The End...

...Of the month, and Camp Grandma is closed for the season.

So thankful to my son for entrusting me with his 3 greatest treasures for 10 whole days.  :-)
...We did all the things I had on my list;

Swimming
Hair, nails and makeup (multiple times)
Games
Hide & seek (they love my house for this!)
Made neclaces
Made bracelets
Paper crafts
Played dolls
Read
Watched movies
Played with paints
Listened to e-books
Laughed, giggled, played and hugged.
(And went through more gallons of milk than hubby and I go through in 3 months!)

What a great time it was!

So much fun to get to know them up close and personal, good traits, and some, well not so good...
Learned that the oldest is a bottomless pit  (hungry all the time.)
The youngest has no pit (she won't eat anything.)
And the middle child?  No one really knows how much she consumes, because she sneaks it out of the cupboard and hides somewhere to eat it.  (Evidence: empty fudge-pop wrappers in my bathroom trash.)

My Arilie has wishes to be strong and courageous - has the potential to be a good leader (based on the karate lesson she gave me,)  but she has the tender-est heart, and is the most loving child you'd ever want to meet.  She also makes a wicked fried egg!

Millie, being the middle child, between two who are so dynamic (or maybe dramatic?) Is very soft spoken, patient and understanding - but also has a little wicked streak and loves to tease...

Ellie will be a star some day.  She sings, dances, acts and poses non stop.  Watch out for her, world!
(She's terminally adorable :-) )

My favorite moments were laying with them in bed at night (trying to get them to settle down to sleep.)  So many laughs, loves and hugs - I don't know how I'm going to get through the rest of the summer without them!  (The only thing I won't miss is the constant noise of cartoons! ha ha)

All dolled up and waiting for grandpa for the trip home:

...But now we are home in Utah - going to spend a week here.  Family Reunion on the weekend, and will celebrate birthdays, and hopefully just relax and have some fun.
(And just in time - heat wave in Vegas, will get up in the 120's by next week.)

Good ol' Summertime.
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Good Night Moon...

It's been a busy week here with my 3 little girls visiting.  We've tried to keep them busy and keep them from getting bored, but much of the time, they would just rather stay home and watch cartoons.

We have driven them downtown to see the sights there, we have visited the temple grounds, we have played at the park - we set up a rather large wading pool on the porch,  we have done crafts and lived on otter pops...

I hope they are having a good time.

As for me, I am totally convinced of the wisdom in having children when you are young.
Grandma's tired.  :-)  Grandpa has been at work almost the whole time, so it's just been me.

I don't often get a turn at the computer when they are awake, so I'll have to catch up later...

Right now, I'm going to bed.

Tomorrow we're doing nails and hair, turning them loose with the scrapbook paper, and making cake pops.
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We Are Sewing, Daily Sewing...

Been at the sewing machine all week, making surprises for my grand daughters, who will be arriving tomorrow to spend a week with grandma.

I've made them each a pair of summer jammies to wear down here because it is HOT!
I also included a pillowcases that match the pajamas, and today's project is a pair of doll pajamas that will match theirs.  I also made a random doll outfit for their American Girl dolls (Arilie doesn't have one of those - still thinking what I will do about that...)

Anyway, I hope it will be a fun stay for them - I know I will enjoy the company :-)
 They are at a fun age where it is really interesting just to converse with them,  they NEVER run out of topics, and they all talk at once :-)
Can't wait to show them my herd of baby quail and my bunnies...

In other news - After being here for 6 months, I think I am finally finding my niche.
I finally got made a visiting teacher,  and my partner is a scrapbooker!  The ladies I visit are all school teachers - into reading and genealogy (which I know nothing about, but need to learn.)
They are all very pleasant and fun to visit.  ...And all in their 70's, so I'm the young one here.  Ha ha.

Our ward memberships only arrived last week, against all of our efforts to hurry up the process, so we have been non-people up until now.  It's nice to finally be acknowleged, and able to participate in the activities officially.

Better get busy now, I still have those projects to finish...
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Rush Trip

Last weekend, we were out doing all the odd errands on Wayland's day off, when he got a phone call from home telling him that his mom had another stroke, (she's had a few lately, but this one was a little more intense,) and that they needed him home to talk about her care.

It was rather late in the day, so we made a tentative plan to head up in the morning...
But, on the drive home he kept stewing about it, and by the time we pulled into the garage, he turned to me and said; Ok, I can't take this, we need to leave now.

In about 20 minutes, we were packed and back on the road.

We got home to Utah at about 11:30, and the girls were up waiting for us.  We had a nice little visit and tucked in for the night.

Wayland spent most of the day visiting family, and doing all the little errands they needed help with.
Later that afternoon, they made arrangements with her doctor to bring her home for a family prayer circle...

As many of the family who could be there were there - some by skype and cell phone, but all of her children were represented.  She looked much better than we anticipated, but was having a hard time of it emotionally.

