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.

Dressing Up

You may have heard in the news that a longtime Atlantis player hit a $14M jackpot on Sunday night.  We were there on Sunday and I passed the machine on my way back from the bathroom.  We had thought we would play it on our anniversary weekend but we didn't - I felt the 'urge' to play it as I passed by but J. was waiting for me and I didn't want to keep him waiting.  (He's used to me keeping him waiting.  Poor guy.  LOL.)  He wouldn't have been at all surprised that I'd stopped at a machine - but I didn't.  

She won sometime that night, had been playing 40 minutes and betting $10 a pull.  I bet $10 a pull on that machine too?  But I wouldn't have stayed for 40 minutes.  The game itself is one of the tightest slots in existence - any slot player who plays regularly knows that - and I don't think I would keep going.  Unless it started paying - who knows.  We are happy for the winner and wonder if we know them.  We will be there this weekend so maybe we'll find more info.  

Our neighbor G. sent me a text with a picture of the win info from the news and said 'please tell me it was you and J. '.  I said 'well it could have been - we were there that day - but no.  Not this time'.  Maybe someday.

 J. is playing golf again though they had to cancel this past Tuesday for weather.  We still wake up with surprise dustings of snow but so far it's more Spring like than not.  It's lovely to have the sun and blue skies.  

On Friday, our landscape maintenance company showed up unannounced.  The guys sat in their truck for 15 minutes, finally got out - J. went outside to ask what they were doing - it was the 'Spring cleanup' service they said.  They were there 15 minutes - we timed it and I wrote down their arrival time as well.  I expected the invoice to reflect the (greatly) reduced amount of time they were here - but no.  The invoice was for an hour of work.  I emailed the billing person to tell her how shocked we were to be billed for a full hour when they did 15 minutes of work.  Told her I would send a check for 1/4 hour and please cancel our service going forward.  She wrote back and did what she's always done: turned it around to 'you could have just called me and I would adjust it'.  

Here's the thing - this isn't the first time we've had issues with the billing.  Not the first time the invoice charges are more than the amount of time they actually worked.  I had a boat load of things I would have liked to blast back in a(nother) email but I let it go.  Couldn't quite wrap my head around why it was bugging me so much - but I just sent a check for the 1/4 hour and let it go.  Only today, it hit me with what REALLY bugged me the most about the issue:  she did what she's always done.  Turned it around to make it what the customer could do.  Never (ever!) acknowledging that there has been and still is an often serious disjoint between what the workers are reporting as time worked vs. their ACTUAL time worked. 

I almost emailed her today but figured why?  She also mentioned something she did last year regarding an issue with service and said 'I showed grace but I guess it doesn't go both ways'.  I wanted to write back 'I'm showing grace by not posting reviews detailing some pretty scathing factual issues that illustrate you are taking advantage of your customers.  Perhaps counting on them to not be home and not notice that the work done was minimal while the billing isn't' - but I didn't do that either.  

Sometimes I think the time on my hands that retirement creates is time my psyche is using to over-analyze and fret about stupid crap.  The struggle is real.

H. is officially residing in a sober living house.  There are (now) seven guys in the house.  He says he is attending any meeting any of his housemates are attending trying to meet as many people as he can.  The recovery community take care of each other and he's hoping he can get a lead on some jobs.  A friend who was released on the same day as H. is working for his Dad's construction company and there's a chance H. can get some 'day work' assignments with that company.  We started to look into getting the things he needs to get a Texas Real ID - but he said his probation officer is helping with all that - she realizes he can't get a job without an ID and social security card - all of which he had but lost (either the physical document or the right to drive) - so she is tracking down the documents H. needs to get an ID.  And a SS card.  

