Even more about Las Vegas. Sorry about that...

 Hi there

My second week hotel stay in Vegas was at the Flamingo. The dates coincided with the Las Vegas Cyber Security Convention which is also known by all and sundry throughout the world as the Cyber Security Hackers Convention.  Oh dear...  On the night before the start of that convention, the tv news channels all warned that there would be hacking -  what?  Huh?

I had no trouble whatsoever with wifi at my first hotel, the Rio.  But at the Flamingo I couldnt access wifi the entire stay. I figured it was me, not being a very good worker of my phone, but one of the guests told me it was because the hotel was making it more difficult for the hackers.

From Flamingo window.  More colours on The Sphere.

below: The Linq Promenade, leading to the High Roller Ferris wheel. The Flamingo is on one side of the Promenade and the Linq Hotel is on the other side.   

I went on a zipline from the roof of the Linq Hotel right on down to another roof beside the High Roller.  Great!  But before the flight on the zipline I had to tick my nearest weight from the half-dozen choices that were shown to me on a tablet screen.  I had no idea how much I weighed in lbs but I was told to just press any weight on the information screen. 

When I moved on to the place where I had to be outfitted with the harness -  and because I'd been on ziplines before - I realised the harness was way too big for me, and I asked for a smaller outfit.  I might have slipped out of that original one.  And all because I had put down my wrong weight on that computer screen.

Above.  The Linq Promenade.  If you look real closely you can see the many ziplines at top of photo

above:  the Palazzo Hotel, foyer.  I have a faint feeling this view was the same as one I photographed about five years ago.  So, some things in Vegas don't change...

above: In the Linq Promenade.

Me:  in my room at Rio Hotel, the first hotel....

====

And talking about television in Las Vegas....   It was odd that practically every tv ad break was trying to sell me pet litter but I never once saw in my two weeks' stay, one advertisement for travel.  In New Zealand, I would say that practically every tv ad break shows some form of travel advert, be it ads for planelines, countries, tours, or cruises.  

At the Jerry Seinfeld show I met a lady from Seattle who'd never ever thought of going overseas.   I read an article a long time ago that said because New Zealanders lived so far away from big centres around the world, they tried harder to travel the globe, whereas Americans felt no need to travel overseas because they had everything in their own country.

I enjoyed Seinfeld.  I also had booked for Rod Stewart, but as I arrived at the theatre, a notice was put up saying the show was cancelled because Rod had a sore throat (turned out to be covid).

The Seattle lady said to me, "I saw Rod Stewart yesterday.  He was running so fast through the Linq Promenade.  Trying to avoid fans?"

More like not wanting to pass on Covid...? 

****

Los Angeles Airport - LAX

I had done a very stupid thing before I left New Zealand.  I looked up hundreds of you tube videos telling me how awful it was going through LAX and especially going through border security.  The videos were scary, I was petrified I'd be robbed, or I'd clash with security people, or I wouldnt know where to go, or what to do (even though I've been through LAX over a dozen times).  

What a mistake looking at those videos.  I breezed through security and border control in about 10 minutes  (I only have cabin bag) and after racing past 8 terminals outside LAX terminal B to get to SouthWest Airlines, I managed to get a flight to Las Vegas three hours earlier than the one I had booked, with 30 minutes to spare and no hassle getting through security a second time.  Hey, 'Anytime Fare', anyone?

****

Auckland Airport

What a mishmash of an airport. Building works everywhere.  Didnt enjoy it.  Another lady and myself couldnt find the bus stop to catch the bus to the domestic terminal, after we'd arrived from Los Angeles.   I was terribly upset as it was because I'd got to border control when I discovered I'd left my passport on the plane.  I almost broke into tears, but a lovely security guy rushed back to the plane and found it for me.  Thanks, man.....

When I was traversing through Auckland Airport, having just landed, I sighed into the air, "At last, I can walk on the left side-"

Yes! hooray we're home" (from the guy in front of me).

"I hated walking on the right!" (from the lady behind me).

"I could never turn corners without automatically veering over to the left"  (from the woman to my side).