The family made arrangements to move her to a different facility - (closer to one of her daughters) and she is much happier now.

While we were home, I was able to do some of the things I've been missing - like planting flowers...

 Checking out my trees, and just enjoying my shady GREEN back yard!

(The large tree in the center is my baby - I planted it from a seed the same year my youngest was born.  They are both growing up quite nicely. :)


Went shopping with my oldest daughter, and visited the family graves...

Checked out how the new Temple is coming...

Went to breakfast at our traditional spot...

...And took the dog for a run up the canyon (so pretty this time of year!)

We also spent time visiting the grand kids.  School is out now, and they are so excited to come and spend time with us later this month...

All too soon, the weekend was over, and we found ourselves heading back into the sunset (literally.)

It's HOT here.  It's up in the triple digits much of the time now.  It was SO nice to enjoy the cooler temps of home, at least for a little while...

Epilogue - I've been trying to capture an image of these cute little baby quail for weeks now - this particular mother has close to 20 of them swarming around her all the time.  Luckily (for me) they spend a lot of time in front of the window of my craft room - I finally captured them today!

That's all I've got to say.  I have 6 people coming to stay this weekend (family wedding in Southern California,) So I've got to get my projects done and my room cleaned up for company.



Ta!
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As Time Goes By...

We celebrated an anniversary this week.  Our thirty-seventh.
Hubby actually took the day off!
We started off by going out to breakfast.  It took a while, because we had to drive around all over the place to find a suitable place that was nearby.  (And would still be serving breakfast - this granny doesn't rush anymore...)

We finally found a Denny's in one of the newer shopping centers to the West of us, it was nice, clean, and though the service was a little on the slow side, the food was comparable to our old favorite place back home.  :-)

After breakfast, we drove downtown.  We have tried twice to see the dancing fountains at the Bellagio - the only touristy thing down there that really interests me. 
Each time we've tried, the mobs of people and the traffic have made us change our plans...

After finding a parking place (Under Nieman Marcus - the closest to that store I'll ever be,) we hiked.
The sun was out in full force, and so was the wind!  But we continued down the strip, dirt particles pinging our cheeks, and stirring up our hair.  It was a longer hike than we anticipated, but we finally arrived, and then we waited... and waited... and waited.

After about half an hour, we began to wonder if we should venture on and see some other things, or stay there and wait some more.  While we were trying to decide, we were acosted by one of those street people who try to nab unsuspecting tourists and try to sell them things that they don't need and will never use.  We patiently listened to his schpiel, then finally we told him we were just waiting for the water show - to which he said, "Oh, they don't do that when it's this windy."
...Information we could have used eons before.

We excused ourselves, and continued down the street to see what else there was to see.
On previous drives down the street, I had seen an elaborate Pepsi storefront, and thinking that it might be one of those factory/distribution places, I thought hubby might enjoy it, (since he's a complete addict.)
Looks are deceiving here in sin-city - it was nothing but a decoration on the front of a HUGE casino.  There was nothing whatsoever Pepsi related on the inside.

So, we tried the other side of the street, where I had seen a large M&M building.  Fearing a similar let-down, but being there anyway, we checked it out.
That place wasn't a factory either - just a very large store where you could find anything on earth with an M&M logo on it - at an extremely inflated price.  They even go as far as to pipe chocolate scented aroma therapy type air into the place.  Wow.  But then, what can you expect from America's tourist capital?

We had enough let-down by then, and the crowds were starting to thicken, so we started back to the truck.  On the way, we found a McDonald's, so we took a break to rest our feet, and cool off.
Not the most tasty or romantic place to lunch, but I ordered a frosty lemonade and a hot fudge sundae to brace me against the wind and heat.

By the time we got home, we were exhausted.  We crashed on the couch for the rest of the day, not even finding the energy to make dinner.

Do we Taylor's know how to party or what?

*The photo above was taken a few years ago when we went to visit our son in Seattle.  It was our anniversary then too, so while we were running around seeing all the sights the town has to offer, the kids told us we should at least stop and take a commemorative photo.
We just happened to park next to this car in the parking lot of the art museum we were visiting, so we posed next to it.  (We are not old - we are classics, right?)

I had a friend show me how to do indexing (genealogy) on my home computer this week, and I picked up some projects to do to get ready for my visit with my grand-girlies next month.
(Going to make them some surprises - love my girls!)
...Also got a really good book in the mail.  - Don't you hate it when you get involved in a major page-turner, and you want so bad to plow through it, but at the same time you want to take your time so it doesn't end too soon?  (Knowing that it could be a while until you find another.)

Yeah.  Me too.

Anywho -  I am set with projects for the next couple of weeks, at least...

