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)' we've had and she's wonderful.  

We let the first cleaning crew go when the constant scheduling issues became something I just couldn't keep saying 'ok' to.  It is not OK to say your team will arrive at 10AM and when I message you to say it's 10:30 and they aren't here yet, you text back 'sorry, they went to the wrong house'.  No.  Just no.  Planning our day around an arrival time and then having it be moved/cancelled/messed up over and over - I just couldn't keep saying OK.  

Our second cleaner was a one woman team who brought a helper now and then. The helper pretty much ruined our stainless steel stove top - scratched it to bits - which breaks my heart over and over every time I use the stove.  We could have filed an insurance claim with our insurance but that would most likely result in our policy being cancelled.  We could have also filed a claim against the cleaning company - but we didn't.  Now we're looking for solutions - maybe replacing the stainless steel top at some point.  We'll see.  

D. is also a one woman show - she does a really great job and we do whatever we can to make her job easier.  We change our own beds - because we can - takes us a few minutes and saves her time.  When our old vacuum became hard (almost impossible) to use, we bought a new one for her and she was so excited! J. took apart the old one piece by piece and got to a place where he didn't have the tool he needed to do the one last thing all the You Tube videos suggested.  He phoned a vacuum repair shop here in town and the guy said 'sure, I can help with that - it will be $150 to look at the vac and then parts.  Yikes.  Hence we just bought a new one.  

This morning, I showed her we have dozens of microfiber cleaning towels in the drawer underneath our clothes washer - so she doesn't need to bring her own.  I told her 'just use them and leave them on the counter when you are done and we will clean them and put them back in the drawer for your next visit'.  She said 'thank you so much - makes it easier for me'.  I told her we are on board with doing anything that makes her job easier.  

We also do a Starbucks run for her when she's here.  Our treat.  It's a fun every two week treat for us, too. 

Muf has started tent camping - something she's never done before.  Her recent haircut has her seeking out more warmth and while I feel a little bad they are cold, they will thank me in the summer.  I didn't even see her come into my room but I turned to turn off the light and noticed the quilt on my bed was moving.  

Muf.....making a tent.  

Loved a live and 'in person' Messenger chat with my cousin S. .   We need to do that more often!

Cooked

Actually cooked something for dinner this evening - trying to do a better job of using what we have and planning meals.  It's a small thing but I'm trying.  I watch a lot of You Tube videos for ideas - sometimes things turn out perfectly and sometimes not.  I tried making something like 'smashed potatoes' that were supposed to be super crispy - mine weren't but they were edible.  I also chopped up a de-seeded cucumber and added some rice vinegar and soy sauce.  My taste test almost killed me because the vinegar glitched in my throat and I was choking a bit.  It's a 'common' thing lately - damn allergies - I am fine.

We took the cats to the groomer on Sunday morning - they spent the night in the 'spa'.  We decided paying for a night of boarding was a good idea - we went to Atlantis for our usual Sunday free play day after we dropped them off.  It was a not great day on the slots - I actually did OK early on - and I should have left the machines I was on and tried something else - but a really fun friend and her mom arrived so I stayed to have some time to play with them.  It ended up being a trouncing kind of day - those happen.  

The owner of the kitty spa told me she'd do her best to get them done early - their appointment on Monday was 1-3 - but she phoned just before 9:30AM and they were ready to come home.  I drove to Reno solo 'cuz J. was playing golf - another reason we decided to get them there on Sunday.  I don't mind driving with two crying cats - but I really struggle to get them in their carriers and I appreciate J. being available to help me with that.  

It's been a quiet week so far - beautiful blue skies which are welcome.  They mowed the golf course today for the first time this season so it's feeling more like Spring.  Considering we've had some unexpected snow in the past couple weeks, any less cold weather feels great.  

B. attended an air show in Lakeland, FL last week - he had a wonderful time.  Great week off work.  He was invited to fly with a United pilot who owns his own plane.  B. told J. he learned a ton from the guy.  Sounds like a super fun trip.

H. has been filling in for some workers on vacation or out sick for a landscape company.  It's hard work but he's enjoying it.  Grateful to be out and about vs. home alone all week.  He's living with amazing people but they both work.  

Days just blend together and time goes by so quickly.  It's really a wonderful time in life - slower pace, plenty of sleep.  We hang out or go where we want when we want.  It's lovely.

March

I'm starting to think maybe I will just do a monthly post and call it what it is - whatever month we're in.  Here we are winding down March, 2024 already.

Yesterday was our 34th wedding anniversary - J. had his monthly golf lunch and since he's the 'grand pooba' of the group at the moment (that's not the real title but close) he had to attend - so we planned to head to Atlantis the day after our anniversary for a couple nights of fun.  

I've been pretty darn sick - today is Day 5 and while I wish I felt 100%, I don't.  I am better but relatively speaking I still feel pretty crummy.  J. is playing golf this morning - so I'm going to tidy up the house, get the cats set up for a couple days on their own, pack my stuff and head to Reno later this morning.  I've decided I can hang out in the room when I need to - watching TV or sleeping. 

We did a Covid test but it was negative.  Took us 3 tests to get enough of the 'testing fluid' - guess over time it evaporates even though it's in a twist off plastic 'tube' - so not Covid.  I will survive.  And we will have fun at Atlantis to celebrate our special day no matter what.  J. will join me later this afternoon.  

We had some snow on Sunday - thankfully, the ground was warmed up so the snow didn't stick to the ground much.  Crazy Nevada weather.  

Guess that's it for now.  I am going to give the kitchen a quick mop.  I cancelled our leaning lady on Friday when I realized I was sick.  I felt bad cancelling on her but as sick as I've been, it was the right call.  She lives with her daughter and her 18 month old grandson and I didn't want her to be exposed to something. 

Holy Cow! SO MUCH SNOW!

J. gently kept reminding me the weather forecast was looking not great in terms of getting to Reno.  My freeplay days at Atlantis are one-time Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.  

Snow has been falling since night time - it hasn't stopped.  Not once.  The flakes were small at the start but still enough to cover the ground and pretty much everything.  After an all day snow fall, it's unbelievable how much snow we have on the ground.  It's wet - so even though there's a bit of wind, the snow is sticking where it falls. Flakes are much bigger now and are falling at a brisk pace.  The storm is exactly as forecasted - BIG.  We are following recommended guidance and just staying home.  May be the first time in years I've missed out on Atlantis weekly free play but oh well. 

Our neighbor T. used his snow blower to clear our driveway this morning - bless his heart it was for nothing because so much has fallen, there's no evidence of the driveway ever being clear today.  But it was.  He's a really kind human and we are blessed with such wonderful neighbors.  

Super glad we did a good stock up shopping trip because we are well stocked.  Have plenty of food and while I'm craving tacos (when am I not craving tacos lately - and I have what we need to make tacos if wanted to) - we're going to do bake potatoes with cheese and bacon on them - and likely some leftovers to round out the meal.  

I turned on the heatilator because the cats looked so miserable I just had to do something to get some warmth their way.  I have a small space heater in the study - central heat works great but the office 'zone' heats J.'s master suite, the guest bedroom and bathroom and the office - and that's a lot of space to heat when no one is in those rooms.  Can't wait until I'm feeling toasty - my feet feel like ice blocks at the end of my legs - but it will warm eventually. 

