Chicken, Horses, Lanterns...and a Cuban

Chicken, horses, lanterns and a Cuban...that’s basically what our first weekend of May entailed. On Saturday George and I were at his mom’s place where she grilled marinated curry chicken to perfection. While we waited for the chicken to be done we were sitting outside in her backyard just chatting away and enjoying the sun, the gentle breezes and a real Cuban cigar. Later, we would follow the Kentucky Derby horse racing on TV and further stuffing ourselves with delicious ice cream.

Grilling the marinated curry chicken breasts

The portions were huge

Enjoying the sun, gentle breezes and good conversation

On Sunday morning, George had to meet some of his class mates to discuss an upcoming school project. In the meantime I had a nice chat over the phone with one of my friends in Germany. When George got home after his meeting we treated ourselves to curry chicken leftovers from the previous day. We were debating if we should hang up the colorful outdoor lanterns amid the strong desert winds that were howling through the valley for most of Sunday. For the sake of checking another chore off the list, we hung up the string of lights and attached the lanterns. It took us a bit longer than anticipated but the payoff is a festive looking patio. We love it.

Another weekend well spent. Next weekend we’ll be in be Southern California.

What can I say? Life is good.

Our lanterns are all lined up on the floor, waiting to be hung

Our own backyard is filled with flowers and blossoms

More flowers

Ta-dah! The lanterns are up. When is the next party?

One of countless snail vine blossoms

Fab!

That’s my George. Isn’t he just fab?


It was kind of a slow day at work yesterday for whatever reason. So I was having fun playing around with a photo of George in PhotoShop and Illustrator, trying to turn it into some sort of pop art, if you will.


Fabulous, Dah-ling. Absolutely fabulous!


Don’t you think?

Social Butterflies

We have been so busy the last few days that there was no time to add anything on here. But here it goes and we try to keep it short and let the photos do most of the talking.

Last week we saw “Shear Madness” with some friends at the theater at Town Square. They added their own little Las Vegas tweaks to the storyline and the play overall was just hilarious. Unfortunately, it closed last Sunday. Las Vegas just doesn’t have as big of a theater crowd like in other cities.

On Friday evening, we attended a special Human Rights Campaign event which was hosted by the Encore Hotel & Casino. It included reduced-price tickets to see the fantastic “Le Rêve” aquatic show, created by Franco Dragone and a hosted gathering at the trendy and ever so popular “XS” nightclub. 415 attendees helped to raise over $19,000 for HRC.

Our new friends Al and Steve invited us over to their beautiful home on Saturday to spend a wonderful day with their friends Ken and Bill by the pool. We talked, laughed, swam, barbecued and watched bats drinking water from the pool as they dove down from a dusk sky.

On Sunday afternoon we drove over to the cineplex at Red Rock Station Casino to see the movie “Ice Age 3.” I had free movie tickets for it and we really enjoyed it. Although it wasn’t quite as funny as the preceding “Ice Age,” it was still very enjoyable and really clever at times. Afterwards we had an amazing Mexican dinner at “Cabo,” one of our favorite places at the Red Rock. And with that another amazing weekend came to a close.

The Sin City Q Social group help their weekly gathering at House of Blue’s “Foundation Room,” atop the Mandalay Bay hotel tower. We’ve never been there as it’s an exclusive members-only club. The dark, ancient and colonial India inspired rooms were fascinating but the view of the glittering city from the open terrace on the 43rd floor was just spectacular. Needless to say it was rather crowded.
Before we went to the Foundation Room, George and I had a lovely dinner at the Bellagio Cafe where we enjoyed a plate of wonderful Tandoori Chicken and a scrumptious Pacific Salmon Sandwich. After the gathering at the Foundation Room we wandered around the casino floor of Mandalay Bay. We also checked out the store of the musical “The Lion King,” which found a new home at this casino’s theater a few months ago after “Mamma Mia” closed after playing there for over six years.

Gee, look at us. We haven’t been going out this much all at once in...well, like in forever. Are we turning into little social butterflies in our olden age?


Below are random pictures from the last few days.



