The Dynamic Duo

After all the trouble with the stove, my Thanksgiving turned out very, very well. The double oven was much utilized, and that old truism, “Many hands (and ovens) make light work,” turned out to be…....well…......true: UltraDad’s brothers and wives from Idaho arrived Wednesday afternoon. My children, minus the eldest UltraSon arrived very late Wednesday night. The kids all met in Twin Falls and rode together in Heather’s very nice car, and, rumor has it, they had to stop in Jackpot, Nevada on the way and try to double their money, or at least a few dollars of it. Billie and Brandi, sis-in-law Pat’s son and wife, both attorneys in Cheyenne, WY, arrived the next day, as did John’s sister, Kathy and husband Kay. Of course Pat came over as well, having been assigned the more challenging parts of the dinner, such as the sweet potatoes, rolls and salad. Everyone was much impressed with all the work UltraDad and I have done on the house, and it seemed to me that the house handled 18 people for dinner quite nicely!
Pat and I had a little “tussel” over brother Bill, wife Patty and her daughter Kayce, but I graciously conceded and they spent the ngiht at Pat’s house. The next day I could see the reason behind her insistance; Patty fell in love with “Bulldozer”, the last of the current litter of poodle puppies, and he was going to get a very good home. Bulldozer, or “Gus” as Patty decided to call him, though cute and easy going, is not even in the same universe of cuteness as Murphy. Gus looks as though there is dachsund in his heritage: his legs are short, his body long, and his nose very broad. So ugly, he’s cute. But Murphy is much too well bred to boast, and he graciously wrestled with and stole toys from the unfortunate Gus.
The highlight of Thanksgiving day was…................no, not the fantastic meal of which we all partook until we were nearly sick….........no, not the football games on the television…..................
Johnny finally unveiled his final edition of cousin Nicki’s wedding video. I had seen the video several times, but not the finished version complete with music and choreography and a killer Star Wars intro. Nicki’s wedding was on a beautiful June day in a park in Boise, and Johnny and his cousin Billie thought it would be a nice momento for Nicki and Chad if they made a documentary of their wedding. Billie became Skip Kawasaki or Arnold or Abdul-Jabar. With each interview he changed his last name. Johnny was the cameraman, and once in a while, they cut to Jim for a sports update. It was hilarious. Now, if I can just get him to make some copies…..
The next day, the brothers all left and we went into Elko with Billie, Brandi and Pat for a little shopping and fun. We had a very fun lunch at Biltoki’s, one of Elko’s Basque restaruants, and our Wyoming guests insisted on picking up the tab. They had planned to stick around for one more day, but the weather turned a little nasty, so they decided they had better get going while the getting was good. Too bad. We really didn’t get to play any games, UltraMom’s forte. My three kids stuck around til Sunday, and it was like heaven to have them there. We did get a few games in, supplemented with frequent snacks, esp. Aunt Pat’s famous nacho cheese dip, and I was very glad to hear that they all made it back safely to their current homes. I am holding my breath that I get them all back here for Christmas.

Last weekend UDad and I made a trip to Reno/Carson City. For those martyrs who are faithful readers, you may recall that UltraMom is soon to take a job at our local minimum security prison, and that the only place where the required paperwork may be filled out is in Carson City, a 300 mile drive. I ranted, railed and reasoned to no avail, so Udad And I finally decided to make a mini-vacation out of it. My brother Dave and wife Jane from Placerville, CA offered to meet us in Reno for a night of dining and gambling. I love it when Dave is in charge of arrangements because he is SO good at it. He stakes out great motel rates and entertainment. He had a little trouble this time as his internet was down, but he did get us wonderful motel rooms at the Hilton. Jane had left a car in Reno and flown out to the Boise area for a few days to see her daughter Linda, a student at Albertson’s College (yes, the college, not the grocery store, and a very good college it is too) play her clarinet in a concert, so Jane arrived back in Reno before we did. Dave took the Amtrak train down from Sacramento. Jane joked that, as the train’s journey originated in southern California, it would have plenty of time to be behind schedule by the time it arrived in Reno. It appeared for a time that she might be wrong, but, as it turned out, the train sat on the tracks somewhere outside of the station for quite some time waiting for a couple of freight trains to come in and unload. We decided to make a quick trip to a nearby hotel to get a paper with local entertainment happenings, and happened upon the most interesting cattle auction I have ever seen. These cows, mostly calves and heifers, were on a showroom stage, and were washed, brushed, and glittered. Flunkies were on hand to clean up the inevitable bovine mess, and the bidding was lively and high! But we tore ourselves away, hurried back to the depot, and were finally able to collect my train-wearied brother. We had a delicious dinner buffet at the Hilton, and scanning the shows, I found one that sounded interesting: uh…Something, Something Broadway. Anyway, the review said the group did numbers from a variety of Broadway shows and that they were spectacular, and that they were in Sammy’s Showroom in Harrah’s Hotel. I kept bringing it up until everyone else agreed that we would go. At Harrah’s, finding a spot in the parking garage was quite challenging, but Dave’s patience was finally rewarded. Arriving at the showroom, we were a trifle late, but plenty of tickets were still available. I was very proud of my sister-in-law. She asked the ticket-woman if we could split the cost, meaning that she would pay half and I would pay half, but the woman misunderstood the question, and gave us the tickets for half price! Way to go Jane! The show was entertaining, but NOT spectacular. The entire cast consisted of three male singers and about 6 women, only 2 of which sang. They did do songs from a lot of different shows, including the new Broadway hit “Avenue Q”. The emcee’s comments made it clear that much of the audience were comped, or got in free (probably with a drink purchase), so I was glad that we hadn’t paid full price. I guess the same cast did another show later in the evening called “Bareback” which delved into a bit of nudity, so I guess they were pretty versatile!