Still Winter

Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early Spring!  Excitement is in the air!  Will we be able to start working in the garden again soon? 

It's blustery cold today with some light snow flurries now and then.  We've been busy today - J. trekked to Costco to pick up prescriptions and a few grocery items and then went to Walmart to pick up a super large grocery stock-up order.  The local Carson casino I play out gave me my twice a year 'player perks' so we had $200 in a gift card to use - paid for a big stock up which we needed.  I'll need to commit some time to a pantry tidy this coming week and that's perfectly fine.  I'm starting to enjoy piddling around the house.  Then we trekked to the local casino for a wee bit of play and stopped at Smith's to get the few things we either forgot in our pickup order or items they were out of.  We (of course) added 4 items to our cart that weren't even remotely on our list - but that's what happens when you shop.  You see things that are a good deal and think 'well, let's get them'.  Diet Cherry Cream Dr. Pepper and three bottles of salad dressing.  We'll use the dressings no problem - and the Diet DP's were a splurge (because neither of us should really drink them) but it will be a nice treat once in a while.

A friend in Modesto, CA posted her daughter was selling Girl Scout cookies so I purchased 8 boxes - 4 Thin Mints, 2 Lemon and 2 Caramel Delights.  We checked the delivery status online and they were confirmed delivered on 1/29.  We did not have them, however.  Waited another day.  Still no cookies.  The record said they were delivered to a 'locker' on the 29th - but no key was in our locker to unlock any package locker on our mailbox tower down the street.  Wednesday, J. trekked to the post office and filed a report of a missing package.  The postal worker said they would check with the carrier.  Viola!  Key in our box yesterday so WE HAVE COOKIES!!   Woot woot!  Appreciated being able to order and have them delivered - even with the glitch.  We missed Thin Mints last year - we pretty much missed the GS Cookie event entirely last year and I didn't want to miss out this year, too.  I love how Facebook provides and reaffirms connection with people near and far.  

Tomorrow and Sunday will be Reno days - Tamarack Casino on Saturday and Atlantis on Sunday.  It's our weekly fun and we both look forward to it.  Next weekend we are attending the annual Big Bowl Bash event - we don't plan to play that day - no freeplay that day - so we'll enjoy the amazing 'tailgate party' food and then head home to watch the rest of the game.  Then back Monday or Tuesday for our weekly freeplay - yes, it's sort of cheap for Atlantis to not allow weekly free play on Game Day but oh well.  

J.'s been able to play some golf this Winter which is nice for him and his friends.  Weather has been fairly mild.  California is having a huge 'atmospheric river' this weekend and we are having a fair amount of rain and wind this weekend as well.

OH - I'm not sure I mentioned - we had a HUGE winds mid-January - our neighbors across the street lost shingles on their roof.  We thought we were fine - but later that week, our neighbor T. texted J. to say 'hey, meet me outside' - and sure enough, there was a section of the roof above my room with missing shingles.  We phoned our builder and he recommended a roofing company - they were pretty booked up during the M-F week but he offered to work on Saturday.  We weren't home - but the repair was done while we were gone - and thankfully, you can't tell at all where the replacement shingles were.  Beautiful job.  $300 which included a 2 hour labor minimum.  We were grateful to have it taken care of.  The shingles have a guarantee to not come loose up even with winds up to 100MPH - so we could file a warranty claim for the cost of the replacement shingles.  It seems like a waste of time given the repair bill was mostly labor.  

I'm off to get a flat bread pizza in the oven for dinner - J. doesn't like to eat this early so he'll cook his later.  It's nice to have plenty of food that sounds good to me - it's so hard for me to eat lately - I only want what I'm craving and my cravings change constantly. 

 

 

Refrigerator Jenga

So far this month, we're doing a good job of consuming the food we bring home from our casino treks.  One place is giving me $75 (one time a week) and J. gets $5-15 (also one time a week).  We often 'eat-in' for lunch on Saturday and then bring takeout home for dinner and breakfast the next day - but sometimes, we just want to get home so we order even more takeout.  Our refrigerator(s) are a complex maze of styrofoam, water-proofed cardboard and assorted other boxes.  This week we even ended up having a ceramic ramekin to hold some creme brulee we ordered on Sunday.  We have it in the dishwasher and will return it to the restaurant on Sunday.  

I just did a quick clean out of the fridge - mostly leftovers of things we cooked and then forgot about.  My appetite is a bit off at times - I want what I'm craving and very often, what one of us cooks for dinner is not what I'm hungry for.  I'm working on it.  Food is such a huge expense in anyone's budget - it's worth working hard on eating what we have and not wasting food.  

It's been snowing pretty much the entire day - flakes falling with wind making them have all sorts of weird angles - sideways snow is a real thing.  The temps today are higher - low 40's - so the ground isn't cold enough for the flakes to stick.  The school district has cancelled all after school programs today and has a two hour delayed start tomorrow - smart because it will be in the 10 degree range in the night and the wet roads are going to be icy.  We haven't left the house today so it's possible the city streets are brined in preparation - but we won't know that until tomorrow.  We will venture out briefly for a free play trip to the casino we visit here in Carson along with a grocery stop for a few things.  

I dug around my closet and found a couple pairs of boots - and wearing them is helping to keep my feet a wee bit warmer.  Once I get cold feet, I'm pretty much freezing so attempting to keep them warm has become a priority.  

My drifting off to sleep mode lately is to think of all the things I plan to accomplish the next day - but the actual day is full of procrastination.  Big time.  I rationalize it's OK - no pressure of timelines in a retired life.  But...I hope to do better.   

H. and I had a frank conversation this morning - I've felt troubled about things lately and the more we don't talk about it, the harder it gets.  There are all sorts of 'issues' at any given moment but his situation is what it is.  He's doing fine.  The talk helped us both so yay for that.  

I'm going to start a project in the study which will consume my time for a good long while.  I doubt I'll get it 'done' but often for me, starting is the hardest part.  Once I take the step to get going on something, I will usually find more momentum than I know what to do with - and that's not a bad thing. 

Finally Weather!

Our regular Saturday trek to Reno for time at a casino we started visiting a few months ago turned into a whirlwind drive home.  When we left, there were big winds and snow - but the snow was lightly falling and so dry it just blew across the streets.  We figured we'd head to Reno and head home reasonably early and we'd be fine.

The play was fun and we ordered our free food to take home - at least 5-7 meals worth of food.  Love comps.  I sat down next to a lady playing and her boyfriend kept coming over to say 'we need to go.  Weather isn't looking great'.  I cashed out and found J. and said 'sounds like we should head home'.  

Not a minute too soon.  It was a white knuckle drive the entire way - J. was driving (I drive to Reno and he drives home).  We decided to avoid the freeway which had us on a back road with a fair amount of other traffic.  Took it slow (very) and steady in what was fast becoming a major storm.  There were a couple brief white-out moments but it would quickly return to just heavy snow.  

We got home at just the right time because about 10 minutes later, we were getting updates from a Carson City website reporting multiple car accidents on the stretch of freeway nearest to our exit for home into Carson. Lots of ice.

