Taking a break.

What do.....

$27,000  Swim spas..

Large nasty cockroaches.

Grass covered trucks.

And Mom spinning a wheel of chance with a large penguin. 

All have in common???

They were  at the Las Vegas Home Show this morning.

We decided to take a break from looking at houses in all their distressed economy glory.

So what do we do? 

Go to the damn home show...  to look at things to put into a property once the perfect one becomes available!

$89,000!  Oops forgot a few 0000's

 

Next time we take a break from house hunting, it should involve beaches, hammocks and Cabana Girls.

Much better!

 

I love it when....

Spring has always been my favorite time of year. 

Achoooooooo!

I don't mind the sneezing because warm, hot days are soon to follow.

Today the windows are open.. I noticed new buds on the trees, and I would have sported some shorts, but I forgot to shave my legs this morning.

They aren't that bad..

The downside is the neighbors are out more and calling the authorities on Moms tenant again.

So he has a dozen or so cars all over the place... 

I think Mike still holds the record.

He could be fined for all his auction car wheeling and dealing, so can Mom, for being the property owner..

 

Sometimes I don't like our neighbors much.

   

Regardless, I love this time of year!

 

Beef Broads and Booze.

There is more to Vegas than Beef, Broads and Booze.

Although we do have that.

Chell and I have been finding the more mundane parts of the city.

Owned by Oscar the former Mayor and mob attorney.

We have been visiting Storage Units, Laundromats, and Car washes.

Is it strange that I imagine all sorts of creepy things behind those orange doors?

Pervert.

Not that kind of car wash. Dammit.

Tomorrow will be spent hanging out with Hector, the Peruvian real estate broker.

Chell did ask for a pool.

It is great having Chell here. 

Showing her the local flair.

Dragging her to the Santa Fe Casino everyday... So one of us can win this,

Comes with a booster seat so Bella can cruise with us!

Varooooooooommmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Back to Sin City!

Chell and I started the day out in Albuquerque. The car was protected by a layer of sleet and ice when we woke..  Albuquerque is chill.  But the sun was shining and the day promised to be nice.

Above us some brave soul was soaring high.  Cold so cold.

Back on the road! Looks like its going to be a nice day!

Uh that is a lot of clouds.... This is not going to end well.

We passed many roads to nowhere.

I don't like the looks of this..  :(

About a hour of intense driving.. then it really got bad.

I put the camera down so I could panic without distraction, as the skies really opened up and the snow turned to sleet and heavy rain.. leaving a curtain of zero visibility.. A good forty minutes of blind driving, as trucks barreled past us like we were Granny on a sunny Sunday afternoon... Those truckers are insane. 

Ah... the Nevada boarder brought clearer skies.. and two days of travel came close to a end.

A quick stop at Hoover Dam at dusk.. 

And then home!  

Chell did a fantastic job driving all those miles! My speed junkie got us though it all. 

Mom had dinner waiting for us.. Yum!

Bella acted like she didn't miss me.. but I bet she did.

It's good to be out of the cold and snow, back to the palm trees, smut and neighborhood drama!

My first time..

We hit the road!
Left behind the blue, blue skies of Colorado.




Blue skies and major Brrrrrr wind!

Colorado is a pretty place, but...
The best best part of the Sunshine state was in the car with me! 

It is fun going places I have never been.
And.........

Today I am no longer a New Mexico Virgin.



Not totally enchanted..



We saw a lot of stuff like this... 

 
It is a strange place this New Mexico... all was okay until we hit Santa Fe... That city gives off the weirdest vibe.. and not in a good way.



We stopped shortly for a break... long enough to know, strangers are not always welcomed...

Santa Fe is much smaller than I thought..... and for such a small bleep on the map it sure attracts some horrid drivers..



Toonces learned to drive here..


The road mayhem continued all the way into Albuquerque.. where we decided to land for the night.

Other than the last hour on the road it was a easy drive...
For Chell anyway, she grabbed the wheel and won't let go...  Letting her car fly as it was meant to do...

The nice folks at the Hotel made us think that people here are only Assholes behind the wheel..
Plus.......
 

This makes me happy!

 Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Stupid Powerball

I didn't win the $325 million.
I don't care. I am rich.
I have my girl moving to Las Vegas, and a loving fun family!



It's all good!


Finally Chell closed on the house today!
After many delays and a buyer who couldn't get it together we are ready to roll in the morning!

She has spent month and months sorting through a half a century of life, getting ready for this moment. I am so proud!

The Mortgage lenders are as cold as the weather.

The Lenders are like the Honey Badger.


We noticed!

They keep pushing the closing back.
As of now it is tomorrow at 1:00 then on the road first thing Saturday morning.

We need to get to Vegas to save Mom from the nosy nasty neighbors!

The woman Mom, took to the hospital, drove to doctor appointments, fed, watched her stinky cats and sat in the Social Security office with called the cops on her new tenant.
He had some cars he was trying to sell.. (oh the humanity!) 
Then had a garage sale... He wasn't even selling kids or anything, just a bunch of microwaves he bought from liquidators.com.


Who knew it was illegal to sell appliances out of your home?

Only someone with a black heart and waaaaaay too much time would know.
The cops better get on craigslist and start busting all those menacing oven pushers!

Mom felt sorry for this woman because she had no one in her life, she is sick and needs support. She has first hand knowledge now of why her kids, siblings and old friends are no where near in her time of need.

Cracker Barrel is for Crackers.

The last thing you want after you sell your house and are waiting for closing, is for anything to break.
That being said, Chell and I didn't want to test the limitations of a old washing machine and hauled our dirty clothes to the laundromat.

Who knew how entertaining washing your clothes in a public forum could be?

A guy walks in carrying a whole cushion for a Papasan Chair. Not a cover the whole damn cushion.



You know the chairs you can buy at Pier 1.



Lucky I had my camera!




The biggest machine in there and still took a lot of effort to cram it in.




Almost there! He did manage to stuff the thing in.

Little did he know that getting it in was the easy part. It took him a good ten minutes to get the soggy thing out.
It totally amused me as Chell and I folded four loads of laundry watching him wrestle it out.  (Some woman finally gave him a hand.) I would have helped but I was laughing too hard at his stupidity.

The laundromat also reminded me of what folks did when they wanted to sell something before the internet.


Hand written to perfection!

 Washing clothes makes you hungry, we decided to find some food and ended up at The Cracker Barrel.

Where we couldn't help notice that every single patron and most the staff was caucasion.

I haven't seen that much pasty skin since being in Utah County.
(A complete turn around from the laundry where we were the only white people.) 
Diversity is much more fun.!!!!


Yawn......

 The food wasn't awful.. I give it a B-, mostly because I don't love that Southern kind of food.
Lots of grits, biscuts and gravy on the menu. 
Wash it all down with some sweet tea.. Nasty!

Entertain me!

The house is empty. One chair, a small TV and the Internet.
Even the stripper pole has been removed.


We watched season four and five of Dexter.


Season four was good, except I saw John Lithgow naked waaaaaaay too much.

I give season four a A- and Season five a B+.
I read a Murder List  by Jule Garwood and Chell has been finding all kinds of things to keep busy.
All those calls, errand and pain in the ass stuff that come with moving.
Plus some shoveling of snow, so much snow.



Help us!




Will it ever stop?




Okay it is kind of pretty looking out into the backyard.



That fence is 7 feet tall.. or 3' still a lot of white Brrrrrrr.

But the sun is out now, and no more crappy wet stuff predicted for our ride to Vegas!