On Tuesday, we went on a family outing to In & Out - B.'s visiting home tradition continues since there is one here in Carson City. We also went to Best Buy to look at TV's. J. had noticed 'lines' on the roads and freeway earlier that day - Nevada Department of Transportation readying the streets and highways for snow. They put brine on the roads - it helps prevent ice buildup and is less caustic than salt or sand. We knew snow was expected and felt good that NDOT was on top of it.
J. and B. went to the movies in Reno yesterday and then trekked to Scheel's in Sparks. I stayed home and spent three hours at Urgent Care. After a couple weeks of feeling terrible, I decided I couldn't keep planning on things getting better on their own - salt water gargles and OTC things weren't helping. Sinus infection. I've had two doses of antibiotics so far and feel like a new person. Glad we found that urgent care place because they can assist with getting prescriptions renewed. The nurse told me that it will likely take months for us to get an appointment with a primary care physician - there are a lot of people moving here and the health system is overtaxed. At least we know we can get medication renewals when we need to.
Every morning, I open the blinds expecting snow. Yesterday, there was a very light dusting on the roofs of the houses behind us and our fence - the cross beam supports where snow can accumulate and take longer to melt. Last night, it happened and we woke up this morning to very covered ground and cars. About 3 inches, we think. There were a few light snow falls throughout the day but it was mostly sunny. Not warm enough to warm up and melt all the snow - but it was a beautiful day.
We ventured out of the house to walk to Starbucks. We live just a couple blocks from one and we are both shocked that we haven't been very often. Guess my frugal 'I'm retired and living on a fixed income' is kicking in. But we went today - short walk with B. - hung out in the restaurant for a bit and then walked home. We're binge watching Netflix like crazy.
Tomorrow, we hope to make it to Reno and Atlantis for a delicious buffet. On Friday, if weather permits, we might go back to Scheel's 'cuz I'd love to see it. A Ferris wheel! Salt water aquariums! And lots of winter gear!
B. trekked to Reno this evening to spend time with a friend he met when he was here last summer. It's a new experience having him ask 'Is there a Walmart nearby?' and when I ask 'what do you need?', his silence was.....enough said. Glad he's using protection.
He agreed to text when he gets to Reno and text when he's home so that when I wake up in the middle of the night, I don't have to worry. He's confident but we're not. Driving in snow is very new to us - and between here and Reno is a very big bridge - one that frequently is closed to trucks due to high winds. It's a little nerve wracking having him out and about - but he spent his first week of vacation in Canada solo and it's a big adjustment to spend his second week with the parentals.
We've had a really great time, though - it's great having him here.
H.'s driver's license and new social security card arrived today so we sent them to him via Fed Ex - Tuesday delivery.
It's all new here - the cold, the snow. It's breathtakingly beautiful - I'm sure when we've been here a long time, it might all get old - but for now, we love it. It's really a clear sign the season is changing for real -
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Where Does Time Go?
The days just sort of blend into each other - it's already the night before a Friday and a weekend and I just don't know how things move so quickly.
Moving when older is hard at times. I feel constantly disoriented. Things are out of place; I don't have everything I use to cook (for example) at my fingertips. We've brought only what we need to survive to the town house but sometimes, we need something and then have to unravel where it might be? And is it worth it to go find it or just get it again. We really are trying not to buy stuff we know we have...but on occasion, we have to resort to that.
A church key can opener (to create two pouring spouts on a can of evaporated milk, for example) is not here and we don't know where to look. Obviously in one of many boxes labeled 'kitchen'...but there are a lot of those and they are in three places at the moment: original storage unit, new storage unit and the garage of the town house.
The cats add to the craziness - constantly underfoot which translates into me watching everywhere I'm stepping and moving uber slowly. They are sweet and fun but they are pains, too. I had to scold Nala repeatedly today for opening up the kitchen cupboards and climbing in. She can virtually any cupboard. Really. All day. She got spritzed with water and a (slight) swat on her butt along with a firm "NO" - and bolted off upstairs. Don't worry - she's forgiven me already and has come back. But she is staying out of the cupboards so far.
