The Comforting Sound of a Snowplow

Our epic neighbors T. and G. were in Hawaii for two weeks as Carson experienced more snow than we've ever seen since moving here.  It was fine - we don't have a lot of places to go or stuff we 'must' do on any given day anyway so no big deal to feel snowed in.  They posted pictures of beautiful sunsets and great food and libations while we dealt with snow blindness and epic cold.  I was jealous for sure.  In their absence, our (other) amazing neighbor M. shoveled off show from sidewalks and our driveway during the days when the snow was thick. 

We are on a(nother) winter storm watch until Saturday at noon and there's a fair amount of new snow this morning.  Back to not being able to see street pavement, grass on the golf course or the tops of the boulders in our back yard.  Also not many plants visible either.  

I heard an engine running outside and knew right away that it was our neighbor T. out with his snowplow.  He's clearing all the sidewalks and driveways on our side of the street and he does this every single time it snows enough to leave measurable snow on the ground.  J. noticed that he's upgraded - his new snow plow is bigger and faster - he is serious about his 'toys'. 

Epic human, he is.  Truly.  We are so blessed with wonderful neighbors.  

Now one of us will be able to trek to get the mail at some point which we haven't for a few days.  

Yesterday, I had to run to the bank to do a transfer from our savings account to checking so I could pay our property tax installment which is due on 3/1.  I decided to just 'run down the street' to the ATM near Wendy's - but when I approached the ATM, I could see the 'out of service' notice.  Argh.  I got back in the car and texted J. to say I would be driving to the branch closest to our house anyway - so I did.  As I pulled into the parking lot, a 'cell' of sleet was overhead and when I got out of my car, it was what I think being inside a snow globe would be like - I was quickly surrounded by swirling small balls of ice which continued as I walked from my car towards to bank doors.  It was wild - and kind of cool.  Though really, super cold.  

I headed to the ATM inside the branch - which I prefer to go to because you can define what bills you'd like your withdrawal to be in, including 100's, 10's, 5's and 1's.  Makes it easy to be sure we have small bills for tips as soon as we get to Atlantis.  Anyway - guess what?  It was out of service, too!  The guy was removing the bill containers and I said 'Fudge!' as I realized it was out of service.  He said 'sorry - it will be a few minutes'.  I said 'I drove here from the ATM on Carson because it's out of service, too'.  I ended up going to a teller which was OK.  I ended up doing my transfers at the ATM outside - the teller offered to help but you have to tell them which account and it's always complex (we have a lot of accounts) so I said 'no thanks, I'll just use the outside ATM'.  Thankfully the sleet cell had moved on so it wasn't super cold at that point. 

The cleaning crew cancelled for yesterday - no explanation but it could have something to do with either being Ash Wednesday?  Or it was a beautiful day for skiing with lots of fresh snow.  I didn't make any issue 'cuz it really didn't bother me a bit - I felt sort of glad we'd just have the place all to ourselves for that day and the rest of the week.  They will be here next week instead and then we'll wait three weeks for the next cleaning to keep our days the same.  SCORE!  Moved the saved fee (2 times in six weeks vs. the usual 3 times in six weeks) to our fun money account.  

J. and I are passing the day slowly working on taxes.  We've been running the heatilator in the Great Room a bit and Nala is thrilled to be basking in the super heat.  We've gone back to running the Rumba a lot - our Dyson stick vac isn't holding a charge well so it takes forever to do a good floor sweep with the vac.  It's a common thing and likely a new battery will solve the problem.  We will start looking.  

I saw a friend who is mostly off of Facebook online so had a fun, quick catch up with her.  Nice to visit.  She's tired of the cold, too.  She lives in the Sacramento/Elk Grove area so snow is rare but the cold has been ever-present all winter, she says.  She's ready for Spring.  As are we.

