Memorial Day 2011

This is the day set aside to remember our fallen heroes in the military. Unfortunately, this day has really become the unofficial start of Summer with barbecues and swimming pools, suntan lotion and chaise lounges. As the weather here continues to confound (we had rain yesterday morning and throughout Saturday), I can remember Memorial Days of the past where we had friends over and we all sat in the pool drinking adult beverages and smelling the grill cooking. Two years ago it was 103 degrees on Memorial Day. This year, we will be lucky to eke out 72 degrees and it will cloud up by sundown in preparation for another two days of rain. This is the weirdest Spring I can recall and it goes to show you just how inane Al Gore is with his Global Warming campaign. The last picture I saw of Gore shows that he's actually been bulking up ready for the cold and rain. The guy must be pushing 275 pounds.

I spent a good part of the day yesterday mowing and edging, trimming back the ground cover and cleaning the pool and pool tile. The best way to clean pool tile is from in the pool, but I don't have a full body wet suit, so hung down from the pool edging and cleaned the tile with brush and pool acid. My body is a little sore today. I picked up a cold up in Carson City and that added to my allergies, saw a day spent constantly blowing my nose to the point, that I have a honker that looks like WC Field's: red, raw and sore.

Darla continues to pursue her goal of a trip to Puerto Rico with Silpada and was out at the Folsom Zoo at a vendor event showing off her jewelry. She didn't do much in sales, but booked a June party (her thirteenth June party) and has a potential recruit. She has been gone alot, but is really working her business hard. The end goal is still somewhat of a pipe dream, but she is really making some money right now, which is helping her get caught up on her bills. The pictures above are from an event at the new wine bar in Roseville, Crush 29. Darla rented out a room and hosted some friends for a Silpada event.

I played golf on Saturday and it was cold. The wind was blowing and we had scattered showers throughout the day. I shot 43+43=86 and have earned all 13 strokes that I am now getting. The nice thing is that I added another birdie to my Eclectic score and am down to a gross 69 with 6 events remaining. The Eclectic is the year long tournament whereby we track the best score on each of the 18 holes shot in a stroke play tournament during the golf year. My net right now is a 56 with my 13 strokes and have had a net 53 the last three years and taken 1st, 1st and second in the event. I can tell you this, I'm the only one in the club with a gross 1 on my scorecard. The Net Amateur is next weekend followed by an away tournament at Morgan Creek the following weekend.

I talked to Darryl yesterday and reiterated my invitation to join Neil and I in Monterey on October 15th and 16th. I guess Cheryl works some Halloween store during the month leading up to Halloween and won't be able to get away. I told him to come himself. Our outings to Monterey are pretty legendary and we will play Pacific Grove (the poor man's Pebble Beach). Pacific Grove is a municipal course that winds its way though the ice plant and dunes of the 17 mile drive in Carmel. The front nine is pretty sedentary, but the back nine is a picturesque adventure with views of the Pacific Ocean and the beaches of Pacific Grove. We will also play Poppy Hills, the former course that was part of the AT&T Pebble Beach event before the players complained so much about the tight fairways and heavy woods that they went back to the Monterey Peninsula Country Club. I kind of like playing on a course the PGA pros consider too hard. The cost this year is $75 for Pacific Grove and $105 for Poppy Hills.

Darryl also told me about the mess that they found when they returned from their trip to Vail with Dad and Shirley. Apparently there was a heavy storm that blew rain into the flashings fronting his house and into the interior of the house inundating his office with wet insulation and ruining the walls and carpet. He has fixed the leak (which wouldn't be covered by insurance) and will handle the repairs himself (which his homeowners would cover). What a mess. Well, here is hoping that Darryl can find a way to fly out for the golf tournament in October. Darla and I could pick you up in San Jose on the way and drop you back off on Sunday. Our tee times at Poppy on Saturday start at 7:40, so you could catch a 6:00 o'clock flight back to Denver.

Work continues to go very well and we are up over our May 2010 by 15% with one day left in the month. I've also interviewed a broker about perhaps joining the team. She is a former co-worker of Anthony's at another firm and handles agents in Bakersfield and Alaska mostly writing worker's compensation and environmental insurance. Her book is about $3,000,000, so if Harvey and I can work it out to have her join Sacramento, we could get to the $25,000,000 level sooner rather than later. It'll be a stretch to see if we can take on her book, but Harvey will meet with her next week.

The boys were both home this weekend, Daniel to have an interview for a Summer internship and David because of the three day weekend. They came over last night and we watched the movie "Due Date" with Robert Downey. Jr and Zack Galifianakis, a mindless comedy that had me laughing out loud. My favorite scene (believe it or not) was when the Robert Downey, Jr. character punches a little kid in the stomach. It was hilarious. They will both be back on the road soon after a mid morning breakfast of french toast and bacon.

Jennifer will be car shopping this week and I hope she finds something safe fro her and Samantha. She is looking at Saturns, which are safe cars that run forever. Once she finds transportation, she will be looking at moving into a one bedroom apartment for her and Sam. pray for them as they move into this next stage of their lives.

Well, that is about it for this epistle. Dad and Shirley are back home from their Colorado getaway and Jenny start her new job in Dallas this week (I think). A lot going on in the Lyon world. Be well everyone. Ciao.

Back to the Blog

Finally back to the keyboard after a weekend in Carson City and most of a week suffering from a cold that I picked up in the mountains. The weather was overall fantastic in the seventies, but it started out at 40 degrees and slowly warmed with the sun rising in the sky. My problem was that I stubbornly wore shorts and enjoyed the heat after noon, but our tee times were 9:30 AM and 7:50 AM on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday, I started with sweats over my shorts, but I think the damage had been done on Saturday while I was on the practice range and putting green and the wind was blowing and it was COLD. This has been such a weird Spring with a lot of rain and snow and temperatures on average 10-15 degrees below normal. We have usually been in the pool by this time of year (we actually usually get in in April a little bit and by the end of May it's 100 degrees and we are living in the pool. This Memorial Day weekend calls for temperatures of 72-78 degrees. I'm not loving this. We are probably in for an extra HOT Summer.

