Family Pool Time

We just had Father's Day Redux and we had Dan and Becky here as well as Don, Alicia, and Luke with Earl and Frances. Today WAS a swim day as we hit 102 degrees. It was hot all weekend and it is due to cool back off this week. Tomorrow is forecast at only 89, although as I say this and check the temperatures for the week I see that it is forecast for 103 degrees next Saturday. David had other plans and could not make it.

 

You can see the pictures above and Samson is right in the middle of the pool action on his float. I played golf yesterday in the heat and then came home and dunked myself in the pool. Samson wanted in on the fun and I got him up on his float and relaxed to the point of falling asleep. I awoke to him falling into the water and swimming for the stairs. I awoke and immediately had a massive cramp in my right calf.  I was trying to row over to help him and calm the cramp in my leg at the same time. He swam right to the steps and popped out of the pool. The problem is now he is comfortable getting into the water and jumps off of his float himself. He was chasing Luke today in the water and going after the soccer ball we were playing with. I have to keep him out of the pool or he will ruin my filter.

 

The bottom picture is of his new favorite spot in our room. He is not allowed up on the bed anymore (he's too big), so he has decided that the Bedroom bench at the foot of the bed is the bee's knees. It has been hot and the wood is probably cooler than the carpet or his bed.

 

I now have the cement pad behind the shed free as the boys came and got the jet ski. I offered to do a family transfer with David and he is going to share the ski with Daniel. David will take care of the maintenance of the ski and Daniel will store it for them in his garage. It is one less hassle for me. I think the boys will use it a lot and probably join Don out on the lake with his boat.

 

The golf tournament this weekend was the Senior 4 ball qualifier. I played with Ron Floyd, who is my twilight partner, a friend and one of my better agents. We had a see saw round of golf with me shooting 40 to his 45 on the front and he shot 40 to my 45 on the back, We both had 85 and the team shot 65. I missed a four foot putt on the 18th and we missed the money by one stroke. It didn't help that Ron had overshot the green on his third shot and gone out of bounds. We had a good time and I was hitting some nice, crisp iron shots on the front. It was hot and I think I got a little exhausted on the back.

 

We pick Samantha up on Saturday afternoon. Darla flies to Vegas and meets Jennifer and Samantha in Vegas and then Sam and Darla fly here to Sacramento. I will pick them up from the airport and then we will head to Dan and Becky's for Becky's 30th birthday party. I'm sure we will find some pool time when we get home. Sunday morning we will bring Sam to the airport again and meet Diane's husband, Bob, and we he will fly with his other granddaughter and Sam back to Dallas for the 4th of July. Diane flies back to Sacramento on July 6th and we will pick Sam up then. I believe Diane is spending the weekend here. By here, I mean Sacramento, not at my house. Smile.

 

I had planned to skip golf next weekend, but I got a call from on of my agents and he needs a 4th for a tournament on Saturday. I told him I couldn't play as I have to take Darla to the airport about 1:30. He said that the tournament has a 9 AM shotgun. We went back and forth, but it is a 9 hole tournament at a little 9 hole course in Loomis and it is the Loomis Eggplant festival golf tournament. They will be done about 11:30 and then lunch and goodbye. It works perfect and I will play with both Doug and Phil.

 

Daniel has been offered a new job here with the city of Roseville as an Associate Civil Engineer. It is exactly his training in college and he is excited about it. They offered him the position at less money than he makes now and he is negotiating to have them match his salary now. He had to provide pay stubs and the upper level managers will decided. It would be a great job for him with a pension and a local job. We'd love that as we could be assured that our grandkids will be here in Roseville. He is excited.

 

I spent a good portion of Saturday night cleaning the pool tile and the rock backsplash. It gets a buildup of calcium on the rocks and the tile gets a scum on it. I used a bathroom foaming cleaner on the tile that did a great job and used a hammer and chisel on the backsplash and that worked amazingly well. I finished it all off with another coat of Thompson's Water Seal and it looks as good as I can remember. I'll have to remember the bathroom foaming agent trick for next year. The backyard is definitely a nice haven away from the stresses and trials of real life. I do continue to spend the majority of my pool time in the shade. Darla was at a jewelry event Saturday afternoon and I didn't finish with the pool until after 8 PM. It was pleasant working in the pool with the sun off the water.

