Hot July in Pahrump - and most other places too

Hi there, welcome back.  Our last chapter concluded on Monday, July 3^rd, while we were hunkering down in sunny, hot Pahrump.  Tuesday was July 4^th, happy birthday America!  We went to the clubhouse about 1:00 for a BBQ potluck.  We didn’t bring anything to BBQ, but rather made chicken sandwiches with leftovers from yesterday’s Costco chicken.  We made a bowl of mac and cheese for the potluck part.  Good thing we didn’t do BBQ, it took everyone who was forever because the grills were not working right.  No one thought to check them the day prior.  We had a good turnout, about two dozen people, and had a good time.  After the get-together we went home and relaxed for the rest of the day and evening.

Wednesday, July 5^th, Jackie had her usual Pokeno game at 1:00 and my friend Len came over and we jammed on out guitars for a couple of hours.  After Len left and Jackie came home, we just relaxed.  Did some chores and watched TV.  We had chicken enchiladas (still Costco leftovers) then watched TV until bedtime.  Thursday Jackie had a manicure at 1:30. After I dropped her off, I went and window shopped at Home Depot for a while.  After she was done with her nails, we did a Walmart run and then headed home.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then went back home and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Friday, July 7^th, Jackie went out about 1:00 for a girl’s lunch at Artesian Cellars.  While she was gone, I did some office work and played on my music for a while.  After she got home we went to happy hour, then home and the TV for the rest of the night.  Saturday was also a stay at home day.  Did a few little chores and happy hour.  Sunday we went out about 1:00 for a late lunch at the Pour House, the Indian restaurant that Jackie likes which also has great pizza.  After lunch we went to the Pahrump Nugget casino for some gaming.  We spent about an hour, but didn’t have any luck.  Both of us lost our $40 stake.  After that we went home and relaxed with the TV the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Monday, July 10^th, was another stay at home day.  Did a few chores around the house, some laundry and such.  Even broke out the Skibo cards for a game in the afternoon.  We did go to happy hour, there were five of us there today.  We have finalized our plans and booking for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii in February of next year.  Right now we have almost the same people from the park going that went with us on the Panama Canal trip last February.  Us, Charlene and Joyce, Don and Julie, Linda and Jim, and the newest members of the cruise group, Max and Nancy.  Sue and Dale may sign up, haven’t heard from them yet.  After happy hour we did some pork loin in the Insta-pot, then watched TV until bedtime.  Tuesday we had another MASA luncheon at the China Wok buffet.  We listened to our friend Chuck give his 30 minute spiel about MASA, an emergency transport insurance program that we have been lifetime members of since 2007.  After the talk we had a nice lunch.  After lunch we stopped at the medical center so Jackie could see if she could get in to see our primary care doctor because she was feeling shaky and had occasional low blood pressure.  They couldn’t get her in and she doesn’t like the Nurse Practitioners that are at our center, so we came home.  We had happy hour at 4:00, which was down to four now because Charlene is back home with family in Massachusetts for a while.  After happy hour we came home and watched TV for the rest of the night.  I also did my second night of security.

Wednesday, July 12^th, was a stay at home day.  Jackie went to play Pokeno at 1:00 and I went into the man cave and did some office work and played music for a while.  After Pokeno we went over to our friend Millie’s trailer to check on things and water her plants.  She is out traveling until late September.  I did discover that one of her air conditioners, which she has set at 90 while she is gone, was not working right.  The compressor was running, but the fan was not.  Since the other A/C was working OK, I shut the other one down.  We went to happy hour, then home for green chili pork burritos for dinner.  After dinner we watched TV and I did my last night of security for this month.  Thursday the guy who installed our window shade screens a few months ago came by to fix one which had come loose.  We went out after lunch to do some shopping.  After we got home we did happy hour, then had dinner and watched TV until it was time for bed.