Darla is in listening to the final Oprah Winfrey show. I'm not a fan of the Democratic Obama lover and her eunuch boyfriend, Steadman. Oprah is beloved, but is a billionaire that has grown wealthy on the backs of poor blacks who aspire to be her, but continue to live in poverty while their O magazine is delivered monthly. If she had done more for the inner city poor and given less cars away to middle class white women in her audience, I might pay attention to her. People can relate to her with her weight struggles and eating issues, but they don't have drivers and cooks and her struggles are more in line with a lavish lifestyle and less with eating due to depression or life struggles. Good riddance in my opinion.

Darla and I drove up to Carson City on Friday morning and went straight to the Genoa lakes course in Genoa. Darla met up with our friend, Lilly, and they had plans for a fun day. I went to the driving range and realized that I had forgot a hat. I called Darla and asked if she could come and bring me a hat so I didn't burn in the high thin air and blue skies. I had told her to make sure to get gas right away as the car was on 1/4 and my gas gauge is broken. She came back and rode out to the first green with the starter to bring me my hat. When I walked up to the cart I looked at her and said, "That's not the hat I wanted!" She could have and should have smacked me, but the guys got a kick out of the line. Darla headed back and met up with Lilly at a couple of stores and then they headed to lunch, completely forgetting the gas gauge problem. The car ran out of gas as they approached the restaurant and she had to nurse it into a parking lot and have Lilly come and get her. Darla called AAA and sat down to eat lunch. Of course, it was all my fault when I got back to the hotel.

I shot 87, 87 and 89 up in Carson City and was most upset with my Sunday round where I shot 41 on the front. The round started to come apart when I was 3 over after 8 holes and dumped my approach into the lake fronting the 9th green. I stumbled badly on the back and shot 48 with several balls hooked out of bounds from the tee. It was like falling down stairs in slow motion as I watched my tournament round implode. My good friend, Bob, had an even worse experience as he hit four straight balls out of bounds on the par five 8th hole, double hit a ball, hit his next shot into the lake next to the green, dropped and hit his 14th shot onto the green and two putted for a 16. Brutal. I' m blaming that image for my implosion. (Well, it has to be somebody's fault).

We were able to have dinner with Neil and Lilly at B'Sghetti's in Carson City on Friday night. We were supposed to hook up with Bob and Vicki after dinner, but they had gone to see a movie and just spent the night on "couple" time. Darla and I gambled until about midnight and then headed to bed. We went to bed marginally up.

Saturday night we got together with the gang at Red's in Carson City. Red's is an old fashioned bar with great food and over 100 beers on tap and in bottles. We had a great meal and surprised Barbara with a birthday cake and she was thrilled. It was a great time getting together with our golf friends and we went out afterward with Bob and Vickie to listen to some music and dance. We started at one bar that had a good band, but a creepy little old man with a mental disability that was slowly dancing on the dance floor pretending to play the harmonica. We walked across the street to the Nugget and listened to a band that was made up of two keyboard players and a female singer. They were quite good and Darla pointed out when "All my Exes live in Texas" came on, that it was true in my case. We danced a little bit and were amused by a little 4'10" man and three ladies that took turns dancing with him. He was duded up in jeans, a large belt buckle (that frankly was probably normal sized) and a big Cowboy hat. This dude was all hat and no cattle as they say, but he was squiring three elderly ladies to the dance.

Jennifer and Micheal are splitting up. She is buying a car and looking for a new place for just her and Samantha. I have encouraged her to move out on her own and not to introduce anyone else into Sam's life until she is in a committed relationship. Sam doesn't need the constant upheaval in her life and be subjected to the whims of one of Jennifer;'s benefactors. it's too hard on her and Jennifer needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. Her Mom has never been alone in her life having always ended up in new relationships immediately, and it's time for Jennifer to break that pattern. I am strongly supporting her in getting her life together. A life for her and Samantha. I'm sad because I really like Michael, but it is Jennifer's life and I'm more sad for Samantha, who has grown really attached to Michael and his little dog, Kippy. She will be confused, but will love having her Mom to herself.

Well, this is short and sweet (just like Samantha), but I will add more over the holiday. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day. Ciao.

This weather is starting to piss me off!

You can see the source of my irritation in the pictures above. This was another one of those weeks with mid eighties and sunshine all the way until Friday night. Then, the cooler temperatures, wind and storms blew into the area. What is with the weather? It's like we are being penalized for being productive workers when the weekend rolls around.

I did go out on Saturday to Auburn and play golf, but I was wearing shorts and "little Kenny" got a little cold, if you get my drift. I had a wind jacket in the car and held on for a 42+44=86, but it was one of those days that if you just missed your shot a little bit, the wind took it and blew it across the fairway. I was happy to finish with the same ball that I teed off with and the heated seats in the 300 came in handy on the ride home.

Darla and I also took a trip Saturday night into Concord and met David at the Benihana's and helped him celebrate his 24th birthday which is Tuesday. Darla's birthday is Monday and she is turning, um, seven years younger than me (I'm not an idiot you know. I'm 54 years old....OOPS.) We had a nice visit and enjoyed the food and the conversation. David is enjoying his internship at ROK and even played on their softball team this week and went 3 for 4 from the plate. I told him that that alone is worth a ton to him as an intern, because his value transcends that of a simple worker. Now he's the "Ringer'. Maybe he'll be kept on over the summer, especially if they play Summer league softball. We had a laugh as a group of women came in that were all well over 6 foot tall and that was accentuated by each of them wearing platform shoes. it was probably a basketball team, but it was pretty funny.

