Yes. Believe it or not, we leave for a week up in Lake Almanor next week. The fires right now are threatening the trip as Highway 70, the Feather River Highway, is closed due to remnants of the fire having caused a weakening of the hills next to the roadway and the potential for rockslides. Cal Trans is working on the problem and hope to have it fixed soon. We will take the jet ski with us, but I told the boys that I will pay for the first tank of gas (about $175 for the tank and two five gallon containers of gas) and they are on their own after that. David has more money than the local government and Daniel seems terminally incapable of finding a job.
Darla's grandpa, Andy, is doing amazingly well after his accident. He is out of his medically induced coma, has been on his feet and is out of the woods medically speaking. He still hasn't seen his wife, Liz, as she is in a care facility after the accident. Darla has been to Modesto several times to see both Andy and Liz and they are both doing miraculously well. He wants to go home, but I'm not sure either of them will ever be able to return to their little home at the retirement facility. It is more than likely that they will require a convalescent facility with 24 hour care.
The other picture is of the back yard. The cement stain that I put down several months ago was beginning to wear out in spots as I didn't seal it. I sealed the stain last year with a solvent based sealer and it turned out terrible. I talked to the rep at the Spec West facility (they specialize in concrete applications and products) and he said that I should try a water based sealer, but that he only had 5 gallon pails in the store at $106. I went to Home Depot and got three gallons of the Behr "wet look" water based cement sealer and it worked like a charm. It gives the stain a "wet" look and seals it from water and the elements. It even has a UV blocker and is supposed to last for two years. I own stock in the parent of Behr, MASCO products. They also have Delta faucets, Kraftmaid cabinets, Millgard windows, Liberty Hardware, Arrow Fasteners, American Shower and Bath, and Cobra Products, among many others. Buying Masco was like diversifying into the entire Home Improvement products industry.
You can also see the ground cover around the pool that has grown unbelievable this Spring and Summer. The ground cover has grown as high as two feet in some areas and I have to be constantly pruning it. It has little red flowers on it and the bees come from miles around to taste the nectar. You can also see a little white planter full of the red plants that used to grow in front of the pool. Those plants died off in the winter, but we still get hundreds of little volunteers sprouting up in the ground cover and I decided to plant some of them to see if they would grow and amazingly, they did.
Darla and I were up early this morning for church, but the boys played the part of heathens and slept in until noon. I have trouble praising that sort of laziness and just shake my head when they finally stumble out of bed and look to their Mom for food. The sermon this morning was about Faith and Hope, the crux being that without a faith in God there is no Hope. Christians are often criticized, but materialists who live just for today are dead inside. There is no hope for the future, because there is no future. Sad isn't it?
I played golf yesterday at Cherry Island and shot 42+41=83, a frustrating round that could have been much worse save for about four putts that I made of over 20 feet. I have several golf excursions planned for this year including Monterey in August, the Serrano Country Club three day invitational in September, the NCGA second round qualifier that I play in August 21, a President's NCGA meeting and golf outing at Catta Vadera CC August 18th, and then the coup de grace, a three day outing to Bandon Dunes on the coast in Bandon, Oregon the first week in October. The three Bandon courses are all rated in the top fifty course in the United States. My golf tour of the United States continues. Next year: Myrtle Beach?
We had so much fun in Mexico this year. I really hope we can get Darryl and Cheryl, Randy and Cake, and Dad and Shirley to join us next Fall. The Nicklaus redesign will be done and we can play golf and relax in paradise. We talked about doing it this year, but couldn't get a commitment. What is it we all work for, but vacation and relaxing. I know that Darla and I will be back and hope you can all work it out in your schedules as well.
Little Samantha continues to grow and prosper. She is now crawling and watching her on the Skype is more of a challenge as she toddles to and fro in and out of the camera range. She is adorable. Jen put her in a baby "jump up" that hangs from the door jamb and Samantha was kicking and jumping like a jumping bean. There is a reason that babies are born to younger women as we watched Jennifer chase her down and bring her back to the camera. Jennifer and John will close on their house this week and hopefully be moving in next weekend. Darla and I will be there in August to see them and celebrate Jennifer's birthday. We are looking at being there perhaps the 14th - 18th, so if Dad and Shirley want to plan a Vegas outing near then, we will be in town.
Well, again, we will be in Almanor next week, but I will try to get to the blog sometime during that week. Be happy and content in your lives. Ciao.
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