Wicked Weather February

Hello again.  Our last episode concluded on Wednesday, January 31^st.  Hard to believe that the first month of the new year is already over.  The 1^st was a stay at home day for me.  Jackie had a hair cut in the late afternoon.  We went to happy hour and then had dinner.  We spent the rest of the night watching the TV after I was done with my hour of security patrol.  Friday I had a 10:00 meeting of the By Laws Committee which took a couple of hours.  We then left about 3:30 and drove to the Elks Lodge for dinner.  Our friend Phyliss was cooking tonight and she made chicken fajitas.  We had eleven people from the park for dinner, which was a good turnout.  Our group was about half of the entire group that came.  We had some cocktails before dinner, then enjoyed dinner.  We were back home by about 7:00.  I did my security tour at 8:00, then we spent the remainder of the evening watching TV. 

Saturday, February 3^rd  was another stay at home day.  I was able to get some office work done, including finishing up our 2023 tax return and getting it electronically submitted to the IRS.  We went to happy hour and then had dinner.  I did my last tour of security tonight, then we watched the TV until bedtime.  Sunday we went to the 2:00 social hour and then played some left,right,center afterwards.  After the games we did a grocery run.  After we got home we had dinner, then watched TV for the rest of the night. 

Monday, February 5^th, happy birthday to me, the big 77.  We had another stay at home day.  We have had rain since Saturday afternoon and today it was raining hard all day long.  It’s a good thing that our trailer is on a little rise in the lot, because we have a lake all around us.  The weather was so miserable we even cancelled happy hour because of the rain.  We spent the night on the couch watching TV.  Tuesday it was still raining, although not quite as hard.  We had a 1:00 meeting of the Silver Seekers Board in the clubhouse, which was the workshop session.  After that we went home for a while, then came back for happy hour.  We had some cake and celebrated by birthday a day late with the happy hour group.  After that we went home for dinner, the watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, February 7^th, our 20^th wedding anniversary.  Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  We also had the first visit of our new housekeeper, Margarita.  She does a number of other places here at the park and we have arranged for her to come in every other week for a cleaning.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then about 5:30 we left to go to the Pour House for an anniversary dinner.  Our friends Lee and Kim Grissom went with us.  We had a very nice dinner and then stayed for a hour or so at the karaoke that they have there on Wednesdays.  After that we went home, watched a little TV, and went to bed.  Thursday was another anniversary of sorts, the 25^th anniversary of Jackie and I reuniting after 22 years of not seeing each other.  We had a 9:00 town hall meeting, which we zoomed from home.  At 1:00 we had the Silver Seekers open Board meeting, which went a little less than an hour.  Jackie then had a 3:00 dental appointment and made it back not to long after I went over the clubhouse for happy hour.  The rain has finally stopped with Pahrump supposedly getting just under two inches of rain since Saturday.  We had hamburgers for dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Friday, February 9^th, Jackie went to the clubhouse to play cards about 11:00.  I did some work around the trailer.  After she was done we went out for a late lunch at a fast food place called Teriyaki Madness.  They have been open for over a year, but we haven’t gotten around to trying them.  The food, which is mostly bowls, with rice, veggies and meat.  I had the steak and Jackie had the chicken and we both loved the food.  We will be back.  After lunch we stopped for some groceries, then headed back home.  At 4:30 we went to happy hour, then stayed for Bingo.  Unlike last week we didn’t have much luck.  I did win one regular game, but had to split the pot, so $6.  We still had fun.  After bingo we went home and watched TV until it was time for bed.  Saturday Jackie went out about 11:00 for a ladies lunch and I stayed home and did some office work.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and spent the night with the TV.

Sunday, February 11^th, Super Bowl Sunday.  Of course, everyone knows that Super Bowl 58 was in Las Vegas.  We had a super bowl party at the clubhouse that started about 2:30 or so.  The Silver Seekers served hot dogs and chips, with chili or sauerkraut available as well.  Other people brought other snacks.  We had about 50 people at kickoff, about evenly divided between San Francisco and Kansas City fans.  I had a $1 a square pool going for the group.  Thanks to piss poor performance by the offense on both teams I won the first quarter for $20 with a score of 0-0.  The second and third quarters were won by our friend Don Klein, $20 each.  He won both quarters with the same square, but different scores.  He had 3-0 and the score at the end of the second quarter was 10-3, and then the end of the third it was 10-13.  Our friend Joyce won the $40 final prize.  After the game we cleaned up and went home and watched a little TV until bedtime.

