Happy New Year!!

 Let's just hope the country and the world can improve a bit in 2024!

Happy New Year!!  

Take care and keep washing those hands!

Merry Christmas!

 And Happy New Year!  

Well, things are a bit different this morning.  This is our usual view (with balloon, of course).

This morning we have some of the moisture that California is getting; but the desert version.

Not exactly a blinding sunrise is it?  But, well, it's a kind of moisture I guess.  Otherwise everyone is just running around like we all do just before Xmas.  My wife and I haven't given presents to anyone (much less each other) for years.  It just seems like if we want to give you something, why wait?  And for each other; she certainly knows better what she wants than I do and vice versa.  So why buy the wrong thing?  Ok, I'm an old grump but it's been working for us for 40 years or so.

In the rest of the world, jeez, every time Mr. Trump opens his mouth I cannot imagine why anyone would vote for him.  A server in one of our local restaurants, a Japanese immigrant, was telling us how much he believes the election was stolen in 2016.  Of course the next day Mr. Trump is carefully telling us how illegal immigrants are 'poisoning the blood' of the country.  Hmmm.  Does anyone else see the stupidity of our server?  Of course there are probably other reasons he is a 45 year old server in a restaurant but I have to think 'dumb' is one of them.  

Of course in 2016 Nevada had some Republicans choose to report to the federal government that Mr. Trump had won the election when, in fact, he had lost it.  So I guess it's not just low-income servers who are dumb!  Jeez!  Every now and then my wife and I have this discussion about moving to another country if Trump were to win a second Presidency.  I don't think we'd ever actually do it but Switzerland is looking better all the time!

Sorry about the rant but this shit is getting old!  On a better note my wife and I managed to get our Xmas photo taken yesterday.  With the dog, of course!  So, as I said, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Much Better New Year!  Thanks for stopping by & take care.

Well, that was fun!

No, I'm lying.  It was NOT fun!  We woke and fed the dog the other day and I took him out to hear just a waterfall!  Well, this is the damn desert.  WTF??  I saw this in our back yard.

Yeah, that's a small lake in our back yard right next to the pump house.  Hmmm.  It didn't take me long to turn around and run in to get the key for the electric box and shut off the pump.  Well, I did managed to get this photo of the problem.

Yeah, that's a problem for sure!  We called our favorite 'well guy' and he came over and repaired the leak.  He's explained this to me before but apparently our local government has decreed that pumps should be sitting on a concrete pad; but they don't want a REAL pad like with rebar & an underpad of gravel.  So as the ground moves around, so does the pressure container and every couple of years the plastic pipe cracks.  Ain't that wonderful?  So, he fixed the pipe and collected his $80 and we'll be seeing him in another couple of years.  He is a nice guy but really?

Of course it's not all about water around here.  We do get some nice night skies, sunrises and sunsets.

 Of course it is the Xmas season so we've decorated the house.  We have our 1998 plastic Christmas tree from the Netherlands.  I'm sure I've never posted a photo of it before!  LOL  The things decorating the tree all have memories attached.  Some are things the kids made (who are now both over 50 years old!); some are from the Netherlands; some are from our travels; some are just beautiful in their own right.  The Santa robe beneath the tree on the table was created by my wife's sister when she was into weaving.

And, of course, it is finally cool enough to use the fireplace!

Hey, what more could you want?  Well, aside from no more broken well connection.  Oh, and world peace and no more Hitler-wanna-be assholes and a funeral for Mr. Trump.  Yeah, I'm not asking for all that much so maybe in 2024 we'll get some of that.  Hell, I'd settle for the last one!  Take care and keep washing those hands!  Thanks for stopping by.

Travels - back in the day!

