Thanks Be To God!

The title comes from a small display that one of the neighbors put in their yard and decorated with pumpkins and autumn colors. I thought it was unique for Thanksgiving. Luckily it didn't have lights or a twirling turkey. The holiday displays get tackier every year.

The boys have come and gone like a 400 lb whirlwind. Wash was done, food was eaten, conversations were had and gallons of milk were consumed. We forgot how quickly a gallon of milk disappears with them in the house. The bottom picture above was taken on Thanksgiving as we were hosted by Alicia's boyfriend, Don, at his home in Folsom. He fixed turkey and all the trimmings and I watched the Cowboys win again. It is a Thanksgiving tradition.

We had the boys over Wednesday night and Darla fixed a turkey. The boys spent Thanksgiving with their dad and had Pot Roast because he doesn't like turkey. We saved our leftovers and hosted the gang on Friday for game day. Everyone arrived about noon and we played Sequence, Rook, 10,000 (a dice game) and the ladies poured over a puzzle. Football was on in the background, but held little interest as it was college ball and none of the BCS top teams were playing. Friday morning I raked leaves and sprayed down the driveway and walks, careful to keep an eye out for my militant senior neighbor who feels it is his place to control the use of water by private citizens in Roseville. I was thinking about that old coot the other day and realized that his clothes and he himself looked a little ratty. Perhaps he has given up bathing and washing his clothes. He's either a good little Democrat or it is the onset of dementia. I then went over to Diamond Oaks and hit a bucket of balls and worked on my putting stroke for an hour.

The practice paid off on Saturday as we played Cherry Island Golf Course a tougher track that seems to invite the hordes of once a year golfers after Thanksgiving. It was foggy in Elverta, yet full sun in Roseville, and we endured a twenty minute delay as the first groups were late getting off due to visibility. We warmed up and watched several of the groups in front of us barely get off the tee and one guy who whiffed three times before he finally hit a worm burner straight right into the driving range fence. There was much muttering among the gathered golfers. To what possible enjoyment is playing a game that you cannot properly play on a course that is clearly over any semblance of ability that you have? There is a county owned pitch and putt course not 1/2 mile down the street that was ripe for these guys' business. I digress. We finally teed off at 9:30 for our 9:08 AM tee time. I managed a birdie on the first hole, but little did I know that we were in for a six hour round of golf. I kept my game and my temper in check on the way to three birdies and a smooth 35 on the front side. The back side finally got to me as we had backups on nearly every hole and I ballooned to a 42 on the back and a 77 for the round, my best score at Cherry Island. It took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to play the front nine and 3 hours and fifteen minutes to play the back. I was remembering my 3 hour and fifteen minute round of 74 in Modesto a month ago with some outright nostalgia. It was brutal and I was thrilled to shoot such a low score under the conditions. The fog lifted and it was sunny and nice from the second hole on, but the human refuse continued to cover the course all afternoon. I like the guys, but hadn't planned to spend the entire period of daylight with them. Boyd shot 75, Darren had a 92 and Bob shot a 102. The top picture is of Bob and his wife, Debbie. We went out to dinner Saturday night and enjoyed getting caught up on their lives.

Jennifer spent Thanksgiving away from Samantha and missed her a lot. She went out to dinner at a friend's house and worked on Saturday. Her shift at the Encore (Steve Wynn's new casino next to the Wynn) ended on Saturday and she'll be back at the City Center project on Monday. Jennifer told me Saturday night that she is trying to arrange to fly to Sacramento for Christmas. Darla and I are thrilled and hope that it happens as we will miss Samantha's first birthday on December 21st. Jennifer's Mom, Diane, will be there. I hope that Jenn and Sam do make it home as I'd like to see Jennifer and spend some time with Samantha.

Darla and I almost overslept this morning, but managed to get up and go to church this morning and it was a great finale to Rick's sermon series on money traps. Today's theme was all about living for today and not storing away for the morrow. He read the Genesis story of the 7 year famine and how God tries to teach us to prepare for the next famine (disaster), but that too many of us are focused on our needs and wants today and don't plan for tomorrow. It is a theme that is close to my heart as I look forward to retirement while trying to help two boys through college now. I don't want to have to work to 67 because I didn't plan well enough. I am working on an emergency fund that would get Darla and I through at least six months if one of us were hurt or laid off. The discussion and sermon are very timely.