Monday, February 12^th, we had an 11:30 dine out at El Jefe Mexican restaurant with the Lucky Rollers camping group.  We had about 20 people at that one.  After lunch we stopped and checked on our sick golf cart (still being worked on) and then did a grocery run.  After we got home we did happy hour, then went home for dinner and night with the TV.  Tuesday was pretty much a stay at home day.  I had a short meeting in the clubhouse at 1:00 and Jackie had a nail appointment at 3:00.  I went to happy hour on my own because Jackie was busy with her nails.  Later we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Wednesday, February 14^th, Happy Valentines Day and happy birthday to my granddaughter Courtney, whose middle name is obviously Valentine.  Today was a busy day.  Before lunch I took all of my audio equipment over the clubhouse to get it set up for the Valentines party tonight.  Jackie had her Pokeno, which started at 12:00 today to allow time for people to prepare for tonight’s potluck dinner.  My friend Len came over about the same time for our weekly jam session and practice.  Jackie made a taquito casserole for the potluck after she got home from Pokeno and we went over the clubhouse about 3:30 to help set things up.  The potluck started at 4:00 and we had about 35 people show up, which is good, but not great.  We had a lot of good food and most of us over-indulged.  About 5:00 I started playing some dance music, mostly romantic songs.  Unfortunately, a large number of people left the party early and even the ones who hung in and danced a little were ready to go home at 6:30.  We cleaned up and packed up our stuff and went home where we spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Thursday we had a Co-op Board meeting at 9:00, so we got up early and went over for it.  It was an interesting meeting with a fairly decent turnout, at least for this park, about 45 people.  After the meeting we went home and spent the rest of the day around the house doing chores.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then went home for dinner.  We spent the remainder of the night with the TV.

Friday, February 16^th, we left the park about 11:00 and headed over to Las Vegas.  I had a appointment with an orthopedic doctor about my hip.  A couple of years ago I noticed that if I walked for any long distance, or tried to walk faster than a normal gait, my right hip would start hurting.  It would also hurt if I was standing for a long period of time.  I mentioned it to my primary care doctor and he sent me for an Xray, which showed that I had some early arthritis starting in the ball joint of the hip.  Over the roughly two years since then it has started getting worse, starting to hurt when I walk or stand at all and aching sometimes at night.  I decided to go to an orthopedist to get checked.  When I got into the doctor at Desert Orthopedic Center in Las Vegas he had another Xray taken and then sat down and told me that the arthritis was advancing and that parts of the joint are now bone on bone, which is causing the pain.  He said there is no cure for arthritis and nothing can be done to fix the diminished cartilage in the joint.  He said the only thing to do is have a hip replacement, which is really just a replacement of the ball and socket joint.  He said it was up to me to decide when to do it, which is when it gets so bad I need to have it done.  He took time to explain the surgery and the recovery process and said just come back whenever I was ready.  After the doctor visit we stopped and did some shopping, then headed back over the hill to home.  We didn’t get home in time for happy hour, so we just had dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, February 17^th, we were up early again, this time to have breakfast at a food truck which the Silver Seekers association had set up to come into the park.  I had biscuits and gravy and Jackie had a biscuit and sausage with gravy.  The food was pretty good, although really rich and a little spicey.  I also ordered a pulled pork sandwich for later.  When I had the sandwich for a late lunch I was not as happy with it as I was with breakfast.  I would not have the pulled pork again.  I spent the day doing chores and office work around the house.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and did some pork chops in the instapot.  They turned out pretty good.  After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.  Sunday we went out for lunch Teriyaki Madness about noon, then did some shopping.  We are looking for a small cabinet to put in the shed.  After we got back we invited our friends Max and Nancy to come over for a small happy hour on our patio.  Today was a really nice day and we thought it would be good to get together with friends.  After that we had dinner then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Monday, February 19^th, Presidents Day.  Today was a stay at home day.  We did a few things around the house, but mostly just stayed in.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home for dinner and the rest of the evening with the TV.  Tuesday was busier.  I left about 8:30 to go down to the Nye County Planning and Zoning office to do some research on our RV park.  I wanted to see what we are actually zoned as and if there are any restrictions.  I need this info for my work on the By Laws Committee.  I didn’t get any answers, but they told me they would email me the results of my records request.  We went to the clubhouse at 12:30 for another Silver Seekers lunch.  This time Don made hot turkey sandwiches, with mashed potatoes and gravy.  I was, unfortunately, a dreary and rainy day, so not as many people showed up as we expected.  It was still very good.  Right after lunch we went to Walmart so I could get my eye exam at the optometrist and we needed a few groceries.  I had my exam, but the doctor told me that the change from my existing prescription was very minor and that, in her opinion, my cataracts are to the point where fixing them is the only thing that is going to clear up my vision.  I have an ophthalmologist appointment in a couple of months, so we will see.  We got home to late for happy hour so we just had diner and spent the night on the couch watching TV.

Wednesday, February 21^st, we were out of the house by 9:45, heading to Las Vegas so I could go to the urologist for a checkup on an issue with one of my testicles.  The doctor told me what it was and said the issue was usually not anything to be concerned about and fairly common.  He did give me an order for an ultrasound just to make sure there is nothing unusual going on.  I can have that done in Pahrump.  After the doctor we had lunch at a place called the Crab Corner, which is just down the street from the doctor’s office.  It is primarily a sea food place and the food was quite good.  I had fish and chips and Jackie had grilled Mahi Mahi, which was also good.  We had a calamari appetizer which was not as good as some we have had, but it was OK.  After lunch we did some shopping at a couple of the local Goodwill stores.  Both of us got a few bargains in the process.  We then headed back over the hump and got back in time for happy hour at 4:00.  We then went home and relaxed for the rest of the night.  Tuesday Jackie went to play cards in the clubhouse and our new housekeeper came to clean.  Len came over for guitar practice which we missed on Wednesday because of our Vegas trip.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home, had dinner and watched TV the rest of the night.

