A Memorable Memorial Day

Darla and I took a short, but relaxing trip up to Lake Tahoe over the long weekend. We left about 2:00PM on Friday and drove up to the lake before the traffic got too heavy. We had planned on staying at the Lakeside Inn, but the room rates were higher for the holiday, so I scrimped and we stayed at the Lake Tahoe Inn on South Shore Drive (Highway 50). The motel was in a good location and that is the sum total of the good things we can say about the motel. The room was small, the furnishings were old, the floor coverings were questionable at best. The bathroom was small and the sink was ready to come off the wall with a good push on the front of it. The strange thing is the floor in the bathroom was always hot like the hot water heater lines ran under the floor. Darla was a good sport about the accommodations, but she would have preferred to be anywhere else I think. I noticed Saturday that she was wearing her shoes as she did her hair in the morning.

We did spend some time at the Lakeside Inn and had their $8.95 Prime Rib on Friday night and Darla enjoyed a free dinner as it was her birthday month and we are preferred card holders at the casino. The restaurant also gave her a free drink. We gambled a bit after dinner at the Lakeside and then moved over to Bills, the small casino owned by Harrahs. It is now the only smoke free casino in Lake Tahoe ( I think the first ever frankly) and it was so nice to sit in a casino in Nevada and not breathe in second-hand smoke. We didn't win anything, in fact we broke even that night, but the smoke free environment was great.

Saturday, we were up fairly early and walked across the Highway to Heidi's, a Swedish restaurant with excellent breakfasts. We went from there to the outlets and Darla bought some things from the Adidas outlet. We stopped after that and got some submarine sandwiches and some chips and a new book for Darla and we were off to the beach for the afternoon. We set up our blanket and towels and an umbrella at the beach and read, ate, slept and relaxed the afternoon away in the 78 degree weather. It was ideal. 78 degrees in Tahoe is like 88 degrees in Roseville as the elevation is so high and the sun's rays more intense. It was a relaxing afternoon.

That night we were back to the Lakeside Inn and Darla had the Tri-tip steak and I enjoyed a cheeseburger. We gambled for awhile and headed back to the room early. I had a noon tee time in the Memorial Day tournament at Diamond Oaks and we had to be up early on Sunday to head home. The "40 Year-Old Virgin" was on HBO and we sat and laughed at that. it is an inappropriate movie with a few good laughs in it. Sort of Like "Borat". You hate to admit you watched it, but in the end, it was entertaining.

We were up early Sunday and on the road by 8:00 AM. I had wanted to eat at the Red Hut Waffle restaurant, which is famous in Tahoe, but there was a line out the door. We settled for Carrow's and a gay waiter sat us in a spot "with a lovely view of the meadow". We were home by 10:15 AM and I netted out the pool and sprayed down the decking before leaving for the course. I struggled and shot a 45+41=86. I was two over on the back nine going into 18 and shot myself in the foot with a triple bogey 7 that included two shots out of the sand. Not my day. I got home and punished myself by washing my car. Darla had found a table and chair set for the backyard that she liked and it was on sale for $99. We went over and picked that up and even had dinner on the new set.

Monday was the type of day that was so busy that the Monday paper was still on the front porch when I opened the door to grab the Tuesday paper this morning. I slept in until about 9:00 AM and then was up and waxing my car and detailing it for about two hours. I then took Darla's SUV to Home Depot and bought some more Sego Palm trees for the backyard. The ferns that we had put in the raised flowerbed were getting scorched by the sun and I moved them into the shade. I replaced those with the Sego palms and now the raised flowerbed is a Palm garden. I still have one pineapple guava plant in the mix and will replace that with another Sego next weekend. The nice thing about the Sego palms is that they only grow 6-8 feet in height and about 5 foot in diameter. So many of the palm trees grow to 50 or 60 feet and can be a bit unwieldy. I also replaced a couple of other plants that hadn't fared so well and planted purple heather in their spot. The back yard is really looking good and we are ready for Daniel's graduation swim party next Sunday. We relaxed on the pool and I spent about an hour scrubbing the tile and grout to clean off the scale that had developed. I also hung some hooks on the fence for the brush and pole and sprayed for weeds in the flowerbeds. I finished a book while floating on the pool and slept a portion of the afternoon away.

Darla decided that we needed another one of the table and chair sets. The set is smaller with a round table, four chairs and an umbrella. We bought that one and now have three table and chair sets on the patio and can handle up to 14 people seated at tables. I walked out last night and told Darla that the backyard looks like a resort. The pool is at 82 degrees and I took a swim at 9:00 PM last night and was joined by a chorus of frogs, two of which jumped into the pool and swam with me. The frogs are full-throated creatures, but no bigger than a half-dollar.

