It is a magnificent day with a high blue sky and a promise of warm temperatures, although the many trees that surround our office building are gently swaying to a light breeze that filters through the leaves. I realize often the hours that I put in when the same sprinklers that were working as I arrive at work are on when I leave the building at night. The parking lot right now is a trail of rivulets and water from the sprinklers as they dry in the early morning sun.

This is a short work week for me in more ways than just the Memorial Day holiday. I leave tomorrow afternoon for Arcata up in Humboldt County for an insurance golf day being put on by the local agents association. I have several agents that use Burns and Wilcox to write their Rodeo and special events coverage in the area and I have yet to meet those agents, so here is my chance. The timing isn't ideal as Marci's last day was last Friday and we are now one underwriter short. The office had five commercial underwriters when I joined and we now have just two, Gail and myself. We are interviewing a candidate at lunch today. Bill, our office manager, has already met with her twice and wants Gail and I to do a chemistry test with her over lunch. I will have her lick a piece of litmus paper and see if it turns purple.

I have been suffering with a strained back for over a week now. I filled a 5-gallon tank of propane for the barbecue last Monday and lifted it wrong and knocked my spine out of alignment. In spite of the fact that I have a chiropractor, it took three visits until he could pop my spine back into alignment. In the meantime, I was a figure "S" as the pain and swelling in the right side of my back forced my posture to tilt to the left. My back was so swollen that Dr Elsea could not "crack" my back the first two visits. He had me on ice and walking. The problem was, he had me ice it for ten minutes and walk the hallways for five minutes. I kept banging off the wall because I was turning left. My doctor was excellent and met with me one night at eight o'clock and then again yesterday on Memorial Day at eight in the morning. He finally was able to crack my back on Friday morning and by Friday night I was feeling fine.

That left me with a dilemma in that I had a golf tournament on Saturday morning. I had e-mailed the tournament director, Steve, on Thursday night and cancelled due to my bad back. Steve said to see how I was feeling and if I could make it, he'd fit me in. I talked to Darla on Friday night and was secretly hoping that she would forbid me from playing, but she said it was up to me. She also said that it wouldn't be smart, but it was my decision. Now adult decisions (buying houses, cars, loans, child discipline, etc.) are easy decisions to make, but when it involves golf, I'm like a little kid. All of my buddies were playing and I'd missed the last tournament when we went to Monterey. I finally decided NOT to play, but the decision was simply based on FEAR. IF I played and hurt myself further, Darla would KILL me. It's tough being an adult, but thankfully we can still rely on emotions like Fear and concerns like Consequences to make our decisions for us.

I ended up laying sod in the back yard, re-staining the spa and steps, and cutting the kick plate and then rehanging the front door instead of golf. All three of those activities were probably tougher on my back than golf. I survived, although I still have a little residual soreness. I ended up staining a park bench that we have in the front alcove of the house just off the front door. It was a little weather beaten and it is amazing how nice it looks after I stained it. I also re-stained the air conditioner enclosure and the lattice work on both gates in the back yard. Funny, when you have an open can of stain and a brush what you can find to stain. The stain is Flood's UV resistant redwood stain and it is the best product that I've found to put on wood in California. Dad suggested it as he used it on his deck in Texas and the product is amazing. It really does resist fading and is a water repellant as well. Excellent for use around a spa.

Darla and I went out to dinner on Saturday night at a new Italian restaurant in Lincoln. Lincoln is the little town next to Roseville and Rocklin that is going through a huge building boom. There is a new senior community in Lincoln, a new Indian casino, and some affordable housing. The Sacramento area has grown to the point that anything under $300,000 is considered affordable and Lincoln has homes starting in the mid-$200,000 range. The restaurant is located in an old historical building in Lincoln. Lincoln was known for it's foundry, where they forged clay and terrazo pots in the early 1900's. The downtown area is still a maze of old buildings and restaurants are popping up as the town grows. The food was excellent and we will return.

Darla and I also were able to sneak off for a day at the beach on Sunday. We went out to Folsom Lake and drove the Explorer right out onto the beach on the back side of the lake. We spent a relaxing day reading and relaxing in the sun and under our umbrella. We tried to return yesterday afternoon after I finished staining the spa, but the park was full and we had to turn around and drive back home. I ended up dozing in the back yard.

The only problem with this weekend is that we missed church on Sunday. Darla and I both slept through the alarm after staying up late on Saturday night to watch a movie called "Deliver Us From Eva", which is a remake of "Taming of the Shrew". Our weekend just seems incomplete when we miss church.

Darla's sister, Alicia, travelled up to Lake Almanor to spend the weekend with her parents. Earl continues to take radiation treatments for his prostate cancer and has been amazingly resilient after the four-times-a-week treatments. They have their 5th wheel up at Lake Almanor again this year and will travel up weekends until his treatment is finished. We all Praise God for the prognosis and health that he has blessed Earl with.

I talked to Jennifer on Sunday and she is doing great. She is looking forward to her trip to Pennsylvania and then back home later this month. She will be in California July 1st through the 15th and then will again fly home for about ten days before she leaves for Kuwait in September. Well that's it for this week's epistle. I hope you all are well and keeping your faith in the One who sustains us in everything we do. God bless.