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.