I am heading to Atlantis tomorrow for two nights - J. will come for a bit on Saturday to help me stake out machines. (It's two casino wide jackpots between noon and 8PM). At some point, I will need a restroom and food break and if I'm on a machine I want to stay on, J. helps with watching the machine for me. The event also gives us two free buffets so we'll eat at Atlantis tomorrow night for sure - though if the event goes all the way until 8PM, we will very likely be eating separately.
I'll pick up B. at the airport on Sunday and bring him to Carson City. He's having a wonderful time in Banff and he's clearly really enjoying his first 'on his own' vacation. Can't wait to see more pics and here more about his adventures.
We had a dusting of snow on the hills around us last night and the dusting was still there late afternoon. No more weather is expected until early next week and we're glad because hopefully, the roof will be sheeted and the windows will be installed on the new house before the really snowy weather commences this Winter. J. went by the house and reported the family room had standing water on the floor. The carpenter says they have a company that will come in and vacuum up all the water and dry it out. Fingers crossed.
I peaked out the window first thing this morning fully expecting to see snow - but didn't. Maybe tomorrow.
Moving when older is hard at times. I feel constantly disoriented. Things are out of place; I don't have everything I use to cook (for example) at my fingertips. We've brought only what we need to survive to the town house but sometimes, we need something and then have to unravel where it might be? And is it worth it to go find it or just get it again. We really are trying not to buy stuff we know we have...but on occasion, we have to resort to that.
A church key can opener (to create two pouring spouts on a can of evaporated milk, for example) is not here and we don't know where to look. Obviously in one of many boxes labeled 'kitchen'...but there are a lot of those and they are in three places at the moment: original storage unit, new storage unit and the garage of the town house.
The cats add to the craziness - constantly underfoot which translates into me watching everywhere I'm stepping and moving uber slowly. They are sweet and fun but they are pains, too. I had to scold Nala repeatedly today for opening up the kitchen cupboards and climbing in. She can virtually any cupboard. Really. All day. She got spritzed with water and a (slight) swat on her butt along with a firm "NO" - and bolted off upstairs. Don't worry - she's forgiven me already and has come back. But she is staying out of the cupboards so far.
I am heading to Atlantis tomorrow for two nights - J. will come for a bit on Saturday to help me stake out machines. (It's two casino wide jackpots between noon and 8PM). At some point, I will need a restroom and food break and if I'm on a machine I want to stay on, J. helps with watching the machine for me. The event also gives us two free buffets so we'll eat at Atlantis tomorrow night for sure - though if the event goes all the way until 8PM, we will very likely be eating separately.
I'll pick up B. at the airport on Sunday and bring him to Carson City. He's having a wonderful time in Banff and he's clearly really enjoying his first 'on his own' vacation. Can't wait to see more pics and here more about his adventures.
We had a dusting of snow on the hills around us last night and the dusting was still there late afternoon. No more weather is expected until early next week and we're glad because hopefully, the roof will be sheeted and the windows will be installed on the new house before the really snowy weather commences this Winter. J. went by the house and reported the family room had standing water on the floor. The carpenter says they have a company that will come in and vacuum up all the water and dry it out. Fingers crossed.
I peaked out the window first thing this morning fully expecting to see snow - but didn't. Maybe tomorrow.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Little Victories
Retired and in a new place and today, we pat ourselves on the back for actually making food here - three meals in a row so far and we've eaten 'in' for close to two days. Tonight, we'll do a salad with chicken. I'm going to make spaghetti sauce tomorrow - double batch and freeze half.
It's been super nice to be starting fresh on provisions. Things are manageable and easy to remember and we're eating what we have. I did get some mini frosted mini wheat (cereal). Not a typo. The mini size is even more mini. And in the trek to Target, I also found some comfy, cozy tops, some makeup needs, cat needs, toilet paper (which I'm proud to say is made with 50% recycled materials and was LESS (way) expensive than the name brand we usually buy). Well, that's not true - we usually buy Costco brand but we're staying away from there because we truly don't have the space to store 48 rolls of TP.
We left all our toilet brushes behind - didn't seem like a big deal to replace them. It isn't but...$15 each added up. I also wanted to replace the laundry baskets - we brought those with us but they are losing handles. I didn't buy new, though - because we have them and they work. Might splurge on new when we get into our new house.
Roof is in process and windows arrive next week. We'll trek there later this week to check the progress.