 Well, it looks like I've been gone for a couple of weeks.  Jeez, I hate it when I don't have anything to say!  But, well maybe, that's a good thing.  Anyway I don't have any more broken bones to talk about!  It's been quiet out here in the desert.  Just below freezing in the night and almost warm by mid-day.  Orion started showing up in the dark sky about a month ago and it's always nice to see that constellation.  We went and got shots for the new version of COVID; who knows if they work but it's worth a try.  And, of course, we are decorating for Xmas.  It's fun lighting up the place.  Lots of memories there too! 

I've been reading a few blogs where the people are visiting other countries.  I'm refering specifically to the blogs Key West Diary,  The Chouters and Kevin and Ruth.  Of course there are many others but those three have been filling lots of my time lately.  They remind me that we've been here and there as well.  

How about this?  The required before dinner photo on the SS Norway; previously the SS France.  Yes, they made you stand there and pose.

I don't know why but I'd been a fan of the SS France for a long time.  So when it was renamed the SS Norway; well, I still loved the ship.  I think it was going to be retired so I talked my wife into a cruise.  It was just Florida to a couple of the Caribbean islands but it was enough.  We had this cabin that was WAY up in the bow and when they dropped the anchor we sure knew it!  That was 1997 - a quarter of a century ago!

Of course when we lived in the Netherlands we got to travel about quite a bit.  Being an old Army guy I had to take photos of some of the local WWII memories.  This one was in Belgium.

Of course in the Netherlands they do like their bicycles.  

Looking at those blogs and my old photos does make me want to travel more!  We have a cruise planned but it's not a big deal.  LA to Hawaii will be lots of ocean time and no foreign ports.  Still, it will be cruising on the ocean and we do love that.  It's even better if you can't hear the anchor being let out!  LOL  

I'm going to post a few more memories but for now I'm sticking to the 1990's.  Take care and keep washing those hands!

Ok time for photos!

 Well, if you look at this blog you'll notice that I do like to include photos.  I've been taking pictures since back in the dark ages!  And I'll probably continue until my darkest age comes.  Anyway, I have a couple of photos to share today.  So first of all is a little cup sized vessel.  It is standing on little legs but the sun on it makes it's shadow totally different. 

You can see how the little cup is standing on the glass counter and is reflected below it but the part I love is the shadow on the wall behind it that is just the upside down portion.  Those stupid wires screw things up but our tv management hasn't allowed us to get rid of them!

To add to the shadow photo locker I'll post this guy.  We bought this in Paris about 24 or 25 years ago.  We like it but adding the shadow version makes it special.

 

Next up is a late evening view of the moon.  This is NOT a full moon even though my photo might make it look like that.

Our car decided to be stupid and killed one of the, I'm sure, many computer chips working away all the time.  This one controlled the SYNC3 and backup camera and a few other things.   Anyway I had to spend HOURS at the dealership in Las Vegas waiting for them to get the thing working again.  I think they did but during my sitting around they had to manually move this 1930 van so they could put up a Christmas tree.  It took 4 guys at least an hour to push this thing around.  And their paychecks are attached to the money I'm spending there!  Grrr!

And one final thing.  We often go out to lunch.  Yesterday we hit our favorite Thai place for lunch and got a table next to the window.  We had mostly finished our meal but I still had some beer.  I've never seen the carbonatization display itself like this.  It's short but amazing!

So, have a Great Thanksgiving if you are in the U.S.  Otherwise have a great few days.  Keep washing those hands and take care!

Another day; another pain!

I've spoken of the fact that my wife and I are both going to Physical Therapy.  She is still recovering from her broken ankle and the months of non-weight bearing time.  I simply have a pain in my hip that seems to wander around from right side to left; hip to upper leg to knee; lower back.  It's all about aging so what can you do?  Yeah, not a darned thing!

I do like to take photographs.  And you don't have to be very physically active to manage that!  Our town is in a basin with mountains on all sides of it.  It makes for some nice sunrise & sunset photos but the land in the basin is super flat.  

