Boxing Day 2016

 

Christmas is fast fading into a memory and New Years is on our minds. It is Boxing Day which has nothing to with pugilism or returning unwanted gifts, but is a holiday for the working servants in the middle ages who were required to work on Christmas Day, but given the 26th off to enjoy with their families. The owners of the large homes would give the servants boxes of gifts to share with their families.

 

Darla and I have both been fighting a cold over the weekend. We attended Uncle JR's funeral on Thursday and their were a queue of older folks there, many of them with colds and flu and we caught a nasty cold. Darla's dad was fighting the bug and we may have picked it up from him. I was supposed to play golf today, Tuesday and Wednesday. I cancelled today and Neill cancelled tomorrow, so all that I have left is Wednesday.

 

I did go into the doctor last week to have him check on my right shoulder. I have had continued pain since I fell golfing about two months ago. I was on a muddy hill and my feet went right out from under me and I landed on my right shoulder. I finished the round with a 78 and didn't think much of it, but I have had tremendous pain if I sleep on my right side (I'm a side sleeper). It has gotten progressively worse and I needed to have it checked. My doctor did a few tests and has concluded that I have a torn super spinatus muscle in my right shoulder. It is actually part of the rotator cuff and I will go in for an MRI tomorrow to have the severity of the tear determined. I'm hoping that it is partially torn and I can do Physical Therapy and have the tear repair itself. The worst case is surgery that will require about three months of downtime. I can work, but won't be able to drive or use my right arm for about eight weeks. I wouldn't be in a cast, but in a sling and it would be outpatient surgery. I'll know more tomorrow.

 

Darla and I are taking advantage of a certificate that I won in a golf tournament in the Summer. We have a one night stay at the Peppermill in Reno with $100 resort credit. I had told her we should use it during the downtime between Christmas and New Years, but when I referenced the certificate, I realized that it expired on December 20th (it was a six month certificate and started on June 20, the day of the tournament). I called and talked to the Charity director at the resort and she agreed to extend the certificate for thirty days, so we will make our way up to Reno on Thursday and stay over until Friday. We will eat at one of their award winning restaurants, either the Bimini Steakhouse, Romanza Italian restaurant or Biscotti's wine bar. We'll see how we feel when we get up there, but it should be fun. We have one of their upgraded Tower rooms with a concierge, so it should be a great time. We'll get out of town before the crazy starts.

 

Our Christmas celebration was pretty toned down because of how we felt, but we did have the family over on Saturday and fixed a nice prime rib roast. It got done earlier than we expected as we were off to church and it had reached the optimum interior temperature by about 4:30. We took it out of the oven, but it continued to cook and was a bit overdone by the time we ate at 6 PM. It is tough when you have an $89 rack of prime rib and it is done early and part of your party is at their church in Folsom. We did attend the candlelight service at Bayside and Darla and I both worked as ushers. I was in charge of an upper tier that had eight rows. I handed out the offering buckets (four of them) and got three back. I was a little exercised, but one of the kids had set it on the floor at the end of his row. Being elevated, the rows only had one side to enter and exit. I likely seemed a little overbearing, but this is God's money and I was in charge. It all worked out, but freaked me out a little.

 

Darla's Mom and Dad went to church with us and it was a great service with carols, a good message, a drama that was acted out (actually a dramatic reading) and then the candles. Our church used to use electric lights as the candles. but we have moved back to actual candles now that we are part of Bayside. It is more dramatic. The pastor had the congregation hold the candles low to our side as if hiding the light and then had everyone lift the candles at once to show what it was like when Christians share their light to the world. It was pretty dramatic.

 

Darla and I got together with Neil and Lilly on Wednesday night for light appetizers and drinks at McCormick Schmick's in Roseville. It was good catching up with them. Neil has finally passed the baton on his job as Tournament Director. It was causing him undue stress and he was making mistakes as he got older. I had planned to step down as Handicapper along with him as we worked so well together, but John, who is the President this year, asked me to stay on. I agreed. We had a nice light dinner with Neil and Lilly and found out all about what is going on with them. Neil hasn't given up his dream of moving to Arizona and they will take a trip in January to scout out places to live. Lilly is not on board with that plan and I'd like to see him give up on it. but he is his own man and will see it through.

 

Darla has been making some pretty incredible steak soup the last two days, using the leftover prime rib. She sort of made up the recipe, but it has potatoes in it, celery, onion and steak and reminds of Stuart's steak soup at Black Angus steakhouse. We will have some hot leftover prime rib as French dip for dinner tonight while watching the Cowboys play.