J. also found a couple things that somehow were packed and shouldn't have been - he will get a package ready to send to the new owners of our Tracy house and get those things shipped to them later this week. Most we're sure they can do without but one of them is the electronic device that plugs in and allows them to get information on their computers about the power generated from the solar system.
Tomorrow, J. is going to South Lake Tahoe (which is in California) for a meeting and lunch with his new golf club. They play golf on Tuesday this week and he plans to join them. They play weekly. He found out about this club because I played slots with J. and his wife P. and J. invited (my) J. to join. They are a very nice couple and it will be fun hanging out with them on occasion. They play at Atlantis a lot but mostly weeknights so we'll run into them now and then. They travel a lot and our spending the holidays in Montana - so we won't see them until January, most likely. Look forward to it - such nice people.
Goals this week include the trip to DMV to register our cars and get Nevada driver's license. The new 'Real ID' program is in place here so a lot of documents are required - birth certificates, passports, social security cards, proof of residency in the form of our rental lease and our new house building contract, utility bills (which we don't have in Nevada yet). We'll figure out what to take, take all that we have and hope it will work. We purposefully didn't do Real ID in California because we knew it is required here - so we waited.
Other goal for the week is sketching out our 2019 taxes and preparing a payment to the IRS - we owe a lot and I need to get funds paid by the end of the calendar year to avoid a penalty. I plan to work on that tomorrow in the quiet of the morning - while binge watching Netflix. We don't have cable TV here - so we have an antennae in the window which is getting us local channels - and the TV is a Roku TV so we can watch Netflix and Amazon to our hearts content.
We just saw that Season 3 of The Crown is now available - so that will keep us busy for the week. Also enjoying Jack Ryan. So many things to watch -
It's been super nice to be starting fresh on provisions. Things are manageable and easy to remember and we're eating what we have. I did get some mini frosted mini wheat (cereal). Not a typo. The mini size is even more mini. And in the trek to Target, I also found some comfy, cozy tops, some makeup needs, cat needs, toilet paper (which I'm proud to say is made with 50% recycled materials and was LESS (way) expensive than the name brand we usually buy). Well, that's not true - we usually buy Costco brand but we're staying away from there because we truly don't have the space to store 48 rolls of TP.
We left all our toilet brushes behind - didn't seem like a big deal to replace them. It isn't but...$15 each added up. I also wanted to replace the laundry baskets - we brought those with us but they are losing handles. I didn't buy new, though - because we have them and they work. Might splurge on new when we get into our new house.
Roof is in process and windows arrive next week. We'll trek there later this week to check the progress.
Tomorrow, J. is going to South Lake Tahoe (which is in California) for a meeting and lunch with his new golf club. They play golf on Tuesday this week and he plans to join them. They play weekly. He found out about this club because I played slots with J. and his wife P. and J. invited (my) J. to join. They are a very nice couple and it will be fun hanging out with them on occasion. They play at Atlantis a lot but mostly weeknights so we'll run into them now and then. They travel a lot and our spending the holidays in Montana - so we won't see them until January, most likely. Look forward to it - such nice people.
Goals this week include the trip to DMV to register our cars and get Nevada driver's license. The new 'Real ID' program is in place here so a lot of documents are required - birth certificates, passports, social security cards, proof of residency in the form of our rental lease and our new house building contract, utility bills (which we don't have in Nevada yet). We'll figure out what to take, take all that we have and hope it will work. We purposefully didn't do Real ID in California because we knew it is required here - so we waited.
Other goal for the week is sketching out our 2019 taxes and preparing a payment to the IRS - we owe a lot and I need to get funds paid by the end of the calendar year to avoid a penalty. I plan to work on that tomorrow in the quiet of the morning - while binge watching Netflix. We don't have cable TV here - so we have an antennae in the window which is getting us local channels - and the TV is a Roku TV so we can watch Netflix and Amazon to our hearts content.
We just saw that Season 3 of The Crown is now available - so that will keep us busy for the week. Also enjoying Jack Ryan. So many things to watch -
Friday, November 15, 2019
Settling In
A week and a day post furniture delivery and we are starting to feel more settled. It's been completely awesome to have H. here with us - he and J. moved our smaller storage unit contents into a bigger unit earlier this week. Today, J. rented a UHaul van and we moved some bigger things to storage - from both our garage here at the rental house and some furniture. Chair and ottoman, a couple tables and the two huge Rubbermaid cabinets from the garage.
