Relief arrived in the form of some cooler Delta breezes late last week and we set a record with twelve straight days of temperatures over 100 degrees. I remember living in Texas and enduring 22 straight days of 100 or more, so this was cake. The temperatures over the weekend cooled to the low nineties on Saturday and 87 degrees yesterday. Today is expected to top out at 85 degrees. Our overnight lows have dropped back into the low sixties and upper fifties and the sleeping weather has been ideal. The hot weather took a toll on some of my plants and trees as sun burned leaves and stressed plants are in evidence. I've been hand watering the plants and the lawn and will see the landscaping start to come back.
Darla and I went over to one of our neighbors' last night and looked at his pool. He sits a block behind us and has the same floor model as us and also is a corner house facing the same direction. His backyard is actually smaller than ours and he had a pool put in two years ago. Challo (his name, he's from Nicaragua) actually acted as his own contractor and had each of the subs individually contracted to dig, lay the iron, do plumbing, electrical, gunite, plaster and cement and deck work. He also had a pool design contractor. Doing the pool himself saved him almost half the cost of a pool company. There isn't a warranty on the pool and he had to make all of the calls and line up all of the contracts himself and pull all of the permits with the city, but his pool was finished in three weeks, start to finish and it's beautiful. I'm considering doing the contracting myself as well to save money and to have better control over the process.
Jennifer will be home next week and will be here until at least the 11th of September. She will finally get all of her gear and clothes out of storage in Travis AFB in Vacaville. She was going to move the boxes and footlockers into storage locally, but I told her to store it in my attic instead. It will be great to see her and spend some time with her. We hope to get her up to Almanor one weekend to see Darla's parents and to spend some time on the lake.
Unfortunately, Jennifer will be here until August 18th and then she will fly to Las Vegas to spend time with her boyfriend, John, and his family. They will fly from there to San Diego and then back to Sacramento on September 1st. I say unfortunately as Dad and Shirley will be here from August 23rd until August 30th or 31st. Jennifer will just miss them. We've offered Dad and Shirley our home while we are in Puerto Vallarta and the use of our Explorer. Dad will have his '44 here for showing at the Pleasanton Car Show. We've encouraged them to stick around after the show and go and see Carmel/Monterey and the San Francisco area. Darla and I will be gone and Shirley said it had been years since she had been in San Francisco. Hopefully they take us up on the offer and even stay to the following weekend when we get back and they can see Jennifer. It will be the Labor Day weekend, so we will get a long weekend to enjoy with them. We'll see. They'll be gone from home starting on August 13th, so it will be a long time away from home. Dad is beginning to worry about driving the '44 as it doesn't have air conditioning and it tends to be pretty hot in Northern California in August. They will be here in Sacramento on August 23rd and we will visit with them and perhaps go out to dinner or just do a barbecue.
We are scheduled for a work barbecue a week from Saturday at Kathy Hardy's home in Rancho Murieta. She has a pool and a large backyard and offered it for a barbecue. The company will buy two large tri tip steaks to barbecue and each family will bring a salad, dessert or side dish to share. It should be fun.
I did play golf this weekend and it was one of the silly tournaments we play every year. It was the annual three club tournament where you have to choose three clubs and play the entire round with just those three clubs. I chose the driver, putter and eight iron. My biggest fear in the tournament is getting into a greenside bunker and sure enough, I not only found a greenside bunker, but the steepest bunker on the course, on hole number five. I was able to open the clubface and make a descending blow into the sand and get on the green for a sandy par. After a start of bogey, double-bogey, bogey, I went one over the last six holes to shoot 40 on the front. I followed that with a two double bogey backside, including a tough six on the final par 4 18th where my putt stopped on the uphill lip of the cup. My 82 was good for second place, but I would have won with an 81. The guys that cut the holes on our course are not golfers and often leave what we call a "volcano" effect, where they pull the dirt out of the green and leave the sides of the hole mounded, so a slow putt always falls away from the hole. It's frustrating, but it is what it is.
I will play in the four ball qualifier on Thursday at Turkey Creek. I have invited two agents to play golf with me tomorrow afternoon at Turkey Creek. This is a "marketing" outing that will also give me one last look at the course before we play on Thursday. The Thursday match will determine whether we move on to play two days at Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach. It is so close, I can taste it. There are 72 teams playing and only 4 will move on to Spyglass Hill in September. There are 14 area qualifiying tournaments with four teams each that will qualify to play in the championship on Sept 14-15. There will be 54 teams or 108 golfers from Northern California.
They finally announced the qualifying date for this year's Rose Cup tournament and it is on August 26th. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) I will be on a flight to Puerto Vallarta that day and will not be able to compete. One of my golf goals every year is to qualify for the Rose Cup team. I did win one of the NCGA qualifiers this year so that trumps the Rose Cup team. I still have the Club Championship next month to look forward to.
