Kelsey's "things" arrived via ABF truck lines on Friday, but we couldn't get them until today. We loaded everything on a U-Haul and in my car and are in the process of unloading some things at home and some things in a storage unit. It was a lot easier having Dave to help on this end! What a great experience we had.

Houses to close together! I thought our yard is small, but this is tiny.

I went back to work today but I was inside doing paperwork all day. Whew! So, this is a pot I bought in Albuquerque. I like it.

We have a few rose bushes in our back yard, but they usually don't do to well. Happily, we have one rose today that is perfect!

I had no photos for today, but I did talk to Erik via Skype! He's in Greece right now waiting for another YWAM Outreach group to join the boat. Then they will be sailing to Bulgaria where the outreach will stay for two months. Erik and two others from the boat will stay in Bulgaria with them, helping establish relationships between Bulgaria and Youth With A Mission. Hopefully he'll be able to come home for a visit in August. Erik is in this photo on the beach in Greece.

There were so, so, so many wind generators in western Texas and eastern New Mexico! Large, huge, big blades slowly turning around and around generating electricity for all to use. Acres upon acres of wind generators - a beautiful site. You can see some on the hill top on yesterday's photo. This is a different type of wind generator that was at a truck stop in New Mexico, or Texas. The silver bands rotate around the axis. Wonderful use of a free resource!

Retirement, fun, enjoy, rest, explore, slow down, speed up, reflect, live. My aunt and uncle bought their retirement home on Lake Sweetwater in west Texas oh, must be over 30 years ago. This is the lake. But the lake has not always been here. It was there when they bought their home, then it dried out for many years. More land, no lake. Now it's back, now he's to old to fish. Sad. But, he had many years on this lake. They are good, it was really wonderful seeing them again.

What vacation is without a trip to a neat mall? Today Kelsey and I had a kind of short travel day so we stopped off at the North Park Mall in Dallas for a few hours. We got some needed exercise, of couse. Now, that's some kind of mall! We are in Sweetwater, Texas tonight because tomorrow we're going to visit my Aunt and Uncle who live on Lake Sweetwater. We haven't seen them for about four years. It's been a great trip so far!

Crisp Morning

Since we traveled ALL day today I didn't get any photos taken. This was taken outside Kelsey's apartment the last morning we were there. It was about 32 degrees F. We're in Texarkana tonight, it's humid and warm. It was a great traveling day. We have a book on tape, Adam by Ted Dekker and are enjoying listening to it.

Today was the big moving day. We loaded the U-Haul yesterday, then took the U-Haul to Belpre, Ohio and took everything down the ramp of the U-Haul and up the ramp of the ABF semi. We only used 4 feet of the semi and were charged only for the space we used. Her stuff should arrive in Las Vegas on Thursday or Friday. So much easier than using a U-Haul across the country! Now we're in Elizabethtown, KY for the night heading home. We're having a great time!

Moving day

This is Kelsey and her friend Derrick who helped us load all of her belongings down from her third floor apartment into a U-Haul. We're taking her stuff to Belbre, Oh tomorrow, loading them onto a semi which will take them to Las Vegas. No, not that much stuff, we're using a partial load shipping method. Much better than taking it all ourselves.

Contrasts

I went for a walk this afternoon in Athens, Ohio, from my daughter's apartment. It's a beautiful day. I was amazed at the contrast of time here, all in one walk.

Linda and I made salsa. We chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic and cilantro, soaked chili peppers and put them in the blender, cooked everything and canned it. The liquid is hot sauce. It was really fun and we spent a lot of time laughing together! Now I'm in Athens, Ohio with Kelsey and I miss her already. Sisters are great to have!

It has been so much fun visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Elizabeth, Indiana. Here we are at French Lick Resort, a beautiful old resort known for its healing water springs. Tomorrow we leave for Kelsey's in Athens, Ohio. What a great family I have! (Things that make me smile)

This morning I was sitting on the deck of my sister's house on a lake in the country in southern Indiana watching a menagerie of various birds and listening to the very pleasant cacophony of the geese, ducks, woodpeckers and a bunch of varous other birds calling to eachother in the wild. What a difference from the constant drum of noise of the city. This is a red headed woodpecker happily getting food from a tree. Oh, what a pleasant place to be!

