Monday, August 15, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Jennifer looking more like a California girl than a soldier
It is a Tuesday morning in Northern California. I've had my coffee, made small talk with the early arrivers here at work and I'm now adding to the blog. Darla and I took a night up in Reno Sunday night and for that reason the blog is a day late. We had hoped to have Jennifer join us, but the pressures of friends and family were a bit too much for her and she begged off the trip. Darla and I shrugged and decided to take a trip up to Reno ourselves.We drove up after church on Sunday and relaxed Sunday afternoon. The clouds had rolled in and Darla read and I watched the final round of the International golf tournament on television. We had dinner at Benihanas at the Golden Phoenix. We then played a little video poker at the Phoenix and I got creamed. Darla won a few pots and I itched to get out of there and back to my comfort zone at the Atlantis Casino. We just play nickle slots and with 20 coins as a maximum, we can't get hurt too bad. I fell down about $80 before finally hitting a $100 jackpot. I then hit another $50 and finally four Aces with a 2 for $200. Darla and I cash out whenever we hit a four-of-a-kind and by ten-thirty we had over $450 in vouchers in Darla's purse. We took a break and went to the room so Darla could change. We decided to leave $400 of the vouchers in the room and took $50 to play with. At one point Darla hit four dueces with a 4, but only saved the dueces and went from a 2000 coin payout to 400. Ouch. We played until about 12:30 and returned to the room with just over $50, so it was a really good trip. We had an early lunch in Reno and then drove back to Roseville and spent the afternoon relaxing at Alicia's pool. We didn't even look at the machines on the way out of Reno and enjoyed taking some money home with us this trip.
Part of the allure of Reno this weekend was the final day of Hot August Nights, the annual car show and cruise in Reno. This year was as good as any and I always especially enjoy seeing the 1957 Chevys. It is my birth year and still one of the all time cool cars. I like Dad's collection and he is once again winning car shows ( I just received a note from him and he took first place in a show in BC), but the '57 Chevy is my favorite. They had a candy apple red one at Atlantis that was a dream. Dad, you need to come up to Reno in early August next year and bring the '44.
As you can see, Jennifer has made good use of the jet ski on her trip home. In fact, she decided she wants her own vest and Darla and I are getting her a new Body Glove vest which should arrive today. We have added two fuel containers on a rack to the jet ski trailer and I have a set of trailer guides coming today and a lock for the hitch slip. We will take Jennifer out a final time on Thursday to the lake and she leaves for Atlanta on Friday morning. We will take her out to dinner after the lake and celebrate her birthday, which is August 28th, but she will be back in Kuwait by then. She will spend the weekend in Atlanta and flies back to Kuwait on Monday.
Jennifer has had a good trip home and it has been a good mix of friends and family. She took the trip to Santa Cruz and has been out with most of her friends and went to the lake and water skiing with Jason. She went out to the clubs with David, her old boyfriend from Folsom last week. They went with one of his frends, Jay, a fireman. On their way back to our house at two in the morning they came across a house fire and were the first ones on scene. Jay kicked in the front door of the home (which turned out to be vacant) and Jennifer ran to the neighboring homes to awaken the residents. She ended up as the "unknown woman" who alerted residents in the Sacramento Bee. Jennifer had kicked off her heels to run door to door and by the time she returned to their car, the fire department had arrived and had hoses all over the ground and she lost her shoes. She went by the scene the next morning, but her shoes were nowhere to be found. I don't understand the bar scene and what the draw is there. At 24, I had a one year old and had been married for four years. Anyhow, thank God that Jennifer and her friends were up and able to alert the fire department of the fire as well as the neighbors.
Work continues to improve and I'm beginning to see signs of real progress with Anthony and Pete in this office and the Modesto office in particular. I'm having a great month and received the order on my largest renewal on the 1st of August to the tune of $225,000. My month is made and it's only the ninth.
I did not play golf this past weekend and it is the first weekend without golf since we got back from Hawaii. I will play in a tournament in Reno (Sparks actually) on Sunday. I'll have to get out this week and hit some balls to refresh my game. Next weekend is the qualifier for Diamond Oaks' Rose Cup team and it is one of my annual goals to qualify for the team. I missed the chance last year as I was rehabbing a bad back.