We got out of the restaurant about 9:30 and the first of the rain that we were to see today was coming down. It rained almost all the way to Sacramento and then held off. We awoke this morning to a light rainfall and broken skies, with even some sunshine. That all changed about 10:00 AM when a squall passed through and we had penny sized hail fall for about ten minutes completely covering the ground. Darla took the pictures above of the pool and front yard. it was hard to fathom the weather, when I had left work early on Friday and sat out by the pool in the 86 degree sunshine.

The blog will be delayed next week as Darla and I are off to Carson City with the golf gang from the club. I will take Friday off and we will play Genoa Lakes in Genoa, Nevada. The course is about ten minutes west of Carson City and will play host to one of the US open qualifiers tomorrow. We will stay over in Carson City at the Carson Station Casino and I will play Silver Oak on Saturday and Dayton Valley on Sunday. Our tee times at Dayton on Sunday start at 7:30 and the course is thirty minutes South of Carson, so Saturday night will not be a late night for sure. I believe they have vans taking us to the course Sunday morning and then we will meet the ladies later. I will also be out to Serano Country Club Thursday afternoon where we will play the Insurance Association tournament in June and will play a practice round with the golf committee. So, all told, I am playing 4 rounds of golf in four days and will likely get home late Sunday and simply fall into a coma. It will be a great time and I'll get to spend part of it with my good friend, Bob, who moved to San Jose in March and I haven't seen him since. We've talked a few times and are planning a trip to San Jose soon to see his new home and golf course. Right now our weekends are pretty full with Silpada events as Darla tries to win the trip to Puerto Rico in January. It is still a distant possibility, but I don't count Darla out. She is working hard and has a dozen parties planned before the end of the qualifying period. I've got a feeling she will be selling jewelry to all of the golf ladies on the upcoming trip. She's a little fried that I have used up one of her prime weekends for this golf outing.

The rain and thunder have started up again and it is pelting down rain, turning the pool into a froth of raindrops and the surrounding area into a wet mess. This weather is supposed to stay with us until Tuesday and move out for the weekend. The three courses that we are playing next week are all experiencing snow flurries today. I thought it was freaking May.

Dad and Shirley are in Vail, Colorado this week and next as they visit Colorado. They saw Darryl and Cheryl the latter part of next week and they will join Dad and Shirley up in Vail on Tuesday. Darryl is playing at a corporate golf event at Kissing Camels Country Club (and they call Californians weird).

I ordered a new iPad2 for Darla for her birthday. It is pricey, but the iPad is perfect for her jewelry business, as she can show hostesses and guests jewelry that is not in her collection when they want to order it. If any of you get the iPad2, we can do the Face to Face telephone calls. it is a more reliable version of Skype, which hopefully is in for a major overhaul now that Microsoft has bought it. We used it for awhile, but the freezing up of the video link and the poor transmission was a pain in the ass. We just gave up and used the phone. Apple is still a technological leader and the Face to Face is supposedly flawless. I will also definitely download some newer novels onto the iPad and read them there. The cost is about $9 for a new book instead of $25. The unit is being manufactured and engraved for Darla and we will receive it in early June.

Well, that is the news for now. Remember, that the blog will be delayed next week due to my being old and worn out after four straight days of golf. I played twice this week and was sore. I can imagine what it will be like next week. Of course, I was tremendously cold on the course Saturday and that worked into my neck and shoulders. I hope you are all well. Don't forget to wish David and Darla a Happy Birthday. Ciao.

Great weather week, lousy weekend weather...what's up with that?

I have an Old Photo Pro app on my iPhone and like to take selected pictures and make them black and white. This shot of Sam could have been taken in the 50's and is a classic. She is quite a little doll.

Sad news in that Michael and Jennifer are having some problems. Jennifer may soon be moving out and they have been working on their issues. It's not easy with bills and both having been out of work. Relationships are work and they are definitely trying to work things out. Pray for them.

The weather this week got up into the 90's for a couple of days and the 80's all the way until Friday and then it was a cold, windy Saturday morning that finally gave way to sunshine and 77 degrees. Today was just downright cold and I had shorts on going to church and the wind went right through me. It was overcast all day and now, finally, at 4;00 in the afternoon, the sun is out and it is up to 65 degrees. Tomorrow it will be 72 degrees and then back into the eighties with a cold front shown coming in for next weekend. Why is the American worker punished for providing for our families?

I played golf in the first Diamond tournament of the year. These are tournaments NOT put on by our golf club, but put together by the course and open to anyone. They had a 7:45 shotgun with 69 golfers. I shot 41+42=83 with a net of 70 to tie for fourth place. They put a guy in our foursome that was probably 55 years old and it was his first tournament. His wife signed him up probably to get him out of the house. He had no clue what he was doing and shot 114, dropping balls near out of bounds after hitting the ball out. We told him he was disqualified and he just shrugged. He picked up on four holes and took a triple bogey on each of them. We also had a guy who had a hole in one and he refused to buy drinks for anyone. He didn't have the hole in one insurance because it wasn't an RGC event and he isn't in our club. The guys were harassing him and he told everyone they should buy HIM a drink, that the tradition of buying everyone else a drink was stupid. He was quite popular with the guys after the round, the cheap bastard.

Darla is acting like the editor of my blog again as she came in and told me to add some pictures from our visit with the boys and Darla's family last night. The problem is she never takes any of the photos off of her flash card and you have to sift through 200 pictures to find the three to add to the blog. I put her on the task of downloading them to her laptop, picking out three she wants me to add and then e-mailing them to me. That should keep her busy for a few minutes. After that, she can take off the pictures of our Christmas and snow trip with Sam and Jennifer as they have been added to the hard drive already and most are on our iphones as well.