Today I flew United Airlines from Las Vegas to Chicago to Louisville. This is the plane from Las Vegas to Chicago. Yes, that's me in the cockpit! I'll tell you, Project 365 has made me much bolder in asking for pictures. Actually, I just asked to take a picture of the cockpit and the pilot offered to take one of me sitting there! Nice people, and great flight! I'm at my sister and brother-in-law's now in Elizabeth Indiana. It is sooooo good to see them again.

This is the picture of the cockpit I took first. It was 5:30 am.

I'm saying goodbye to palm trees and warm (relatively so) weather and heading to Louisville Ky then Athens, Oh for a week and a half. I'll try to keep up with my posts, they will not be from Las Vegas, though.

Ha ha........ This is my first attempt at using Photoshop! Pretty rough, but I did it. I got the template from designerdigitalls.com for free. I actually did it last night, but I finished so late it was likely this morning. What fun.

Today I had to go out to Lake Las Vegas to finish up a case I have out there. Lake Las Vegas is a snazzy resort community south east of town; Celine Dion lived out there while she was a performer here in town. Unfortunately, Lake Las Vegas is in a state of bankruptcy, bad times all over. One of their three golf courses has been totally shut down; beautiful club house (castle like) and all! Owned by the bank now, I suppose. Sad to see. The first photo is from one of the golf course maintenance facilities. The second photo is a section of the Las Vegas Wash which carries water from Las Vegas to Lake Mead. We were investigating some dumping while in Lake Las Vegas which took us into the country. Always a great reason to investigate illegal dumping!

Well, our bees in the sofa (see March 5th) have found a new home. My supervisor found a bee keeper who came out over the weekend and moved the bees, then took away the sofa. This small piece of perfectly symmetrical honeycomb was one of two that were the only thing left of the bees. I am glad that someone cared enough for these incredible insects to save them.

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
2 Samuel 32:21

His Holy Name Challenge #5 - Creator

It's almost time to put away the blankets. I don't know what is nicer, sleeping under warm blankets, snuggling up to keep warm, or being able to sit outside, drinking coffee in the morning, listening to birds and enjoying the sunrise. Both are heartwarming.




Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
Ecclesiastes 4:10-12

A week from tomorrow I'll be flying to Louisville to see my sister and brother-in-law and then on to Kelsey's in Ohio. Woo hoo!

Today I was wandering around about 20 acres of land filled with dirt/rock piles, construction debris, tossed out furniture, wood, all kinds of junk. This sofa was very interesting; it had bees flying around it! I looked inside and found a small honeycomb. When I got the camera into the car and saw the picture I was totally amazed. The whole inside of the sofa is honeycombs! The second picture is the inside, see the bees? Absolutely unreal! They say we have a lot of bees this spring. Well, I guess so!



How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:103

I believe these are adobe bricks. There was a long line of them along the fence by a very rural, bumpy road. The home on the property looked like it could have been adobe, although it was very modern. Adobe homes are supposed to allow for much more insulation in hot climates but not much durability in any type of seismic action, which we do have a bit of here. Well, I thought these were pretty cool!

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." Psalm 127:1

This was the sky this morning from the parking lot at work. If you look closely you can see colors at the edges of the fingers. It was really an awesome way to start the day!

"Where can I go from your spirit?... If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7,9-10

Fremont Street continued

On January 31st I gave you a glimpse of Fremont East, downtown Las Vegas. Here is the continuation of that part of Fremont Street that is going through revitalization. The signs have name placards on the posts; the shoe is "Ruby Slipper", the lady is "Lucky Lady", then there is "Viva Vegas" and "Oscar's Martini". Oscar Goodman is our Mayor who loves his martinis. Of course, these look better at night!

Now, I have never liked going to the mall. But here in Las Vegas going to the mall can be an extraordinary experience! Today Dave and I went to Miracle Mile in Planet Hollywood on the Strip. Yes, all these buildings are inside, the sky is fake.




Then we came upon a pond that was fogging up. As we watched the pond it started to rain from the sky! Then lightening and thunder! Only in Vegas can you go to such elaborate malls. I enjoy the mall in Ceaser's Palace as well, but that might be another day!