We emptied those 'man caves' before the move. Turns out the movers put stuff in them before they taped them shut. Hello, dishes we've spent a week searching for. (I went to Walmart yesterday armed with a list and dishes were on it - but I didn't see any I liked so I bought paper plates instead). We now have dishes - yippee!
In addition to helping us, H. trekked (with J.) to South Lake Tahoe DMV and left there with a reinstated California Driver's License. This will greatly help him get a license in Texas and was the primary reason he headed back here. It's all worked out wonderfully - he also trekked (again with J.) to the Social Security office to request a replacement SS card. Another required item for a Texas license he will soon have (back) in his possession.
H. and I also enjoyed a couple 'extra' days at Atlantis - just chillaxing and playing a bit. We had such a great time and it was really good to reconnect a bit. I had been sort of 'nervous' about his visit - excited to see him, of course! But....well, it all worked out - we had a great time and yes, winning definitely helped make it a huge blast - but mostly, we just hung out together and that was really nice. He attended an NA conference at Grand Sierra Resort during our extra Atlantis days (which is why we stayed in Reno vs. coming 'home' to the rental).
I wish I'd done a better job of identifying things we definitely want/need to keep with us vs. things we really don't need until we're in the house....but we've managed to have most of what we need pretty handy. Still looking for my box of shoes - I have no 'dress' shoes to wear if/when I dress up a bit - and we can't find any of the contents of the stuff in J.'s bathroom drawers and those things are needed. They will turn up - maybe in a few months. Oh well.
We made reservations to go to the NYE celebration at Atlantis and I am really looking forward to the event.
H. returns to Houston tomorrow so it will be just me and J. until a week from Sunday when B. will arrive for a week! It is great to have them both visit so they can see where we're at - and we can't wait to be doing all of this again soon when we move to the new house in the Spring.
In other news, I found a hair salon and got a haircut - I was over three months from my last cut and my hair looked awful. For $30, I got a wash, cut, blow dry and style - vs. paying $25 in California for a 15 minute 'spritz bottle' haircut only! AND she threw in a bottle of product for me to try. I think we're going to love Nevada!
On Wednesday night, I Googled 'Best Mexican Food 2019 Carson City' and we headed to Minden (about 20ish minutes south of Carson City) to Francisco's. It did not disappoint. AND as we were winding down our dinner, I notice a lady entering with a little girl - and it was my friend L. and her husband A. and their two granddaughters - who are identical twins! It was so fun to be surprised and to see them - and L. and I plan to get together soon! J. had said as we headed there 'you may run into to someone you know' - and sure enough, turns out Francisco's is their fave Mexican place, too!
Last night, we hit up Atlantis for a free buffet (for me and J.. H. was comped.). Good food and lots of variety. I swore I would only play $50 or so but I played more than that - but thankfully, did a Hail Mary spin that paid well followed by another spin that also paid decently - and I left with $32 more than I started. It was fun!
I'm heading there tonight and tomorrow night for drawings - I wouldn't bother usually but I have a TON of entries into the drawings because it was based on your tier points from November 1st through today - and with us staying there for a week, I racked up a lot of points. Worth trying for freeplay, cash or the grand prize (tomorrow's drawing) of a Cadillac car. H. says 'Mom, I can totally see you in that car'. We'll see!
I also did a slot tournament Monday and Tuesday this week and while my place on Monday was nothing special, I placed first in my round on Tuesday and placed overall high enough for $100 in free play. Combined with the $100 in FP for winning my round, I had $200 of fun - and considering I truly almost skipped Tuesday's round, it's a good lesson in 'you never know'. A mediocre run on one day can be bumped up on Day 2 by extraordinary play - so never give up. (Hence me going there two evenings in a row - can't win if you're not there and all those entries might result in something awesome happening).
H. hopes I win the Cadillac. I'm truly hoping for cash! Or free play.
We picked up the cats on Tuesday and bless their hearts, they were so very happy to see us - and have been showering us with cuddles and love ever since. They've been living the good life exploring all around a new place. Mufasa took a small tumble when she jumped onto the stair banister and slid partially down, eventually falling off onto the stair side. (Thank goodness it was the stair side because the other side is a 10 feet+ drop). She hasn't done that since, so yay for their learning curve.