Well, that is all of the happenings in our neck of the woods. My prayer is that God help lead Jennifer to the next stage in her professional life (and while I'm at it, He bring a strong Christian man in to her life and help her settle down. Hey, I'm out on a limb already, I'll reach for the stars). It will be interesting to watch God move in her life in the next several months as she prepares to conclude her service and get back to life in these here United States. Take care and keep God alive in your life. Ciao.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Summer Sizzle
Heat continues to be a major factor for us here in Sacramento. The temperatures have been close to or over a hundred degrees for most of July and this week looks just as toasty. We were able to take a day at the lake with Jennifer and her friend, Sara, on Thursday and we had a ball. Jennifer and David ended up sore after an epic battle to see who could throw whom off the jet ski with more alacrity. David ended up being thrown straight backward and he hit his tail bone on the rear deck of the ski. Jennifer was simply unrestrained in her enthusiasm for the ski and spent a total of several hours on the ski by herself and with David, Daniel and Sara. Darla and I mostly watched the proceedings figuring that we can use the ski anytime. We plan to get back out to the lake tomorrow with Jennifer and some of her friends. They ran the ski so much that we had to pull it out of the water late afternoon and run over to the local gas station. The tank only took 12 gallons so there were over 6 left, but David is a full time worker and was bringing us dinner, so we didn't want to present him with an empty ski.
We haven't seen Jennifer other than last Thursday as she left that night for Santa Cruz with Sara. They stayed with some friends and Jennifer truly enjoyed the 69 degree highs and overnight lows in the 50's while she was there. After the broiler of Kuwait, the cool weather was welcome. They stayed over Thursday and Friday night and were back on Saturday evening. She spent yesterday with her Mom and they went to church. She said that she will join Darla and I next week at our church and we look forward to that.
Darla and I took the boys yesterday to Linden and a final goodbye to the only home that the boys have ever known Earl and Frances to have. We spent the afternoon playing in the pool and Darla took some pictures. It was a melancholy afternoon, but the farm was just too big of a burden on Earl and I can see that he is demonstrably more relaxed. He has a lot of work with the house and grounds in Paradise, but it will be a labor of love and won't be predicated on time constraints. He'll be able to up and take a month's vacation without worrying about the farm. They also bought a rental three doors down from Alicia's house in Roseville. The boys will be keeping up the lawn and I'll be the contact for any problems or repairs that need to be done.
I played golf in the three club tournament on Saturday and I can only say that I'm glad I have 11 other clubs on a regular basis. It is really difficult to attempt to play with such a limited number of clubs. I shot 44+44=88 and struggled most of the day. I only managed four pars and missed some putts along the way, but was routinely chipping to the green for birdie and then two putting for bogey. It was tough. The groundskeeper burned several of the greens in the last week by sanding them and not watering enough during the week. There are several areas with large burn spots. Moron. Our next tournament is in Reno on the 14th. I hope to spend some time with Jennifer next weekend.
We had a guest speaker yesterday at church. Our pastor, Rick, is going through a series on Hot Topics and we heard from a man who was immersed in the gay lifestyle in the seventies and eighties and has emerged through the grace of God into a family man, married for eighteen years with two children. His sermon was not on the evil of homosexuality as one might expect (like a reformed smoker who is hell bent on eradicating tobacco), but more on the theme of reaching out to the gay and lesbian population and inviting them to experience the healing power of Jesus Christ. The man's name is Steve Dallas and he is a powerful speaker. He told the story of a middle aged pastor who felt the call to reach out to people suffering from the Aids epidemic. He started a ministry that befriended those suffering from Aids and he ministered at the local hospital's Aids ward. The gay and lesbian population soon heard of his works and invited him to be interviewed on a local gay radio program. Soon his church was visited by the gay population who wanted to hear from this compassionate minister. They came and heard and returned to hear him preach week after week. Finally, several of the church leaders met with the pastor and asked him what he was doing as their church was being overrun with Gays. The pastor said that there was plenty of room next to the adulterers, tax cheats, idolators and bigots for any sinner. Steve's point was that as Christians, it is much easier for us to espouse our ideology than it is to live up to it. Powerful and convicting stuff.
I was in the office at 6:45 AM this morning as I have several accounts that I'm working on. The depressing part of the day was that I had to turn on my headlights when I left the house. The Summer is quickly escaping. In fact, Daniel returns to school next Wednesday and David starts college the end of this month. August is here.