Rick also brought us current on the troubles in India. We support a pastor, Ajai Lal, and his wife who plant home based Christian churches in India. You are all aware of the well publicized problems in Mumbai and the takeover of the luxury hotels Taj Mahal and Oberoi, but it is just a small sample of what is happening in India. Teams of terrorists are attacking Christians and bounties are put on the heads of any Christian (50,000 rupies) and Christian pastors (100,000 rupies) and for burning a Christian's home (25,000 rupies) or burning a Christian Church (100,000 rupies). This all started in August and scores of Christians have been forced out of their villages and into the jungle where they are in hiding. ALL Christian churches which had recently come out of hiding have gone back underground. Our church took a collection this morning that will go to the Christian Outreach organizations that are finding these displaced people and offering them food and shelter. It is a sad time in India right now.

I just got an e-mail from NCGA on the handicaps for December and I've dropped to an 8.3. I think I'm officially a golfer.

Well, that's all for now. I have my final board meeting Tuesday night for the Roseville Golf Club and Saturday is our Christmas party. Friday the board plays golf and then Sunday is our final golf tournament of the year. Stay well and pray for India. Ciao.

The Pause before Thanksgiving

A nice weekend is in the books and a short week awaits as we approach Thanksgiving. I have much to give thanks for this year as so many are suffering, being out of work, having homes foreclosed on, fires in Southern California, a slumping financial system in this country. My personal circumstances are nothing to complain about. I'm lucky to have a good family, a fantastic granddaughter, a good job, my health and a solid and secure roof over my head. I give thanks for Samantha's Daddy, John, who has kept us in pictures of Samantha while Jennifer struggles through some personal issues in her life. John is such a good Dad and I direct you to the link for Samantha's blog that shows pictures of a recent Turkey Trot run that John took Samantha on as well as an update on how Samantha is doing. There are some cute pictures on the site of Sam with her new "kicks". She was first place for babies and is now giving kisses. She continues to learn to walk as she totters about between places before landing back on her bum. I really miss her and feel for the pain that she will feel because of the split of her parents. Jennifer is living with a girlfriend and working overtime right now and trying to figure out what direction she wants to take in her life. I just hope and pray that she puts Samantha first in ALL of her decisions because it is about Samantha now and not Jennifer.

I played poker here at the house Friday night and took my guests for about $100 and didn't feel at all bad as they were trying just as hard to part me from my money. The cards were coming my way Friday night. Saturday was golf and I really felt the week off the weekend before as I struggled to a 42+44=86. Boyd had wanted to play in a Turkey Shoot at Woodcreek, but it is a two man scramble and I wanted to play my own ball and post a score. As it turns out, I'd likely have been happier with the scramble.

Darla's friend and maid of honor, Joni, is living in Roseville now and just dropped off an apple pie. She was in Apple Hill, the orchard area up above Placerville and thought of us as she was baking pies for the holiday. Her Dad is coming in to town from Reno and Joni is fixing the Thanksgiving dinner, but her dad is deathly allergic to her cats and she is bringing the dinner over to the Residence Inn in Roseville and they will have dinner there.

It was great to get back to church today. pastor Rick is in the middle of a sermon series, Money Traps, that examines the issue of money and Christians and how we all fall into the traps of More, more, More and the Debt and unhappiness that follows. We are built with a hole in our hearts and the only thing that can fill that void is a relationship with Jesus. So many try to fill it with possessions that end up possessing them. It was convicting and enlightening.

I took the opportunity on Friday morning while the market was tanking yet again to clean up my portfolio and sell some of the dogs that have been fouling the nest. I bought Fortune Brands, a large conglomerate made up of three basic divisions: home and hardware consisting of brands like Moen faucets, Master Lock and Simonton Windows; Premium spirits like Jim Beam, Courvoisier, Sauza, and Canadian Club; and my favorite Golf with brands like Titleist, FootJoy, Scotty Cameron, Pinnacle and Cobra. The stock has been up around $80 and really overvalued, but I bought in Friday at $31 a share. I also added to my Masco position and bought Pepsi Bottling Group. My portfolio is much stronger today than it was last Thursday. A bonus is that the market turned around Friday afternoon and my positions increased, so me well over $1.00 from when I bought them early in the morning.

