Thank you, Dusty, for all the amazing memories . . .

Dusty's Life Tribute from Tasha Rhodes on Vimeo.

On July 8th, 2010, Dusty Buckel made her transition to the next life, this is for her . . .

There's a Mouse in the House.

There's a mouse in the house! At first it was seen out side behind the fridge on the patio; a field mouse. Living in the desert of Las Vegas, and with our intense "growth", the earth is always being turned and uprooting many creatures that just want to be left alone, and are terrified of "man". (can't blame them!) So, when my uncle saw this little guy and told me, I said........ "Oh, just let him be. He probably came in the yard from the desert lot that used to be behind my home, before they developed it to professional office buildings."



Great idea: leave the little guy alone! Right!! Now, he is in my home and living behind my kitchen refrigerator. That little guy is fat and fast. He loves banana's and raw potato's. So, how do I get him out?? Good question.



My daughter came home with a 'no kill' mouse trap that is designed to capture the little guy in to a long black tube like contraption that is balanced with the bait at the opposite end of the entrance, and when the little guy shifts his weight to that bait end to eat, the trap falls on the entrance and he cannot get out. SOOOOO, one evening we find the trap shut and we celebrate. We walk to the end of the block where there is an open field (carrying this black tube like contraption and the little guy in it), so we can turn him loose and we can have our kitchen back. We carefully open the tube and Voala!!!.... No mouse! Empty. He outsmarted us.



Well, months have gone by and we are cleaning everywhere he has been and more. He has chewed up two of my house plants and totally demolished them so that I could not even save them, and I am pretty good with house plants. NOW, he is among our DVD's and video's. He is pretty bold, making all kinds of noise back there on the book shelves, knowing that he can move faster than I can. So, what to do??



As much as my heart says no, my mind says, get a mouse trap!! This guy has gone beyond the boundaries of sharing space............ he is now invading my space. Even the dogs don't sleep through the night, with all his racket!!



Can you relate to this?? Not wanting to kill some critter that is totally taking over your home?? I find evidence of him everywhere and I just can't bring myself to buy the mouse trap. At least not tonight. Guess a hot bath is in order.

Bookend Generation

Are you taking care of your parents and also your children?? You, my dear, are the bookend generation.

Who would have ever thought that you would be in this situation? I sure didn't, but am. I always felt that I raised my mom and I know I am not alone in this one. My younger brother was my laughing buddy; boy, could we get in to trouble just for laughing!

With our parents living longer, it looks like we had better think twice about 'sizing down' when our children go off to college. In not too distant a future, we all will need a bedroom bath Downstairs. Then when the kids come home to visit, with their children, now, we will need to add another room and bath to the home we thought was too big and empty!!

My Mother, going on 86, fell and broke her left wrist and now she is in a hospital bed, in the middle of my living room. It was exactly a year ago that this same living room was her hospital room, after she endured surgery. She cannot live in her own apartment because she cannot yet, take care of herself with that full arm cast. I am blessed to have my first born daughter live with me and thus, the title for this blog.

As I sit here in my office area of my home, both my Mother and daughter are watching a Disney flick and I am typing my thoughts to you.

I am finding that I am climbing my stairs a little slower myself, and the thought of having to live with my children is a thought that I absolutely do not want to consider. Guess, I will just have to get physically active and keep my body as healthy as possible (having already survived cancer) I have not been as active as I used to be and I can feel my bones stiffening up.

I watch my Mother get around and marvel at her grace in accepting her age and slow moving body. Her skin is terrific; hardly a wrinkle in her face. She loves me to fix her hair into a short style (I cut it and color it). She is refusing to go grey! So last week with her left arm in a cast and her head bent into my kitchen sink, we got her a new dew. Ha! At least she is not complaining and being a difficult patient.

How are you handling yourself, with your "seniors" in your life? Are you impatient with them? Short tempered? Are you seeing, perhaps, any unfinished business from childhood pop up?? Yup, I have been there too, but in the end, if we live that long, we too, will need the care and love of our children, even if we cannot see ourselves living with them now.

I guess that is the beauty of life; the "cycle" of it all. Sooner or later, it all comes around and we get to look back and relive it, either with Joy of our choices, or disdain for them. So, what to do?? Make the choices today, you will enjoy tomorrow.

I have a lot more work to do on myself and I am doing that. There is a great site that you may want to check out for yourself: google in Byron Katie and watch her as she does "The Work." 4 simple questions that cause you to inquire your thoughts. Wow! This has really helped me.
Catching my thought and actually questioning it, before it leads me into creating more of my past.