 

I did promise to add an updated picture of Darla's 2018 pot garden. Pot is now legal in California. Oh, wait, not that kind of pot.

 

 

 

Darla and I were at church today and the campers from VBS were in the service and they showed a video of the week with play, water sports, slides, color wars and some music and dancing. It looks like the camp will be a blast for Samantha and they announced today that the next camp will have a go cart track set up in the parking lot. Fun stuff. We are really thrilled to have Sam coming for camp again this year and Darla will work in her classroom which will be GREAT for both of them.

 

That will do it for this week. I will return next week with tales of Becky's birthday party and a brief stay with Miss Samantha in the house. I hope you are all well. Ciao

 

 

 

 



Father's Day 2018

 

Happy Father's Day to all the great men in my life, especially my Father. We had a nice visit yesterday with Earl and Frances who drove down from Paradise to have lunch with us. We had a nice visit although Alicia and Don did not make it as Alicia was under the weather and the boys

did not show up or forgot or something. We had a nice visit in spite of the absences.

 

The pictures? The top shot is of Charlie and Frieda and Darla and I at Fabian's Saturday night. Darla had found this little restaurant as it is next to one of her favorite boutiques. What she didn't know and we found out that night is that the restaurant is owned by the son of Fabiano Forte, better known as Fabian. He was discovered by American Bandstand and was a teen idol in the late 50's and early 60's. I don't remember him, but Frieda said he was a really good looking guy who couldn't sing and couldn't act, but he was cool. I'm sure dad and Shirley remember him. According to our waiter Fabian is still active and mostly performs on cruise ships and State Fairs and 50's shows. He comes to the restaurant often as he comes into town to visit his grand kids. The food was outstanding, although they had run out of the Fathers Day special which was skirt steak served over a bed of crispy mac and cheese. Our waiter heard Frieda talking about the special at the bar and saved her a plate which was shared between she and Darla. I was more interested in the mac and cheese and they were able to get me a side of mac and cheese to go with my grilled chicken. We even had the chocolate cake served warn with mint chocolate gelato and a melted marshmallow over the top.

 

The next four are of our Saturday outing to Lincoln Hills with the boys and their Dad for a Father's Day golf game. We had a good time although their Dad isn't much of a golfer. I think he shot in the 130's, but he had  good day out with the boys. He suggested we do it quarterly. Hmm.

 

The next two are of Darla and Michael, the VP of Sales Development who comes into the office every couple of months and is a big fan of Darla. She couldn't meet us this trip because of a jewelry event, so I sent her a pic of Mike waving and she texted one back for him. Silly, but fun.

 

The next two are of our water dog, Samson, who loves to be ON the water, but not in it. He has struggled with us being on the chaise lounges as he remembers when he was a pup and rode with Darla. He is too big now to do the same and he walks back and forth on the pool edge looking unhappy. We decided to have him ride on his own lounge and he loved it. Cute pictures of he and Darla.

 

The final shot is one of the moon and Venus that I got when I took Samson to the park the other night.

 

Darla and I made tit to church on Sunday and there was a nice message out of the book of John which we are working through this Summer. They have the church all dressed up for the Summer school camp that starts this week. This is the first of two camps. The other will be in July and Sam will be there for that one.

 

I played okay on Saturday at Lincoln Hills. It really wasn't about the golf, but the outing with the boys. I shot an 86 and had a lot of laughs and a good time with Steve and the boys.

 

I had the youth tournament on Monday and worked the scorers table with Neil. The best scores of the day were a 65 and 66 by two 14 year old boys from the white tees. There was a 69 by a 17 year old boy from the blue tees. It was a fun afternoon.

 

I also played in the putting championship Friday night for the first time in years. My two agents, Phil and Mark, from Whitney Oaks wanted to play and asked me to go. Darla met Frieda at the course and they went out to dinner. The championship is a match play event and they have 18 holes set up over our two putting greens. As it turns out, my flight ended up with me playing Phil to start and them the winner of Mark and Rob. I beat Phil after falling being 3 down. He fell apart late and I beat him four straight holes to win 2 up with one to play. Mark won his match and we played. He took me to 17 and again I won 2 up. I then played our Tournament Director and he beat me 2 up after 17 as well. I didn't win, but beat Whitney Oaks Insurance. The girls came back as we were finishing up and we ran over to Dairy Queen for a treat.

