Winds, Battle of the Bands, Cargo trailer Champagne Sunday

 We've been enjoying cold (40's) temperatures and major winds. LOL. No we're not enjoying it at all. 

Wind and 38 with a feels like 29..Yep cold today

Because we use the wood stove in the house for heat other than the early mornings, Ken's been keeping busy using the log splitter cutting wood. 

Last Saturday Yerington held its annual Battle of the Bands at the Yerington Theater House. 8 bands competed for $1000.00. It was the 7th or 8th year, but honestly this is the first one I remember hearing about. 

We thought it might be kind of fun to go to with John and Karen. Ken got the cargo trailer ready for us to sleep in behind Karen's store and they were going to sleep in the store on cots. We didn't want to unwinterize the Mansion yet.  Figured better safe than sorry as we knew adult beverages would be consumed. 

The low was going to be 14 degrees, but figured with Mr. Heater we'd be warm and toasty. 

The bands started at 1700 so we parked at the store and walked to the theater. In almost 12 years that we've been here we've never been into the theater part. A couple of events we've attended have been in the summer and outside. 

We found some seats and then went to the bar for drinks. The bar was rocking! The drinks were flowing and they didn't skimp on the alcohol for sure! 

The first band to play was our favorite "The Band Next Door". These are the guys that play at John and Karen's parties. Great mix of country and some rock. 

The second band was Moral Demise, they might have been good but the music was way too loud, couldn't understand what they were saying. 

Third was a nice duet but very loud again. 

The next group did it for us, really loud and couldn't understand a word they were saying so to the bar we went. You could still hear the bands from there. No more Battle of the Bands for us. 

Lacy J Dalton comes a couple of times a year to play there, so I'd like to see her next time! Nice theater, it's old, so chairs are comfy, but not much room to walk in front of anyone to get to the aisle. Definitely get there early next time and get aisle seats. 

After a bit we left and headed back to the store. Went across the street to Dini's Casino and John ordered a pizza to take back to the store. 

Eventually I went out to the trailer to go to sleep. About 2300 I called Ken saying it's really cold out here! The heater had gone out and I couldn't get it going. Long story short, we ended up driving home about 0230 as the heater wouldn't light in the 15 degree temps. Thinking heater and propane line froze! Oh my that cargo trailer! It will be used in moderate temps when we can leave the generator running and power an electric heater. Such as Sand Mountain, where everyone's up 24/7. LOL. 

Sunday morning Karen made biscuits, gravy and eggs for us. YUM. The gravy was made with turkey sausage, 2% milk and you couldn't tell the difference from the really bad for you stuff! 😀

After breakfast and conversation we came home to the outdoor kitchen where we had a fire and Champagne Sunday all the rest of the day. We did absolutely nothing! Harder for Ken than me but he did it! 😂

Too much o.j. in mine..I poured it though..lol

Have to have a roaring fire when it's 29 degrees out there. 

OH this one's better! 

Later in the afternoon he barbecued delicious burgers. We eventually went inside, ate and then called it an early night. 

We'll be heading out tomorrow afternoon to Carson City to spend the night because I have an early eye appointment on Thursday. Everything seems wonderful with my right eye, looking forward to next Tuesday to get the left done. 

Baby Phoenix turned 2 today..Haven't seen any pictures yet

I'll get this finished and posted. Have a great evening! 

Cataract and Glaucoma surgery. Champagne Sunday next door ..memories 1996

Tuesday, February 4th we had to be in Reno for a 14:15 appointment for me.  No food or drink from midnight on. Not hard to do the food, but water was tough! Ken joined me in not partaking of food or coffee though. He did have a couple of waters. He could have had food to, as I offered to make him some but he didn't. 💙

We got there plenty early and after being checked in they took me back to a huge area that probably had 10 separate bedding spaces. Nurses took care of everything and after about a million eye drops, one came and said I was next for surgery. Wheeled me into a little operating room and there was Dr. Gammett and the anesthesiologist. I'm in lala land and it's done before you know it. Cataract surgery on my right eye and a stent put in for glaucoma, as my pressures are high. 

