The Monday after Christmas. The roads were empty and the traveling was quite easy as hundreds and thousands of workers take the post Christmas week as a final week of vacation. Darla is living that dream this week as I toil away at work. The roads were a little slick due to an incessant rain that held off over the weekend, but greeted me as I left the garage at 6:30 this morning. I hope all of you had a wonderful family time over the Christmas holiday and were able to concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas. Darla and I enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at church as each of the pastors and their families were on stage at church and read through the Christmas story in the New Testament. There were Christmas hymns and some tremendous contemporary songs that made you realize what Joseph and Mary were going through as Jesus was to be born and the scorn that they had to endure simply for being chosen by God to deliver his Saviour to a needy world.
We talked to Jennifer on Christmas Day. She actually had to work on Christmas, but was able to enjoy a Christmas repast with her unit on the night of December 24th with a gift exchange and some good food. It was great hearing from her, but she is sure missing home right now.
Darla, Alicia and I were able to make the trek up to Reno on Thursday night for the party. It was COLD in Reno with overnight lows in the twenties and highs only reaching the upper thirties. (For those of you in Canada, that is in the Fahrenheit scale and just barely creeping above freezing.) The party was at some friends' house in Sparks. I don't know the people well as they are friends from Lake Almanor and I only manage a day or two up at the lake every Summer. The house was literally packed with people when we arrived and Darla and Alicia got stuck in the coat room talking to people as I stole away to the garage and a spot by the tv for the Wyoming-UCLA game. I found a cold bottle of Samuel Adams and a vacant chair and visited with the host Bob's father, who lives in El Dorado, a small town up near Placerville in California. We never really had a chance to visit with our hosts as the party was too large and we made plans to have breakfast with them the next morning.
We stayed at the Atlantis Casino, which is our favorite casino. They offered us a free tower room and Alicia was able to get a tower room for $39. It helps to be members of their frequent player club and we receive offers from them about every other month. The nice thing for us is that the Atlantis is located away from the grunge of downtown Reno out near the Peppermill west of town. We met up with Bob and his parents the next morning at the Silver Club in Sparks and had a great breakfast. I won $30.00 on a nickle machine with four threes as we waited and it paid for our breakfast. Bob's father, Frank, and his wife, Joni, invited Darla and I up to their home in El Dorado in the New Year and we will probably take them up on it. El Dorado is an old gold mining town and is rich in the history of California.
This was a bit of an odd Christmas for me as Darla took control of the gift buying, even to the point of buying her own gifts. She told me that given my new responsibilities at work that she'd take that burden from me and she had our Christmas shopping done by December 1st. I had the joy of not only being surprised at opening my own gifts, but also by finding out what I'd bought Darla. I was quite generous this year and bought her a new set of Pampered Chef cookware, several outfits and a new robe. Cheryl bought me a golf shirt as well as a personalized golf hat from their country club, Berrywood. It has my name on the back. Darla received a makeup case and a coat from Darryl. We are still involved in the gift exchange with family and we had Darryl and Cake this year. Darla bought Darryl a new sweatsuit and I bought Cake some handmade Jewelry from the Darla Lyon line. The boys came over about 11:30 on Christmas morning and we opened gifts before hosting a dinner for Darla's Mom and Dad, brother and his family and her sister, Alicia. We had a nice family day and relaxed and talked after a huge meal of turkey and all the trimmings.
We have no great plans for New Years and will relax at home on both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Our tradition is to have a few families over and have a game day on New Year's day.
My staff surprised me on the 23rd by calling me into the conference room and serenading me with "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and giving me a gift certificate to my favorite Lobsterhouse in the Sacramento area. The song and gift were very special, but the words that they wrote in the card that accompanied it were priceless. The staff is happy and looks forward to coming to work and you can't put a price on that. I have a great group working with me and for me and 2005 will be one for the books.
I was contacted last week by the business editor of the Sacramento Bee, Jack Sirard. I entered a stock contest last year and finished sixth in the contest. I had chosen a stock called Waste Industries USA. If you ever have to pick a stock for an annual contest, pick a well managed waste hauler or funeral service or utility, all things that are fairly recession proof. Anyhow, Jack called to see if I wanted to enter a pick for next year's contest. I told him I'd give it some thought and send him an e-mail. This year I picked KKD, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. It is currently trading at $11.75, down from a high of $40 a share last year. The Atkins craze of 2004 is to blame and I see the stock rebounding nicely in 2005, perhaps even doubling in price. Jack called back and said he wants me to come into the Bee's photo studio tomorrow for a photo session as part of his story on January 2nd. They will have plenty of Krispy Kremes on hand and I'll be there. It should be a fun experience. I'll fill you in more next week.