As you can tell, we are getting very settled and it is feeling like home more and more every day. J. is loving being able to trek to the new house daily to check on progress and I'm loving just being home and close enough to Reno to head to Atlantis for events as I feel like it. My play level isn't going to be non-stop - truly, no way. (I spoke to someone I play with a lot who shared that she and her husband budget '$1,000 a day' and play every single day). No, I can't do that. And even if I could? No, I don't think I would. But I told J. 'when we're in our 80s and 90s and still doing well with our investments, all bets are off!'.
We emptied those 'man caves' before the move. Turns out the movers put stuff in them before they taped them shut. Hello, dishes we've spent a week searching for. (I went to Walmart yesterday armed with a list and dishes were on it - but I didn't see any I liked so I bought paper plates instead). We now have dishes - yippee!
In addition to helping us, H. trekked (with J.) to South Lake Tahoe DMV and left there with a reinstated California Driver's License. This will greatly help him get a license in Texas and was the primary reason he headed back here. It's all worked out wonderfully - he also trekked (again with J.) to the Social Security office to request a replacement SS card. Another required item for a Texas license he will soon have (back) in his possession.
H. and I also enjoyed a couple 'extra' days at Atlantis - just chillaxing and playing a bit. We had such a great time and it was really good to reconnect a bit. I had been sort of 'nervous' about his visit - excited to see him, of course! But....well, it all worked out - we had a great time and yes, winning definitely helped make it a huge blast - but mostly, we just hung out together and that was really nice. He attended an NA conference at Grand Sierra Resort during our extra Atlantis days (which is why we stayed in Reno vs. coming 'home' to the rental).
I wish I'd done a better job of identifying things we definitely want/need to keep with us vs. things we really don't need until we're in the house....but we've managed to have most of what we need pretty handy. Still looking for my box of shoes - I have no 'dress' shoes to wear if/when I dress up a bit - and we can't find any of the contents of the stuff in J.'s bathroom drawers and those things are needed. They will turn up - maybe in a few months. Oh well.
We made reservations to go to the NYE celebration at Atlantis and I am really looking forward to the event.
H. returns to Houston tomorrow so it will be just me and J. until a week from Sunday when B. will arrive for a week! It is great to have them both visit so they can see where we're at - and we can't wait to be doing all of this again soon when we move to the new house in the Spring.
In other news, I found a hair salon and got a haircut - I was over three months from my last cut and my hair looked awful. For $30, I got a wash, cut, blow dry and style - vs. paying $25 in California for a 15 minute 'spritz bottle' haircut only! AND she threw in a bottle of product for me to try. I think we're going to love Nevada!
On Wednesday night, I Googled 'Best Mexican Food 2019 Carson City' and we headed to Minden (about 20ish minutes south of Carson City) to Francisco's. It did not disappoint. AND as we were winding down our dinner, I notice a lady entering with a little girl - and it was my friend L. and her husband A. and their two granddaughters - who are identical twins! It was so fun to be surprised and to see them - and L. and I plan to get together soon! J. had said as we headed there 'you may run into to someone you know' - and sure enough, turns out Francisco's is their fave Mexican place, too!
Last night, we hit up Atlantis for a free buffet (for me and J.. H. was comped.). Good food and lots of variety. I swore I would only play $50 or so but I played more than that - but thankfully, did a Hail Mary spin that paid well followed by another spin that also paid decently - and I left with $32 more than I started. It was fun!
I'm heading there tonight and tomorrow night for drawings - I wouldn't bother usually but I have a TON of entries into the drawings because it was based on your tier points from November 1st through today - and with us staying there for a week, I racked up a lot of points. Worth trying for freeplay, cash or the grand prize (tomorrow's drawing) of a Cadillac car. H. says 'Mom, I can totally see you in that car'. We'll see!