Jesse is doing well on his recovery track. He has a lot of pain and is bored just sitting around. He still needs to have his shoulder fixed, but they can't do anything until his broken neck heals, so he is in alot of pain. He was so bored, he went out to the local Albertsons that is closing shop and got a close-up view of the local Texans fighting over the 80% off cigarettes and booze. He sat in one of the "Lark" type shopping carts for old folks who can't walk. I'd pay for a front row seat to watch that. Better than IFC Pride fighting.
Well that is the news. Daniel is home today and I have him re-sodding the back yard in preparation for our barbecue next Monday with our life group at our house. David is doing great, working like a fiend at the engineering firm and excelling all the while. His company came out with a new brochure and it features one of David's designs on the front cover. He's tickled. Be good and stay in lock step with the LORD. Ciao.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
HOT...HOT...Oy VEY, it's HOT!
There are four people in the office so far this morning and three of them (including me) are sporting haircuts. It's just too hot to survive without tearing off your clothes and cutting off your hair. We are in the midst of a heat wave that is going on nine days and the last three days have seen temperatures of 108, 109, 116 and today it will cool off to 108. The 116 was an all time record for the region and it was nasty HOT. I spent most of the day indoors in 78 degree air conditioned comfort, but spent an hour outside trimming trees and then loading up the jet ski to return to it's storage location in Alicia's garage. We got the ski repaired with a new mirror and I pulled and changed the spark plugs. Darla and I found some relief in the pool at Alicia's, but even her pool, which is perpetually cold, was at 88 degrees and not very refreshing. At least it was wet.
I had a call from Darryl on Friday night to inform me that my nephew, Jesse, had been involved in a serious accident, wherein he rolled his Explorer at 60 MPH and almost died. Jesse has a broken neck, a broken clavicle, a lacerated scalp, and various bumps and bruises as well as ligament damage where he rolled in the SUV. Jesse, at 24, and only a part-time worker did not have medical insurance and his friends have set up an account in Austin to help with his medical bills. He was in ICU for a day and a half, but is home now and trying to survive the headaches and pain associated with recovering from the trauma of a serious accident. I talked to Jesse on Saturday and he said that he felt that my Mom was looking down on him when the accident occurred and helped save his life. Actually, I think it was more likely the Big Guy (God) keeping watch over him. Please pray for Jesse's complete recovery and for his girlfriend and family as they help him regain his health.
I talked to Jennifer over the weekend and she will be heading home in early August for about a month. Her office is in Concord, California and she has never set foot in the building as she joined Dasnet and was off to Korea right away. Check out her blog at the link at the bottom of this page. She has some pictures from her recent project in Korea on the blog.
Darla and Daniel arrived back home safe and sound on Saturday. I was out playing golf (of course). I shot 43+41=84 in the 109 degree heat. I walked the front nine and then got a cart for the back nine. It was brutally hot. The temperature in Sacramento is generally in the 90s and near 100 this time of year, but the difference with this heat wave is not only the temperature extremes, but the fact that it is not cooling off at night. We generally see overnight lows dipping into the low sixties and even upper fifties. With this heat wave we have been seeing overnight lows in the upper seventies and 83 degrees Saturday night. It is supposed to moderate after Wednesday and be back in the upper nineties with normal overnight lows. It is a bit odd when the cooling trend is down to 98 degrees, but I look forward to it. Our electric bill will be about as high as the temperatures this month.
I'm getting close to seeing the need for a pool in our back yard. The koi pond is nice and the trees and plants are great, but a pond of water makes more sense. The spa has finally worn out and either needs to be replaced or junked and Darla and I will be shopping for a pool contractor over the next few months. I am very particular in what I want back there and it will be a pond style pool with no tile or cool decking, but stamped concrete and a black bottom. I love the waterfall in the pond now and will have a waterfall built into the pool and maybe a hot tub with a waterfall down into the pool. We have a neighbor with a corner lot like ours that had a pool put in and we want to take a look at his pool as well.
Well, as always, work awaits like an ever present smell in the air. I must abide by the call to labor. Be well, pray for Jesse, and stay walking in the footsteps of our Saviour. Ciao.
I had a call from Darryl on Friday night to inform me that my nephew, Jesse, had been involved in a serious accident, wherein he rolled his Explorer at 60 MPH and almost died. Jesse has a broken neck, a broken clavicle, a lacerated scalp, and various bumps and bruises as well as ligament damage where he rolled in the SUV. Jesse, at 24, and only a part-time worker did not have medical insurance and his friends have set up an account in Austin to help with his medical bills. He was in ICU for a day and a half, but is home now and trying to survive the headaches and pain associated with recovering from the trauma of a serious accident. I talked to Jesse on Saturday and he said that he felt that my Mom was looking down on him when the accident occurred and helped save his life. Actually, I think it was more likely the Big Guy (God) keeping watch over him. Please pray for Jesse's complete recovery and for his girlfriend and family as they help him regain his health.