Today would be our regular day of brunch and a little play at Atlantis but there are chains required on the freeway between us and Carson - the low valley by Washoe lake which is notorious for being incredibly icy incredibly fast - so we're staying put.  

I just had to pull on a down jacket as I sit in the office 'cuz it's cold.  Almost noon and 35 degrees.  

The snow is very beautiful - about 4 inches and with these super low temps (it was 10 degrees when I got up) it will take a long time for it to melt.  It's super glittery with the sun being out today and it's really beautiful, as it always is.  

We love living here.

Winter?

I have no excuses or reasons for not writing in November.  I actually do have a draft saved from mid-November and might put the finishing touches on it to get it published - but odds are it won't happen.  

(Post is now up - couldn't leave November blank).  LOL.  

Here we are past mid-December.  Christmas is just one short week away - and the house looks festive thanks to J. who does a great job.  The change we made last year of storing all the Christmas decorations in a corner of the garage (on the floor) vs. on the overhead shelving made it easy to get things inside.  J. does a great job.  I'm always thinking 'it will be so fun' but it's not.  It just isn't. So I'm blessed to have a guy who will make it happen.  

B. decided he wanted to come for Christmas - he will arrive this Friday for one week.  We are looking forward to having him here.  We will attend the Grand Ballroom Christmas buffet dinner which we all look forward to.  There will be baking, eating out, and just being together.  I always think 'when your adult children just enjoy being home with you doing whatever, you've done something right'.  It will be fun.

So far, there is no snow on the ground.  Some frost every morning and we definitely are running the heat a lot - but so far, there hasn't been precipitation when it's been super cold so the ground is clear.  It rained a lot today and forecast is more rain tomorrow - so we'll see.  But a White Christmas?  Not seeing it this year.  

In other news, it's official.  Our Atlantis host left - she made a major career/life change and is going to be a translator of Spanish.  We are so sad to see her go - she has done so many wonderful things for us in the nine months she's been our host.  The great news is our new host is her husband - who is equally wonderful.  We are in good hands.  

Hello again - it's now the end of December.  J. is taking B. to the airport as he wings his way back to New Jersey.  We had a wonderful week which flew by in the blink of an eye.  Last night, we dined at the Atlantis Steakhouse which is always epic.  The play (unfortunately) wasn't epic but oh well.  Bad days happen.  We ended the evening with a little shopping in the gift shop - B. got a pair of pants and a shirt and J. got another cold weather golf shirt.  All of that made quite a dent in our comps but that's a perfectly OK thing.  

The cleaning lady is working away in the great room.  This is her third visit and as usual, she was late.  I texted her 25 minutes past the time she said she'd arrive and her reply was 'oh, I'm leaving now'.  It's a constant puzzlement.  She's a one woman show so it takes her a while but that's OK. She does a really great job with a lot of attention to detail which I appreciate.  She does things no other cleaner has paid attention to - so late starts seem worth it.  We don't usually go anywhere on Fridays so it works out pretty well to just hang out in the study while she tidies up.  

We are planning to spend NYE at Atlantis.  I'm excited for the New Year.  

Still no snow.  Can't believe it.  After last winter, people seem relieved but we sort of miss it.  There is a storm front coming through this weekend so we'll see. 

Right Place, Right Time

Have to share the craziest slot win ever today.  

Sunday is our free play day and we usually head to Atlantis around 10AM.  We love going to brunch and they only do brunch on the weekends.  

Today, our neighbors hosted a brunch at their house - it was loads of fun and we met some neighbors we hadn't met before.  We had to adjust our plans but it was OK and we had such a great time - wouldn't have missed it!  J. helped me make scones last night and while they didn't look as great as they usually do, they tasted great and they were a hit.  They are always a hit - and we took some to our neighbor T. and he was super happy.  He loves them! 

So...we ended up heading to Atlantis after brunch - left Carson City between 1:30 and 2:00.  I was bummed there were no Dragonlinks available but not surprised.  There are only six machines and they fill up quickly - it's irritating (often) but oh well.  I am honestly trying hard to NOT play Dragonlinks at Atlantis anymore - they are ridiculously tight (more about that in another post) - but I still like to start there most days.  

So...I headed to my favorite free play machine - but didn't hit a thing.  Decided to stop my free play and move - told J. I was going to go check in the high limit room.  

I don't play in the high limit room much - but there are a couple machines I enjoy - minimum bets are $5ish and that's not bad.  Sadly, those machines were occupied, too, so bummer. 

I ended up sitting down at a Lightening Cash - Lightening Link were the first of the link machines and I used to love them before my obsession moved to the newer Dragonlinks.  Lightening Cash is the 'high limit' version of Lightening Link.  The machine was actually 'out of service' but as I stood there looking around, the slot attendant unlocked it - so I sat down quickly.  I did the lowest denomination - ten cent - with a minimum bet of $5.  I played my free play and won $130 - and then sat there for a bit.  Decided that if I played down what I won, I'd be down $200 for the day - and as days go (especially lately) that would be a pretty good day.

A couple spins in, this happened.  

 My first ever high limit hand pay.  Final tally was this:

 It was the perfect confirmation of being at the right place at the right time.  I was shocked - and overjoyed.  Made for a fun rest of the month for sure!

Happy Halloween

Oh my goodness!!  Haven't blogged in a month and a half!  Is that a record?  I could look back and do the math but if I do that, odds are I won't get back to the post.  That's life lately - start one thing, move on to something else and dart around doing a ton of stuff.  

I've started keeping a daily to do list but it's still a crap shoot.  The joy of retirement. 

Lots of things to document and update.  

I had my 'throat scope' (every three years) on October 4th - it went fine.  The doctor did a few biopsies including the tissue that is near where I used to have a tonsil.  I haven't seen the results yet but he said he wasn't concerned.  Sent to lab and we'll see.  I had an office visit scheduled to go over results which would happen after my colonoscopy.  They changed their procedures and since the doctor was going to (possibly) dilate my esophagus, they wouldn't do both procedures on the same day - so I had the throat scope and then had to dread another prep process for the colonoscopy.

I was scheduled to have a colonoscopy on October 11th.  I woke up on the 9th and started the process.  Felt fine all day - full of energy and piddled around the house productively.  I decided to make myself some ramen and used low sodium chicken broth as the base.  I didn't add the seasoning packets - I felt like it was essentially noodle soup and that seemed fine.  The next day would be my day of 'no solid food' so I wanted to eat something satisfying.  Noodles are my go to. Ate some mid-day and then around dinner time.  

At 10PM as I was heading to bed my stomach felt pretty 'off'.  I started throwing up shortly after getting ready for bed.  I thought 'well, I've emptied my stomach and feel better so I'll sleep and be fine'.  At 3AM, I woke up vomiting again and had pain in my lower right 'flank' as well as pain radiating up my back.  I woke up J. and said we should call 911.  I was scared.  The pain was bad and I'd used the restroom....but it didn't abate.  Thankfully, I did another bathroom visit and the pain radiating up my back stopped.  I felt OK enough to say we'll drive to the ER - it's literally across the street from our house - we see it from our back patio.  