Well agents are calling, the gang is arriving and I am off to the salt mines for another day on a short work week. Daniel graduates from High School on Friday night and begins the next step in his journey come this fall at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

I talked to Jennifer last night and she is enjoying being a Nevada Resident. She now has Nevada Veteran license plates and Nevada driver's license. She continues to look for work and will have an interview this week arranged by a placement firm. It is a company called R2W, Inc. and they are in competition with the firm that John works for. I called her yesterday and wished her a Happy Memorial Day and thanked her and John for their service to my country. I hope you are all well. If so, stay that way. Ciao.

Reno, Golf, Gambling, Proms..yep, just another weekend in the Lyon Household

Yeah, just another weekend. I was in Reno Thursday to Saturday and finally put together two good days of golf. Unfortunately, the guys I was playing with were more interested in drinking and gambling than in the golf. Of the 12 of us, three were golfers and two had handicaps below mine. The majority were 26-36 handicappers that were there because it was Reno. We played Wolf Run on Friday. It is a newer course with some challenging water holes and some 575 yard par fives and 200 yard par threes. I shot 42+40=82 on Friday and the closest golfer to me shot an 88. Wolf Run should be called Marmint Run as the course is literally overrun with marmints, a rodent from the weasel family. They were little fat critters with short legs that left pellets of ...well, pellets all over the golf course. The course was in magnificent shape and we played in 85 degree temperatures.

Friday night we joined Glen Gonfiantini, a local Reno insurance agent and friend of Dan Carroll's at the Santa Fe Club. The Santa Fe is an old style Basque restaurant on Palm Street behind Harrahs. For $24 we ate Beef Stew, Seafood Paella, salad, pasta, bread and butter, french fries, cheese, wine, lamb shanks, New York steak, and Rib-Eye steaks. It was awesome. I actually went with Dan to Glen's bachelor party in Las Vegas in 1992. Glen is an old world Italian from a family that controlled both insurance and banking in Reno back in the sixties. Glen is old money and has a six bedroom $6,000,000 home in Fluer Du Lac on the shores of Lake Tahoe replete with a cigarette boat and three jet skis. Of course, that is just his Summer home. Glen is very non-pretentious and a great guy to hang around with.

Saturday we played Wild Creek, a city owned golf course in Sparks, NV. I knew when we pulled into the parking lot and I saw golfers wearing tank tops, that the round would be completely different from Fridays. The course was a little shop worn and the greens were bumpy and pitted. In spite of the conditions, I actually played better on Saturday and shot 37+40=77, including birdieing the first two holes. I outshot the field by 13 strokes as second best was a 90 and most of the guys were nursing hangovers and lack of sleep.

The weekend was a lot of fun and it was great to spend it with a fun group of guys. We stayed at the Circus Circus in Reno and had about a three hour dinner at the steakhouse on Friday night. Strangely, the cost was $60 a head at the steakhouse and the food at the Santa Fe Basque Restaurant was so much better. The waiters at the steakhouse were in formal suits and ties, while the waitress at the Santa Fe looked like she could have worked at the local truck stop cafe, but ambiance is in the eye of the beholder.

Daniel did have his prom on Saturday night and I arrived home shortly before the gang descended on our home en masse. I jumped into the pool to cool off after the two hour ride home and Dan's Dad and Grandma decided to walk into the backyard uninvited as they were there to take pictures of the prom goers. Steve made some cryptic remark about not wanting to get that picture. I told him to get lost. Daniel enjoyed himself at the prom. His date is a friend from church and they are just friends. They went out to breakfast after the prom and Daniel got pulled over by one of Roseville's finest. The cop said that the light on his back license plate was burned out and made Daniel do a sobriety test on the side of the road. Daniel hadn't been drinking, but the cop wanted to know why Daniel was so nervous. Daniel said, "Because it is the middle of the night and you are suggesting that I've been drinking." Daniel was a little miffed, but I can see the cop's point of view. It must be a hassle on Prom night with all of the 17 and 18 year olds out acting like they are God's gift to humanity. Most of them are drinking and partying to the extreme and causing a headache to the police department.

Our next door neighbor came over Saturday night and let us know that her daughter was having an after prom party at the house. Elizabeth, the Mom was getting a hotel room and letting the kids have the house to themselves. What is with parents? She left us her cell phone number and asked us to call if there were any problems. We just had a hassle with them two weeks ago and let her know that if we were kept awake that she'd be called. Sure enough, about 12:30 the gang showed up with squealing car tires and all went in the back yard with loud voices and hoots and hollers. Darla immediately called Liz and told her to shut the party down or we'd call the cops. Liz didn't answer her phone, but the party was quiet within about half an hour. They all moved inside and shut all the windows. Christian, the 21 year old son, came over on Sunday and apologized for the noise. Apparently there was so much traffic on our street, that the Roseville police set up a sobriety checkpoint around the corner from our house and nailed a few of the partiers.