One of the things I dislike most about the local people is that they don't seem to regard water as a limited resource.  In our part of the town houses are on 1 acre lots.  That's a bit over 4,000 square meters.  It is not unusual for someone to have 40 or 50 trees growing on their lot.  That takes a LOT of water.  There is a lot next to us that had an excavation for building a home when we moved here 15 years ago.  It also has something like 40 trees growing all around the perimeter of the lot.  You can see some of the trees in that sunset photo.  There is still no house there.  There is electricity and a well and lots of piping to water all those trees: that's it.  What a waste!  

This is an aerial view of a local casino that has an RV park associated with it.  The name is Lakeside Casino.  The photo is certainly from Google!

Yes, that is a small private lake in the middle of the RV park.  The sites all have trees.  The part in the bottom left is what things look like if people aren't dumping water on the land.  And those houses in the bottom right of the photo; you can't count all the trees!  Where do these people think they live?  The Pacific Northwest? 

Bah humbug!  Sorry about the rant.  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Quiet times!

I haven't blogged recently because our lives are just DULL!  Well, not exactly,but close enough.  My wife is still going to physical therapy for her ankle and I'm going to physical therapy for my hip.  We are both improving but it's still a long way from 'normal'.  My wife walks with about a 10 inch step so that's pretty slow BUT she can walk around the grocery store with me which is a big improvement.  

I wrote a blog post the other day that was a rant about the world in general but didn't post it.  Living out here in Trump country just bothers me.  He is such a jerk.  And, of course, having two wars going on filling the news with a bombing here or an attack there isn't the way I'd like the world to be going.  Not to mention all the stuff about climate change and how little is being done about it!  But I won't bore you with that crap.  

The heat of the summer is finally leaving us; it is right around freezing every night and mid-70's (23C) during the day.  That is really nice.  We can even go out to lunch again leaving the dog in the car.  His need to be with us is really a pain in the.....  He just goes nuts if we leave him at home alone.  He seems fine being left in the car though.  We come back and he's just lying there dozing away.  

I drove past one of our county buildings the other day and got this photo of some local ducks.

You will note that they have nice green grass and plenty of water in their little lake.  Things like that make me wonder if the county officials even know we are in the desert.  Idiots!  It is pretty though.

So, things are pretty quiet.  About 90% of our mail is from some organization looking for donations.  Of course we made donations totalling something like $3,000 last year not including the trailer we gave to the American Legion so I guess they think we'll do the same this year.  And I'm sure we will.  Another 9% is from financial advisor newsletters, etc. thinking we should be getting advice from them.  That leaves 1% that are bills.  I don't remember the last actual letter we received from a friend or relative.  I suppose the same is true for everyone.  It just isn't something you talk about.

I'm out of news so I'll be signing off.  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Another balloon moment!

 My wife has been going to Physical Therapy for her ankle and we get out early to make that 07:30 appointment.  The dog and I go shopping while she is getting worked.  The other day there was a balloon trying to land pretty close to our 'downtown'.  I managed a couple photos.

First they were behind the Holiday Inn.  Then they managed to cross the road and land - not in the casino parking lot though it does look like it!

Happily there is some empty land over there which worked out really well for them.  Exciting times!  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Well, it's been a while....

But this time I have an excuse!  It has been so quiet around here that posting a blog entry would just be adding to the boring!  Here is my last photograph from September.  It is one of the local hawks getting a pigeon ready for lunch.

A couple of hours later I went out and found the remains out by the back fence.  We've all got to eat!  

My birthday is at the beginning of October and we've been wanting to see more of the Los Angeles area SO we made a quick trip to LA.  There was flooding on the small California highway that we usually use to get to the coast so we had to go through Las Vegas adding another hour to the usual 5 hour drive.  Of course when we got to the Cajon Summit we hit a slowdown that had us doing stop and go on I-15 all the way down the hill!  Grrrr!  It is only 4 or 5 miles but it seemed to take forever.  

