Sadly we had to leave Vegas today.  We're in Flagstaff now and will be home tomorrow.  We got to Vegas on Sunday evening and were disappointed that the Sherwood Forest Cafe was gone and MacDonald's was closed for remodeling. 
Monday we headed over to Monte Carlo and had a yummy cupcake at Cupcakery.  We rode the tram over to Bellagio and saw the new cakes.

Then we went to the conservatory and saw the talking tree.  Amazing!!!

Next we went to the Cosmopolitan.  There was lots of sparkle!

It's been great fun but it'll be good to be back home!

Woo Hoo!  I got all the blocks done for the Hexagon quilt and the border on my granddaughter's I Spy quilt!  Now I can start putting the Hexagon quilt together and I need to get the back done for the I Spy quilt so I can get it quilted.

I got two more blocks done on the Jelly roll quilt but I'm behind and need to get two more done and the new block will be up tomorrow!  I need to get busy!  I'll blame it on the heat!

The Arizona heat has finally hit us.  It was about 102 today.

The Dalias and Petunias are looking good.

Have you ever seen balloon flowers?  They're pretty awesome!!!

I'm listening to The Cheater by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg and I'm reading Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson and Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews.  All are good so far.

I finished reading Fantasy in Death and finished listening to Apple Turnover Murder.  Great books!  Now I'm listening to James Patterson's Worst Case and reading Stella Cameron's Out of Body and M. J. Rose's The Memorist.
I got one more quilt block done.

Here are some more pictures of the flowers in the yard.  The petunias have been blooming all winter long and are starting to fizzle out now.

I love geraniums!!!  The pink one is a peppermint geranium.

These are one of the miniature rose bushes.

These are from the big rose bush in the front of the house.  They smell great!

This bush is full of blooms!

The trip to Vegas was fast and furious but lots of fun.  We got into town on Thursday night right in the middle of a nasty dirt storm!  It blew off a sliding door at Excalibur, destroyed a hot air balloon and knocked out the power to one of the monorail tracks.  I don't know what otherI damage was done. 
I wasn't feeling very good (sinus headache) the next morning at the quilt show but I enjoyed looking at everything.  I ordered the CD with pictures of all the quilts but it hasn't come yet.  If I lived in Vegas, I could join the doll club!  I haven't made a doll in a long, long time!
We rode the new monorail from Monte Carlo to Bellagio.

We got some yummy cupcakes at the Cupcakery at Monte Carlo.  I got chocolate, of course, and my husband got a strawberry shortcake one.  I wish I had gotten the one that was Bubbly Champagne buttercreme frosting on raspberry cake.  Next trip for sure!

We saw the largest chocolate fountain in the world at Bellagio and their cakes were awesome!

 

The cakes at Aria were amazing too!

The Bellagio Conservatory was awesome!!!  We're used to seeing it in the fall with the big water wheel and all the chrysanthemums so it was nice to see it during a different season.

Can't wait till we go back in September!!!

I'm bad! I had to put the other books I'm reading aside. J.D. Robb's new book Promises in Death came in to the library and I just had to read it! It's very good! I just love Eve's reactions to everything! What a ride! Wouldn't you just love to be able to zip up into the air and get around traffic! I have gotten behind so many slooooow people this week. Can't they just at least go the speed limit?!?!
I love her reaction to Mavis's baby too! Hilarious! It's amazing how she can keep coming up with new stories! I think this is #37! Her next comes out in November Kindred in Death and then The Lost Anthology comes out in December. I need to add them to my Shelfari list so I don't forget!
I need to go work in the garden. I have been waiting to rake out the rest of the leaves cause I thought I might freeze again but the weather has been so warm and the roses are starting to bud out so I might as well get it over with. I need to get a Farmer's Almanac to see if it's okay to go ahead and plant my lavender in the flower bed or if I should plant it in a pot for now.
I also bought a honeysuckle and another rosemary bush for my Dad's house and I'd like to get them planted too.
The grass has been so bare the last few years. I need to water it more but we're supposed to conserve water. How can you win? Maybe I need to work some manure into the soil. Won't my neighbors love me?!? The horse manure I worked into the flower beds was very good for the soil and the plants and the grass that loves to grow there (where I don't want it) instead of where I do want it.
No pictures this time but my pineapple sage is starting to bloom and my miniature rose has another bud on it. Oh, I bought some red salvia plants. The leaves are so pretty and I love the red color next to the green leaves. I might buy some blue ones next time I go to town. They're supposed to be good in the sun.
I'm going to be making costumes for two of my grandkids today. One needs to be a walnut and the other needs to be an owl in their school program. We picked out the fabric yesterday. It's going to be an adventure, I'm sure!
Well, I guess I better get to work!

Hi!

I'm still reading Wicked and enjoying it but it isn't a book you can read fast. I'm almost finished listening to Deep Lie. I've enjoyed this one but not as much as some of his other books.

I was going to work on my quilts yesterday but I ended up working in my Dad's yard instead. I decided to rake up all the dead weeds that were in what used to be his garden. I had to prune a tree, chop some weeds, and cut out a bunch of sticker bushes that are trying to take over. What a mess! It looks much better now. I didn't realize until I got home that I had gotten sunburned! Ouch! I was too tired to work on any quilting and fell asleep watching TV.
I am making progress on Nate's I Spy quilt. I got another row quilted and started on the next. The squares for my quilted purse are still sitting on the table. I got up this morning and decided I needed to get some cleaning done instead of quilting. Sad, huh?!? Maybe I can work on them this afternoon.
I started some seeds last week and they're already coming up! I want an herb garden and can't find any plants at the stores. I was going to prune my rose bushes today but it's windy and I think I had enough sun yesterday. I did find some flowers blooming. Aren't they pretty?!?