Ken's MRI, We're in Amargosa Valley tonight!

Tuesday morning we set the alarm so we could be sure to be up and going. I had no problem with that as I had been up way before.  Had our coffee and treats while we checked in with our blogging friends.  We left the house before nine as we were headed for Big 5.  I needed a new pair of tennis shoes so we headed there first.  I found some I really liked.  It's funny because I will certainly spend on the grandkids (or when our kids were young) but I hate spending on me.  Found a pair I liked and bit the bullet for $29.99..ahhh.. on to Walmart..I did a little grocery shopping and then looked at their shoes.  Found a pair for $8.98 and thought what the heck..and then a pair of sandals for $1.00..OK those are mine!! Real sandals, not flip flops.  

We headed over for Ken's MRI, got him signed in and to the right area. They took him real quick and after awhile he was out.  He said the head technician asked about his shoulder, Ken explained what was going on and he said "Your shoulder is really jacked up!"  Good to know hahah. He told Ken he's doing the right thing! 

We left there and headed to CVI to see our favorite waitress, Carmen so she wouldn't worry when we're not there for a month or so. She is a sweetie and she was glad we came in.  We also saw the server that brings us ice (because we order alcohol). I had a little Christmas card for her because she has the sweetest smile :) But wouldn't you know it, couldn't find the card so she actually came out better :) 

After linner we headed home and then we loaded up stuff for Karen and went next door for a few minutes to drop the stuff off.  Nice visit and then home. Her daughter, Amber had emergency gall bladder surgery so she's there for a few days.  We visited a few minutes with her. 

Had a nice evening at home and then it was time to hit the hay!

Yesterday I wanted some radish hash browns.  they were yummy!

Ken's plate...scrambled eggs with peppers and some hash browns.
Today I mixed the hash browns with my egg beaters..even better!

Good night Yerington, NV!

Love this little shed in Luning, NV

The old jail cell next to the shed! 

Set the alarm for 0430 this am as we so we could finish up the things we needed to do.  We left home about 1000 and stopped next door as Karen had fresh chicken eggs for us.  Hit the road at 1030.  I know that sounds late but we knew where we wanted to end up and not like there's lots to do once we got there.  
Had a beautiful drive down highway 95 and we are now parked at Armagosa Valley Rest Area for the night.  Watched a movie that wasn't bad and now another while I write the blog.  This one sucks, which is why I'm blogging haha.

Mountains on highway 395 near Bishop, CA...love them!

Our lunch spot Tonopah, NV rest area..

Tomorrow we will spend the night in Parker, AZ and Friday hook up with our friends in Quartszite! 

View from our lunch spot

Tonopah, NV...Here you go Russell Kay! Should do it
again!

Our spot for the night, Amargosa Valley, NV..the rest area..

Good night from our home tonight!

A final good night!

I would say Happy Hour but it's been the last couple of hours. I think I'm heading for bed! 

Neighbors over, baking today, getting ready for the trip!

Friday night after posting the blog our neighbor Karen texted and said they had fire going, come on over! So we did..:)  Had a great time catching up and having a few drinks.  WE stayed longer than we planned, somehow that always happens with those two!  Before we left, we planned a bar b que at our house for Saturday night. 

Yesterday morning after catching up with our blogging friends and enjoying a leisurely morning we both got started on our day.  House cleaning of course (we've got company coming..Yeehaw!)  Ken got the fire pit moved from the back area to the front where he would be bar b quing. Brought up a trailer of wood and basically got the front area ready.  

I decided to make some munchies for the group.  Salami and cheese, sausage cheese balls and deviled eggs.  We were contributing hot links to the dinner and Karen brought some marinated chicken thighs, baked beans and macaroni salad. YUMMY!  

Cheesy sausage balls..I made 3 for me without the bisquick.

Salami and cheese

1 plate of deviled eggs..The other had jalapeños in theirs..
all gone

About 1530 or so Ken started the fire and company arrived about 1600.  Joe and Stacey next door came too :) We definitely enjoyed the night and with the fire it was very comfortable for quite a while after dark.  Not sure what time we called it a night but it wasn't too late. 

