Dale Spotting in Las Vegas

A whole month later, here we are again! In between working, teaching, volunteering, getting a jury summons, church, golf, going to the gym, and scattered lunch and pool dates with friends, we haven't been doing much.

Ha.

Did I ever tell you I am a nurse volunteer? At a place called Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada. The first Volunteers in Medicine started in Hilton Head, South Carolina. It is a free clinic - everything is free, even prescriptions. Patients have to wait awhile to get in, and there is quite the application process. But it is free.  Every patient at this clinic is so grateful and appreciative. They understand if they have to wait a little longer because another patient needs extra time.

Not like one lady I remember from a doctor's office who, when I told her the physician was assisting with an emergency in the office, said "I don't care. He needs to come see me."

For a pap smear.

Anyways, I have been enjoying volunteering here and wish I could do it more often. If you live in Las Vegas, consider volunteering. They need all sorts, not just nurses.

I went to see The Help with Brandy. Great movie. An even better book. Worth your time.

We love summertime. We stopped and got $20 worth of fruit and veggies at the grocery store today. Had a great salad for lunch. Yum! It was a beautiful (hot) day on the way home. And clear! Clear as in no smog. You can see the Luxor in the bottom left of the picture.

We also stopped to make a deposit. And were ecstatic to see this.

I'm sure you can understand how frustrating it would be if you have a cash/check business, and then made frequent deposits at the ATM which makes you feed each check one-at-a-time which takes an eternity.

Today it took us 5 minutes. Better.



The dogs have been enjoying destroying the grass Eric worked so hard to grow.

 Front stretch. Back stretch.

Playtime! 

Diesel looking through the wall at the neighbors dog. She does this all the time. It's hilarious! She'll even move her head around to get a better view through the holes. 

Honey - such a beautiful, sweet girl. 

Taz, maniac on 4 legs but very affectionate.

Goofball and professional Cam-ham.

We also saw Dale the Exterminator. Positive of it. Look for yourself.

Do we get some sort of reward for finding him?

Lunch Date

I recently had a lunch date with a dear friend I have known for almost half my life. And for a girl who grew up in the transient-ness of Las Vegas, that's sayin' sumthin'.

She has been a constant in my life for quite some time. Even though we don't get together as often as we would like to, it seems we can always pick up where we left off. Good friends should be that way.

I love her.

I love her so much, I didn't even get a picture of her this last visit. Here is a picture I found of her and her husband from awhile back.

I love her name...Brandy. Has a nice ring to it, dontcha think? ;)

She also has two children whom I adore. Summer and Zach.

Brandy made eggplant sandwiches. I've never really had eggplant. The one time I did a very long time ago, it was mushy and I hadn't eaten it since. She made it kind of like a hamburger, with cheese, tomato, dressing and Italian parsley. It was great! I would definitely eat it again.

She also made this really good broccoli salad. (Brandy, I need the recipe for the dressing!)

 I brought strawberry shortcake.

And Summer made cookies!

Did you see her shirt? Mmm-hmm...the wife of a pizza-lover wouldn't miss that.

Oh, we had so much fun!

After lunch, we played Sorry. Zach posed.

All of that in the space of 15-20 seconds. Love it. Just can't get any cuter than that.

Zach has been taking piano lessons, and Summer has been taking guitar lessons. She looks like a natural.

We also had plenty of time to be goofy.

Everytime we get together, we know it has always been too long since the last time.

Until next time.

Gettin' Our Garden On

Just a quick update from E&B Farmers Inc.

The watermelon is starting to grow.

The tomato plant has just taken over. It has taken over the freakishly large zucchini plant. We've had hundreds of cherry tomatoes. If paint balls were cherry tomatoes, we'd have some serious ammunition.

The zucchini. Have no idea why it's orange. Still cookin' I guess.

Green pepper.

Some jalapenos.

Oh, and the pomegranates! Can't wait to sink my teeth into those! After I peel it of course. Not into pith.

Ok, so we are not even close to being farmers. Amateur gardeners, I know, but isn't this amazing? I never used to think about where things came from when I went grocery shopping. But it absolutely amazes me that we can put some seeds in the ground, water them, grow them, pick them, and then eat them.

We also have a little friend. We've dubbed her Little Wing. She's been in our tomato plant for a couple of days now and hasn't flown on.

I think it is a she. It looks like a she. But I'm really not sure.

We can get as close to her as we want and she won't budge. Although the look in her eye seems quite alarmed when we do. She has both of her legs. It doesn't look like she's injured. We put some water and seed out. Maybe she has some babies nearby? Maybe she has a fetish for tomatoes?

Fly on Little Wing.

We've Never Been to Spain...

...but we've been to Oklahoma.

A glimpse from the plane...

Always the first stop after a non-stop flight. But this restroom has some added interest. We don't see this at McCarran. But then I guess we don't see slot machines at Will Rogers Airport.

It always amazes me how beautiful and diverse is the landscape of this country. The volatility of the weather in Oklahoma lends to some amazing colors and scenery. Here are some of the calmer pictures of weather. More not-so-calm pictures are coming.

Our visit to Oklahoma to visit Dad, Jean and Uncle George was not too long after the recent tornado(es) at the end of May. Actually, Dad told us that this year, just in the state of Oklahoma, there have been SIXTY NINE tornadoes. That's basically 13-14 tornadoes a month. Or almost one every other day.


There was some local damage nearby.

Uncle George! Always happy to see us and we are always so happy to see him! If you haven't met and spent time with Uncle George, you should try to get over to Guthrie. You are missing OUT.




We happened to visit over Father's Day this year. I cannot remember the last time I was with my dad on Father's Day, so that made this trip extra special!

We had plenty of great food at places like The Boneyard, Cracker Barrel, Habanero and Dad's House. :)

Love me some Cracker Barrel.

Jean playing the golf tee game at Cracker Barrel with Uncle George supervising.

Lookee what I found at Cracker Barrel. Yum!

All of us at Habanero mexican restaurant.

We watched some great movies, including Lonesome Dove, which is now quite possibly tied for First Place in our book for Best Westerns Ever. Our original favorite is Tombstone.

I'm your huckleberry.

We also watched some storms. Mezzzzmerizing. I can see why people just stand outside with their faces turned upward staring at the sky with a blank look on their face. I was one of those recently. I would probably be one of those standing outside with my camera filming a tornado down the street.

No...no, actually I don't think I would be one of those people. I think I would be one of those people grabbing my husband, dogs and as much Coke Zero, lip gloss and clean underwear I could carry. Maybe a bottle of Tabasco for Eric. (I keep a small bottle in my purse for when we travel.)

I know you are thinking that I should probably take water, but Daddy has that already in the shelter.

Downtown Guthrie is a wonderfully historic place dating back to the late 1800's. It was the first capital of the state, and has many beautiful red brick buildings that house cafes, antique shops and many other types of businesses. Many movies have been filmed here, including parts of Rainman.

After browsing through many of the shops downtown, we also went to a "modern" mall for some shopping and a treat!


Come to mama.

 


Jean tried out threading! And it was only FOUR dollars. Took about 5-10 minutes.

Being the germ-a-phobe I am, I freaked out a little inside when she put the thread in her mouth, but it didn't come near Jean. She just used her lips/teeth to hold it.

Good advice from Dad: Never Steal a Stetson.

I don't know exactly what happens if you do. Maybe Gus and Woodrow will pay you a visit.

And, why yes. Yes, that would be biscuits and gravy on his plate that he made us for breakfast that morning.

 And just like that, our trip was over and we were headed home.

 One last cloud picture for your dreams.

Happy Independence Day!