We are learning all the things affected by the lack of an ID card.  We sent him a $200 Uber gift card for future rides to his probation officer's office.  He set up the app on his phone but when he entered the gift card number into the app, it asked him to take a picture of his ID and send to them.  He called customer service and they said that step wouldn't be needed if he entered a credit or debit card on the account.  Which he (also) doesn't have.  He entered our account info so now it's fine.  He knew I would feel reluctant but I recognized we needed to do what's needed - otherwise, we'd wasted $200.  We arranged for the Uber he took to and from his probation officer's office the day after he was released - $110 round trip.  Thankfully, she is going to see him once via Facetime and once in person each month to cut down on the expense.  

He sounds good - but he isn't calling often which is OK.  (I'm not sure why he called 3x a week from the program but now isn't calling much - but it works).  I keep reminding myself he is an (almost) 30 year old man and he needs to manage his life.  I'm working hard on letting him do that. 

The other bit of big news (for me) is that I decided I want to wear a dress to our niece's wedding in June.  I ordered a dress and tried it on today (home alone - J. was playing golf) and think it's OK?  But I haven't worn dresses in decades so I'm not sure.  My friend C. (my go-to ride or die 'be honest' friend) has agreed to look at a selfie I will take tomorrow to see what she thinks about the outfit.  And I said 'and if you think it's a keeper, I need help with color of shoes, bare legs or panty hose', etc. .  And then I'll shop for those things as well as a slip.  (Regretting all the slips I gave to Goodwill when we moved).  Oh well.

It's going to be a beautiful wedding and I want to look nice and 'fancy' (for me) for the occasion.  B. is coming too which is awesome!

That's it for now.  I never intentionally take weeks to do a post but the days just fly by.  April feels super busy - two vet appointments for the cats annual checkup (no 'two at a time' appointments available so we had to set up two separate appointments) and then their every six month grooming in North Reno.  It's good that it's warming up a bit 'cuz I've been worried about having them both groomed because they will be cold.  Nala has started using Chloe's 'dome bed' for warmth - glad we kept it.

Leak Update

The builder's guy arrived on Monday an hour ahead of schedule - which was totally OK.  The good news is there was no water in the crawl space and no water in the wall.  When the baseboard was pulled off, there was no moisture.  The bad news is that means it's coming from the shower - just a little at a time and it soaks into the baseboard which is causing the mottling.  This shower had a 'guard strip' on the bottom of the door when we moved in - but it kept coming off.  After multiple repairs - because every time it was replaced it came off again shortly after - the shower company said it was OK to leave it off.  So it's possible a small amount of water is on the floor during use.  

I will (from now on) be very careful and put a small dry cloth on the floor near the edge of the shower where the baseboard is mottling.  The builder's guy took the piece of baseboard and will cut a new one and seal the entire piece by doing paint everywhere - even on the edges - which should help prevent the baseboard from absorbing water. Fingers crossed.

Tomorrow we head to Atlantis for another weekend - this one our anniversary celebration.  33 years on Saturday - Atlantis Steakhouse reservations for 5PM.  It will be fun.  Fingers crossed for good luck.  

I am anxious today because H. is supposed to hear from a sober living house he applied to.  He did a phone interview yesterday and felt pretty confident - and he said he would let us know as soon as he hears.  The counselor he's working with is in training all day and told H. she'd check messages on her breaks and lunch - so I'm hoping she just hasn't had a chance to check messages yet.  It's hard feeling anxious about all this stuff - but it is what it is.  I was relieved when he told us the amount per week for him to stay at the house - an amount we can do with no problem (blessed and grateful) - though the logistics will be interesting.  They want a money order so I'll be trekking to the bank or WalMart to get them.

Had a much needed catch-up call with my friend C. last night - felt so good to laugh a lot.  

This morning, we saw a herd of deer coming down from the hill onto the golf course up the tees from us.  Our neighbors had told us last week they say them - and we were so happy they finally ventured somewhere we could see them, too. We also have tons of Robins finding worms just on the golf course side of our fence.  They've been hanging out for a few days and are getting big and fat from eating so many worms.  The moisture we've had this winter is really going to make the Spring bloom crazy.  Can't wait! 

