HOT Spring Weekend

A HOT weekend is over and done with and the cooler weather has arrived along with the new work week. After two days of 87 degrees Saturday and 92 degrees yesterday, a cold front has pushed on shore and with it some coastal winds to cool us down. Today should top out at 72 degrees, a full 20 degrees lower than yesterday. In fact the cooler weather is expected to stick around this week with temperatures near 70 degrees all week. A weak weather system is due in at the end of the week and a slight chance of showers for next weekend. At least that is what the weather prognosticators say at this point.

I spent part of this weekend re staining the deck and resealing the flagstone around the pool. Last year I stained the deck with a sandstone product and it turned out pretty beige. This year I used another sandstone colored product from a different company and as you can see the result is rust colored. The rust effect is actually preferable as there is alot of rust in the flagstone behind the pool and this color really accentuates that. I have to do some touch up on the deck today with another quart of the sandstone as the color is a little splotchy in spots. The stain is applied with a tank sprayer and is mixed with three parts water and the mix has to be constantly shaken in order to keep it mixed properly. I relaxed in the sun yesterday and have a bit of a sunburn to show for it.

I did make it to Solvang on Thursday and Friday with Pete and Anthony from the office. It was a six and a half hour event as we drove from Roseville to Solvang, stopping in Paso Robles for some lunch and arriving in Solvang about 3 PM. We stayed in a very nice hotel on Copenhagen Drive called the Wine Valley Inn. They have cottages in the courtyard that are rented as well as suite rooms and a fireplace suite that I stayed in. The picture above is of the courtyard and cottages which are covered in trees and foliage. Very nice. I took the picture with my camera phone. We met one of the companies at 4 PM on Thursday at their office and were then off to dinner at the Firestone-Walker Brewery in Buellton. The Firestone name is the former owner of the Firestone vineyard and the father of the Bachelor from television fame a few years ago. The brewery is excellent and I enjoyed a sampler of six different beers and all were very good. One of our underwriters bought each of us an 18 ounce beer stein with the Firestone-Walker name etched into the glass stein. Our trip was well worth the time, energy and money spent on the trip as we solidified our relationship with both markets that we met. Friday morning we met with the other company at 8:30 AM and then walked back up to a really nice breakfast restaurant, the Red Viking and had aebelskivers for a snack and then breakfast. Aebelskivers are Danish pancakes served with fruit jam and powdered sugar, sort of like a beignet in New Orleans. Delicious. I ended up buying Darla an aebelskiver kit with mix, an aebelskiver pan and the jam. The joy of making the little donuts was lost on Darla as it is time consuming and a bit awkward to make them. We were on the road by 10:30 and back to town by 4 PM. We made much better time on the return trip as we didn't stop for lunch.

We went out to the local Indian casino in Solvang and there were a passel of unhappy folks, all dressed up and standing in line for refunds as Julio Iglesias was sick and not able to perform at his scheduled concert. I found my poker machines, but the crowd around the nickle machines was three deep , so I played the quarter machines. Both Pete and Anthony quickly lost $100 and Pete came and found me just as I hit four twos for a $68 win. I followed that about five minutes later with four sixes for $34 and cashed out for a total of $118 on my $40 bet. I wasn't really popular with Anthony and Pete. Anthony kept saying how lucky I was before we even got to the casino and then I won $75. C'est la Vie.

I did play golf this weekend (of course). We had our masters tournament and I was on fire on the front nine. I started with a birdie on the first hole and then put up six pars in a row to go one under after seven holes. The wheels shook loose after that and I finished double bogey-bogey for a 38 on the front. I did manage to birdie number ten to go back to one over after ten holes, but fell down the stairs after that to a tune of 9 over for the last eight holes and a 38+44=82. It was a "could have been great" day that just wasn't to be. Bob also shot 82, finishing with an 8 on the last hole after hitting his second shot up against the fence and whiffing when he tried to hit it left handed. Boyd shot a stellar, 39+35=74, for a net 68. I left early to get to the staining project in my backyard, but I'm pretty sure I have some skin money coming to me. My 9.7 index gives me ten shots on the course, so I simply managed to shoot net par and likely out of the money on the tournament.

I did get to talk to both Jennifer and Dad last night. Jennifer put Samantha on the Skype and we watched her laughing and playing with Mom. John brought in a mirror to show us how Samantha is enthralled with herself. As soon as he put her up against the mirror, she was laughing and pointing at herself. She is holding her head up now and has a molar starting to come in on the right side. Jennifer has Samantha on a bottle now during the day and is preparing to go back to work. She has had several interviews and is trying to get back into the electrical wiring industry. She wants to join the local union and get a union job. John has been qualified for a house and they have three offers in on short sales right now. The one that they hope goes through is an 1800 square foot house with new cabinets, bathrooms and windows. The house is about 18 years old and has a pool and spa. The flooring needs to be replaced and some stucco needs to be repaired around the new windows, but it is wired in every room with an intercom system and has been renovated extensively. Jennifer said it has the feel of a new house with all of the changes the owners did before being foreclosed on. Their offer is well less than $200,000 and the home was on the market for $239,000. I'm excited for them.

I also talked to Dad and Shirley about 9:15 last night after watching Samantha on the Skype and visiting with Jennifer. Dad and Shirley shared some bad news about friends of theirs from Surrey, who they saw in Maui and had drinks with while they were there. The husband has been tending to his wife who has some health issues and he came down with some stomach pain while they were in Maui. He finally flew home and went into the hospital in BC and died the day that Dad and Shirley got home from Maui. It was a shock.

Life is short and Earl and Frances (Darla's folks) are off to a two month trip across the United States. They will visit Hoover dam, Lake Havisu, New Mexico, Branson (MO), Nashville, Washington (DC), St Louis, Niagara Falls, the Carolinas, Kentucky and parts in between over their vacation. Frances' Dad is 89 and didn't want them to go so far away, but life is short and they want to get this trip in while they are young enough to enjoy it. They came by last night and we barbecued chicken kabobs and had a nice visit.

Well, work awaits after two days out. I will be in Fresno next Sunday to Wednesday so the blog will be late. I hope you are well and right with God. Ciao.

A Nice Spring Weekend in the Books.

I will add some pictures from home as the firewall at work prevents me from uploading any files. This is the time of year that I look forward to. The heat of the day comes only from the sun. It is warm (72 degrees), but if the sun dips behind the clouds, the loss of warmth is immediate and profound. The mornings and evenings are cool and the days warm and relaxing. We played golf Saturday morning at Cherry Island and it was downright nippy in the morning as the sun was obscured by some low level clouds. I wore shorts with some wind pants over them and an Adidas golf shirt. Boyd was all bundled up with a sun hat and coat and couldn't understand how I could play in shirtsleeves. It quickly warmed up in spite of an incessant breeze and by the time we made the turn, I shed the wind pants and played in shorts on the back side. Bob made some crack about my legs being so white we could print OB on them and have me stand at the boundary of the course. He is going to Mexico with us this Summer and I'll get him then. I played poorly this weekend and eked out a 43+41=84 to tie for high man with Darren. Bob and Boyd both struggled (for them) and shot 81's. Bob was en fuego on the front side and shot 34 with three birdies, but it all blew up in his face with a 47 on the back side. Ouch. We play in a tournament next weekend, the Masters on Saturday and I look forward to getting back to some tournament golf. I have tournaments the next three weekends with a qualifier on April 20th where I'll team with Steve. We qualified for this tournament two years ago and struggled in the second round missing the cut to go to Spyglass by two shots. The weekend of the 26th and 27th is the Roseville City Amateur played on Woodcreek and Diamond Oaks and I'll be in the net division there. Bob is playing in the Senior Flight.