***

Going on holiday

 Hi there

I've just booked to go back to Las Vegas next year.  Hope there will be nothing to stop me going.  A friend pointed out that either just before or during my holidays, I always get some sort of injury*.

He's not wrong.  I've had a plethora of sprained ankles and knees, gone deaf in one ear, black eyes from falling over a curb, at an airport I got an explosion in my leg that left me limping for two weeks, there's been foot blisters a-plenty, have come down with lots of colds, broke my hand, got dehydrated, you-name-it....  Oh, and not to forget the time I'd had a cataract operation just before leaving for Las Vegas and had to take 15 eye drops a day during that holiday, all the while trying not to let my eyedrops bottle get in over 23c temperature (in Las Vegas during my stay it was 38c every day).

Cross fingers....

above: me, in Las Vegas, inside Venetian Casino Hotel.  Fake sky, fake canal, fake Venice.

*another friend reckons the reason I get injured or I'm ill  either just before or when I'm on holiday is because I'm always going on holiday!  Rude...

Las Vegas heat

Hi there

The heat was really bad in Las Vegas.  It got up to 40c.  It was so hard to walk outside without wanting to collapse in a big old heat puddle!  In Vegas I will duck in one door of a casino and out the far door to avoid having to walk outside,  but I still have to walk outside for a few minutes at a time, just to get along The Strip or cross a road.

And the wind is boiling hot. It got me  way more hot than the actual air temperature. Wellington is known as Windy Wellington but the wind in Wgton is chilling;  coat-wearing, scarf-snuggling, hat-enveloping chilling.

Now, let me tell you, my four readers, about the outdoor escalators in Vegas? - by the time the afternoon  comes  around, any escalator hand-bar has become too hot to the touch.  I talked to a woman who got a burn on her leg when she accidentally banged against the escalator step in front of her.

The ground was so hot, I burnt the bottom of my shoes -

above:  The Strip, Las Vegs

Flamingo Hotel Pool.  I stayed at this hotel.  I am always intrigued how nobody actually swim nowadays.   They stand in the water and talk. It's the same at beaches in Wellington.

I'm back from the States!

Hi there

Did you miss me?  Did ya?  Did ya?

I returned about one hour ago from a holiday of two and a bit weeks in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.  Coming home, it was one hour in plane from Vegas, then 16 hours from Los Angeles,  followed by 3 and a half hours from Melbourne.  All that flying, and I'm ultra-tired!

I still had to take 10 eyedrops a day.  Is it any wonder I was so worried about my eyes before I left home?  One week before I was due to leave, it was still dicey as to whether the doctors would let me travel?  Thank goodness, I'd taken out insurance and specifically mentioned that I had glaucoma.

I'll write about my impressions of the holiday later for you.  I'm off to bed now...

I'm back!!

Hi there

I'm back from my overseas holiday.  I arrived two days ago.  As I emerged from the plane in Wellington, I had a headache.  By the time I got home, my nose was running.  As I got into bed (it was midnight), my throat started to hurt.  The following morning, I felt ... yuck!!!! 

I had a great time in Las Vegas but I don't think I can handle the heat there anymore.  It's time to say farewell, I figure.  When I'm happily on holiday I forget to eat and drink and I got totally dehydrated one day.  I felt so awful!

Other days, of course, I did remember to eat -

I went to Universal Studios in Los Angeles and saw the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction - the butterbeer was sooooo delicious:

 and I visited Paramount Studios where I got transported .....  Yep, Star Trek.

...

I saw Cher singing her classic hits in the same costumes as her early videos.  She arrived on stage riding an elephant (fake).  Here' a very blurry picture -

I had lots of nice meals and some terrible ones.  I met many lovely people -  I've said it before and I'll say it again, Americans are so-so-so polite.

My plane from Australia to Los Angeles had to deviate to Honolulu to get our toilets fixed, adding three hours to the schedule.  Ugggghhh.... 

We're all going on a summer holiday (etc)!

Hi there

Whenever I'm nearing the start of a holiday I always break out ( very untunefully) into Cliff Richard's "Summer Holiday".  Today, I'm singing, dancing, somersaulting, walking on air because I'm off to Las Vegas next week.

