Good day to All!
First, I wanted to share with you readers something I am really excited about-
this Friday night March 22, I will be helping in the kitchen at the Red Barn Restaurant on Riverside Drive in Augusta! Owner Laura Benedict has graciously invited me to join them to see how their kitchen runs on a busy Friday night, in anticipation for my new undertaking with China Dine-ah Too.
Laura, Peter and Shane are some of the nicest, hard working, honest people you will ever meet. Thanks for inviting Ralph Arbour and I into your restaurant, I feel both honored and privileged to be able to work with such a generous and successful group ....you guys are the best!! I hope to some day in the future return the favor.
I also ate at KP's at 245 Center Street in Auburn, Maine and saw Keith Genest the owner while I was there. He was very gracious and invited me out into the kitchen to show me how they do chicken and seafood. If you are in the Lewiston Auburn area, you must look them up, you would swear you were at the Red Barn, after all Keith worked there for several years. I know Keith through his wife Heather who worked at my doctor's office before starting a family. Keith and Heather also speak very highly of the folks at the Red Barn and we may even see them there Friday night.
What did everybody think of the snow on Tuesday? Really hard to accept that yesterday was the first day of Spring with 8" to 10" of new white powdery snow. It sure did look pretty for a day, but now we have to deal with the melting and an additional two weeks of mud season.
I am back from my traveling and have no other trips planned for the remainder of the year with the exception of a three day conference in September. Feels good to have my body back on Eastern Standard Time! Must say, I do miss my daughter and the warm weather in India.The weather in Las Vegas was also great, although I wasn't outside very much.
I just heard from my daughter this morning and two more dogs in their neighborhood have been bitten by a Russel's Viper. These dogs did not fare as well, as the dog that had previously been bitten. If you remember, I wrote about another incident that occurred just after I left India. This second event occurred on a Saturday night and the owners were out of town and only the maid was at home. Therefore, the dogs did not receive immediate medical attention, and even though efforts were made to save them, unfortunately they passed away. This has Leslie on high alert and concerned for her dogs. Never a dull moment!
Now for some good news from India, Leslie and Abhi's housekeepers have booked their return tickets back to Goa from their trip to their homeland, some 900 miles away. They are leaving for a month and there was concern they would not return.
Also from India, my daughter Leslie is doing very well with her pregnancy. She informed me that for the first time, both she and Abhi felt the baby kick on the outside of her belly. She also had a check up with her midwife and all is fine. Yes, she is having her baby at home, go figure. Really, I'm all for whatever they want, it's all about them, as it should be.
Last week, I told all of you that I would share some additional photos of my most recent trip. I chose not to show the lights and glitter of Las Vegas and quite frankly, I didn't even take any pictures, save a few. I instead wanted to share with you the beauty of the surrounding dessert and a couple of pictures inside the hotel, so here we go.

Harriet Lake at Red Rock Spring Mt Ranch (man made lake, water source for ranch)

Red Rock Canyon
Dessert at Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Spring Mt Ranch (once owned by Howard Hughes and was the residence of German actress Vera Krupp from 1955-1967. Krupp once owned the 33 carat Krupp diamond which was more recently owned by Elizabeth Taylor. Krupp also had it set in a ring and in April of 1959, three men forced their way inside the ranch house and took the ring from Krupp's finger! The diamond was later recovered in New Jersey)

Indian hand print said to be approximately 800 years old (see top right hand portion of picture) Hand print made with dye from local ingredients at the time
(Too bad we don't have paint that would last like this!)
Dessert photo
"Tulips" located in the Winn Theater Rotunda at Winn, Las Vegas. This sculpture by renowned artist Jeff Koons was purchased by Steve Winn at auction in November 2012 for $33,682,500. Created from more than 3 tons of stainless steel, brought to a high mirror polish and plated in a vivid spectrum of color. (NOTE: The two men in white suits with their long polishing brushes, this is a daily occurrence. There is also a guard that watches over this piece and is very quick to tell you the purchase price.) The image of this art is used in many of the Winn's promotional brochures.
Hallway to meeting and conference rooms at the Winn, Las Vegas. Felt like you were in a palace! (Nice to be back to normal living quarters.)
Hope you enjoyed this week's newsletter, although it's a lot of work, I truly enjoy sharing my life adventures with you all. Without the help of Sue in our G & E Roofing office, this would not be possible. Thanks Sue!
Join us next week to see the Easter Bunny and also to enjoy Easter dinner with us! Remember, we are
seating up until 6 pm on Easter Sunday.
Thank you for reading and for your continued support!