Getting ready....

Yep, Thanksgiving is just around the corner for those of us in the U.S.  It's one of the favorite holidays in our house because we have a lot to be thankful about and we know it.  It's also a pretty nice time of year in this part of the country; the extreme heat has finally let up and it isn't actually snowing yet.  I have to wonder if the number of traffic accidents doesn't skyrocket though; people are just crazed about getting that 'just right' turkey or a special tablecloth or something.  Personally I prefer to hide at home if I can!  The cooler weather also means I can post a photo like this:

In the summer our oven doesn't get much of a workout since the a/c has plenty to do without the additional heat.  The bbq is definitely our go-to cooking method in the summer.  This little piece of pork loin came out really nicely and the bacon added something to the peas even after it had contributed it's good moistness to the loin.  Yum!

On a completely different subject, I take a lot of photos.  I'm currently using two cameras and my cell phone.  I guess I could use the computer but not that many people want to see photos of me!  The cell phone has both forward and backward facing cameras so you can take photos of yourself and something else at the same time.  My wife and I were fooling around the other day and I took this one that is so bad it's funny.

I saw some famous guy on tv talking about his selfies where he takes a photo of someone else with just maybe one of his own eyes in the photo.  I thought I'd try it with this feature of the phone.  It actually turned out better than I'd hoped when my wife tried taking a photo of me at the same time.  Hm, another life in the fast lane moment! 

I'm probably going to be busy until after the big day so I'll take this opportunity to wish all of you in the states a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Thursday to the rest of the world.  Let's hope it is a peaceful and loving one everywhere.  Thanks for stopping by.


 

Happy Veteran's Day!

Here in the states it's a day to remember our military veterans and you know I've got to say it, you deserve it!  Thank you for your service!  Some of us did very little, like me, some gave all.  Let me tell you, you just don't know what's around that next corner.

Aside from the holiday I still don't have any exciting news.  Our weather has cooled to highs in the 60's F (15C).  Sometimes we get a shoulder season and sometimes we don't.  This is one of the 'don't' years.  We did get some rain in the last month and it's caused some havoc.  Much of Death Valley National Park is closed due to flood damage.  That's pretty lousy and some of the areas like Scotty's Castle is going to take some extensive repair.  It is going to be closed for quite a while.  I'm a member of a public advisory board for the Nevada National Security Site aka the Test Site.  It is where the U.S. tested nuclear weapons from the 1950's through 1992.  They had some pretty substantial road damage due to flooding as well.  Happily that whole area is carefully monitored so we can know that there is no radiation washing down off the test site or anything like that.  I always get a kickout of this photo showing people sitting out in the desert on folding chairs waiting to see the bomb go off.  A different time indeed!  This photo courtesy of National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Field Office.

 Well, that's it for today.  I've definitely got to get out and do SOMETHING!  Take care and have a good one.

It's been a while.....

Posting hasn't been high on my 'to do' list lately simply because I haven't had much to say!  Here in Southern Nevada we are transitioning from way-to-hot to downright-chilly.  We had snow down to maybe the 4,000 foot level last night (we are arougn 2,500 ft) but it's pretty much melted now at 10:00. 

Apparently my wife and I needed something to do because we've decided to look at new cars.  Our RAV4 is a 2010 model.  It's very basic with an automatic transmission and power windows but otherwise nothing.  Even though it only has 50,000 miles we would like something with more toys.  We like the car and the type (mini-suv) but would like a bit more power and, as I said, toys.  It's kind of a pain shopping because we have a Jeep dealer and a Chevy dealer here in town; anything else is in Vegas.  And, of course, going in and talking with a salesperson takes a couple hours so it pretty much blows the whole day since getting my wife out of the house before 10:00 is pretty much impossible.  (I guess if there were a fire......)

The first hurdle is the sticker shock.  You see these cars 'starting' at $2x,000.  Well, when you go for the top of the line you are closer to $35,000 and we haven't looked at any of the luxury brands.  So far we've seen the Ford Escape, Honda CRV, Subaru Forester and Outback, Mazda CX5 and Kia Sorento.  Someone told us there are 14 cars in that niche and I'm thinking it is more like 100.  At least it feels like it!  We have one request that keeps tripping them up:  a power seat for the passenger.  Only the Ford and the Kia manage that one.  How tough is it?  Everyone manages a driver side power seat but the rest don't even have an option for a passenger side seat.  Geez.  We'll see how the luxury brands handle it but neither my wife nor I are hot to spend another $10,000 to get a name and a power seat. 

Speaking of my wife; she's signed up with a personal trainer for twice a week workouts.  He's a young guy, born the year our daughter graduated high school, but pretty low-key.  He's putting her to work though.  She never perspires but she sure is after almost every workout with him.  The gym has all kinds of machines and she's learning to use every one.  I'm staying away because my theories of working out are completely different from his.  (Yes, I do have opinions on working out.  You might not think it considering my rather round shape.).  She's enjoying the experience but is already wondering how she can keep exercising after the string of lessons runs out.  (She signed on for 24 or 36 lessons; I didn't pay much attention.)  It should be interesting though. 

So you see it's been pretty dull around here.  Maybe next week something will turn up.  I wouldn't count on it though!  Have a good one.