We had the family over last night after my golf game and we were initially going to relax out by the pool, but that plan went up in cool temperatures and windy conditions, so we sat inside, watched the Kentucky Derby and an NBA playoff game. We all watched Lucas totter about trying to turn on every switch on our DVR and TV. Luke will be one next month and is at the fun stage before they start talking or walking, but they are in to everything. he is one happy little boy. I wish that Jennifer and Samantha lived closer, so they could get to know each other better.

I fixed barbecued chicken sandwiches for dinner last night and we enjoyed potato salad and fruit salad while we feted the Moms in our life. I still miss Mom after 11 years without her.

I will be off to Redding on Tuesday as I am taking Matt up to Redding to meet some of the agents up there and turn some of my agency staff over to him. We will have breakfast in Chico and meet two agents in Redding, one of them for lunch, before meeting one of my golfing agents at his country club at 1:30 for a golf game. Matt and I will probably be home about 10:00 that night, but it will be a good trip. He is really doing well for me and is excited about his job.

I have a trip set up for next Saturday to Auburn Valley Country Club. many of the clubs in the area are now open to the public after 10:00 AM because the membership has dropped so badly in the economy. At this point there is no reason to belong to a club because you can get on most of them anyhow. I never liked the idea of being tied down to one club with a $500 nut every month and another $500 quarterly for food and beverages. There are too many courses to go out and play and I'd rather use my golf budget to sample the wide variety of courses in the area rather than be tied down to one. I'm certainly monogamous as a husband, but not as a golfer. Boyd, Matt and Darren will join me on the trip.

The following weekend, we head to Carson City with the club and I will play Genoa Lakes, Silver Oak and Dayton Valley over three days. I'm taking Friday off work and Darla and I will drive up and stay at the Carson Station Casino in Carson City. We have plans with the group for dinner on Saturday and will relax and unwind the rest of the weekend. Darla and the ladies will have a spa day and shop and eat to the heart's desire. We need an away week at this point. Darla has really been working her business hard trying to win the Puerto Rico trip next year. It will be a tough go and she might not make it, but it won't be from lack of effort on her part.

We have decided to Join dad and Shirley and the extended family for a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale next March to Nassua, St Thomas and St Maarten. This is actually the cruise that I have always wanted to go on. I have done Mexico and Jamaica, etc. and Darla and I enjoyed the Bahamas so much on our trip several years ago, so the opportunity fell right into our lap. The price is expensive with accommodations going for about $3,000, not to mention the flights that will be extra, cabs, hotel, etc. But, hey, it's just money.

Well, that's it for this week. I hope all are well and the Mom's out there had a GREAT Mother's Day! Ciao.

Warm Weather has Arrived

More pictures from our trip and one of the pool. I worked my tail off today getting the pool ready for swim season. I took apart the filters and cleaned each of them. I also flushed out the lines, shocked the pool, adjusted the pool sweep, turned on the waterfalls, added some African daisies to the palm garden, trimmed all of the bushes and trees and added fresh shredded bark around the bushes at the front of the pool. I also added bark to the front garden by the walkway and to all of the tree rings on the side yard. Darla was out of town, so I got to work at my pace and get it all done before she got home tonight, Unfortunately, I was also supposed to have this blog done, but her cell phone was dead and I had called her for an ETA and she never called back.

Now I have a half hour to rush out a blog entry. Darla was up in Paradise at a two day community event selling her jewelry and I was home alone. I went out to Thunder Valley yesterday afternoon and turned $80 into $200 and decided to buy some things at Home Depot. The tab was $98 (I also bought some pool shock and acid) so I don't have much left, but the yard is looking much nicer. I also put the $80 back into my work checking account that I use for my expenses. Darla was trying to get hold of me last night and was a little upset that I was incommunicado. I left my cell phone at home and she couldn't reach me until i got home at 9:00. I stopped for some Taco Bell on the way home and ate it there.

Boyd and I played golf yesterday at Cherry Island and had both Darren and Mel bail on us. Darren had to fly to Dallas for his in laws (his father in law was having open heart surgery) and Mel had a gout flare-up. Mel actually showed up at the course and saw Boyd and I. He has moved back to the Philippines and is working his import-export business. He has a cousin in Government and his best friend is the finance minister, so he has the needed contacts to grow his business. Cora is still here as her daughter is a senior in high school and her son goes to UC Berkeley. Her daughter, Gabi, will enroll at Santa Clara next year so they will continue to live apart. Mel always missed home and his business contacts in the Philippines, where Cora is indoctrinated to the US and is a citizen. I hope thing work out for them. It is quite a stress on their marriage being apart. Mel recently sent me some pictures from a weekend in China, where he flew in a private jet with one of his friends and they played golf all weekend. He has an interesting life. I shot 85 on Saturday to Boyd's 78 and I also played Wednesday at Serrano Country Club with two of my agents and shot an 85.

I did get a hole in one frame for my office and framed the card and ball that I used. Neil, our tournament director, was nice enough to make a copy of the card for his records and gave me the official scorecard from the round. It adds to my golf themed office with my cases of balls from courses I've played and pictures of Pebble Beach and Princeville Golf course in Kauai.

The picture of Samantha with Darla and I was from Benihana's in Vegas and she was tired by the time our 90 minute dinner was over. She enjoyed the "dinner show" as she called it, but it was a little over long for her.

