This will be my last blog for a few weeks as Darla and I will be relaxing in Kauai, Hawaii at the Princeville Resort next week. I will enjoy the trip tremendously with sun and golf and sightseeing, but especially because when I get back I will begin my new job with Burns and Wilcox. Burns and Wilcox made me a very good offer last week and I accepted the position. It is SALARY and bonus and I can sleep again at night. The current office is on Howe Avenue in Sacramento, but we will be moving into a new 3500 square foot office space in Rancho Cordova in December. We will all get new desks and furniture and I will have my own window office in the second story space overlooking the main road. This move will be a good one for me. The Richter Robb job was a shot in the dark and although I was trying to fly without a net, BW was there to catch me when my wings failed. The Branch Manager, Bill Sousa, wanted to hire me back in May and it didn't work out. He's thrilled. I'm thrilled and it looks like one of those rare "win-win" situations. I give ALL of the glory to God, who has helped direct me to this place where I am. Sometimes it takes awhile to find your footing after you lose a job and, as usual, in my life God was faithful and the reverence and love that I feel for my Saviour is all the more because of my struggles. Praise God. My last day with Richter Robb will be on Thursday of this week, although this week is one of cleaning up and tearing down. I will go play golf with a good friend at his home Country Club in Oakdale on Wednesday and then return the computer and other office equipment to Nancy on Thursday.

This time next week, Darla and I will likely be just getting up and carrying a cup of coffee out to the beach for our daily walk. That's not to imply that I walk with her daily now (she has a more consistent walking partner), but it is a ritual for Darla and I on our beach vacations to get up and walk the beach in the early morning and talk and plan our day. It's something that we both look forward to and it starts our day off on a positive. It also forces us to get up and get on with our day, rather than sleeping away our vacation.

Dad and Shirley were supposed to be stopping by today on their way home to Canada from Las Vegas, but Dad called yesterday from Reno and said that they would drive straight on through as Shirley fell and hurt herself in Vegas. Apparently they were watching a bride and groom exit the Harley Davidson casino and get on a Harley and as they turned to leave, Shirley tripped and took a nasty fall on the sidewalk. She is sore and pulled some ligaments in her leg and just wants to get home. I'll miss them, but certainly understand after seeing Darla so sore after her fall down the stairs a few months ago at her Mom's house.

I talked to Jennifer last night and she is likely leaving for about ten days on a mission at her former boot camp stomping grounds of Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. She told me that nothing was official, that it was just scuttlebut, but I've come to realize that the grapevine in the military is pretty accurate, as she also heard the rumor about her trip to North Carolina to dismantle the communications tower. That trip DID happen. On that particular mission, they had to disconnect and dismantle a ninety-foot communications tower. Jennifer spent most of two days dangling about half way up the tower and helping to lower parts and panels as they were dropped from the top. She loves her job.

Yesterday's church service left the usual mark on my heart. The pastor said that Christians are often conflicted this time of year, as Halloween approaches. The holiday is all about the celebration of spirits and darkness, the whole All Hallow's Eve celebration. Rick said that it is okay for Christians to display a pumpkin, in fact pumpkins are very much like Christians. When Christ first enters our life, he has to scoop out all of the ugliness in our souls, much like we empty the seeds and goop from a pumpkin. Christ then carves us into the people that he wants us to be and then places a light inside of us to shine unto others, just as a jack-o-lantern is created. Hokey? Maybe, but accurate.

The pastor also shared a golf story, which is right up my alley (or fairway, as the case may be). A golfer was out shanking his way around the course. He had some good holes and some pretty bleak holes. He came upon a par three over water and he was unsure whether to hit the New Pro V-1 ball he had been playing or switch to a scuffed up old water ball. He looked to the heavens and prayed for guidance. Suddenly the clouds parted, the sun was momentarily dimmed and the Lord spoke: "Play the new ball!" A grin broke out on the golfer's face and he thanked the Lord for guidance and for the faith that he showed in the golfer. He addressed the ball and the Lord spoke again: "Take a practice swing!" The guy stepped away and took a mighty practice swing and then approached the ball again. The Lord spoke a final time: "Hit the old ball!" Do we really want the Lord to speak directly to us?

The weekend just passed was a good one. The boys both lost their homecoming football games, but all was forgotten at the Homecoming Dance on Saturday night. I did a fall cleaning and trimmed all of the trees in my backyard, reshaping the umbrella tree over the koi pond and reshaping all of the trees to stand alone rather than all grow together. I also pruned back all of the bushes and cleaned out the shed. I took everything out of the shed and hosed it down and then put everything back in a neater fashion. Dad did a wonderful job on the shed and it has been a Godsend with just a two-car garage. All of my tools, mowers, edgers and bikes are stored in the shed as well as paint and other odds and ends that accumulate over a lifetime. I had the boys busy raking up the mess that I left behind and cutting it all up to fit in the garbage can.

Yesterday I played golf, shooting a 41-42=83, or net 71 to tie for third place in my flight. Better than that, I won 11 skins in my foursome and took the overall bets. I played with Mark Konrad, our webmaster and he likes to bet. He usually pays for his enthusiasm, which he did again yesterday. I could have shot a really low score, but I couldn't make a four foot putt to save my life. I had only one birdie, but at least five putts of 3-8 feet for birdie that I missed. Some days, eh?

Well, that's it for two weeks. Think of me golfing and sunning and swimming in Hawaii next week. I'll think about all of you when I get back. Ciao.