We did not just up and leave town for the long three day weekend but in truth, it was pretty much a computer free vacation. I hate the thought of not being able to check my e-mail, look at Google or of course, give blow by blow details of everything I tossed down my gullet and the participating restaurant involved.
So, just a quick recap:
Saturday, we painted our living room and installed crown molding. I made easily four or five trips to Lowe's to pick-up things that I had forgotten on previous trips. It was during one of these trips that regular reader Deb wandered into the garage as my wife pre-painted molding and turned over the first two seasons of Dexter. More on Dexter in a minute.
We really worked our butts off until about 30 minutes before it was time to attend the GNW Casino Night. In all honesty, when I jumped out of the shower to put on my spiffy cowboy boots (it was a Western theme), I had serious thoughts of just jumping into bed.
Eva collects the goods
I attribute her good luck to the fact that the turn out was low compared to last time. I suppose that a lot of people who might otherwise have attended were off doing Labor Day related travel or attending family events. Still, there was a good crowd and once again, the crew who put on the casino was top-notch.
On Sunday morning, we got up and got started painting our stairwell. For such a small area, it is a real pain in the arse, what with the ceiling being 20 feet high or something like that. Of course, at one point, I was staring up at the roller I had on a long extension handle and as if in slow motion, I watched a splatter of paint fall down the full 20 feet and directly into my eye. Have you ever wondered why it is, if things seem to happen in slow motion, you can't seem to move out of the way? What the hell. We got most of the stairwell painted and then I started in on the crown molding. Yea, all the way up there.
We stopped for dinner and that was it. We opted to start watching Season 1 of Dexter and saw the first 4 episodes that night.
On Monday, we knocked out the upstairs hallway and finished up most of the clean-up and other odds and ends. I still have a few little areas to caulk but it can wait. The other thing was, as we moved through each area, I swapped out electrical outlets and light switches. This house was built in 1976, and I figured it was time to swap out the plugs. Oh, a little hint from me to you: I have found that it helps to turn off the electricity when you change out the electrical outlets. Good times.
And with that, we watched the rest of season one of Dexter and enjoyed it. Tonight we start with Season 2 and when we finish that, we will utilize the Showtime on Demand feature (yay, Showtime!) to watch Season 3. Then, as Buzzardbilly reports, we are only 3 weeks away from Season 4.
I'm just going to assume all of you know about Dexter (since we seem to be several seasons late for everything), but in case you don't know, he is a serial killer who works for the police. How convenient is that?
Today, I was back at work where I generally rested and thanked my lucky stars I'm not a painter by profession. Hopefully, there won't be any three-day weekends coming up anytime soon; I'm just not sure I can handle the workload.
I was driving by the marquee in our neighborhood today and noticed that they had a reminder up about the big Casino Night coming up tomorrow (Saturday) night. On the sign it said the event started at 8PM.
Of course we stopped into the Lodge to ask about it. The little poster I have says the shindig starts at 7PM. Sure enough, they changed the marquee, so in case you got the wrong info, 7PM is correct.
My wife and I had a great time during the last Casino Night, and this time, the theme is "Wild West". I'm gonna put on some boots, jeans, maybe a vest, who knows? Hell, I might Boot, Scoot, and/or Boogie, even if this isn't a place where you would actually dance.
This is an adults only event and it is not a BYOB situation like the recent Luau, but they will have a cash bar available (or I'm going home). Anyway, just wanted to let you know of the correct time and we hope to see ya there.
On the off chance that your social calendar is normally booked solid several weeks ahead of time, I offer you two important events that you should prepare yourself for.
First, if you are a card carrying member of the Great Northwest, you simply must attend the GNW Annual Luau which takes place on Saturday, the 15th of August. Unfortunately, the poster I have does not include a time on it, but my guess is 7'ish. I'll update when I learn more.
I should tell you that my wife and I attended the last Luau with neighbors and we had a blast. The GNW Sounds warmed up the crowd with a few festive numbers at the beginning of the event, then a DJ/Karaoke guy came on and really got things going. The event is for adults aged 21 and up and it is a BYOB type of thing. There will be food provided. Don't call PETA, but someone said they might even have a pig on a spit! Check your next Passages for details.
Up next, on Saturday the 5th of September between 7-11pm, the GNW will have a Wild West themed Casino Night. Put on your best jeans, maybe a vest and a cowboy hat, and men, consider wearing one of those fancy western style country and western shirts. I'm going dressed as Porter Wagoner! (Kidding)
My wife and I had an awesome time at the first Casino Night. The folks who put it on did a great job and nobody, far as I could tell, was disappointed. This one is not free and it is not BYOB, but everything is very reasonable. Again, learn more in Passages.