As this year slowly closes this week, it was really a good year for the Lyons here in California. I had some great success professionally and Darla is continuing to excel at her job and to make life better for so many of her clients that can't do for themselves. The boys have both shined not only academically, but in sports as well. Jennifer is literally reinventing herself as a person and as a citizen and she has my utmost respect for her sacrifice for this country. I couldn't be prouder of her and I look forward to watching her progress in life as she finishes her military career and carves a life for herself in the private sector. Her prospects are very bright for her future. David is looking also to his future as he works toward his college plans and decides what he will do with his future. It is an exciting time. 2005 will bring our family trip to Hawaii and we look forward to spending time with the boys in Kauai. 2005 will also bring Jennifer home and in 2006 Darla and I have promised Jen a vacation in Puerto Vallarta at our condo and we have that to look forward to. And all of that is by the grace of our Lord and Savious, Jesus Christ. Amen?
I wish each of you an interesting and exciting New Year with all of the blessings that our Lord has in store for each of you. Take care, be good to each other and I hope to see all of you in the New Year. Ciao.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Monday, December 20, 2004
Christmas Meanderings
Back at it on Christmas week. It will be a short week with Friday off and Darla and I may end up driving up to Reno on Thursday night for a holiday party. It depends on the snow conditions over the pass in Truckee. So far it has been clear, but storms do blow in rather quickly this time of year.
I awoke to a white morning, although there was no snow in evidence. The white of which I speak is FOG. It was a heavy blanket of fog that took hold on Saturday night during our staff Christmas party and stuck stubbornly with us through Sunday and into today. It tried to clear up yesterday afternoon as the sun peeked out for about forty minutes, but quickly gave way to the wet and cold presence that often mars our days this time of year. It is supposed to clear up this week and we should see the sun win the battle later in the week.
The staff Christmas party was Saturday night and we had a ball. The company footed most of the bill for the food and drinks and I bought each of the staff members a gift. I bought Cross pens for everyone and business card holders for the assistants. I had the assistants order business cards when I promoted them to renewal Underwriters and only one of them had seen fit to display the cards at their desk, so I bought each of them a nice cherrywood card holder to display the cards at their desks. I appreciate the support that the staff has shown me in my transition to the manager of the office. We had a great time, singing Karaoke to Christmas songs and playing billiards. We had a gift exchange and plenty of laughs and good times. We ate turkey and ham and Cora fixed an awesome cod and shrimp soup and a medley of fresh vegetables as well as garlic bread and corn bread muffins. It was a feast by any definition. I bought seven bottles of wine, three cases of beer, two cases of water and two cases of soda. Everything lasted except the wine. We ended up opening two bottles of Dinda's wine to fill the gap. All of the staff were able to attend except for Kathy, Gail's assistant and Gwen, our third commercial underwriter. She is not the most social of beings and has yet to attend any of our social events away from work. To each his own, I say.
I was able to finish the enclosure around the air conditioner yesterday. The contractor ended up cutting out two of the posts surrounding the unit in order to fit the new slab in to the space. The problem is that the slab was so close to the edge of the "box" that I couldn't get enough room to tear out the old base for the 4x4's much less dig holes for the new ones. I ended up tying into the two remaing posts with horizontal 4x4s and attaching the upright 4x4s to the horizontal ones with sheet metal anchors. It was a little wobbly until I was able to hammer everything together and add the latticework around the base. I gave it a new coat of the Flood UV Protectant stain and need to add another coat next weekend. I had pulled out the vines that the prior contractor had used to surround the air conditioner as our contractor said that the unit needed air space. I think the unit looks even nicer with just the lattice work around it. This project turned out better than the wallboard job in the laundry room.
Darla and I have been invited to dinner tonight at our friends' house and then they have tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Arco Arena tonight. It is a holiday concert, but includes a light show as the orchestra plays and I've heard some great feedback on the concert. Our friends happen to be our heating and air contractor and his wife. It should be fun tonight. I have several lunches this week with our agents and it starts today with lunch at Benihanas. If I don't gain weight this holiday, it will be a Christmas miracle.