Sunday was very nice and quiet. We slept through church due again to the interruption in our sleep pattern. I relaxed on the pool in the 86 degree day and spent a very relaxing day sleeping and reading. It was a great way to wind down a busy week.

Darla did get her new wedding ring on Friday and it is very contemporary and classic at the same time. The ring is a total 2 carats of diamonds with a center stone 0f .89 carats and 1.2 carats of diamonds placed in a bezel cut in rows along the side of the marquis cut stone. She is thrilled and I have some leverage for awhile.

Darla and I will be in Tahoe next weekend to relax and recharge our batteries. I will drive back Sunday morning for a golf tournament. I didn't want to miss two golf tournaments in a row and I will miss the June 3rd Net Amateur championship in order to help host a swim party for Daniel's graduation.

Jennifer is hard at work looking for work in Vegas. There is a Job Fair this week and she will go meet some prospective employers in the Vegas area. Some of John's coworkers are also setting Jennifer up with some names of competitors of John's company where she can apply. She is doing great, but says that Vegas is HOT. You think?

Well, once again it is payroll today, so I have to get the masses set up to receive their paychecks on Wednesday. Have a good week

David the Comedian

David was out with his Dad on Friday night and they were looking for a gift for David's Grandma, Steve's Mom. They shopped at Costco and dined on the Italian Sausage and coke for $1.50. As they were walking to the car, Steve asked David what model of truck drove by them. It was a Dodge Canyon, but David didn't know what it was and told his Dad that. Steve said, "Well, for a young guy, you're not very Hip." David's reply was priceless. "Well, I'm hanging out with you on a Friday night. How hip do you think I am?" Steve was not happy with that response, but the family howled when he shared it with us on Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

It has been 7 years without Mom on Mother's Day and it never really gets easier. I miss her laugh and her smile and her encouragement. What a lucky person I am to have had a Mother with such a great personality and such a winning attitude. She is busy in Heaven keeping everyone in stitches, I'm sure. Darla and I hosted the family yesterday and Earl and Frances met us for church and then brunch afterward. Darla made a sausage quiche and then we barbecued an early dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs. It was a really nice day yesterday with temperatures in the 80's and we laid out on the pool in our rafts and had a nice nap after everyone went home.

I will have another fence contractor out this week to fix the gate on the side of the house. The guys I had build the fence were not very good at building gates and the gates both sag in the middle and one of the main supporting 4x4's has warped. That 4x4 needs to be pulled out of the ground and replaced and the gates rebuilt and supported to withstand the weight of the swinging gate. They used two different hinges on either gate, one is a lap style hinge and the other is just a 4"x4" hinge that would be used on a small door. I'll have the contractor use the lap hinge on both sides of the gate and support the gate with a diagonal support to keep the gate from sagging. My neighbor, Dwight, had the same fence guy build him a gate and he tore it out yesterday and had a contractor rebuild it. I saw the workmanship and asked for his number. Hopefully, he can get out here this week and fix the mess that was left. I need to get the jet ski out of storage at Alicia's and moved over to our house.

I played in the final day of the 3 day Individual championship and finally put up a good score with a 40+40=80, net 68. I don't think I won anything, but at least I proved I can play golf. I leave Thursday for a two night, three day golf tournament in Reno with an insurance Agency in Folsom. We will play Wolf Run and Wild Creek, two courses that I have not played over the years. It's good as I have 104 logo golf balls of courses I have played and just ordered a new 70 ball cherry case. I have 194 balls in collector cases now and need to start filling up the new 70 ball case. This will give me a dozen toward that goal. We leave mid day on Thursday and play golf Friday and Saturday and will stay at Circus Circus in Reno. Pete Morrison and I are both going up as it is Pete's agent that is throwing the shindig. There will be a dozen of us going up for the fun and sun.

Jennifer and John stopped by on Thursday and had a farewell lunch with Darla and I at Benihanas. They had packed up the Uhaul, the cats and themselves and were staying at Diane's on Thursday night. They were leaving after 2 AM Friday morning In order to get into Las Vegas by mid afternoon. It turns out they got up and on the road just before 4 AM and were In Las Vegas by 3:30 PM Friday. They got their keys, moved in a few essentials and then John was off to a bachelor party for his Dad, who was getting married to his long time girlfriend on Saturday. Saturday was the wedding and then they finally got moved in on Sunday and John returned the UHaul. He had rented a Uhaul and a car carrier to tow behind it for his truck and the truck broke down about fifteen miles from the rental center. Jennifer and John had to sit for two hours while the Uhaul service truck was dispatched to pick them up. When he finally got there his wrecker was only big enough for the truck and John had to pull the car carrier with his truck back to the UHaul center. They switched the broken down truck for a brand new truck and gave Jennifer and John a discount and some free mileage to make up for their hassle.