I talked to Jennifer over the weekend and she will be heading home in early August for about a month. Her office is in Concord, California and she has never set foot in the building as she joined Dasnet and was off to Korea right away. Check out her blog at the link at the bottom of this page. She has some pictures from her recent project in Korea on the blog.
Darla and Daniel arrived back home safe and sound on Saturday. I was out playing golf (of course). I shot 43+41=84 in the 109 degree heat. I walked the front nine and then got a cart for the back nine. It was brutally hot. The temperature in Sacramento is generally in the 90s and near 100 this time of year, but the difference with this heat wave is not only the temperature extremes, but the fact that it is not cooling off at night. We generally see overnight lows dipping into the low sixties and even upper fifties. With this heat wave we have been seeing overnight lows in the upper seventies and 83 degrees Saturday night. It is supposed to moderate after Wednesday and be back in the upper nineties with normal overnight lows. It is a bit odd when the cooling trend is down to 98 degrees, but I look forward to it. Our electric bill will be about as high as the temperatures this month.
I'm getting close to seeing the need for a pool in our back yard. The koi pond is nice and the trees and plants are great, but a pond of water makes more sense. The spa has finally worn out and either needs to be replaced or junked and Darla and I will be shopping for a pool contractor over the next few months. I am very particular in what I want back there and it will be a pond style pool with no tile or cool decking, but stamped concrete and a black bottom. I love the waterfall in the pond now and will have a waterfall built into the pool and maybe a hot tub with a waterfall down into the pool. We have a neighbor with a corner lot like ours that had a pool put in and we want to take a look at his pool as well.
Well, as always, work awaits like an ever present smell in the air. I must abide by the call to labor. Be well, pray for Jesse, and stay walking in the footsteps of our Saviour. Ciao.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Back from Vacation at Lake Almanor
Back from a fun and relaxing five days at the lake. I have slowly moved up from the weekend to three days to four days and now five days. Next year I will spend a full week at the lake. The resort that we stay at is in escrow and is selling to a development company. This is the second resort to sell in five years and we've had to move twice. Next year we have rented a small cabin (two bedrooms, two baths and a living room and kitchen). The resort has privately owned bungalows that are rented on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. The resort is about twenty-five years old, but was remodeled a year ago and we will stay put there. This resort is about an 1/8th of a mile by lake and about a half mile by car from Lake Almanor Resort. LAR has been for sale for three years and finally sold. The problem is the owners have done repairs as needed and cosmetic repairs only. The cabins are old and musty and the appliances and plumbing are falling apart. We were in a cabin last year where the bathroom sink fell off the wall.
The new resort is located in Big Cove, a cove area with about a 1/5th of a mile of 5 MPH water. The new resort, Lakeside Resort at Lake Almanor, is the first resort inside the 5 MPH zone and we will not have to go through the agony of 5 MPH for too long.
The trip was not without it's mishaps. This time the jet ski was put into the water with one of its drain plugs screwed in cross-threaded and it took on water overnight filling the hull to over the battery with water. We had to pull the ski out, drain it and blow out the cylinders. It is 1200 cc and there was about that much water in the cylinder block. We thought it was toast as water kept shooting out of the cylinders, but we put the plugs back in and it fired right up. One of the boys ran the ski out of fuel and the next morning David tried to start the ski to no avail. Unfortunately he realized it was out of gas too late and had run the battery dry. We had to have it on a batttery charger for four hours and missed a day of skiing.
I was able to get in on the golf this year as I was in town long enough. There is a group from Reno-Sparks who have camped the same week as us for four years and they invite me to golf every year and I'm gone by the time they play. This year we played a championship course, Bailey Creek, at Lake Almanor. It is a tough course, about 6800 yards from the championship tees. I played against a 6 handicap, a 15 and an 18. We played 6-6-6, alternating partners every six holes. I won $11 and shot a 39+42=81 to win the skins and the overall. Steve, the 6, shot an 83, Bob, the 15, shot a 95 and Chris, the 18, shot a 105. I had a ball.
I also played golf on Saturday at Turkey Creek and shot a 40+42=82. This is the course that we will play the NCGA two man qualifier, (second round) on August 3rd. Steve Matthews, my partner, shot a 94 and we shot 10-under as a team. We figure we'll need to be 12-under to qualify. Boyd Robertson played with us and shot a very nice 76.
The boys had their two cousins, Shea and Taylor, come up for the trip to Almanor. They stayed at Alicia's cabin. Shea just started a new job and had to work Sunday and tonight, so she arrived Monday at noon and left this morning at six A.M. Her Ford Taurus was overheating and Earl flushed the radiator and added more coolant. She left early to beat the heat and her car boiled over just as she arrived at home. The hand of God was on her as she drove the 4 1/2 hours home to Willits from Almanor. Taylor drove up on Sunday and arrived after Dan and I. Dan was in SoCal on a CIY retreat until Saturday morning and I took the opportunity to golf. We arrived in Almanor about 5:00 PM and Taylor got there about 6:00.
