TGIF - Oh, I forgot that that doesn't apply to our lives anymore!!

The past three days found us moving stuff in and out of the motor home doing laundry, replenishing food supplies, and catching up on the mail and the bills. Craig kept correspondence and bill paying in good order for us. Now we just have to settle a disagreement with Sprint with regard to a rebate for a new phone. That is addition to the shock we received while on the road. We logged on to our Sprint account which should be about $35 per month, and it had a balance in excess of $400. Seems they didn't pick up on our 2 months of free Vision when we changed our plan. Sprint, probably like lots of others, makes it almost impossible to resolve an issue. Even if you do get out of a never-ending telephone loop with automated answers, there is never a live person available who can correct anything. After about 5 days and at least as many phone calls, the bill was resolved with a balance of -$5.00. I share this just in case you are considering Sprint. For the most part they have been pretty good over the past 4 or 5 years.

The motor home is at South Side Motors to determine why we have lost 8 gallons of capacity in the gray water tank. When you only have 35 gallons to begin with, that is a significant loss. While there, we took a look at the RVs that were available. They did not have a 32 ft. Brave, but assured us they have one coming in very soon. So far, that is our favorite - IF WE WERE TO BUY ANOTHER!

Travelogue - Our first week was spent in Las Vegas to attend the wedding of Bob Jayne's daughter, Kristi, to Sam Marusich. The Catholic church was awesomely spacious and very modern. The bride was beauiful and the flowers were distinctive in that there were just two low arrangements at the foot of the altar. They were stunning with white and maroon colored lillies accented with greenery with a contemporary upswept look. The reception was at The Anthem which is a Del Webb golfing facility high above Las Vegas. We had a glass wall affording us a view of the entire valley below. The dining room was bathed in white right down to covers on the chairs. the bride and groom had been taking dancing lessons, so their first dance was choreographed by their dance instructor. Favors for the guests was a CD of romantic ballads.

We had cool weather the entire week in Nevada, but the guys did get some sun the day they played golf in Summerlin. We stayed in a Sam's Town RV park so we were walking distance to the casino. I was more interested in eating than gambling. I think I spent fifty cents on gambling and ate there twice. We spent one afternoon downtown with a brief stop in Fremont, and I mean brief. Perhaps because it was during the day, but I felt like I was on skid row in Spokane. We briefly breezed through the Venetian on the strip and then hopped the shuttle back to the RV park.

Here is a great version of spanish rice that I learned from the groom's mother who is German and Spanish. It is basic spanish rice minus meat and with the additon of chicken stock and cumin. This worked very well in a slow-cooker:

Rice - 2 cups
1 onion, diced
Minced Garlic (2 or 3 cloves) and peppers (if desired)
Tomato Sauce - 1 large can
Diced tomatoes - 1 small can
Enough chicken stock added to tomato products to equal 4 cups
Salt and pepper
Cumin to taste

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until beginning to turn translucent. Add rice and stir to coat with oil. Place in a slow cooker with the tomato products and liquid. Season to taste with cumin (lots) before serving. As it cooks, you might choose to add more liquid, but I found it cooked to where it was dry enough for every kernel of rice to separate. Note: there is no meat called for, and it isn't missed because the cumin adds so much flavor, however, you could certainly add bacon or sausage if desired.

Next stop: Mesa, AZ