I will be in Fresno on Sunday April 20th - Wednesday April 23rd as they go live on their paperless conversion. My office goes live on May 5th and I get to witness the pain and suffering of the Fresno staff as they go live on April 21st. They could have sent me to Tampa Florida, but NO.

Pete, Anthony and I leave Thursday morning for Solvang. We have two construction markets that we do a lot of business with and want to go and visit their offices and work on our relationships. We will take Vela to dinner Thursday night and Benchmark to breakfast on Friday. We will drive down Thursday morning and get checked into our hotel rooms and then be over to the office by 4:00PM for a tour. We then have dinner at the tap room at Firestone vineyards. We will have breakfast at one of the Swedish bakeries in Solvang on Friday morning with Benchmark. It should be a fun visit. We are staying at the Wine Valley Inn and I have a nice Fireplace suite lined up. Pete and Anthony will stay in a two level suite with a loft bedroom and a kitchen. The rooms are $81 and $91 and are supposedly the nicest in Solvang. They have eight cottages on site that can be rented for $185 that are supposedly fantastic.

Darla and I added some groundcover to the raised flowerbeds above the pool this weekend. We both like the purple flowers and added a purple groundcover between the palm trees. I also added some black bark to the flowerbeds and changed the sprinkler system from drip to spray to accommodate the ground cover. It won't be long before we are back on the pool reading and relaxing in the Summer sun.

Darla and I joined our life group at church last Thursday and worked with the Gathering Inn hosting 39 homeless people for dinner and a night out of the elements. We served spaghetti, garlic bread, two salads, strawberries, coffee, milk, water, green beans and a host of desserts. Both Darla and I sat at one of the tables and visited with the folks. It was an interesting group. There were some younger folks who have struggled with drugs and alcohol, and some that just lost their jobs, homes and cars and are now on the street. One of the ladies used to attend Adventure when she lived in an apartment in Rocklin. These people are surprisingly clean, well groomed, most have cell phones and eyeglasses and are pretty well versed on current events. One of the guys found out that I was an insurance manager and wanted to talk about the mortgage crisis (how the two relate is beyond me). One of the younger, quieter guys kept asking me how much money I make. I wouldn't tell him of course, but why would he want to add that insult to his load in life? Perhaps if I told him, he'd have asked for my address and a copy of the keys to my house. Who knows? It was a rewarding experience. I shared that experience with Boyd who shared with me that he supports the Gathering Inn financially as his oldest son has used the facility. He is a homeless man with drug and alcohol issues and has supposedly licked them. He has trouble holding a job. Boyd pays his cell phone bill. Boyd specifically asked Bob and I to include him in our next life group volunteer project with the Gathering Inn.

We didn't get a chance to visit with Dad or Jennifer this weekend as the days were full and I was still working on some bare spots on the side yard with some seed and fertilizer at dusk on Sunday and we were both tired. Jennifer sent some pictures of Samantha which I will add to the blog and Dad sent some pictures of the rental car that he arranged in Hawaii. It was a dud and adds to the colorful collection of vacation stories for Dad and Shirley. They had a great trip in spite of the rental car fiasco and the weather and accommodations were first cabin. I hope to meet them in Vegas in the coming months so they can meet their newest great grandchild.

Next weekend I will tackle the job of restaining and resealing the deck and flagstone around and behind the pool. Saturday I will power wash the deck and stone and Sunday take on the job of restaining the stamped concrete with a sandstone colored stain and then resealing the flagstone. Take care. Ciao.

A Little Rain, A Little Sun

Gee. It sounds like Spring in Northern California. We had quite a storm over Friday night with solid rain that was supposed to quit about three in the morning. I had a 9:08 AM tee time on Saturday and awoke to drizzle at 7:30 AM and the phone ringing. For some reason the master bedroom phone is never in the master bedroom and by the time I got up, tripped over my senile dog who is forever off of his rug and splayed out in the middle of the room, and reached a handset of the phone which never makes it back to the cradle unless the battery is low, the caller was gone. It turned out to be Darren who was wondering if we were a go for golf. Darren is new to the group and hasn't learned that we are always a go unless the course is closed. By the time I got up, showered, ate some Cheerios (my other cholesterol drug), read the paper and fiddled with the computer looking at weather forecasts, the rain had abated and it was simply cold and wet.

I made it over to the course at 8:45 AM and the gang was all there. Boyd was opting out of our regular Saturday foursome and hitching a ride over to the new Indian Casino course in Capay Valley, Yochedehe. He had invited me to join them, but for $90 to play and a 90 minute drive I decided I had enough to keep me occupied around home. I played with Darren, Mel and Bob on the newly punched greens at Woodcreek. The aeration was done with the smaller tines that are placed closer together and the greens had been sanded. The greens were surprisingly fast and true for all of the sand. Darren chipped in for birdie from off the green on the first hole and we played a team game where we switch partners every six holes and play for $5 a segment. I shot 37+40=77 to continue a hot streak of non-tournament golf. In fact, Bob said to me during the round that I was playing as if I had a tournament tomorrow. Hey, I'm supposed to be the wise guy in this group. I did manage to win $15 as the other three all won one match (with me) and lost the other two. My $15 in winnings were quickly spent in the bar on two beers and two sodas for $13 and a $2 tip, but I got the satisfaction of cleaning up. Darren was my partner on the last six holes and he hadn't won a match yet. I proceeded to go from even par after twelve holes to five over for the six holes we played. Somehow, we managed to win three of the six holes and pushed the last for a win. Darren would have lost $15 with each of us winning $5 if we'd lost. He was on me pretty good for playing great golf all day and tanking with him. I asked him what the common denominator was in his two previous losses. He looked at me funny (It was him!). Bob shot a stellar 38+34=72, Mel shot 84 and Darren shot 90. It was a fun day and the weather improved all day long to the point of sun and a light breeze by the time we finished.

It only warmed to 59 degrees and the average temperature this time of year is 69 degrees, so we have a 79 due us. perhaps next weekend would be appropriate. Yesterday was also cool and breezy with a high of 65 degrees. It was downright cold when we got to church at 8:45 AM and still cold and breezy when we left. I slept on the couch during the golf match and arose about 3:30 to do some errands. I've wanted to re wrap the grip on my golf cart and had trouble finding some grip tape. I bought a roll of dark blue Ace bandage that sticks to itself and wrapped the grip with that. I also bought a new hose for the back yard and some weed control. I have a few weeds popping up in the retaining wall behind the pool and wanted to spray those. I also decided to add another coat of wood preservative to the side gate by the jet ski on the side yard of the house. That gate takes spray from the lawn sprinklers full force and I'll need to re-apply the wood preservative every year. I finished that fence and gate and then re-applied the wood preservative to the trash enclosure at the front of the house as well. My next big project will be power washing the deck and stone on the pool and re-applying the water sealant to that. I will re stain the deck with the sandstone stain and use a water based sealant on that and use the acrylic based sealant on the stone.

