]> http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/ troutbend's Blog en-us © 2010 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:14:01 GMT 30 http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/50th_anniversary.html Here are some photos from Mr. Troutbends Uncle Randy's 50th last weekend. It was held at the local fire house in La Vale, MD (western MD, 150 miles SE of Pittsburgh.) The happy couple. They didn't have a wedding, so this made up for it. They had a nice slide show of old family photos set up. DJ and appetizers. Food was catered by a local greasy spoon, notable for the total lack of seasoning. The electric slide. Man in red doesn't know what he's doing, zigs when everyone else zags. Guests w ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/50th_anniversary.html#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:42:22 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/southwest_airlines.html This past weekend we flew Southwest Airlines for the first time, and it was quite an experience. They don't have assigned seating, but they have a way of loading the plane that makes up for it. There are three categories, A, B, and C and each boarding pass has a number from 1 - 60 within their letter group. Passengers are told to line up in numerical order when their letter is called, and there are signs there in the waiting area designating the numbers. It works very well, and I think it ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/southwest_airlines.html#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:43:52 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/looking_spring.html Where I grew up the iris and oriental poppies are in their prime around Memorial Day at the end of May, just in time to go to the cemetery in bouquets, but there are a lot of them already planted at the cemetery so they can bloom any time they want. My favorite iris color is yellow, but I like seeing all the variations and most of them have the most wonderful smell. The oriental poppies look so nice with the blues and purples of the iris. We have a good-sized bed of them at our place in th ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/looking_spring.html#comments Thu, 4 Mar 2010 18:41:16 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/1267671082.html This came in an email today. It tickled my funny bone, I was sort of crying from laughing so hard. "Never Ever Wax Your Hoo-Ha All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on......... My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner and play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: 'Maybe I should get the wax ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/1267671082.html#comments Thu, 4 Mar 2010 02:51:22 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/mgm_grand_lions.html The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino is toward the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The step looking things are fancy suites, too fancy for us to be invited to stay in, and I've never stayed there, but have been to their Cirque d' Soileil show, Ka. At night the outside glows green, like the Emerald City, because it used to have a Wizard of Oz theme. There was a walk-through display with life-size figures from the movie - Dorothy, Toto, et. al. Then they took it out, put slot machines there, ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/mgm_grand_lions.html#comments Wed, 3 Mar 2010 05:16:22 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/just_back_laughlin.html We had a little two-night break in Laughlin, Nevada this weekend. Laughlin is located at the very southern tip of Nevada on the Colorado river, which forms the border between Nevada and Arizona. The town was founded by Don Laughlin, who built a casino, and the rest followed. There is a whole casino strip along the river on one side and normal life on the other side. The Colorado River is crystal-clear here, all the silt gets deposited behind the various dams upstream, including the mighty ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/just_back_laughlin.html#comments Mon, 1 Mar 2010 03:18:25 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/zippity_doo_dah.html Last night our TV weather said it was snowing at Zion Nat'l Park and I thought of our friend looserobes over in that area. Maybe he'll have some snow pictures for us. And today I see where there are wind warnings for New England and I'm thinking of Fredo and how it must be for him. Checking FlightAware, there are significant delays at NY City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. We are sunny and reasonably warm here with rain predicted for Saturday. We're going for a drive in the desert this ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/zippity_doo_dah.html#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:17:38 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/jet_lag.html It was one of those nights when I couldn't get to sleep. I'd put down my book, close my eyes, try to think neutral thoughts, but sleep would not come. So more reading. Finally about 3 a.m. I decided it was as if I was on the red-eye flight to England, flying across time zones toward the sunrise. At 4 I decided if I fell asleep then, I'd get 4 hours sleep by 8 am, but I didn't fall asleep, finally dozed off about 5, so it was a 3 hour night. Anyhow, I finished a whole thick paperback and st ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/jet_lag.html#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:09:34 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/oatmeal_crispies_recipe.html These are a very light oatmeal cookie with an excellent flavor. The technique is a little different, and I think it shows in the texture. 