 

The picture of my Underwriting Manager, Pete, above is from our breakfast on Thursday. It was his birthday and I made the waitress tie a balloon to his wrist and pose by the tree. I sent a note to the staff and told them we'd be in late as Pete wanted to go see Santa.

 

Well, for a sick guy, I made it through this epistle. Sam and Jennifer had a great Christmas and birthday as well. We gave Sam an rc gas controlled car for her backyard and McKenny has yet to get that going. He was going to take it to the rc hobby shop this week to see if they can get it started. It runs on Nitro fuel. I will bid you all adieu and return next week with tales of Reno and our New Years celebration with the boys. Ciao.

 

 

Back From Maui, Hawaai

 

We had a ball in Hawaii and a really great, family time with Steve and Kirsten. They flew over on an island hopper from Kona on Sunday afternoon. It was a little rainy in Maui and we saw rain most days at least for awhile. A little rainfall at 85 degrees is no big deal. We had two days that were completely clear and Darla and I were glad that we had some overcast the first two days as the sun was HOT when the skies were clear. We were able to relax on the beach for the first two days and not be too concerned with sunburn. We were lubed up with sunscreen, but with the clouds, we kind of lucked out. There was on again, off again sun and it was enough. Darla and I took it easy Saturday and Sunday and just relaxed at the resort, driving into Napili on Friday night for dinner at Beach Bums. We stopped after dinner and did some grocery shopping for the week. Saturday, we drove into Lahaina and picked up some beach towels and a birthday card for Sammy. We took it easy out on the grass overlooking the ocean and had a nice omelet for dinner.

 

Darla and I got some bad news when we landed in Hawaii. Her folks left us a message to call and we got the news that her Uncle JR had passed away. He had several strokes in the last couple of years and  they believe that he had suffered another stroke in his bed and died. They found him clutching his fist to his chest. We had been blessed to spend a lot of time with JR in the last year, including our trip to Graeagle and our vacation this Summer in Tahoe. A highlight of that trip was Sam teaching JR to play a Monsters, Inc video game. I'm not sure he loved it, but he was a great sport and enjoyed Sam's instructions. It was a blast. We had hoped to visit him for a golf game at his condo in Graeagle for a game of golf with Neil and Charlie.

 

We stayed at the Papakea resort and it had been ten years since Darla and I had been to Maui. I knew the resort was on the Kaanapali coastline, but didn't really know anything about the resort itself. I booked it on VRBO and did a pretty extensive search on reviews of not only the resort, but the particular condo that we rented. We were pleasantly surprised with both the resort itself and the condo that we rented. It had been extensively updated with new bathrooms, flooring, kitchen and lighting. The beds and furniture were new and we loved the location. It had an ocean view, but looked over the resort grounds (the last picture above is our view from the lanai). You can see the putting green, the pool and barbecue area and the ocean. The resort lights the tiki torches every night and there is a koi pond below our unit with a fountain that gave us the sound of splashing water al day and night and it was blissful.

 

I had left my sunglasses on the plane, so treated myself to a new pair of premium sunglasses. I looked at Ray Bans, Maui Jims and Smith Optical sunglasses and ended up buying a pair of $125 Smith sunglasses. Their styles are close to Oakley and I like Oakleys. The glasses came with a set of rose lenses (for golfing), black lenses and clear lenses (for biking or wind). I got a pair of purple and black frames and may have to fight Darla for them.

 

We relaxed before Steve and Kirsten got there as they had plans to go hiking with us. They had stopped on their way to the condo and had nachos at Maui Brewing Company, so weren't hungry for dinner. Darla and I fixed some eggs again for dinner. Oddly, we ended up having breakfast for dinner a few times while we were there. We were up fairly early on Monday and headed back to Napili to have breakfast at the Gazebo restaurant. It is a small gazebo that overlooks the Napili coast and people line up to eat there. We were in line for about 45 minutes and finally got seated and enjoyed the Macadamia nut pancakes and eggs. It was incredible. We walked the rocky coast afterward over to the cove to see the sea turtles. We got harassed by one of the security guards from the Napili Inn, but the ocean and beaches are not private and we pushed back. He told us to stay off the grass and we shined him on. It was a nice little hike after our meal and there are some pictures above from our trip. We drove back to the resort and did some whale watching. Darla and I have a set of really small 10X binoculars that we use at sporting events, but Steve had some binoculars that were 10X50 that really brought the whales into view as they breached the water. He told us they bought them for $40 at Costco. We cleaned up and went to dinner at the Maui Brewing Company, which is a Brewpub and they have an ice trough at the bar where you keep your beer cold. They should have a little toy Zamboni that scrapes the bar every hour, but that would be my invention. The ice trough is a great idea all by itself.