We are thinking of taking a cruise that leaves from the Port of Los Angeles so we decided to stay in that area:  San Pedro.  My wife got us a suite at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  It was weird to say the least!  It is a nice looking place and the people seemed very nice but it is still very odd.  The ice machines on all 10 floors of the hotel are all empty.  If you want ice you have to go down to the restaurant/bar.  Also there is no note paper, no pen, no ads for their restaurant, nothing.  They had a room safe but it didn't work.  Grrr!  It DID have free parking in the basement so that was nice.  This is a photo of the 'sitting room', it was almost 40' long!

And then the bedroom which was only about 25' long.  (Did I mention we are messy sleepers?)

I've lived in smaller apartments!  Anyway, there were lots of windows and that was the fun part.  Here is some of the port area.

There were cranes and shipping containers all over the place!  We were just up the street from the Los Angeles Maritime Museum but unfortunately we didn't find the time to visit it.  At night the view was pretty spectacular though and the almost full moon didn't hurt any.

We did manage to visit a small portion of the USS Iowa which is docked near the hotel.

We talked about touring the ship but with my wife's ankle acting up we just couldn't make the walking much less climbing!  We did have lunch at a small cafe on the stern of the ship but that was it.  

On Monday we drove up the coastal road towards Palos Verdes, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach.  It was a very pretty drive.  Yes, there are beaches in California!

And by a weekday in October they are pretty empty!  The hills, however, are not empty.

Look at all those houses!  OMG!  And each one is probably worth something between $2 million and $5 million.  I don't know how they do it.  There was one section of the road that was exceptionally rough.  They had signs saying that the area was in constant motion and urging people to be extra careful.  It was certainly rough enough and had been patched and patched again.  

Anyway, Tuesday we woke early so took advantage to leave the hotel sometime before 05:00 a.m.  Yep, and the roads were just as full as at any time during the day except there were probably more semi-trucks!  Which brings me to California drivers....  Talk about crappy drivers!  We were passed by people doing at least 20 mph over the speed limit.  We were passed on the right.  We had people change lanes directly in front of us and directly behind us.  We saw many cars driving without lights at night.  Staying one lane was definitely an option for some people, including semi-trucks.  If I never had to drive in the Los Angeles area again I would be a happy camper.

However, we did make it out of there.  We had a quiet drive back home on the I-15 and picked up Gus from his dog kennel.  He seems to have had an ok stay.  The owner of the kennel liked him and he seems to have liked the guy in return.  Of course, the guy feeding him does have some advantages over just anyone.  So there you go.  Our first road trip since my wife broke her ankle in May.

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

It's a beautiful morning....

 Things might be looking up.  At least my wife is walking without her walker and that's great!  And we are having a cool spell - highs in the mid-80's for the next few days.  And then there was the sunrise.

We are certainly in the desert out here.  Annual rainfall is in the 4-5 inches range (10-12 cm).  But there is an aquifer below us that provides water for us all.  Even the farmers!

Look at all that stuff!  And there was more but I couldn't get it in the photo.  Can you imagine how much water they are pumping out onto those fields?  I can't even imagine.

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

We had a balloon morning!

We often have a balloon floating around in the distance.  There is a company from Las Vegas that brings there customers out here.  I believe they were banned from doing business in Vegas because they were disrupting flights both from the airport and from Nellis Air Force Base.  I've posted photos of them where they are just little pinpoints but yesterday we got a closer view.  I took a vid.

Just another day in the desert.  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

More quiet times

 Like I've been saying it's been quiet times around Pahrump.  Of course all the flags are at half-mast today 22 years after 9/11.  

It is nice and dry around here again.  Some areas of the town did get more rain and therefore runoff than we did.  Odd because we are in a flood zone and are required to have flood insurance and we got almost no rain but there you are.  We were supposed to get an hours worth of rain yesterday but it was the "walk along and ocassionally feel a drip" kind of rain.  We did have cloud cover pretty much all day.  We did take the opportunity to go out to lunch at our local casino.  We always have to take the dog, Gus, because he just goes crazy in the house when he is left alone.  So he got to sit in the 82F degree car for an hour or so.  We keep the house at 78F so it's not that much of a torture.  We left the windows down a couple inches for him and there was no sign of rain entering the car.  It's the desert.