Well, that is the drivel that is on my mind this week. I'll try to remember my camera when we hit the lake this week and put some pictures on the blog next week. I hope all are well and living La Vida en Cristo. Ciao.
We haven't seen Jennifer other than last Thursday as she left that night for Santa Cruz with Sara. They stayed with some friends and Jennifer truly enjoyed the 69 degree highs and overnight lows in the 50's while she was there. After the broiler of Kuwait, the cool weather was welcome. They stayed over Thursday and Friday night and were back on Saturday evening. She spent yesterday with her Mom and they went to church. She said that she will join Darla and I next week at our church and we look forward to that.
Darla and I took the boys yesterday to Linden and a final goodbye to the only home that the boys have ever known Earl and Frances to have. We spent the afternoon playing in the pool and Darla took some pictures. It was a melancholy afternoon, but the farm was just too big of a burden on Earl and I can see that he is demonstrably more relaxed. He has a lot of work with the house and grounds in Paradise, but it will be a labor of love and won't be predicated on time constraints. He'll be able to up and take a month's vacation without worrying about the farm. They also bought a rental three doors down from Alicia's house in Roseville. The boys will be keeping up the lawn and I'll be the contact for any problems or repairs that need to be done.
I played golf in the three club tournament on Saturday and I can only say that I'm glad I have 11 other clubs on a regular basis. It is really difficult to attempt to play with such a limited number of clubs. I shot 44+44=88 and struggled most of the day. I only managed four pars and missed some putts along the way, but was routinely chipping to the green for birdie and then two putting for bogey. It was tough. The groundskeeper burned several of the greens in the last week by sanding them and not watering enough during the week. There are several areas with large burn spots. Moron. Our next tournament is in Reno on the 14th. I hope to spend some time with Jennifer next weekend.
We had a guest speaker yesterday at church. Our pastor, Rick, is going through a series on Hot Topics and we heard from a man who was immersed in the gay lifestyle in the seventies and eighties and has emerged through the grace of God into a family man, married for eighteen years with two children. His sermon was not on the evil of homosexuality as one might expect (like a reformed smoker who is hell bent on eradicating tobacco), but more on the theme of reaching out to the gay and lesbian population and inviting them to experience the healing power of Jesus Christ. The man's name is Steve Dallas and he is a powerful speaker. He told the story of a middle aged pastor who felt the call to reach out to people suffering from the Aids epidemic. He started a ministry that befriended those suffering from Aids and he ministered at the local hospital's Aids ward. The gay and lesbian population soon heard of his works and invited him to be interviewed on a local gay radio program. Soon his church was visited by the gay population who wanted to hear from this compassionate minister. They came and heard and returned to hear him preach week after week. Finally, several of the church leaders met with the pastor and asked him what he was doing as their church was being overrun with Gays. The pastor said that there was plenty of room next to the adulterers, tax cheats, idolators and bigots for any sinner. Steve's point was that as Christians, it is much easier for us to espouse our ideology than it is to live up to it. Powerful and convicting stuff.
I was in the office at 6:45 AM this morning as I have several accounts that I'm working on. The depressing part of the day was that I had to turn on my headlights when I left the house. The Summer is quickly escaping. In fact, Daniel returns to school next Wednesday and David starts college the end of this month. August is here.
Well, that is the drivel that is on my mind this week. I'll try to remember my camera when we hit the lake this week and put some pictures on the blog next week. I hope all are well and living La Vida en Cristo. Ciao.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Jennifer with her friend Sara at the airport
Jennifer made it home after a grueling set of flights that took her from Kuwait to Shannon, Ireland and then on to Dallas, Texas and finally home to Sacramento. She is thrilled to be back and ready to relax and renew some friendships and spend time with family. The highlight of her trip was when the locals in Dallas met the plane on the tarmac with two fire engines spraying water over the plane and a small band greeting the soldiers as they exited the aircraft. There was a group on hand waving flags and applauding the soldiers and several restaurants had water and muffins for the returning soldiers. Jennifer was able to catch up with Randy, who made a special point of flying home early from Philadelphia to see Jennifer. He and Cake took Jennifer and a lieutenant that she met on the plane out to breakfast off the airport site. Jennifer was amazed at the welcome she received from the people of Texas, as several approached their table and welcomed her home and thanked her for her service. The restaurant manager greeted them at the table and paid for their breakfast. It was a nice homecoming and says as much about the patriotism and hospitality of the Texas people as anything. As the lieutenant from Orange County said, we won't get this reception in California!