Voldemort Skies

The skies around us look like the skies in Harry Potter when Voldemort and the Death Eaters are around.  Huge super dark low looming clouds combined with wind.  There are weather advisories firing off on our phones and our computers predicting some intense weather in the next couple/few days.  The approaching weekend is looking really not great and I feel sad about that because our host at Atlantis (the awesome Mary) is retiring and her last day is this Sunday.  We plan to get there for our usual Saturday and are praying the weather cooperates because I want to give her a big hug and huge thanks for everything she's done for us over the years.  Having a great host enhances the venue experiences so much - we've done Balloon Races, Air Races, lots of Grand Ballroom holiday buffets, winery dinners, sip and paint events.  The list goes on and on - and our host is who arranges everything for us and often is along for whatever the event is.  She has become a true friend and she and I might actually get together for some slot play (not at Atlantis) once in a while.  She said 'but I don't play like you do'....and I said 'I will enjoy playing whatever you want to play for however long you want to play'.  She is a wonderful human and we are blessed to know her. 

We also got to request our new host(ess) and Mary confirmed the request was approved.  We met her briefly at the Christmas Grand Ballroom dinner and we asked Mary about her in early January - Mary approved our choice and knows we will love her.  Mary said 'oh, I LOVE HER'....and that's high praise!  So yay.  

It's a different winter this year when we've had to carefully plan our jaunts to Reno around storms.  I truly don't mind the snow - but will admit that upon realizing snow would be starting today and continue this week into the weekend, I had a moment of 'alright, seriously - enough already'.  Very ready for Spring and picture sunny days spending hours outside.  

Also strange to be battening down the hatches (again) when for the past couple days, I haven't needed a coat outside.  Granted, I'm not walking long distances or outside for too long - just between the car and wherever we're entering - but it sure was nice to not have to bundle up.  It was in the 40's which felt truly warm.  Must be adapting to Nevada cold.  

There is a food truck event - fish and chips which we've had before and it was so good - so J. is doing his treadmill walk and will head to the truck to procure lunch.  He will go for lunch instead of dinner to avoid driving in snow (we hope).  

Tomorrow the cleaning crew will be here in the morning.  I will be doing some pre-cleaning tidying and giving the floors a good sweep.  The cats will be having haircuts in early March and they need them - cat litter is ending up everywhere and I realized they both need 'sanitary trims' around their hind quarters.  They're going to both get baths and trims as we head into Spring. Greatly cuts down on the litter tracking and the shedding. We're not exactly looking forward to the drive to/from with upset cats in carriers in the car but they will thank us when the weather is hot this summer.  We'll schedule another trim for September and will do every six months.  We really should do every four months but navigating weather to North Reno (way further away than our weekly treks to Atlantis) in Winter adds challenges. Hopefully next Winter won't be as bad as this one has been - they are saying it's like a 'every 50 years' winter.

Also alerts that many areas in California will be getting snow this week as well - weird.  Remembering the time it snowed in Hayward and will likely look through old pics to find pictures of the boys all bundled up on the balcony of our condo.  They were little and so excited to see snow.  

I take walks down (many) memory lanes a lot lately.   

Our brokerage account tax info is (finally) available to upload into Turbo Tax so I hope to finalize our taxes in a week or so.  We are getting back a huge refund - most of which is the withholding from my Grand jackpot wins in 2022.   Will be glad to get the taxes 'done' and off the list.  

H. will leave (be released) from his rehab on March 28th.  We are talking through where he will land.  It's a difficult situation but we will get through it.  

Cleaning Crew Update

Two ladies showed up on time (9AM) and ready to work.  I didn't set an alarm but woke up at 6:01AM and got up right away - needed to get showered and dressed and do some pre-cleaning tidying so didn't want to risk going back to sleep.

The ladies brought in loads of supplies and equipment and then went back to the car for another trip.  When they returned, I saw the front door and it looked closed to me.  I should have checked but I didn't.  A wee bit later, I went to my room for something and the front door was slightly open.  I was panicked the cats were out.

Nala wasn't a worry - the minute any stranger is in the house, she heads to the kitchen cupboard by the dishwasher and hangs out in there for hours.  I peeked in the cupboard and knew she was fine.  Muf was nowhere to be seen - we looked under every bed, in every nook and cranny and no sight of her.  I was super worried.  We went outside and called her over and over.  Even our neighbor M. came out and asked if everything was OK so we let him know and he said he would keep an eye out.  Our worry decreased when we didn't see any cat paw prints in the snow - but still, we had no idea where she was.  