 

Tuesday we headed into Paia and the road to Hana. We parked at the trail's edge for Twin Falls and hiked up to see the lower falls and the upper falls. You can see the pictures above. The girls wanted to shop in Paia, which is a cute little "hippy" style beach town with bars and shops. There was absolutely no parking anywhere in the little town, so Steve and I dropped the girls and drove around trying to find parking. We got way off the beaten path and the traffic was jammed. We finally made it back into town and found a woman leaving a spot in front of one of the stores and pulled in. We then went into Kahului and went to the Costco and Darla and I bought a pair of the whale watching binoculars.

 

That night we drove home, got showers and headed into Lahaina for dinner. Darla and I wanted to go to BJ's, which overlooks the ocean and harbor from the second floor overlooking Front Street. The restaurant was gone (we visited it ten years ago). It is now Lahaina Pizza Company and owned by the same people. BJ's is a chain restaurant and they tried to get the owner to do the entire BJ's menu, which is huge. The location is too small and specializes in pizza. The owner cancelled his franchise agreement and renamed the restaurant Lahaina Pizza Company. It was every bit as good as we remembered and we enjoyed a late dinner. The girls wanted to shop after dinner and Steve and I should have just found a bar and waited them out. Instead we walked the strip and went into every tacky little beach shop on the strip, where Darla and Kirsten bought tops.

 

Wednesday, we were going to go on another hike, but we slept in and it was overcast. The hike was on the east side of the island and about 5 miles in length overall. It was a view hike and you can't see anything if it is cloudy. We took a drive into town and hit the beach next to the Westin and relaxed. We thought about snorkeling, but the surf was up and the coastline was a little churned up from the rain, so just relaxed on the beach and did some people watching and napped (at least I did). We drove over to the store and picked up some tri tip, which we marinated and then grilled for dinner out by the pool. It was one of our best meals as we had baked potatoes and fruit. It was a nice evening. Darla, Steve and Kirsten drove back out to Lahaina to go the factory outlets and Darla came back with a blouse and a new purse. I rested on the grass above the ocean.

 

Thursday, Steve and Kirsten had to fly back home and we all had breakfast together at a little shop across the street from the condo called Slappy Cakes. We talked about life and the folks getting older and how Steve felt about being somewhat isolated in Hawaii. We talked about the Aunts and Uncles getting older. He said that he would not be at JR's funeral as it would set a precedent. It's sad that he is so far away, but he and Kirsten love their life in Hawaii.

 

Thursday Darla and I drove north up to Kapalua and beyond. We drove up tot he blowhole and enjoyed the show as the water shot into the air as the waves crashed the beach. We stopped a few times to see the coastline and waves. Darla even stopped and fed potato chips to two stray cats that were hanging out on the side of the highway. We drove back through Kapalua stopping at the golf course to get some pictures. The opening tournament of the year is the Tournament of Champions at the Kapalua resort and they are already working on the grandstands. Darla and I went back to the resort and sat on the grass overlooking the ocean and looked for whales. You can see the pictures we took of each other as we watched the waves. That night we went across the street and had Mexican food for dinner.

 

Friday was our trip home and we were up early. I made scrambled eggs for breakfast and we then packed up and headed to the airport. We drove back and I took a detour through Kehei. It is a cute little beach town, but a town that actually flooded on Wednesday night due to the heavy rains. We drove from there over to the airport, turned in the rental and relaxed at the airport as we waited for our flight. There was a sewer break in town and the bathrooms were closed. They quickly realized that having closed restrooms wouldn't work, so they had workers bringing in buckets of water to flush the toilets. I looked for my lost Oakleys and talked to Lost and Found at both the airport and Alaska Airlines. They didn't have my glasses. I found out later that my Oakleys were in my car and I had a $25 pair with me, so no big loss.

 

We had a Christmas party with Phil and Carmine at Phil's place Friday night and thought we might go, but we were exhausted and just relaxed at home when we got in. We did have a Christmas dinner with Julie and Rand on Saturday night. I spent the day cleaning up the last of the leaves as the trees lost the last of their leaves in the last storm. I cleared out the lawn and sidewalks and driveways and piled up the leaves for the last time this season and the city crews will be out tomorrow to pick them up.

