A very good morning to you from sunny but cool Las Vegas, NV. I'm sitting on a sun-porch (balcony) of my room overlooking the Spring Mountains. I have often been out looking at the Spring Mountains and Red Rock Canyon as the sun came up. I was the commander of the 99th Security Forces Group at Nellis Air Force Base from 1997 to 1999 and it was my habit to be up and walking the track about 0530. I'd walk my seven miles and then head home, and get ready to go to work. It wasn't so much that I enjoyed being out there and doing all that walking but it was more of a situation that if I can do it, I expect all 770 of my airmen to do it too. Leadership by example. But today --- it is great to just sit here on my rear end, have my cup of Starbucks coffee and enjoy life.

I apologize for skipping yesterday's blog but we were a bit busy. We caught the 0800 shuttle from the hotel to the airport in Nashville in plenty of time to get through security and then hurry up and wait. (I have a lot of practice in that particular skill set.) The flight out was full and it was occasionally  bumpy. Our aircraft was one of the newer models that has just a tad bit more room between the seats and it made all the difference in the world for comfort. We got in to Las Vegas around 1400 and as soon as we got our car we headed out here to Green Valley, a suburb of Henderson, NV. Frankly, you can't tell where one city ends and another begins out here any more. When we first started coming to Vegas, there was a distance and divide between Las Vegas and Henderson and none of the surrounding "mini-towns" and suburbs existed. My how all of that has changed. We stopped at P.F. Chang's for lunch and then came on over to the Green Valley Resort. We have stayed here often. Our room was free for the three nights we will be here but they offered us an upgrade to a mini-suite with a nice balcony for $30.00 a night. We took it, and sitting out here this morning to do my blog, --- it was worth every penny. We'll stay here for three nights and then move to the Venetian/Palazzo Resort complex where we will spend four night (again comped) and wait for Heather & John and the kids to join us. I know there is a race for Lauren this weekend in Vegas but I still don't know for sure if she is racing or not. Twenty year old women sometimes change their minds!!!!!  Heck, I can't keep Ms. Kate and her sister on a single track, so who knows.

I have no idea what we are going to do today. What are not going to do  is sit around the casino and play slot machines all day. It would be a beautiful day to drive out to Red Rock Canyon, or Valley of Fire State Park, or maybe drive around Lake Mead. We aren't big into shopping although I have no doubt that at some point on this trip, we will find ourselves at a Coach outlet. She will go in, --- I'll just "hold my spot".

Sitting here looking at the mountains and the palm trees swaying in the breeze, it is a natural thing to turn to God and focus on the life full of blessings I have been given. God's grace extends from the heaven's to the heart. It fills you up with wonder and joy, This being the Christmas season makes it even more obvious. I hope your day is full of blessing too. Take time to enjoy them and to give thanks to God for them. Peace.

Good Monday morning to you. There are strange goings on with our technology. Last night Ms. Kate was on her IPad and complained that it kept shutting of on her. Well, we have three IPads around this house so I had her switch to her other one. I pulled out my IPad and it was doing the same thing. This morning they are still doing the same. I have reset my router and my modem  to no avail. So, I’m having to save each and every sentence I write as I write them. I’m beginning to suspect that Apple Corp may have been hacked or something. I haven’t tried working off of my IPhone but I may try that. But, our televisions work fine and our PC’s work fine.
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OK, so after a lot of fiddling around I re-installed IOS 11,2 and that seems to have settled the problem. Now, Ms. Kate and I are in Nashville, TN waiting to fly out tomorrow to Vegas. So, I'll drop off. Have a good evening.

Happy sunny Saturday! The cardinals are busy this morning already. They are the early bird but not looking for a worm. They are looking for a good perch at the feeder. So far their only competition has been a couple of finches. The woodpeckers have either been at a suet feeder or the bark butter feeders so the sunflower seed feeders are wide open to first come -first served.

I’m not sure what is on the agenda for today. I don’t think we have to leave the house although Ms. Kate did say we needed to pick up a couple of gifts for the family yet. Other than that, we should be maybe doing last minute laundry to pack for our vacation. I need to check the weather at our destination location so I’ll know what to pack, although I think we might be doing some geocaching with the grandkids out in the desert and it get rather chilly out in the desert this time of the year. The wind will cut right through you. I had never considered that until I spent time out in the desert around Las Vegas in the winter time. Part of my responsibility when I was stationed at Nellis AFB, in Las Vegas area was to run the Desert Warfare Center for Security Forces. We trained Security Forces personnel on how to conduct warfare in that environment. One of the florist things we always told. The troops to pack was their long underwear and winter gear. When they didn’t listen, they quickly learned and had to make an expensive trip to Military Clothing Sales. Of course in the summer it was really confusing because it might get to 110 during the day and then the night desert air would really chill you to the bone.

