weeds flowering across the road but, again, not actually exciting.  

Now yesterday I got all excited looking at cruise line ideas.  We do love cruising.  We went on a Caribbean cruise way back in the day (1997) but that was really because the old SS France had been renamed as the SS Norway and was clearly on it's last legs.  I don't know but she was somehow important to me so I talked my wife into taking this little cruise.  I don't know if we were just being cheap or if we were just slow but we got a cabin way up in the bow of the ship.  The sides of the cabin were, yeah, curved up just like the bow on the outside!  The ship was a deep water vessel so couldn't go into many of the ports and had to anchor out.  Of course being in the bow we got to hear the anchor chain quite well!  This was back in the day when you had to dress for dinner; I don't even own a suit any more!  

In 2002  we cruised to Mexico on the Statendam to celebrate my wife's parents wedding anniversary; I'm thinking it was 40 years but don't quote me on that!  It was a family cruise so the ship was kind of secondary.  

Then we kind of stopped sailing.  We had a trailer and starting checking out the United States.  Eventually we traded that trailer in for another one but between the two of them we think we towed them about 80,000 miles - all in the U.S.  One of the reasons we were land-bound was that we'd adopted a dog from the local pound.  I don't know why but having a dog and leaving it in a shelter while we cruise is just tough.  (We've had five dogs over the years & they were all shelter dogs.  I cannot imagine spending money on some dumb purebred!  Actually, our current dog is 100% Shar Pai (our daughter had his DNA tested) but he was abandoned out in the desert and we got him from the shelter.)  However, our dog died in 2014 and we went on a binge!

We discovered Viking.  The Viking Imperial Jewels of China cruise to be specific.  It's no longer offered and it was less of a cruise but it was a hell of a trip!  We landed in Shanghai the flew to Wuhan.  Then we cruised up the Yangtze through Jingzhou, the Three Gorges Dam, Shibaozhai and Chongquing.  Then you fly to Xian and finally to Beijing.  I've no idea why they aren't doing that tour any more.  Maybe it became too expensive to visit all those fantastic, iconic places.  Since then we've done many Viking cruises.  We are just taken.  No dressing up; no children; no casinos; just comfortable rooms, good staff and great places.  

Ok, I'm going to shut up.  Nothing to say and all day to be boring.  Take care & try to be safe!