Karen, John, JOe, Ken, Rylee and her mom sitting

The fire was awesome! 

This morning (Sunday) we got ourselves going as we had a breakfast date with Stacey, Joe, Rylee and Stacey's mom, Susan. Figuring we wouldn't see them for at least a month we thought it'd be nice.  Had a good hour or so visiting and having breakfast. 

Banana bread 1/2 to Karen..

Flourless peanut butter muffins with chia seeds guess whose  these are haha. 

Another batch of morning glory muffins for Ken and Karen..

Ken worked all day on getting things ready for the trip and the trailer.  I did some baking just so we'd have our little morning goodies to start the trip with. A turkey meatloaf for dinner tonight too.  

Hopefully it tastes better than it looks. 

It was a nice day with the afternoon warming up to a nice 60. Doesn't last long though as soon as the sun starts to set. 

Happy Hour!  Have a wonderful evening!  

Quick update, we're out of here Wednesday morning!

Got a call about 1220 today and Ken's MRI is scheduled in Gardnerville next Tuesday at 1300 hours.  YAY! We'll get some shopping done and Wednesday morning we're heading out for a few weeks to visit friends in Quartzsite and Yuma! Yay!! We still have to be back beginning of March for Ken's eye appointment and then some bloodwork and a physical for his surgery.  No trip to Tennessee this year, but definitely next year.  

WE woke u this am at 0700 after a wonderful night's sleep at Carson Valley Lodge. Got ourselves ready and then headed over to CVI for a great breakfast. Ken had their special of Chicken Fried Steak and eggs with a biscuit covered in wonderful gravy.  I got a veggie omelet, (which was delicious) gave Ken my potatoes and saved the toast for Jack the dog next door.  I did take a bite of the gravy and 1 bite of his steak.  haha.  Jack does well when we eat out, there's always leftovers! 

We were home before noon. Unloaded the car and everything put away. It's a nice day here 52 degrees for the high. Ken worked on getting the trailer light back on our little trailer we use for wood. 

I cooked the last of the chicken breast with spinach in it that didn't get cooked the other night.  As long as I had the oven on figured I'd make some zucchini tots. Yum. 

That's about it for today. We'll spend the weekend getting ready to go so we can head out first thing Wednesday morning! 

Have a great evening everyone! We will!! 

Ken's brother Don has this beautiful old house in TN that we love to visit. His neighbor gave him this old picture of Don's house not long after it was built. Look at the clothing! This pic is a treasure. 

How the house looks today...

Click on the pic to make it bigger and it'll bring in the people..

Grandson Adam sent a few pics of his adventures the last few days so I had to put a sampling: 

Crazy kid ...uhhh..

Looking at where they want to go

Climbed to the cave...

Adam at the beach..too close to
the waves for my liking..

We've got a surgery date...but still in limbo..

First things first...Ken had his surgery appointment this afternoon at 1545.  Surgery is scheduled for March 25th in Carson City.  We were hoping we could have it in Gardnerville but they don't do the shoulder replacement there :( Oh well..They want Ken to have an MRI and they say they schedule that ASAP but they schedule it not us :(  The MRI will be in Gardnerville (I was wrong Deb) and his blood work is in Yerington.  So hopefully we'll hear from the scheduler tomorrow or Monday and can get that done ASAP and still be able to head south. We're hoping!!! 

Not sure when our friends are leaving Q but hopefully we can catch some. :) 
So that's the update! 

This week we were mostly home, there was a trip to Reno, Carson and Minden for a CVI lunch.  

When we bought the house, it had a handicapped ramp..but now
it's time to replace the rubber..shows how the NV sun has gotten to the
bottom part. 

Flourless chocolate chip cookies for me..they work..
Not as good as real...hahah

I made unstuffed cabbage stew/soup..it was yummy!
With turkey burger..

We had a little weather...

We had a little wind..

Day use area 

The state park entrance

Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Morning Glory Muffins
for Ken (took 4 to Karen)..He loved them!