I got kicked out of the house on Thursday night to a Cabi party thrown by Darla at our house. In the past, I would have snuck off to the Indian casino and played some nickel poker, but instead went over to the gym, rejoined on Darla and David's membership and had a workout. I've completely changed my diet and I'm off red meat almost entirely. I'm getting used to ground turkey in my spaghetti, tacos and even had ground turkey hamburgers last night for dinner that were surprisingly good. Darla doctored them up with spices and we had cheese and onion on them and other than being a bit dry, they were good. Next time, we'll put some barbecue sauce on the patties. The turkey patties cook completely differently as there is no grease that exudes from the meat so they tend to brown a little quicker so need to be cooked at a lower heat. I realize that my new diet is great, but in order to kick the high cholesterol I need drugs, a new diet AND exercise. I'll try to get over and hit the recumbent bike three times a week.

I talked to Jennifer this week and little Samantha is now yabbering alot, finding her voice and even rolled over from her stomach to her back. I mentioned in an earlier epistle that Samantha has a pretty strong constitution and she wants what she wants. She doesn't like being put on her stomach and at three months is already rolling over because she wants to be on her back.

Dad and Shirley will be on a plane back to Vancouver this week, tanned and happy. I'm sure Dad will have plenty to keep him busy at home with plants beginning the Spring thaw and needing to be trimmed. I know that they enjoyed their six weeks in Hawaii, but I'm sure will be happy to be home near family and their grand kids in Canada. We will plan to meet them in Las Vegas on their next trip to their home away from home.

Well, it is the last day of the month and I need to get at it and make sure the staff is focused and ready for a big push on the last day of the month. Tomorrow is April. Ciao.

He IS Risen! (Indeed)

Our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, what people who are really uncomfortable discussing religion call Easter, was a fun Springlike day (76 degrees) full of family and friends. Darla fixed a big ham and everyone brought a little something to share from rolls and wine to salad and pies and asparagus. It was a fun day. Darla and I started with church of course. Our pastor, Rick, had an emergency appendectomy this week and was still to ill to preach on Sunday so Bryce Jessup, the dean of the local William Jessup University, a local Christian college pinch hit for Rick. The sermon was "Hope from the Grave" and it was a powerful declaration that Christ did rise from the dead and the proof of which is overwhelming. One of the strongest arguments is that 11 of the 12 disciples died a martyr's death because of their story of the resurrection. Would 11 men choose to die a horrible death to continue to tell a fabrication? I don't think so. It was great to see a man of God so prepared for a huge sermon on just a few hours notice. Amazing.

We had Darla's parents, her sister and her boyfriend, a friend of theirs, our friends (Darren and Marissa) as well as David and Daniel for a late Easter lunch. We played Wii in the afternoon bowling and playing the new Tiger Woods golf game and visited until everyone left about 4:30 PM. I laid down for a quick nap about 5 PM and awoke at 7:30 PM and realized that I had missed my opportunity to wash the Mustang. It is still probably the cleanest car in the parking lot, but that says more about the state of other people's vehicles than it does about mine. I was able to visit with both Jennifer and Dad. Jennifer and John had spent the day at John's Dad's house in Boulder City. Next year will be the start of some fun Easter's with Samantha as she'll be old enough to enjoy the sites and sounds of Easter. Dad and Shirley are still living the dream in Hawaii as they are winding down to their last week on the islands. They have had a great time, but are beginning to get ready for home. Six weeks away is a long time and Spring has broken while they were away. Dad contracted a cough last week from some Bozo at the golf course dining room. There was some guy hacking up a lung on the other side of the room and within three days that guy was Dad. He has since passed it on to Shirley. Dad said that he has worn blisters onto the bottoms of both feet from walking so much and broke a toe smacking it into the furniture in their condo. Looks like just another typical vacation for Dad and Shirley.

I did, of course, play golf this past weekend. In fact, we get very few holidays, but one we do get is a half day on Good Friday. Darla gets every holiday, but somehow passes on this one. I left work at noon and headed to Diamond Oaks. I had a Nike sponsored tournament on Saturday and wanted to get in a practice round. Naturally I shot lights out in the practice round in spite of wind gusts of 20-25 MPH. I used to really struggle with wind back in my "banana" days of an uncontrolled slice off the tee. I looked up alot because I had no idea where the ball was going to go. I have learned to hit a stinger into the wind with a low launch angle that bores through the wind. I shot 40+37=77 and even got on the green on both par fives in two on the backside. I missed both eagle putts, but made birdie on both holes on my way to 37. I was afraid that I'd blown my wad early and on Saturday I was a prognosticator of doom as I shot 42+41=83 for a net 72 to finish out of the money. IF I had shot the 77 in the tournament I would have taken first place and won $100. C'est La Vie.

I did get my shafts regripped at the grip event at the club. I bought new black and blue Winn Rave grips and outfitted my entire set for $70 after my pro shop discount. I also ordered a new navy and black Sun Mountain cart bag. I have the 3 wheeled Speed cart and wanted to get a bag to fit it. I have a Nike cart bag now, but half the pockets always end up inaccessible behind the cart. The Sun Mountain bag is designed for use with the cart and has all of the pockets accessible when the bag is attached to the cart. I also bought all new spikes for my Nike golf shoes and, even after all of the foregoing, I still have over $100 on the books at the club.

Darla joined me this week on a trip to Ukiah. I have one of my big agents in Ukiah and it is a three hour drive from Sacramento. I try to visit at least once a year and it had been over a year and they were starting to give me a hard time. Darla's two nieces, Shea and Taylor, live in the area, so Darla decided to join me. We stayed at a new hotel that has wireless internet and I left Darla at the hotel working on her laptop and went to see agents. We drove in on Wednesday night and hooked up with Taylor for dinner. That is a picture of Taylor and Darla at dinner above. Taylor is going in to the Navy and will be an MP with the Navy for two years and will then get out and join the CHP. Taylor met us at a Mexican food restaurant in Willits, but sat in a booth at the back of the restaurant with her back to us. We were there for fifteen minutes before we realized she was there as well waiting for us. Jeesh. We had a nice visit. Taylor is excited about the Navy and starting her work toward her career. She is 18 and wants to join the CHP, but their minimum age is 20.

Well, it is payroll today and I have to get at it. My assistant, Dinda, is off today so it will be that much busier for me. I'm taking my car in tomorrow to have it serviced. I think I have a vacuum leak because the idle is at 2000 RPM when I first start up the car. I have to let it settle down before I put it in gear so I don't ruin the transmission. I'm taking it to a mechanic versus Firestone or Midas as he comes highly recommended by one of my staff who drives a BMW. Ciao.

A Great Visit with Samantha and Jenn is in the Books

Well, that was a fun and invigorating visit. Jennifer is a great Mom, very patient and attentive to her daughter's needs. Samantha can be a little cranky and has a strong personality. She wants things a certain way and if she isn't held properly (facing out so she can see what is around her), she will let you know. Her personality is really beginning to assert itself. She smiles and is extremely curious about what is around her. She loves lights and bright colors. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and is definitely a Mommy's girl. When no one else can settle her down, Jennifer can relax her and she will stop crying. Samantha had more quiet, relaxed times this trip. She went out to dinner with us on my birthday to Benihana's and was really good until the waiters and staff showed up with drums and bells to sing Happy Birthday to me. She didn't like that at all.