We hope to see you at both these fun events!
One of the great benefits of living in a neighborhood with a homeowners association like the Great Northwest is ability to hold community events that serve the neighborhood, are close to home, and are extremely fun. The creative GNW staff organized a casino night event that was extremely successful, well attended, and based upon the happy faces of the folks there, an event worth repeating.
My wife and I along with several neighbors made the short trip down to the Lodge of the Great Northwest in Silver Creek on Saturday, May 2nd, and found the place transformed into a small Vegas style gaming floor. Upon entering, we paid a $25.00 fee per couple which included tickets for free drinks and two chips worth $1,000 each. Oh sure, if we could have cashed them in for actual money, I might have called it a night right there, but no, these chips were for playing!
As the room began to fill with residents, people were able to talk with the various dealers and members of the gaming crew manning the tables, to help explain the various games. As our blackjack dealer Jack told us, these casino nights are all about teaching people how to play the various games without the risk of losing a load of real cash.
At precisely 7PM, people could begin cashing in the $1,000 chips for smaller amounts and start with the games of their choice. For me, it was right to the Craps table. I'll be very honest, I still find Craps to be a confusing game, but the few times I've been to Las Vegas, I find it to be completely worth the money - that I eventually lose. And the GNW Casino night was no different.
There were several experienced gamblers who fully understood the terminology, the odds and the various strategies involved, but for me, I relied very heavily on Allan, one of the guys running the Craps table to keep me straight on when to place bets. Eventually, thanks to a lady who had a long run of good luck, I made a series of solid bets and walked away with a healthy heaping of chips, as opposed to my experiences in Las Vegas where I tend to walk away empty handed!
Craps wasn't the only game in town. I have always enjoyed the sound of the one-armed-bandits, though rarely have I appreciated the shear waste of money. True to casino form, my experience here was no different. For $500 in chips, the players receive a bag full of tokens that work the slots. And of course, I went through that little baggy in about two minutes. But other people were luckier than I. Several people hit big on the slots, and I'm sure they will thank me later for contributing my tokens to their big take-home.
My wife was having fun at the black jack tables and so I decided to join in. In the grand scheme of things, I think this is the best place for you to get bold and play a lot of chips. Like Craps, the table is made fun and entertaining by the dealer and the excitement of the people joining in. Thankfully, we had a good crowd and excellent and entertaining dealers. As the night went on, my confidence and chips began to grow and I started to make some larger bets.
There were several tables of people playing Texas Hold'em, in fact it was so popular I saw people waiting for a chair to open so they could get in.
Other folks played the Roulette table which seemed to be very popular as well.
And it wouldn't be Casino Night without a little cheer from the bar. A professional catering staff was brought in to man the cash bar, and as it turned out, it seemed to be a very popular idea.
When the gambling officially stopped at 10PM, the players traded in their chips for tickets toward drawings for prizes including the grand prize, a trip to Las Vegas. Depending on the amount of chips you had, you got a certain number of tickets, so really, those who did extremely well in their gaming got more chances to win the prizes.
And the winner of the trip to Las Vegas was the same lady that had the hot hand in Craps earlier in the evening!
Oh sure, it would have been nice to win that trip to Vegas, but when all was said and done, we had a great time and really enjoyed the evening. I was impressed by the entire group of professionals who staffed the Casino Night. They never lost sight of the fact that we were there to have fun and learn about the various games, and as people would show interest in a particular game, the dealers would engage them, encouraging them to give it a try. You can't ask for more than that.
My only question would be, when can we do it again?
Wanna see all the pictures? Head over to the Flickr Page.
I promised Darin, our Community Manager that I would put up this poster for our Great Northwest Casino Night planned for Saturday the 2nd of May. Click on it and it may become readable.
This gives those of you GNW folks plenty of time to make arrangements for a sitter, iron a pair of slacks and get in a Vegas frame of mind.
And of course, We'll be there. The last time my wife and I attended one of these Casino Night deals, we won all sorts of booty. I think they give you a certain amount of chips when you arrive, and then you either promptly lose them all and head straight for the cash bar until the night is over, or, you can do like my wife did and start winning at the tables and leave with lots of prizes.
If you are a GNW resident, why not give it a shot? Need more info? You can head down to the Lodge office and ask someone, or why not give them a call at 681-2983.
My wife and I have made a few trips to Las Vegas, not because we are gamblers of any aptitude, but because it is a fun place to go. It has been several years since our last visit and each time I hear stories of people wanting to legalize gambling in Texas, I'm all for it. Again, I say that as a non-gambler.