I’ve just about finished my latest book, “Glory Days” by Max Lucado. Yesterday we went to the Vinyard, a Bible book store and I picked up two more Lucado books. I had a gift card from there and decided to use it. My unread stack is piling up. I’m three behind on Stephen King and I know that Julie has already bought me his latest for Christmas; and now I have these two new Lucado books. But talk about opposite ends of the spectrum for reading —- one writes sci-Ft/horror and the other writes faith and inspiration. What can I say; I’m a complicated guy. I think I’ll throw in Stephen King to read on the plane. It is vacation after-all.

I think that is it for today. God is great. Beer is good, and people are crazy. I hope you have a most pleasant and Spirit filled weekend. See ya’ in church!!

Clack, clack, bang and whack! The Friday morning trash trucks are ging through the neighborhood. Between them and “Lily”, the neighbors dog barking at them, it is a noisy morning out side. But, it was time to get up and get the day started anyway.

It is a lot cooler this morning than it was yesterday morning. It is thirty two degrees but there isn’t no wind to speak of. Although it is a lot harder to tell about the wind now that the leaves are all off of the trees. The sun is shining brightly with no clouds and the cardinals are glistening in the sunlight. This morning’s buffet guest list includes a half dozen cardinals, several junkos, finches, sparrows, a couple of doves, a couple of starlings, and three woodpeckers. It’s a good mix and. They are a lively group, except for the doves. They just walk around pecking at the ground.

Neighbor Dan and I took the mower deck off yesterday and put the snow blade on the John Deere. The winter forecasts for snow are all over the place from two inches for the winter to fifteen inches for the winter. But regardless, I’m ready; the blade is on and I have plenty of snow melt chemicals for the drive way too. The forecasters all say that it is going to be a really cold winter though which will be a big departure from last year.

Happy December 1st! Thirty days until the year 2018. As a child, 2018 was so very far in the future and the world was supposed to be so advanced. In reality though, that time journey has been nothing more than a lot of days all stacked on top of one another with one seemingly no different than the last, and life just happened without us thinking a lot about it. I suppose that is the way God intended it to be. We have gadgets today that were just “sci-fi” thoughts when I was a kid. Remember Dick Tracey’s wrist radio??  Remember Dick Tracey???  But unfortunately as human beings we’ve not progressed much. racism, homophobia, fear, world hunger, threats of war all still plague the world just like they did back in the 1950’s. We have more churches —- but less people attending them.. That alone should tell us where the problem lies.

But, I’m not going to put you in a downer mood to start your December, after all — Christmas is coming and we will again celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So ‘buck up” folks; the wonderful ride we call life is still alive and well and can be as exciting as you want to make it. Start with a prayer each day and end with a prayer each night. God will handle everything in between. Peace.

Fifty two degrees with a little bit of light rain on and off this morning. But, the gang is all here. At the moment it is just the small birds like finches and sparrows and a couple of starlings. But the cardinals will be along shortly as well as the woodpeckers and other critters. One quarrel has claimed a feeder and I expect there will be at least one more that will come in for a snack. Speaking of which —- here they come now; four of them playing chase all over the yard and up and down the trees. They do amuse me with their speed, agility, and animated actions.

I hung the wreaths on the windows yesterday morning. That is always an exciting adventure. With the azelias out there up close to the house, it is almost impossible to set my ladder up with any hint of stability. So I Jerry-rig in in place and just kind of hope I don’t fall off of it. Then I have to stretch to reach where I want to hang them. It’s a real circus act. And, —- I must apologize to any neighbors that might have accidentally heard me everytime the ladder began to slip. I could have asked Ms. Kate to help me by holding the ladder but there isn’t room for her to get to where she could be of help. These things might have seen their last year.

Ms. Kate and I are busy  prepping for our vacation. We are taking along Christmas presents for Heather and family and at least one thing is fragile. We think we have a “carry” solution for it but will have to see. If we were driving it would be no problem, but we are flying and I’m not in. Hurry to have baggage handlers get ahold of it. I have set looking out the windows of planes and have seen how they handle the bags. The Olympic distance throw is nor what you want for fragile items. .

Neighbor Dan and I are going to swap the mower deck out for the snow plow this afternoon. I read the winter weather prediction for the Tri-State area last night and they say a La Niña is in full effect this winter which means for us — much colder weather and for the three winter months maybe around fifteen inches of snow. By the time we get back from vacation, we could be looking at some snow. I need to be ready. last year that brand new blade never saw a flake of snow. This year I think it might just get a work out.

I need to drop off and get ready to make this day happen. One of the first things we need to do is go to a store and get some ink for my computer and for Ms. Kate’s computer. I hope you have a blessed day. Peace.