It was a great gesture by Randy to meet with Jennifer and help welcome her home and I appreciate it. He hopes to see her on the return trip as well. It will be a great couple of weeks with her home. We are taking the jet ski out tomorrow afternoon. That's it for now. Ciao.
Monday, July 25, 2005
The Prodigal Soldier Returns!
Yes. Jennifer will be home this week. She may even be on her way as I write this as she had to fly from Kuwait City to Germany and then catch a flight from Germany to Dallas, Tx. From there she takes an American Airlines flight to Sacramento. I've talked to her a couple of times in the last week and she is beyond homesick and ready for the two weeks of R&R. She called last night in the middle of the night and left a message that she will get in to Sacramento at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. It has been so HOT in Kuwait and the days are so long, she can't wait to get back to Sacramento. We will have 104 degrees to greet her tomorrow, but it will seem cool to her after 122 degrees. I will take a few afternoons off to go to the lake with Jennifer and hope to get a day or two off to go up to Reno if I can squeeze into Jennifer's busy schedule.
I was able to talk to both Darryl and Randy yesterday. Randy is busy globetrotting for his job and it sounds like he is doing well. I talked to him while he was in Philadelphia and preparing for a meeting today. I don't think I'd enjoy the amount of travel that he does, but it gives him great perks in airline miles and hotel upgrades and car rental upgrades when he travels for pleasure. It also sounds like his company is doing really well and he is sharing in the increased profits, which is the whole point, eh? Darryl is just back from a trip to Canada and a quick visit with Dad and Shirley. They were able to golf a few times and Darryl helped Dad with a car show in Washington state. Darryl said that Dad won another first place prize for Best Canadian. I assume his car won too.
Work here continues at a frenetic pace and trying to carve some time out to spend with Jenn will be a challenge (and one that I'm up to by the way). I am in the office by seven most days and out by six pm and those fifty hour weeks take a toll after awhile. I'm having a very good month in July and August is shaping up to be even better. We made a nice profit last month even with my extended absence due to vacation and this month appears to be tracking just as well in spite of the loss of Gail to surgery and the subsequent rehabilitation and medical leave. All three of the new underwriters are excelling and each will earn a nice quarterly bonus. The bonus money should serve as a nice incentive going forward and their success is my success, so it's all good.
Darla and the boys returned from a week in Almanor, tired, spent, but happy. We had planned on taking the jet ski out yesterday, but the boy's friends all bailed and just Darla and I ended up at the beach at Granite Bay yesterday. The boys needed some down time. Darla did too, but I needed a trip to the lake. We left the jet ski at home, but took the air mattresses and floated out on the lake in the 103 degree heat. The lake water is so warm right now. I ended up with a light burn from the intensity of the sun. I didn't reapply sunscreen after being in the water and I paid for it. The beach was not as crowded as normal for whatever reason and it was a nice day spent just relaxing at the beach.
I've ordered two new ski vests (one for Darla and one for me) off the internet and a set of ski gloves for me. I found that the vibration of driving the ski at full throttle in rough water caused my hands to go numb on the yoke. We don't have cruise control, but as the guy that sold me the unit said, he'd throw in cruise control for an extra $50. He was holding a rubber band when he said that. Wise guy.
I've also ordered an owner's manual and I still want to get a dual gas tank holder for the trailer.
I played golf on Saturday and shot 45+42=87. Not my best by far. We teed off at 7:00 AM and beat the heat on Saturday. We were done by 11:00 AM and it was nice. I lost an 8 iron when I played in an insurance tournament two weeks ago and It never did turn up. I called Clubfinders, which is an internet based club replacement service. For $59.95 and $10 shipping, they replace a lost club out of a set. I have Wilson Deep Red II irons and they sent me a Wilson Deep Red 8 iron replacement. It doesn't match exactly, but has the modified fat shaft and a similar head design. I play in our annual three club tournament this weekend and will play with a driver, 8 iron and putter. Alot of the players will use three wood, a middle iron and putter and a few use their driver in place of a putter. As any good golfer knows, a five foot putt counts as much as a three hundred yard drive and I'd never play a round of golf without a putter. I'll let you know how I end up.