Our month at work concluded slightly down from 2010 and it is our first down month of the year. I have been tardy in getting the gang out to celebrate our good March and we will be going out to Rubio's Beach Mex Restaurant on Thursday. One of the typists complained as she doesn't like Mexican food, but as I told her, "I'm not taking the staff out for waffles on Cinco De Mayo".

Well this is short, but the wife needs me to barbecue some chicken and I need clean socks, so I will oblige her. Hope you all have a great week. Stand firm in the Lord. Ciao.

Back from a wonderful trip to Vegas

A Bunch of pictures, the top ones from our Vegas Trip and the bottom two from our trip to Paradise today for Easter. It was a whirlwind week. We got back from Vegas at 9 AM on Saturday, I was on the golf course by 10:30 and we were in the car on the way to Paradise by 4:30 PM. We decided to stay over in Paradise and go to church with Earl and Frances today, but I was so tired that I pulled over outside of Marysville and Darla drove the rest of the way where we met her parents for dinner at a favorite Mexican food joint in Paradise.

The trip to Vegas was incredible and we had so much fun with Samantha and Jennifer and Michael. We flew in Wednesday morning and grabbed our rental car which turned out to be a silver HHR, which is a gutless little wonder. It is like the PT Cruiser, in that it was a concept car that was a good concept, but they put 4 cylinder little cheap engines in them and made them almost useless to men. We drove over to Jennifer's house and spent some time there before taking a run over to Weinerschnitzel (Sam wanted hot dogs for lunch) and then over to the Luxor, where we checked in, changed and headed to the pool. The temperature during our stay was a consistent 85 degrees, and perfect pool weather. Michael was working on Wednesday as they now have separate days off (Michael has Thursday Friday) and Jen has Wednesday Thursday). At least they share the Thursday off. We lounged by the pool and came back to the room, where we all showered and readied for dinner.

After we got ready we headed for the car. Sam was always wary of getting into the elevator with other people. If it was empty, she'd walk right in, but if someone was in there, she would hold back. Darla and I got on the elevator and she held back with her Mom and the doors closed. We could hear her crying as the car went to the ground floor. They came down a few minutes later and she was still teary eyed and said, "You left me and I cried when the "Alligator" doors closed." Her word for elevator is alligator.

We met Michael at Benihanas, a favorite restaurant of ours and a good choice for Samantha as she enjoyed the show. Samantha had to tell the waitress that we left her behind in the alligator and she cried. The waitress looked at us like we were nuts. Why did we have an alligator near a 3 year old? The kids packed up afterward and headed back to their place and Darla and I headed out on the town. We had a funny incident at the valet, when a family came up with us and Samantha had met them when she was looking at the fountains and other artifacts in the Benihana's. Samantha was saying goodbye and the little girl, who was maybe five, came over and gave Samantha a big hug, so big that the two of them tumbled to the ground. Darla and I went to the Orleans casino and played nickle poker for a few hours, turning $80 into $200 before calling it a night.

Thursday, we were up early and had breakfast at the cafe in Luxor and enjoyed a slow morning. We met Michael and Jennifer at the pool about 11:30 (we had given them our extra room key so they could get into the pool). Samantha had a great afternoon playing with both Michael and Jennifer in the pool and hanging out with us. We had some lunch by the pool and all had smoothies, ours alcoholic and Samantha's a virgin variety. They said their goodbyes about 2:30 and Darla and I walked over to the Aria Casino to pick up our Elvis show tickets. It was a long walk and Darla wore the wrong shoes and ended up with blisters on the tops of both feet. I thought I was going to have to piggy back her back to the Luxor, but she was a trouper and soldiered on.

We met up with the kids back at their apartment where Michael fixed us tri tip and chicken with potatoes and salad. They had a friend come over for dinner as well and he has an 8 year old niece who joined us and Samantha was in kid heaven, showing off her room and toys to Amy. They had squirt guns and were shooting each other, riding bikes, playing tag and hide and go seek. It was a joy to hear Sam's laughter all night. Darla and I changed into nicer clothes and left about 8:45 for our 9:30 show at the Aria. I know Dad has seen the Circus de Soleil Beatles show and I will sign up for that on our next trip, but the Elvis show was phenomenal. The costuming, sets, acrobats and singers were excellent. The show followed Elvis' life as narrated by Colonel Tom Parker and it touched on his birth in Mississippi, his discovery in Memphis, his recording career, his tour in the Army, his movie career and of course his life and comeback in Las Vegas. They talked about his early death, but did not dwell on it or embellish it at all. The show really ended on The Elvis portion of his career and showed his famous comeback concert where he threw a kerchief into the crowd. That scene was paused and 100's of kerchiefs fell from the ceiling into the crowd. It was awesome. The show includes some acrobats bouncing off trampolines in the floor and walls and they look like spider men as they stop on the edge of the wall and scale it to the top. Very, very well done and highly recommended. It will make you appreciate Elvis for his music, talent and celebrity all over again.
Friday, both Jennifer and Michael worked. Michael had a side job with a friend that paid him cash. Michael dropped Sam off about 8:30 and we took her out to The Black Bear Diner, the first restaurant she ever went to as a baby. We had a great time with her and she wowed the crowd there. We then went out shopping as we wanted to get her a new Easter dress and a Leapfrog Tangled game. The dress was a slam dunk and she picked out a princess dress and a matching purse. The game was sold out everywhere we looked. We had bought her the Tangled DVD when we showed up and she wanted a Tangled Rapunzle doll. It was fibre optic and cost $35. We agreed to get her a Rapunzle dress and she wore that to see her Mom that night and then over to John's.