 

Our back yard is really shaping up and Darla has her "pot garden" back in place. I'll have to get a picture of the colors for next week's blog. We have 105 degrees on tap for Saturday so the pool will be heavily used. I have the Senior 2 ball qualifier with Ron Floyd on Saturday and it will be HOT.

 

That will do it for this week. Darla I back from her outing tonight and Sam is laying at my feet and I want to take him over to the park and let him run a bit. Have a great week. Ciao.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pool Time

                                    

 

 

Back at it on a Sunday night. We had a nice mild weekend and we'll get enough heat this Summer. We enjoyed low eighties all weekend with a light wind and it was heavenly. I was able to get in a game of golf, we went to the River Cats game with friends and stayed for the fireworks, enjoyed church today followed by a nice breakfast out and then worked around the pool and even spent an hour floating on the pool.

 

I mentioned to Darla today that I was proud of myself for not sitting on the pool tanning so far this year. It turned into a "Who's on First" routine. She said, but we haven't been out on the pool at all this year so you don't get credit. I said, "Yeah we haven't been out on the pool and that's the point." She said, "Well, if we haven't been on the pool you don't get credit." I said, "But if we had been on the pool then I couldn't get credit." It went on like that for awhile. The point is that it is June 10th and I have a nice farmer's tan and look like I'm wearing low cut athletic socks when I'm not wearing any socks at all.

 

I was having some issues the past couple of weeks with my car AC not blowing cold. I just had the car in the shop and they put in a new cooling fan motor. The AC has been kind of cool (not cold) at best. I called the mechanic and he wanted $155 to recharge the AC, but couldn't get to it until next week. I researched the issue and could do the work myself with a can of AC Pro recharge and a pressure gauge that is made to fit the low side coolant tube. I don't do a lot of work myself as I want it done right, but this seemed simple. I bought the can and gauge at the local auto parts and hooked it up as shown on the internet for my car. I ran the AC at full blast and tested the pressure. The Freon level was low and I added about 3/4 of the can before the refrigerant level hit the green. I recapped the tube and the system is blowing ice cubes now. Kind of proud of myself for saving $120 and the time to take the car in.

 

I played golf with the guys at Cherry Island on Saturday. We played at noon and I was able to get some yard work and the car serviced before I left. I had an okay round posting an 89. Paul shot 82, Jessie 83 and Hector 87. We had fun and I had to blast home to get ready for the baseball game that night.

 

We went to the game with Darla's Opulenza sister, Cheryl, and her fiancée Joey. Darla and I went early and had fish and chips and she had chicken strip and chips for dinner. You can see the pictures above with our selfie, the group selfie, the sunset shot of the field (for the baseball nuts number 21 at first base is Eric Thames, the All Star for the Milwaukee Brewers who is rehabbing in the minors after an injury and he hit a three run homer in the third inning), and the picture of fireworks after the game. Our season tickets include access to the Solon Club bar and we moved up there after the fifth for drinks and watched the fireworks after the game.

 

I also got a picture of Samson and his Summer haircut. He looks like he lost about 20 pounds. He is doing much better, but still gets into socks, shoes, glasses, remote controls, basically anything that isn't tied down. Today, he grabbed a pair of my glasses and was chomping on them when Darla came into the room. I was watching the golf and was oblivious. He had pulled one of the lenses out of the frameless ....well, frame. I was able to get it put back together and fished back into the wire holder, although the lens had some bite marks in it, it is on the side and not where I see. I have three pairs of glasses, one pair for work that stay in my briefcase, a pair by my spot on the family room and a pair next to the bed in our room. I thought this pair was a goner when Darla handed it to me, but so far, so good.

 

Samson wants to get on the float with Darla and I and likely remembers being on the pool when he was a puppy. He is much too big and heavy to share a chaise lounge with us now, but he stands on the side and tries to get on when we are floating.

