HOT Spring Weekend

A HOT weekend is over and done with and the cooler weather has arrived along with the new work week. After two days of 87 degrees Saturday and 92 degrees yesterday, a cold front has pushed on shore and with it some coastal winds to cool us down. Today should top out at 72 degrees, a full 20 degrees lower than yesterday. In fact the cooler weather is expected to stick around this week with temperatures near 70 degrees all week. A weak weather system is due in at the end of the week and a slight chance of showers for next weekend. At least that is what the weather prognosticators say at this point.

I spent part of this weekend re staining the deck and resealing the flagstone around the pool. Last year I stained the deck with a sandstone product and it turned out pretty beige. This year I used another sandstone colored product from a different company and as you can see the result is rust colored. The rust effect is actually preferable as there is alot of rust in the flagstone behind the pool and this color really accentuates that. I have to do some touch up on the deck today with another quart of the sandstone as the color is a little splotchy in spots. The stain is applied with a tank sprayer and is mixed with three parts water and the mix has to be constantly shaken in order to keep it mixed properly. I relaxed in the sun yesterday and have a bit of a sunburn to show for it.

I did make it to Solvang on Thursday and Friday with Pete and Anthony from the office. It was a six and a half hour event as we drove from Roseville to Solvang, stopping in Paso Robles for some lunch and arriving in Solvang about 3 PM. We stayed in a very nice hotel on Copenhagen Drive called the Wine Valley Inn. They have cottages in the courtyard that are rented as well as suite rooms and a fireplace suite that I stayed in. The picture above is of the courtyard and cottages which are covered in trees and foliage. Very nice. I took the picture with my camera phone. We met one of the companies at 4 PM on Thursday at their office and were then off to dinner at the Firestone-Walker Brewery in Buellton. The Firestone name is the former owner of the Firestone vineyard and the father of the Bachelor from television fame a few years ago. The brewery is excellent and I enjoyed a sampler of six different beers and all were very good. One of our underwriters bought each of us an 18 ounce beer stein with the Firestone-Walker name etched into the glass stein. Our trip was well worth the time, energy and money spent on the trip as we solidified our relationship with both markets that we met. Friday morning we met with the other company at 8:30 AM and then walked back up to a really nice breakfast restaurant, the Red Viking and had aebelskivers for a snack and then breakfast. Aebelskivers are Danish pancakes served with fruit jam and powdered sugar, sort of like a beignet in New Orleans. Delicious. I ended up buying Darla an aebelskiver kit with mix, an aebelskiver pan and the jam. The joy of making the little donuts was lost on Darla as it is time consuming and a bit awkward to make them. We were on the road by 10:30 and back to town by 4 PM. We made much better time on the return trip as we didn't stop for lunch.

We went out to the local Indian casino in Solvang and there were a passel of unhappy folks, all dressed up and standing in line for refunds as Julio Iglesias was sick and not able to perform at his scheduled concert. I found my poker machines, but the crowd around the nickle machines was three deep , so I played the quarter machines. Both Pete and Anthony quickly lost $100 and Pete came and found me just as I hit four twos for a $68 win. I followed that about five minutes later with four sixes for $34 and cashed out for a total of $118 on my $40 bet. I wasn't really popular with Anthony and Pete. Anthony kept saying how lucky I was before we even got to the casino and then I won $75. C'est la Vie.

I did play golf this weekend (of course). We had our masters tournament and I was on fire on the front nine. I started with a birdie on the first hole and then put up six pars in a row to go one under after seven holes. The wheels shook loose after that and I finished double bogey-bogey for a 38 on the front. I did manage to birdie number ten to go back to one over after ten holes, but fell down the stairs after that to a tune of 9 over for the last eight holes and a 38+44=82. It was a "could have been great" day that just wasn't to be. Bob also shot 82, finishing with an 8 on the last hole after hitting his second shot up against the fence and whiffing when he tried to hit it left handed. Boyd shot a stellar, 39+35=74, for a net 68. I left early to get to the staining project in my backyard, but I'm pretty sure I have some skin money coming to me. My 9.7 index gives me ten shots on the course, so I simply managed to shoot net par and likely out of the money on the tournament.

I did get to talk to both Jennifer and Dad last night. Jennifer put Samantha on the Skype and we watched her laughing and playing with Mom. John brought in a mirror to show us how Samantha is enthralled with herself. As soon as he put her up against the mirror, she was laughing and pointing at herself. She is holding her head up now and has a molar starting to come in on the right side. Jennifer has Samantha on a bottle now during the day and is preparing to go back to work. She has had several interviews and is trying to get back into the electrical wiring industry. She wants to join the local union and get a union job. John has been qualified for a house and they have three offers in on short sales right now. The one that they hope goes through is an 1800 square foot house with new cabinets, bathrooms and windows. The house is about 18 years old and has a pool and spa. The flooring needs to be replaced and some stucco needs to be repaired around the new windows, but it is wired in every room with an intercom system and has been renovated extensively. Jennifer said it has the feel of a new house with all of the changes the owners did before being foreclosed on. Their offer is well less than $200,000 and the home was on the market for $239,000. I'm excited for them.

I also talked to Dad and Shirley about 9:15 last night after watching Samantha on the Skype and visiting with Jennifer. Dad and Shirley shared some bad news about friends of theirs from Surrey, who they saw in Maui and had drinks with while they were there. The husband has been tending to his wife who has some health issues and he came down with some stomach pain while they were in Maui. He finally flew home and went into the hospital in BC and died the day that Dad and Shirley got home from Maui. It was a shock.

Life is short and Earl and Frances (Darla's folks) are off to a two month trip across the United States. They will visit Hoover dam, Lake Havisu, New Mexico, Branson (MO), Nashville, Washington (DC), St Louis, Niagara Falls, the Carolinas, Kentucky and parts in between over their vacation. Frances' Dad is 89 and didn't want them to go so far away, but life is short and they want to get this trip in while they are young enough to enjoy it. They came by last night and we barbecued chicken kabobs and had a nice visit.

Well, work awaits after two days out. I will be in Fresno next Sunday to Wednesday so the blog will be late. I hope you are well and right with God. Ciao.