Daniel even made it home as one of his friends from Sacramento drove home to see her younger brother baptized at church and Daniel hitched a ride. Daniel also brought his girlfriend home. She is a bright, intelligent young lady who scored higher than Daniel on the SATs. Daniel is somewhat competitve so they did on online IQ test and he scored just barely above his girlfriend. I can't remember her name right now so we'll go with girlfriend. I met her briefly on Sunday before they all drove back to Cal Poly, but had Samantha on my lap and the young lady didn't really venture far into the living room as we had Darla's sister and her folks over to spend time with Jennifer and Samantha. I love the picture of Samantha sitting with Frances and how Samantha is resting her elbow on Frances' arm. Very cute.

Spring will come in on Thursday, but the warm temperatures are already here. We had 74 degrees yesterday and I spent the afternoon out by the pool planting some ground cover. It was warm and the day was blue skies and no wind and I am ready for some lazy days on the pool soon. I took yesterday off to spend with Jennifer and Samantha. We got up at 7:30 and were off to a restaurtant in Old Town Roseville for breakfast by nine o'clock. Samantha slept through our breakfast and we had a nice visit with Jennifer. Darla joined us and it was nice and relaxing. We went home and took it easy at the house. Jennifer played my new Tiger Woods PGA Wii game (which she bought me for my birthday) and I fell asleep on the couch for about 45 minutes. Jennifer's friend Sara came over and we visited with her and her two kids for awhile and then packed up and took Jennifer and Samantha to the airport. It was a really nice visit and I got to spend some fun time with both Jennifer and Samantha. I need to practice up on the Tiger Woods game as both David and Jennifer are already better than I am at Wii golf.

Darla got up at 5:20 AM this morning to go to her spin class at the gym and Buddy had been sick last night several times. The room was a landmine and she decided to clean it up and skip the gym. Buddy is getting older. He is about 15 now which equates to ancient in people years. I'm sure she'll be working on those spots in the carpet for a few days.

I did finish my 54 hole tournament this weekend. Rick and I played really well on Saturday in the two man scramble portion of the tournament and shot a 74, which with our 14 strokes gave us a 62. Sunday however was our armegeddon as we woke up to 30 MPH winds and it was cold and nasty. We shot 43+43=86 in an alternate shot format that gave us a 72. The problem with wind is it increases my handicap from 10 to 14 and Rick from 18 to 25. He couldn't hit a shot to save his life and I was alll over the place. If I had a bad hole, we had a bad hole. Rick and I as a team played three rounds and never had a birdie. Hard to do. I could have shot better than 86 myself if I'd played my own ball. The problem with alternate shot is that you are only as good as the position that your partner puts you in.

As of this weekend, Darla has qualified for the January 2009 trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas with Sipada. Darla continues to excel at the Silpada jewelry business and I am just along for the ride. I've never been to the Bahamas, so it will be fun for me. I'm really proud of her. She works hard at the business and it is paying off in a big way.

Well, this is short and a day late. I need to get at my desk after being gone yesterday. I'll be in tomorrow, but I'm leaving for Ukiah after luch and will be there overnight tomorrow and be back on Thursday night. Darla is joining me on the trip. I hope you all are well. Happy Easter...He Is Risen!!

David is in Hog Heaven

David has been sitting by quietly watching his younger brother at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. David has worked for an engineering firm for three years, has designed countless projects, has had one of his designs grace the corporate brochure for the firm where he interns, yet his goal in life was to attend Cal Poly as an Architecture major. Unfortunately, the entrance process and requirements are based solely on grades and SAT scores and not on real experience. David has bided his time at Junior College in Sacramento and over the past year has reset his sites on going to other schools and was hoping to enter the University of Texas in Austin in the fall. He applied a final time at Cal Poly along with the other schools and and was accepted into the school of Architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a Junior this Fall. Congratulations, Dave!! Persistence pays off. Hopefully I can use your Winter home in Lake Tahoe when you graduate and start making the real money.

Jennifer and Samantha Back in Town

A great weekend is in the books and another work week is upon us. It is just about dawn as I write this after the early time change this year. I drove in with my lights on, but look forward to the later light in the evenings as I can get home and putter a bit outside before the sun goes to bed. I love this time of year. In fact I shaved off my beard this morning as the 75 degree temperatures yesterday foretold the early Spring that has come to Northern California. I made the mistake of thinking because I had an early tee time yesterday at 9:09 AM that it would be too cold to wear shorts. As I sweltered through the day in my dark blue dockers, I realized the error of my ways. Many of the guys in the field were sporting their winter white legs and later sporting their early Spring pink flamingo legs because they were too dumb to slather on a bit of sunscreen.

Yesterday was the first day of our 54 hole team championship. I teamed up with my Vice President at the club, Rick, and we played a two man best ball. Neither of us managed a birdie during the day and in fact posted two net bogeys and finished 33+34=67 for the round. The team leading our flight had a 60, so we are 7 shots off the lead with two days to go. Saturday is a two man scramble and Sunday a two man Scotch. Sunday is the day that sees a big turnaround in scores as you can't take a hole off as each shot counts and it is an alternate shot format. I shot 43+42=84, but had two double bogeys and as I said, no birdies. It was not one of my stronger rounds. Rick is a 17 and shot 91. We can definitely get back into contention with a good scramble round on Saturday. Fun stuff.

As the title indicates, Jennifer and Samantha are back in town and will spend the week with her Mom, Diane, as she continues to convalesce from her recent surgery. Diane dropped the car seat off last week and I spent an inordinate amount of time Thursday night trying to figure out how to install it in the backseat of my Mustang. I finally got it figured out, but even then it seemed tight up next to the seat, but still a bit loose on the front end. Apparently it is, until the baby is put into the seat. I had to pull the passenger seat all the way forward in order to accomodate the baby carrier in the back seat. If Jennifer was a normal sized adult, it wouldn't have worked. Darla said now I have to get a Grandpa car. Yeah, right.

I picked Jennifer up from the airport on Saturday afternoon. Her flight was delayed an hour for some reason. The arriving flight in Vegas was delayed which delayed Jennifer. It is not fun, when you have a two month old and you have to sit and wait. According to Jennifer, the good news is that it was a light flight and she had a row to herself. Samantha was good on the flight, although she didn't sleep. I will be adding some pictures to the blog tonight. My company has recently increased security on our network and I can no longer upload pictures to the blog, so I'll do that tonight. I was running late after mowing the lawn and taking a peek at the golf tournament on TV at home and then dashing into the shower and making a run for the airport. Jennifer called when I was still ten minutes out and was just walking off the plane. I told her that I'd meet her outside baggage claim and collect Samantha and then she could go in and get her bag. Samantha and I drove the circle around and back to the terminal as Jennifer found her bag and we picked her up. Samantha had a cry for a minute as we drove thinking her Mom had abandoned her, but when she saw it was Papa she calmed down and figured that it wasn't so bad. Strangely, she began crying again when we looped around and picked up Jennifer and her bag.

