Check it out at your leisure, there are a LOT of pictures.
So, yes, we are back in the house and getting back to normal. Most of our belongings are still packed away in the PODs in front of the house, but we have a bed and some furniture to sit in and relax. Somehow, the DirecTV was compromised and I'm waiting for them to come out and hook me back up on Wednesday. How it can be working when they took it down and now it has a cabling problem is beyond me. the tech will get it up and running net week. Sitting through NFL Sunday this weekend was tough without football, but I think I saw enough on Thanksgiving to have my fix. Dallas stunk and then the Forty Niners made it a little more palatable by looking even worse against the Seahawks.
Thanksgiving was not one for the books. Darla's brother in law had Thanksgiving at his house for the fifth straight year and I opted to skip. I've been stressed with all of the problems with the claim and the construction and wanted to take a day to myself. Darla went over and ate the bird and visited with her family. I stayed home and had leftover Chinese Food and watched the ballgames and slept a little bit. We were over to the house on Friday and I got the rest of the crown molding painted and Darla was up in Oroville for an event. I was able to get the family room set up, found the DirecTV problem and got the bedroom ready for sleeping.
Darla and I moved out of the hotel on Saturday morning and drove over to the house with our first load. Darla had brought pictures and calendars and coasters and other things from home trying hard to make the stay in a hotel palatable. Darla did some painting and I cleaned the bathrooms and put all of the switch plates back on the walls I was helping her take down her tape, but every time I touched the tape it was on something she had just freshly painted, so I was banished from that task.
Saturday night we invited David, Daniel, Becky, Darla's folks and Alicia, Don and Luke to go to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Roseville. Don pulled a Ken and stayed home, which was fine. We had a nice feast at the restaurant and Luke enjoyed riding up to the second floor in the old fashioned elevator with a crank handle to operate the gears. I think he took five rides up with various of our group as we kept him entertained. Darla joked that it would have been cheaper to get him an all day wristband rather than pay for each ride (it was free). Darla and I gave up our last night at the hotel to Daniel and Becky so they didn't have to stay at Dan's Dad's house. The gang all came over to the house afterward and got to see the new floors and paint work. We looked at the wedding photos on the big screen and they all pushed off to their various homes.
Darla and I took Darla's folks to church Sunday morning and met David there. We stopped for gas at the Arco up the road that has gas for $2.62 a gallon (cheap for CA) and ran into Dan and Becky. They were up early and headed back to San Jose to go to church with her parents. I commented that it was kind of out of the way for them after the night in the hotel and it turns out that Becky, who is allergic to cats, took a Benadryl before coming to our house and she fell asleep at Steve's house before they could leave for the hotel. Why they went over to Steve's at ten at night is beyond me, but it is what it is.
I didn't get the Blog done last night as I have been working on a book for Samantha for Christmas. She called me one night and asked if I could write her a Christmas story. I asked Jen if she'd rather have a book and worked up a ten chapter book called "Eddie saves Christmas." It is full of pictures and a couple for pictures of Samantha and Darla and I as well. She'll get a kick out of it. I made a 12"x12" hardcover book with both a forward and a final chapter that is a letter to Samantha. I think she'll like it. I ordered it online at lulu.com which is an online book publisher and even got 35% off for ordering it on Thanksgiving weekend.
By the way, Jennifer, Samantha and McKinney will be in California for the week after Christmas. They are even bringing the dog. If we get some snow, we may make a trip up to Lake Tahoe and another chance to play in the snow with Sam. She is a little older this year and my enjoy it even more. Darla and I are planning all sorts of fun while they are here, including a Prime Rib dinner on New Year's Eve. It will be a great family time.
In spite of my pronouncement to be off golf for awhile, I was invited out with the retired gang on Friday morning after Thanksgiving and I played with Boyd, Andy and Jay and shot a respectable 43+39=82. I also take this Friday off and will go with the board at the Roseville Golf Club for an "in and out" breakfast followed by golf . The in and out breakfast is for the incoming board and a thank you to the outgoing officers. We will play golf afterward up at Darkhorse in Auburn, a course that I like, but haven't played particularly well in the past.
Thursday is my office's Continuing Education courses in the morning and afternoon followed by a Client Appreciation event in the afternoon. We have a full bar this year hosted by one of our renovation partners. Our last CE course had appetizers and wine and beer supplied by CPR, the outfit that handled the restoration at our house following the water damage. The evening will be appetizers supplied by one of the catering houses in town and an open bar from 4-6. Right now, DirecTV is here to hook up our two TVs with satellite service so I can watch the Cowboy's-Bears game during the soiree.
Today was a really good day for me. I had the unenviable task of letting one of my employees go/ Am I a sadist and enjoy ruining lives? No. Actually as I was waiting for the overnight package with her check in it, she came into my office and gave me her two week's notice. I accepted and told her that it is our policy to walk out any producers that are going to competitors and that her two week notice was unnecessary. She will have her check in hand tomorrow paid through today which came from Home Office and arrived about an hour ago. We are overnighting it to her house tonight. I felt like running out and getting a lottery ticket or something. Good, clean living, eh?
Well, that is all the news that is fit to print. Darla has a turkey in the fridge that will be all mine next weekend, so I am celebrating next weekend with much to be thankful for. I hope you are all well and living La Vida en Cristo.
No comments:
Post a Comment