I talked to Jennifer yesterday. It was six am her time and she was preparing to leave for a day at the firing range. As Armorer she has to be present during the certification in case any of the weapons jam or need to be checked. She is actually the assistant Armorer, which she said is better. The Armorer has to check out weapons and be present in the weapons area at all times whereas Jennifer gets to roam the facility and freelance her way through the day. Darla also talked to Jenn and she is also having to be recertified on the M-16, so she was doing target practice as well. Jennifer has updated her blog and she is absolutley thrilled to be back in Kuwait as you'll see by her latest entry, which I think she entitled "Back in Kuwait and hating it" or something like that. Jen will spend Christmas at a party being thrown for her unit. I think she's already looking forward to the holidays next year when she'll be home free. Her unit is currently in lockdown where no one can leave Kuwait until they get back to a "mission" ready unit. Apparently they are short of bodies in the unit. Hopefully, they will not be in lockdown when she is ready to leave next year.
I want to wish each of my family members and friends a truly inspired and faith filled Christmas celebration this year. The greatest gift that any of us will ever receive came from God when he sent Heaven to earth in the form of his son and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, to live and die for our sins. If we have accepted that gift we have nothing to ever want for again. Praise God, eh? Take care of each other. Ciao.
I awoke to a white morning, although there was no snow in evidence. The white of which I speak is FOG. It was a heavy blanket of fog that took hold on Saturday night during our staff Christmas party and stuck stubbornly with us through Sunday and into today. It tried to clear up yesterday afternoon as the sun peeked out for about forty minutes, but quickly gave way to the wet and cold presence that often mars our days this time of year. It is supposed to clear up this week and we should see the sun win the battle later in the week.
The staff Christmas party was Saturday night and we had a ball. The company footed most of the bill for the food and drinks and I bought each of the staff members a gift. I bought Cross pens for everyone and business card holders for the assistants. I had the assistants order business cards when I promoted them to renewal Underwriters and only one of them had seen fit to display the cards at their desk, so I bought each of them a nice cherrywood card holder to display the cards at their desks. I appreciate the support that the staff has shown me in my transition to the manager of the office. We had a great time, singing Karaoke to Christmas songs and playing billiards. We had a gift exchange and plenty of laughs and good times. We ate turkey and ham and Cora fixed an awesome cod and shrimp soup and a medley of fresh vegetables as well as garlic bread and corn bread muffins. It was a feast by any definition. I bought seven bottles of wine, three cases of beer, two cases of water and two cases of soda. Everything lasted except the wine. We ended up opening two bottles of Dinda's wine to fill the gap. All of the staff were able to attend except for Kathy, Gail's assistant and Gwen, our third commercial underwriter. She is not the most social of beings and has yet to attend any of our social events away from work. To each his own, I say.
I was able to finish the enclosure around the air conditioner yesterday. The contractor ended up cutting out two of the posts surrounding the unit in order to fit the new slab in to the space. The problem is that the slab was so close to the edge of the "box" that I couldn't get enough room to tear out the old base for the 4x4's much less dig holes for the new ones. I ended up tying into the two remaing posts with horizontal 4x4s and attaching the upright 4x4s to the horizontal ones with sheet metal anchors. It was a little wobbly until I was able to hammer everything together and add the latticework around the base. I gave it a new coat of the Flood UV Protectant stain and need to add another coat next weekend. I had pulled out the vines that the prior contractor had used to surround the air conditioner as our contractor said that the unit needed air space. I think the unit looks even nicer with just the lattice work around it. This project turned out better than the wallboard job in the laundry room.
Darla and I have been invited to dinner tonight at our friends' house and then they have tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Arco Arena tonight. It is a holiday concert, but includes a light show as the orchestra plays and I've heard some great feedback on the concert. Our friends happen to be our heating and air contractor and his wife. It should be fun tonight. I have several lunches this week with our agents and it starts today with lunch at Benihanas. If I don't gain weight this holiday, it will be a Christmas miracle.
I talked to Jennifer yesterday. It was six am her time and she was preparing to leave for a day at the firing range. As Armorer she has to be present during the certification in case any of the weapons jam or need to be checked. She is actually the assistant Armorer, which she said is better. The Armorer has to check out weapons and be present in the weapons area at all times whereas Jennifer gets to roam the facility and freelance her way through the day. Darla also talked to Jenn and she is also having to be recertified on the M-16, so she was doing target practice as well. Jennifer has updated her blog and she is absolutley thrilled to be back in Kuwait as you'll see by her latest entry, which I think she entitled "Back in Kuwait and hating it" or something like that. Jen will spend Christmas at a party being thrown for her unit. I think she's already looking forward to the holidays next year when she'll be home free. Her unit is currently in lockdown where no one can leave Kuwait until they get back to a "mission" ready unit. Apparently they are short of bodies in the unit. Hopefully, they will not be in lockdown when she is ready to leave next year.