We relaxed at the house, Jennifer had a tuna fish sandwich and we took it easy and watched a couple of movies. Darla had a Silpada party and got home about 4:30 and we just had a nice quiet evening. Samantha went to bed about 8:00 PM and Jennifer was in bed by 9:00 PM. She had been up late the night before talking to John and was tired.

Sunday I was up at 7:30 (6:30 before the time change that night) and off to the golf course by 8:20 AM. Darla was up by the time I left and getting ready for church. The plan was to have Jennifer and Samantha join her for church, but the time change did that in. I went in to wake Jennifer and she was still half asleep. I asked if she was going to get up and she asked me if Darla was getting ready for church or if she was getting ready to go to church? I didn't really see the subtle difference in the question and decided that she was still half asleep and needed to finish the process. I left her mumbling to herself and told Darla that she was still asleep and left for the course.

I also was able to talk to Dad last night in Hawaii. He had left us his itinerary and told us that the number was for the management office of the condo units. I called expecting to get the manager and lo and behold Dad answered. It threw me for second and I asked for Art Lyon. He said, "Hey, Ken." It was his birthday and I wanted to call and see how his day was. I asked him the time thinking it was six o'clock in Hawaii and 8:00 my time. He said, no it was five o'clock. I said, "Even after the time change?" He got a little concerned as they had seven o'clock dinner reservations with a view of the sunset overlooking the ocean and wasn't aware that Daylight savings time set in the night before. I forgot that Hawaii does not change time and is either two or three hours different from California depending on the time changes. They are having a great vacation and Dad said that the sun is doing wonders for his psyche. The long, cold Winter in Canada had left them yearning for sunshine. Their years in Arizona had spoiled them to cold weather and this Winter was particularly wet, snowy and cold in Canada. They have enjoyed their three weeks in Paradise, but felt bad that they had a two bedroom condo with one of the bedrooms going to waste with just the two of them there. They will move to a one bedroom on Thursday and spend the last three weeks there. The weather has been great with only a couple of rainstorms and both of them came overnight and were gone by the next day.

I also left a message for Darryl, letting him know that the number that Dad gave us was for his room and encouraging him to call them. I also talked to Randy. We traded text messages last week as he sat down in Coquitlam, British Columbia for a White Spot hamburger. I asked him what he was doing seven miles from Dad's house when Dad was 2500 miles away in Hawaii? He, of course, was on business and will travel back to Coquiltlam on Thursday and Friday of this week, but likely have his contract all sealed by the time Dad and Shirley get back home.

Well, work awaits. I have to get payroll in this morning. One of my underwriters had his mother-in-law pass away in his home this weekend and will miss three days this week as they prepare for the funeral. His wife is an only child and is pretty broken up over her passing. They had her in the hospital last week and then brought her home with hospice. He missed some days then too. Take care and have a good week. I'll get some Samantha pictures on here tonight and later in the week. Jennifer will be in town until next Monday. Ciao.

More Pebble Beach Pictures

My agent was much like me on my first trip to Pebble and took about 50 shots. Here are a few.

Update on Diane's Surgery

Praise God, the tumor was benign, so no worries about cancer. God is Good!

Ciao.

Pebble Beach Redux

Unbelievably beautiful weather greeted us in Pebble Beach for the two days and one night we spent on the coast. Anthony and I headed down early on Wednesday morning. We had a tee time at Pacific Grove Golf Course, the municipal course run by Pacific Grove. It is known as "The Poor Man's Pebble" and is a bargain at $40. The back nine runs along the ocean and is next to the 17 mile drive and bordered by the State run Asilomar resort. I was relaxed and played a pretty good game, shooting 41+43=84 and Anthony shot a 93. We saw deer along the course and they would come right up to you. We had lunch before we teed off and I only ate half of my tuna fish sandwich(still toeing the line with this cholesterol problem). I got a styrofoam container and figured I would eat the sandwich on the back nine. While we were on the putting green a huge seagull found his way into our cart and made off with the whole styrofoam container. He dropped it in the ice plant and one of the pro shop guys collected it for me and put it under the seat in the battery compartment. It was a little bit cooler on Wednesday with some low level fog that drifted in and out, but still mostly sunny and about 64 degrees.

Anthony and I met our agents back at the Howard Johnson's in Monterey. The rooms were clean and nothing fancy, but $59 a night. We headed in to the Cannery Row area where we had dinner at the Fish Hopper restaurant. The Fish Hopper was built out on the ocean with huge pillars supporting the building above the ocean waves. They have spotlights on the ocean and you can watch as the waves crash below you. Neat stuff. I did go off my diet and had the 10 oz prime rib and lobster tail for dinner. We called it an early night as our tee time at Pebble was 7:30 AM.

We awoke to a heavy fog shrouding the motel in Monterey and we dreaded a cold, wet start. As you can see by the picture on the first tee, the fog was not at Pebble and we teed off in incredible sunshine and the day topped out at about 68 degrees. I was able to concentrate on my golf more this trip and had less trouble with the tough course and undersized greens. We played from the gold tees , which is short of the tips, but a comfortable distance. I managed 43+45=88 on the course and felt that I could have played better. I parred the second and third holes and also parred the tough number 8 "cliff" hole. The back nine was a disaster waiting to happen as I went double-bogey, double bogey, double-bogey to start the back. I pulled it together by parring the number one handicap 569 yard par five 13th, as well as 15 and 17 for a 45 on the back. I think I somehow lost my concentration on the back, but I was able to rally and play good golf from then on out, going three over for the last six holes. I played with our number one agent, Rich from Cal Pro. Rich is a 5 handicap and also a member of RGC. He struggled a little on the course and shot an 89. Both Anthony and Rob shot over 100. It was a great time.

The NCGA is offering some deals on golf in Monterey in March and I plan a return trip at the end of the month to play Spyglass Hill. I've somehow managed to miss playing the second leg of the AT&T Pebble Beach classic. I've played both Poppy Hills and Pebble Beach, but never Spyglass. The deal is $175 with a cart for the month of March, so I will definitely plan on that.

I got a head start on the blog this weekend and started a draft of this epistle on Saturday morning. Darla had a team meeting of her Silpada reps at the house and I didn't golf until 1:00, so I worked in the office Saturday morning, working on some quotes and getting a start on the blog. It was an estrogen party with much laughter and good times with Darla leading the band. Darla, at one point, brought me in a hot plate of sausage and cheese quiche with fruit on the side, so it wasn't all bad.

I did play Woodcreek at 1:00 PM on Saturday. I have a friend who always wants to play golf with me. The problem is that he has young kids in sports and can never play in the morning. I hate playing in the afternoon on a weekend as the hacks are in full plumage and this weekend was no exception. We teed off right on time and had a wait on the second hole as the group in front of us was still on the tee. By the time we got to hole three, there were two groups on the tee and that was a theme for the day. I'm a rhythm golfer and like to stay active. One reason that I like to walk is that it keeps me active between shots and I can concentrate on my game. With Curly, Moe, Larry and their other brother, Darryl, in front of us, it was impossible to concentrate on anything except their gross ineptitude. I finally walked off the course after 16 holes and four hours and 50 minutes of inane golf. I shot an 86 when figuring in my handicap on the final two holes, so in spite of a strong wind and gusty conditions, I played okay, but my frustration level was boiling over. Boyd had quit after nine holes and 2 1/2 hours of golf. It was his wife's 16th birthday (she was born on February 29th) and the family was going to dinner at 6:00 PM. Bob and Mark soldiered on and I heard later that they finished in the dark and the group in front stood on the 18th green shaking hands and talking about their game before Bob finally drilled a seven iron shot into the green and they scattered. I'm glad I was gone already or I probably would have ended up in some trouble that night.