Wednesday we took a drive to the newest state park in NV just to see if anything else had been done.  We were there a few months ago for the grand opening.  A lovely park and lots of tractors out there working on it.  Nice way to kill a couple of hours. We headed back to town and had their 1 trip salad bar for lunch..yummy and I didn't have to put it together.  

A few days ago I was interested in an Air Fryer.  I mentioned it to my neighbor, Karen and she says..."I have one, never used, take it home and try it" so I did. Last night's dinner was awesome, but the timing just didn't do it for us and trying to flip the stuffed chicken breasts didn't work. I think it would be awesome for fries and other things but I think I'm good with using an oven. 

Because neither of us like driving in the dark anymore we got a room at Carson Valley Inn in Gardnerville.  I'll probably drive here after Ken's surgery and stay as Carson seems to always have its issues.  I'll look for rooms near the surgery center but I know that I feel safe here. 

Have a good night everyone! Happy Hour in the room and then CVI for dinner. 

Thanks all for wanting us in Arizona and caring about Ken and the surgery! Hoping to see you soon!! :) 

Not much going on!

Been a slow week here at home.  Other than a trip to Raley's not much happening. I did a little baking and made some of the spaghetti squash lasagna we had a few weeks ago. Found a new recipe for broccoli, just things like that.  

Happy Birthday to my younger sister, (by 13 months) Wendy and to our daughter in law, Christina! 

Happy Birthday Wendy!!

Happy Birthday Christina!

Saturday night we went next door for a fire, and Karen cooked up a wonderful steak dinner. We were talking and the last time we had anything close to steak was probably a few years ago at our oldest son Bryan's house. 

6 years ago we were in the cabover, in Barstow, CA watching
the play offs that we don't watch anymore! Good times...in that
little cabover! 

Yesterday (Sunday) we talked about taking a drive, and then decided against it.  The days seem to last long if we stay home.  We got really lazy in the afternoon, closed the curtains and watched a movie,  A million ways to die in the West. Don't waste your time! 

All over the internet Radishes are the new potato! Decided to
give it a try.  

Radish hash browns..very good! Even my skeptical hubby
liked them with eggs. Added a little bell pepper and onion. I
will be doing this again...

After that, not much until dinner. 

Anyway, that's a catch up..haha.  The best my memory will allow anyway.  We're looking forward to Thursday afternoon and Ken's surgeon appointment.  Then we'll know if we can head south for a bit! 

Have a great day! 

Couple day catch up...

Monday morning we got ourselves up and going as we wanted to head to Carson City and get ourselves home in time for lunch. So after our usual visiting with friends online, showers and breakfast we were out the door at a reasonable hour. I say that, because I don't know what time it was haha. 

Had a nice drive and Ken dropped the generator off for repair. They've got a February 3rd date to be finished, but we're thinking it'll be before that and if not no biggie.  

On to the bank where we put the Money Pit dollars.  No plans to spend it anytime soon just nice to have a cush.  After that we were pretty much done and headed back home in time for lunch here at home.  

Nothing much except being at home and doing a few chores. 

Tuesday morning we awoke around 0600 and had our usual morning.  We stayed home all day and got some things done around the house. I decided to make some potato soup with a ham bone. Cooked the bone till the meat fell off. I cut up and heated some various vegetable to put in there too. It actually turned out pretty good.  Ken had some left over chili I had made the other day and I ate 1/2 cup of the soup with a salad.  

Potato, ham and veggie soup/stew...

We had a spaghetti squash to eat so I mentioned making spaghetti squash crust and pizza.  Ken went for that one.  I had all the things I needed so got them cut up and ready to be made. 

Ken's part..olives, mushrooms, oysters..mine, layered veggies..
It was yum!

In the afternoon Ken made his part and I made mine. When dinner time came we both enjoyed our parts of the pizza! YUM! 

Wednesday morning Ken ran to get the propane bottle filled for the trailer and he made a trip to the dump to get rid of some old tires. For breakfast I had found a recipe for almond flour biscuits..hmmm..I made them this am and they were really tasty. Ken had a bite and thought it was good too. I used egg beaters so the carbs and cholesterol were minimal.  Just what I'm looking for. They don't rise like regular biscuits, but that's ok with me. I'm just happy to have a biscuit! haha. 