Steve, one of the guys I golfed with has a wakeboard boat, a Mastercraft X-9 and he came over Monday afternoon and picked up David and Daniel and I. We brought Shea with us and she handled the flag. David was really able to get some air with a boat that has a tow rack and Daniel looked really good wakeboarding and wake skating. Steve came back over this morning and took David, Taylor, Alicia and I back out. Daniel was sleeping and Darla was up at the cabin. Darla was a little unhappy that I didn't walk up to the cabin and get her as she would have liked to go on the boat. Steve was supposed to be back this afternoon to take Daniel out and hopefully she got to go then.
Dave and I got home a little after six and I have mowed the lawn, sprayed down the sidewalks, driveway and gutters, watered the lawn, spot sprayed some weed killer and washed my car. Vacation doesn't allow me much time to practice my OCD tendencies, so I got them out of the way this evening. I called my assistant Connie on the road home as she is out Thursday and Friday and I was gone Mon-Weds. It sounds like things were hectic, but the desk is busy and we were leading the office in premium and income as of last Friday, so all is good.
Darla will be home Saturday by noon. I've got an early golf game Saturday and then we have been invited to a tennis match in Sacramento where Nicole Valdisova will be playing. She is some gorgeous 16 year-old tennis player from Russia. We will eat Mexican food, drink margaritas and watch tennis. Sounds like fun.
Well, it's late. I need to rest my weary bones. I will try to add some vacation pix to the blog next week. I hope all are well and in Christ. Ciao.
The new resort is located in Big Cove, a cove area with about a 1/5th of a mile of 5 MPH water. The new resort, Lakeside Resort at Lake Almanor, is the first resort inside the 5 MPH zone and we will not have to go through the agony of 5 MPH for too long.
The trip was not without it's mishaps. This time the jet ski was put into the water with one of its drain plugs screwed in cross-threaded and it took on water overnight filling the hull to over the battery with water. We had to pull the ski out, drain it and blow out the cylinders. It is 1200 cc and there was about that much water in the cylinder block. We thought it was toast as water kept shooting out of the cylinders, but we put the plugs back in and it fired right up. One of the boys ran the ski out of fuel and the next morning David tried to start the ski to no avail. Unfortunately he realized it was out of gas too late and had run the battery dry. We had to have it on a batttery charger for four hours and missed a day of skiing.
I was able to get in on the golf this year as I was in town long enough. There is a group from Reno-Sparks who have camped the same week as us for four years and they invite me to golf every year and I'm gone by the time they play. This year we played a championship course, Bailey Creek, at Lake Almanor. It is a tough course, about 6800 yards from the championship tees. I played against a 6 handicap, a 15 and an 18. We played 6-6-6, alternating partners every six holes. I won $11 and shot a 39+42=81 to win the skins and the overall. Steve, the 6, shot an 83, Bob, the 15, shot a 95 and Chris, the 18, shot a 105. I had a ball.
I also played golf on Saturday at Turkey Creek and shot a 40+42=82. This is the course that we will play the NCGA two man qualifier, (second round) on August 3rd. Steve Matthews, my partner, shot a 94 and we shot 10-under as a team. We figure we'll need to be 12-under to qualify. Boyd Robertson played with us and shot a very nice 76.
The boys had their two cousins, Shea and Taylor, come up for the trip to Almanor. They stayed at Alicia's cabin. Shea just started a new job and had to work Sunday and tonight, so she arrived Monday at noon and left this morning at six A.M. Her Ford Taurus was overheating and Earl flushed the radiator and added more coolant. She left early to beat the heat and her car boiled over just as she arrived at home. The hand of God was on her as she drove the 4 1/2 hours home to Willits from Almanor. Taylor drove up on Sunday and arrived after Dan and I. Dan was in SoCal on a CIY retreat until Saturday morning and I took the opportunity to golf. We arrived in Almanor about 5:00 PM and Taylor got there about 6:00.
Steve, one of the guys I golfed with has a wakeboard boat, a Mastercraft X-9 and he came over Monday afternoon and picked up David and Daniel and I. We brought Shea with us and she handled the flag. David was really able to get some air with a boat that has a tow rack and Daniel looked really good wakeboarding and wake skating. Steve came back over this morning and took David, Taylor, Alicia and I back out. Daniel was sleeping and Darla was up at the cabin. Darla was a little unhappy that I didn't walk up to the cabin and get her as she would have liked to go on the boat. Steve was supposed to be back this afternoon to take Daniel out and hopefully she got to go then.
Dave and I got home a little after six and I have mowed the lawn, sprayed down the sidewalks, driveway and gutters, watered the lawn, spot sprayed some weed killer and washed my car. Vacation doesn't allow me much time to practice my OCD tendencies, so I got them out of the way this evening. I called my assistant Connie on the road home as she is out Thursday and Friday and I was gone Mon-Weds. It sounds like things were hectic, but the desk is busy and we were leading the office in premium and income as of last Friday, so all is good.