I want to wish each of my family members and friends a truly inspired and faith filled Christmas celebration this year. The greatest gift that any of us will ever receive came from God when he sent Heaven to earth in the form of his son and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, to live and die for our sins. If we have accepted that gift we have nothing to ever want for again. Praise God, eh? Take care of each other. Ciao.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Jennifer back in Kuwait from Germany
Just a quick note to let you all know that Jennifer has arrived back in Kuwait from Germany. Not a surprise, but she had a great time. She flew from Kuwait five hours into Ramstein AFB and then took the Autobahn to a little Army base called Vilsek. She was able to hook up with a group of soldiers and see the German countryside. Her new favorite beer is Guinness and her favorite German food was Donners, a bun filled with shaved pork they serve in the pubs. The temperatures were - 3 degrees Celsius and she did come home with a cold and sniffled through our phone conversation. She received our package and a package from Dad and Shirley that she was THRILLED with, especially the pictures of your cars and Vegas and Darryl's house. She's homesick, but determined. She said her commander is jealous of her trip and has put her on work detail tomorrow on her day off, wrapping presents.
She also had a meeting with the new Command Major Sargeant of the Army Preston, who was visiting from Washington and she was impressed with his speech. There were only thirty soldiers picked to sit in on his speech and she was one of them. It was GREAT to hear from her and she sounds hale and hearty , in spite of her cold. The weather in Kuwait has settled and it is now running in the high sixties.
She also had a meeting with the new Command Major Sargeant of the Army Preston, who was visiting from Washington and she was impressed with his speech. There were only thirty soldiers picked to sit in on his speech and she was one of them. It was GREAT to hear from her and she sounds hale and hearty , in spite of her cold. The weather in Kuwait has settled and it is now running in the high sixties.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Another weekend is in the books and the march of time moves on inexorably. Darla and I went to a murder mystery dinner on Saturday night with her gang from work. It was an interesting diversion, but not really good for socializing as the group was spread out amongst three tables. We got to visit with the one other couple from the group at our table (we were at the kid's table from Holiday dinners) and kibbitz with a few of those behind us, but overall it was entertaining, but not at all condusive to visiting with anyone. The dinner started at 8:30 and was over at about 11:15 pm, whereat everyone decided to call it a night and head home. Nice.
We didn't even get a chance to socialize at the bar before dinner as David had the consolation game at a basketball tournament which ended at 8:00 PM and we hightailed it from Folsom to Old Sacramento and I tested the limits of the Mustang as we sped to the gig. David's team finished third out of the ten teams in the tournament, losing to the eventual champion. David had a rough go, getting an elbow to the face in the Friday night game that split his lip. We missed the game as Darla had a home show that she was doing that night and I was just exhausted. When the week ends, my ten to twelve hour days catch up to me and I'm ready for a soft spot on the couch. I actually wish that was true as I painted the laundry room after repairing the hole in the ceiling. The laundry room looks nice freshly painted, but there are some sanding issues with my repair that I may have Earl help me with when he comes by. There is a reason that I am not in the carpentry trade and if you're curious as to what those are, come by and I'll show you the ceiling in my laundry room.
David came by on Friday night and wanted to know if he should go and get stitches in his lip. The puncture actually is in his lip and it was swollen like he'd had a bad cologen injection. There is a half inch wide hole in his lip where his tooth punctured the surface. Saturday night he was again hit in the face by an elbow, this time by Ike, his teamate and he started bleeding again. I had to yell at the ref to get him out of the game as he had blood running down his mouth and onto his chin. He came out of the game for about five minutes and went right back in as soon as the bleeding stopped. We both assumed that the cut had reopened, but David told us yesterday that he now has two gashes in his lip. Again, the lip is swollen and distorted and I told him to ice it and stay away from salt.