 

The final pictures are of the 3 bedroom house that I have rented in Venice Beach, CA in July. The house is about six blocks from the beach and is three bedrooms and 2 baths. The houses in LA through VRBO range from about $250 a night to over $5000 depending on what you are looking for. The beach houses go for about $600 a night. This one is just over $300 a night and is very convenient to Mother's Beach, Venice Beach (Muscle Beach as it is called) and the performance art boardwalk on the beach where the skaters roam. The town is named after Venice, Italy and was founded by Abbott Kinney  a tobacco millionaire, who put in the seaside resort and miles of canals that rivaled the real city of Venice. He hired gondoliers and the canals were a big part of the allure of the city. Most of the canals have been paved over for roads, but there are still a mile long section that you can walk and see the million dollar homes built on the waterways and the crisscrossing bridges.

 

Venice was also home to the Doors and they were formed there while Jim Morrison was at UCLA. Venice was known for it's poetry and poet communes in the 60's and Rod McKuen was a resident and a big influence of Jim Morrison. Jennifer is a huge Doors fan and will enjoy the history I'm sure. The house looks really nice. We will spend a long weekend there on July 13th when we meet Jennifer and McKenny to return Sam from her Summer vacation with us.

 

Well, I need to fire up the barbecue and get some shish-ke-bobs going, so will call a halt to this drivel. I hope you all have a great week. I work a half day tomorrow and will be helping out at our golf club's annual youth tournament tomorrow afternoon. Neil and I will be working the scoring tent together. Ciao.

 

 

 

Reno: The biggest little city in the world!

 

Back from Reno. It was a nice, relaxing trip with a lot of fun, some gambling, the Street Vibrations event on Virginia Street in Reno, and a little golf. It was nice to get together with friends and I'm enjoying the new tradition of only playing one of the two tournaments on away events and spending the other day with Darla.

 

We left Friday at about 1:30 dropping some toys off at the Pet Resort where Samson was staying. Darla had forgot them at home and he is such a toy boy. We drove up to Truckee and met Charlie and Frieda for a late lunch at Jacks At The Trax, our favorite diner. I love the mac n cheese there, but wanted a burger, so...we ordered burgers, fries, shakes and I ordered a mac n cheese appetizer for the table. It was absolutely delicious, but we paid the price for all those calories later in the day. We drove on to Reno and then to Sparks and the Nugget. The Nugget is undergoing renovations, but they are limited at the moment to the lobby and check in areas that are getting new furnishings and flooring. The rooms have all undergone a complete redo and the furniture, floors, bathrooms and hallways have all been completely updated. It was a nice stay and we took advantage of the valet parking. We all relaxed until about 7:30 and then headed out to gamble. I was feeling really bloated and Darla was having some stomach pains. It turns out that Frieda had been having some stomach issues as well. We sat and played the poker machines and drank a few adult beverages on the house. We quit about 11 and decided to get some food. The café, Rosie's, had breakfast specials, so we all ordered pancakes and eggs.

 

Darla and I slept in Saturday, actually longer than we had intended as when I woke up I asked Darla the time and it was almost 9:30. The hotel has those big full blackout curtains and they worked their magic. We headed out to Sparks and the Black Bear Diner and each couple shared a meal. From there we drove into Reno and parked at the Silver Legacy and wandered the Street Vibrations event. Charlie and I walked along looking at all the Harleys and motorcycles and Darla and Frieda shopped their way through all of the booths and vendors. Frieda bought some shoes and a nice leather purse and Darla bought some pajamas, two pairs of shoes, a blouse and several jars of salt scrub for her heels and skin. I've actually used the scrub on my elbows and it works great.

 

Neil and Lilly drove in Saturday morning and met us at the event, although we had some trouble hooking up. I told him we were at the corner of Virginia and Plaza outside the Silver Legacy and the girls were shopping, but they walked up the sidewalk that had the backs of the booths facing the sidewalk and completely missed us. Why you would use the sidewalk and not walk along by all the bikes and vendors is beyond me. He got frustrated and went to Harrah's for lunch. He texted me and invited us over for a drink at Harrah's. Darla was finishing up her negotiations with the shoe vendor and then we headed over.