Jennifer followed John in her new TC and they had walkie talkies so they could communicate with each other along the trip. They are both excited about a new beginning and John starts his new job today while Jennifer begins her job search. I wish them well and look forward to their union becoming more official in the coming months.

I had sent out the following Mother's Day tribute to some of you, but add it here for those who didn't see it:

I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.' Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY.'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about WEATHER.'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

11. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

12. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

13. My mother taught me about ENVY.'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

14. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.'Just wait until we get home.'

15. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way.'

16. My mother taught me ESP.'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

17. My mother taught me HUMOR.'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

18. My mother taught me GENETICS.'You're just like your father.'

19. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

20. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.'

Take care . Have a great week and keep God in your life daily. Ciao.

This weekend just blew me away!

Literally. Sustained winds of 20-30 MPH and wind gusts of 40-50MPH. Just a great weekend for golf. I played both days and struggled to a 45+42=87 on Saturday. Unfortunately, that was my good round over the weekend. Sunday I teed off at 11:30 and shot 50+44=94 in winds that were extreme. I also had my allergies in full arrest and runny eyes, nose, mouth. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. We had eight players walk off the course because of either illness or just confoundedness. I hung in there and even won $15 in skins on Saturday and $18 in skin money on Sunday. At one point Sunday, I had five straight 6's on my card with five three putts. It was one of those days where the ball was rimming the cup and horseshoeing out of the hole. After awhile I felt like the Dallas Mavericks against the Warriors and just sort of gave up. My Net scores of 75 and 82 were more like Gross scores. Gross is right. We have one more day of golf in this tournament and I will hang in there and see if I can pull off a closest to the pin or a day low score or something. I have shot myself out of the tournament, however. It's been awhile since I've gone through a down spell in golf, so I guess I was due.

On a brighter note, I hosted poker on Friday night and made $162. I won the three largest pots of the night, one of them over $100 and cruised to the total winnings. Most of my guests lost money, but hey, I provided sandwiches!

It was actually warm over the weekend with temperatures in the 80's on Saturday and 90's yesterday. Today is supposed to be breezy and 94 degrees, but so far it is calm and I can feel the heat growing outside. We didn't get in the pool this weekend because of the wind and the fact that the wind cooled the pool temperature. Hopefully next weekend we will see warm temperatures and calm winds and be able to swim. I think we will invite the family over for Mother's day.

Jennifer and John leave Friday for Las Vegas. They will drive up to Sacramento Thursday morning and have lunch with Darla and I at Benihanas. They will be up about 2 AM for the trip to Las Vegas. John is driving a U-Haul and pulling his truck behind. Jennifer will drive her TC. I had invited them to dinner on Thursday, but they have to be up so early on Friday and wanted to get to bed early that night. I'll miss her, but she is just a short flight away and she and John are really happy.

Darla and I need to have a conversation with our neighbor, Elizabeth this week. Her son, Christian, turned 21 this week and had a huge party on Saturday night that kept us awake until 3:30 AM. The kids were in the backyard screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs. We tried to call the house and ask them to take the party inside, but they didn't answer the phone and finally Darla called the Roseville Police and asked them to make a house call and close down the party. We missed church and slept in Sunday morning as we were exhausted. (I found out later that the children's choir was performing and the kids were all in the auditorium again, so it was a blessing that I didn't go). Our neighbor's have always been great and this is a first. We want to make sure that it is the last as well. The police asked if we wanted to make a formal complaint and we said no. If it happens again, we will make a complaint. I found cigarette butts and cups in my backyard Sunday and tossed them all back over the fence into their yard.

I was going to rent a U-Haul myself this weekend and haul the junk I'd piled behind the shed off to the dump. The cost of the rental was $19.95 plus $.69 a mile and any insurance and gas. I figured it would cost me about $60 to rent the pick-up and then $16 at the dump for $76. I ended up calling a hauling service and they hauled it all away for $100 and loaded it all up and swept the driveway clean. That was the way to go. Thank you 1-800-Got Trash?

We are without our Explorer as Darla had a little fender bender last week that caused a problem with our front bumper. Traffic started up from a light and someone stalled. The car in front of Darla plowed into the stopped car and Darla hit him. She is driving a little Kia Rio now as a rental and it is a hilarious little car. She should have her SUV back this week.

Daniel has started his job at the sandwich shop and has been working two weeks. He got a call from his Engineering teacher and he had an internship available for Daniel with an Engineering firm. Daniel had mixed feelings as he was working for a friend, but the engineering apprenticeship would be great. He ended up interviewing for the position and they wanted someone who was local so they could stay on past the Summer. Dan was bummed, but he is, after all, a sandwich engineer now.

On that note, I have to get payroll in, so I will bid you adieu until next time. Ciao.