Darla will be home Saturday by noon. I've got an early golf game Saturday and then we have been invited to a tennis match in Sacramento where Nicole Valdisova will be playing. She is some gorgeous 16 year-old tennis player from Russia. We will eat Mexican food, drink margaritas and watch tennis. Sounds like fun.
Well, it's late. I need to rest my weary bones. I will try to add some vacation pix to the blog next week. I hope all are well and in Christ. Ciao.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Our weekend fades into a New Work Week
The heat was on in Sacramento over the weekend and Darla and I spent the better part of yesterday at the lake. We left the jet ski back at home in Alicia's garage and packed up sodas, books, our beach umbrella, chairs, towels, our beach blanket and our books and headed to the beach after church. Summer is in full swing, as our church which seats 3000 has closed the balcony for the Summer and the upstairs gang is joining us in the main seating area for the Summer months. The church looks full again if you discount the fact that the upstairs is closed.
We arrived at the beach by 11:30 AM after stops for a bag lunch and at Longs for some new air mattresses and some sunscreen. I got a hammock style air mattress with a large pillow for my head and a smaller, narrower pillow fror my thighs. You end up sitting mostly in the water in a hammock style seat. It was an excellent way to beat the 104 degree temperature, but unfortunately it offered little support and I ended up with a sore back for my troubles. We usually stay at the lake for about three hours because the heat gets to us after time and we are ready to go. The air mattresses allowed us to mitigate the heat to the point that we stayed until 4:00 PM, neither of us really being aware of the time. We spent a fair amount of time in our chairs under the umbrella and were slathered with sunscreen pretty good so neither of us is sporting a burn today.
There was a couple on the beach near us that were a commercial for birth control. The woman was likely in her early thirties and the guy likely near the same age. He was a second husband and the woman had a daughter of about six. The guy was relentless in harassing the poor daughter. She was cranky and irritable and throwing a fit at the beach. The guy ran her out in to the water and splashed her and kept running at her and scaring her. He yelled at her constantly and when she kicked sand on him, he picked up a handful and pelted her in the face. It was brutal to watch and finally a couple next to us approached the lifeguard and asked him to call the police. The mother would not intervene and the guy was in the little girl's face. The mom started crying and the guy yelled at the girl and said, "look at what you did, now your Mom is crying." She was probably crying because she was married to this psycho. Darla said that his actions were close to reportable to CPS. The little girl was frantic when they packed up to leave, probably knowing that she was going to get a beating when they got home. You could hear her wailing as they headed to the parking lot. We packed up about twenty minutes after they left and saw them chasing her in the parking lot when we drove out. There was a lifeguard sitting in his truck watching the whole thing, hopefully waiting for the police. What a nightmare. I guess I've been lucky with David and Daniel. We had our battles over the years, but never anything that dramatic or that public. I would have been mortified.
The jet ski continues to sit in the infirmary. The repair was not successful as the seal was not set properly. I would need a clamp to hold the mirror tight to the deck. I am attempting to order a new mirror to replace the broken one and we will just bolt it to the deck and be done with it. We are off to Almanor next weekend and the blog will sit idle until my return on Thursday. This will be my longest visit yet to Almanor. I usually stay until Monday and head back to work. I will stay until Wednesday afternoon this time around and be able to play golf with the guys on Tuesday.
I will play golf at Turkey Creek on Saturday. Turkey Creek is where we will play the qualifier for the 4-man championship of Northern California that will be played in September for two days at Spyglass. We play the qualifier on August 3rd and I want to play Turkey at least two times between now and then. Daniel is away in SoCal with his church group for CIY. I'm not sure what the initials stand for, but I think the C is Christian and the Y is Youth. They will have a week in Southern California with messages each night and beach visits and sightseeing during the day. Daniel worked at the Christian radio station K-Love during their pledge drive to earn the trip. He returns home about ten AM on Saturday and couldn't drive up with Darla in the morning, so I will play golf and then Dan and I will drive up in the afternoon.
Jennifer, you need to get going on your blog. John was supposed to keep you on track and he's doing a lousy job. Let's see an update, girl.
I played golf on Saturday, struggling a little bit with a 43+42=85. It sounds like a normal round for me, but I had two birdies on the back side and still slid to a 42. You can see why I have a day job. If I had to earn my keep on the golf course, I'd be in the poor house. I did win the skin match, taking $7.50 from my playing partners, but lost the front- back- and overall to Mark Konrad on a $3-$3-$3 bet to lose $9.00 and a net loss on the day of $1.50.
I've been asked to rejoin the board of the Roseville Golf Club. They want me to reprise my position as VP, but I will either take an open position or run for President. I don't really have the time, but the board needs the help, so I'll likely be back.
Well, that is the news to the minute. I will be back in a week's time with news of our vacation. Have a good week. Ciao.