Again, it should be a great week or two with Jennifer home. I'll bring you up to date on her wanderings in the next epistle and even add a picture or two. I hope you all have a great week and continually give thanks to the Lord for all of the riches that he provides in your life. Be well. Ciao.
I was able to talk to both Darryl and Randy yesterday. Randy is busy globetrotting for his job and it sounds like he is doing well. I talked to him while he was in Philadelphia and preparing for a meeting today. I don't think I'd enjoy the amount of travel that he does, but it gives him great perks in airline miles and hotel upgrades and car rental upgrades when he travels for pleasure. It also sounds like his company is doing really well and he is sharing in the increased profits, which is the whole point, eh? Darryl is just back from a trip to Canada and a quick visit with Dad and Shirley. They were able to golf a few times and Darryl helped Dad with a car show in Washington state. Darryl said that Dad won another first place prize for Best Canadian. I assume his car won too.
Work here continues at a frenetic pace and trying to carve some time out to spend with Jenn will be a challenge (and one that I'm up to by the way). I am in the office by seven most days and out by six pm and those fifty hour weeks take a toll after awhile. I'm having a very good month in July and August is shaping up to be even better. We made a nice profit last month even with my extended absence due to vacation and this month appears to be tracking just as well in spite of the loss of Gail to surgery and the subsequent rehabilitation and medical leave. All three of the new underwriters are excelling and each will earn a nice quarterly bonus. The bonus money should serve as a nice incentive going forward and their success is my success, so it's all good.
Darla and the boys returned from a week in Almanor, tired, spent, but happy. We had planned on taking the jet ski out yesterday, but the boy's friends all bailed and just Darla and I ended up at the beach at Granite Bay yesterday. The boys needed some down time. Darla did too, but I needed a trip to the lake. We left the jet ski at home, but took the air mattresses and floated out on the lake in the 103 degree heat. The lake water is so warm right now. I ended up with a light burn from the intensity of the sun. I didn't reapply sunscreen after being in the water and I paid for it. The beach was not as crowded as normal for whatever reason and it was a nice day spent just relaxing at the beach.
I've ordered two new ski vests (one for Darla and one for me) off the internet and a set of ski gloves for me. I found that the vibration of driving the ski at full throttle in rough water caused my hands to go numb on the yoke. We don't have cruise control, but as the guy that sold me the unit said, he'd throw in cruise control for an extra $50. He was holding a rubber band when he said that. Wise guy.
I've also ordered an owner's manual and I still want to get a dual gas tank holder for the trailer.
I played golf on Saturday and shot 45+42=87. Not my best by far. We teed off at 7:00 AM and beat the heat on Saturday. We were done by 11:00 AM and it was nice. I lost an 8 iron when I played in an insurance tournament two weeks ago and It never did turn up. I called Clubfinders, which is an internet based club replacement service. For $59.95 and $10 shipping, they replace a lost club out of a set. I have Wilson Deep Red II irons and they sent me a Wilson Deep Red 8 iron replacement. It doesn't match exactly, but has the modified fat shaft and a similar head design. I play in our annual three club tournament this weekend and will play with a driver, 8 iron and putter. Alot of the players will use three wood, a middle iron and putter and a few use their driver in place of a putter. As any good golfer knows, a five foot putt counts as much as a three hundred yard drive and I'd never play a round of golf without a putter. I'll let you know how I end up.
Again, it should be a great week or two with Jennifer home. I'll bring you up to date on her wanderings in the next epistle and even add a picture or two. I hope you all have a great week and continually give thanks to the Lord for all of the riches that he provides in your life. Be well. Ciao.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
A Waverunner surprise for the boys? NOT!
Just back from a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable trip to Lake Almanor. It has not always been my favorite spot for Summer vacation, but this trip was great for a variety of reasons. First of all, the weather was hot and the lake water was WARM. Almanor is a mountain lake and is fed from the snowfall on Mt Lassen and to a lessor degree Mt Shasta. Although the lower lakes are also fed by snow runoff, the lower elevation lakes are in a hotter climate and warm up much better than Almanor. We have beeen stuck in a heat wave in the valley and it has taken hold in NorCal. Even Almanor at 4200 feet elevation has had daytime temps in the mid nineties and overnight lows in the sixties. We have stayed at Almanor years where we had the heaters blasting in our cabin and still we were freezing as the overnight lows dipped into the low forties and upper thirties. It would be hard for any lake to hold a decent temperature in those extremes.