Friday we stayed around the house most of the day, doing a few chores and relaxing.  About 3:30 we changed clothes and drove to the Elks Lodge for the lodge’s anniversary dinner and show.  Dinner was at 5:00, but we wanted to go early, get a good seat, have a cocktail at the bar and gamble a bit.  Dinner was great, it was ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies, with a salad and dessert.  More than enough to eat.  After dinner we had the show, which was put on by Bill Watson, an acquaintance of ours who has his own little show that he takes around to various venues in town, the senior center, the various fraternal and veterans groups, that sort of thing.  He has three dancers he calls the “Glam Girls” who also dance with a local group called the Silver Tappers.  They are all over 50, some in their 70’s, and they put on shows all over town.  Bill is an accomplished singer and he also has added our friend Phyliss Howell to his group.  They put on a pretty good show.  By 8:00 we were on our way home.  After we got home we watched TV for a while and went to bed.  Saturday we didn’t do much because of the excessive heat warning.  We are close to 115 today.  We did take a drive to Shoshone, California, the closest California town to Pahrump, about 30 miles.  They have the closest market that sells lottery tickets for the two national lotteries, the PowerBall and the MegaMillions.  Nevada is one of the only two States that do not have a lottery, the other being Hawaii.  In Nevada it’s actually in the State Constitution that there can be no legal lottery.  Both of the national lotteries are well over 500 million, so we decided to take an air conditioned hour car ride to buy some tickets.  Can’t win if you don’t play!  After we got back we just relaxed until happy hour, played some cards and watched TV.  After our four person happy hour we came home, had dinner and watched TV until we went to bed.

Sunday was a stay at home day.  We didn’t win the big bucks last night, but neither did anyone else.  We went to the ice cream social at 2:00 in the clubhouse and visited with folks for a while.  After that we came home and just relaxed.  Played some cards and watched TV.  I made some stuffed peppers for dinner and after dinner we watched TV.  Monday was mostly a stay at home day.  I did have to go out twice on quick trips to one of the nearby banks on some park business.  Even though I am no longer a member of the Board of Directors, I am still a signatory on all the Co-op accounts and one of the few still in the park during the summer.  We had a couple of CDs coming up which we had to cash in to redistribute the funds to be sure we didn’t exceed the insurance limits for any one bank.  Other than that we stayed home and relaxed.  We did happy hour with the group at 4:00, then came home and had dinner before watching TV for the evening.

Tuesday, July 18^th, we went out after lunch and did a Walmart run, then we went to the nail salon so Jackie could get a pedicure and I got my nails trimmed.  After we were done with nails we went home and then to happy hour.  After happy hour we had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.  Wednesday was a stay at home day.  Jackie was supposed to go play Pokeno at 1:00, but she had a bout of vertigo and was wobbling a lot, so she decided to stay home.  I went out and got some meclizine, the seasickness medicine, which helps with vertigo.  I also went out later and got some KFC for dinner.  I went to happy hour, but Jackie was still a little shaky.  After dinner we watched TV an then went to bed.

Thursday, July 20^th, we left the park about 10:30 so we could go get haircuts.  I got just a trim and Jackie got a complete haircut.  After the haircut we stopped at the nail salon so Jackie could get a broken nail fixed.  We then went next door to the ChatThai Bistro for lunch.  After a great lunch we ran a couple of errands and did some shopping.  After that we headed home.  We did happy hour at 4:00, then came home and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Friday I went out about 9:30 after a quick shower to meet my son Roy Jr. in town.  Roy is working for the concessioner in Death Valley National Park to the Stovepipe Wells resort area.  He had worked there for the season last year, but hired on this year as a full time employee.  His primary job is shuttle driver for the staff.  He does daily mail runs between the various park facilities and drives people into Pahrump for shopping and errands.  He was making a run to Walmart and Home Depot this morning.  After he dropped his passengers off at Walmart he and I went to Denny’s for lunch.  We had a nice visit, about an hour or so, before he had to leave and pick up his people and run the other errands.  It was nice to see him in person after about four months.  After lunch I went home and we spent the rest of the day in the house trying to stay cool.  About 4:30 we went to happy hour.  We went a little late so we could just stay over in the clubhouse for Bingo at 5:30.  I won one of the bingo games, basically getting my entry fee back, so I played for free.  We had a fun time and afterwards went home watched a little TV and went to bed.

