You can tell we had a good time based on the bottles of vino on the table. Lilly fixed some margaritas on the rocks that had me a little woozy before we finally tied into the tri tip and dinner. They got here about 5:15 PM after the commute from Los Angeles. Dad came in looking like someone who just got caught wrecking his father's new car. He was perspiring so heavily. We had 98 degrees that day and the '46 doesn't have air conditioning. They quickly changed and were in the pool with rye and ginger ale in hand. The gazebo worked out perfectly as the sun was low enough that we were all in the shade when we ate dinner. The pool water is now at 87 degrees (at least the top foot of water is) and we all sat in the pool and ate hors d'oeuvres of shrimp and tortilla chips with salsa and some roll ups that Lilly brought. It was far too short of a visit, but a good one as we were able to visit for a good five hours before saying goodnight to everyone. Neil told me yesterday what a great time he had and what a great family we have. I have to agree.
I did finally get my Bowen therapist to call me. She apparently works in Roseville at a clinic Monday mornings and didn't have a call back number for me. I finally got in to see her at 2:30 and felt some relief for the first time. I really knocked it out of whack this time because generally within two days after treatment I am back to normal, but this time it is still stiff and sore almost a week later. I had a golf tournament yesterday and shouldn't have played. It was an 8:00 AM shotgun and I got out there after seven and hit a bucket and a half of balls. I felt no pain, in fact the hardest thing was bending over to put the ball on the tee because of residual stiffness in my lower back. I played, but my golf game was nothing like normal. I couldn't hit full shots and was constantly clubbing up to offset the weaker swing. I shot 45+43=88, but actually DQ'd on the final hole when we couldn't find my drive. I was done as far as hitting balls and just took a double on the hole for score purposes (posting of the round). My net 75 wasn't going to win anything anyhow. Boyd shot 74 and won the low net with a 67 in his flight. I played with Boyd and Neil and a guy named Andy from the club. It's hard not to play when you have looked forward to it all week and you feel okay.
I did finally get my Bowen therapist to call me. She apparently works in Roseville at a clinic Monday mornings and didn't have a call back number for me. I finally got in to see her at 2:30 and felt some relief for the first time. I really knocked it out of whack this time because generally within two days after treatment I am back to normal, but this time it is still stiff and sore almost a week later. I had a golf tournament yesterday and shouldn't have played. It was an 8:00 AM shotgun and I got out there after seven and hit a bucket and a half of balls. I felt no pain, in fact the hardest thing was bending over to put the ball on the tee because of residual stiffness in my lower back. I played, but my golf game was nothing like normal. I couldn't hit full shots and was constantly clubbing up to offset the weaker swing. I shot 45+43=88, but actually DQ'd on the final hole when we couldn't find my drive. I was done as far as hitting balls and just took a double on the hole for score purposes (posting of the round). My net 75 wasn't going to win anything anyhow. Boyd shot 74 and won the low net with a 67 in his flight. I played with Boyd and Neil and a guy named Andy from the club. It's hard not to play when you have looked forward to it all week and you feel okay.
The other shoe dropped this morning when I woke up hunched over and in pain. Darla went to church without me because I couldn't straighten up without pain. My back has slowly stretched out over the course of the day, but if I'm still struggling tomorrow, I'll make another appointment to see Jane. This is getting old.
David came over this afternoon and swam in the pool. Darla was reading her book and I sat and rested on one of the reclining water lounges. Darla mentioned that her lounge was leaking air and all of a sudden it exploded and shot air and water all over the place. She was laughing as she almost fell off the raft, when a second rupture hit and actually tore the lounge in half, Darla was sitting on the deflated chair portion of the lounge and the leg portion which was still filled with air floated away from her. We had a good laugh and David and I had a few theories on why it broke that if I shared here would have me banned from the master bedroom.
Our weather has been nothing short of marvelous with warm days 88-92 degrees and comfortable nights of 54-58 degrees. As soon as the sun goes down, I open up the doors and windows and turn the whole house fan on for fifteen minutes and it truly does cool the whole house. We don't turn the air on unless we are in the upper nineties and at 100 degrees as the house stays relatively cool (probably 80 degrees), but once the temp hits HOT, the house gets hotter and we turn on the a/c. I have attic fans that automatically turn on at 100 degrees and pull the hot air out of the attic. Overall, the house stays comfortable.
Darla and I will have a pool party next Saturday night after golf. We have our firecracker tournament and Bob is coming up from San Jose. We are going to invite them to stay with us Saturday and maybe go to church together on Sunday. We will cook shish-ke-bobs of steak and chicken with peppers, mushroom, onion and tomato. Each couple will bring a side dish or salad or dessert and we will have a party. I think the visit with Dad and Shirley got both of us ready to start entertaining by the pool again. It is supposed to warm up into the upper nineties by Friday and Saturday of next week. We will have a three day weekend and I'm ready for it.
Work is going great. We won't hit our lunch goal this month because we lost our biggest account, a $430,000 auto account that moved to another carrier to save a few $$. We will however probably exceed our income from a year ago. The problem with large accounts is that they really eat into your top line, but you collect so little in income and fees, because of the competition. Everyone wants the large accounts because of the prestige. I'd rather write 40 $10,000 accounts than one $400,000 account. Our owner and CEO would like us to target larger brokers and larger accounts, and I will, but my focus will always be on the middle and small accounts because of the margins they bring and the overall profitability of the spread of risk. We will be down about $250,000 in premium this month, but up about $20,000 in net retained. In my mind, we've mitigated the loss of the large account and set ourselves up better for the future with a much higher renewal retention. My guess is we will get that account back next year.
David and Daniel are both hard on the job seeking trail. Daniel will have an interview this next week at Kohl's for a job where his cousin works. David has been sending his resume out to design and architecture firms and hopes to land something that will keep him busy this Summer. Neither of them worked last Summer and it is important that they experience life in the real world and not just the world of academics.
Darla is off at another party tonight and has a retirement sale tomorrow at one of the local restaurants. It is more likely that she won't hit her numbers and make the trip this year, but the last two months have re-energized her business and she is focusing on next year at this point and if Puerto Rico happens, it is God's will.
Darryl sent me a note last week regarding his possible trip here in October to play in Pebble Beach. He is in the middle of a few possible changes in his job and much depends on what happens there. We certainly would love to see him come out and play some golf. I know he'd have a great time. Neil would really like to see him as well.
Well, that's it. My back is starting to tighten up from sitting to long, so I'll say Adieu. Be well, be strong and enjoy life to the fullest. This isn't a dress rehearsal. Ciao.
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