As the title hints, Darla and I bought a Yamaha Waverunner, a 155 hp PWC with plenty of punch and a top end speed into the sixties. The boys have been busy with vacation with their Dad and off to church camp last week. They came home late on Saturday and ended up driving up to the lake on Sunday. We had an opportunity to buy the Waverunner at a good price, including the trailer and decided to jump on it with the lake vacation this week. We kept it a secret from the boys and concocted a plan to surprise them when they got to Almanor. The plan was that they would go out knee boarding on Earl's boat and I'd come riding up on the Waverunner. Darla was going to be on the boat with her camera to record the surprise. We waited Sunday for them to arrive and Darla and I made several runs across the lake to test out the craft. It is a 2001 Waverunner with a new motor (the old one conked out under warranty) that has just 40 hours on the water. The boys finally showed up at 4:30 and were raring to go. We talked to them for a bit down by the water and told them to go get changed into swim suits. We were ready to spring our surprise. They were gone for about fifteen minutes and came back and Daniel said, with a big grin, "Which one is ours?" We looked at him kind of funny and asked him what he was talking about. "The Jet Ski, which one is ours?" We again asked him what he was talking about and tried to play it cool until Frances blurted out, "OK, who told you?" We had told all of our friends at the resort that the ski was a surprise and to keep it on the q.t. It turns out that no one had told them. Daniel is a bright kid and just followed the clues.
First of all, when they got home from church camp (Darla and I were already up at Almanor), they found the Ford oval laying in the laundry room on top of my socket set. We bought the oval as a plug for the slide hitch housing. When they got up to Almanor and parked at the cabin, they saw the jet ski trailer parked on the side of the cabin. Finally, Daniel found the six bottles of Yamalube 2W oil behind the front door of the cabin. The surprise was ruined, but not the enjoyment and appreciation of the gift by the boys. They rode it hard yesterday and today and had already gone through a tank of gas (18.5 gallons) and three quarts of oil. The oil is injected into the gas as the engine is a two stroke engine and takes a combination of gas and oil. The high horsepower eats the gas and it could be an expensive week.
The jet ski will also come in handy next week when Jennifer returns from Kuwait for a twelve day vacation. I'm sure Jen and her friends will make good use of the ski during her time home. I'm really looking forward to seeing her and the jet ski is one reason that we finally talked. I left her a message that I had a Big Surprise for her when she came home and she was finally able to get ahold of me. Amazing.
We were able to go to church up at Almanor and this is our fourth Summer with the same Pastor. He is just starting a series on the Ten Commandments and started with number ten, which is "Though Shalt not covet." The pastor said that this commandment is the basis of all of the commandments, because if you break any of them, it will likely come back to the sin of coveting, whether it is stealing, killing or commiting adultery, the seed of the sin is coveting something that you did not have. It was an interesting sermon and it put a nice bow on my long weekend.
Darla came up to me today when I was finishing gassing up the jet ski and adding oil. She said that we had a problem in the bathroom at the cabin. I just assumed it was Daniel clogging the plumbing, but in fact the sink had fallen off the wall. It had glanced off of Darla's leg, but stopped short of smashing her feet as the hoses to the hot and cold water and the hose to the drain held it up. It turns out that the sink is attached to the pine wall of the bathroom and water had slowly worked it's way behind the sink and rotted out the wall. Whoever had installed the sink had used 3/4 inch stud screws and they came loose. Frank, the owner of the resort, and I reinstalled the sink using four 1 1/2 inch stud screws. Again Amazing.
