Well, our New Years celebration didn't turn out like we thought it would. The forecasted weather of rain turned into a huge storm that left six inches of snow on the ground at our house. We packed like we would go but as the morning continued, the weather became really bad very quickly. We had 'lakefront' property as a small pond formed on the golf course just outside the fence. In a 20 minute span, we had a dozen ducks hanging out, followed by at least 30 geese (who chased the ducks away) and then two coyotes who cleared out the geese. (No blood was shed). The coyotes seemed amused and proud they were able to get all the geese to take off en masse.
It was hard to call our host and tell her we wouldn't be able to make it - and then I called our friends B. and J. to let them know we wouldn't be at dinner that night. B. called me back a little bit later and said they had also already cancelled - and they live just up a hill from Atlantis. They made it to the casino in the early morning (they go every single day) but her hubby had already decided they weren't going to trek down the hill again for dinner. I felt much better knowing we hadn't missed dinner with them - they are the nicest people and when B. asked if we would like to plan to be at a table together for the NYE dinner, we were so happy to have their company. They are in their late 80's and still going strong.
So....the decision having been made that we were staying home, J. opened a bottle of champagne and we made mimosas. We rarely have OJ in the house - but one of the casinos we visit uses a splash of OJ in my Blue Moon so I bought a couple small cartons on our last grocery run. The mimosas were delicious and we both felt really festive! We ate leftovers for dinner. I tried super hard to be awake until midnight but couldn't do it. If we were out at a party, I'd be fine. But in our house when 10PM arrives, I can't stay awake.
We had left our reservation for Sunday night in place - and we were able to get to the hotel yesterday. We took the old Hwy 395 route which was OK but had some moments of 'uh oh'. Trees that shaded the road created some ice but the Rav4 did just fine. The hotel parking lot was full of snow and we struggled to get our rolling suitcases from the car (we lucked out and got a space right out front) to the bell desk. J. said 'I'm going to see if they have a room ready' and because they had so many cancellations, we were able to check in before noon!! It was a fun day of play including some big wins - though no hand pays - and while I ended the day down, it was a lot of fun. Lots of friends there and it was nice to play long.
I really thought we should consider heading home last night - but J. convinced me it would be better to make the drive when we could see the road in daylight. He was right. The drive home this morning - on the freeway this time - was easy. There was fog coming down the hills as we approached Carson City and it was so pretty. The cats were glad to see us - and begged for food immediately even though they ate ALL of the extra dry kibble I left them in a bowl. I left extra food and water in case we ended up stuck for an extra night - the weather was that dodgy and I figured 'better safe than sorry'. It was deja vu from last year's weather nightmare for J.'s hip replacement. (Actual anniversary of that monumental day is tomorrow).
I had a Facebook memory on New Years Day - 10 years ago, B. was picked up at the house by the Army recruiter to start his military career. 10 down and 10 (at least) to go. He just finished a two week road trip traveling from New Jersey to Nashville, Nashville to Destin, FL and then to Indiana. He arrived back in New Jersey today and it was good to know he was home. He still has a(nother) week off - which he will enjoy.
J. decided (unbeknownst to me) to start taking the tree down and I went out to the kitchen and saw a zillion ornaments all over the island. His motivation is admirable but it was a bit confusing. We sorted it all out and did a lot of consolidating so we have most of the ornaments we will use year after year in two bins. Tomorrow, we will put the artificial tree away, get other holiday decor items back in storage boxes, take down the live wreath on the front door (a gift from my sister P.) and the house will be holiday free again. Nala has spent quite a bit of time either IN the tree (lounging on the branches) or under the tree lounging on the tree skirt. She will miss her little hideaway.
H. called this evening - which is not a usual call day so my heart jumped a bit - he was allowed to call because today is the last day he will have free phone calls. The center used to allow visitors but with COVID protocols in place, they stopped all visitation and started allowing attendees three free 15 minute calls each week. It's OK - we are going to see how it goes having H. makes calls to us using his commissary account to transfer money to his 'call' account. I hope it will avoid all the 'scripts' and disclaimers we have to go through when we get a call from a 'correctional facility'. Having to always have a debit card ready to enter along with all the 'yes, I accept the call is recorded'; 'yes, I accept all the fees we will be charged for this call'. It has been very nice to just answer the phone and say 'Hi, H.! How's your day been?'.
It's only 8:30 PM and I'm fading fast. We were up before 7 this morning and were home a little after 9:30!
Happy New Year - I always love the feeling of possibilities and newness the New Year provides.
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