Saturday, July 22^nd, my daughter Tracie’s birthday as well as my eldest great grandchild, Kerstinrainer.  Unfortunately, I am estranged from both of them, but happy birthday anyway.  Today was a quiet, stay at home day.  Did some chores, played some games, did Jackie’s highlights in her hair.  I went to happy hour because Jackie took a late shower and didn’t want to dry her hair.  Afterwards we had dinner then watched TV for the rest of the night.  Sunday we relaxed in the morning.  We went to the Sunday Social in the clubhouse at 2:00 and had root beer floats.  After the social we drove into town to Smith’s to do some grocery shopping.  After shopping we headed home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.  We did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Monday, July 24^th, we stayed home for most of the day.  We did go out about 2:00 to take Jackie to a doctor’s appointment.  She had been trying to get in to see our primary physician for a couple of weeks and our insurance company finally got her an appointment.  Most of the things she wanted to talk about had passed, but it was still an informative session that Jackie needed.  Just being heard by your doctor is important.  After the doctor we ran a couple errands, then headed back to the park.  We went to happy hour and then home for dinner.  After dinner we spent the night with the TV.  Tuesday I was up early to go to the clubhouse to set up the Zoom equipment for an informal “Coffee with the Board” meeting at 9:00.  The meeting was pretty short, without a lot of discussion and by 10:30 I was back home.  We spent the day in and around the house.  At 3:30 we went to the monthly dine-out with about 10 other people at Nicco’s, an Italian place here in Pahrump.  We had a great dinner and talk with friends.  After we got home we just watched TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, July 26^th, Jackie went to play Pokeno at 1:00 in the clubhouse and my friend Len came over and we jammed with our guitars for almost 2 hours.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 then came home and had dinner.  After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.  Thursday went out after lunch and did some shopping and other errands.  After we got back we did happy hour, then came home and had fried stuffed cabbage for dinner.  After dinner we watched TV and then off to bed.  Friday we left the park about 10:30 and drove to the South Pointe Casino in Las Vegas to go to a movie.  This is the first time in about a year that we have gone out to see a movie in a theater.  We arrived at the South Pointe, which is on the far south end of the strip, and parked in the garage.  This casino is nice in that on the third floor they have a number of electric car plug-in stations.  Fortunately, there was one open when we pulled in so we plugged in the car and went inside.

The movie we went to see today was a new release called “Talk to Me.”  It was a horror movie involving a group of young people who come into possession of what they say is a porcelain coated embalmed hand that provides a link to the spirit world.  They light a candle, which supposedly opens the door to the world, then one of them grasps the hand and says, “talk to me” at which time a random spirit appears before them.  Only the one holding the hand can see the spirit, but almost all of the other kids in the room have done this before and know that the one on the hand is actually seeing a spirit, because they all did too.  Then the subject has to say, I let you in.  The spirit then enters the subject and they go into all sorts of contortions.  According to the story line you may only stay connected for 90 seconds or less, otherwise the spirit becomes permanently housed in the subject.  So, after the minute and half the group pulls the hand loose, which pulls the spirit out, then blows out the candle, which closes the door.  It’s all fun and games for the group until the youngest 15 year old begs to do it and connects with the spirit of his sister’s best friend’s mother, who killed herself.  The sister’s friend starts talking to the spirit and ends up making the contact last longer than the 90 minutes, so even after they finally pull the hand away the sprit is no inside the kid.  The rest of the movie has to do with trying to get rid of the spirit.  It was a good scary movie, kind of a difficult plot to follow, but still good.  It was also an Australian movie, which meant the accents got a little thick sometimes.  All in all a good scary flick.  After the movie we gamed for an hour or so before leaving the casino.  We stopped for a late lunch, early dinner at a Greek restaurant, and then headed over the hump to home.  We got back a little after 5:00 after a fun day.  We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Saturday, July 29^th, was a stay at home day.  Got a few chores done, relaxed for a bit.  We did happy hour and then home for dinner.  We then watched TV until bedtime.  Today our new countertop NuWave oven was delivered.  We bought it to set up outside on the enclosed patio so we could bake things in the summertime without having to use the oven in the house.  We hope it works and will probably try it out tomorrow.  Sunday, we relaxed in the morning with the paper and coffee.  We went to 2:00 Sunday Social for ice cream.  After the social we did a quick Walmart run for a couple of things we needed.  After we got home, we had a quick dinner then watched TV for the rest of the night.

Monday, July 31^st, I took Jackie to a manicure appointment about 1:00.  We actually had measurable rain this morning and it looked like we might have some on and off all day.  I went back home and did some chores and played some games while Jackie got her nails done.  She was done around 3:00 so I went and picked her up and then we went to happy hour.  After happy hour we came back to the trailer and made dinner.  We did a chili relleno casserole in the new outside oven and it turned out great.  After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.

This marks the end of the month, time to get the blog published.  Until next time, be good.  Bye.