My house-sitting friend from Auckland (plus husband) arrived last night.  I doubt if I'll see her much before I leave. This morning she's off to Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand).  She has all sorts of adventures planned for the days ahead, including Wellington on a Plate - she'll be scooting here, there, and everywhere, all around the Wellington restaurant and cafe scene.

You won't hear from me for about two and a half weeks.  Sorry, but.... wooo-hoooo!!!!

I love musicals

Hi there

I have always loved stage musicals.  And over the next few months I will be awash with them!   Usually I manage to locate only one or two a year and that's definitely not enough for a fan like me.

For years, my fave stage musical was "42nd Street".  I saw about six different productions of it.  Surprisingly, the Palmerston North version had more vim and verve to it than the New York version that starred Shirley Jones.

But then in Auckland,  some years ago, I saw "Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the musical", and I lost my heart. Such a fun show.

I booked to see the brand new production of it in Las Vegas but the musical got taken off after only three weeks and I got a refund.  Huh?  Taken off in Vegas?  The sin capital of America?  Vegas, that purportedly loves ostrich feathers and glitter, of which "Priscilla has an abundance?  Sigh, Cirque De Soleil has such a hold there.

Anyway, soon I will be seeing "Priscilla", again in Auckland.  Followed the very next day with "Billy Elliot - the musical",  and next month in Wellington there will be "Sister Act - the musical".  Oh, and I'm flying to Melbourne for  "Matilda"!

My cup runneth over.

Jackie Collins' books - loved them!

Hi there

When I was much younger, I absolutely positively adored books by Jackie Collins.  They were full of empowered women, celebrities being extremely naughty, and family feuds.

Sadly, Jackie Collins passed away this week, age 77.  Part of my youth went with her.  Ah, nostalgia...

When I was in Las Vegas last month, Jackie's older sister, Joan Collins was on a promotional visit.  Up close, she was beautiful. Here's a photo I took of Joan-

above: Joan Collins, August 2015, Las Vegas

MGM Grand Las Vegas

Hi there

One of my fave hotel/casinos in Las Vegas is the MGM Grand..

I went to the MGM buffet a couple of times to purr over the little key lime tarts - Mmmmmmmmmm......  I left my camera by mistake at this buffet, rushed back two hours later, and my camera had been handed in!  Honest people in Las Vegas.

Below:  here's a view of MGM Grand (behind the MGM signature lion on the right) .  New York New York (yes, it's said twice) hotel/casino is on the left, a replica of the skyscrapers in that city.

MGM Grand:
If you go to the television survey desk near the entrance to the pool, you can watch new programmes before they are aired.  Because of what you say, programmes can be tweaked or scrapped.  Stars can even be fired..

You cannot pick and choose programmes.  It's all secret squirrel, and you don't know what you're going to see until you're inside the viewing room.  As you watch the show, you have to continually twirl a dial as to your liking of the programme, on a scale of 1 to 100.  Afterwards, you have to fill out a survey as to the show and the actors, as well as your opinion of other shows currently on tv.

I got to rate two shows.  The best one was tentatively called "Angel from Hell".  It starred Jane Lynch ("Glee") who I absolutely love, so straight away my dial was twirled up to almost 100!

The light-hearted Angel from Hell" was about this young woman who suddenly acquired a mouthy annoying but compassionate woman (Lynch)  who popped up everywhere and knew everything about her.  Her guardian Angel?

The other was a reality show, tentatively called "Mr Congeniality" and was about this small-town lawyer who successfully coached women for beauty pagents.  My dial fluctuated from 15 to about 50.

.
Buffets:  I know that, before I left, I said I was going to do four buffets in a 24 hour period.  Well, when the time came, I just couldn't bear the thought of it!  On holiday, I am never hungry and with that and with all that heat added into the mix, I only needed one meal a day - usually a buffet.

The heat in Vegas

Hi there

Here's the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.  Every night there is a pirate-ship battle out front.