I had to leave for my dental appointment and asked J. to please text me when she was found - and thankfully, he sent a pic of her sitting in the laundry room with her head peaking out of the doorway.  Whew!  We are pretty darn sure she was behind the dryer - I had done a steam fresh on some blouses (to get a couple wrinkles out) so she was probably basking in the warmth.  Argh!  Crazy cat.  I was so glad to know she was OK.  

Dental appointment was fine - in a room with Netflix so passed the down time (while the crown was being created - it's amazing what technology they have now) watching Lyle, Lyle Crocodile movie.  It was silly and cute - and I will watch it again to catch the parts I missed during the grinding.  The grinding part is NO FUN but it wasn't too long, thank goodness.

J. and I had a fun long-ish day of play - machines at Atlantis kept me going into the early afternoon and then we decided to head to Peppermill for a bit.  We've been dipping our toe in at Peppermill mostly because they started giving me some decent free play offers - and I discovered I advanced three levels up which is great!  Qualifies us for parking pass and a host, I think.  

I hit my first handpay in 2023 at Peppermill yesterday - and my first EVER handpay there.  It wasn't a huge win but it was a great win and really glad to get a handpay there!  We haven't tried many of the restaurants there but our neighbor G. said they are all great.  We like the place - it feels very much like a Vegas casino - a bit over the top in decor choices but with a nice hustle and bustle feeling.  Though we went there on Saturday this past weekend and that hustle and bustle was loud, crowded and a bit overwhelming.  Interesting observation though:  Atlantis was dead.  Really dead.  On both our visits Saturday and yesterday.  No issue getting a machine - there were plenty because no one was playing.  Contrast that to Peppermill both days - the place was hopping!  I found a Dragonlink machine easily enough but when I moved to find a different bank, they were all taken.  I returned later and sat down at the machine that ended up paying me the handpay.  We had a really fun day which only makes me look forward to Superbowl weekend play all the more!  

Hello again!  It's now Friday (above was drafted on Wednesday mid-afternoon).  We have a piano repairman in the house working on the electric piano we bought at Costco in 2006.  It's been moved twice and had stopped working a long time ago.  When envisioning our home here, I added a 'hobby room' to house the piano along with sewing, adult coloring, etc. .  I had a lot of plans for that room - only the flooring people installed carpet in there instead of vinyl plank so a lot of the art things (pour art - check it out on You Tube) aren't going to happen in there most likely.  

Anyway - J. diligently tracked down a repair guy so we are hoping the piano will work again by later this afternoon. 

Unbelievably there is snow in the forecast for tomorrow which has me a little nervous about getting to Reno - we booked a room for Saturday and Sunday nights just in case we decide to stay over  - and I'm hoping it isn't going to be a problem getting there tomorrow to check in for the event.  Sunday weather looks good so...hopefully the snow (which is expected in the early morning hours and only for a little bit) will be done by mid-morning and melting shortly after.

Wednesday evening, I had about 20 or so minutes in intense pain in the area of my new crown.  Like all 'possible tooth pain' it was radiating everywhere and I couldn't figure out if it was actually the crown or sinuses or my ear or whatever.  Bad headache joined the party as well.  I took ibuprofen and felt better shortly after - and realized the pain was coming from the site of the two numbing injections - one of which was 'pre-numbed' by the dental assistant but the other was a super painful injection to the inner side of the gum. They still hurt a couple days later but improving.  So glad to cross that procedure off the list of things I was dreading.

Muddly Brain

There are times when I swear I've blogged about something - only to search my blog for key words and realize I apparently didn't blog about that something yet?  I hope there won't be too many repeats in this post but I'm retired and muddly retirement brain is real.  Really.

It snowed much of the night and hasn't let up yet today (it's just before noon) so we are once again no longer able to see any street pavement.  Looks like we got at least another 4 inches or so.  It is still incredibly beautiful.  It is a good soup day.  Making cream of potato soup for dinner which may not be the best plan since we had cream of mushroom soup from Atlantis one day this past week and also lobster bisque from Costco another day.  It's just soup kind of weather and I bought a 5 lb. bag of potatoes and need to use them up.  