I got home and fired an e-mail off to Mark inviting him to come and play any morning he felt like joining us. I had told Boyd and Bob that I understood if they wanted to play in the morning, but like troopers, they came out and joined us on Saturday afternoon.

I'm wearing bandaids over the tips of my index and middle fingers of my left hand today. I googled "pool scale" and found out that I could chisel off the carbon and calcium buildup with a tile spatula. I had a large one that I use to spackle with and took it out yesterday and it worked wonders on the pool tile. The problem was that the blade is so sharp that I didn't realize that I was cutting into my hand as I used the corner to scrape the tile. I have painful "paper cut" like cuts on the pads of both fingers that were sore yesterday, but really painful today. The website suggested scraping the calcium off and then bathing the tile in an acid solution. Luckily, with the cuts on my hands, I didn't have any acid or my hands would really be sore today. I plan to stop and get some acid today at Lowes as well as some rubber gloves to use when I sponge off the tile.

Darla and I spent about a half-hour on the Skype last nigfht with Jennifer and Samantha. Something about the Skype experience makes Samantha need to go number 2 as for the second time she overfilled her diaper and left Jennifer with a mess on her shirt. Last time it was John. Jennifer's web cam has a blue light that comes on when it is in use and Samantha was staring at the light, which means she was looking right at Darla and I. It was great. Technology is a blessing.

Diane had her surgery last Wednesday and it was less invasive than they had thought. They were able to get into her thymus by going below her ribs rather than through her spine and she is already up and walking. The tumor was really large and they hope to have results on the biopsy this week. Jennifer and Samantha will be here on Saturday. I have to get the car seat from Diane and will pick them up at the airport and they will stay with us Saturday night. I have a 54 hole team championship that starts on Sunday, so Darla will take them to church Sunday morning and then to Diane's Sunday afternoon. I look forward to seeing Samantha. She is so much more active and is developing her personality now. It will be a blast.

Well, work awaits. I have a guy coming in to present information on our new 401k program. We have changed providers from ING to Mutual of Omaha and he will present on the new options. Then I have a guy coming in for lunch and will interview him for an underwriting position. He has experience in the E&S industry and I want to find out what makes him tick and what agencies he has relationships with. I hope you are all well. Ciao.

GREAT Week Ahead

Somehow we survived what was supposed to be a HUGE storm over the weekend. We had rain and some wind, but the forecast was for a storm with winds of up to 60 MPH and about two inches of rain. It turned out that the Monster storm skirted past us and we received less than an inch of rain and the winds were about 25 MPH.

I had golf set up for both Friday afternoon and Saturday and figured that would be a wash, BUT we managed to carve a window between storms and I played both days. Friday morning was raining and kind of a cold, nagging chill in the air. I was supposed to meet my agent at the course at 11 AM for lunch and then golf at Noon. I called Mel and he decided to give it a try and met me at 11 AM. His other agent in the office, Jeff, had driven home to get another coat for the game, so Mel and I sat and ate turkey burgers for lunch at the grill of Lincoln Hills. I'm being good with my high cholesterol and have really cut back on red meat. In fact, the last red meat I've had was about two weeks ago. The turkey burgers aren't bad, they are just a little drier than red meat. The rain continued as we ate and commiserated on life in general. The rain slackened shortly after noon and we delayed our start until 12:15 PM. We had a little drizzle on the first hole, but it stopped after that and was an okay afternoon. The course was WET and the balls didn't go anywhere. I need to develop a "stinger" shot like Tiger hits for wet days. I hit the ball high and it tends to plug in wet weather. I managed a 41+45=86 on a wet, cold round of golf.

The BIG storm was due in Saturday at about 3 PM and we were able to sneak in our Saturday round of golf at Cherry Island. I started the round bogey-double bogey and then put up seven pars in a row to shoot 39 on the front side. I then double bogeyed number 10, but pulled my game back to go one over the rest of the way for another 39 and a total of 78, my best round this year. I won the skins and happily bought everyone a drink at the end of the round. I even beat Boyd 78 to 79, but Bob shot a nice 76.

The title is in reference to a trip this week back to Pebble Beach. One of my agents arranged for a $350 green fee at Pebble without a required stay at the lodge and I jumped on it. He called me the day that our CEO and my VP were in town and they both said to do it and expense the round. Who am I to argue? Anthony from the office will join us and we drive down Wednesday morning. We will play Pacific Grove Wednesday afternoon and Pebble on Thursday morning. The storm has passed, it is blue skies and the forecast is for continued nice weather this week. I look forward to another shot at Pebble this week without the wide eyed reverence that I had for the course last time we played. I'll be able hopefully to concentrate on my game and less on the incredible scenery that Pebble offers. I also look forward to playing Pacific Grove. I played nine holes there last Summer, but didn't get to play the back nine, which runs along the coast and the famous 17 mile drive. We will have dinner in Pacific Grove on Wednesday night. My agent is handling the hotel reservations, so I'm not sure where we are staying.

I referenced my CEO's visit. It went fairly well. The focus was on the Sacramento office and our need to increase both marketing efforts and premium growth. We had a topside growth of almost 13% in 2007, but the bottom line lagged. I have reduced staffing by one and one of my focuses this year will be to correctly shift expenses between my office and my satellite in Modesto. I have a tendency to sign off on a bill and have that billing fall against my office when it should correctly be billed to Modesto. I've also shifted some staff from Sacramento to Modesto as we are their back room. I've hired a new producer for Sacramento in personal lines and I am also looking at a new underwriter in Sacramento for Commercial Lines. My goal and focus is to reduce my expenses and increase the bottom line profitability in 2008.

Darla and I were able to watch Samantha on the Skype this weekend. She was happy, but having a bit of a "poopy" time. We spent a short time staring at the chair as Jennifer went and changed her diaper. Technology is awesome and it is a new way to stay in touch with how Jennifer and John and especially Samantha are doing.

Darla made it back from her trip to Sawgrass in Florida and is all geared up to increase her sales in Silpada. She continues to do really well in the company and is close to earning her trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas. Her goal is to win the upgrade trip and a private dinner with the founders of the company.

Well, that's it for this week. I will fill you in on the trip to Pebble Beach next week. Be happy and content, as Benjamin Franklin said, "Discontent can make a rich man poor, as contentment can make a poor man wealthy". Ciao.

Another Holiday Monday..here at work

President's Day. One of the major tenants in our building is Wachovia, and they have today off by virtue of being a bank and the parking lot is empty today. Today is the last of the Spring-like days that we have enjoyed for the past week and a half. Tomorrow is supposed to bring clouds and rain by the afternoon and the weather will remain unsettled until the weekend. We have been enjoying the cool crisp nights and sunny warm days over the past ten or twelve days, but we can still use some rain and the snow pack in the Sierra was starting to melt with the unseasonable weather. We want to see our lakes and reservoirs full this Spring and Summer, so bring on the rain. Hopefully, it will let up by Friday as I've been invited to join an agent at Lincoln Hills golf club in Lincoln. I buy lunch and he takes care of the golf. We call it Marketing around here.