Friday, February 23^rd, I had a 10:00 meeting with the By Laws Committee which went until about 12:30.  We then went out for a late lunch and did some shopping at Walmart.  At 3:30 we both got haircuts, then came back home.  We went to happy hour about 4:30 and then stayed for Bingo.  Neither of us won anything tonight.  About 8:00 we were done so we went home and spent the night with the TV.  Saturday we had a stay at home day.  At 3:30 we went over to the clubhouse for a 4:00 pot luck dinner and then at 5:00 I did a trivia contest.  We had about 30 people participating and had a really good time.  We were back home by 7:30 or so and watched TV the rest of the night.

Sunday, February 25^th, we left the park about 11:00 headed down to Laughlin, Nevada, for a mini-vacation.  When we were down in Laughlin in October with the Lucky Rollers RV group here at the park, we stayed at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort for the three days we were there.  Since we don’t have a movable RV anymore, but still like to have fun with the group, we have to get a hotel room.  Of course, we gambled some at the Riverside during the three days.  Ever since I have been getting “rewards” from the players club offering two free nights at the hotel.  I have been getting one every month.  We were supposed to go for two nights back in January, but then the big storm blew in so we cancelled and rescheduled for this month.  We stopped in Vegas at a Subway shop for lunch.  We had a gift card for $15, which, ironically, we had won at the Lucky Rollers campout in October.  We continued down and got into Laughlin about 2:30 or so.  Since we probably couldn’t get into the room this early, we went over to the Tropicana casino and gamble for a while.  We also joined their slot club to get points because our friends, the Sullivan’s, always get free offers from the Tropicana for rooms.  After a little gaming we went over to the Riverside and checked into our room.  This time they gave us a river view room.  After a little rest we went downstairs and gambled for a while.  About 6:30 we went to the Prime Rib room where we had a wonderful prime rib dinner with all the fixings.  It’s a good thing the room has a small fridge, because we had leftovers.  After dinner we gambled some more, finally getting up to the room around 11:00. 

Monday, February 26^th, we slept in and relaxed and finally got out of the room around 11:30.  We drove to the River Lodge hotel and casino down the road.  This used to be Gold Town casino years back.  We were there to meet Jackie’s cousin, Ron Kopf, who she refers to as her nephew, for lunch.  He and his wife and kids live in Fresno, California, and we used to visit them almost every year or so when we traveled around California.  Ron and his wife are going through a rough patch, so he is living with his mom in Bullhead City, right across the Colorado River from Laughlin.  His mother is a real estate agent and he is working as an assistant and handyman for the company.  We couldn’t get into the River Lodge restaurant, so we went a little further to Harrah’s for lunch.  We had a very nice lunch and talked for almost two hours before Ron had to go.  After lunch we went across to Bullhead City and went to Sam’s Club for a couple of things, and then to the Goodwill.  I got a couple of shirts at the Goodwill, but Jackie struck out this trip.  We also stopped at the Bullhead City Elks for a drink.  We haven’t been to this Elks since before we went full time in 2005.  At that time we came here a couple of times with the Indio Elks RV club.  At that time we had a small class C motor home.  After the Elks we went back to the room and rested for a little while.  We then went back over to the Tropicana and gambled for a couple of hours.  We also had dinner there in their Brew House restaurant.  We had both gotten a $10 food credit when we signed up for the players club card, so dinner was cheap.  After dinner we went back over to the Riverside and gambled until about 10:30 when we went up to the room and went to bed.

Tuesday, February 27^th, we checked out of the hotel about 11:00, went down to the car and started back towards Pahrump.  We stopped at the Denny’s in Searchlight for lunch, then got into Pahrump about 2:15.  Jackie had a 3:00 nail appointment, so I dropped her off and went home and unpacked.  I picked her up a little after 4:00 and we went to El Jefe’s Mexican restaurant to meet with others from our park for the monthly dine-out event.  There were not too many people there because the Lucky Rollers had also scheduled a visit to a local winery earlier in the afternoon.  We had a nice dinner, then went home and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.  Wednesday Jackie had her Pokeno at 1:00 and my friend Len came over for guitar practice.  We went to happy hour at 4:00, then came home and had dinner.  We spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Thursday, February 29^th, Leap Day.  Jackie had to go to the clubhouse at 10:00 to help decorate for St Patrick’s Day and Easter.  I had a 9:45 dermatologist appointment.  I got the usual nitrogen spray on a couple of areas and he cut out one small lesion on the chest that he suspected was an early skin cancer.  They will do a biopsy and then let me know if I need to come back to have them carve out a little more.  I spent the rest of the doing chores as did Jackie.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then came home for dinner and another night with the TV.

We are now at the end of February and sneaking up on Spring.  Yea.  Time to close this chapter and get it online.  Bye for now.