We arrived at the beach by 11:30 AM after stops for a bag lunch and at Longs for some new air mattresses and some sunscreen. I got a hammock style air mattress with a large pillow for my head and a smaller, narrower pillow fror my thighs. You end up sitting mostly in the water in a hammock style seat. It was an excellent way to beat the 104 degree temperature, but unfortunately it offered little support and I ended up with a sore back for my troubles. We usually stay at the lake for about three hours because the heat gets to us after time and we are ready to go. The air mattresses allowed us to mitigate the heat to the point that we stayed until 4:00 PM, neither of us really being aware of the time. We spent a fair amount of time in our chairs under the umbrella and were slathered with sunscreen pretty good so neither of us is sporting a burn today.
There was a couple on the beach near us that were a commercial for birth control. The woman was likely in her early thirties and the guy likely near the same age. He was a second husband and the woman had a daughter of about six. The guy was relentless in harassing the poor daughter. She was cranky and irritable and throwing a fit at the beach. The guy ran her out in to the water and splashed her and kept running at her and scaring her. He yelled at her constantly and when she kicked sand on him, he picked up a handful and pelted her in the face. It was brutal to watch and finally a couple next to us approached the lifeguard and asked him to call the police. The mother would not intervene and the guy was in the little girl's face. The mom started crying and the guy yelled at the girl and said, "look at what you did, now your Mom is crying." She was probably crying because she was married to this psycho. Darla said that his actions were close to reportable to CPS. The little girl was frantic when they packed up to leave, probably knowing that she was going to get a beating when they got home. You could hear her wailing as they headed to the parking lot. We packed up about twenty minutes after they left and saw them chasing her in the parking lot when we drove out. There was a lifeguard sitting in his truck watching the whole thing, hopefully waiting for the police. What a nightmare. I guess I've been lucky with David and Daniel. We had our battles over the years, but never anything that dramatic or that public. I would have been mortified.
The jet ski continues to sit in the infirmary. The repair was not successful as the seal was not set properly. I would need a clamp to hold the mirror tight to the deck. I am attempting to order a new mirror to replace the broken one and we will just bolt it to the deck and be done with it. We are off to Almanor next weekend and the blog will sit idle until my return on Thursday. This will be my longest visit yet to Almanor. I usually stay until Monday and head back to work. I will stay until Wednesday afternoon this time around and be able to play golf with the guys on Tuesday.
I will play golf at Turkey Creek on Saturday. Turkey Creek is where we will play the qualifier for the 4-man championship of Northern California that will be played in September for two days at Spyglass. We play the qualifier on August 3rd and I want to play Turkey at least two times between now and then. Daniel is away in SoCal with his church group for CIY. I'm not sure what the initials stand for, but I think the C is Christian and the Y is Youth. They will have a week in Southern California with messages each night and beach visits and sightseeing during the day. Daniel worked at the Christian radio station K-Love during their pledge drive to earn the trip. He returns home about ten AM on Saturday and couldn't drive up with Darla in the morning, so I will play golf and then Dan and I will drive up in the afternoon.
Jennifer, you need to get going on your blog. John was supposed to keep you on track and he's doing a lousy job. Let's see an update, girl.
I played golf on Saturday, struggling a little bit with a 43+42=85. It sounds like a normal round for me, but I had two birdies on the back side and still slid to a 42. You can see why I have a day job. If I had to earn my keep on the golf course, I'd be in the poor house. I did win the skin match, taking $7.50 from my playing partners, but lost the front- back- and overall to Mark Konrad on a $3-$3-$3 bet to lose $9.00 and a net loss on the day of $1.50.
I've been asked to rejoin the board of the Roseville Golf Club. They want me to reprise my position as VP, but I will either take an open position or run for President. I don't really have the time, but the board needs the help, so I'll likely be back.
Well, that is the news to the minute. I will be back in a week's time with news of our vacation. Have a good week. Ciao.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
July 4th was a Blast!
The LONG weekend is finally over and I get to go back to work again. Praise God! Well, I thought maybe if I wrote it, I'd begin to live it. The nice four day weekend has drawn to a close and the new week and new month is laid out in front of me. The nice thing is..it's Hump Day already.
We spent the holiday weekend up in Lake Almanor. The trip could not have had a more inauspicious start. Initially, the resort had room for our jet ski, then Frank (one of the owners) called to say that his wife had spoken too soon and he wasn't sure. If we wanted to bring it up, we could always put it in and take it out as we used it. The problem is a 100 foot, narrow, crumbling boat ramp. The owners of the resort are in escrow with a developer and the resort will be raised to make room for new homes on the lake. Earl said to go ahead and bring it up and we'd be able to park it at the front of his slip. Friday night, David and I went over to Alicia's to pick up the ski. We attached the trailer to the Explorer and drove to the local AM/PM to gas it up and top off the Explorer. I'd had trouble filling the ski each time as the filler hose is a "S" hose with a sharp turn and it tends to back up when we are filling. It is best to go slow and be patient. David jumped in and filled the tank and had no trouble whatsover. In fact, he kept filling it and filling it. I was busy cleaning the windshield and doing other things. I looked up and he was at 25 gallons and going strong. The tank is 18 gallons with a two gallon reserve. He stopped at 32 gallons ($95.68). I was shocked, but filled the Explorer and drove home. We got the ski in the garage and I decided to check the capacity on the tank again. Sure enough, the tank is 18.5 gallons with a 2.5 gallon reserve. I opened the engine compartment and was shocked to see 30 gallons of gas floating in the hull! The S hose had come loose from the tank and the gas had poured straight into the hull. It was up to the bottom of the new battery that I'd bought and installed last month. I got David and Daniel and several buckets and we set about siphoning the gas out of the hull. It took us the better part of an hour to dip cups into the hull and drain out the gas. We also used a siphon and pumped the gas out. We wiped down the interior of the hull as best we could and parked the ski in the driveway to air dry overnight.