The boys came by yesterday on their way to Sunday school to pick up David's basketball schedule. His youth minister wants to come and watch a couple of games. Darla had picked up Krispy Kremes and David didn't want one because he couldn't brush his teeth afterward. There are, after all, girls at his church class. The boys came by about one o'clock in the afternoon sniffing around for the Krispy Kremes and I gave them the box. There were no leftovers this morning, so I just finished my morning ritual of a cup of coffee and an English Muffin. This helps me keep in touch with my heritage. Yes, my Grandfather was from England, but the heritage is a bit of peanut butter and a pudgy waistline.
I played golf this weekend and as I wrote to my brother, who bragged about the Austin, Texas weather at 80 degrees and his 27 holes of golf in shorts, I wore my big boy long pants in deference to the 59 degree weather here in Sacramento. This was the Eclectic Final, the last tournament of the year. The Eclectic is a year long tournament whereby each golfer has his best scores from each hole on the course kept during the year on all medal tournaments. The final is a tournament in itself, but also the last qualifying tournament for the Eclectic. I ended up shooting a gross of 30-33= 63-12(handicap) = 51. I have yet to see the final results, but I think I finished first in my flight with the net of 51. One player in the flight had a 60 with a net of 50, but he will win the low gross and I'll get the low net. It is actually somewhat amazing that I'm even in the running after missing most of the early Summer tournaments with a bad back. I shot 41-45=86 for the tournament and finished out of the running. I had a good start and just fell apart on the back. I ended up tying Mel with 86, by finishing double-bogey, double-bogey, bogey and giving up a solid lead and the $10 stroke bet. I didn't lose money, but I had it in the bag, if I'd just held on at the end. Oh well, that's golf.
I will host the office Christmas party on Saturday night. We are actually having the event at my Executive Assistant's house in Carmichael. She has quite a party house and it is closer to everyone, so we decided to hold it there. I will buy two turkeys, a ham and all the fixins as well as pies, beer, wine, soft drinks and water. I will also have M&Ms and peanuts to munch on and we will do a gift exchange. I am buying each staff member a gift and will also present those at the dinner. It should be a fun night, but I've got a lot of pre-planning to do this week to be ready for the big dinner on Saturday. I also have several lunches this week with my best agents that Anthony and I will be hosting. On top of that, Harvey, our Vice President will be in tomorrow to go over results and planning with me. There isn't really time to take a breath, but isn't that the holiday season in a nutshell?
I haven't heard from Jennifer since she left for Germany and I think she has phone issues. I think she is at an airbase and doesn't have as easy access to the phones as she does at Camp Doha. She should be heading home next week and I should hear from her. I'm sure she is having a blast in Germany. I do look forward to talking to her before Christmas and getting caught up. Remember our brave soldiers this Christmas season that are away from friends and family. Say a prayer for them and give thanks that they are willing to put their comfort aside for the sake of all of us. Even if you live in the the land of the cowards up in Canada.
I saw the Primetime episode interviewing the AWOL soldiers in Canada who chose not to go to Iraq and fight for our country. I don't have a problem with the fact that they chose to not honor their oath to defend our country and skipped to Canada. I DO, however, have a problem if they ever want to come back to this country. I think they are in a perfect place up in the land of the world's ostriches. Folks, you are home. Please stay there. You aren't draft dodgers, you are soldiers with a wide yellow streak down your backs. You are criminals and a disgrace not only to the uniform, but to this country. My advice to them is learn to speak French and stay the hell out of the U. S. o f A. Are my politics coming through loud and clear? Can you hear me now? Good.
As I step off of my soap box, I wish you a great week and much love and good family times this Christmas season. Until next week...Ciao.
We didn't even get a chance to socialize at the bar before dinner as David had the consolation game at a basketball tournament which ended at 8:00 PM and we hightailed it from Folsom to Old Sacramento and I tested the limits of the Mustang as we sped to the gig. David's team finished third out of the ten teams in the tournament, losing to the eventual champion. David had a rough go, getting an elbow to the face in the Friday night game that split his lip. We missed the game as Darla had a home show that she was doing that night and I was just exhausted. When the week ends, my ten to twelve hour days catch up to me and I'm ready for a soft spot on the couch. I actually wish that was true as I painted the laundry room after repairing the hole in the ceiling. The laundry room looks nice freshly painted, but there are some sanding issues with my repair that I may have Earl help me with when he comes by. There is a reason that I am not in the carpentry trade and if you're curious as to what those are, come by and I'll show you the ceiling in my laundry room.