All my life I've seen an optometrist 2x. Once while I was still working, over 15 years ago and once in October of 24. Because of October he said my pressures were high, is the only reason I wanted to see an Ophthalmologist. Sure am thankful that I did. 

Medicare pays for 2 kinds of lenses for cataracts. A third one was offered to me and recommended so I paid the $2500 for both eyes. After all, I can't imagine not being able to see. Worth it for me. 💗

Back to recovery and out the door to Ken. We checked into the motel in Carson for the night and Ken put the eye drops in my eye, as we had to get three more times before bed. 2 different drops 4x a day for 28 days. OH Thank God for this man, as I can't stand putting drops in, they usually would go all over my face and not into my eyes. LOL. Truth! 

We headed to Betsy's for dinner. FOOD! Too crowded though for us at 1700 and service was not what it usually is. Next time we'll bring food to the room instead. 

This morning my appointment was at 1100. I had brought hard boiled eggs and bread for toast for the morning. Then a stop at Total Wine to pick up an online order. 

Got to Dr. Gammett's office at about 1040 and was taken right in. A quick visit, but enough to know I am seeing a lot better already! 😀 He said it all looks good and another visit next Thursday at 0800. We'll be spending Wednesday night in Carson one more time. The 18th the left eye will be done. 😀

Once done with that we headed for Miguel's Mexican Food. We've been here a few times, but probably not in a couple of years. Very nice restaurant and the food is excellent! 

Ken's Dos Equis beer
 and my Chardonnay..Yummy and great
salsa and chips! 

This was their small chimichanga..brought half home w me.

Once we were done, headed home. Ken's next door helping John winterize his new trailer, as we're expecting very cold overnight lows starting tonight. 

Miguel's in Reno

Headed up the mountain towards Virginia City!

Looking back towards Reno

Coming into Virginia City..but we turn off before.

Good time to get in a quick blog. 

Last Sunday Karen had gone to Minden with a friend for the night so we decided to start Champagne Sunday with John at their place. He wanted cauliflower pizza so we took our stuff over and we enjoyed visiting and then eating over there. 

John's 10x15 flag and the wind

Champagne Sunday tail gate style! 

My Doc's Pizza..chicken. Oh so yummy! 

John's fire in his lean too! Awesome!

After a few hours we headed home and Ken made a fire in the outdoor kitchen. A great day in my opinion! 🥂🍺🍕

Boot Camp 1996! From Russell these cartoons I used to love!
💗💗

Ken brought these from garage where he was saving them

There's more, but we found these ...Russell sent from Boot
Camp 💖💖💖 still get me every time💙💙

That's it for this blog as soon it'll be Happy Hour here! Have a great evening! 

 

Another catch up. SNOW! Ken's cardio appointment :) Birthdays

 Well, it's hard to believe the last post was the 16th and now we're at the 29th of January! Guess it means not a lot of excitement going on here at the homestead :) It's flying by though! 

Sunday we awoke to a dusting of snow! Most of it's 
gone now, so just perfect!

It's been really cold here some mornings as low as 6 degrees and some highs in the 30's. Ken's keeping the fires burning so we are nice and toasty inside. Even though the outside temps don't keep him from finding things to do out there! 

Ken had a cardiology appointment last Friday with his Physician's Assistant Jennifer. Everything looks good! No more AFIB, the ablation seems to have fixed that problem. They are still keeping him on the same meds, blood thinner, blood pressure, water pill and cholesterol (even though he doesn't have high cholesterol at all) it's to protect the heart. He'll see her in 6 months and sees his regular cardiologist in March. Such a difference from last year at this time! 😊

We ran yesterday to Carson City so he could get fasting blood tests done. Results were in last night and all his numbers are fantastic! 😊

Last Sunday of course, was Champagne Sunday here. We woke to SNOW! Ken made a nice fire in the outdoor kitchen and we spent alot of the day out there. He barbecued delicious cheeseburgers and we were really bad and had fries and onion rings. Once in awhile, you just have to! 