I do believe it is worth the dollar you could spend once or twice a week to have the momentary fantasy of playing the state Lotto and actually winning a Bazillillon dollars, but I only believe that is true if you can restrain yourself from fantasizing your paycheck away. And that is the primary reason people seem opposed to allowing gambling here.
I just think it is somewhat awkward that the people who decide whether or not we can increase our tourist trade by opening casinos, are the same people who have depended on the state lottery to subsidize schools so they can spend your tax dollars on other pork projects. But I digress...
I say we are not gamblers but we are not opposed to designated a small amount of disposable income to simply throw it into the wind on the very unlikely chance that we could win something bright and shiny, like a quarter or a watch.
So my wife is always going to this little convenience store that is also a Post Office to mail packages to our daughter, and we found this little machine that really was fun. If you think of a slot machine in that, if you put in a quarter (or an electronic bet) you get a play and when the mechanical thing is done, you either win something or lose. In our case, you lose. 
This little machine lets you throw in your money, but here you can see first hand how you are going to lose your money. There are two shelves that move back and forth. You toss your quarter into the slot and as it lands on the first moving shelf, it takes up space which in turn, moves the existing quarters. If one or more quarters on the first shelf are pushed onto the second shelf, the same thing happens; more room is needed and when a quarter or a prize on the second shelf falls, it goes into a little chute, and you win it!
Yes, I know; you are not ever going to win as much money as you put into it. But the same is true about the state lottery. I know this to be true. But I'm cool with that.
We got up Saturday morning and when I walked out into the hall way, I could see the street in front of our hotel being blocked off. A trailer had been parked directly across the street and a podium and seats were being set-up in a fashion similar to a rally or something. I wondered to myself if a delegation of vagabonds was going to protest the lack of soup kitchens or some such madness.
I waltzed down to the front desk so as to inquire within, and none of the assembled staff had a clue as to what was transpiring. Being the curious type, I headed across the street to discuss same with a gentleman setting up a sound mixer and microphones. As if I were Sam Donaldson or some other obnoxious reporter, I held my crappy digital camera in front of me and asked the gentleman what all the commotion was about, and why would microphones and podiums be needed? He helpfully informed me that they were having a parade to celebrate Mexican Independence. I asked him, "From Wichita Falls?" and he promptly laughed telling me no, from Spain.
Now I'm no math expert but I quickly ran upstairs to ask my wife if it was already the 16th of September, and she informed me that it was not. So, as close as we could figure, either the people in Wichita Falls were off on the dates, or all the Mexican people of Wichita Falls will be busy watching the Cowboys next Sunday, and figured they would knock it out on Saturday the 8th. That is flexibility if you ask me, and I like flexibility.
The good news is, I like a nice parade and we had great seats. So, without further ado - a few pictures of the event.
No Parade is complete without a visit from the fire department - Wichita Falls finest...
Lots of nice pick-ups and flags and traditional costumes... 
High School bands were out in force...
And it is good to know that there are portly children everywhere, not just San Antonio.
I should mention that at the beginning of the parade, a kind lady annouced that parents should keep an eye on the little ones as some of the parade participants would be passing out candy. And all of the sudden, it was on!
This little kid seemed to notice before others!
Then suddenly, as if an unexpected verdict had been reached in the Phil Specter trial, there was near pandimonium of youngsters scrambling everywhere...
As some kids ignored all rules of civility, others seemed to look for guidance from parents...
And then some parents even joined the fray...
Finally, one young man had put a halt to the chaos by simply taking all the candy from the other little children. Thank God, it was over.
I was proud to salute the Mexican-American Vets as they passed by, in honor of my late father-in-law, who served in Korea.
No parade is complete without representation from the Boy Scouts. This proud troop reminded me of our own recent GNW Labor Day Parade and the Scouts who came out.
Perhaps at our next parade, the Scouts can have thier own go-kart to enter.
Cheerleaders got the crowd back into the spirit following the short mele'...
And then tiny little people dressed in traditional Mexican outfits made an appearance.
I don't believe this is the actual Taco Bell dog, at least he didn't talk like him, but the crowd cheered wildly as he walked by. As a side note, they should make tiny little Chihuahua jock straps. This little doggy was swingin'.
This parade had many really unique automobiles as participants...
Clowns in Clown cars...
People on horses...
I'm not sure this dude was actually in the parade, but he had a flag, so his bike fit right in...
And Grizzly Adams here looks as though he walked off quite a few pounds down the route...
And when all was said and done... we danced. 
Well, some people danced. We went gambling at the Indian Casinos in Oklahoma. 
Eva collects the goods