Almond flour biscuits..yummy! Not like Grandmas makes
but it works..

Ken had the potato soup/stew for lunch this afternoon and he said it was good. This afternoon I made a veggie bake casserole, Ken barb qued some chicken thighs for him and I'll have a salad with the veggies. I sat outside with him while he cooked, but now we're inside and he just started a fire in the woodstove. It's getting cold out there. 

Veggie bake casserole..every veggie I can think of..a little cheese
and sour cream/yogurt mix..

Happy 8th Anniversary to our nephew Dusty and wife Chelsea! Cute couple and now they have those 2 adorable kids Owen and Cassidy...

Dusty and Chelsea 8 years ago..

Ken's brother Don had a couple of trees removed and it certainly opened up the views and the house looks awesome!  It's looking like we won't get to see it in person this year :(  Cornersville, TN! 

Nice and open to the sun now

Love this place! 

All of our blogging friends are in Quartzsite now..wish we were there! 
We'll know a week from tomorrow if we can head there and meet up even for a few days! We're hoping! 

Happy hour going on.  Hope everyone has a great evening! 

Happy Birthday Cheryl! Money Pit is gone! Nice lunch in CA

Saturday morning we set the alarm for 0330 so we could get ourselves ready and get on the road around 0500.  We actually left about 6 minutes early.  I made Ken two breakfast burritos and 2 egg beaters and cheese for me that we were going to eat on the road.  We haven't done fast food in a few years now and didn't want to do it now. 

Early morning drive..

We had a good drive over the hill taking highway 50 to Hazel Ave and then meandered our way to K.C.'s place in Rio Linda.  He was happy to see us and we enjoyed a nice visit with him, Sierra and little Rylee Mae.  She just turned 3 and is just adorable.  Unfortunately got too caught up in talking I didn't take any pictures :(   

The Money Pit once again lived up to its' name.  Ken went to start the truck to drive it off the trailer and the batteries were dead! Ken felt bad and K.C. just laughed.  Ken offered to deduct the price of new batteries from the price but K.C. wouldn't hear of it.  He knows he's getting what he wants and it was a good deal. Hugs all around and we headed out. 

On our way home...I80

Boreal Ski area..there were people on the slopes..

We headed over to Garcia's Mexican Restaurant where we were meeting Eric, Christina, Mason and his friend Jackson for lunch.  Adam showed up too. Hopefully next time we can meet up with Russell's family.  We had our favorite server, Chris who doesn't ask what we want to drink just shows up on the table. We had lovely conversation and a great meal. About 1400 we hugged and said our good byes.  

We headed home via I80 and got here about 1730.  Karen had called and they had a good fire going and invited us over.  It was a late Happy Hour or 4! A nice night with wonderful neighbors.  Home and to bed! 

Sunday morning we awoke close to 0700. All that fun last night made us tired! Our usual routine and then time for breakfast. Ken wanted his almond flour waffle and 2 fried eggs.  I tried a new low carb pancake recipe that was delicious.  This one included a little cream cheese in the batter. YUM. 

A slow day here at home. I got under the cabinets and cleaned some things out. A few other chores and now just hanging out watching some tv.  Ken's going to bar b q some hot links and I'm making broccoli tots..sounds yummy doesn't it. 

Jacob and his new to him car..

Mason and his cousin Natalie..she turned 14
last month and he turns 14 on the 31st..so they
combined parties last night with Christina's
family..

Cute pic of Mason and his mom, Christina

Tomorrow it looks like we'll be heading to Carson City to drop off our older Honda Generator and get it fixed. Be dropping by the bank to deposit the Money Pit $$$.  

Grandson Aaron 3rd from the Right..their team Rogue Select
won again!

Last, but not least Happy Birthday to our Daughter in law, Cheryl! Sounds like she had a pretty good day with a Mexican Lunch and a new heated throw she's enjoying this afternoon! 

Have a wonderful evening!