I also did a slot tournament Monday and Tuesday this week and while my place on Monday was nothing special, I placed first in my round on Tuesday and placed overall high enough for $100 in free play. Combined with the $100 in FP for winning my round, I had $200 of fun - and considering I truly almost skipped Tuesday's round, it's a good lesson in 'you never know'. A mediocre run on one day can be bumped up on Day 2 by extraordinary play - so never give up. (Hence me going there two evenings in a row - can't win if you're not there and all those entries might result in something awesome happening).
H. hopes I win the Cadillac. I'm truly hoping for cash! Or free play.
We picked up the cats on Tuesday and bless their hearts, they were so very happy to see us - and have been showering us with cuddles and love ever since. They've been living the good life exploring all around a new place. Mufasa took a small tumble when she jumped onto the stair banister and slid partially down, eventually falling off onto the stair side. (Thank goodness it was the stair side because the other side is a 10 feet+ drop). She hasn't done that since, so yay for their learning curve.
As you can tell, we are getting very settled and it is feeling like home more and more every day. J. is loving being able to trek to the new house daily to check on progress and I'm loving just being home and close enough to Reno to head to Atlantis for events as I feel like it. My play level isn't going to be non-stop - truly, no way. (I spoke to someone I play with a lot who shared that she and her husband budget '$1,000 a day' and play every single day). No, I can't do that. And even if I could? No, I don't think I would. But I told J. 'when we're in our 80s and 90s and still doing well with our investments, all bets are off!'.
Tuesday, November 05, 2019
We Made It
Fairly soon after the movers left yesterday, we started finding things they hadn't taken. Two pretty large pictures on the study wall - along with a lamp. Other pics we'd put in a flat box that got mixed in with the empty boxes in the garage so we didn't see it.
We headed to the Holiday Inn Express around 7:15 last night and I was sound asleep by 8. We both woke up early and headed to the house around 5AM and proceeded to continue the last minute mad-dash loading of the cars. Still MORE stuff we hadn't packed. (They kept asking if there was anything else but we were just so 'done' I guess we didn't realize that there were a lot of things we hadn't previously packed). The movers were good - we just ran out of oomph.
We got most everything in - I'm pretty sure we left some towels in the dryer but oh well. We also had some things in both fridges that we couldn't take with us. Hopefully, the cleaning crew can use them. They were there before we left and I suggested they should take anything they saw that they might use.
We headed out of town a bit after 9 - I went to get the cats 'cuz J. had to go back to get a small suitcase I'd used to pack towels in the kitchen - it was still there by the table.
I survived 4 hours in the car with the cats. 90 minutes in, they sort of settled into their carriers. Seemed like they realized crying wasn't helping - so they (FINALLY) chilled. Good thing the vet gave them a sedative - right? Not that I noticed one little bit. They howled the first 90 minutes and I was really worried about how I would make it - thinking I would ask J. to change cars for the 2nd half of the drive - but we got into a groove. They'd peak up through the top of the carrier (mesh) to look for me and I'd reply 'I'm here'. I realized they seemed comforted by the sound of my voice - so I sang them a song I wrote for them - nonsense lyrics about 'I know you are upset and worried you don't like to be in the car. But we have to get to our new State and it's really not that far'. There were other verses but... I can't remember them. When my lyrics ran out, I started talking about anything I could think of - forest management, lakes and dams, twisty roads and the importance of passing lanes and turnouts. As long as I talked, they chilled. Music also helped - covered up some of the road noises.
The kitty spa is nothing special - if we hadn't just driven 4 hours to get there and if I'd had any idea where else we could go, I would have taken them somewhere else - but they will be OK. Nala got right out of her carrier and headed straight for her litter box. Muf took a little longer but they were both working on getting settled. The check-in person said 'they are doing well - not freaking out too much'. So I guess that's good.
Good news! The movers (who originally told us they wouldn't deliver our stuff until Saturday) called to say they can get here Thursday - so yay! In theory, we could sleep in our own beds on Thursday night. (I'll have to figure out when to tell the hotel we won't be here as many nights as we'd planned). We're going to wait on that because H. is arriving in Reno on Thursday - he is attending an NA conference in Reno with some rehab friends so it might be good to have a room available for him/us while he's hanging out in Reno. We'll figure it out.
Tomorrow, our Internet service will be set up (fingers and toes crossed) and the plumber is coming to check on issues we're having with the downstairs toilet in the town home. Thursday will be movers and Friday we will have a refrigerator delivered. After that, we'll be able to get settled in.
