Back in Vegas ... Chores … Ready to Go Again

Yeah, that’s me painting with a scowl on my face … more paint on me than the bench.

After being away for nearly a month, it was both good and bad to return to Las Vegas. There’s no doubt in my mind that I prefer traveling to just about anything. There’s a certain amount of relief and satisfaction, however, to be able unpack, do laundry, sleep in our own bed, hang out in our own room, see the sibs, and make whatever we like for dinner because we set the menu and the pub doesn’t. And then there’s the mundane stuff that requires attention that we’ve kind of forgotten about for the past month, like paying bills, doing yard work, general housecleaning and repairs and maintenance that have been put off till autumn. You know the drill. I must admit, I miss autumn in New England, but it’s pretty good weather here in Las Vegas at this time of year.

Yard work has consisted mainly of yard clean-up, some pruning, shaping and thinning and a few new plants … another lavender to replace one that died due to a faulty drip sprinkler head and a lantana to add some color to the front yard. The prickly pear that was suffering from mealy worms is doing much better … I knew you were wondering, so I thought I’d allay your concerns. My pumpkins and David’s melons in the backyard all fizzled out during our absence (or perhaps during a previous absence) … due to lack of attention and desert heat. I just pulled out the remains, may they all rest in peace. We’ll have to figure out some desert plants for next year. We’ve been doing some miscellaneous paint touch-ups on the deck and a garden bench.

While we’ve been busy finishing up Thames Path/England blogs and updating the website, we’ve also been busy with house stuff. We still, of course, walk every morning and now, three days a week, instead of walking the golf course, we walk to the local gym (Planet Fitness), work out for 30-45 minutes and then walk back home. We’re not fitness nuts by any stretch of the imagination. We like walking, but have determined that we’re losing muscle mass as we age, so we’re trying to curb that tendency a bit. Nothing outrageous, mostly upper body strengthening and toning. A slow process.

We’ve also been designing a kitchen remodel (yikes!), updating the family room furniture (it’s about time), figuring out what’s next in Blue’s upfit schedule and, most importantly, planning our next trip. We’ve pretty much determined it will be Arizona … not too far away, still relatively warm, several good trails and beautiful scenery.

That’s the new, very small lantana in the left forefront … the rest is Paul’s handiwork to decorate our xeriscape yard for Hallowe’en.

Halloween is just around the corner and since we enjoy celebrating this holiday, we’ll stick around till early November before heading out again. Not sure how we’ll celebrate, but I’m sure costumes and face paint will be involved.

And you? What’s going on in your lives this Autumn (or Spring for our friends below the Equator)? Have you got lists of thing to do? Places to go? People to see? If you read this blog, you know what’s happening in our lives. Let us hear from you once in awhile so we know what’s happening in yours.

Since we’re back home for awhile, we’ll limit our blogs to Mondays, Wednesdays and David’s Blue View on Saturday. Happy Autumn!