 

We did a bit more sightseeing after drinks and then headed back to the casino to get a little rest before dinner. We all drove over in our Explorer as we put up the third row seat. We had dinner at what has become a tradition for us, Bertha Miranda's Mexican restaurant.  It was fine and the company was great. Sometimes the food is just so so and this was one of those nights. I had the pork carnitas and the pork was a little dry. Darla shared the mixed fajitas with Frieda and said they were marginal. The margarita that I had was superb and the sopapilla we had for dessert was to die for. We had a great time with friends and took pictures to remember the evening. We drove back and gambled until about 10 and called it a night.

 

Neil and Tim were meeting at the course at 8:30 for breakfast and Charlie and I agreed to meet them. We got there right at 8:30 and showed up to see them finishing up their meal. Apparently they got there at 8 AM and decided to eat because they were hungry. Rude much?

 

I had a really good round of golf on the front side and shot 42. Charlie shot 44 and Neil had a 49. Tim hurt his back and soldiered on for a 53 and quit after nine. The front nine at Wolf Run has several holes that are risk/reward holes. You can see a picture of the 6th hole  above (the last picture) that gives you three options off the tee. The fourth hole has a 240 yard carry hole over reeds and water and all of the guys I played with laid up, except me. I decided to go for it and really nutted a drive. Charlie had duffed one off the tee and hit his second shot before I drove across the hazard with him to look for my drive. There was a ball in the center of the fairway that would have been about a 280 drive. Charlie said it was his. I looked in the area where I thought the ball would land and saw a ball in the creek. I dejectedly drove back and told Charlie I should give up the game if I couldn't clear 240 in Nevada. I dropped and hit one on the green. The other guys hit up as well and then Charlie and I drove to his ball....which was MY BALL. He looked at me when he saw it was mine and said, "Well, at least you don't have to give up the game." I ended up bogeying the hole, but had about 90 yards into the green on my original drive. Charlie was in the rough right of the fairway.

 

You can see a picture of one of the marmots that swarm the course. They are squirrel like rodents that can get big and fat and were clogging the driving range when we warmed up. How they keep from getting clocked is beyond me. I took a close-up of one of them.

 

The wind came up in a big way on the back nine and it was about a two club wind. I shot 46 for an 88 and had a 67 net to win the low Net on the day. Charlie shot 53 on the back and his 76 was good for money. Neil is now a 24 and shot 49+48-97, net 73. Our threesome all was in the money and I had a 5 on the number 1 handicap par 5 which gave me a 3 net and I won $26 in skin money for that. Not a bad day.

 

The girls joined us at 3:30 and we drove back to Auburn and met Charlie and Frieda for dinner in old town at the Bootleggers restaurant and sat outside and listened to a duo playing the music of the Beatles, Jim Croce, Elton John and Neil Diamond. It was a great end to a really fun weekend.

 

We got Samson back today and had him groomed and he got his Summer cut. He's been shedding like a snake lately and leaving a mess on the carpets. In fact he completely clogged both of our vacuums and I had to take them apart and clean them out today. He looks great and our first 100 degree day was on Sunday so he I'm sure feels better now.

 

 

We talked to Jennifer last night and firmed up plans to have Samantha visit us this Summer. We have her signed up for Breakaway, Adventure's Summer Camp for Kids. She signed up for not the Extreme Sports or Water Fun, but Creative Kids were she will do crafts, art and cooking. Darla will actually fly into Vegas and pick up Sam and bring her back on the weekend of June 30.We will meet Diane's husband Bill on the 1st and she will fly back with her cousin to Dallas. They will return Sam on the 6th and she will be with us until the 14th. We will rent a house in LA and meet Jennifer and McKenny and hopefully Becky, Dan, Dave and Miya for a weekend at the beach. We will drive back on Monday the 15th. We plan to rent a house where we can bring Samson and they can bring Maceo.

 

Well, that's enough for a Monday night. We had an okay May, but one of my favorite employees gave notice on Friday and went over to a competitor that is run by my ex employee, Matt. She was very thankful for our five years together, but is looking forward to a more laid back work environment. They wear jeans and tee shirts every day. Oh well. Hope all is well with you. Ciao.