David came by on Friday night and wanted to know if he should go and get stitches in his lip. The puncture actually is in his lip and it was swollen like he'd had a bad cologen injection. There is a half inch wide hole in his lip where his tooth punctured the surface. Saturday night he was again hit in the face by an elbow, this time by Ike, his teamate and he started bleeding again. I had to yell at the ref to get him out of the game as he had blood running down his mouth and onto his chin. He came out of the game for about five minutes and went right back in as soon as the bleeding stopped. We both assumed that the cut had reopened, but David told us yesterday that he now has two gashes in his lip. Again, the lip is swollen and distorted and I told him to ice it and stay away from salt.
The boys came by yesterday on their way to Sunday school to pick up David's basketball schedule. His youth minister wants to come and watch a couple of games. Darla had picked up Krispy Kremes and David didn't want one because he couldn't brush his teeth afterward. There are, after all, girls at his church class. The boys came by about one o'clock in the afternoon sniffing around for the Krispy Kremes and I gave them the box. There were no leftovers this morning, so I just finished my morning ritual of a cup of coffee and an English Muffin. This helps me keep in touch with my heritage. Yes, my Grandfather was from England, but the heritage is a bit of peanut butter and a pudgy waistline.
I played golf this weekend and as I wrote to my brother, who bragged about the Austin, Texas weather at 80 degrees and his 27 holes of golf in shorts, I wore my big boy long pants in deference to the 59 degree weather here in Sacramento. This was the Eclectic Final, the last tournament of the year. The Eclectic is a year long tournament whereby each golfer has his best scores from each hole on the course kept during the year on all medal tournaments. The final is a tournament in itself, but also the last qualifying tournament for the Eclectic. I ended up shooting a gross of 30-33= 63-12(handicap) = 51. I have yet to see the final results, but I think I finished first in my flight with the net of 51. One player in the flight had a 60 with a net of 50, but he will win the low gross and I'll get the low net. It is actually somewhat amazing that I'm even in the running after missing most of the early Summer tournaments with a bad back. I shot 41-45=86 for the tournament and finished out of the running. I had a good start and just fell apart on the back. I ended up tying Mel with 86, by finishing double-bogey, double-bogey, bogey and giving up a solid lead and the $10 stroke bet. I didn't lose money, but I had it in the bag, if I'd just held on at the end. Oh well, that's golf.
I will host the office Christmas party on Saturday night. We are actually having the event at my Executive Assistant's house in Carmichael. She has quite a party house and it is closer to everyone, so we decided to hold it there. I will buy two turkeys, a ham and all the fixins as well as pies, beer, wine, soft drinks and water. I will also have M&Ms and peanuts to munch on and we will do a gift exchange. I am buying each staff member a gift and will also present those at the dinner. It should be a fun night, but I've got a lot of pre-planning to do this week to be ready for the big dinner on Saturday. I also have several lunches this week with my best agents that Anthony and I will be hosting. On top of that, Harvey, our Vice President will be in tomorrow to go over results and planning with me. There isn't really time to take a breath, but isn't that the holiday season in a nutshell?
I haven't heard from Jennifer since she left for Germany and I think she has phone issues. I think she is at an airbase and doesn't have as easy access to the phones as she does at Camp Doha. She should be heading home next week and I should hear from her. I'm sure she is having a blast in Germany. I do look forward to talking to her before Christmas and getting caught up. Remember our brave soldiers this Christmas season that are away from friends and family. Say a prayer for them and give thanks that they are willing to put their comfort aside for the sake of all of us. Even if you live in the the land of the cowards up in Canada.
I saw the Primetime episode interviewing the AWOL soldiers in Canada who chose not to go to Iraq and fight for our country. I don't have a problem with the fact that they chose to not honor their oath to defend our country and skipped to Canada. I DO, however, have a problem if they ever want to come back to this country. I think they are in a perfect place up in the land of the world's ostriches. Folks, you are home. Please stay there. You aren't draft dodgers, you are soldiers with a wide yellow streak down your backs. You are criminals and a disgrace not only to the uniform, but to this country. My advice to them is learn to speak French and stay the hell out of the U. S. o f A. Are my politics coming through loud and clear? Can you hear me now? Good.