Darla and I will spend Thanksgiving with Alicia and her boyfriend, Don, at his house in Folsom. We will then host everyone at our house Friday with the boys home from Cal Poly. I have golf plans on Saturday. Next week is my final board meeting as President of the Roseville Golf Club and we will have pizza Tuesday night as we welcome the new board in. Saturday December 6th is the Christmas party where I will officially turn the gavel over to my VP, Rick. We will play golf with the board on Friday the 5th and the final tournament of the year is on that Sunday. Some busy times ahead.

Well, dinner awaits and there is another football game on. The Cowboys handled the 49ers today and saved me the indignity of listening to the boys crow about their crippled and inept 49ers. Take care and in the words of Pastor Rick, "own your possessions, don't let them own you." Ciao.

Girly, Girly, Who's 70? SHIRLEY!!

Pretty lame heading, but did you know there isn't a word in the English language that rhymes with 70? Count the day lost you don't learn something new (Henry David Thoreau). We had a wonderful, although truncated visit to the land of my birth to help celebrate Shirley's 70th birthday. In her defense, her birthday isn't until December, but Dad and Shirley leave Thursday for a three week overseas cruise and won't be back until mid-December. Dad decided to do the deed now and not make it a surprise as he had all of his kids flying in from all over the United States and didn't want to hide us until Saturday night. As it was, the event was very nice and I'm sure a great memory for Shirley. Dad tried hard to mess things up with a speech about how "well developed" Shirley was and how librarians are normally marmish, but he pulled it off the way he always does, flawlessly. Shirley had several friends and relatives come up and share stories about Shirley from her past and it was great. We got to spend some quality family time with a great dinner that Al and Sherry hosted on Friday night, a nice brunch that Shirley hosted on Saturday and a trip to the White Spot for hamburgers Saturday afternoon. Sherry and Al opened their home to all of the Lyon boys and their wives and it was great to hang out with my brothers. If nothing else, it keeps me humble. I haven't been called "idiot" and "penis" and "damn fool" since the last time I got together with my brothers.

At one point we were talking at the brunch table and my brothers started in on me wearing a dress as a kid and I played along, saying it was only that once. We all had a good laugh until Darla asked me on the plane about when I wore a dress as a kid and why. Darn it, I was told it was a Communion garment and that's my story.

I have now been to Dad and Shirley's country club, Hazelmere twice and have yet to even see a tee box or putting green. I suspected this weekend would be golf-free and snuck out Thursday night to a little 9 hole course in Elk Grove. I met my personal lines underwriter there and we traveled up to Modesto from there. We returned about 4 PM and I was going to hit a bucket of balls and it was $7 for a bucket or $9 to play the course on a twilight rate. I not only played, but finished all nine (albeit the 9th hole in virtual dusk) and shot a 37. The pro asked if I'd played there before and I told him no and he ran out to the tee box and gave me a card for a free 9 holes during the week at his course. I'll take him up on it and see what score I shoot for 18 holes. The course is a par 33.

Darla and I flew into Seattle on Friday morning and Randy and Cake showed up late (their plane was delayed) and we ended up waiting 90 minutes for them to get in. We then drove a Toyota Sienna van from Sea Tac up to Surrey, BC. The amazing thing is when we stopped to fill up the van it only took $27 in gas after the trip to Canada and back.

I talked to Jennifer tonight and she has been pulled off the job at The City Center casino project and is working 7 12-hour days on the Wynne casino expansion. It is supposed to be ready by the middle of December and is running behind. She worked both weekend days and made $600 a day with double time. With the split from John she wants to pack some money away in the bank and pay off some bills. John scored because he got to spend an extra weekend with Samantha.

Well, Darla is waiting on the couch for some TV time together, so I'll call it quits for this week. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. The Cowboys won tonight on Sunday Night Football, so all is right in the world. Ciao.