I have her CD's in my car and listen to them as I drive. I am ever so grateful to myself for being patient with me. I no longer beat myself up mentally with the "should haves" or "could haves" of my past. Whatever I did, or thought, or however I acted, is just that..... in the past. I am now here, in my home in Las Vegas, with my Mother and daughter.

So, how about you? Look at your children and imagine living with them in their home. It is not them living with you; but you living with them. Are you raising them to be the adults that you can live with??? Ha! That's a great question, and one that will soon live out the answer.

If you have a parent or senior living with you, are you gentle with them and yourself, remembering that they are where you will be, soon enough.

God Bless you in your life and may you always (in all ways) remember to be grateful for it all, because, You are all of it.

Buy your piece of Las Vegas

So, you want to invest in Las Vegas. Maybe you sold that shopping center or at least have it in escrow and you have an estimated closing date. Well, consider downtown Las Vegas. When people think of Las Vegas, they think of the "Strip", where the major Hotel Casino's are built, but the downtown area offers a wonderful opportunity for investing.

Take our High-Rise, mixed use projects that are springing up all over the valley, and imagine yourself having purchased some of the parcels in their path of growth, just a couple of years ago. What a wonderful dream that would be. Your piece of dirt that probably cost you around $24 SF, now is worth $100+ SF. Not bad! AND, you may say, those days are gone....... not so. Sure the per square foot cost may be higher today, but the upside is just as great a spread. Money, making money!

Give me a call and let's talk on how you too, can position yourself in the path of growth, in downtown Las Vegas. Casino's, Entertainment District, Arts District, Judicial Center, Union Park... you name it, I can find it for you.

I have been here over 28 years and this is home to me and my family. Let me show you how, you too, can experience the other side of Las Vegas, the side that offers opportunity, short term or long term.

If you have a real estate investment that is about to close, as you have sold it, and you want to defer the capital gain tax, let's talk, ... Investigate the opportunities that Las Vegas offers you.

God Bless,

Las Vegas... On the Grow!!

Have you ever driven back to your home town, where you grew up, knowing everyone on your block, and got totally blown away at the growth and all the new streets, buildings, shopping centers, new car lots, new schools (private and public). Normal dirt desert roads are now busy metropolis major arterials. Looking South, you used to see mountains, now all you see is more growth! Ever drive the normally unused streets, to now, only find yourself in a 6 lane, bumper to bumper highway?? (Ha! then there are those of you who may say, your home town is still the same, mayber worse, because the freeway bypassed it.)

Well, if you can identify with my question...Welcome to Las Vegas. A City that once (only 29 yrs ago) was only a total population in the entire valley of 200,000 people, and today, at least 180,000 visitors a day, EACH DAY, drop in for their idea of Fun and Relaxation, or a New Start. Traffic on Sahara Ave., was so slow, I used to polish my nails as I drove across town, from the West side to the East Side of Las Vegas in just 10 minutes, without major interference, bumps or stops that would cause me to spill my polish or to smudge my nails. Not anymore!!

Would you believe it, I used to live on W. Desert Inn Rd., then, a dirt road with open desert to the south of the road and when I looked East, I could see mountains. Now??? 6 lane, busy arterial with no parking on either side of the street, and when you look East, you see the "Strip", Hotel/Casino Resorts, like Wynn, Stratosphere , Trump Tower, Venetian, TI, and more. I wonder what ever happened to that ole goose that used to sit out on a desert hill out in front of my house? Or that little guy, that would walk to work, on schedule every day of the week. You would see him walking East in the morning and walking West in the evening.

Think back at all the beautiful people that have come and gone through your life, that you never took the time to get to know them, taking for granted that they will just "be there" as usual. Wow! Well, there is no-thing as "usual" in Las Vegas. We are growing and there is no stop in sight.

This is a pro-growth City, just ask the developers that delight at the local municipal support they get for their projects. Too Big, you say! When is enough, enough?? Back, 28 yrs ago, folks then talked about the days when the Rat Pack was active and that blew alot of people away, in saying "What ever happened to the good ole days? The good ole Vegas."

Guess what, Vegas is still Good. As a matter of fact, it is even better than ever!! Whatever it is you want, you can find it here. You want to go out at 3 AM cus you can't sleep? Go!! You will fit right in, even in your P.J's. You want to join a good Church?? Las Vegas has more churches per capita that any other City. How about "escaping"? You can drive maybe 20 minutes and be out in the desert, off on a dirt trail, all alone, in the beauty and silence of No-Thingness. Just You and YOU, everywhere you look, you will see more of yourSelf. The you that has the strength of the mountains around you, that have withstood global changes for millions of years, the you that is fertile with creativity and idea's, like you, the desert just needs a little water and it is off creating!
Everywhere you look you will see how beautiful you are.