As I step off of my soap box, I wish you a great week and much love and good family times this Christmas season. Until next week...Ciao.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Heat, glorious heat. The heater is in and working and even David's room is warm and toasty. Funny how you take things like personal comfort for granted until you go through a period without your home heating system. Even with our fireplace and space heater, it was downright cold in the house. I don't know how the homeless cope in areas like Boston and Green Bay and I give thanks for the homeless shelters throughout the country who take in the homeless and give them a warm bed and a hot meal during the Winter months. Our church participates in a program called The Gathering Inn where the area churches take in the homeless and house them for a few nights and try to give them not only shelter, but also hope for the future. You'd think there weren't many homeless in Roseville, but it is a railroad city and the homeless still ride the rails in the empty boxcars and stop in Roseville.
My heating and air contractor had to cut a hole in my laundry room to fit the new heater up into the attic. I have attic stairs in the garage, but the new heater wouldn't fit..it was too wide for the opening. They cut an extra four inches in the former opening for the attic access that was in the utility room. I went out to Lowes this week and bought a 4'x8' length of wall board to patch the small 3' x 26" opening that needed to be repaired. I closed off the old opening and put a floor over the joists so that no one would take a fall through that opening back into the laundry room from above. I had never done any wallboard and could have used Dad's help in the project, but I muddled through it. My father-in-law, Earl, was a big help in walking me through the process. The thing that seemed to take the most time was cutting out the old wall board along the center of the joists above so that I could tack the replacement board in place. I used a wall board knife and hacked away at the old wallboard and made a Godawful mess on the floor and on the coats hanging in the utility room and all over myself as well. It looked like I was tearing down the room rather than just repairing a small piece of wallboard. I was lucky to catch Earl after I finished preparing the repair with joint mud. I had planned to let the mud dry and then put the wall board tape on. Earl set me straight that the tape was to be applied at the same time as the mud. It is dry now and I will wet sand the finish, add one more coat of mud and then wet sand it again and then texture the final product prior to painting the ceiling next weekend. I don't know how it will turn out, but it will undoubtably let less cold air into the house than the prior configuration. I added some insulation in the attic and, as I said, it is nice and warm in the house now. Unfortunately, I now have a small blood blister on the point of my right index finger that is a bit painful today.
I also had DirecTV come out last Friday and install TiVo in the house. It is the state of the art way to watch television and it seemed that our VCRs were forever having problems recording programs. We went to David's basketball game on Friday night and I Tivo'd the Kings game. We got home just after halftime and I turned on the recorded portion of the show and watched the whole game in about an hour and twenty minutes. Somehow you watch the program from the beginning and it contines to record the game through to completion and you just continue to watch it. Nice.
David is playing Power Forward on his Varsity basketball team and he has been voted a captain on the team by his teammates. He started the last game, but got into early foul trouble and watched most of the game from the bench. We have a chance to do some damage in the section this year as we have a 6'8" senior center who is dominant. He had a slam dunk in the last game that brought the house down. It will be a fun year.
I played golf on Saturday and then we had the Roseville Golf Club Christmas party that night. My golf game was not in high gear as I shot 43-47=90 out at Woodcreek Golf Course. It was in the 40's when we teed off and I hate to play golf in a coat. It was COLD. I played with Mel, Harry Wharff and Mark Konrad. Mark is the guy who always wants to bet me. Well, he made a nice haul this weekend, winning our $5 stroke play match and taking another $3 from each of the golfers on our group bet. He also won $13 in skin money. Mel shot 93, Harry shot 77 and Mark shot 86.
The dinner and party that night were great and I am now officially off the board of the Roseville Golf Club. We had a really fun night with dancing and some adult beverages and a lot of fellowship. Darla and I finally left at 11:30 and took Mark and Pam home with us. Mark had arranged for a limo to take them to the party and asked if we'd drive them home. Strangely, the limo was there waiting for them at the end of the party. The driver had no other fares and was available if they wanted a ride home. The problem was he'd sat in the parking lot watching tv and listening to music and his battery was dead. I had to give him a jump and then Mark and Pamela blew him off anyway. As Mark said, "I didn't ASK him to come and pick us up. I only arranged for travel TO the event."
I haven't heard from Jennifer since she got to Germany, but she did call and talk to her Mom and let her know she made it to Germany and was having a ball. She will be there until December 18th, when she will return to Kuwait. I hope to hear from her soon and I'll fill you in on her comings and goings when I do. I notice she hasn't added to her blog since she left.
By the way, I notice that the blog will surpass 1000 visits this week and although it is the same 3 or 4 readers and some who come in under a search engine, it is still gratifying to see that there are some folks who care to keep up with the Lyons here in California. For that, I am humbled. As I've said before, the blog allows me to purge some creativity from my soul and although I don't have the interactive juice of a pen pal as I did with my Gramp Lyon, who passed away in 1999, I still enjoy the blog and the chance to share my life with you. Take care and know that Christ IS in Christ-mas.