Something I've been meaning to share:

There are four bridges between here and Reno on Highway 395.  One of those bridges is an actual bridge which is pretty much an engineering marvel.  (I searched for a picture but realize there might be a copyright issue so I'm not going to post a pic.  The name of the bridge is Galena Creek Bridge and you can see pics via Google easily enough).  The other three 'bridges' are overpasses where there is 'air' underneath the freeway vs. ground.  

The Galena Creek bridge is intimidating in bad weather.  On both ends and along the route are warning systems that tell truckers and other drivers of high profile vehicles when the bridge is unsafe in high winds.  Most truckers and high profile vehicles know to stay away when the warning lights along the highway are flashing.  Sometimes, they don't - and you can read about the big rig that tipped over on the bridge just before we got turned around and had to return to Reno the day of J.'s hip replacement surgery in January, 2022.  

I have a lot of anxiety about ice on the roads and honestly, the Galena Creek bridge ALWAYS looked wet to me.  Always.  I would fret about it often and tell J. I would just be so nervous about crossing the bridge when the temperature was low.  

Until....we were traveling over the bridge and saw a spray valve built into the pavement spray fluid in an arc shape from the middle lane arcing out to the outer lanes.  THAT was creating the constant moist state of the road and when we researched it via Google, we discovered it was antifreeze!  Turns out all four bridges have misters that spray antifreeze as needed - and the cars help spread the anti-freeze further.  It's an amazing system and because we figured that out, my anxiety about traveling on the bridge is greatly reduced.  Not eliminated entirely but at least I know signs of moisture on those stretches of freeway aren't going to ice over. 

Another revelation for us has been to finally give in and subscribe to Apple Music.  Wow, why didn't we do this ages ago?  (We didn't do it ages ago because I resist ongoing subscription products like the plague - seems like they could be endless and expensive.  But...we enjoy music very much and the subscription service provides access to pretty much any music we could ever want to listen to.  Watching a movie and hear a song you like?  Search for it and there it will be ready to play.  Here an artist you love has a new album coming out (Pink dropping on February 17th)?  Find it on the day of release and the entire album is available to you.  It's the most epic, life altering thing ever!  AND we get discounts on storage (something we were paying for separately), Apple TV, Apple News.  A host of other 'things' we didn't sign on for.  It's amazing and I'm so glad J. convinced me to give in and do it!  

I've been working on taxes a fair amount and am relieved to say we are getting back a hefty refund.  Much of which we expected - withholdings from jackpots that we were fairly confident would be refunded - and a little extra that is nice to have.  In theory, we could reduce our monthly tax withholding a smidge but it's kind of nice to have that extra cushion.  2022 included only five months of my social security income and we do our withholding through our monthly IRA withdrawal - so it's a relief to feel confident that what we are already withholding should be more than enough to cover 2023's full year of my social security income.  Woot woot! 

I think J. and I are both ready for him to be able to play golf.  The winter golf plans are completely off the table 'cuz it will take a LONG TIME for the accumulated snow to melt.  We get out of the house together a couple times a week (at least) and appreciate the fun and perks of all the casinos in the area - but I think we could also use our 'alone time' - and we don't get much of that lately.  Either of us.  And sometimes it shows.  We both get snarky and testy - me way more than him but sometimes him - and when HE is a wee bit snarky, too, it really throws me for a loop 'cuz he is so rarely ever snarky or perturbed. We will survive.  

We will be at Atlantis next weekend for the Super Bowl - it's a really fun event and we look forward to it very much.  Would be more excited if the SF 49ers were in it this year but oh well.  It will still be a lot of fun.  

Turns out the cracked tooth was actually a filling that failed/crumbled and took my molars 4th 'point' with it - so I will get a crown on Wednesday - it only takes 2 hours from start to finish and while it won't be a 'pleasant' 2 hours, it will be good to have it done in one visit.  Haircut on Thursday which I need because I haven't had once since right before Thanksgiving.  My hair is well past my chin so I am way overdue.  

J. is going to 'fly' with B. for a while - it's so amazing they can enjoy doing a video game together.  There is much about technology that is amazing!