An April Morning Walk

Yesterday morning, George and I went on our usual walking/jogging route through nearby Pueblo Park in Summerlin. The weather was gorgeous. It has started to warm up nicely but yesterday’s gentle breezes left just a wee of a chill in the air. It was partly cloudy too and it helped to shield us from the sun. We both still got plenty of color though. It won’t be long before I have to slather nasty sunscreen lotion all over me before I leave the house. The harsh desert sun is not very kind to my skin.

A wetter than usual winter brought an abundance of blooming brushes and trees and is covering the desert floor with fresh wild grass and colorful flowers.

We took a few pictures yesterday but those don’t even scratch the surface to show all of the beauty around us. Just an ever so small glimpse.

Dropping off a letter at our post office on the way to the park

George in Pueblo Park with the Spring Mountain Range in the background

The park and the city is covered with these

The ocotillos to my left and right are about to bloom, showing off bright red blossoms

Flowers are found all over the place

Most of the desert yucca plants are carrying a heavy load of blossoms

This yucca had a visitor...a little ladybug

More flowers galore, growing out of the most unusual places

Most of the thorns of this tree branch are roughly two to three inches long and are quite piercing.

Schildkröte und Schmetterlinge

Turtle and butterflies. I posted this picture for no particular reason other than I just simply liked it.


There’s not much to report. This week has been rather dull. George developed a slight head cold and hasn’t been feeling his best the last few days. He’s improving though.


Tomorrow is the first day of Spring and the Southern Nevadan desert is experiencing very Spring-like conditions which is rather unusual for this area. Normally it jumps from cool winter season right into hotter than hell summer weather without even the slightest trace of anything Spring-related. So we are enjoying this tremendously. There are blooming flowers and fresh greens sprouting everywhere. We can open our windows to let fresh air into our home and not yet having to worry about turning on the A/C units.


However, during our planned walk in the park yesterday evening the weather turned very quickly into this ferocious wind storm. One moment the air was still and quiet and the next, just as if someone flipped a light switch, we found ourselves in the middle of a dust storm. The wind was so strong that it picked up sand and smaller debris. We could barely walk and had to cover our eyes as we quickly returned to our car. The howling winds would continue to blow well into the early morning hours. The winds have subsided and now it’s merely a breeze.


Now guess what we will be doing on this Friday evening? Preparing our taxes. Yeah! That’s right, doing taxes on a Friday night makes us the life of every party. And for this weekend there’s grocery shopping, a visit to the library, a study group meeting, and lots of yard work on our list of exciting activities.


However, a friend of ours would like to take us out to an early birthday dinner for George tomorrow evening. So yes, there’s time for a little fun to be had.


There’s always time for some fun and food. That’s a requirement.

Our Easter Weekend

George and I had a wonderful long Easter weekend. We both took Good Friday off for running errands, getting the car serviced, making a heavenly quiche and a sinfully delicious devil's food cake. On Saturday we just dabbled around the house. George's mother invited us and his sister, along with one of her new neighbors, to spent Easter Sunday at her place. We colored eggs, had yummy sandwiches and other munchies and just enjoyed this amazing spring weather we're having in the desert right now.

Afterwards George and I strolled through our neighborhood park, the Pueblo Park in Summerlin, to take in the last rays of sun before it was setting behind the Spring Mountain Range.

Of course, pleasures like these had to come to an end eventually. So here we are again, back in the rat race. Oh, and me having to visit the dentist office for root canals and new crowns.

Oh joy!

Anyway, below are random photos from our Easter weekend.

The most amazing quiche...ever!

Above: early morning sunshine in the kitchen. The next three photos show flowers in our backyard and the glass hummingbird feeder.

Just driving around town. These two pictures below were taken while on the freeway close to the “Spaghetti Bowl” near downtown Las Vegas.

The photos below show George relaxing in the garden of his mother’s garden and her little chihuahua lady, Lucy.

The photos below were taken during our afternoon stroll through Pueblo Park. Everything is blooming and sprouting, including all these drought tolerant plants. It’s amazing how green and colorful the desert can get amid this arid climate.

Change of Pace

Okay, let's change subjects here. Enough with rants, political opinions or natural disasters. Let me slow down the pace and just share some photos of our neck in the woods. The following pictures just show stuff that George and I have been doing the last two weekends.


Here is George, enjoying this amazing dessert at one of our favorite restaurants in Las Vegas, Planet Dailies at Planet Hollywood Resort on the “Strip.” It consisted of crêpes, covered with warm apples and pears in caramel sauce and real french vanilla ice cream. Absolutely divine!



It is a bit on the pricey side, but the Planet Dailies coffee shop serves the most scrumptious food, prepared always fresh with the best ingredients.




The trendy casino floor of the Planet Hollywood Resort.




The new face of future Las Vegas. Gone are the themes of pirates, white tigers and the Wizard of Oz. This is MGM Mirage's new City Center project and will open by the end of this year.




We love our home. Why would we even want to leave?




Well, it's spring time in the desert and it's starting to warm up again. Wherever you look, it's blooming and sprouting. This is our joshua tree in front of our house. And after 17 years it is blooming for the very first time. We are beyond excited.





Details of our joshua tree blossoms.





More detail pics of one of our palm trees and a snail vine bud.




Speaking of “The Wizard of Oz.” Last Saturday evening we both went to see the stage production of “The Wiz” at the Lowden Theatre of the Las Vegas Academy.

As usual, the students were amazing and one could not ask for a better performance. Not even on Broadway. The live orchestra was flawless. However, we did notice one thing. Since this play is in essence a black musical, it was interesting that most of the white singers and dancers were better than the black performers. Does this observation make me a racist? See what Political Correctness does to us? Geez!




Right outside the theater one has a perfect view of the Stratosphere Tower, the tallest structure west of the Mississippi.



Well, there you have it. Another perfect weekend in Sin City.