My heating and air contractor had to cut a hole in my laundry room to fit the new heater up into the attic. I have attic stairs in the garage, but the new heater wouldn't fit..it was too wide for the opening. They cut an extra four inches in the former opening for the attic access that was in the utility room. I went out to Lowes this week and bought a 4'x8' length of wall board to patch the small 3' x 26" opening that needed to be repaired. I closed off the old opening and put a floor over the joists so that no one would take a fall through that opening back into the laundry room from above. I had never done any wallboard and could have used Dad's help in the project, but I muddled through it. My father-in-law, Earl, was a big help in walking me through the process. The thing that seemed to take the most time was cutting out the old wall board along the center of the joists above so that I could tack the replacement board in place. I used a wall board knife and hacked away at the old wallboard and made a Godawful mess on the floor and on the coats hanging in the utility room and all over myself as well. It looked like I was tearing down the room rather than just repairing a small piece of wallboard. I was lucky to catch Earl after I finished preparing the repair with joint mud. I had planned to let the mud dry and then put the wall board tape on. Earl set me straight that the tape was to be applied at the same time as the mud. It is dry now and I will wet sand the finish, add one more coat of mud and then wet sand it again and then texture the final product prior to painting the ceiling next weekend. I don't know how it will turn out, but it will undoubtably let less cold air into the house than the prior configuration. I added some insulation in the attic and, as I said, it is nice and warm in the house now. Unfortunately, I now have a small blood blister on the point of my right index finger that is a bit painful today.
I also had DirecTV come out last Friday and install TiVo in the house. It is the state of the art way to watch television and it seemed that our VCRs were forever having problems recording programs. We went to David's basketball game on Friday night and I Tivo'd the Kings game. We got home just after halftime and I turned on the recorded portion of the show and watched the whole game in about an hour and twenty minutes. Somehow you watch the program from the beginning and it contines to record the game through to completion and you just continue to watch it. Nice.
David is playing Power Forward on his Varsity basketball team and he has been voted a captain on the team by his teammates. He started the last game, but got into early foul trouble and watched most of the game from the bench. We have a chance to do some damage in the section this year as we have a 6'8" senior center who is dominant. He had a slam dunk in the last game that brought the house down. It will be a fun year.
I played golf on Saturday and then we had the Roseville Golf Club Christmas party that night. My golf game was not in high gear as I shot 43-47=90 out at Woodcreek Golf Course. It was in the 40's when we teed off and I hate to play golf in a coat. It was COLD. I played with Mel, Harry Wharff and Mark Konrad. Mark is the guy who always wants to bet me. Well, he made a nice haul this weekend, winning our $5 stroke play match and taking another $3 from each of the golfers on our group bet. He also won $13 in skin money. Mel shot 93, Harry shot 77 and Mark shot 86.
The dinner and party that night were great and I am now officially off the board of the Roseville Golf Club. We had a really fun night with dancing and some adult beverages and a lot of fellowship. Darla and I finally left at 11:30 and took Mark and Pam home with us. Mark had arranged for a limo to take them to the party and asked if we'd drive them home. Strangely, the limo was there waiting for them at the end of the party. The driver had no other fares and was available if they wanted a ride home. The problem was he'd sat in the parking lot watching tv and listening to music and his battery was dead. I had to give him a jump and then Mark and Pamela blew him off anyway. As Mark said, "I didn't ASK him to come and pick us up. I only arranged for travel TO the event."
I haven't heard from Jennifer since she got to Germany, but she did call and talk to her Mom and let her know she made it to Germany and was having a ball. She will be there until December 18th, when she will return to Kuwait. I hope to hear from her soon and I'll fill you in on her comings and goings when I do. I notice she hasn't added to her blog since she left.
By the way, I notice that the blog will surpass 1000 visits this week and although it is the same 3 or 4 readers and some who come in under a search engine, it is still gratifying to see that there are some folks who care to keep up with the Lyons here in California. For that, I am humbled. As I've said before, the blog allows me to purge some creativity from my soul and although I don't have the interactive juice of a pen pal as I did with my Gramp Lyon, who passed away in 1999, I still enjoy the blog and the chance to share my life with you. Take care and know that Christ IS in Christ-mas.