They did all the things they do - including an EKG and eventually a CT scan.  Thankfully, though there were some blood things as 'red flags' - higher white blood count was one - the CT scan ruled out anything major.  They gave me IV fluids and medication for the pain and nausea and we were home by 7AM.  The ER doctor said 'you can still get the colonoscopy tomorrow' and I said 'there is no way I'm going to spend today doing the prep and go another night without sleep.  I just don't think I can do it'.  He said 'that's OK.  Just get it done as soon as you can'.  He referenced how doctor's in this area are so backed up - but I hadn't had any issue making the appointment so I was confident they would be able to get me rescheduled fairly soon.

J. called the doctor's office and told them I was sick and the procedure was moved to this Friday, 11/3.  And I'm dreading it but it is what it is.  

J. is winding down the 2023 golf season - he and his friends took a Geezers Gone Wild trip to a couple California courses.  He will start playing 'winter golf' next week - a schedule that will very much depend on precipitation, temperature and availability of places to play.  

We had one trick or treat visit this evening - that's it.  With the new housing development next to our neighborhood, I wondered if we'd have more kids this year - but no.  The new houses are on smaller lots but still family friendly - and there are a lot of them.  

H. is doing well - he had a job interview at a grocery store and has a 2nd interview on Friday.  Also has an interview at Walmart on Thursday.  Praying so much that he secures a job - not only because earning what he needs to support himself is important but because he will feel so much better with a job to go to.  Getting out of the house and being productive will be so good for him.

B. is also doing well.  He's started his instrument training classes for flying and is excited to be working on getting his instrument rating.  

With now two pilots in the family, I find myself very interested in all sorts of You Tube videos about flying.  J. and I queue up a couple most nights after we finish our TV watching.

Temps dropped into the low 20's this week (in the mornings) and boy, do we feel it.  We've got the heat on and are grateful for it.  This morning, J. had a doctor's appointment and then took his car for maintenance so I was hanging out in the kitchen with the cats.  We got a visit from a group of blue birds splish splashing in the (thankfully) thawed out bird bath water.  The cats are so enthralled - both of them 'talking'.  Nala chittering and Muf doing some quick meows.  It's always so fun to watch the birds.  So beautiful - bright blue tail feathers.

On September 30th, we attended a graduation party of our neighbor's daughter (graduated with her Bachelor's in Nursing and is now working in the ICU of the hospital I mentioned) and her boyfriend (graduated top of his class from the Reno Fire Department Academy and now working as a Fireman).  Two amazing young people and all the people who encouraged them.  It was a blast.  We had a fun time and spent time with neighbors which was a lot of fun.  Met some neighbors I've never met before.  It was a beautiful party and a bit of rain did nothing to lessen the celebration.  The hosts (parents of the boyfriend hosted at their house and parents of both of them hosted the food) were such nice people and wow, the house was incredibly beautiful - in Gardnerville. 

I'm in a psychological struggle on and off about adult friendships in retirement.  We have confirmation of events where we were excluded - and even as I rationalize all the 'why's and what's' that might create that situation, what is incredibly hard is feeling like it's being rubbed in our face.  As neighbors post pics on their Facebook and all the 'ah-ha' moments of 'wow, I was right.  I don't know what everyone does or why, but for me, if I had hosted an event where other friends weren't included for some reason, the last thing in the world I would do is post pictures all over the place so that the people excluded know they WERE excluded for sure.  

We had great neighbors in Tracy - but we never socialized with them so these situations never happened.  Our current neighbors?  Well, we're completely devoted to one set, thought we were friends of the other set but now realize apparently not.  I feel devastated in a way that is hard to describe.  

I wasn't expecting my retirement to feel very much like high school - I'm not in the popular crowd; never will be in the popular crowd and it appears some people just like to rub it in your face - also like high school.  

I'm getting around it by not following (on Facebook) one neighbor in particular - I won't see what she's posting so I won't care.  But it still stings.  

Guess that's it for now.  I've drafted some of the 'retirement is a lot like high school' stuff before but never 'published' it.  I know I am blessed with a handful of dear friends who read this blog - friends I've had FOR DECADES - so if any of you have any words of wisdom, please leave a comment.  Any thoughts will be appreciated. 

Bring it on, November.  Knowing 2023 is going to be over in the blink of an eye is stunning - time goes so incredibly quickly these days. 

Primary Care

On B.'s advice, I decided to get my toe looked at.  The nail became completely detached this past Monday.  I trimmed off as much as I could but there is still a small portion of the lower nail that although detached from the nail bed is still attached at the cuticle.  

My primary care doctor here in Carson left the practice and moved to California.  I called the office yesterday and inquired about a new primary care and while there were doctors available in Carson, the scheduling person said 'and they can see you in February'.  Um...that won't work.  I said 'well, I guess I'll go to urgent care for the toe' but she said 'I can get you in for an appointment in Minden tomorrow'.  I said that would work and asked (with my fingers crossed) 'and can that physician's assistant be my PC?'.  Yes!  

Went to see her today and LOVED her - easy drive, nice offices.  In addition to setting up a referral to a podiatrist (she agreed the remainder of the nail should probably be removed but also agreed neither of us should try to do that) she talked through some other things happening on the health front.  She prescribed an antibiotic as well (for the injured toe) and also gave me a different antibiotic ointment to use on the toe.  She isn't a fan or Neosporin.  I didn't ask why.   I really liked her.  Super glad to have a PC in place I feel comfortable with. 

I have a Gastro doc appointment scheduled for Monday - a pre-visit to schedule my every three year colonoscopy.  And hoping to add a throat scope as well on the advice of my gastro doc and my new primary care doc.  I'm having some issues swallowing - weird, infrequent but still problematic - and that alone warrants a scope. She said if Gastro doc won't do it for any reason, she'll schedule it with another doctor.  

J. and B. are at the Reno air races today.  An Atlantis event coordinator offered J. & B. access to the jet race pylon area - somewhere they don't allow many people to visit.  I can't wait to hear all about it.  It's a hot day.  I've been to Minden, back home for lunch then to the post office to mail H.'s money order for his rent.  I realized this morning that the bank did a cashier's check - a money order is the only payment accepted typically - but H. checked with the house leader who said it would be OK.

J. is in a black jack tournament tomorrow at Atlantis so that's where we'll be.  B.'s friend R. is coming from Stockton and also his friend S. with his wife and two year old son.  They will attend the air races on Sunday.  We'll pick B. up at Atlantis on Monday morning and then we all return there Tuesday to spend the night for J.'s birthday.  

It's fun having B. here - he hangs out with J. watching whatever they find to watch and the cats are in heaven having so many options of who to cuddle with!  

That's it for now.  Summer is over in the blink of an eye and Fall is just around the corner - but today is warm, sunny, and beautiful.  Life is good!

 

Quiet Sunday

J. is playing golf today and tomorrow for the Atlantis Cup Tournament.  We decided to get a room for the night (tonight) - a fun excuse to have a night away from home.  We considered cancelling but I phoned the hotel to ask what type of room it is.  And the reservation clerk said 'you have a suite'.  YAY!  Suites make it so much more 'special'. 

I'm still at the house but plan to head to Reno soon.  The cats are curled up on the bench in the mud room - they started hanging out there most mornings and we're not sure why.  In the winter it makes sense because it has a floor vent and gets super warm in there when the heat is on.  But summer?  With the AC sometimes blasting?  Guess curling up with your best friend is a way to be warm(er).  They are cute together - but we witnessed them fighting yesterday and they are definitely having skirmishes now and then.  