Here's to a strange Memorial Day - hubby's at work, and I'm here with no one to celebrate with.
*Sigh*
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Update 5/14/2013

We meet again, dear blog.  How you must miss me when I'm gone! (As if...) :)

Things have been crazy for a couple of weeks - hubby had 2 major events at the store last week, so he was crunching the hours again.  By Saturday and Sunday he'd come dragging home late at night, with a sickly grey color to his complexion.  He would eat just a bite and go straight to bed.

It always makes me crazy when it gets like that - it leaves me home on my own too much, with too much time to think...

Monday, he came home late after the big bus tour (Supplier's convention.)  He was wiped out, as usual, and ready for bed, but I just had to tell him what I had been thinking about all day - I had decided I was going to move back home with my girls.  I don't feel needed or useful here, and I felt like that was my only solution to feel like I have some purpose in life.

As I was telling him this, his speech started to slur a bit, and he crumpled to the floor!

From there it is a bit of a blur - I couldn't get any response from him, so I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the phone.  I dialed 911 and kept rubbing his shoulders and talking to him until he started to respond again.

The ambulance was there in minutes,  and they checked him out while I gave them all his information, and ran around trying to find his driver's license and insurance cards.  They loaded him on the gurney and wheeled him out into the waiting vehicle.

Meanwhile, a second wave of panic rolled over me - I have not driven down here, AT ALL!  Suddenly, I HAVE to, alone, in the dark!  I had to ask directions several times, and try to make sense of them - never having seen the area that they were talking about.

I climbed in the truck, and noticed that the tank was on empty.  Great.
I've never been so scared, driving down an unknown road alone at night - thinking, what if I can't find him - what if I get lost out here and wander around until I run out of gas...

But I did find the hospital, and was so thankful to know that he was in good hands.
To make a long story short, (I know, too late,) they ran him through a battery of tests to find out what happened.  It was pretty much like I thought.  Exhaustion, dehydration, etc.

I hope we both take lessons from the experience - he needs to delegate more at work (and not be such a control freak) and I need to realize that I am needed here, and find a way to make the best of it.

Some lessons come the hard way.

The event on Friday was a bit of a bust, in my estimation.  The outdoor concert at the store didn't quite go as planned.  The singer, who was scheduled to be the headliner cancelled out at the last minute, so instead there was an endless string of skanky little stick chicks who performed.  They all looked and sounded exactly alike.

(One of the singing groups, playing around after their set.)

There was a booth set up selling hamburgers...

Back behind the show, there was a little area where kids & families could try out their calf roping skills.

It was a fun day for families, and it did bring in a lot of people who didn't even know the store was there, so in that way it was a success - I just had to be there too long...  Finished my book and retired to the truck until it was all cleaned up.

Wednesday, some kids that we both worked with at Walmart came through, on their way back from their honeymoon (Disneyland.)  Wayland showed them around the store, then brought them home to go to lunch with us.  They stayed and visited until almost 2. 
Always so nice to see people from home...

When we got back from lunch, this bouquet of roses was sitting on the porch waiting for me! (From my son and his family.)

Mother's Day was very different.  I've never had one so far away from my kids.
I was able to talk to them all though - even all the little grand girls.

That's the reader's digest version of my week.

I am done wishing for excitement!
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May the 4th Be With You...

I know, that's getting to be a really old joke, but it still makes me...  smirk.

Another month has gone by - and not much to show for it.  Read a couple of books, did some laundry, washed some dishes.  Wow.  Livin' it up in Vegas!

Yesterday was my husband's day off, and I almost had him convinced to take a drive out to the desert to hike - if it hadn't been for that darn movie he had to see. 

The newest Iron Man came out this week.  I'm not much into superheroes, and, like I tell my husband, Iron Man is my least favorite hero because he's not likable as a character.  He's a rich arrogant snob, so I have a hard time caring what happens to him...

In spite of that, I have to admit, I did enjoy the flick a bit.  If for no other reason than it was an outing.
Can't believe the price of snacks here though - for the cost of nachos and a drink, we could have gone out for a nice dinner.  Twice.  o.O

Meanwhile, things have been happening in the yard... (confession, I haven't been out of the house much this week, and wouldn't have even noticed if the wind hadn't been waving these yellow flowers in front of the craft room window.)

Blossoms everywhere;

Couldn't get a good shot of the tree in the front - the wind was blowing too hard.  (I'll try again later.)

Unfortunately, the flowers I planted aren't faring as well - my bougainvillea is drooping, and, you know I love my quail, but they get up on the table outside and nibble the buds off my petunias before they even have a chance to bloom.

Some thing's got to be done about that...

Creatively, this week's project was a bit of a bust...

My skills are embarrassingly rusty.  Do I keep trying, or just give up and move on to something that requires less talent?

It's a dilemma.

There's a craft fair somewhere in the community today - got to go walkies and see if I can find it.
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If You Build a Store in Hell...

You've got to learn to expect a little inconvenience.