I did, of course, make it out to the golf course this weekend and we played Cherry Island in Elverta. Cherry Island was built in the early 1980s and is located out on a farming community. You can hear animals, livestock and see horses and roosters and farm animals of every variety as we play the round. There is a large cattle farm along several of the holes and we heard the most awful bellowing by a cow. We weren't sure if they were butchering it, it was giving birth, it had got stuck in a fence or what, but it was not a pretty sound. I played with Bob and Boyd and Darren, the husband of one of Darla's friends at work. They just moved here from Southern California and she wanted to hook Darren up with us. He played several weeks ago and was shocked to find out that we WALK the course. His wife gave him heck when he got home and complained about being sore and tired. She told him he needed to lose weight. He responded by buying a new speed cart, a GPS system for distance and embracing the new exercise regimen. I didn't have the heart to tell him that my doctor doesn't consider walking a golf course exercise, because we don't elevate our heart rate enough to break a sweat. Hey, it beats riding a cart. Both Bob and Darren had never played Cherry Island and struggled. Bob, a 5 handicap, shot 85 and Darren had 92. Boyd shot a stellar 73 and I had 42+41=83. Boyd has been pushing us to play other courses besides Woodcreek and Diamond Oaks because he plays them so much he thinks his handicap is artificially low. He is a 7 and shot 36+37=73 at Cherry. He hadn't shot a round that low in three weeks. So much for trying new courses. Bob and Darren enjoyed it so much that they ran inside when we finished and made a tee time for next Saturday. Again, hopefully the weather will give us a window to play golf next week.

The gang here is all in jeans today as we scrub the office and our offices and cubicles in anticipation of our CEO's visit tomorrow. He is in San Francisco today visiting with Harvey's office and will be here tomorrow morning. He will then board a private jet at the Mather Air Field next door for a quick hop down to Los Angeles and the mid year NAPSLO (National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices) meeting in Indian Wells, California. He will visit our Los Angeles and San Diego offies while he is in the area. We haven't seen Alan since August of 2004 in our office, so he was overdo a visit to this area.

Darla is in Sawgrass, Florida as I write this. She left Saturday morning and will be there at a national convention of her Silpada Designs Jewelry until Wednesday. She won this trip by being a top producer and only had to pay her flight in to Sawgrass. The rest of the stay, hotel, food, etc. is paid for by Silpada. I talked to her last night and the hotel is excellent and the weather perfect. They are right on a beach in Sawgrass. Of course, Sawgrass is home to the TPC course that hosts the PGA Championship every year and The World Golf Hall of Fame is located just down the road from her resort at the Marriott. If I was there, I'd have my clubs.

It was quiet around the house with Darla gone. Daniel was in town for the three day weekend and we spent Friday night together and watched a movie. Darla was off on the flight early Saturday and the boys were gone to their Dad's house by the time I got home from golf. I relaxed Saturday night watching the TIVO of the golf tournament from los Angeles and watching Perfect Stranger, the movie with Bruce Willis and Halle Barry for a second time. It was good.

Sunday I spent at church. I went to the 11 AM service as I had a celenbration of life to attend for Randy, one of the board members from RGC who passed away two weeks ago. They held the celebration in an old packing shed in Loomis and there were over 300 people attend to celebrate his life. Randy was the same age as I am and graduated high school in 1975 as did I. He had friends from high school, his work, his hunting , fishing and golf buddies, and family and friends. They say you can get a measure of a man's life based on how many people attend his funeral. If true, Randy had a Hell of a life. The Roseville Golf Club was in full attendance at his funeral as we had 12 in attendance including five former or current Presidents in attendance and we all wore our Presidential blazers in Randy's honor. They held the celebration in the city that he went to high school and he lived his entire life in Northern California. He will be missed.

Dad and Shirley are off to the islands tomorrow and will be in Hawaii for six weeks. I am definitely jealous and will live by their example when Darla and I retire. We will make sure to spend at least six weeks in Hawaii, if just to carry on a tradition. I'm calling it a tradition, so it's a tradition.

Jennifer had me set up a Skype account this weekend and now I can see Samantha on her web cam. It is a nice way to feel a little closer to my granddaughter. Darla and I have continued to have problems with our computer since our trip to Maui and the power outage that we had at the house. First of all, our user accounts on XP were wiped out and I had to set those back up. Then our audio device was stripped from the computer and I couldn't figure out how to reinstall it. John tried to walk me through it, but it wouldn't reset. Finally, I went on Google and from there to a computer users website and they suggested that I go back to the HP website and download the drivers for the device again and behold, our sound is back and we could see and hear little Samantha. Nice.

Well, the natives are growing restless and I have to settle them down, so off I go into the junge of office politics. Wish me a safe journey. Ciao.

Spring Fever in Northern California

I just talked to Dad last night and looked at a video montage of his house covered in three feet of snow. His backyard is covered in heavy, wet snow that obscures the gazebo and patio furniture and plants and trees. And we had a weekend where the temperatures exceeded 70 degrees for the first time this year. I not only got the Mustang washed on Saturday, but I waxed it on Sunday and it sits gleaming in the parking lot outside my office window. Dad's car is snow bound in their driveway and according to Dad and Shirley the street is a sheet of black ice. Funny how 736 miles can make such a big difference. It is another holiday of sorts today with schools closed and the state workers all out for some reason or other. I look on my calendar and see nothing, but tomorrow is Lincoln's birthday and politicians are quick to move someone's birthday to accomodate a three day weekend. Next Monday is President's Day which I thought was supposed to combine Washington and Lincoln', etc birthday into a single holiday. Oh, the state will take that Monday off as well. Nice.

Glad to see Hillary Clinton reeling in the polls right now after Obama swept the primaries this past weekend. Her reaction was to fire her campaign manager. Of course, her best course of action would be to adopt a new personality. The current one of "contemptuous bitch" doesn't seem to be working for her. But that's just my opinion. I'm pretty well resolved that the Republicans will cede the Presidency to the Democrats next year, but I loathe to think of another Clinton ("I did not have sex with that woman!" Who knew he was talking about Hillary?) in office. Bill Clinton is the most embarassing excuse for a President that this country has ever had (Bubba in the White House) and now another Clinton wants to bully her way into office. Please God...no!

My back has made a tremendous return to normalcy. I played two days of golf this weekend shooting 44+38=82 on Saturday at Diamond Oaks and then taking second place at Woodcreek yesterday with a 40+44=84 and winning $50 in the club tournament. I bought myself a new set of Nike golf shoes with my winnings. They had an odd lot sale and there was a pair of white and black Nikes in my size for $47.95 marked down from $97.50. I have about six pairs of golf shoes in the garage and that is down from about ten pairs when I finally thinned the herd last weekend when I was cleaning out the garage. I wasn't thrilled with my game this weekend as I struggled on the front side at Diamond and the backside at Woodcreek, but shot 78 on the other two sides combined. And winning money always salves the wounds of ineptitude.