Cheers! 

Ken's plate 😋

I had mine on a low carb tortilla, with guacamole, 
amazing! 

Adam came home from the Southern California last Thursday after 14 days of 14 to 16 hour days. I don't think he'll be going back anytime soon. The worst was the traffic in that area. He's done. LOL. He had 5 days off and today is his first day back to work. 

January 19th was my sister Wendy's birthday so sister Linda and family took her to lunch. Probably the last time, as Wendy moves to Arkansas on April 7th. 

Brother in law Bobby in the back, Chelsea, Wendy and Dusty
Cassidy and Owen in the front! 💗

January 19 was also daughter in law Christina's birthday and the 13th was daughter-in-law Cheryl's birthday. The 31st is grandson Mason's 20th birthday! How did our grandsons get so old already!? 

Cheryl's granddaughter Mia graduated from Esthetician school last week. Congratulations! Mia was always Baby Mia to us for many years. No baby any more!

Congratulations Mia! On the right! 

Trips to Reno, Ophthalmologist for me, cooking, firewood and Adam at the fires in Southern CA.

Hard to believe we've passed the middle of the month already! It's been cold here for the last couple of weeks. We wake to 11 degrees or so and the highs have been in the low 40's. So glad we have the wood stove in the house. 

Ken's been working firewood all day today. Yesterday he brought up and filled our outside wood holder, but a fire is going almost continuously.  We have a heater we turn on in the mornings which is nice to have, but I hate to think of the propane bill if that was our only source of heat!  

Last Saturday we headed into Reno driving John and Karen to pick up her new car. John can't drive until March so we were glad to help them out. On the home we were treated to a nice lunch at Sharkey's in Gardnerville.

Sunday, of course was Champagne Sunday so we enjoyed that in the outdoor kitchen. We were kept nice and warm with a fire going all day. 

Happy Champagne Sunday! 

Our Cauliflower Pizza with fixings. Mine was chicken, Ken's
oysters :( but he loves them. Mushrooms, onions and olives
for Ken. 

A little wind and very chilly! brrr.

Karen gave us some unroasted, unsalted peanuts. We 
roasted them in the cast iron skillet and they were Yummy! 

Monday, Ken and I headed to Gardnerville for some groceries and to pick up prescriptions. We were early enough to have lunch at home. 

Had a craving for spaghetti last week. My sauce packed with
vegetables and ground turkey breast. We had it with spaghetti
squash noodles. Forgot how much i missed it! 

Tuesday Ken and John in John's truck and Karen and I in her new car headed for Reno to pick up their new 5th wheel. They first treated us to breakfast at the Pioneer Casino. We hadn't been in years, but it was delicious. 

They decided it was time to get rid of their huge 5th wheel and get a smaller 29.5 footer. A beautiful unit for sure! They bought it from Western Skies, where we bought our Mansion. 

They were going to treat us once again to linner, but John's truck started acting up so the decision was made to just head home. Karen and I were going to Walmart on the way home, but decided it was best to follow them. Once we got to Yerington we stopped at Round Table and had their awesome one trip salad bar. YUM! 

By the time we got to their house it was Happy Hour so we enjoyed that too. 

Yesterday, it was our turn to head for Reno and Dr. Gammett, Ken's  ophthalmologist and now mine. Yep, appointment was for me. Last October I went to the optician in town to get my first pair of "real" glasses. He commented that my eye pressures were high and that I had the beginnings of cataracts. 

This is a great office and I can see why Ken has had this Dr. since the time we established Nevada residency when we retired in Jan 2010. Anyway, now I am scheduled for cataract surgery on Feb. 4th and 18th. He laughed when I told him the optician said I had the beginnings of cataracts. Nope, they're ready to be dealt with. So there goes our plans of Q in February. 