Last week the car battery just was FLAT.  Nothing would work so I charged it and hoped that it would start and it did.  Unfortunately this car has all kinds of electronic toys that require power and they are AFU.  The navigation system just disappeared.  The backup camera is dead.  We have managed to reconnect the system to our phones but gee that isn't much!  It looks like I'll be calling Ford for some assistance.  

Well, that's about it.  My wife is still doing PT on her ankle.  I may be going soon for my hip.  Getting old does have it's downside.  Take care & thanks for stopping by.

Rain, yes, but.....

Hurricane Hilary hit California and then came to visit us but by the time it got here it wasn't much of a big deal.  We got rain which is pretty unusual but nothing much else.  The local monitor says it was just over 2.1 inches (5.3cm) over three days.  The birds liked it; we had a couple trying to bathe in a puddle.

And I didn't have to fill the bird baths for a couple days.  That's something I usually need to do.  The clouds were kind of different too.

Now we are back to the usual clear skies.

This morning we made our monthly run to the store for the VFW Food Bank.  We usually spend somewhere between $150 to $200 on a variety of things - only canned and dry stuff.  They support only vets who live around here but there is quite a variety in that population.  Some are single people living out in the desert; some have families; some are just ancient like me but don't have much money.  The food bank is only open on Wednesday so my wife and I make our run on Tuesday when the food bank volunteers are getting things put together.  Our local Albertson's food store makes a donation of fresh fruit and vegetables; otherwise I think they run on cash donations from VFW members.  

While we were shopping my wife rode around in one of the electric shopping carts and I had a regular one.  It's great that she is getting out from time to time.  It is only the second time she's been out to the store since she broke her ankle back on the last day in May.  Otherwise the only times she's been out have been medical visits.  She's started Physical Therapy so maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.  We can hope anyway!

Thanks for stopping by.  Take care & keep washing those hands!

Life in the Slow Lane!

 It's been a couple weeks since I've updated the blog and I have to say that there isn't a lot to report.  It is still warm but nothing above the 110+F (43C) range so we are happy enough.  My wife's ankle continues to improve but it's still a long way from perfect.  We went to see her surgeon last Wednesday and he said she should try walking around the house without her boot but outside the home she should use the boot.  She can make it around the house using the walker with her bare foot but it is painful and tiring so the wheelchair is still getting quite a bit of use.  Especially if there is urgency involved because the walker is still pretty slow.

Our dog is showing his usual behavior.  You can actually hear him snore!

You've got to have your security toy close at hand!  

The big news was that our son and daughter both came to Las Vegas on business and managed to be here yesterday for their mother's birthday.  We haven't been together with both of them in several years so that was fun.  Business kept them in Vegas until noon yesterday then they had to leave this morning for their return flights but it was still fun to catch up with them.  Our daughter fixed dinner so that her brother and I each got to work on the bbq but it was still really good!  

BBQ'd steak & corn, potatoes and salad:  what's not to like?  And there was a birthday cake.  And my wife's foot is well enough that she could sit at the table and not have it propped up on anything.  It couldn't have been better.  I must admit, there are leftovers!  

So that's the news from Pahrump.  Take care & keep washing those hands!

Still quiet!

Between being older and it being a really hot summer there really isn't much going on around here.  Back in April I posted this photo of the empty lots across the street.  They were really green for Nevada!

At the time, I said it was way too green for this area.  Well, here's what it looks like today.

Just a bit browner isn't it.  Sorry the photos aren't a closer match but you should be able to get the idea.

Otherwise things are just perking along.  My wife's ankle injury is taking it's own sweet time getting better; she can walk in her boot but after about 50 feet the boot is irritating the remaining injuries and she has to give it up.  Her birthday is next month and the kids are coming to celebrate with her.  I'm thinking they will be pretty shocked at these two slow moving old folks.  They are in their early 50's so don't know what fun is in their future.  