The security alarm goes off almost nightly these days, and my husband has to drive down and check it out.  Sometimes it's just the wind blowing things around the motion detectors, but more often than not, someone is trying to break the lock on the front gate.

It always makes me shake my head - did the owners of the company even come down here and look the place over before they purchased the property?  It is a terrible location - in a really bad part of town.
There are so many better locations - places where it would be more visible and the business traffic would have been better.
I keep getting told that they picked it because it was the least expensive of the properties that they looked at, but you get what you pay for, especially in cities like Vegas.  It's an out of the way spot, in an area where there isn't really anything else to draw people - and the neighborhood is really rough.
...It's my husband who has to pay the price - putting his own safety on the line for the sake of his store.



Meanwhile, life goes on here at home.  We had a couple of visitors last night - a couple of my in-laws came through.  My sister in law's daughter is getting married - and the festivities are beginning, the daughter is at BYU, and her family lives in California, so we are the half way point in between.

The next time they come through, it will be for the ceremony in California, and there will be a bus load of them.  I hope I can handle that.  :-)

It's starting to get HOT here already - the last three days it has gotten up to 100 degrees.
My husband is loving it, and doesn't like me to run the air conditioner at all (electricity is really expensive here.)  But I don't do so well in the heat, and already I feel like I am melting...



I finally had a little social contact here - one of my neighbors came to borrow some boxes (she's preparing to move,) and in return, she invited me to go to lunch.
We went to one of the casinos closer to downtown, because she had 2 for one cupons...
We had a nice lunch, then she drove me to our subdivision's club house and showed me around.
She helped me get information about getting a card so that we can start using the facilities (pool, gym, etc.)

She also let us know that there have been some break-ins in our subdivision - one of them was just four doors down from her house - it happened in broad daylight!  ...And just when I was beginning to feel like we were secure here.

It's 1:30 - my husband is home - I guess we'll try sleeping again...
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Epic Fail.

Poor hubby had the worst day down here so far yesterday...

Everything that could go wrong at work did (we're talking job security level,) and then he went to have his eye surgery, and they told him that his co-pay was an astronomical sum (that he wasn't told about before,) so he had to cancel that.  I don't know when he'll be able to save up for it - but it needs to be soon.  They warned him before that it could be permanent if not addressed soon.

Going to do some checking around and see if it could be done for less money in Utah...

I stayed up all night to watch that lunar eclipse - I set up my watch post next to a window where I had the best view and watched....and watched...and watched.
Finally, I decided to google the event and see if I could come up with a time frame of when it would be happening, just so I could figure out how much longer I needed to sit there.

That's when I found out that the eclipse wasn't even going to be visible from the U.S.!
&%$@#, I could have used that info many hours ago...

Today has been better though - hubby took care of his problems at work, to the satisfaction of his bosses, and I got invited to go to lunch with a lady from my neighborhood.

*Note to self - never do the buffet twice in a 24 hour period.

Oy.  >.<

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Quickie

This week I had the opportuntiy to go on a quick overnight trip back to see the kids.
Hubby had a meeting in our home-town (it is the half-way point between the stores from Idaho to Arizona.)  Usually, I don't get to go on these trips, but a couple of people had dropped out, so there was room in the van.

It was just an overnighter, but I was able to spend time with my girls, and my grand girls.  Such a boost to my mid-week blues.

The gran's had a fire going in their back yard, in the new fire pit that their mom had built (my daughter in law is AMAZING she's learning to weld now!)  So we made s'mores and talked until it got too cold to be outside anymore...

I love spending time with my girlies.  They are SO full of energy, and have so much to say that I have to remind them to take turns because grandma can only listen to one of them at a time and I want to hear EVERYTHING that they have to tell me.

They had all written me letters (as had I) so we exchanged mail...

Millie drew me pictures (she loves designing fashions,) Ellie danced, and Arilie showed me all the books and trading cards she has been saving.
Always so exhausting, but so much love in the room directed at you - love, love, love it!

Didn't get to spend as much time with my own girls - they both had to work part of the time, but I had time to make fudge for one (per request) and a magnet board for the other (she loved mine,)  So hopefully, I was able to leave some love for them too.

Back home already - today, hubby is having cataract surgery.  I have been so stressed about him driving all over this crazy place with only one eye (and that one isn't great either!)  It will be a big relief!
The doctor told him it is the worst one he has seen in his 30 + years, and that if he had waited much longer, it would be irreversible.  He would just be blind.

So thankful he caught it in time.  Hubby is SO excited to be able to read again.

On the home front - been piddling with another painting/crafty project for the craft room.
It didn't turn out quite like I was  hoping, but I promised my sister I would show it when it was done...

Kind of an experiment - maybe some day I will get better at it.  (Although I have played with the idea of just giving up and going back to work for the duration.)  Reinventing yourself is harder when you're old, arthritic, blind, and all the fresh ideas are dried up.