I just refilled the bird watering trays and am super thrilled to say the birds are back!  Bluebirds and finches are hanging around a lot and taking baths and drying themselves on the fence.  We LOVE watching them!  It took a long time for them to return but they finally did!!  

We've had a week of watching for fighter jets and fuel tankers while President and Mrs. Biden were staying in Tahoe.  It's been noisy (often) but also weirdly fun.  Yesterday we listened to Air Traffic Control at Reno and saw Air Force One winging it's way north east out of Reno.  

We're a week into the future from when I wrote above this sentence. Time moves so quickly.  Our stay at Atlantis was a really fun time and I had epic luck.  So grateful.  

I got up at 6:15AM today because the pest control service was arriving at 7AM.  No problem getting up but it's a smidge past 11:30AM and it feels like the longest day ever.  I just loaded and started the dishwasher for the 2nd time this morning.  The cats 'stormed to castle' as I left my room and they are snuggled and toasty warm on my bed.  I don't think they will move much for another few hours.  

I had a fun catch up Facebook message chat with my cousin S. yesterday morning and another catch up live phone call with my friend C. in Tracy.  So fun to get caught up with both.

J. is playing golf today.  It was strange having him home yesterday - no golf on Labor Day.  We did pick up a big grocery order so I've piddled around doing some reorganizing in the pantry.  

Last Tuesday, I went to the outside refrigerator to get a cold Ice drink.  I had on opened toe sandals - something I wear very rarely - I wasn't going anywhere so it felt more casual to just slide on sandals.  As I opened the refrigerator, my left big toe collided with the bottom corner of the door and my toe suffered a traumatic injury.  I let out a huge OWWWWW scream - then regretted it thinking the neighbors would hear.  They didn't.  The toe was profusely bleeding and I couldn't really tell what had happened.  I thought maybe it was deeply cut under the nail because it bled a lot for an hour and continued to bleed for hours that day.  A week out, I'm pretty sure the brutal injury was a significant part of the nail detaching from the nail bed....so I wait to see if the nail will fall off.  In the mean time, I tend it carefully and keep it bandaged at night and in the day if I'm going to be walking a bit that day.  

B. had called just as I came back inside the house - he was on Facetime and I didn't realize it....so I held the phone up to my ear.  I said 'hey, I need to call you back 'cuz I've hurt my toe and if I don't take care of it, this place is going to look like a crime scene'.  

It hurts.  Yikes.  I couldn't recreate what happened if I tried.  

OK.  Time to get to continue working on house stuff.  We decided to stop using the cleaning service - they cancelled so many times we ended up doing it ourselves anyway.   Saves money and I've got nothing but time. 

Let's Be Real

I could totally take some of the posts in my draft folder and fine tune them, manually make the date(s) for the posts in July and miraculously create July posts....but I won't.  

I'm a bit mystified at why I'm not inclined to write these days - but I'm not.  Days fly by at a record pace and the business of life feels like 'enough'.  Documenting all the stuff that is retirement life seems unnecessary?  

I don't know.  I'm just finding it hard to want to write.  

It might have started when I re-read some historical posts and realized how much fiction is among all my musings.  H.'s issues are everywhere and it's hard to wade through it all and realize the pure fiction of pretty much all of it.  

It's created hesitancy about writing anything (else) about how things are going 'cuz truly?  We have no idea how things are really going.  We know what he shares and hope things are as he says but we have no way to verify much of anything.  

Things are hard sometimes.  We're muddling through.

We attended a Reno Symphony Orchestra concert on July 3rd at the Ball Field downtown - shared a sky box with friends and had a wonderful evening.  The concert was epic, food was good and the fireworks were spectacular.  My brilliant husband parked the car in an area where no one else parked which had us out of the multi-story garage in record time - avoided the 20+ minute wait others were having going the opposite route.  (I can't explain how/why but there was another set of ramps we found totally by accident).  We were out of there in a flash. 

J. is enjoying the season of loads of golf play.  Between his three golf 'clubs' and the annual Atlantis Cup tournament (which he's played in every year since we moved here), he is gone usually at least three days a week.  I miss him - the house is quiet and he's good company - but I am happy he's doing lots of his favorite thing with a bunch of really nice friends.  I enjoy being the drink girl on the third tee when they play at Silver Oak - which they do most Thursdays.  

B. is arriving on September 13th for not quite two weeks and we are excited to have him visit.  We offered to pay for his ticket to come here for the (last) Reno Air Races and he was excited - and was able to arrange two weeks of leave.  He's moving to a new apartment at the end of August so he will be pretty busy and ready for a nice vacation break.  We aren't nailing down too many plans - other than the Air show - he will likely try to visit friends in the Bay Area for a few days. 

J. and I (mostly J. but I'm helping a smidge) are working on continued tidying of the stones on the labyrinth.  The yard is blooming finally - Spring was basically non-existent and freak cold spells kept the earth chilly - it's taken a long time this year for things to finally bloom.  We lost a lot of plants again this year - likely just the long-term brutal cold and so much snow - but we replaced some already and will likely replace more next Spring - if there is a Spring.  

Lake Washoe is all the way 'full' to the freeway - and while we are starting to see some of the previously covered in water 'marsh' area(s), there's still an incredible amount of run off.  Small bits of snow still clinging to the higher peaks around us - a reminder of just how much snow there was.  

July had us at Atlantis mostly on Saturdays and Sundays - but in August, they are not hosting 'Local Bonus Freeplay' on Saturdays weekly - just one Saturday this month - so we've added playing at Tamarack in South Reno to our rotation.  We are really enjoying it there - tons of Dragonlink machines for me and good Keno machines for J. .  They have enticed us further with food offers and extra free play so instead of Saturdays @ Atlantis in August, we're doing Sundays there and Fridays at Tamarack.  It's been a lot of fun.  Last week, we ran into our (now retired) casino host M. at Tamarack - having lunch with her partner.  She was shocked to see us there - but I'd told her when she retired 'we're loyal to you - not so much Atlantis' and guess her 'catching us' playing there confirmed it.  

I love Atlantis but getting a Dragonlink Machine there is very hard most weekends.  

OK.  I think I'll stop now, get this posted and move on to working through the massive pile of paperwork sitting on my desk goading me into being productive. 

Thanks for reading. 

Bees and Wedding

The long awaited, long planned for trip to our niece K.'s wedding in Paso Robles, CA is over - what a weekend!  

I've had so much anxiety about the trip - for no particular reason other than I have anxiety about a lot of things these days.  A lot of it was helped when our neighbor N. (T. & G.'s son) agreed to take care of the cats for us.  He came over a couple days before we were leaving and I gave him the info about the cat's routine.  Promised him I would write everything out.  The cats hid the entire time he was here but I told him 'as soon as they know you are the person giving them their moist food every day, they will warm up'.  I hoped I was right.  

I did write out all the directions and left them on the counter for him.  He was fine with (also) helping out with getting the mail; opening and closing the shutters to give the cats access to their favorite window spots but not leaving the shutters open all night; turning on outside lights at night and turning them off in the morning.  Having all those things covered and leaving the cats in their home was a huge relief for me.  