We bought the jet ski as part of our proceeds from refinancing the house. I had to sign papers on Friday at four PM. Friday was my last day before a three day weekend and I had my senior underwriter, Gail out on medical leave. She has plumbing issues herself and will be out at least a month. Her agents all seemed to call me. I also got calls from a high number of my agents, several with immediate needs that I HAD to get to before COB (close of business). My Monday off turned into my Friday...meaning that my Friday was like the Monday from Hell. I didn't handle the pressure well and was close to losing it several times. I finally got out of the office at 3:55 PM and called the house to let them know I'd be late. I rushed out of there with the phone still ringing, but all of my promised tasks completed. I got home after a spate of bad traffic at 4:30 apologetic as all get out to the Notary , who had been visiting with Darla for half an hour and they were fast friends. My day soon became worse as I realized that my wallet was still in my desk drawer at work. The notary, of course, wanted proof that I was who I said I was. I showed her my just expired license, but she was all by the book and needed to see the current license. She offered to drive back to Rancho Cordova and to meet us at my office. I told her that it was my bonehead move and that, if she preferred, I'd just drop by her home and show her the ID. She agreed. So, Darla and I hightailed it back to my work and then over to the Notary's home in Fair Oaks. We got home about 7:30 and I again took Darla out to dinner (See last week's blog, same bonehead move). We were just relaxing watching the late night news after a marathon day, when the phone rang. We thought it might be the boys, but it was the Notary calling. She had triple-checked her papers and found a missing signature page. She wanted to make arrangements to meet the next morning to get the form signed. I had an eight o'clock tee time (41+41=82!!) and couldn't make it. With Darla going out of town for a week, we needed to do something. The Notary said it was her fault and she came over to our house at midnight where we signed the missing paper. A perfect end to a perfectly awful day.
I hope your week is more like the boys': all fun, sun and happy times. Turn to the Lord and you will experience Mercy, Forgiveness and Peace, something that is very missing in the mass of humanity these days. Think about it. Ciao.
As the title hints, Darla and I bought a Yamaha Waverunner, a 155 hp PWC with plenty of punch and a top end speed into the sixties. The boys have been busy with vacation with their Dad and off to church camp last week. They came home late on Saturday and ended up driving up to the lake on Sunday. We had an opportunity to buy the Waverunner at a good price, including the trailer and decided to jump on it with the lake vacation this week. We kept it a secret from the boys and concocted a plan to surprise them when they got to Almanor. The plan was that they would go out knee boarding on Earl's boat and I'd come riding up on the Waverunner. Darla was going to be on the boat with her camera to record the surprise. We waited Sunday for them to arrive and Darla and I made several runs across the lake to test out the craft. It is a 2001 Waverunner with a new motor (the old one conked out under warranty) that has just 40 hours on the water. The boys finally showed up at 4:30 and were raring to go. We talked to them for a bit down by the water and told them to go get changed into swim suits. We were ready to spring our surprise. They were gone for about fifteen minutes and came back and Daniel said, with a big grin, "Which one is ours?" We looked at him kind of funny and asked him what he was talking about. "The Jet Ski, which one is ours?" We again asked him what he was talking about and tried to play it cool until Frances blurted out, "OK, who told you?" We had told all of our friends at the resort that the ski was a surprise and to keep it on the q.t. It turns out that no one had told them. Daniel is a bright kid and just followed the clues.
First of all, when they got home from church camp (Darla and I were already up at Almanor), they found the Ford oval laying in the laundry room on top of my socket set. We bought the oval as a plug for the slide hitch housing. When they got up to Almanor and parked at the cabin, they saw the jet ski trailer parked on the side of the cabin. Finally, Daniel found the six bottles of Yamalube 2W oil behind the front door of the cabin. The surprise was ruined, but not the enjoyment and appreciation of the gift by the boys. They rode it hard yesterday and today and had already gone through a tank of gas (18.5 gallons) and three quarts of oil. The oil is injected into the gas as the engine is a two stroke engine and takes a combination of gas and oil. The high horsepower eats the gas and it could be an expensive week.
The jet ski will also come in handy next week when Jennifer returns from Kuwait for a twelve day vacation. I'm sure Jen and her friends will make good use of the ski during her time home. I'm really looking forward to seeing her and the jet ski is one reason that we finally talked. I left her a message that I had a Big Surprise for her when she came home and she was finally able to get ahold of me. Amazing.
We were able to go to church up at Almanor and this is our fourth Summer with the same Pastor. He is just starting a series on the Ten Commandments and started with number ten, which is "Though Shalt not covet." The pastor said that this commandment is the basis of all of the commandments, because if you break any of them, it will likely come back to the sin of coveting, whether it is stealing, killing or commiting adultery, the seed of the sin is coveting something that you did not have. It was an interesting sermon and it put a nice bow on my long weekend.
Darla came up to me today when I was finishing gassing up the jet ski and adding oil. She said that we had a problem in the bathroom at the cabin. I just assumed it was Daniel clogging the plumbing, but in fact the sink had fallen off the wall. It had glanced off of Darla's leg, but stopped short of smashing her feet as the hoses to the hot and cold water and the hose to the drain held it up. It turns out that the sink is attached to the pine wall of the bathroom and water had slowly worked it's way behind the sink and rotted out the wall. Whoever had installed the sink had used 3/4 inch stud screws and they came loose. Frank, the owner of the resort, and I reinstalled the sink using four 1 1/2 inch stud screws. Again Amazing.
