Viva Las Vegas!

We were offered an incredibly cheap trip to Vegas a few months back, and, of course, jumped at it (when have you ever known me to actually turn down a trip, much less a cheap one??). We decided on this weekend (I know, I know, it's a million degrees in Vegas right now.. but you gotta believe me.. there were extenuating circumstances), and have just returned from a two day whirlwind of lights, eye candy and general craziness.

Vegas is definitely a unique place. I haven't been since I was about twelve (I think.. if not younger), and it has changed quite a bit since then. We had a grand ol' time exploring and traveling the "virtual" world. We explored the shops along the Grand Canal and ate gelato in San Marcos Square in Venice; wandered the streets of Greenwich Village, ate pizza in a sidewalk cafe in Soho and then wandered down to take a look at the Statue of Liberty; meandered through a tropical paradise, complete with waterfalls, and saw a large Pirate Ship (although we were never there at the right time to actually see the pirates..); ate pastries in a small shop on a street in Paris; tried (twice!) to see the wonders of the sea, but never really quite made it; wandered through the Roman Forum and heard Ceaser address his people; and topped off the whole trip with a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower to check out the view (complete with dancing water at the Belaggio below) and tickets to a Cirque de Soleil show that was mesmerizing and random all at the same time. Yep.. Vegas is quite the place.

Sure.. it was hot, semi-smoke filled and over-the-top gaudy.. but if you look past all of that, it's still a fun place just to wander and take in the sights. Not to mention the people watching..

Here are some pics from the top of the Eiffel Tower:

Beads, Beads, Beads

For any of you who know me well, you know that I seem to pick up hobbies right and left.. mostly because everything fascinates me and I love to learn new things. This week has definitely been proof that that's still a true statement.

I've been fascinated by lampworked beads for a while now. For anyone saying to themselves right now 'what in the world is a lampworked bead?' -- It is a glass bead formed by melting glass around a mandrel. There are some terribly cool pics here:

http://www.blackberrybeads.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=gallery

and a pretty good YouTube Video on how to actually make a simple bead here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-9erKOHcLQ

As an anniversary gift last year, Chad gave me a one-on-one lampworking class with a local bead maker. I really really liked it, and I seemed to be catching on quickly. That was a four hour class and I believe I made something like 10-15 beads, five of which turned out well enough to make into a bracelet. Ever since the class I've been wanting to get my own torch and try more stuff. I finally broke down about a month ago and bought the 'basic' kit but it wasn't until last Saturday that we finally got it set up in the garage (ah.. the beauties of cleaning out your garage once in a while). I've been out there every evening ever since. I'm definitely not great at it, but it's been a whole lot of fun trying out new stuff and seeing how it all comes out in the end. I can't quit my day job YET, but I'm well on my way! ;-)


I thought I'd share a few of my creations with all of you:

A Beautiful Weekend at Home

I was looking at my calendar over the weekend and realized that we hadn't been home, without visitors, since May 10th -- and that was only because that was the weekend we were preparing for vacation. Our life seems completely insane sometimes, but this last weekend we were actually home. We built a shed, we cleaned out the garage, we ran errands and did a fare share of just hanging out. I know, I know.. just sounds terribly exciting, no? But, for us, it was definitely a rare occaision. Now.. if only it could happen more than once every other month..

Kingman

We spent the weekend down in Kingman with Grandma & Grandpa Johnston. We spent a lovely two days with them there and were glad to get out of the heat back home (miraculously, I don't think it got over 85 degrees while we were there). We talked a lot, hung out on the back patio enjoying the cool weather, and were even able to drive up to the Hualapais for lunch and some nice mountain scenery. We only wish we could have stayed longer..

My Black Thumb

For those of you who may not know, I am infamous for not being able to keep any plant alive. After years and years of failure, I should know better than to try actually growing anything, but I guess hope springs eternal and I'm convinced that someday I'll actually be able to keep something alive for longer than a couple of months. Apparently, that day has not come.

At the beginning of every growing season, I entertain the idea of planting produce. You know.. tomatoes, zuccini, cucumbers, etc. It just sounds like such a lovely idea to go out to your garden and pick yummy things you can actually eat. However, I never actually get around to it (shocking, I know). However, this past spring we went to a home show and ended up bringing home a couple of free tomato plants, so I figured that tomatoes were as good as anything to start with.

My mother-in-law suggested planting it in an upside-down tomato planter which sounded like a grand idea to me. Afterall, it would prevent two things I hate -- digging and weeding. I searched around and around and finally found an upside planter at Target, planted my little tomoto plants in it, found a place in the back yard where it got morning but not afternoon light and started to water it faithfully.

Amazingly enough, it actually grew. In fact, for about a month and a half it thrived. It bloomed, it set fruit, I had little tomatoes growing and I was feeling terribly proud of myself.

Then, one day about two weeks ago, I went outside to water it and all the leaves had completely dried up. Once I removed them all, the poor plant had not one single leaf left. I have no idea what happened, but it was starting to get up over 100 degrees here, so my guess is that it just couldn't handle the heat. Or I wasn't watering it enough. Or both.

Not wanting to give up on my little tomatoes completely, I continued to water them for two weeks until they turned bright red (still no leaves). At this point, I decided to harvest my first produce (the largest was only 1.25" in diameter) and finally give up on the poor thing. I ate my little tomato (the only one of the four big enough to taste) and it was actually pretty good, considering.

So, in honor of my poor tomato plant, I'm posting a pic of it right before I harvested.

Oh well.. I still have hope that someday I'll be able to grow something.. guess I'll just have to keep trying..

The Gate - Revisited

Ok.. so for those of you who don't know about the 'Saga of the Gate'.. Chad built a beautiful gate for Mom & Dad's property in Monterey. We went up there in November and built the masonry pillars over an excruciating weekend that lasted WAY too long. Then, after building and painting the gate in our garage here in Lancaster, we went down in February to hang it and install the solar powered opener. We were relieved when it was finally done and were terribly proud of ourselves.

It worked beautifully for three whole months until, during the first week of May, a crazy car thief decided to run the gate while running from the police and didn't quite make it. In a scene that I can only imagine was much like the movies, he ripped the gate off it's hinges (just for a reference point, this thing is not small.. 16' x 8'.. made from 2" square steel), and then proceded up the hill and through the back fencing. The gate itself didn't appear to have a ton of damage, but the pole it was mounted to was definitely toast and it ripped the concrete anchors out of the pillars, taking large chunks of masonry with it.

We went up this weekend hoping that we could repair and rehang the gate without having to completely rebuild it. Sure enough, it looked hopeful, although not nearly as square as it once was. After two days of work, some serious welding and a new coat of paint, the gate is not only rehung, it, amazingly enough, is more level and works better than it did when it was actually square. Once again, we are relived that it's done and can only hope that it will last longer this time..

4th of July

Happy Fourth of July!!

We are up in Monterey to celebrate the fourth with the family. It was a beautiful day here and we went down to the waterfront last night to enjoy the fireworks. They were amazing, as always, and, despite the insane traffic trying to get out of there (didn't get home until after midnight!).. it was a great day.

Hope all of you had a wonderful holiday!