The night before we left, I still couldn't decide on what to wear to the wedding - and the benefit of car travel is we had plenty of room for 'stuff' - so I ended up putting all three possible outfits in a garment bag. Counted out how many 'casual' outfits I'd need for hanging out with J. and B..  We left the house at 9AM and stopped for gas at Costco - and I realized I'd forgotten a pair of shoes to go with a couple of my casual outfits.  J. said 'well, we'll just go back home and get them' but I decided to save the 30 minutes that would take and 'wing it'.  

I drove the first leg over the windy road drive from Minden on Hwy 88 over the hills into Jackson, CA. .  It was an easy drive - very pretty and we were surprised by how much snow was still on the ground.  One lake we passed - Caples Lake - was still covered with ice.  We arrived in Tracy around 9:30 and J. had friend with his BFF R. and I had lunch with my BFF C. .  It was fun to see them both.  

J. drove from Tracy to Paso Robles.  We headed south on I-5 and wow, what a drive.  There were immediately so many trucks on the highway.  One merge had seven semi's merging onto a freeway already full of semis and cars.  It felt scary and my anxiety really took a hard hit for a bit.  J. did a great job and we just kept a steady, safe pace and trekked on.  I watched YouTube videos on my phone which was an excellent distraction.  One of the things I noticed that shocked me were how many abandoned buildings and businesses were graffiti covered - so many businesses closed.  

We made a stop for restrooms and fuel in the middle of nowhere - and while I was worried about the state of the bathrooms, we lucked out - Eagle Feather Trading Post was spotless!  Welcoming staff and clean restrooms.  Gas was $1 more a gallon than in Carson City but we expected that.  

We arrived in Paso Robles and got checked in.  J. and I went to the lounge and had small plates for dinner.  He went to pick up B. at the San Luis Obispo airport around 8 but I was in bed shortly after.  N. sent a picture of him with both cats on his lap and said 'I was worried they would be afraid of me but they are just so sweet'!  Yay!  Huge relief they were in good hands. 

Friday morning, we had a nice breakfast together and caught up with B. .  We hung out around the gardens of the hotel and fed the koi in all the ponds.  The front desk had free 'fish kibble' and it was fun.  We headed out for a walk and found a winery with a storefront offering tastings near our hotel.  We had a fun time wine tasting and left with 4 bottles of wine!  Bushong Vintage Company rocks! We had a nice steak house dinner with B. that night.  

Saturday was breakfast and then just hanging out.  As I was sitting at the small table in the corner of the room using my computer, I heard buzzing sounds.  Kept trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.  And then a bee appeared - seemingly from nowhere.  The window in that corner was closed as was the shutter covering the window.  The bee(s) came in and headed for the overhead light and/or the desk lamp on the table.  We called maintenance who came and got the bees using tissue.  We figured 'well, that was interesting but problem fixed'.  No, it wasn't.  More bees.  Whenever the lights in that corner were on, there would be bees.  The second maintenance guy arrived with a can of bug spray - but I said 'no, please.  I can't breathe in those fumes or my asthma will go nuts'.  He picked up the dead bees from the floor (they would exhaust themselves around the lights and die).  He mentioned they had a swarm of bees a few days prior that were relocated to a new hive by a beekeeper.  The bees we were seeing were the stragglers who didn't go with the hive and were now dying.  Sad.  But it's the circle of life.  

We also had other issues - some kind of oily substance on the entry way tile.  J. walked barefoot from bed to the bathroom on Friday evening and when he got in the shower Saturday morning, he called me to come look - his feet were covered with black and the ONLY place he'd been barefoot was on the entry tile and/or our room.  We noticed an oily drip from the door closing 'box' - and we think they had spilled some of the oil used to lubricate the doors.  It was gross.  

We let the front desk know.

We saw the bridal party in their suite on Friday evening (from afar) and were really excited as Saturday progressed and the wedding got closer.  

I decided to wear slacks and a glitzy top - it was cold and I couldn't imagine the dress option working.  The wedding was beautiful.  Very small - less than 80 people - but it felt right.  We caught up with family on the bride's mom's side we hadn't seen in years.  We were the only family from the bride's Dad side - and there were some hard moments when J.'s late brother B. was barely acknowledged.  The step-Dad was introduced as 'the father of the bride' - and I won't speak for J. or B. but that was really hard for me.  

At the end of the night, they were married and so incredibly happy and there's nothing better than that.  

Sunday felt 'hard'.  I was exhausted - not a ton of energy that day on my end.  J. and B. took a drive to see Hearst Castle and also checked out a beach.  I cocooned in the bee zone.  B. went to the bar in the late evening to join the bride and groom for drinks - and told us the next morning we'd been invited for drinks, too - which would have been good to know the night before but I was asleep pretty early so oh well. 

The bride and groom were able to get B. to San Luis Obispo airport on their way home to Thousand Oaks which was wonderful because it saved us more than an hour of time to get him further south and then drive back.  

We had a ton of huge weather from Tracy to Carson City via Hwy 88.  I was the driver for that leg of the trip and there were some white knuckle moments.  Huge pounding rain where wipers on high didn't appear to be doing much.  We made it and I was proud of myself for putting the anxiety on a shelf and just keep going. 

We were glad to be home and the cats were happy to see us.

Channel Your Inner Optimist

Here we are approaching the end of May - my draft folder has several posts and I will try to refine them and post them soon....so at some point, look back a bit if you're reading this post to see if I post the rest.  

We have intense heat this weekend - Spring was barely a whisper and now it's broiling hot.  So many weather alerts flashing - high heat greatly increases the snow melt and flash floods are happening.  We're fine here but some areas near us are flooding.  J.'s golf group had to scramble to reschedule their upcoming Tuesday play because the course they were playing has two or three holes completely underwater.  Thankfully, golf courses provide a lot of open area for pooling water.  Better on a golf course then someone's street or house. 

We've had to turn on the AC because it's too hot for open windows to give any kind of break in the heat.  

The 20th of every month is the day the local casino I play at gives me a bit more 'extra' free play.  I haven't played at this casino much lately but I do go once in a while and I definitely didn't want to miss out on today's extra boost.  

I left the house around 9:15 and told myself the entire way to the casino 'I will stick to my budget'.  I'm working (very) hard on not leaving broke - something that's easy to do and something that lately has made me feel horrible on some days.  The machine I would have preferred to play (with the highest Major on the bank of Dragonlinks) was 'out of service' - secret code for someone saved it.  Drat!  I went to the next highest Major - Autumn Moon - and started playing.  I hit a bonus round right away and was glad for that!  Then I played up and down all the denoms - including $1 and $2 denoms which I mostly stay away from lately.  If/when I play those high denoms (where there are only five pay lines vs. 50 or 25 pay lines on the lower denoms), I would always head back down to lower denoms and bet big - to see what happens.  

Nothing happened.  Drat!  I nervously unclipped another $100 from my stash - and told myself 'This is it for today'.  [We are playing at Atlantis tomorrow and I had a good day yesterday so didn't want to put too much back today].  

I got an Orb bonus round and was ecstatic!  Told myself 'no matter what, take the winnings and leave'.  I would be down - but a smidge better after the bonus round - 

14 orbs dropped - and then the 15th dropped.  Holy Cow!  