And, oh, yes, there's a lot of heat in Las Vegas.  Las Vegas exists on heat.  There's sexy ladies wearing just a few feathers and a bit of glitter, and sexy men who are probably wearing the same but I never went to any of the male stripper shows so I don't know how they dress ... or undress.  I did go to  "Showstoppers" at the Wynn Casino, and I really loved this show.  It's how I imagined Las Vegas would be.  Show girls and boys, big stage presence, full orchestra, headdresses, feathers, high-heels, lots of singing and dancing, and tunes from Broadway musicals.

However, it's the real Las Vegas heat that I'm talking about.  On two of the days I was there, the temperature on the LV Strip reached 110F, one degree less then the all-time heat record.    We were warned, via the tv each morning, that seniors must not venture outside, that there were 'cooling stations' and 'drop in' points for cold drinks and air conditioning.  The desert fire that had taken out lots of houses the previous week was still burning.

In Vegas, the August heat is so bad that you can't walk more than say two minutes without wishing to be at the South Pole, or sitting on a giant block of ice.  It's better to nip in one door of an air-conditioned casino and out the other all the way along The Strip.  For those few minutes when you're riding an outdoor escalator or crossing a street bridge, just put up with the heat and don't buy a dollar bottle of water from the bridge vendors; the bottles were found in the trash and filled with tap water.

My visit to the hundred-burro one street town of Oatman was on one of the 110F days.  Oatman is right slap-bang-dab in the middle of the desert.  The temp inside an Oatman shop, in the shade, read at 114F (45c in kiwi language).

Our tour van had arrived in Oatman a few minutes before noon and we parked in a carpark below the main street. .  I was all a-tingle to see the promised 1.15pm gunfight..  I was drenched in sweat within one minute of getting out of the van;  I didn't know how long my body could take such heat.

I heard some gunshots and a lot of yelling.

"They must be practising for the gunfight," someone said.

So.... I ate my picnic lunch, got bit by a burro, and all but expired under the sun. .

At 1 pm, our guide admitted he had his timing wrong.  The shootout had been at noon, and the next fight wouldn't be until 2.15pm. 

Another hour to hang around in that 114 degree heat?  None of us could take it, we all put up our hands voting to leave.  What a disappointment but, oh, such heaven to be in the air-conditioned van!

When I got back to Vegas, dripping in sweat, I called in to Serendipity3 and had the biggest ice cream sundae I could find on the menu:

But I truly wanted to see a cowboy gunfight....
***
Below:  temperature clock outside a general store in the El Dorado mine area.

ps: tomorrow i'll tell you the sad tale (tail, hehehe) about my Maverick Morning Horseback Ride. Same bat blog, same bat temperature.

I'M BACK FROM VEGAS!!!

Hi there

Did you miss me?  Did ya?

Well, I did everything I wanted to do, and saw all the sights I wanted to see.  In and out of all the sightseeing and the doings, there were plenty of traumatic happenings.

I got jet lag for the first time ever, and for five and a half days, I walked around in a state of full zombie-ness. And, also, from the second I stepped off the plane in Los Angeles, I was on-and-off deaf in one ear.

On my last morning in Vegas, I woke up to complete deafness in that ear.  The deafness still hasn't let up.  I am going to see the pharmacist today.  But everyone in Vegas was nice about it.  I had so many suggestions from strangers as to what to do to hear properly.  A bus driver handed me his smart phone (while he was driving) - he had found a list of how to get rid of temporary deafness and wanted me to read it.  First on the bullet-list was "jump up and down".

Then I had a blocked nose and a sore throat for four days until I turned my hotel room's air conditioning off at night.

I got bitten by a donkey......   (Bet you weren't expecting that??)  :

I was in the small western town street of Oatman, out of the Las Vegas area.  The town has loads of wild donkeys roaming the street, only we are not allowed to call them donkeys - they are burros.

"They're perfectly safe," said our group's guide.  "You can pet them, and love them, and feed them."  Blocks of alphalpha could be bought.  We were not to feed them carrots.  Carrots brought out large cancer lumps on the donkeys'-sorry-burros' necks.

I petted a few donkey-burros, then looked for a rubbish bin to throw away the remnants of the picnic lunch provided by the tour company.  A donkey stalked up to me, staring intently at the square plastic container of left-overs in my hand.