I was VERY concerned that the gas was ruined what with the water and the dirt in the hull. I talked to Earl and he said to let the gas sit overnight and the impurities would settle to the bottom and whatever water would separate from the gas and sit also on the bottom and we'd be able to salvage about 99% of the gas. We were up early on Saturday and the boys and I poured off the gas and refilled the ski and both 5 gallon containers. We still had a good ten gallons left over which I put in the shed.
We drove up to Almanor and the next big decision was who would sit on the jet ski and start it after the gas went all through the electrical. Daniel jumped on the ski and it was a hard start. It took a good ten minutes to get the ski started. The hard start was compounded by us being at 4200 feet in the mountains. The ski rode great once we got it on the water. David and I learned a valuable lesson and we will now watch the tank as we are filling the ski.
Our problems were not limited to the gas debacle as Frank continued to hem and haw about whether we could store the ski at the dock and we took it back out on Saturday night. Sunday, he approached us and told us we could put the ski in front of Earl's boat. (Brilliant idea.) We tied it at a 90 degree angle to Earl's boat and had to make sure to tie both the ski and the boat tight against the dock to make sure that they didn't ram each other. We had some wind come in Sunday night and the boat and ski were rocking pretty good. Unfortunately the boat slipped one of it's ties and hit the ski popping off one of the side view mirrors. It knocked the mirror up and on to the dock, cracking the mirror in the process. We were luckily able to salvage the mirror and it is now sitting in Alicia's garage with gorilla tape holding the mirror down on it's base as the marine adhesive takes hold. The mirrors are about 90% decorative as it is hard to see out of them when you're on the water due to the spray and the vibration of the ski. It's much easier to swivel your neck and look behind you. It's a bummer that it broke, but it is what it is.
We went to church on Sunday in Almanor and they had a great July 4th service with the Battle Hymn of the Republic and a song about the two words "Under God" which is the foundation of the United States and our founder's faith. As much as the crackpots want to deny that God is alive, He is the rock that this country was founded on and perhaps this country will fall without Him there to sustain us. We walked out of church with a bounce to our step and proud to be Americans.
I talked to Jennifer from Almanor, although the reception was fuzzy at best. She and John were going to watch the fireworks at the base in Korea last night. They had to work on Monday, but it was dead with most of the base off on a long holiday.
Darla and I returned to Rosevile on Monday night to allow the boys to spend the holiday with their Dad. Neither Darla nor I have ever spent money on fireworks and get absolutely nothing out of watching $100 burn up on the pavement. We'd rather burn it up on the lake.
I did play golf Monday up at Almanor as I joined a friend, Bob, who has a fifth wheel at the lake. We played Almanor West, which is a nine-hole facility with different tees for each nine (front and back). Bob asked that we only play nine holes and it was the best decision he ever made. It took us three hours to traverse nine holes with a foursome of golf novices hitting the ball upwards of 20 times per hole per player in front of us. It was brutal to watch. Bob stopped keeping score when he accidentally hit into the foursome and they pocketed his $4 Pro V1 ball. He was livid, but I told him it wasn't worth ruining our vacation over some liver-spotted hackers with no sense of humor. I shot 43, but only by parring the last two holes. The course is very tight with alot of trees, but the pace of play was ridiculous and I'm amazed I broke 50.
We will be back up to Almanor on July 15th-22nd and I will play Bailey Creek with Bob. It is a championship course and costs $80 to play so the hackers should be back at Almanor West torturing some other foursome and we'll be free to play GOLF.
Well, work awaits. I will attach a photo of the injured ski when I get home tonight. I hope all are well and enjoyed a safe and serene 4th of July. Praise God that we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Ciao.