The office is starting the year struggling a little bit with the market really softening and the standard line carriers really beginning to reassert themselves in what has traditionally been surplus lines insurance. Our renewal retention has dropped from 75% to less than 50% with our premium retention at about 40%. We need to write more new business, but the lines that we traditionally excel in are getting blurred. Unfortunately, in order for the insurance world to skew back to normal we will need a big natural disaster to steal surplus from the standard carriers and make them tighten up their underwriting. When that happens, we will again be in a position to grow. Until then we will tread water and hope to stay ahead of the game.

We have our CEO and President in to visit the office next Tuesday. He hasn't been in Sacramento since 2004 when the Manager at the time was let go. I look forward to having him see the positive changes that have been made since his last visit, but it is always stressful for the staff when the big Kahuna comes in.

Jennifer and Samantha will be back in Sacramento on March 8-17th and will therefore be here over my birthday. I can't imagine a better present. Diane will have her surgery on February 27th or so, but has asked that Jennifer be here on the 8th because her husband, Bob, is away on a business trip.

Dad and Shirley leave next Thursday for Maui and six weeks in Paradise. Dad said that Vancouver had their heaviest Winter month in January in 60 years and he is tired of shoveling snow. The snow is so heavy and wet that he has to shovel three times a day to stay ahead of it. I think he looks forward to being on the beach and walking in the sunshine and relaxing in the warm tropical air.

I got called in to my doctor's office last Friday and was read the riot act on my diet and my cholesterol. My triglyceride level was off the chart at about 557 and my doctor told me in no uncertain terms that I have to change my diet. I eat far too much red meat and things like pasta and peanuts. She told nme that if Darla opens more than one package of hamburger a week, it is too much. I guess we will be having ground turkey in our spaghetti sauce for awhile.

I have a heating and air tech in my office right now. Somehow, one of the heating units has stuck for about two weeks and my office has been an oven in the afternoons. I have put in several service orders and they always show up in the morning when the office is comfortable and adjust the temperature down two degrees. By about two-thirty the office is 85 degrees and approaches the ides of Hell in here. I was doing reviews last week and the employees where sweating them out. Strangely, in December I had the opposite problem and it was so cold in here you could hang meat to cure.

Well, that is the news to the moment, such that it is. I hope all are well and following in the footsteps of the Lord. Ciao.

Bowen Therapy is Awesome!

I am back up and around after a weekend of pretzel illogic. I went to see Jane on Monday although it isn't a magic elixir and I didn't prance out of there like Bill Walsh skipping across the field after he won his first Super Bowl. It is a process and here three days later, I have two games of golf planned for this weekend and I am upright and feeling frisky. I do have an appointment with Jane next Tuesday, so if I overdo it this weekend, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We talked about setting me up on a maintenance program and coming in every 8-10 weeks for treatment.

Randy's son, Chris, has signed a letter of intent to play college football at Southwestern Oklahoma State. He will likely redshirt his first year and play as a redshirt freshman next year. It will also allow Chris to concentrate on his school studies in his first year away from home. The scholarship includes room and board as well as his class work. I'm proud of him. He will be about 3 1/2 hours from home and be able to scoot home on long weekends.

I also talked to Jennifer and Samantha is doing great. John is leaving for LA next week to continue his training in home theater and home based communications installations. He will miss Samantha while he is gone. We look forward to Jennifer and Samantha coming to visit in the next couple of weeks when Diane undergoes surgery.

Darla and I have booked our Mexican vacation this year. We will be in Nuevo Vallarta on June 20-27 along with three couple friends from the golf club. All are board members and we will bring our clubs and enjoy the resort. This is just an update on my health and how thing are going. I'll write more next Monday. Ciao.

Ouch! My Aching Back!!

It has been a year since my last flair-up and that episode was much worse than this as I ended up face down on the floor in the bathroom at 3 in the morning unable to move without spasming. This time I simply pulled something on a chip shot to the green and ended up listing to the left and waiting for treatment. I have a session with my Bowen therapist and missed work today. The chip where I hurt my back was a great one from about sixty feet and over a sandtrap. I dropped the ball about eight feet from the hole and cozied it up to about three feet and made the putt. I played two more holes and went par, bogey and finally gave in to the mounting pain when I was trying to stretch and my back spasmed.

It was a tough start to the day on Saturday as I was told that one of my board members, Randy, had died from heart failure the night before. Randy was one of those big, big men, about 6'4" and 280 pounds. He had shaved his head and often wore a doo rag on his head and was fond of leather vests. He looked like a biker, but was the softest hearted guy you'll ever want to meet. I was just getting to know Randy better this year and had plans to play in his thirtieth annual golf tournament in June, where he cooks tri-tip every night and makes bloody marys every morning. I will miss him dearly and had to console his friend of forty years, Jim, who was a basket case on Saturday. I had our head pro get on the PA system and announce to the group of 95 golfers waiting for the modified scramble start at 9 AM that Randy had passed away and that we would all play with heavy hearts, but play the round and the tournament in Randy's honor. I really was affected and wanted to just quit and go home and as it turned out, I would have been better off following my heart instead of my head.

I had to miss one of my main company underwriters visiting the office at 10 AM today and had to cancel an interview that I'd set up with a candidate for our personal lines underwriting department. I have rescheduled the interview for Wednesday as I have a lunch with another company marketing person tomorrow. I think my boss Harvey will be in Wednesday and I will meet a candidate for his office who will work out of my office if they hire her. She is a big broker with another firm in Sacramento and Harvey is looking for a new broker for his office. I've offered to have her work out of my branch to save Harvey the cost of another office for her. Partly it is a selfish move on my part as we use the SF branch to broker some of our business and having her domiciled in my office will make that process easier for us. I also hope to use her influence with retailers to write more contract business for Sacramento.

I ended up going over to the video store on Saturday after I left the golf course to get a movie for us to watch Saturday night. As I wandered the store, limping as I went, I saw a movie of interest on the bottom shelf and idiot that I am, I reached down to get the box and had a HUGE spasm that sent the box flying one way, my keys and wallet the other and me flopping like a fish in the middle of the aisle. I had three people move away from me quickly and one come over to help me up. The spasm finally passed and I gathered my things, grabbed a copy of the Bourne Ultimatum that was my first choice and got out of there. This back problem is one of the major problems of my life, but again, I made it through 2007 largely unscathed, so was getting a little comfortable with my body and not stretching as much as I should before playing golf. My treatment is at 2 PM today and I can't wait. I am sitting on a pillow in the office of my house with a heating pad on my back.

I will have my car washed at a car wash for the first time since I bought it today. I wanted to get out yesterday and wash it as the rains that we have been having have finally left us. Darla offered to divorce me if I did go out and wash my car as I couldn't even stand up straight. She said that vanity is a sin and that I needed to get over myself. I just hate driving a dirty car and it's been three weeks since I have washed the car. It's filthy.

I talked to Darryl last night and he is in Denver at his new job in Longmont, Colorado with McLane Food Service. He now expects to be in Colorado for about four years and will return to Texas after that. He will be in Austin next weekend as the company is having a Vice presidents meeting at their Tyler Texas site next week. I asked Darryl if he would buy on a golf course in Colorado and he said no. He's been spoiled living where you can golf year round. Colorado is lucky to have six months of golfing weather. Darryl's prior company made him a nice offer to stay, but this is a great opportunity and was his first choice for a new job.

Well, I need to get on with my day and will add more to this later in the week. Ciao.