First full day of residency is ahead and I'm ready for sleep. When we got to Hwy 395 and were coming in to Gardnerville, it was so stunningly beautiful, it made my teary. There is so much beauty and color here - lots of blues, oranges, grays, greens....just beautiful.
We headed to the Holiday Inn Express around 7:15 last night and I was sound asleep by 8. We both woke up early and headed to the house around 5AM and proceeded to continue the last minute mad-dash loading of the cars. Still MORE stuff we hadn't packed. (They kept asking if there was anything else but we were just so 'done' I guess we didn't realize that there were a lot of things we hadn't previously packed). The movers were good - we just ran out of oomph.
We got most everything in - I'm pretty sure we left some towels in the dryer but oh well. We also had some things in both fridges that we couldn't take with us. Hopefully, the cleaning crew can use them. They were there before we left and I suggested they should take anything they saw that they might use.
We headed out of town a bit after 9 - I went to get the cats 'cuz J. had to go back to get a small suitcase I'd used to pack towels in the kitchen - it was still there by the table.
I survived 4 hours in the car with the cats. 90 minutes in, they sort of settled into their carriers. Seemed like they realized crying wasn't helping - so they (FINALLY) chilled. Good thing the vet gave them a sedative - right? Not that I noticed one little bit. They howled the first 90 minutes and I was really worried about how I would make it - thinking I would ask J. to change cars for the 2nd half of the drive - but we got into a groove. They'd peak up through the top of the carrier (mesh) to look for me and I'd reply 'I'm here'. I realized they seemed comforted by the sound of my voice - so I sang them a song I wrote for them - nonsense lyrics about 'I know you are upset and worried you don't like to be in the car. But we have to get to our new State and it's really not that far'. There were other verses but... I can't remember them. When my lyrics ran out, I started talking about anything I could think of - forest management, lakes and dams, twisty roads and the importance of passing lanes and turnouts. As long as I talked, they chilled. Music also helped - covered up some of the road noises.
The kitty spa is nothing special - if we hadn't just driven 4 hours to get there and if I'd had any idea where else we could go, I would have taken them somewhere else - but they will be OK. Nala got right out of her carrier and headed straight for her litter box. Muf took a little longer but they were both working on getting settled. The check-in person said 'they are doing well - not freaking out too much'. So I guess that's good.
Good news! The movers (who originally told us they wouldn't deliver our stuff until Saturday) called to say they can get here Thursday - so yay! In theory, we could sleep in our own beds on Thursday night. (I'll have to figure out when to tell the hotel we won't be here as many nights as we'd planned). We're going to wait on that because H. is arriving in Reno on Thursday - he is attending an NA conference in Reno with some rehab friends so it might be good to have a room available for him/us while he's hanging out in Reno. We'll figure it out.
Tomorrow, our Internet service will be set up (fingers and toes crossed) and the plumber is coming to check on issues we're having with the downstairs toilet in the town home. Thursday will be movers and Friday we will have a refrigerator delivered. After that, we'll be able to get settled in.
First full day of residency is ahead and I'm ready for sleep. When we got to Hwy 395 and were coming in to Gardnerville, it was so stunningly beautiful, it made my teary. There is so much beauty and color here - lots of blues, oranges, grays, greens....just beautiful.
Sunday, November 03, 2019
Sweet Cats
J. and I strategize and talk things through daily - and then he usually just goes off and does stuff on his own completely not recalling what we've talked about previously. Today was one of the most prime examples of this phenomenon.
He comes downstairs with Nala in his arms, ready to put her in her carrier to go to the kitty spa for a couple days. (We can't risk them getting out during all the in and out that will happen when the movers are here tomorrow). I help him get her in and she immediately begins expressing her discontent. We can't find Mufasa anywhere - so now we have one cat in their carrier crying and carrying on while the other one is MIA.
What we had talked about doing was getting both cats in the study downstairs, close them in the study, close off all other rooms (just in case they bolt) and then entice them with some tuna to get them in their carrier.
I left Nala gyrating around in her carrier - turning it on both sides, upside down whilst she tried to escape - and went to look for Mufasa - found her hiding in my closet behind a rolling cart that I was going to move out today anyway. Jim got her and we managed to get her in her carrier, too.