Anyway, that's what's new in my world.  I'm kind of glad to be back in the South West, where it's beginning to feel like Summer already!

Don't forget the lunar eclipse tonight!  Hope I can catch it from here...
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April

Hello.

I know it's been a while - sorry I'm neglecting you, dear blog, but you know how it is...
You quietly wait for something to happen, and by the time it does, well, you forget your place.

Ha ha.

Meanwhile, while I was gone, I passed the 10,000 visitors mark!
Whee! *confetti and balloons*  Never mind that it took about 10 years - ha ha.
Thanks for sharing the journey with me  :-)

My daughters came for a last minute surprise visit last week.  Oh, I was so happy to see them!
It was my oldest daughter's birthday, and she and her sister decided to celebrate it with us.
Made me SO so happy :-)

We had all her favorite meals, shopped, and watched some fun movies.

Good times, good times...

My computer is misbehaving, so these are the only photos that will come up - I'll keep trying to get the others, but this is it for now...

Melissa's birthday cake of choice:  strawberry shortcake.

Where the girls go, puppy follows.  (place impending photo here) ...Not really a puppy anymore - probably the world's oldest living dog!  That thing has more lives than a cat.

He is so much at home here, it always surprises me.  I never in a million years would have allowed him up on my new couch, but after such a L-o-n-g absence, I couldn't resist his sad little stares.

He is such a comfort to have around - I took the chance to take him for walks every day, and take snuggles whenever he offered them.  I even considered talking the girls into letting me keep him down here, but when they started packing up to leave on Sunday, he stuck so close to them, and seemed so anxious that they might leave him, I just couldn't do it.  They need him as much as he needs them, how could I break up the set?

Hubby had a meeting in St. Gorge yesterday, so I was on my own again.
The upside when he leaves town is that I usually get left with his truck.
I have not driven much at all down here, and was SO paranoid about it at first, but by the late afternoon, I was cruising down Craig street with the windows down and loving the freedom!

Did some shopping and treated myself to lunch.  Didn't take long at all to burn through the meager amount of cash I had...   >.<

I've been discouraging hubby about buying me a car (who needs the extra debt, right?)  ...But after having a taste of mobility, I may be swayed to reconsider...

Having a quiet day today, going to play with a new project and catch up on some housework that I have been neglecting.

Time is starting to fly...

Later.
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A Week of Somethings

Finally some activity in my quiet little world...
Two of my sisters came to visit this past weekend.  We did go a couple of places, but it is so stressful to drive around this town, that we mostly opted to stay here at the house and just visit.

We went to hubby's store - Ruth wanted to see the live chickies and ducks...
 We found some really fun old fashioned sodas there, so I picked up a few and we came back to the house and had a fondue / soda tasting party while we watched movies on the flatscreen.

Sisters in the sunshine;

I really hate how LARGE I'm getting down here - really must do something about that...

It was so much fun having them here - and SO depressing when they had to leave!

Luckily, on Tuesday, my daughter in law's family - who have become dear friends, came down for Spring break - and were kind enough to share their family vacation time with me!

We drove down to Hover Dam...

It was so crazy busy down there, that the only parking spot we could get was halfway up the mountain side - too far for people with feet issues to hike (pretty much all of us except the kids,)
So we didn't venture down to take any tours. 
The new bridge is finished now - and it is INCREDIBLE!  Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good angle for a photo.  Maybe next time?

They also drove me down around the strip, so I could see what it looks like (haven't been anywhere at all down here!)  Then we went to lunch at my neighborhood casino (they have a nice buffet.)

What a fun few days!

Most days, the most excitement I get is watching what goes on at my bird feeder...

It can be pretty entertaining - believe it, or not.  (Ok, maybe not, but it's all I've got.)

Anyway, this weekend is Easter - it is going to be the first one we have ever spent with no family around to celebrate.  I do have a little dinner planned, but somehow it won't be the same...

Hubby has that day off, and we have a new set of porch furniture out back, so I guess we will survive.

Easter Blessings!

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Away...

This week, hubby had a 2-day meeting in Idaho Falls that he had to attend, and I was supposed to go with him.  We went up early so that we could stop and visit with our girls before heading up.

When we arrived, my youngest said that she had the next two days off and laid out some plans if I were to stay with her instead....  (Hmm, 2 days alone in an empty motel room vs two days shopping and playing with my grown-up baby = no brainer!)  So, I sent hubby up by himself.

We had lots of fun - we shopped, got caught up on Bunheads (I can't get it here,) and other TV shows, went to lunch, and shared snuggles with the puppy.  She also read me the story that she has been writing lately (the girl has talent!)

Friday and Saturday, she had to work, but my other daughter had the days off, so I did the same with her.  Quality time with both of my girls!