We spent the holiday weekend up in Lake Almanor. The trip could not have had a more inauspicious start. Initially, the resort had room for our jet ski, then Frank (one of the owners) called to say that his wife had spoken too soon and he wasn't sure. If we wanted to bring it up, we could always put it in and take it out as we used it. The problem is a 100 foot, narrow, crumbling boat ramp. The owners of the resort are in escrow with a developer and the resort will be raised to make room for new homes on the lake. Earl said to go ahead and bring it up and we'd be able to park it at the front of his slip. Friday night, David and I went over to Alicia's to pick up the ski. We attached the trailer to the Explorer and drove to the local AM/PM to gas it up and top off the Explorer. I'd had trouble filling the ski each time as the filler hose is a "S" hose with a sharp turn and it tends to back up when we are filling. It is best to go slow and be patient. David jumped in and filled the tank and had no trouble whatsover. In fact, he kept filling it and filling it. I was busy cleaning the windshield and doing other things. I looked up and he was at 25 gallons and going strong. The tank is 18 gallons with a two gallon reserve. He stopped at 32 gallons ($95.68). I was shocked, but filled the Explorer and drove home. We got the ski in the garage and I decided to check the capacity on the tank again. Sure enough, the tank is 18.5 gallons with a 2.5 gallon reserve. I opened the engine compartment and was shocked to see 30 gallons of gas floating in the hull! The S hose had come loose from the tank and the gas had poured straight into the hull. It was up to the bottom of the new battery that I'd bought and installed last month. I got David and Daniel and several buckets and we set about siphoning the gas out of the hull. It took us the better part of an hour to dip cups into the hull and drain out the gas. We also used a siphon and pumped the gas out. We wiped down the interior of the hull as best we could and parked the ski in the driveway to air dry overnight.
I was VERY concerned that the gas was ruined what with the water and the dirt in the hull. I talked to Earl and he said to let the gas sit overnight and the impurities would settle to the bottom and whatever water would separate from the gas and sit also on the bottom and we'd be able to salvage about 99% of the gas. We were up early on Saturday and the boys and I poured off the gas and refilled the ski and both 5 gallon containers. We still had a good ten gallons left over which I put in the shed.
We drove up to Almanor and the next big decision was who would sit on the jet ski and start it after the gas went all through the electrical. Daniel jumped on the ski and it was a hard start. It took a good ten minutes to get the ski started. The hard start was compounded by us being at 4200 feet in the mountains. The ski rode great once we got it on the water. David and I learned a valuable lesson and we will now watch the tank as we are filling the ski.
Our problems were not limited to the gas debacle as Frank continued to hem and haw about whether we could store the ski at the dock and we took it back out on Saturday night. Sunday, he approached us and told us we could put the ski in front of Earl's boat. (Brilliant idea.) We tied it at a 90 degree angle to Earl's boat and had to make sure to tie both the ski and the boat tight against the dock to make sure that they didn't ram each other. We had some wind come in Sunday night and the boat and ski were rocking pretty good. Unfortunately the boat slipped one of it's ties and hit the ski popping off one of the side view mirrors. It knocked the mirror up and on to the dock, cracking the mirror in the process. We were luckily able to salvage the mirror and it is now sitting in Alicia's garage with gorilla tape holding the mirror down on it's base as the marine adhesive takes hold. The mirrors are about 90% decorative as it is hard to see out of them when you're on the water due to the spray and the vibration of the ski. It's much easier to swivel your neck and look behind you. It's a bummer that it broke, but it is what it is.
We went to church on Sunday in Almanor and they had a great July 4th service with the Battle Hymn of the Republic and a song about the two words "Under God" which is the foundation of the United States and our founder's faith. As much as the crackpots want to deny that God is alive, He is the rock that this country was founded on and perhaps this country will fall without Him there to sustain us. We walked out of church with a bounce to our step and proud to be Americans.
I talked to Jennifer from Almanor, although the reception was fuzzy at best. She and John were going to watch the fireworks at the base in Korea last night. They had to work on Monday, but it was dead with most of the base off on a long holiday.
Darla and I returned to Rosevile on Monday night to allow the boys to spend the holiday with their Dad. Neither Darla nor I have ever spent money on fireworks and get absolutely nothing out of watching $100 burn up on the pavement. We'd rather burn it up on the lake.
I did play golf Monday up at Almanor as I joined a friend, Bob, who has a fifth wheel at the lake. We played Almanor West, which is a nine-hole facility with different tees for each nine (front and back). Bob asked that we only play nine holes and it was the best decision he ever made. It took us three hours to traverse nine holes with a foursome of golf novices hitting the ball upwards of 20 times per hole per player in front of us. It was brutal to watch. Bob stopped keeping score when he accidentally hit into the foursome and they pocketed his $4 Pro V1 ball. He was livid, but I told him it wasn't worth ruining our vacation over some liver-spotted hackers with no sense of humor. I shot 43, but only by parring the last two holes. The course is very tight with alot of trees, but the pace of play was ridiculous and I'm amazed I broke 50.
We will be back up to Almanor on July 15th-22nd and I will play Bailey Creek with Bob. It is a championship course and costs $80 to play so the hackers should be back at Almanor West torturing some other foursome and we'll be free to play GOLF.
Well, work awaits. I will attach a photo of the injured ski when I get home tonight. I hope all are well and enjoyed a safe and serene 4th of July. Praise God that we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Ciao.
