Gun-Loving Blue State

Our community has communal mailboxes. Each person has to go retrieve their mail from a large (actually 3) box holding the mail for everyone in the subdivision. I hate it. But, it's not a total dealbreaker and really, we don't even own the place. I guess it allows them to cover more ground and cuts down on the number of mail carriers they have to pay.

We teeter between wanting to own because we love this area and loving our stress-free lifestyle of having no obligation to repair, fix or cover the cost of home ownership. It's been a glorious (almost) 3 months of home-free living. Plus, two years ago, we could've owned a home here for about 30% less than they are currently selling for and before Tesla and all of the other factories moved to town. I don't want to pay 30% more than all my friends did just two years ago!

So back to the mailbox. We were scooting the .1 mile to get our mail and look to the left to see a big rack animal on a trailer in one of those 4x4 vehicles. Just chilling on the street. {insert wide-eyed emoji}

Vegetarians don't do hunting. And I'm an anti-gun kinda gal, who will never tolerate one of those in our home. No thanks.

I would've never thought that in this dismal Presidential election we all just witnessed (with our jaws on the floor as we stared at the television) that this gun-loving state would've gone blue. I was a contributor, mostly because I found our new President Elect to be the greater of the two evils, but never did I assume my fellow neighbors would be in agreement. In the end that didn't matter, but I'd like to think we are one with the rest of the western states on this one. And Canada. My friend on Instagram tagged me in this, saying they fixed the map so it makes better sense.

And for fun, this is a "Judgemental" map of the Reno area. We are in South Reno in the Democrats and Baby-Makers area (though we're swing voters and all done making babies). And yes, there are exactly two highways in Reno, making a "t" shape. That area where they intersect is known locally as the spaghetti bowl. #nowyouknow

This post is nothing more than jibber-jabber because I had to get the feelings of despair about this recent election out of my conscience and because I can't get the visual of that dead animal carcass out of my head either. It's almost perfectly fitting that the sight of our new President and this animal would come haunt my mind in the same week.

Algae Pools + Tough Month Ahead

We were so spoiled in IL with the posh pool life. We paid a hefty tax bill for great schools and a killer water park just 3 miles from home, but dang, was it nice.

Our closest pool (outside of condominium complexes or gyms) is 12 miles away. That's a 24-mile round trip to let Benjamin work his mad skillz in the water! And... they don't have memberships. It's pay-per-use. I'm considering making very good friends with someone in that HOA facility I run by at night. Because I never see anyone in that pool and it's so stinking close to home.

We went to one public pool and Benjamin killed it with the double flume slides. The kid is a maniac. So much, that the second pool we went to, the lifeguard yelled at us (among other reasons), for Benjamin being "too wild" in the pool. She said he needed to be in the shallow end if he was going to act crazy. And then we got yelled at for like 3 other things at different times and I about asked for my money back.

So we went back to pool #1. The double flume. It's in a totally sketch area of Reno, attached to this questionable middle school and behind one of the county libraries that is the size of a modular classroom (low taxes affect everything, it turns out). The first time we pulled up, the school alarm was blaring because God knows why, and no one seemed to be alarmed (see what I did there? Hardy Har Har). It's only open from 1-4pm, so the kids were warned that we would be spending a lot of time there because we were paying and skipped Claire's nap for this.

We stayed an hour. The kids got their fill apparently, but I obliged because I noticed this slimy green algae lining the entire pool interior. And of course, Claire pooped in her swim diaper. Thank God for these reusables for the environment and my pocketbook, dude, but tossing those Little Swimmers is way the heck easier to clean when the kid has el accidente. I told her she could have a Starburst today if she just told me before she pooped so I didn't have to clean her butt today. She pooped three times. None of which earned her a Starburst. Don't sign us up for the potty training bus yet. I'll pass.

sludge pool. be warned.

As we exited, I brought the POOL SLUDGE to the manager's attention who explained to me that while they chlorinate everyday and "regularly" clean, the "dead algae" just returns because they never have a chance to drain the pool, even in winter. I threw up some big eyes right then, because all places that experience winter weather, drain their pools. The reason they don't? Vandalism. So I left, vowing that pool was forever off the list and made sure to scrub the kiddies down well with soap after that incident (and well, Claire needed it anyway, because, code brown). One lady I met there with her kids (who randomly approached me to show me a HUGE splinter under her nail) told me about some of the casino pools and how it's possible I can just walk in and that she's never had a problem. So that's how things are done in Reno! Hah. I guess people just keep their swimming to the Truckee River, which is spectacular in every way, honestly. And free.

Hello Truckee River. Fresh Tahoe water... ahhhh.

Switching gears, the house update. It's exhausting, honestly. We have an offer we've accepted and it's a good one. And we're happy for the most part. About as happy as two people can be who are paying basically two mortgages, two times utilities, a lawn service and still without any of their actual furniture in their empty rental (paying top dollar for) in Reno. We knew this was the option we'd choose in order to stay together, but moving and selling a house, in particular, is pricey. And so is the list of inspection not-so-related expensive garage doors they want us to provide. But that's neither here nor there. It's just, we're feeling stretched thin and also in the process of buying a new car because moving requires new tags and our almost 15 year old car is on its last leg and very well will fail their emissions test anyway. And that cursed premium gas is going to do us in with this 40+ mile commute and my 24-mile round trip adventures to find another, hopefully algae-free pool.

It's a car we're really excited about and one that is very popular in Northern Nevada (seriously, ever other car), Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Northern California, Maine and some of the upper Eastern states. Any guesses? But new cars also come with a heavy price tag and of course the costs are feeling extra heavy these days.

We'll get through it, but as super sensible people who really thrive on saving money, it pains us to see the money we're spending and will continue to spend until our house closes at the end of next month.

Tomorrow though, you'll find us back hiking trails and engaging in a nature program along with lunch out in the Galena Creek Regional Park, because if there is one thing Reno has that totally trumps anything our high-tax state of Illinois didn't, it's free and plentiful nature escapes in real woods with real trails and real elevation gain into the {real, not trash hill} mountains. Benjamin has placed his request for a hike with a stream. It's the real deal so, challenge accepted.