She loves princess dresses and gets all sorts of comments when she is out. She is so petite and cute and the old ladies swoon over her. I think that's why she likes the dresses so much. We went back to the room and then down to the pool. It was Friday and they had a DJ and some of the models from the fantasy show down at the pool in gold bikinis and it was really loud and after swimming Sam wanted to go back to the room. Sam found my snore guard container and wanted to know what it was. We told her. I later fell asleep and I guess I was snoring because she woke me up and handed me the snore guard. We went back down to the pool and set up far from the DJ booth where we could relax and it wasn't near as loud. Sam swam and we then ate lunch at the pool deli.

We picked Jennifer up from work at 5PM and she said goodbye to Sam as we drove her over to John's house. We had a great visit with her. She is growing up so fast and saying some funny things and having independent thoughts. It is a great age.

Friday night we took Michael and Jennifer to Bautista's Italian Restaurant, the famous Vegas restaurant that was a mainstay of the Rat Pack. The food was incredible and included house wine and a great cappucino for after dinner. We gambled with the kids for awhile at Bill's casino and then headed back to the room for our early flight on Saturday. Jennifer and Michael seem to be doing well. Samantha has a great life with the two of them. Darla and I both like Michael a lot. He is very patient with Jennifer and cares about her so much. Jennifer is very lucky to have such a great partner in her life. Michael is very laid back and responsible and Jennifer, well, isn't. It is a match made in heaven.

Well, Darla is calling me for dinner and with all of the pictures, this blog episode will be huge. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We love you. Ciao.

Finally, I am off the Schnide!

Darla asked why I put such a drab picture of the flowers in the blog last week. It is "sometimes" fun being married to my editor. She often corrects me or questions why I put a certain story in the blog. I told her I'd be happy to help her set up a blog if she was interested. Anyhow, I went out this morning in the morning sun and took a picture of the pool and took a little better picture of the flowers in the planter above the pool. Darla also had taken a picture of the Iris by our bedroom window which is in full bloom.

Yesterday was warm, sunny magical and fantastic all rolled into one. I did finally get off the schnide by hitting my first hole in one after 41 years of playing golf. Better yet, I did it in a tournament on a closest to the pin hole and the ace actually helped salvage what was turning into a bad round of golf. I was 5 over par after four holes and not hitting anything crisp, rimming putts out and basically stinking up the joint. We had wind in our face from 139 yards so I clubbed up to an 8 iron from a 9 iron and absolutely nutted it. The hole was tucked behind a sand trap to the left side of the green and I hit the pin on the fly. Normally, that isn't a good thing as the ball ricochets away from the hole, but I hit the pin low near the hole and it jarred into the cup. Great day, although wit an open tab in the bar it cost me $150, which is coincidentally the amount the club pays me in hole in one insurance. I was really amped after the ace and drove the next par 5 in two and just missed an eagle putt, but settled for a birdie. Unfortunately, the course was set up in championship form for the Roseville City Amateur with tight pin placements and I finished at 84 for a net 71. I picked up two shots on the first round leader and sit in third place going into the final today. I'm working on this now as I have one of the last tee times as a leader in the tournament. Hopefully, I can pull it together today and win this thing.

Darla and I are really amped about our trip to Vegas this week. Jennifer had taken Sam out to the Town Center in Vegas to play on Wednesday and when they passed the Luxor casino, she pointed it out for Sam and said that Papa and Grandma will be there next week. When they finished at the park, Sam asked if they could go to Papa's house at the Luxor. She didn't get the concept that we will be there next week. we had planned to use Jennifer's van while we were in town, but it has been having some problems and now has a recall on it for service work, so they have it in the shop. I managed to find a Dodge Sebring for $22 a day and we will rent a car this trip. We fly out Wednesday morning and fly back Saturday. We will spend Easter with Darla's folks up in Paradise.

We did book our Almanor trip again this Summer and are planning on Michael, Jennifer and Sam coming out to stay with us for the week. We got the two bedroom house with the private beach again at the North Shore resort. It was perfect for us last year, sort of away from everything and really private. it will be a perfect location for Samantha. Some of Darla's cousins and family will be there again this year. They enjoyed the 50th wedding anniversary trip so much last year that they are coming back. It will be good for Jennifer and Sam to see family and there are a couple of kids close to Samantha's age. It will also be good for Jennifer and Michael to take an actual vacation. They have both been working hard and didn't have any vacation with the union.

Work continues at a frenetic pace. We are having a solid month, although we likely won't hit our budget number this month. Our budget is tremendously optimistic, but we hit our nut the first three months of the year. We had a great year last year and only exceeded budget three times all year. This start to the year has been extraordinary.

Well, I will finish this up tonight after the final round of our tournament.

The best part of my day today was breakfast out with my lovely wife, Darla. The golf that I played today can only be categorized as , uh..."inefficient"? I started the round in second in my flight and blew up with an 89 to finish in fourth place. I went from 6 under par to 2 under for the tournament. It took 5 hours and 20 minutes to complete which is the best reason that I can give for my play. I am a rhythm golfer and need to keep moving. When there are three groups on a tee and I have to sit and wait, it all goes bad. I shot 48 on the front and came back with a 41 on the back (when it picked up), but too little too late. I will take the warm feeling I had from my hole-in-one and concentrate on that as I look forward to, and prepare for, our trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday.

I was thinking of Darryl when I got my hole-in-one. He has a plaque in his office that says "I've never had a hole-in-one. (I'm looking forwards to the day that I can give this damn plaque away!)." If I had that plaque, I would be looking for a new owner for it. Darryl has the game to get an ace and I'm sure he will. I've been playing this sport for forty years and I have only one. BUT I HAVE ONE! I hope you are all well. I will return next week with pictures and stories from Las Vegas. Be well and Happy Easter to every one. Ciao.