1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 cup shortening 2 cups sugar 2 large eggs 1 cup seedless raisins 3/4 cup chopped nuts 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind** 1 tablespoon lemon juice** 1 1/4 cups sifted flour 3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant) ** or 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Combine the soda, salt, nutme ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/oatmeal_crispies_recipe.html#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:30:01 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/local_news.html I can't remember if I already told you about this: A couple of weeks ago we were shocked to hear about a tourist in Las Vegas who was kidnapped from the Strip, transported to an empty apartment east of there, beaten, and robbed. The perps took his hotel key and burgled his room, stealing his cell phone - this . He escaped when they were driving around trying to decide what to do with him. This 40-year old small businessman from west Texas was in town for a convention. He said a woman asked ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/local_news.html#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:07:31 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/movies_5.html The movie selection at the hotel had not grown by much since our last stay, so I consider it to still be scraping the bottom of the barrel, but there were some that were pretty good. Crazy Heart Beau Bridges plays a washed-up country western singer whose career has come down to appearances at bowling alleys around the southwest. There is some lovely scenery in this movie as he drives between gigs. Colin Farrell (who is Irish but does great American accents) plays his former protege who has ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/movies_5.html#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:44:37 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/headed_rio.html We're headed for a stay at the Rio hotel. They have a large variety of rooms, and we've stayed in some big suites, but our star in sinking in their eyes, so we'll probably be in a smaller room this time. At least I have pictures. This suite is at the end of the tower so there was a panoramic view of the Strip. The bathroom was huge, larger than my kitchen and family room together. This is what we'll probably get this time, nice enough, but not the grand experience. This window is between t ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/headed_rio.html#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:39:22 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/projects_2.html I need to make a wedding sampler for someone and need to pick a design. See what you think. This is a traditional design. It would take a long time to get done. I like the bell design on this one, and it would work up a lot faster. I like this one, and might consider leaving off the "All because..." part. Of course there are more out there, these just caught my eye on the first search. http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/projects_2.html#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:26:40 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/great_old_cars.html I hope you can get to this website via the link. Link: Michael Paul Smith - Photos of my Models Here is the creator's statement: "What started out as an exercise in model building and photography, ended up as a dream-like reconstruction of the town I grew up in. It's not an exact recreation, but it does capture the mood of my memories. And like a dream, many of the buildings show up in different configurations throughout the photos. Or sometimes, the buildings stay put and the backgrounds ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/great_old_cars.html#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:46:24 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/big_flood_photos.html Lately my posts have been inspired by the screen saver slide show on my desktop computer pulling photos from my hard drive. Here are some pictures of the aftermath of the July 1976 flood where I live in Colorado. 284 people were killed or missing, but a couple of years ago a man turned up in Oklahoma who had been reported dead all these years. His family was staying in Estes Park and the day of the flood decided to return home without checking out of the motel. For 32 years was never aware ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/big_flood_photos.html#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:28:05 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/drip_drip_drip_waterloo.html Yup. The water heater failed. This photo was when we first bought the house and before Mr. Troutbend moved all his workshop from Colorado. You can't quite see the floor in the photo, but you couldn't see it if you looked down, it's covered with boxes of stuff and rubber mats. Now all soaking on floor side. The failure manifested itself as water dripping from the top of the unit because the water connections corroded. I wouldn't have known to check it up there for problems. This water heate ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/drip_drip_drip_waterloo.html#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:58:23 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/snow_photos_dottie.html I really worried about those powerlines, but when a breeze came up it blew off. It was before the river froze for the year. This is what it looks like now: Sunny Day: http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/snow_photos_dottie.html#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:51:54 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/purple_house.html Today I am reminded of the purple house. Just past the place where I pick up my mail in the summer is a fork in the road that goes to Glen Haven, Colorado. On the very edge of town is a tiny, tiny house painted purple. Here is their shed: And their river frontage is across the road. There is a wonderful purple gazebo outside where they put together jigsaws all summer and inside is the cutest little nest. It's all there, everything a person would need, even though very small. As you can tel ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/purple_house.html#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:31:06 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/luxor_las_vegas.html The Luxor Hotel Casino in Las Vegas is the one that looks like a pyramid. I stayed there for the first time recently and really enjoyed it. There are rooms in the pyramid part, and 'inclinators' instead of elevators. It is hollow inside and hallways are open, looking down into the base of the pyramid where the casino is. The rooms themselves are a little dated - the place opened in 1994 - and the walls slant. Being directly on the casino like that, it seems like there would be a lot of noi ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/luxor_las_vegas.html#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:51:33 GMT http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/artistic.html We need to renew our passports this year so I found a website that tells how to take your own photo and upload it to be printed out at the local Walgreens where we can pick it up. For a limited time I have uploaded the latest version to be my avatar, so look fast, limited time offer. It's not artistic, though, it's just utility. If I'd meant it for friends to view, I'd have smiled. Actually, I had a hard time not smiling because when Mr. Troutbend started to take the photo he had the camer ... http://my.greasy.com/troutbend/artistic.html#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:47:12 GMT