Decided to try something I've never had before, was going 
to order it without the bun but Ken wanted to see how messy
it would be with a bun. LOL. NO way to pick it up. Chili Cheeseburger.
Betsy's makes amazing chili. Next time I'll skip the burger
and order the chili if I have a craving. 😋😂 No, I didn't 
eat it all. LOL. 

March, I'm sure i'll be spending time in CA helping my sister get ready to move to Arkansas on April 7th. Hopefully we can get a little trip to somewhere sometime. 

Last Tuesday our grandson Adam came home from a visit to Arkansas to visit his parents. He went back to work for the National Forest Service on Wednesday. Before he even got through the day he got a call to go to the fires in Southern California. So about 1600 he headed south. He's there until the 23rd. 16 hour days. I'm sure he'll enjoy the pay check, minus all the taxes. 14 days straight. He will get 3 days off with pay when he gets back home though, which turns into 5 with his regular days off. 

Adam and Raider spending some quality time 💗

Heber Springs Arkansas on the Friday the 10th

A nice snow! They're glad they have a wood stove too! 

Ken found this, so figured I'd share 😀

Spent the morning making stuffed chicken breasts and cauliflower rice. Time to fold some laundry and make a caesar salad for dinner.  I'll be done and can enjoy Happy Hour a little later. 

Tomorrow we head for Reno once again. We ordered some new seat covers from Moto Sheep to protect the front seats in my Subaru. They're "leatherette" easy to wipe off if there's a spill. Ken's got the same in the Tundra and they hold up well. 

Earlier this week was daughter in law, Cheryl's Birthday. Daughter in law, Christina and my sister Wendy celebrate on the 19th. Happy Birthday girls! 

Have a great evening. :) 

New Years, Pet sitting, not too much going on.

 

Grandson Adam gave us a calendar with photos he's taken 
throughout the year. At the beginning of each month I'm going
to feature his photo of the month 💖
This picture is near Freel Peak right outside of 
South Lake Tahoe 

Happy Monday! Well, it is for us since we don't work for a living anymore! Actually coming up on the 9th it'll be 15 years we've been retired! Hard to believe it's been that long, but it's the best thing we ever did. I was 54 and Ken was 58, so glad we didn't go any longer! 

Diane and Jesse came and spent New Year's with us  so that was nice. Again a lot of time spent outside in the cold with fires going. Like they both said, they come to enjoy being outside and the fires! Ok..we can make that happen. LOL. 

We did spent New Year's Eve with John and Karen. Thankful that John's here to celebrate with us this New Year! He's doing well for someone who two months ago we all thought we'd lose him. 

He's on a heart healthy diet, not exactly his favorite but Karen is making sure he sticks to it. I am helping out with heart healthy treats, as he does like sweets and we like a bit with our coffee in the am. Since I've been making them for Ken for the last few years, I just make more of the same recipe. Today was Low Carb Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Morning Glory Bread. 

Champagne Sunday yesterday...YUM! 

Decided to venture from the Low Carb Pizza this week and
have burgers for brunch. The chicken we took next door 
last night for our dinner. Same tonight 😋

They are in Reno buying Karen a new car. They also bought a smaller fifth wheel as they're getting rid of the big one. He's hoping to go back to work once he's cleared to drive in March. We spent last night over there with the pups and we'll spend tonight too. 

Chloe and Mason made us these adorable Salt Dough 
Ornaments for Christmas. Can't wait to have them on the 
tree next Christmas. 💖

Grandson Adam is in Arkansas visiting his parents. I know he enjoyed himself and of course his parents are happy he visited. He'll be back to CA tomorrow. 

Not much going on here. It's cool and windy right now. Ken just brought wood to the front porch as a fire is definitely needed. 