You see, I have come to realize that Las Vegas, is more than just another City, it is a place of Growth. People come here for many reasons and they leave for many reasons, but all roads lead back here. They return, for many reasons. This is the place to truly unveil your full potential, and your hearts passion. Here, in this island of growth, is your opportunity to finally, face your greatest fears and turn them into your greatest dreams. It's all energy and that is all you are, so how you use it, is up to you.

Give You, your Support!

Wow!! Our high-rise development project downtown Las Vegas finally got full entitlements. We received the City of Las Vegas APPROVAL, on Sept. 19th, 2007. Go to: http://www.theislandlasvegas.com/ and check us out.

Talk about going into a "numb" zone, after working on this for 3 years. Normally, with steady, unrelenting focus and pushing, this process may have only taken 8 months, but during our 3 year time frame, there actually were ordinances changed that helped our getting approval for building 50 stories, not just the original 45 that we started out wanting to develop.

I know that ALL things happen in Divine Order and my taking the second year off, to handle my physical challenge of cancer, was also part of the great plan that ultimately guided my Development Team to a win!!

We are all so excited to be part of changing the face of a neighborhood and watching the faces in the neighborhood change!!

How about you? Is there a "project" or a "dream" in your heart that is waiting for you to support YOU?? Just know that you are worth your support and whatever you are working on, whether it be in the after hours, after your regular job, or if you are Full Out There, like I have been this year, each little step you take will get you that one step closer. Then the day will come when you will Step right into your Dream. You know, ... that one that is waiting for you to step into it .... by taking a step in it's direction, NOW!

Gosh, I am still in that Numb space. Ha! So this is what it is like to burst through that ribbon! Haven't done that in 44 years. (I used to be a high school track star. Low hurdle jumper.)

Pin the Tail... is that like Life??

Ever wonder how to get beyond that seeming impossible hill?? Sure, I have said many times, just see yourself on the other side, and the "where with all" to get you there will show up. Yes,..... AND, then you find out that the other side is another hill, even bigger!! Kinda like playing that child game of Pin the Tale on the Donkey!! There you see it (your dream), the donkey in clear big color, right in front of you. You are handed it's tale (just enough of your dream to make it real to you) with a pin on the end so you can just take a few steps forward, and "stick" the pin in, at the hind end of the donkey and you win!! Nice and Easy, right? Wrong. They blindfold you, and spin you around so you loose your balance and sense of direction. Does any of this sound familiar with your "Dream"? One minute you can see it right there, in front of you, clear as a bell, you can even touch it, even have a piece of it in your hands, then the "blindfold" comes on and you loose sight of it, not to mention you are spun around so now you don't even know in which direction you are to go!

.......... but is real Life, that kind of a game?? Are we to accept that we are blind to what we want, and go around with a piece of it in our hands, totally spun around, dizzy and yet expected to find the right dot in which to stick this Pin?? Look at your life. Where are you seeing yourself, if you are blindfolded, and are to stick a pinned tail on your donkey?? Are you even in the same room, for God's sake? Ha!! Now, that is a new one that I just thought of.

Yeah, maybe that's it! I have not been in the same room with the donkey.
Gosh, that is really a sad thought, when I think it through, it is not so funny after all!

Well, at least I am willing to play. Are you?? Are you willing to take another spin and try another shot at Pinning the tail on your donkey?? Maybe your donkey is running for a political seat, or perhaps you may be thinking about pulling all those loose ends together to finally close that sale, and you may be thinking that all you need do is to pull.... "just one more rabbit out of that hat"....... then you realize, that you don't even have a hat!!! Can you tell that I have been there?

Perhaps this is why I can make "jest" over the situation of being in this position in the first place. Sure, if I just had an 8 to 5 job and got a salary and a steady paycheck, I certainly would not be posting these silly thoughts, and personal truisms, but alas, I don't ...... and I am!

So, what to do, when in this spot? ......................... Put on a funny movie and know that you have done all you can do, even gone beyond the expected, and now, it is time to just let go. That's right! Let Go and Let God.

So, in my letting go, I sit here with my fingers talking to you, and you and you. Guess I need to go find a "funny movie" to put on.

Notice I said Funny! Life is stressful enough, without watching movies that require a session with your therapist, afterwards.

Take care and let's chat more later. God Bless....... Dusty