Thursday night, my daughter in law was also in town (from Seattle,) so I got to see her too.
She and her mom made the most yummy salmon supper - Mmmm...

                                                           (Libby, Melissa and Jenny)

Friday, hubby was home again - we spent the day working on the house and cleaning up the yard...

...The grand-girls cleaned out the trampoline, then tested it out;

Saturday, we revisited a favorite past tradition - breakfast at One Man Band.  (We haven't been able to find a little diner like that down here to continue that tradition...)  Make mine an Elvis omelet please.

What a great week - the weather was beautiful, and it was SO nice to go wherever and whenever I wanted to.  (I miss my car!)

Back in Vegas now, the sun is shining and it is getting warmer by the minute...   Getting the house ready for my sisters to come visit this weekend.



Love my family - hugs and kisses, 'till we meet again!

Visitors

It's been a while since I have checked in - the daffodils (above) have long since passed away (poor things,) as have the valentine flowers.  (Those were half dead before they got here - all men are last minute shoppers, are they not?) Ha ha...

The kids have come and gone as well, and the rest of our belongings came with them.
(Dang - I almost had all the boxes cleared out of here...)
And so, life goes on.  Much more work, and not much fun.

I did go for an adventurous ramble a while ago, and it paid off big time with some nice scenery...

One of the water traps on the golf course, with a bubbling waterfall, and even one solitary little duck.
Lovely.

I tried to show the grand girlies this place while they were here, but SOMEONE (*cough* hubby *cough*) complained all the way about how far it was, until he finally bullied me into turning back, (we were within a few blocks.)  *sigh* Sometimes men are the biggest little kids...

The girls hanging out in the living room.  (Always watching some kind of media.)

...And my daughter in law, hiding out in the guest room
(taking advantage of the kids being occupied elsewhere.)

She is so awesome - she taught herself the long lost art of tatting, and is in the process of making a beautiful table cloth.  She has many rare and unusual talents, and does so much for our family. :-)

Their visit was much too short - (my two daughters, my son's family, and even the dog,) who was so well behaved and comfortable here, I was truly amazed!

The day everyone packed up to go back home, he very nearly had a nervous break-down, poor thing.  There has been so much going on in his world the last few months that he doesn't understand.
He was shaking so badly, the only thing that would calm him down was holding him tightly against me...

(This is me, looking REALLY awful.  I have gained a boat load of weight being cooped up in the house for 2 months, with nothing to do but self medicate.)

Yeah, that's right...  Blame hubby.  Yes.

Sadly, all good things come to an end.
I SO loved having everyone here, and got to spend some quality one on one time with each of them, and just in time too - I was about ready to pack it in and move back home.

But life goes on...

Last night, we went to dinner with some friends that Hubby has been working with.
We took them to the casino down the hill.  They have a pretty nice buffet.
Good eats, and someone to talk to.  Much more than I was expecting on a Friday night.

The store opened it's doors to the public today.  I talked to hubby for just a minute, and he said it was really busy.  Hoping that's a good sign.
(I wonder how folks even knew it was open? It wasn't announced anywhere that I know of...)

The official grand opening takes place next week, and yours truly will be there with the other management wives, handing out the freebies.  (Should be interesting.)
Hopefully after that, hubby will be able to give himself a more normal schedule, and I won't feel quite like such a shut-in.

( Knock wood.)

'Till then, I leave you with a view that I love - looking out my front screen door at my 3 little palm trees...

(Love this door - it reminds me of my grandpa's house in Arizona.)

...And wishing you skies as blue as my Nevada sky - one of my most favorite things here.

Happy Trails.  :-)
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Let Me Entertain..... Me.

Still trying to keep my days filled and my spirits lifted in this lonely desert place.

I've filled up my Nook book with freebies from the website, but as is true in most cases - you get what you pay for.  I gave up on reading them, because there is a reason they are free.

They are crap.

 I've also been trying to organize my craft room so that I can sneak in there and play.
Unfortunately, all my best stuff got packed up first, and sent down to my mother-in-law's for storage, so it didn't make it down here with the first load.
We are missing half of our furniture too, so the house is equipped, but not homey or cozy.

Oh well.

In the daytime, I've been watching old movies to fill the time (and subdue the quiet.)  
Hubby took a day off last weekend, and I persuaded him to take me to the fabric store for supplies to crochet some scrubbies that I found on Pinterest, so I crochet and watch TV.  Man, am I this old?

Yesterday, I got brave enough to venture out for a walk again.  This time I stuck to my main road here to make sure I didn't get lost again.  I made it all the way to the casino and back.  (About 1.5 miles?) ...anyway, that's what it felt like.

I was hoping to make it to the park where the geese are, but it was further than I anticipated.
 Maybe next time...

I'll have to remember my camera next time too - there are berried hedges all along the way that attract the birds.  They must be good treats, because the birds hang out there and seem to have very little fear of humans.  I got close enough for a chat a few times before they flew off to other places.