Our local Smith's grocery (Kroger) has started carrying some alcoholic products from Four Freedoms.  I'd never heard of the brand and it sounded like it meant something so I had to look it up.  (Well, after I bought some of their vodka!)  It turns out that the Four Freedoms comes from a speech by FDR, his 1941 State of the Union address before we were involved in WWII, where he named four freedoms he wanted for every person in the world.

Freedom of speech.

Freedom of worship.

Freedom from want.

Freedom from fear.

He was talking about a world where Germany was trying to take over Europe; and what he thought we should be doing about that.  But isn't the idea cool?  Wouldn't it be great if everyone had those four freedoms?  Here in the U.S. we mostly have the first two and lots of us have all four.  I'm pretty sure that isn't the case in much of the world.  

Well, that's it for today.  I'm going to go push my wife around (in her wheelchair, no intimidation!).  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Quiet times!

It's nice and warm these days but what do you expect of summer in the Nevada desert?  Duh!  So far it isn't being too rude.  I think it has topped out at 115F (46C) according to our instruments.  Here it was 93F (34C) but in the small print you can see it was 01:19 in the middle of the night! Isn't that a bit much?

 

 

The heat sure isn't bothering the birds and their hunger.

That photo was taken mid-afternoon and you can see the regular seed is pretty much gone.  The thistle is now under attack with a couple birds waiting for their turns.  

Like I said, it's pretty quiet around here.  Keep washing those hands and keep safe!

Just weirdness....

My wife and I aren't political.  We've joined both the Democratic and the Republican parties when we lived in areas where one party was dominant.  Here, for example, you will have 3 or 4 Republican candidates for a position and either 0 or 1 Democrat.  If you want to help chose a candidate you feel will support things you personally prefer you'd better be a Republican.

For example, we both strongly feel that a woman's body is her own and her decision to have an abortion should be hers.  If she is married or in a long term relationship of course she should take the father's opinion into account but in the end it is her body.  My wife donated to a couple what you might call feminist causes last year and that is about the only reason we can imagine for a piece of mail we received today.

The front of the card shows some happy Democrats (President Biden was way over on the right and I didn't bother to include him.

 

So when you turn the card over you learn the supposed reason.

Apparently the folks sending the card think that if Mr. Trump is the candidate the Democrats will win control of the government.  You can't read it on the photos but the card was sent out by Americans for Prosperity Action - www.afpaction.com.  I don't have a clue if any of the things they claim are true and I certainly can't even guess who the Republican nominee will be.  But I must say I did enjoy the wild claims!  (And I can't help wondering if Mr. DeSantis is associated with the card.)

I have to admit that I don't like the idea of re-electing an 84 year old President but I don't care for any of the alternative candidates either.  I like my President to be in the 50's or 60's; moderate in politics and not entirely oblivious to the dangers of war.  I would have thought that finding such people wouldn't be difficult but clearly I'm wrong.  Anyway, that's our exciting mail for the day!

Otherwise we are having a quiet day.  My wife trying to mend and I am trying to help her.  We have another doctor's appointment a week from tomorrow so we'll see then.  No one is expecting her to walk on her 'boot' then but it would be great to have all the wounds finally closed!

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Talk about fun and games!

My wife's ankle has now been broken for 40 days.  That is a long time to be confined to a recliner and a wheelchair and it is getting pretty tough on her.  She is doing everything she can to remain positive but pain every day when you are just sitting in a recliner has to be tough on anyone.  We have another 10 days before we see her surgeon again; that will be 6 weeks from the operation and we are hoping that she will be ok'd for more regular life.  She still has 2 open sores from the operation so they need care at least once a day.