"Shoo!  Shoo!"  I backed away, scared.

That donkey-burro stalked me.  I turned left.  He turned left.  I turned right.  He turned right.  He began to nudge me.  There was a vicious look in his eyes.

I was standing beside a car and the occupants hurriedly opened a door, trying to put the door up between me and the donkey-burro.  The donkey just swerved around it.

I stumbled backward up onto the boardwalk.  It followed.  I was backed up against a shop window.

And the burro bit my arm!!!  With both sets of teeth.  Blood was drawn.

I dropped the lunch box and ran away, crying like a seven year old.

I hope I don't get rabies.  Or tetanus.  Or burro-breath.  If I turn into a a were-burro at the next full moon, I will be so distressed.....

 above: the Oatman street.  Donkeys (I mean burros) roam on shop verandas.

above: a baby.

Above:  approaching Oatman, a friendly donkey (I didn't know about them being burros then), happy to see us, put his head in the car window, in greeting..  I should have paid more attention for future reference. 

 above:  me, five minutes before The Episode.

above.  a happy stranger surrounded by friendly burros.  I don't know what happened to her later.  I fled the scene after taking this photograph.  (Oh, and quite a few burros were pregnant.)
***

Another thrilling What I Did On My Vegas Holiday coming up soon.  I promise no more donkeys-er-I-mean-burros.  This time the horrifying story will be about ... horses!

Me, going to Las Vegas

Hi there

My friend in Auckland rang me a month or so ago:

"When are you off to Las Vegas again?" she asked.

"Wha-?  Who said I was going to Las Vegas?  I've never told you I was going back .  I've been telling everyone for months that I've been there-done that."

"So, you're really not going?"

"Well ...."

"I knew it!  You can't resist the place.  Now, I've looked up what's on in Wellington during August for when I come down to house-sit;   I'll go ahead and book for 'Wellington On a Plate' and 'The International Film Festival'-"

"Whoa there.  Who's to say I'm not going in.... September!  Or... or December."

There was a bit of a pause.  Then:  "Nah ...  You like the August sales.  And the shows.  And the vibe of  millions of people surrounding you in Vegas at the height of summer.  You're a weird person, Lorraine."

My friend nattered on asking me about half a dozen Wellington restaurants. Did that restaurant have a good rep?   Was this restaurant too far away from Miramar to commute to?   Did I know of a place where crayfish would be on the menu?   And, oh-yes-there-was-a-rate-the-best-burger in Wellington contest; she was definitely up for that.

It seems that while I'm attending those ritzy buffet spreads in Las Vegas my Auckland mate will be down here in Wellington sampling every restaurant and cafe in the entire region.

I pity for both our weights afterwards.

***
PS:   J and I managed 10 swims for June.  And once this month, so far.

Gone and done it!

Hi there
In the words of the magnificently-voiced Ms Shania Twain, I've "gone and done It"*.

I've booked for America.  Again.  Obviously, i took into account that i needed to save up to repair that hole in my lounge ceiling, and that i really need new blinds, and my bank account is in dire need of replenishment, and I've just forked out for an expensive new stove, and my friends will roll their eyes aware I have Las Vegas OCD....... And yet I still booked?

For the love of little bunnies (thanks "Four Brides USA" for giving me this phrase), what came over me?  I should never have peeked at a "Do you want to go back to Las Vegas" spam email that was sent me.  I had ignored these emails for months.  SIGH.

It's bad enough that I'm a Pepsi Max addict, but to also admit that i am addicted to Las Vegas is surely over the top?

(Eight horrific days now without Pepsi.  Do i get my eight day good-girl badge?)

Ive never so much as played a poker machine in Las Vegas - don't gamble in any form, never ever bought a Lotto ticket - but I do think Vegas is an exciting and safe place to indulge my luxury-on-a-budget whims.

I truly have gone and done it ...


               *from the song "Love Gets Me Every Time".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FxygSMDZMk

Niles, the butler, from 'The Nanny'

Hi there

I notice that 'The Nanny' is showing on Chanel 4.  Niles the butler was always a favourite of mine in that show.