April Flowers

I played golf with some guys from Ft. Collins, Colorado on Friday and they were amazed at the flowers and buds on the trees in our area. In California, the saying is that "March showers bring April Flowers". The pool is in pinks and purples right now as the plants and trees are putting on a show. It was 72 degrees today and a perfect Spring Day. I know it is 90 degrees in Texas, Nevada and Arizona, but I really like the milder Spring temperatures here in Northern California. We get overnight lows into the 40's and highs in the 60's and 70's. Occasionally, the temperatures spike into the 80's, but usually cool right back down. Our average high temperature for this date is 72 and the low 49, so we are perfectly normal and I'm loving it. We are supposed to warm up to about 75 degrees next weekend.

I mentioned that I played golf with two men from our sister company in Colorado, US reports, our inspection company that Kaufman Group purchased last year. Their VP of large accounts joined their local representative out of Oregon for a round of golf with us on Friday. Matt and I met them at a small cafe at the Auburn Airport. The restaurant, Wings, is well known in aviation circles and was profiled in the NY Times a few years ago in their article on the $500 hamburger. There are aviation enthusiasts that fly out of their area to have a good meal at airports all over the United States and Wings was listed as one of the top ten destinations for pilots. They have a huge outside seating area where you can watch planes taking off and landing. If a pilot flies in and comes over to the restaurant to eat, there is a group of pilots that sit on the closest table to the airstrip and hold up pie plates and rate the landing (8.5 or 9.0). You don't want to get a 6 rating from these guys. Breakfast was great and the golf course next door stopped serving breakfast because all of the golfers eat at Wings.

Jason, our rep, and Jon, the VP were great guys and we had a lot of fun playing. I met Jon last year and he mentioned it at breakfast. I couldn't remember him and we ended up riding together in the cart and he mentioned he'd lost 45 pounds since last year. It dawned on me then and I blurted out, "I remember now. Man you were FAT then." He had a good laugh.

Jon is an 8.5 index golfer, but had a lot of rust in his game having come from Colorado where it is 70 degrees one day and snowing the next this time of year. He really struggled and shot 92. Matt and I had trouble on the freshly aerated and sanded greens and we both shot 85. Jason shot 100 plus. He did provide some comic relief late in the round, when he got tired and started shanking the ball. Jon and I were ahead of him as he was hitting his fifth shot to the par 4 and he shanked it right at us. Jon ducked behind me and I felt his hand on my back as he dove for cover. It reminded me of the Seinfeld Episode where George Costanza knocks down an old lady when he is trying to get away from a fire at a kid's birthday party. I harassed Jon the rest of the round for pushing me into the line of fire. The ball ricocheted off my golf shoe and went into the bunker. Taylor Made was having a demo day out at the range before we teed off and I got to hit one of the new R-11 drivers. It is a very light head and I was pulling the ball left big time. I am very happy with my Callaway Big Bertha 460 and have no plans to change drivers any time soon.

In fact, I played in the first round of our 54 hole individual championship today and was bombing the driver right in the middle of the fairway. I'm up to a 13 handicap with my 11.6 index and I put together my best tournament round of the year with a 40+40=80, which gave me a net 67. I was the leader in my flight at -5 when I left the course to get home and watch the Masters on TIVO. There were about half of my flight of 20 golfers still on the course when I left, but I should be in good position going into next Saturday and will be in one of the last pairings in my flight. Both Matt and Boyd struggled today, Boyd shot 81 for a 75 net and Matt shot 79 for a 75 net. It was a perfect day on the golf course and the course is in great shape. The greens are still a little bumpy and the poa anna flowers begin to bud on the greens in the afternoon.

Darla is off at a vendor fair in Folsom this afternoon and she just called to let me know she was at the car and on her way home. We have a pork loin roast that I will barbecue for dinner tonight.

Darla and I leave for Vegas a week from Wednesday. Our return flight is at 7:25 AM out of Vegas and I called to see if we could delay it and fly back in the afternoon (Southwest doesn't charge change fees). They will charge you the difference in fares however and our flight being part of a package, the change in fare was an extra $358. We will catch up on our sleep over the Easter weekend and keep our early flight. We will be out with Mike and Jennifer on Friday night after Sam goes over to John's Friday night, so we'll either call it an early night or just stay up all night and sleep when we get home. I'm voting for the early night.

I will be out Thursday afternoon on a real estate tour of offices in Folsom, California. We will give our landlords a 6 month "early out" option and begin the job of having our build out done for the new site. My understanding is that we will have new cubicles, desks and equipment in the new location. Things are going great at work and I just received a quarter million dollar profit sharing check credited to our bottom line from Colony. Our profit through the first three months in Sacramento is $383,000 vs. $177,000 last year. I am absolutely beside myself with pride and joy at the job my team is doing in Sacramento. It is a great thing and going to work every day is a blessing to me. I'm lucky to work with the staff that I have. They are good and decent people, hard workers and a joy to be around. I have Matt and Anthony leaving for a carrier seminar in Scottsdale on Wednesday.

I have finally decided that with 19 people now reporting to me, I have to start shedding some of my production responsibilities. Matt and I have a trip to Redding planned in early May and I will introduce him to several of the agents that are in outlying areas that I have and just can't adequately service anymore. I want to keep my agents that are in the Sacramento area and peel off some of my outlying agents. The production staff likes to give me a bad time because I used to be second or third in production monthly and now run 4th or 5th out of the 7 producers in my office. My goal is to have every producer beat me month in and out and have me still bringing in about $20,000 in income a month. Pete was giving me a bad time early in the month because Matt was ahead of me. I pointed out two things. 1 Matt was doing great which was a cause for celebration and 2, the bottom line of the branch IS my number, not my personal production. I think it was an "oh yeah" moment for Pete. I am thrilled to see how focused and intent Matt is on being successful. I was talking to him as we were out on the golf course Friday and asked how he was liking his job. He said, "I think I'll get tired of it in about 40 years". He was smiling ear to ear.