I am learning about all the things she does on a regular basis from preping meals to cutting flowers for the table.  AND I'm getting to learn to do some of those things myself.  That's where the 'fun and games' come in.  I've always done a certain amount of the cooking but 100% is a different experience.  And I've always bought the flowers but never had to cut them.  Grrr!  That is a pain in the ass!

The funniest thing is that our dog just doesn't know what's happened.  My wife is his favorite person but now all she is doing is touching him a few times a day with her fingertips.  No treats, no fondling, no feeding, no throwing his toys for him to chase:  he just doesn't understand.  He just curls up on his place and sulks.

Gotta go.  Take care & keep washing those hands!

What was that about "Time Flies When You Are Having Fun"?

 Humph!  Of course we aren't really having all that much fun these days!  My wife's ankle surgery went well enough but, oh boy, it ain't pretty.  This x-ray shows both the long screws in one area and the plate in the other.

The outside is pretty nasty too.  This long incision is the plate.  The nurses who have come to help have both said that this is looking really good.

The other side, where the big screws were placed isn't so great.

The doctor's assistant covered the nasty part there with a bandaid.  It was a 2" x 4" bandaid that we are changing once a day.  What fun.  And then we got a boot which I neglected to photograph.  I would imagine most people have seen someone wearing one.  It's not comfortable so my wife is avoiding it as much as possible!

So now I've got a new job.  I'm the cook, housekeeper and wheelchair attendant just about 24 hours a day.  Happily we almost always have leftovers from a meal so that cuts the cooking down but it is still quite a day's work.  Of course I'm happy to do it but it is very different from when there were two of us splitting the chores.  This house was designed for older people and we really see how much difference that makes now that we are wheeling around.  It is one story with a tiny bump to go over to get into the garage.  The doors and halls are all wide. There aren't any grab bars but you can bet we'll be installing a couple in the near future. 

Sometimes we talk about moving from our home here to some place more temperate.  But we do have mountains on almost all sides here.  This is the sun rising on one of the mountains to the West just over the line in California.

Watching that every morning is pretty special.  And we get to see the sun go down on the mountains in the East.  It doesn't get old and makes us reconsider ideas about moving.  

Gotta go check on my patient.  Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!

Happy Juneteenth!

Juneteenth is an official US holiday celebrating the date two years after the end of the civil war when slaves in Texas were notified that they were free. It is celebrated in 28 states and the District of Columbia.  It strikes me as odd that we have a federal holiday that isn't celebrated in all states.  Isn't that odd?  Well, to be honest, I don't know how many states OFFICIALLY celebrate the 4th of July.  Anyway, obviously the end of slavery is certainly something to be celebrated even if it was 2 years after it ended in the rest of the country.  It would be great if slavery did not exist anywhere in the world!

Personally we are having another trial:  just after we returned from our trip to San Simeon my wife slipped in the shower and broke her right ankle in at least two places.  Well, gee, that gives you a new way of life!  Our local EMT's did a fantastic job of getting her out of the shower and off to the hospital. Then the hospital took a couple x-rays and wrapped her ankle up.  Unfortunately there was a problem somewhere and it was a full week before we got to see a surgeon!  We drove into Las Vegas to see him and he said it should have been set immediately.  So he managed to work us into his schedule the next afternoon.  What a bunch of idiots we have here in Pahrump!

So now we have a walker that was forced upon me back when I fell.  We have crutches that were forced on my wife at the local hospital.  And we have a wheelchair that I went out and bought because my wife's foot hurt too much when she tried using the crutches or walker.  What a deal!  Now we have a followup visit with the surgeon later this week.  Here is what we've seen of my wife's injury so far.

The outline shows the major fracture.  There are also some parts in the interior that are broken but they don't really show up well on the x-rays.  On the outside it's a little different. 

We were told that she shouldn't put any weight on it for at least 2 weeks.  It hurts enough that she didn't need to be told twice.  Anyway, that's been our month of June and it won't be speeding up as far as I know.  Talk about life in the fast lane!  

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep washing those hands!