Now, I've mentioned before that stars are there for the tripping over in Las Vegas.  Whilst I was there last year, I met Daniel Davis who plays Niles.

Daniel is such a nice man.  He said that his favourite scene in 'The Nanny' was when he did the Tom Cruise 'Risky Business' imitation in shirt, underpants, socks, but with a feather duster, and pretending he was singing.

Click below to watch the scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3XdLTBcYYM


Here I am with Daniel Davis:

Me, (nearly) in the presence of a celebrity in Las Vegas - GRUMPY CAT!

Hi there

There's one young celebrity who has had a cannonball rise to stardom.  Grumpy Cat!

Grumpy Cat is a cat.  She looks eternally...grumpy!  She is a world-wide hit on the 'net.  She has fans.  Loads of them.  She's making lots of money for her owners.  There are books about her.  She is shortly to have her own movie.



I was in Las Vegas at the beginning of this month when Grumpy Cat made an appearance at Kitsons Store.   I wandered over to have a look.  The line to see Grumpy Cat was going out the door of the shop and, by my estimation, weaved about 200 metres up the outside pathway that leads to The High Roller ferris wheel. Everyone wanted their picture taken with Grumpy Cat.  People were dying to buy her books and her souvenir products.

I did try to look through a window and I thought I saw a flash of a fluffy tail but who knows?  I could have been mistaken and it could have been her stunt double.  Or her look-alike Grumpy Cat fluffy toy ... 


... or one of her fans kowtowing in front of the icon.

Grumpy Cat even went on The High Roller ferris wheel (top picture),  The High Roller did not appear to improve her grumpy mood.

You can see a succession of  pictures of Grumpy Cat on The High Roller, Las Vegas by hitting this link (don't forget to hit the arrows either side of Grumpy Cat's picture):

http://www.lasvegassun.com/photos/galleries/2014/aug/05/grumpy-cat-rides-high-roller-linq-las-vegas/#/0

eating with Gordon Ramsay in Las Vegas

Hi there

No, I didn't actually eat sitting beside chef Gordon Ramsay.  I ate at one of his places on the Las Vegas Strip.   The Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill that was inside Caesar's Palace Casino

Anyway, Gordon's fish-and-chips-and-mushy-peas came out elegantly sitting on a sheet of newspaper.  What?  In NZ, it's been long outlawed to eat fish and chips out of newspaper, because of hygiene reasons and, maybe, even newsprint poisoning.

The fish and chips were nice but I felt terribly guilty having such a meal in America, so I ordered a Knickerbocker Glory as a follow-up.  Now, that was American.... and worth every penny (or cent).

The chairs at the "pub" had the picture of a corgi dog on them.  This could be carrying the English theme a little too far.  I think the queen would be most displeased to see her canine pets so publicised. 

The High Roller, Las Vegas

Hi there

No, I'm not saying that I was the High Roller in Las Vegas.  Because I actually forgot to even try out the slot machines, there was so much else to do and see.

The High Roller is the name of Vegas's giant ferris wheel.  Giant ferris wheels seem to be all the rage in cities nowadays, but Vegas boasts the biggest one.  Of course.

Each 'pod' carries about 40 people but there were only a couple of others in the pod with me.  When our pod reached the very top, it was hard to comprehend that the little buildings below us were mostly all about 25 stories high.

 In Las Vegas, I went to see the musical "Million Dollar Quartet" which was about the day Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash all met together at Sun Studios.  

I also saw Olivia Newton John's Show at The Flamingo where I was staying.  She was so natural and had a wonderful rapport with the audience.  I would have loved to own the black glitter trouser suit that she came out in for her first song.  Even though Celine Dion's show that I saw last year had all the bells, whistles, orchestra, digital stuff, spotlights, sound,  and pure Vegas-ism about it, I much preferred Olivia's seemingly genuine happiness.  At the show, however, I didn't particularly like having to share a booth with four strangers, though we did have an interesting conversation about American gated retirement village.  The village this couple lived in covered km upon km and included golf course, indoor and outdoor pools, gyms, mall, lake, town hall, village shops, theatres, walking tracks, bushland, you-name-it....