I let out a small 'oh wow' and everyone at the machine bank said congratulations.  Except the lady who'd saved the machine I would have played if she hadn't saved it.  She stood up, cashed out her ticket and said 'I could have sat at that machine when I got here - it was available'.  And she stormed off.  I've played with her before - she's an Eeyore on her best day - always upset about her play.  Not winning.  Not winning enough.  

Her storming off cost her a bit 'cuz I would have shared the luck - and I did share the luck with another player who then played the machine Eeyore had left and promptly hit the Major!  Woot woot! 

I drove to the casino thinking 'I could have great luck.  And even if I don't have great luck, I will have fun and enjoy the play'. Win, lose or draw, I always feel grateful.  Always.

Today was an awesome luck day and I am so glad!

Why I Blog

Wednesday morning, doing my usual 'bunch of stuff about mostly nothing' on my computer, I saw a face I recognized on a news 'tile' - a blogger I've followed for years.  I clicked and saw 'dead at 47' and froze.  Gasped out loud.  And immediately thought 'please let it be she was ill for some time or it was a tragic accident'.  But no.  She killed herself.  Leaving behind two daughters 19 & 13 and her partner Pete who loved her fiercely. 

Heather Armstrong is the reason I started blogging.  I'd found her blog when she first started writing and followed along as she shared about motherhood, marriage, work challenges, etc. .  Her writing is so much more intricate than mine - a masterful story teller, she could create post after post that was spellbinding. She shared her mental health issues honestly and frequently - something I always admired her for.  Her issues were very severe - and she tried a lot of things to mitigate the crushing depression. 

I even emailed her a few times and she always wrote back - which always surprised me as much as it thrilled me.  

She earned a living via her blog.  One of the first to monetize her blog.  She created an entire career as a "Mommy Blog" influencer and was able to grow her business to include appearances at various blog forums around the world.  She also wrote three books.  

Heather's openly sharing her mental health struggles got me to be more honest about mine - first with myself and then a little sharing on my blog.  My blog has never and will never be 'famous' for anything - I never had any desire to put myself out there in that way.  It's basically an online diary that helps me remember things I want to remember and gives me a way to put thoughts on paper.  For myself.  For my kids.  

I am thinking of her family and how incredibly difficult her death is for them.  And I've been thinking about her - how she did everything she could do to stay here until she reached a point when she couldn't.  

She will be greatly missed.

 

Creeping Anxiety

Little by little, the anxiousness I feel regarding anything remotely resembling travel is creeping in.  Our trip to Paso Robles for our niece's wedding is less than a month away and as we coordinate all the things surrounding that trip, I feel more and more unsettled.  

This will be the first road trip I've taken since we moved here.  Other than our weekly treks to Reno (half hour north) and our occasional trips to Minden (half hour south), I haven't been on any driving trip anywhere.  J.'s made some treks to California and other places for golf and concerts.  I've been home.  I like home.

I will absolutely power through the anxiety to make the trip - we are honored to be invited (it's a small wedding with not a lot of family) and we've been excited to attend since we knew she was getting married.

When we spent time with our neighbors a couple weeks ago, G. volunteered their son N. (who is living with them after he was laid off from his job) to take care of the cats while we are gone.  It will (in theory) save money - boarding two cats is expensive - and they will be happier in their own home.  I worry because lately, even when we're home, sitting in the office with the door closed, the cats (mostly Nala) wander the house crying seeking people.  I think about them being alone and lonely for five days - and I worry leaving them at home isn't the best for them.  But then again, home is where they are the most settled and N. is a great guy who loves cats and will probably spoil them rotten.  

I finally went through the process to renew my Trusted Traveler (including International travel) - I submitted my application and a few days later, received an email about setting up an interview.  I did that process too and then last night, I received an email that my status had changed.  I logged in this morning and am officially renewed.  Interview not needed!  

J. did the same process a month ago - and he's still waiting.  No 'conditional approval' yet and when he inquires, they write back that 'due to overwhelming volume, your request may take up to 11 months'.  They are dealing with that by reassuring everyone they will extend the expiration date of your current membership.  So if we were traveling, J. would still be OK.  I don't know how I lucked out to get mine approved so quickly - 

I'm about to make myself a third hamburger (this week) for dinner.  Turns out when I'm craving a good hamburger, my best option is to make one for myself.  It's delicious, flavorful and juicy - something I have not been able to find in town, even at In & Out.  

The cats are starting each day sitting in the dining area window watching nature outside.  We've got water in the bird trays and they sit and watch for hours sometimes.  Even with very few birds visiting (so far).  Things will pick up as soon as the weather stabilizes.  We've had some back tracking to colder weather - I should have known since I washed all the winter bed linens in preparation to pack them up for the season and now they are all (still) back on the beds.  

Our hair stylist and pedicure specialist retired and I'm trying a new place.  I'm not sold so far.  The lady doing my hair asks 'what would you like me to do?' - other than 'trim the ends', I have no input 'cuz I'm not a hairstylist.  The pedicure seems good - but it takes a lot longer than our previous person -  and the massaging of feet and calves is almost always a little too much.  

I think I will try Atlantis Salon - way more expensive (though in theory we could use comps) but it might be better all around.  Will check into it and decide.  

 

You Can't Say No

Been feeling like things are piling up a bit lately - mostly because there are a host of things happening that I (frankly) wish I didn't have to deal with.  But - being a Mom and a wife are jobs that never end and so....just keep on keeping on. 

My friend C. and I had a catch up call and when she said 'how are you?' I answered truthfully 'I am tired'.  Down to my bones tired. C. and I are holding each other accountable with working on moving more.  No formal exercise plan - but just committing daily to things that create movement. 

My workout today was helping J. trek to the rock yard and come home with about 1/4 cubic yard (8 five gallon buckets) of stone.  Between the mini-shoveling into smaller containers and then spreading the rock around the yards, it was a great workout.  We piled some of it in various spots out back and planned to work out there over the weekend.  Thankfully, our new gardener came and he did a lot of filling up the spaces in the back that needed extra stone.  We are very fortunate that one of our neighbors (around the corner) works at the rock yard so she arranged everything for us.  It was a very smooth, easy process and we will likely be going back there next Friday to do another load.  We have three types of stone in the yards and they all could use some filling - and while we're at it, we might do a trip for 'extra' we can pile behind the shed for future use.  $1 a bucket - and way easier than having a truck dump a huge load of stone in our driveway.  

Tomorrow and Sunday are Atlantis days and I am really looking forward to playing.  Monday through Friday feels like a long time in between play days....especially with J. playing golf 3 days a week.  I'm always feeling a sense of back and forth about him being gone - in my heart and core, I'm happy he can enjoy time with his friends doing something he loves three times a week.  But the reality of it - three days alone - is hard at times.  Some days, being alone feels incredibly hard.  And I feel bad for feeling that way knowing I have friends and family who have experienced loss who are facing the reality of being alone.  I try to re-align with being glad he can have fun even when some weeks feel so 'meh' without him home.  

And then he is home and sometimes makes me crazy.  