I've been subjecting hubby to a lot of new recipes since we got here too.  That's one thing I never got to do at home - too many picky eaters.  Cooking was always such a chore for me, but I'm enjoying it more these days.  Love experimenting with new flavors and such.

Haven't had much success with baking though.  The altitude is very different than the old home town, so things don't turn out the way they should.  I don't like experimenting in that way, because I don't like wasting ingredients for things that don't work.  (tried cookies twice so far, and finally gave up and ate the chocolate chips right out of the bag - true confession.)

I have those down days when I get so lonely, and the quiet overwhelms me.  Wednesday's seem to be the hardest.  This week was particularly gloomy.   Hubby ran to the grocery store for milk, and came back with these;

Who can be gloomy with daffodils in the house?  They do cheer me every time I look at them.  Wish I could plant them in the yard when they finish blooming, but I don't think they would be very happy in that pile of rocks...


Last night, the big story was that hubby was on the local news.
Seems the area the store is going into has fallen on some pretty hard times - 15 years worth, so having a new business coming in has the neighborhood excited and optimistic about being revitalized.

Hubby got a good bit of air time, but his boss won't be too happy about how the store was portrayed - they didn't show the areas that are neatly stocked and ready to go - they only showed the messy bits, piles of discarded boxes and pvc pipe, sawdust, etc.  Didn't make the place look interesting or the least bit enticing.

Dang media folks...

The store will be opening in a couple of weeks, then hubby will be able to put himself on a more regular schedule and not be such a slave to the place.  
I guess I can endure until then.  :-)

The children (and gran's) are coming to visit next week if all goes well - so excited to see them all!
 Love me something to look forward to!
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Croundhog Day.

How appropriate, since that's how I've been feeling lately.
Every day is the same in my little corner of the world - eat, sleep, and unpack boxes.

My husband took the day off yesterday, and he started puttering around the house - of course he'd want to do that, he never gets to be here.   But that is just so every day for me! 
I was dying to get out of here and see something other than these bare white walls!  (Haven't found all the pictures yet.)

Hubby has been working 7 days a week for the past two weeks, so it's been pretty boring for me.

I did finally coerce him into taking me shopping for a bit - picked up a few things to do some fun projects here, just for a change of pace. 
Then we went to the apartment to gather up the remainder of our stuff that we left there.

That was kind of sad for both of us.  Even though we have lots more room here, that place was so cute and cozy - and not so far out of the way.
If we didn't have a house full of stuff to find a place for, I think I would have liked to stay there...

More unpacking today - putting away the last of the kitchen items, then on to...
(must I really?) ...the craft room.  (Smallest room - the most stuff...)

*Sigh*
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Home at Last

Finally made the last leg of the move - we're in our home and with our own stuff.
...Well, half of it.  It wouldn't all fit in the trailer.  But at least we're done moving around and are preparing to settle for a while.

I'm loving the new place so far.  The rooms are so big and spacious, it makes our massive furniture look sparse, and actually to scale.  I have so many kitchen cupboards, some of them may remain empty for a while...

One of the funnest things about the place is the wildlife in the back yard (not the golfers, the animals.)  We have quail running around in the back yard almost every morning and every evening.
Quail!  I LOVE quail!

...I'm peeping at them through the blinds - hence the glare.

I knew the tile floors would be COLD in the mornings, but I wasn't prepared for the fact that they hurt my feet and ankles to walk on them.  Hmm, going to have to try to find a solution for that - some very plush socks or something.  (They also KILL the knees when I scrub!) 

Oy.

It's been rainy and cold all weekend, but the sun is finally shining today, so took a walk around the neighborhood.  I've been wanting to do this since we got here - it finally feels like I'm someplace safe enough to go for walks.

I ended up being gone much longer than I intended, because I promptly got LOST.
 One of the hazards of living in a neighborhood where all the houses look the same...
I need to print out a map of the place before I attempt that again.  (Used the big casino as my guide post to find my way back.  How ironic is that?)

Still have lots of boxes to unpack, so -

Later :-)
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Moving on...

Tomorrow, we will get the keys to our down-here house.

I'm so excited for the next step in this adventure.
Living in this little apartment has been fun, but it's next to no maintenance, and I am SO out of things to do here!

Remember this scene in Two Week's Notice?

Lucy Kelson: [on the phone] Hi, Mr. Wong, it's Lucy Kelson. I need one No. 13, two No. 7's...
George Wade: [walking back and forth] I can't believe how small this apartment is, it's actually shocking!
Lucy Kelson: I need three No. 8's, no garlic...
George Wade: It's a very good thing your parents went to the movies, we'd never have squeezed in!
Lucy Kelson: I need one No. 7 and...
George Wade: You realize, I can actually move from one side of this apartment to the other in 6 seconds. Watch this,
[steps off]
George Wade: one...
Lucy Kelson: ...and a No. 11, please. No, actually, this is for two.