J. and I ventured out to the yard yesterday and did about 30 minutes of clean-up.  Picking up twigs and leaves and moving rocks to their usual location.  Felt wonderful to be outside and have the yard clear of snow for the first time in months.  It was chilly and windy but lovely to be enjoying the yard again.  We have a lot of work to do but it's OK - we'll chunk it up into small bursts and everything will get done.  

Huge wind gusts today - just had one that was close to 30 MPH.  It sounds like a jet engine and then you realize it's ground level and it's wind.  Wild day.  Even had some snow falling briefly but not cold enough to stick long.  Which is good 'cuz we're a little tired of snow.

What a Weekend

J.'s Blackjack Tournament was a Saturday event with a Friday 'swipe' of his players card to get into the (new) wildcard drawings for the semi-finals and finals.  We decided a few weeks ago to go ahead and get a room for Friday and Saturday night so we had a place to be in the event weather was a factor.

Weather was beautiful - but we still had the room.  Our plan when we left the house together on Friday was to go to the room to use the facilities and make it look like we were there nightly.  That's what we were doing. 

I was at Dragonlink all afternoon and. J. mentioned (from the room) that this was not our 'normal' suite.  This was one of the newly remodeled Concierge tower suites - a suite/room that our host M. had tried repeatedly to get us access to.  It never happened - we were never disappointed because the suite we had was always nice - but not top shelf like the tower suites.  When I realized that we were in a Tower suite, I told J. 'oh my gosh, we have to stay.  We can't miss it.'  I gave the always sweet, helpful and wonderful husband a list of things he needed to go get so we could stay.  Clothes, his bi-pap machine, pillows, etc. .  The last thing I texted was two nights of my medications and supplements which were already sorted in the cupboard above our microwave.  

He forgot the meds - which was OK.  I survived.  I took Pepto Bismol chewables for antacid - the only thing the gift shop had - and my tongue is black (side effect) but they helped.  

We had so much fun.  Friday was epic on the win side and we headed to dinner with me having more than doubled my money.  3 handpays Friday.  There were 3 handpays on Saturday too but as always, wins become play.  It was a blast of a weekend.  AND J. placed 4th in the tournament and won $4,000 in chip play!  Woot woot!!  He's well funded for Blackjack for a bit and will do his usual 'magic' of turning freeplay into real money!  There were close to 150 players in the tournament so to be 4th - making it through 3 rounds of play - is pretty amazing.  HE IS AMAZING! 

Our new host is attentive and has such a wonderful, positive vibe.  When she checked our reservation and saw our 'usual' suite, she worked her magic and secured us the epic room.  She's wonderful.

Now....we loved the room.  Really.  Beautiful decor, kitchen with ice machine, stocked beverage refrigerator, 2 bedrooms each with full bath including a steam shower and a bidet/toilet.  Probably three times the square footage of my first apartment.  Huge, absolutely huge. Views for miles and automatic blackout curtains and sheers.  Push "Good Morning" button and the shades open.  Push "Good Night" and they close.  Lights controlled by 'Hello' and 'Goodbye' buttons by the front doors to each room.  Truly, truly fun.  But we don't spend much time in our room, usually.  And no matter how fancy, updated and luxurious the decor is, we never sleep great in hotel beds.  Ever.  First night wasn't too bad but the 2nd night had me so sore, it was painful to rollover.  So...that's why we don't stay overnight that often.

Here's a pic of the living room.  

And another.

 

We had planned an anniversary 'Lalapalooza' for this coming Wednesday - our anniversary is next Saturday, the 25th - but we made the mid-week reservation because it's so much calmer than a weekend.  But we decided last night that we weren't really feeling like we wanted another hotel night in a few nights.  So we cancelled - we're going to use our Lalapalooza anniversary funding to make some trips to various casinos on Th/Fri/Sat/Sun next week.  We'll have a lot of fun and spread our play around a bit.  And of course, Atlantis will be on our list.