Better Late than Never

I have been slammed since I got home from Detroit. I am usually pretty consistent (Darla would say OCD) at keeping up my blog, but it got away from me this week. My trip to Detroit was a good one. The company is having a rough year and we are doing better than a lot of offices, but the mood was pretty good among the managers and the future is bright. My office continues to improve, although we are down a bit over last year. The managers that actually lost money this year were the ones looking a bit shopworn by the end of the weekend. We have some exciting new products and innovations that will be rolling out this year. Our company partners are thrilled with our production and our outlook and were happy to be there celebrating with us. The theme this year was a campaign theme, "Campaign for Excellence" and it went over well with the managers. This was my fifth year attending the annual meeting and I'm feeling very comfortable with my place within the hierarchy of the company. We've had a fair amount of turnover in Branch managers and I am probably in the middle in terms of seniority with the company. I received my five year platinum pin this year and it was a nice little token of my time with the company.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton again and the accommodations and food were first cabin. I left for Detroit at 6 AM which helps me transition to the time change as I'm up at 4 AM to make my flight, which is 7 AM Detroit time. I woke up that morning and it dawned on me that we have a President with the middle name Hussein. Who'd have thunk just seven short years past 9-11? I really enjoy Obama's speeches, but they always seem a bit full of air. I hope that he can help rally the country. Our economy is probably the worst it has been since the Great Depression. There is a Democratic majority in Congress, the Senate and in the White House and the one thing we can likely count on is higher taxes and more social services and government intervention in business, medicine, and all other areas of our lives. Four years from now, the Democrats will be run out of Washington and the Republicans will be viewed as the saviors. Some things never change. The one true indicator is that the stock market is not a fan of Barrack Hussein Obama as it has tanked. The averages are down 15% since he was elected in a landslide...well, he had 52% of the vote for President, which with the goofy electoral college somehow corresponds to a mandate. I think the stock market has pretty well given Obama it's mandate as well. Big Business and Wall Street cast a wary eye on Washington.

I got back from Detroit on Saturday night after flying through Denver on my way back to Sacramento. I had time to eat a chicken Philly wrap at the Great Steak Escape in the terminal before boarding my plane and heading home.

It is a small world and that was evident again when I had dinner on Friday night at the awards banquet with our Underwriting Manager in Dallas, Sheila. She mentioned that her daughter was off to college and I enquired where she was attending (to be polite). It turns out that her daughter, Courtney, is a scholarship soccer player at Southeast Oklahoma State University. My nephew and Godson, Chris, is a scholarship football player at Southeast OSU. Better than that, the kids just hung out together on Thursday night at the campus. Courtney lives in Arlington, about ten minutes from Randy's house in Eulis. Small world.

I did manage to get out on the golf course Sunday. We teed off at 11 AM and I played with Bob and Mel at Woodcreek. I shot 40+41=81, Mel shot 82 and Bob shot 76. It was a perfect day on the links. My new Fusion driver is a keeper and I have my Taylor Made R7 on EBay as we speak. I had a new Winn grip installed after I played on Sunday and the pro installed it as I had a beer after the round.

I will miss playing this weekend as I'll be in Surrey visiting Shirley on her birthday celebration. Darla and I will meet Randy and Cake in Seattle and drive across the border with them that afternoon. There is a White Spot hamburger with my name on it waiting in Canada. Darryl and Cheryl arrived yesterday.

Our dog, Buddy, isn't doing well. he is about 14 years old and on his last legs. he toddles around like an old man and his legs can barely support him. He's begun messing in the house and Darla is beside herself. It is likely that we'll have to put him down after the boys come home this Thanksgiving. He really isn't doing well. It's sad.

I had my interview yesterday for the board position with the Sacramento Independent Agents and Brokers and passed with flying colors. I will work with the President and Vice President who both ran the golf tournament over the last two years. The installation luncheon is on December 9th and I will reserve a table for my underwriters and their assistants.

Well, the blog will be late again as we will be in Canada this coming weekend. Jennifer is doing well and Samantha is standing up ad taking four or five steps before plopping back down. Jen said that she said "Kitty" the other night, so she is doing well. John and Jennifer are on speaking terms, but the speech is a bit stilted at the moment. It will get better as time goes on. They are both excellent parents and have Sam's best interests in mind. Take care all. Ciao.