I hear the garage door opening, signaling the arrival of the jewelry lady. We will enjoy a nice meal tonight and then take a walk in the neighborhood to walk off the calories. The pictures of Jennifer and Samantha were from a trip this last week that they took to the Seigfried and Roy white tiger exhibit in Vegas. The one of Samantha in her car seat is just a diva shot. Samantha wears sunglasses outside whenever it is sunny. I've never seen a three year old wear sunglasses before, but Sam is sort of special, you know?

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. I'll let you know how I fare in the tournament as my next epistle will come after the final round next Sunday. Darla by the way blew in here, dropped off her jewelry and is now outside washing her car. I got mine washed yesterday afternoon after the Masters ended. I may take the opportunity to vacuum out the interior while she is washing her ride. Be well. Ciao.

A Sunny Weekend...Finally!

You can see the house in the above shots and how the trees have grown so much in the 13 years we have owned the house. At times I think they are too big, but they provide tremendous shade for the house on hot Summer days on both the front and the sides of the house. The second picture of Samantha is my new favorite, she looks like such an angel and is in contrast to the first picture where she is mucking around in the cake batter while Mom makes a cake. We are definitely looking forward to our trip on April 20th.

The weather has definitely turned Spring-like and Darla is out in the garden as I write this planting a couple of flowering plants in the palm garden to replace a few that the sever winter killed off. I was out when i got back from golf and I mowed the lawns, fixed a couple of sprinkler heads and cleaned the pool. I also trimmed up some plants around the pool and picked up the leaves from a windy morning.

I did play golf today, my third game in four days and it was a bit windy and cold when we teed off. The forecast was for winds gusting to 25 MPH this morning tapering off to a breeze this afternoon. I didn't bring a coat and we teed off at 8:30, so I went into the pro shop and shopped through the lost and found bin for a wind shirt that I put on and wore for the round. It is a size 2X and I'm sure Bubba was probably looking for it when he finished his round (actually, Dale in the pro shop said it had been there for a week). I played golf with the guys at work on Thursday. We closed the month at a new Sacramento record of $235,000 in income and Matt, Anthony and Peter all had their best months ever, so we took a mid afternoon on our close and went and played golf. The course, Mather, which is near our office had just plugged their greens and it was not in the best of shape. It is not a good drainer and they had several holes where the fairways looked like Master's rough. We played the white tees and I managed a 41+42=83. In fact, I played in a tournament yesterday and shot 42+43=85 and today and shot 45+39=84 and came back from the course figuring that it was coming around. My drives are long and in the fairway, but I'm struggling with my sand wedge and putter right now.

Darla and I had dinner with our friends, Neil and Lilly on Saturday night after church. We went to the local Italian restaurant, Strings, and enjoyed two hours of food, drink and good times with good friends. They are both such good people. I told them about Cheryl's mom passing away Saturday morning and they asked me to pass on their sympathies to Darryl and Cheryl and the family. I also suggested to Neil that perhaps I could get Darryl and Cheryl to come out for our annual RGC trip to Carmel in October. Darryl, put October 15 and 16 on your calendar for coming out to California. We will leave Friday for Carmel and stay two nights and play Pacific Grove on Saturday and Poppy Hills on Sunday. Neil and Lilly will be there and some of our other golf friends. It is a shopping and lunching trip for the ladies and a golf trip for the guys. We all meet up in the evenings and have dinner and visit. It is a lot of fun. If you can make it, we'll see about getting a 2 bedroom condo in Pacific Grove for the weekend.

Work is going well, but we have triggered our option to take an early out on our lease on the office building in Rancho Cordova. I spent one afternoon this past week looking at office space and will have another tour in two weeks in Folsom, California looking at space. Our building is thirty years old and doesn't have the amenities available in the newer buildings (gym, relaxation room, upgraded interior moldings and interior doors and windows.) The economy has dropped prices on leases and the longer the lease the better the terms. We are looking at a five year lease and will save money over the space that we are in now and improve the surroundings. There are many class A five year old and younger buildings looking for tenants. I look forward to upgrading the space and then throwing an open house for the agents after we move in.

Our taxes are done and we had to write a couple of big checks again this year. Obama needs the money for illegal aliens that aren't willing to work that want a free handout. God forbid we kick them out of the country. I was astounded this last week when there was an INS raid on one of our local nursery companies. They found that over forty of the workers were illegal aliens. Many of them had worked for the nursery for over twenty years and were paying taxes, had children that had grown up and married after going to college. Those people are being deported. I know I harp on the illegal alien situation, but why is the INS going after the illegals that have jobs, paying taxes, and being positive members of society , yet they leave the illegals that are out of work, on welfare, sucking on the government's teat and being a drag on the taxpayers alone to continue to siphon money from hard working taxpayers? The ignominy of the situation galls me. Dad loves it when I go off on a rant, so this is for you, Dad.

I have our company owned inspection company coming out this week with our local rep and one of his vice presidents and they are taking me golfing on Friday. The VP is a 6 handicap, so I'm bringing Matt with me to round out the foresome. We were going to play at the local Country Club in Roseville, but they have a tournament on Friday. We will go up to Auburn and play The Ridge Golf Club instead.

Well Darla is making fried potatoes and has a London Broil that has been marinating since last night that she wants me to cook, so I need to fire up the barbecue and get to work. I hope you are all doing well. Pray for Darryl and Cheryl as they deal with the death and funeral of Cheryl's mom, Delores, this week. Pray especially for Ray, who has seen his life partner of 61 years fall ill and over the past couple of years and now, mercifully, pass on to heaven. It will be a big transition for him as he learns to live without his friend and wife. Ciao.