I'm off to Las Vegas!

Hi there
My house-sitting friend and her husband arrived down from Auckland last night.  I had to move all my things-to-be-packed off the lounge sofa.  I had to clear the floor of a lot more stuff.  I had to gather up dozens of to-do lists from the dining table. 

I had to act welcoming when what I truly wanted to frantically do was have yet another fashion parade around the house.  I still can't decide what clothes to take to Las Vegas.  When it all has to fit into one cabin bag that is only allowed to be a certain height, width and length, and weigh no more than 7kg, let me tell you it all takes some doing.

The other day my swimming friend, J, made some joke about me having fashion parades throughout the night.  I laughed hearitly with her and tried not to remember that I leapt out of bed at 2 am the other morning to try on a tunic that was tucked away in a box at the top of the wardrobe.

I even trotted over to Wellington Airport with my cabin bag stuffed full of two cushions to ensure it would fit in one of those little crates that the airline people put out.  If a bag doesn't fit, it won't be allowed on the plane.

Anyway, I'm off tomorrow.  Las Vegas buffets, here I come!!!!

See you in two weeks.   

PS:  don't forget me......

Las Vegas, Baby

Hi there

My friend and her husband are coming down from the Auckland region next week to house-sit for me.  I'm off to Las Vegas for a fortnight.  Whoopeee.....

Because I will only be taking cabin baggage consisting of a small hold-all, I have been having fashion parade after fashion parade over the last month, trying for materials I can wear that scrunch up to virtually nothing.  Chiffon mainly.  I've had so many fashion parade try-outs that I've had to wash all my clothes twice already 'cause I've handled them so much. 

Everything has to match with everything.  It's killing me that I can't weigh myself down in glitter clothes, a la Vegas, but as my long-term readers know, because of my plantar fasciitis of the heel, I have to dress down to match my trainers and my hiking sandals which are just about the only shoes I can wear nowadays (it's now been 18 months)..

I have the most gorgeous glitter purple chandelier dangly earrings.  I have a fantastic shimmery silver and black evening top.  I have sparkly evening shoes.  I have a tiara and a sceptre.....   No, no, only kidding about the sceptre.  Oh, all right, and the tiara.....    The point is that I won't be able to dress glittery and it's really upsetting me. 

A friend told me today to get out and buy a pair of sequinned sneakers,  She said any fashion goes in Las Vegas.  At first I was horrified by the thought of sparkly sneakers but I might just go out trawling shoe shops tomorrow....

It's "Elementary" - the Sherlock Holmes tv show

Hi there

When I was in Las Vegas last year, I stayed at the MGM Grand.  Visitors to the casino can rate and comment on the bare bones of an (unidentified when you sign up for it) upcoming television show.  Usually, a new season opener.  The background music might not have been added, nor the credits, nor some scenes.  For instance when I attended one session in 2012, a notice came up on the screen at the start of a scene saying something about blood and spatter to be added later. - no prizes for guessing the name of that show:  "Criminal Minds".

I was happy as a sandboy to discover when I got into the screening room last year that we were all (about a dozen of us) to review 'Elementary', which would be shown on American tv screens, I think, the following month. 

As the episode progressed, I was required to twirl a numbered dial expressing my level of interest.  If I felt like turning the show off completely - horrors for tv executives - I would press a button. 

After watching 'Elementary', we had to mark off on a personal computer what we thought of each star, the supporting actors, the music , individual scenes, the production, etc.  Then ... it was a long session ticking off our likes and dislikes of dozens of other tv shows and their stars.

It's hard to take in that collectively we viewers in that room could be responsible for the careers of so many people.

The episode that I rated last year was the new season-starter where Holmes goes back to England with his assistant, and sees his brother. 

Look out for it on NZ television screens this coming week.  Of course, that's if NZ tv play the episodes in the proper order.

Oh, here's a pic I took of The Strip, night-time, in Las vegas:

FYI:  The Cottage in Eketahuna. where I stayed a couple of weeks ago, survived the eartquake, but a house belonging to the owners' relatives, not so well.  They've had to move out and wait for the structure to be assessed.