What a difference the sun makes. It is the same temperature out there as it was yesterday. Howeve, yesterday was sunny and bright and warm and inviting. Today it is cloudy and dreary and cold looking. Yesterday I was anxious to get outside and enjoy the day. Today, I’m in no hurry because it just doesn’t look inviting. And you know, I could change the word “sun” to “Son” and it would mean the same. Without God’s Son, the world and life tends to be dreary and dull an scary and uninviting. With God’s Son in your life, life is bright and promising, and inviting and full of joy. The difference between sun and Son??? — The sun shines or it doesn’t; you have no control over it. With the Son; —- you have total control because you either accept Christ into your life or you don’t. It is your choice. But given the difference; death or eternal life;  — I recommend you let the Son shine in.

We got a few more chores checked off of the list yesterday. I finished up the front yard, or at least I think I’m done for the year. we went to the cemeetaries and put winter flowers on the family headstones. We only do Ms. kate’s Parents, grandparents and brother, and my parents so it doesn’t take a lot of time. But Ms. Kate is very good at doing it and takes great pride in keeping the graves looking good. Here mom was always fussy about that too. The Hahn family plot sits fairly close to the entrance so that when anybody drives into the cemetery, they will pass the family plot. So, if there was going to be be a funeral of anybody she knew in that cemetery, she had to get out there and make sure the family grave plot looked good. Ms. Kate isn’t quite that bad but she does change flowers with the seasons so they always look fresh. Sadly, when we pass, there will be no family left around here to maintain our graves. But then, most of us are just one generation away from obscurity anyway. So, if we want to be remembered we better do our best to make a positive impression on the lives of people around us and the generations coming after us. —— Wow! I sound in a somber mood this morning don’t I? I told you the sun wasn’t shining. LOL

My backyard buffet guests are satisfied this morning because I filled everything up  yesterday and cleaned and refilled the bird baths. The usual gang is here; cardinals, junkos, finches, downy woodpeckers, and sparrows. I’ve had a couple of squirrels here off and on. The neighbor’s big ol’ Black cat was here earlier and ran the squirrels up the trees. Sometimes it will even go after them up the trees. I like the fact that the cat will chase the squirrels but never bothers my birds. It is also good for grabbing voles that tunnel under the mulch. So, it is welcome to come eat the buffet any time it wants. The first time I see it get a bird though I will revioke its buffet priveleges.

That is about it for today my friends. The sun is slowly breaking through the clouds and it is looking like a different day out there. Don’t forget to let the Son shine through your life and you too will have a different day. Peace.

Another bright, blue, sunny and semi-warm morning. We’re having small gusts of wind coming through and it is doing a great job of removing the leaves from the fire bushes. I hope it is also helping remove the leaves from the Bradford Pear tree in the neighbor’s yard. That tree sits on the very edge of his yard and is huge. In fact I’ve never seen a Bradford that big. But it seems to take all winter for the leaves to come off of it.

We did get a few of the things on our “to-do” list accomplished. I got the flowerbed along thefront walk cleaned up and the dead azealia gut back. I didn’t dig it out because I want to see if in the spring it might come back. Stranger things have happened. The one next to it has also mostly died off and I’ll need to cut it back too but I ran out of garbage can space for this week. I can’t imagine why they have died.

Today Ms. Kate and I need to go through the things that she has bought for the different family members and make sure we are on track. Next week we are heading off to the west coast and will be celebrating our Christmas and gift exchange with Heather and her family. I know some of the things Ms. Kate bought but most of it I don’t. And we also need to make sure the rest of the family is covered. By the time we get back we’ll be within ten days or so of Christmas.

The second thing we need to do is go put winter flower decorations on the family graves. We bought the stuff yesterday and again, —- we’re pressed for time. I still haven’t filled my bird feeders although they are having no problem finding something to eat out there. It is just that their “favorite” feeders are empty. There is enough spilled seed on the ground that I could let the feeders stand empty for a month and there would still be plenty to eat. But that is on the list of things to do today too.
I also need to try again to find some suction cups to put on my windows out front to hang my wreaths from. I went to Walmart and to Dollar General yesterday and could not find any. So, we’ll try another couple of places while we are out decorating the graves.

We had the neatest surprise last night. Our grandson Jon called just to talk. He’s 16, almost 17 and a really good kid. His question and reason for calling was to know what kind of facial hair I grew because he thinks he wants to grow some facial hair and he had heard that it was determined by genetics. I told him he’s in bad shape from my line. The best he can hope for is sketchy. But, what a neat thing  it was for him to call. It warmed our hearts.

I think it is time for me to get on out into God’s most beautiful day and go ahead and feed my birds. The hanging wire on one of their favorites broke last night so I need to do a repair job. I hope you take some time out from your day to give thanks again for your blessings. I have a whole new set of things to be thankful for today that I will discuss at a later day. So, —- be joyful in your heart and kind to all of those around you. Peace.