While I was irritated that he started the process without looping me in on his plans to get going, it did work. I was shaking like a leaf by the time it was over because when the cats are stressed, I'm stressed, too. I was afraid Mufasa would hear Nala's crying and seriously hide to avoid getting crated. But she didn't. She was sleeping soundly when I rousted her from her hiding place.
We took them to the vet together and they were comforted by me in the back seat. They cried but were getting more settled. Nala is definitely far more 'chill' than Mufasa.
The vet will dose them with the sedative they prescribed on Tuesday morning - no guarantees it will render them asleep for the entire drive but a lot of it, we hope. We're going the back route which is about 45 minutes less of a drive than going up Highway 80. (We will be in the town where the boarding kennel is when we exit Highway 88 from Jackson so that saves 45 minutes of freeway driving from Reno all the way south to Minden).
It's a well planned out route and fingers crossed it will be OK. I can cope with them crying in their carriers - and having them on the seat might help them not feel so vulnerable. The floor of the car is OK but the vibrations down there would stress out any animal - especially two cats who haven't traveled much at all.
My ability to pack constantly is waning but I must keep going. Glad the movers can help a bit tomorrow and/or we can keep packing while they start loading. It's possible that by end of day today, we might be able to get a car in the garage which would allow us to start loading up stuff in the car that we want with us for the week we are in the hotel in Reno.
I woke up with a migraine today but proved that Excedrin with a 'best buy' date of March, 2014, is still viable. Worked like a charm.
PS - this is love: J. put the 70's channel on the TV (for some music to pack by). He knows that decade is my fave. He's sweet in ways that warm my heart from head to toe.
He comes downstairs with Nala in his arms, ready to put her in her carrier to go to the kitty spa for a couple days. (We can't risk them getting out during all the in and out that will happen when the movers are here tomorrow). I help him get her in and she immediately begins expressing her discontent. We can't find Mufasa anywhere - so now we have one cat in their carrier crying and carrying on while the other one is MIA.
What we had talked about doing was getting both cats in the study downstairs, close them in the study, close off all other rooms (just in case they bolt) and then entice them with some tuna to get them in their carrier.
I left Nala gyrating around in her carrier - turning it on both sides, upside down whilst she tried to escape - and went to look for Mufasa - found her hiding in my closet behind a rolling cart that I was going to move out today anyway. Jim got her and we managed to get her in her carrier, too.
While I was irritated that he started the process without looping me in on his plans to get going, it did work. I was shaking like a leaf by the time it was over because when the cats are stressed, I'm stressed, too. I was afraid Mufasa would hear Nala's crying and seriously hide to avoid getting crated. But she didn't. She was sleeping soundly when I rousted her from her hiding place.
We took them to the vet together and they were comforted by me in the back seat. They cried but were getting more settled. Nala is definitely far more 'chill' than Mufasa.
The vet will dose them with the sedative they prescribed on Tuesday morning - no guarantees it will render them asleep for the entire drive but a lot of it, we hope. We're going the back route which is about 45 minutes less of a drive than going up Highway 80. (We will be in the town where the boarding kennel is when we exit Highway 88 from Jackson so that saves 45 minutes of freeway driving from Reno all the way south to Minden).
It's a well planned out route and fingers crossed it will be OK. I can cope with them crying in their carriers - and having them on the seat might help them not feel so vulnerable. The floor of the car is OK but the vibrations down there would stress out any animal - especially two cats who haven't traveled much at all.
My ability to pack constantly is waning but I must keep going. Glad the movers can help a bit tomorrow and/or we can keep packing while they start loading. It's possible that by end of day today, we might be able to get a car in the garage which would allow us to start loading up stuff in the car that we want with us for the week we are in the hotel in Reno.
I woke up with a migraine today but proved that Excedrin with a 'best buy' date of March, 2014, is still viable. Worked like a charm.
PS - this is love: J. put the 70's channel on the TV (for some music to pack by). He knows that decade is my fave. He's sweet in ways that warm my heart from head to toe.
Saturday, November 02, 2019
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Tales of Helpers
Our cleaning lady D. is here today - she wears earbuds and chats on the phone while she works. She is the third cleaning 'person(s)'...