 

I played in the last golf game of the year at the club today. It was actually scheduled for last week, but it got rained out, so I was able to get in today. I shot 42+43=85, net 71 and picked up one more stroke on my eclectic score for the year and have a gross of 65, 7 under par for my best score on each hole throughout the year. It was cold and wet today and felt colder having come from Hawaii. The high today was 40 degrees and an overnight low of 28 degrees. We had an hour frost delay this morning and my 9:14 tee time ended up with a 10:05 tee off.

 

Well, Dallas is on SNF and I have to go watch it, so Ciao, baby!

We are leaving on a jet plane!



About a third of my readers are on a month-long cruise, but I suffer from OCD so have to add a post. We had our annual Holiday Party at the Roseville Golf Club on Friday night and I had to go stag this year as Darla had a party with Touchstone on the same night and this is the time of year for her to make bank.

 

I had Friday off as we had the In and Out meeting whereby we install the new board members and say goodbye to those rolling off the board. Neil is finally hanging up his spurs and we will have a new Tournament Director in 2017. I had planned to retire along with him, but John Parola is our new President and asked me to stay on as the Handicapper. I have it down to a science after 14 years of handling this job, taking three years off when I was President once and VP twice. We met at 6:30 (so much for sleeping in on a day off ) and enjoyed breakfast together and then headed over to Morgan Creek Country Club for a game of golf. I didn't expect much from my game as I had not played in two weeks since the Thanksgiving event. I actually was on fire early on and was two over par through eight holes. I ended up shooting three double bogeys in a row and shot 40+43=83 for an overall pretty good day. I didn't win any money as we played by foursomes and I had Neil (98), Charlie (103) and Paul (106) as partners. Oh, well, it was fun.

 

I have not been able to find my Presidential blazer since we had the flood in the house two years ago. We had taken a lot of clothes and made KEEP and GOODWILL piles and I think there may be some homeless guy in downtown Sacramento wearing the RGC duds. I went out to JC Penney after golf to get a new one and stopped by Neil's house to get a new patch. John had just bought one last week for $61 after all discounts. I stopped in and it was "Customer Appreciation Day" and got a $125 blazer for $40.09 out the door. I brought it home and Darla quickly sewed on the Presidential patch before she left for her event.

 

I wasn't the only stag attender as several of the guys are single and unattached (probably because they play so much golf). John's daughter was there to help him with the event, so she pitched in to keep me company until Darla got there about 9:15. It was fun as usual and we had a few laughs and enjoyed a good meal and a few drinks. Darla and I got a couple of dances in before they shut down at 11 PM.

 

Darla and I leave this Friday for Maui. We talked to Darla's brother, Steve and his wife, Kirsten today and they will join us from Sunday to Thursday and we will do some hiking up to waterfalls and hopefully get some pictures. We also plan to take a kayak tour out of the southern tip of the island. The whale season is under way and it will be nice to see them. We are staying at the Papakea Resort Condominiums on the Kaanapali coast north of Lahaina. The flights for this trip were gifted to us by Daniel and Becky for our 20th wedding anniversary. We are really looking forward to relaxing on the island for the week and especially looking forward to the weather with highs of mid eighties and lows in the mid-seventies.

 

I will host our annual Holiday party at the office on Thursday night. We have 77 people RSVP'd and we will get a few more this week. I have one of the renovation firms hosting the liquor and one of the car repair companies hosting the desserts. We don't work directly with them, but THEIR customers are OUR customers, so they want to come out and get in front of 70 agents.

 

We have also adopted a retirement home that is brand new in business in Granite Bay and we will make wreaths for the doors of the residents tomorrow as our community outreach project this year. The wreath making event is tomorrow and we will have pizza for the gang as we decorate the wreaths for the residents. The office will go to the home next week as a group to deliver the wreaths, but I will be in Hawaii. It is nice to give back and the folks appreciate it.

 

I spent about two hours on Saturday cleaning out the pool of leaves from the tree that has sprung up on the neighbor's side yard a few years ago. It over hangs the fence and when we get wind like we had this week, the pool gets inundated. I ordered a new leaf net and a leaf catcher for the pool and used those to clear out the mess. It was clogged with leaves. I was bemoaning the tree for the umpteenth time and Darla called the neighbors and asked if we could have the tree removed. We will pay for the removal and replace it with an evergreen. They called back and said go ahead. The tree (as I suspected) was a "volunteer" and has no place on their side yard. In fact, they don't want it replaced.  I will arrange when we get back to have the tree cut down and the problem will be gone for next year. It was particularly irritating for me as I had five trees cut down when we had the pool put in to avoid the leave issue.

 

Well, that is the news that is fit to print. The blog will be on vacation next week and I will be back at the keyboard in two weeks. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the holiday season. Ciao.