Some sad news last night from California. My Brother in Law, Bobby lost his dad Pat yesterday. Not that it wasn't expected, but still hard to say good bye. Pat was a very sweet man and I know he was very loved. Thinking of you Bobby and Linda, Dusty, Chelsea, Owen and Cassidy 💙

Looks like it's time for Happy Hour with the furry kids next door. Have a great evening! 🍺🍷

Christmas and beyond

Been trying to get this posted for days..I always get sidetracked! 

 Hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas day and beyond. 

We set our alarm for 0330 so we would be at Eric's around 0700. We like to enjoy our mornings before heading out. We were a little late, but knew they were up and had coffee going. Actually, Eric had breakfast going. YUM! 

A beautiful sunrise coming into Cool, CA 

Holly loves cow print! 

Seth opening, Amber watching

Mason, Christina, Amber and Eric in background 💙

Mason got up a little later and then Seth and Holly arrived about 0800. Christmas presents were opened. 

Eric and Christina had a birthday present for me. My daddy passed away December of 1990. Eric had his red toolbox and took tools, made this box and put some of the tools in it. I love it! No tears were shed (lying). I can still see my daddy in his shed using these tools. Thank you Eric, so special. 💙💙

I so love this 💙💕

We had a nice breakfast of eggs, sausage and potatoes while everyone opened their gifts. 

About 0845 we left Cool to head to Antelope to see Russell and Lori's family open gifts. They were almost done with their opening of gifts except the ones we gave them. 

Aaron and Allissa 💖

Lori and Aaron💖

A gift we got, was to see our grandson, Jacob who we hadn't seen in over a year due to a 9 month deployment in the Middle East! 

Jacob 💙💙

Once we were done there we headed to my sister Linda's house. She and Bobby hosted Christmas for family and friends. As always a great time was had by all. Our middle sister Wendy didn't make it as she wasn't feeling great. 

Chelsea, Cassidy and Owen 💙

The Byrnes Family. Cassidy, Chelsea, Owen, Linda, Dusty and Bobby 💗

Our grandsons, Aaron, Seth, Adam, Mason and Jacob 
So proud of the young men they've turned out to be! 💙💙

Cousins! Aaron, Seth, Adam, Mason, Jacob, Jesse and Dusty

Our grandsons and their ladies. Cassidy filling in for Kenna, Seth and Holly, Adam and Erin, Mason and Chloe, Jacob and Allissa 💕

Our pride and joy! All our boys! Seth, Mason, Eric, Ken, me, Russell, Jacob, Aaron
and Adam💖💙

Aaron, Lori, Russell, Jacob and Allissa💗 Just missing Aaron's sweetie, Kenna

Seth, Holly, Eric, Christina, Mason and Chloe 💖

Three siblings, Christina, Lori and Michael 💙

Adam and Erin 💙 Adam's headed to Arkansas tomorrow for a much 
needed visit! 

                                              💙Diane and Jesse

We left there late afternoon and headed to Ken's mom's house for a visit. Denise and Isabella stopped by too, it was nice to see them. Jesse and Diane eventually came too. We didn't stay too long as we don't like driving in the dark. 

Got to the motel and set the alarm for 0345. We wanted to leave about 0600 and were a few minutes late. We went across to Highway 50. The plan was to beat the traffic and expected weather and we were successful with both. 

We got to Gardnerville, NV a little after 0900, picked up prescriptions at Raleys and then to Sharkey's for an early brunch. 

We got home just about 1230. Both of us were tired, so headed inside and took a 2 hour nap. Woke up about 1430, unloaded the car and that was about it. 

Ken started a fire and we just relaxed until bedtime. Well, there was a Happy Hour during that time. LOL. 

Today Ken worked on wood outside most of the day. I cleaned and then started in the bedroom, cleaning drawers, closet and armoire. Time to declutter and get rid of stuff. 

To get this posted, I'm ending it here! LOL. Hopefully another one in the not too distant future! Happy New Year!