Off to Detroit...Again

I will be on a jet plane come Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM and the country will have a new President to be sworn in once again on Darryl's birthday in 2009. I fly to Phoenix, eat breakfast and change planes to Detroit. On the way back they have changed my flight to United and I will fly to Denver, change planes and arrive back in Sacramento Saturday night at about 8:45 PM. This will be my first year at the Branch manager's meeting as a full Branch manager. The office is doing well in a down market,. Our numbers are off on the bottom line about $100,000, but we actually have about 8% more policies this year than last and my staff has shrunk by three people. How we stay ahead of it is any one's guess. Certainly, the advent of Image right and the paperless system has made us much more efficient, but we still have to set up the policies and type them and I've been making due with one less typist. Service has slipped in terms of the length of time it takes to produce a policy and I finally have a new typist. Bonnie has worked for the Modesto office since I hired her, but she has transferred to my staff and will begin typing policies in the next week.

Darla and I got the new lights put in this weekend and I have to admit they look great. The old ones were polished brass and looked dated. the new ones are antique brass with a silver highlight and just look new and modern. It was a bit of a chore to put the hall light in, but once I figured out how to install that one, the chandelier was a snap. I kept getting the chain too long on the hallway light and it was hanging down into the armoire. I finally cut it back to just two links and it sits just right/ The chandelier is a bit higher than our other one, but that one was always in the way when we were talking at the table and I wanted to install this one higher. The lamps are brighter, so the effect is the same.

I played golf with Bob, Boyd and Darren on Thursday at Lincoln Hills and put my new Callaway FT-3 Fusion driver in play for the first time. My drives were consistently long and in the fairway and I shot (what else?) 44+39=83. I began to get a good feel for the driver on the back nine and hoped to carry that over to the tournament today. Well, finally, it all came together for me. I started with a birdie on number one and shot 37 on the front side. Mind you, I was playing golf with the current two time defending club champion and Boyd, a past two time club champion. I beat them on the front as Boyd had 39 and Jay had 40. I started to stutter on the backside with a bogey-par-bogey-bogey start, but found my gear and put up a string of pars followed by a birdie on 17 before bogeying the number one handicap 18th hole for a 39 on the back and a 76 for the round. Boyd shot 38 on the back and Jay had a a 38 and I beat them both gross. I didn't hang around to see where I finished. I may have had field low gross, but I'm sure I took low gross in my flight. I would have won the trophy for the Past Presidents, but I am not considered a past President until next year. My only regret was that I didn't sign up for skins today as I got there late and didn't have time to stop and get some cash. Both of my birdies were on stroke holes and were net eagles. My handicap dropped back to a 9.7 as of November 1st, but this tournament was played with October handicaps as they changed on Saturday.

I was surprised that we even got a chance to play golf today as we have had a storm that rolled in Thursday night hit our area and we have had over two inches of rain since then. We had almost an inch and a quarter just yesterday. Diamond Oaks generally floods, but the creeks were mostly empty prior to the storm and the course soaked up the water pretty good. The bunkers were wet and had puddles in them and some of the fairways had small puddles in areas, but overall the course was in great shape and the greens were soft. I was pin hunting all day and it served me well.

Samantha ended up with a touch of bronchitis this week and had to stay home from day care on Thursday. Jennifer kept her home on Friday and didn't get to spend Halloween with john, so no new pictures of Sam the Monkey, but I'm sure we'll get more.

The trip to Vancouver for Shirley's birthday celebration will be here before we know it. One of Shirley's grandsons plays competitive hockey and has a big tournament that weekend and will be gone out of the Province. Her son, Cameron, will also be on that trip and won't be able to be there. It would be nice if her daughter-in-law was able to take him, but I think Cam is living vicariously through his son's accomplishments.

Here is a photo of Dad and Shirley as they dressed up for Halloween for a party they attended. Dad wanted to let Jennifer know that he's still hip or hadn't broken a hip or something. Wild and Crazy stuff. I'll blog more next week. Stay well and Be Happy. Ciao.