We did a little gambling; UDad and I like the nickel, and esp. the penny video poker machines. I probably lost about $6 and I think he probably won about $15, so all in all, not too bad. We played a pretty fun card game in Dave & Jane’s motel room called Diminishing Whist. I say this even though I was lousy at it. We got to bed well after midnight, which is WAY past UDad’s bedtime.
The next day, we had the Hilton breakfast brunch buffet, from which I recognized many of the dishes from the night before. A little more gambling, and it was time to bid Dave & Jane farewell. Then it was on to Carson City for us. We checked into our motel room and tried to find the building where I had to be bright and early the next morning for my job, but there seemed to be no such street as “Snyder” anywhere near where my instructions told me it should be. We shopped a little, and then decided to do something we hadn’t done for a long time: We went to a movie! We enjoyed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and had VERY buttery movie popcorn. Afterwards, we decided to stop at the Nugget Casino to see if UltraDad could double a few more of his dollars. We were gone, maybe an hour, and when we came back, our car wouldn’t start. Not at all. The battery was dead, dead, dead. I called my motoring plan, and they would be glad to tow me, but who was going to fix my car at 9 pm on a Sunday night? Udad decided to walk across the street to a service station, and we ended up buying a new battery for the car from them. It was bitter cold, and my job was to hold open the hood of the car, as the struts ( I think they are called) don’t work, and UDad, for some sissy reason, didn’t want the hood crashing down on his head as he struggled to remove the old battery and insert the new one. It turned out to be quite a job, and we took turns running back to the service station to borrow tools, flashlight, etc. But finally it was done, and the car has started, and run like a top ever since.
The next morning we started out early to try again to find Snyder Avenue. We finally asked directions (again) and found out we were not even in the right part of town.
The Nevada Department of Corrections in Carson City is housed in the old Indian School and is a rambling collections of brick buildings. Jason, who will train me in my new job, was my guide, first escorting me to Michelle who orchestrates the necessary filling out of reams of paperwork. That done, we went to the Medium Security Prison, where we passed through many locked gates. Jason surrendered his car keys at the desk, explaining to me that this was a precaution in case you were mugged by a prisoner. At least he wouldn’t be able to steal your car. Bob, our escort inside, herded us into his golf cart, and we were off to the badge/fingerprint center. I don’t know if you have had your fingerprints taken lately, but they don’t use ink anymore. Windex was sprayed on a glass screen and as each finger was rolled, you could see the print images appear on a monitor. If my badge didn’t say “Retail Storekeeper” on it, from the photo I think it would be easy to mistakek me as an inmate. Nobody said “Smile”, so I didn’t. Then, armed with another map, we were off to Concentra Medical Center to get a tuberculosis test. That ended up taking a lot of time. The actual TB test took about 30 seconds, but there was a LOT of waiting, both before and after. Anyway, it was finally all done, and UMom starts her new job next Monday. UDad is fond of telling people “My wife used to work in a bank, and now she is going to prison!”
We arrived home late Monday evening, and couldn’t wait to pick up our little poodle Murphy from sis-in-law Pat’s house. “How was he?” I asked. “Fine,” she said, “Except he wouldn’t mind me, and everytime I let him outside he climbed the fence…........actually, come to think of it, he was a little brat.” Now that’s a fine way for a grandma to talk! (She is the owner/mother of Murphy’s mother and father, so that makes her Murphy’s grandma.”)
Now here is the real topper to the whole story. I happened to run into the Commander of the prison where I will be working at the local Albertson’s store last night . He informed me that if I had only talked to him, he would have arranged it so that I did not have to go to Carson City. Go figure.
UltraMom