On the drive home (in rain, by the way), J. mentioned 'we need to clean out your closet' - the builder's guy is coming around 11AM tomorrow to get started on figuring out what's happening with my bathroom.  I said 'why in the world do we need to do the closet'?  'Because the access to the crawlspace on that side of the house is in your closet back in the corner'.  Oh my goodness!  And we also have to empty and pack up things on my TV stand so they can access the wall from the bedroom side as well as the bathroom side.  

This is going to be fun.  (Not).  

In other news - adding stress and drama to the days - H. is within 9 days of being released.  He has phone interviews scheduled with two sober living houses and we are doing some research on the locations of the two homes.  The thing about Houston is nothing is easy.  I do think I've located some info on public transit that might help him a smidge - but we'll have to see.  Mostly, we all keep reminding ourselves that at least for now, the most important thing is him finding a safe place to be.  A place with other individuals putting their sobriety first.  The two homes are Oxford Houses (oxfordhouse.org) - a long-standing, self-run (by the residents themselves) group of individuals renting available space to ensure they are in a place with other people committed to not using drugs or alcohol ever.  Any 'use' is an immediate 'you are out'. 

After he gets into a house, we'll work on figuring out all the 'what next' steps.  It's hard to do all this thousands of miles away - but we'll figure it out. 

OK - I really need to get unpacked and start working on my closet and the TV stand.  This is going to be a very busy week.  

Leakage

Not sure I've mentioned this here yet - guess I could do a search - but oh well.  Content is content so here goes.  

For many months, there has been a 'mottled' section of my baseboard along my bathroom floor next to the shower.  The builder's customer service guy has come out a couple times - and he recently came out for the continued floor issues and we asked him to look at the baseboard issue again.  He didn't seem concerned.  

I marked where the mottling was when we first had him come check - and was able to prove that the mottling is spreading.  

We finally just sent a picture of the issue to the owner of the construction company who built the house - the always amazing Sam - and he wrote back very quickly 'that looks like water damage - I would like to come by to look at it'.  He was just here and is pulling our house specs to provide very specific details to the customer service guy and will have him 'crawl' the house - going underneath to see if he sees water.  And also pulling off the baseboard in the bathroom and the baseboard opposite behind the TV cabinetry in the room.  It will be a lot of work but we're glad they are doing it because we're pretty sure there's a teeny, tiny leak somewhere in the wall - and 2.75 years of shower use has created enough moisture to wreck a baseboard.  It's very likely wet within the wall and they will be knocking holes in the wall in strategic places to find the leak.  After they 'crawl' the house to search for water on the ground.

I'm worried there's mold (and so is the builder) but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  

We're heading into a long, fun weekend of Atlantis - J. has a blackjack tournament tomorrow.  He plays at 11AM and normally, he would know if he has a chance of making the semi-final round - but the always changing things up Atlantis folks have added a twist.  If players swipe their players cards today, they will get an automatic entry into two wild card entries for the semi-final and final rounds.  Ingenious, right?  'Cuz now instead of leaving if we know J. won't be in the semi-finals, we'll have to hang out all day until the semi-final wildcard drawing at 3:45 and then the final wildcard drawing an hour later.  THEN if he doesn't get in, we'll head home.  They clearly are upping their game on keeping people in the casino as long as possible! 

Today, we'll do the swipe, play a bit (5x comp day so that's nice) and go to Peppermill to play there a bit as well.  It won't be a long day today but tomorrow definitely will.  We got a room for two nights mainly because we were feeling like 'there will always be snow - forever' - I don't think we'll stay over but I never say never.  We are definitely staying over next Wednesday for our pre-anniversary Lalapalooza.  I'm really looking forward to it!  

The weather is blue skies and sun and the snow melt happened fast.  We have zero snow in the front yard and just a bit in the back.  It's so wonderful to see the ground!  And the sky!!  Woot woot!  

Guess that's it for now - will get this posted.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!