You know we had to throw some nature in. A close-up of a cicada in our backyard



One of our many vases



Inside the Bellagio Cafe

The dining area of the Bellagio Cafe

Southbound traffic on the Las Vegas “Strip”

George along the lake in front of the Bellagio

My humble self, waiting for the next performance of the Bellagio Fountains

Mon Ami Gabi, the amazing French restaurant across the street

The Bellagio Fountains in action, choreographed to the music of ol’ blue eyes, Frank Sinatra

View from the House of Blues’ “Foundation Room”

The city of lights at our feet

The other side of the Foundation Room open terrace,
facing the east wing of the Mandalay Bay tower

Outside the theater foyer of “The Lion King,” inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino

Rover and Cal

Cal, myself and Rover in front of the entrance
to Cirque du Soleil's "Love" at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

This past weekend brought our friends Rover and Cal from California and some of their friends to Las Vegas. They were in town to see the new Bette Middler show at Caesars Palace and Cirque du Soleil’s “Love” at the Mirage. Rover’s mother and sister, whom he hasn’t seen in three years, also flew in to join this eclectic group of fun and easy-spirited people.

Rover and Cal stayed at our home overnight, while the rest of the gang stayed at various hotels near the Las Vegas Strip. Most of the days were spent at some of the resorts along Strip. Not so much for gambling but for checking out some of the sights and spending a fun time together over good food and a few drinks. George and I joined them all on some occasion and together we all played tourists. Lots of fun was to be had by everyone.

We love Rover and Cal. They’re both the most fun guys to be with. Both are highly creative and very hands-on in everything they do. There’s never a dull moment in their lives, as they share the experiences of being an actor, writer, director, remodeling and restoring old buildings and cars, and event organizers. Oh, and did we mention theme park designer for Disneyland and Walt Disney World? If you’ve been on rides dealing with, let’s say, Indiana Jones, Roger Rabbit and the Muppets, you can thank Rover in part for that.

And despite their busy lives, they are the happiest, yet most grounded people we know. Rover and Cal are intelligent, intellectual and passionate and we had many profound conversations and discussions with them. And in the spur of the moment they both can kid around and just be plain silly and totally crack you up. The world needs more of them and it would be so much better for it.

George and I are looking forward to seeing them again real soon.

Dieses letzte Wochenende waren unsere guten Freunde Rover und Cal aus Kalifornien bei uns zu Besuch in Las Vegas und haben einige ihrer Freunde mitgebracht. Sie waren hier um auch die neue Show mit Bette Midler im Caesars Palace zu sehen, sowie auch “Love”, die neueste Inzinierung der berühmten Cirque du Soleil im Mirage. Rovers Mutter und seine Schwester, die er seit gut drei Jahren nicht mehr gesehen hatte, reisten ebenfalls an um an dieser lustigen und lebensfreudigen Gruppe teilzunehmen.

Rover und Cal übernachteten bei uns im Haus, während der Rest der Gruppe in verschiedenen Hotels nahe des berühmten Las Vegas Strip untergebracht waren. Tagsüber wurde meist in den großartigen Casinos entlang dieser Spielermeile verbracht. Nicht wegen der Versuchung des Glücksspiels, sondern vielmehr um sich die zahlreichen Attraktionen anzusehen und viel gutes Essen und ein paar Cocktails zu geniesen. Jeder war bei bester Laune und es wurde viel gelacht. Wir alle hatten einen Heidenspaß zusammen. George und ich verbrachten mit allen so viel Zeit wie möglich. Es war recht lustig wieder einmal Tourist zu spielen.

Wir lieben Rover und Cal und verbringen meist die beste Zeit mit ihnen. Beide sind höchst kreativ and sehr aktiv mit allem was sie anpacken. Es gibt nie einen langweiligen Moment in ihrem Leben, die beide mit allenmöglichen Berufen und Tätigkeiten ausgefüllt haben. Sei es als Schauspieler, Schriftsteller und Drehbuchautor, Regisseur, oder um alte Gebäude und Oldtimerautos zu renovieren und restaurieren. Und dann war da noch die Zeit als Rover jahrelang für Disneyland und Walt Disney World die verschiedensten Attraktionen gestaltet hat. Für diejenigen die die Disneyparks kennen, sage ich nur Indiana Jones, Roger Rabbit und die Muppets. Rover war, unter anderem, aber insbesondere für diese verantwortlich.

Trotz ihres hektischen Lebens, sind diese beiden die wohl glücklichsten und ausgewogensten Menschen die wir kennen. Rover und Cal sind ein sehr intelligentes, intellektuelles und leidenschaftliches Paar und wir hatten viele tiefgründige und lebhafte Diskussionen und Gespräche. Und dann, mit einem Schlag, können die beiden nur Unsinn im Kopf haben und jeden zum lachen bringen. Es sollte sehr viel mehr Leute wie Rover und Cal auf dieser Welt geben. Diese Welt wäre um so vieles besser.

George und ich freuen uns bereits riesig darauf, wenn wir sie wieder das nächste Mal sehen.