Well, that pretty much describes this place.  It's nice enough, but barely enough space for the two of us.   It will be nice to be somewhere that actually feels like a home - and where the family can come and visit without being on top of each other.

Plus, there are walking trails up there, where I can actually move about in the fresh air, and there is a park with a pond and Canadian geese to wander around and explore.
At some point, I may actually get brave enough to mosey down to the clubhouse and check out the pool...

I'm looking forward to our stuff coming down, because it will take me at least a couple of weeks to get things set up the way I want them, so I will be too busy to notice how many hours I am on my own.

It's pressure time for hubby - the store will be opening Feb. 18th, and he'll be working 7 days a week until then to get it ready.  The poor man is already running ragged - they know him by name down at the city offices.  (Water, power, Fire marshal, etc. )  I won't see him much for the next month.

We attended church in the new ward last Sunday.
(I was starting to feel a little bit attached here, and I didn't want to do that since we'll be leaving so soon.)  ...And I met a few of my soon-to-be neighbors.

They seem like really fun gals - I think I will enjoy getting to know them.
They insisted on taking a photo for the church directory, and made me fill out a questionnaire before the meeting even started, and I started getting emails a couple of days later...
Makes a body feel welcome, and sort of befriended already.

I need that.

It will be a week before we have furniture enough to stay at the house (the stuff here is rented,)  but it will be nice to know that it is there - inspiring me with ideas for projects to make it look homey.

Now all I need is a car, a job, and a puppy!

...And my kids.  (Please?)
:-)
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Sponge Mom

Been down here for 18 days now (really? is that all?) ...and have pretty much settled in to the routine.
Hubby works ten hour days, and with no car, and no place to go, the days get pretty long, dull and lonely for me.  I haven't left this apartment since last Sunday!

I try to keep busy, to keep my spirits up, but there's precious little to do. 
I tried to make a batch of cookies the other day, to break the monotony, but halfway through, I realized that I had forgotten to buy baking soda.  They were already mixed up, so I baked them anyway.
 Holy hockey-pucks Batman!  They were just that flat and hard. (But they did taste good, at least...)

I'm starting to feel like my muscles and even (or especially) my brain are turning to mush.
I started doing walkies around the apartment (something my Dr. told me to do when I had my heart surgery) this week just to get the blood pumping again.

I've read 3 books this week -  (more than I've read in the last 6 months.)  Other than household chores, that's pretty much all I've accomplished.  (The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom, and Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley, both great books, and Cooking the Books by Bonnie S. Calhoun - just so so.)

We'll be able to get into the house we're leasing next weekend, but our stuff won't be here until the following week.  It would be nice to be able to go there and start arranging things, but there won't be much we can do until then.  The furniture we have here is rented, so it's no use to us over there...

Meanwhile, here I sit.

I wish I knew what to do with myself down here.  It's been so long since I've done any serious crafting, that I wouldn't know a creative idea if it bit me.

...I'd kind of like to get a job to help my girls with their expenses at home, but without a car - and being so far away from everything, that's not an option either.

I've walked to the shopping center up the street a couple of times out of sheer desperation, but it's 5 miles round trip - on a very busy highway, so I'm not wanting to do that too often.

Hubby informed me last night that he will be also working Saturdays from now until March.

Sigh.

Hurry Spring!
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New Year

We spent New Year's day - in fact, the last three days, driving around looking for a home.
I've been looking them up on the internet, then drawing up my own maps to find them. (Google maps are not always the best routes.)  So far, that has been working well for us, but yesterday, I was off my game somehow - we drove around and around and didn't find one of them.

After three days of this, the neighborhoods are all beginning to look the same - and the houses all look the same.  How do you tell a good neighborhood from a bad one?  I just feel so lost and clueless down here.  I don't want to get roped into a year lease, then find that I live next door to an axe murderer, but you just can't know those things...

So today, I am exhausted, frustrated and discouraged.

I don't really understand what my role is down here.  I'm a mother - without my children, a worker - with no job.  I don't have a car to get me anyplace (and I really don't feel safe walking.)
...A really strange and foreign existence.

Meanwhile, hubby is doing really well at his job.  This week they will have HEAT in his building (a big relief - he's been letting everyone go at 4:30, because when the sun starts to go down, it gets really cold inside!)

Monday, he came home and told me that the police had his parking lot all blocked off - there had been a shooting on the highway right in front of his store...
Welcome to Las Vegas.

I asked him if that scared him off, he said it didn't.  I asked what it would take to scare him off - he said if the shooting were inside the store.

Oy.  By then, it's too late to change his mind and go home.

They are going to start out with two armed guards in the building, and another one outside.  I hope that is enough.

I often wonder if we have completely lost our marbles coming down here.
The jury is still out on that one...
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