It was a pretty fabulous weekend, topped off by a great church service today and a surprise announcement that our new Senior Pastor has been hired. Praise God! His message was full of hope and love and one thing he said was to stop saying "What if.." and start living "What will God do in my life next.."
My weekend started out with a Good Friday and the bottom pictures are from Rancho Solano Golf Club in Fairfield where Neil and John and I met Bob Pando from San Jose for golf. We left Roseville about 8:15 and got to Fairfield a little after 9 o'clock. We hit balls and then toured one of the nicer municipal courses in Northern California. The course is in a gated community, but is owned by the city of Fairfield. It was $42 with cart to play. The day was fantastic with a high in the low eighties and just a hint of a breeze in the air. It had been a couple of years since I have played Rancho Solano and I forgot how nice the course is. The front nine runs through the development and the back nine snakes through the valley with the hills surrounding the course. We took the above pictures on hole 13 and you can see the hills that turn golden during the Summer months green from the Winter rains. It was one of the better days of golf that I've had in a while and not because I played well (I shot 89), but because of the fellowship and laughs with the guys. I rode with Bob, who is an old friend and we used to host a Bible study group together back ten years ago.
We drove back to Roseville and I had time to just relax and unwind before John picked me up for poker. We drove out to Citrus Heights and arrived about 7 PM. Steve is the facilitator of the poker, even though Scott and I have played in the game since we both lived in Fresno (32 years ago). Steve is nuts about poker and is always pushing the guys to stop yakking and play cards. We are in it for the cards AND for the fellowship so just blow him off. We were sitting outside the house and I decided to call Steve and tell him that John and I were tired from golf and were begging out of the night's festivities. He asked us why we played golf on a day that we knew we had poker. I hung up as we were both dying laughing and then went to the front door. The other players all gave me fist bumps for getting into Steve's head. I had a great night at the table winning both early and late and having to borrow a bowl to put my winnings in as they wouldn't fit in the Tupperware I brought. I won about $65 and John and I were out of there about 11:00 as it was so stuffy in the house. Scott wouldn't open the doors, put on the AC or find a fan. We were both still warm from golf and it was too much. Darla was out to dinner and a movie with the ladies and I was happy to be home to rescue Samson from his cage.
Earlier in the week, Darla and I went on a date night and saw the movie "I can Only Imagine" and enjoyed it immensely. I've been looking for a Pet resort for Samson for our Vegas trip and someone had recommended the West Roseville Resort and I had contacted them and made a reservation. It is close to the house, so Darla and I stopped and checked out the "Resort". It is located in an office/ industrial park and surrounded by businesses like auto repair, sign shop, construction offices, etc. There was no one around and it was closed up tight.
I called the next day and asked to come in for a tour. The "Resort" is a tilt up concrete building with line upon line of animal cages with towels draped over them and dogs barking their heads off. The owner told me that they take the dogs out every two hours for a fifteen minute walk. The girl touring said they take the dog out 4 times a day for five minutes. I cancelled our reservation. Darla's friend, Jan, who is my golfing buddy Rick's widow, suggested the All Pets Resort in Loomis and we decided to drive by and tour it Saturday morning. The first picture is of the front of the resort. The dog runs are 60 x 10' and grass covered. The pens are masonry and about 10 x 8' and have doors and raised beds. The cost is actually less than the industrial park that had a patch of grass about 15 x 20 feet for 30 dogs. Darla and I loved the grounds and the staff and were thrilled to hear that the owners live on site and walk the facility nightly before they go to bed. We have our reservation set at this resort and know that Samson will love it.
I was driving home Thursday for lunch and to let Samson out when I could feel a vibration in the 300. I rolled the window down and could hear something dragging. I got home and it was a plastic shield that is bolted on below the engine compartment and helps with air drag. The chassis of the 300 is built by Mercedes and they always shield the engine to reduce noise and make the car more aerodynamic. The problem is that the shield has to be taken off when the car is serviced. Whoever had worked on the car last had apparently lost one of the bolts and only replaced three instead of four. The shield had been wobbling and finally cracked and dropped to the ground. It had two bolts holding it up and the other half dragging on the ground as I drove. I got home, changed clothes and lifted the car up and took a look at the damage. The shield was intact, but the bolt hole on one side was cracked open and the other bolt was missing. I should have pulled the shield off, but decided to Gorilla tape the shield up to the smaller shield underneath the radiator. Bad move. The picture of Samson is from me working on the car and him relaxing in the garage as I worked.
After the tour of the Resort Saturday, we drove up to Paradise for lunch with Earl and Frances, Darla's parents. I drove the 300 as I have 103,000 miles on my 2006 and Darla had 105,000 miles on her 2013. We stopped in Wheatland and had a pastry and then drove up to Marysville, where I needed to get gas. About five miles from Marysville I heard the tell tale dragging sound again and knew I'd messed up. The strange thing is that I had driven to Fairfield and back on Friday with no problem. I stopped at the gas station and assessed the situation. I was in brand new shorts and a new golf shirt, bright white tennis shoes and a smile. I could not climb under the car and rip off the shield and my biggest concern is that it would come loose and cause the car behind me to veer and hit another car or a tree. We were about halfway to Paradise and I decided to drive on after Darla talked to Earl. I wanted to go home as I had only nice clothes, but Earl offered me some work clothes and so on we went.
The damn shield stayed on and we picked up every little rock and piece of debris as the shield acted like a snow plow as I drove. At least it didn't come off and cause an accident. We went to lunch with everyone and then Earl decided to climb under the car and detach the shield. I drove it up onto ramps, he loosened the two bolts. We pulled the shield off and I dumped it in his plastic recycling bin.
We had a nice visit with the in laws. Don and Alicia were there and had spent the night Friday night. Luke had his Easter candy that he had found scattered about the back yard by a large Bunny. Bunny? Eggs? I don't get it and never will.
Darla and I went to church this morning and then met the boys and their ladies for dinner tonight. We decided to go traditional Easter fare and had dinner at Cha Cha's Mexican Food restaurant. Odd, but it isn't about the food when you get together with family. We had a nice visit. Dan and Becky have pulled out all of the carpet in in their house and put down laminate in the living areas and new carpet in the bedrooms. We need to get over and see it soon.
We hit our numbers at work for March and I'm happy to see us up about 10% over 2017. I was out Friday, but will crunch the numbers tomorrow.
We got some GREAT news this week and that is that Samson does NOT have any bone disease and just had an inflamed elbow likely from either a fall or when that dog attacked him in the park. The anti inflammatory drugs worked great and he is back to 100%. We are thrilled as we were looking at about $8000 for surgery. The DVM thought he had Osteocondritus Desacans, a bone disease that causes a loss of blood flow to the joint. She had us scared, but the Radiologist found no major problems with the elbow other than inflammation from a fall or trauma to the joint.
That is it for this epistle. The wedding gets closer. We talked to Jennifer and Sam today and I got a picture of Sam coloring eggs from Jen. Have a great week and be assured that Jesus died for your sins. It is a great gift and one you need to embrace. Ciao.
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