We will enjoy plenty of together time at Atlantis having fun and enjoying brunch.  And we'll work in the yards in the evenings when it gets cooler.  It's 84 outside right now and being out in the sun working hard felt so great.  Sun and sweat after months and months of bundling up felt amazing!

The new gardener spent more time here on his first official visit than our previous company did in multiple visits.  I offered him an amount per month that was way high - in my head it was comparable to what we had been paying but it was actually quite a bit more than that - so he said he will come twice a month.  When we get caught up it may end up once a month is enough and if so, we'll adjust - or we'll give him a list of other things he could help with.  Sweeping patios, sweeping garage, helping clean the shed - there are plenty of things we are happy to have help with.  He's really good - and between the three of us, the place should be looking better soon.  It looks fine now - but we are looking forward to having it tidier.  

Wishing everyone a great weekend - I look forward to weekends as much (maybe more) as I did when I worked.  Two days of fun with hubby in the house!  Win-Win!

 

Circular Reference

In trying to help H. rebuild/restart a life that doesn't include addiction and homelessness, I'm realizing just how challenging doing that is for the people in that situation.  Honestly, if H. didn't have family support, he would be back on the streets and most likely return to addiction.  It's unfathomable to me how people without support claw their way back - it would be very difficult.

He needs to get a Texas ID card - but to do that he needs a social security card.  He can't get a replacement social security card without having a valid state ID.  Do you see the conundrum here?  

I ordered official birth certificates for him - had to head to Wells Fargo earlier this week to get the requests notarized.  Then J. had to scan all the documents into a pdf to attach to an email.  I have to say the response from the Alameda County Clerk/Recorder were very fast - and this morning, the certified copies arrived via Fed Ex overnight.  Just under $100 for two documents.  Grateful for a relatively easy process that didn't take too long.  The website said that mailing the documents US mail will cause delays so faxing or attaching was the way to go.  We don't have a landline - something I forget when I ask J. to fax something.  Anyway - I have the docs in hand - and will talk to H. about where he will keep them and how will he ensure they don't get lost.  Every ID he had got lost.  Passport, license, social security card (which was also a replacement card).  He has nothing - not a single thing that confirms who he is.  He needs ID to get work.  Highest priority.  

We had a freak snow storm on Monday night/early Tuesday morning and awoke to enough snow on the ground that J.'s golf was cancelled.  We are ready for winter to move on.  Really.  Please.

Monday's cat grooming appointment was a success.  They have new haircuts, clean ears and eyes and trimmed claws.  They didn't cry much on the way home - think they realized 'yay, they came back for us and now we're heading home'.  Just like us, home is where they most want to be.  They are a little chilly with less fur so they are both hiding out in unusual places.  Nala is using Chloe's 'dome bed' (she has been for a while) and this morning, Muf was hiding under some blankets in the guest bedroom closet.  New for her but she can snuggle in the blankets and get pretty toasty.  

Today is my first 'commitment free' day in a while and other than being the drink lady for J.'s foursome (Thursday is his Silver Oak golf day and we always offer his foursome beverage service and ice for coolers) it's a low key day.  

I'm looking forward to Atlantis this weekend.  I stupidly played a bit at a casino in Carson that I always regret playing at - told J. 'it is totally OK next time I say I want to play there to remind me how much it ALWAYS sucks'.  He said 'we are creating quite a list of places that suck' and he's not wrong about that.  I know Atlantis.  I know the machines.  I have basic concepts of what might work far more at Atlantis than any other place and I need to remind myself of that vigorously 'cuz seriously, losing is NO FUN.  LOL.  It really isn't.

Cats & Taxes

This past week felt super busy as retired weeks go.  And J. was 'man down' for a couple days - he got home from golf on Tuesday feeling pretty crummy and ended up being sick to his stomach and/or in the bathroom for two full days.  Poor guy.  I can't remember the last time he actually tossed his cookies but Tuesday and Wednesday he did plenty of that.  

We had an appointment for Nala's annual vet visit on Tuesday afternoon so I navigated that alone.  Not too bad, really.  She wasn't thrilled with being in the hard side carrier and she sure didn't like the 10 minute drive to the vet.  But once we were in the exam room and she was out of her carrier, she did what she always does:  explores every nook and cranny of the room including attempting to get into all the cupboards and drawers available.  The vet tech and the vet fell madly in love with her - as they do every year - because she's beautiful and sweet and so funny.  She had a few minutes of shaking like a leaf but she calmed down when I gave her a good chin scratch and told her she was fine.  And I fall in love with her all over again every time she realizes 'Wait, my Mom is here.  I am OK.  Nothing bad will happen if I'm with my people and Mom is here so OK!  I am going to explore a bit'.  Cats have a reputation for being aloof and incredibly self-centered - and that's true sometimes.  But our two cats have truly showed their intense ability to love their humans and it's a beautiful thing.  And we feel the same back with them.  

Her health was good and we have her rabies vaccination up to date for another year.  

We did another vet trip on Friday for Muf and the same thing happened - glad for J.'s help - everything's easier with the two of us together.  Muf was her usual incredibly beautiful and charming self and the techs and veterinarian fell in love with her, too.  She's got a clean bill of health as well and her vaccination.  She didn't cry much on the trip home 'cuz I think she knew she was on the last drive - at least for the day. 

Tomorrow, we wind up an intense week of 'cat stuff' when we drive to North Reno and drop them off for a grooming.  We'd hoped to get them groomed every four months but the winter we had made a December trek hard to make happen.  We're going to plan for every six months.  They'll both get baths, nail trims and a good trim.  Muf really needs it.  While they get the spa treatment, we'll head to Atlantis for weekly free play.  We usually go on Sundays but it's easy to adjust.  Monday is usually a golf day for J. but he agreed to skip golf tomorrow so he can help with the cats.  I could (I'm sure) totally do it myself but I really appreciate the team effort.  The drive with two crying cats is stressful....and I don't like going to Atlantis alone either.  So the two of us will join forces to get this long-looming, huge 'thing' off my list of things that need to happen.

It was a beautiful day today and we spent time outside working in the yard.  Hand watered every single plant - there are some cold nights still in the forecast so we're not ready to turn the drip system on yet.  

We hired a new gardener yesterday who will come every other week on Fridays.  While he was here to give us an estimate, he took time to pick up any debris he saw.  He definitely had an eye for details and that was a welcome change from our previous service.  We're going to order some stones to fill in some bare spots in the front and back yards and he gave us info on how much to order.  We hope he will be a big help - feel pretty confident - but he's definitely doing this work as a 'side job' - so we'll see.  Honestly, it feels like any help will be more than we've been getting from our previous company and we welcome the help.

Lots of golfers on the course this past week as well - nice to see. Things are greening up nicely which is also lovely to see. 

I helped B. with his taxes again - they were filed today so glad that's off the list, too.  What he owes to the Feds he'll get back from California.  He changed his 'legal residence' state to Tennessee so there was a bit of 'stuff' to figure out related to that change.  Turbo Tax makes it pretty fool-proof which is nice.  I did have something go wrong and posted a question on the TT forum page and got a very helpful reply very quickly.  Was able to fix everything no problem once I read the response.  Very glad to be done.  

I've had a couple days of sleeping in until after 8AM and the difference an extra hour or so of sleep makes to my energy level is amazing.