We bought the jet ski as part of our proceeds from refinancing the house. I had to sign papers on Friday at four PM. Friday was my last day before a three day weekend and I had my senior underwriter, Gail out on medical leave. She has plumbing issues herself and will be out at least a month. Her agents all seemed to call me. I also got calls from a high number of my agents, several with immediate needs that I HAD to get to before COB (close of business). My Monday off turned into my Friday...meaning that my Friday was like the Monday from Hell. I didn't handle the pressure well and was close to losing it several times. I finally got out of the office at 3:55 PM and called the house to let them know I'd be late. I rushed out of there with the phone still ringing, but all of my promised tasks completed. I got home after a spate of bad traffic at 4:30 apologetic as all get out to the Notary , who had been visiting with Darla for half an hour and they were fast friends. My day soon became worse as I realized that my wallet was still in my desk drawer at work. The notary, of course, wanted proof that I was who I said I was. I showed her my just expired license, but she was all by the book and needed to see the current license. She offered to drive back to Rancho Cordova and to meet us at my office. I told her that it was my bonehead move and that, if she preferred, I'd just drop by her home and show her the ID. She agreed. So, Darla and I hightailed it back to my work and then over to the Notary's home in Fair Oaks. We got home about 7:30 and I again took Darla out to dinner (See last week's blog, same bonehead move). We were just relaxing watching the late night news after a marathon day, when the phone rang. We thought it might be the boys, but it was the Notary calling. She had triple-checked her papers and found a missing signature page. She wanted to make arrangements to meet the next morning to get the form signed. I had an eight o'clock tee time (41+41=82!!) and couldn't make it. With Darla going out of town for a week, we needed to do something. The Notary said it was her fault and she came over to our house at midnight where we signed the missing paper. A perfect end to a perfectly awful day.
I hope your week is more like the boys': all fun, sun and happy times. Turn to the Lord and you will experience Mercy, Forgiveness and Peace, something that is very missing in the mass of humanity these days. Think about it. Ciao.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Summer Doldrums
Believe it or not, I've been sitting at work for close to an hour and finally realized that I needed to update the blog. That hasn't happened before and I can only blame it on the hot, hazy, lazy days of Summer. I did get to read the paper cover to cover and get caught up on the nasty doings in the world.
Darla and I had a nice, relaxing weekend, although it didn't start out that way. I forgot my wallet at work on Friday night and didn't realize it until I stopped for gas on my way home. What a bonehead move as work is a good half hour away from home. I called Darla and told her that I'd pick her up and take her to dinner. She was enthused until I mentioned that I had left my wallet at work and we'd eat in Rancho Cordova. The boys were just home from their vacation with their Dad and they were leaving again for a week at a Christian Camp in Viola in So Cal. They had wash to do and would see us about 8:30 PM. Darla and I drove all the way back to my work to pick up my wallet and then I took her to Samarai Sushi for dinner. Neither of us are overly keen on sushi, but they have a nice menu of cooked Japanese food and we settled on the shrimp tempura for Darla and I had the teriyaki chicken with tempura. It was good and Darla was a good sport given my boneheadedness.
The boys did meet us about nine-thirty as it turned out and we got caught up on their travels through the asphalt clogged cities of Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Again, this isn't my idea of a Summer vacation, but I'm glad that Steve could show the kids some of the east coast. I'll show them Florida and the beaches of South Carolina some day. They were up early on Saturday to meet the SUVs at church for their trip to Southern California. They spent yesterday at Disneyland. Not a bad Summer for the guys so far, eh? They will get home on Saturday and leave Sunday for a week with Darla and her family at Lake Almanor. I will be there until Monday when I return to run the office here. Peter will be out next week and Gail starts her month medical leave on Monday as well. Darla would like me to go up some year and spend the whole week in Almanor, but until I get three weeks of vacation, I don't see it happening. The venue is nice, but it's a mountain lake and the water is freezing. Somehow, I prefer the oceans of Puerto Vallarta or Kauai, where the water temperature is 80 degrees.
I played golf on Saturday in the Buick Scramble with Mel, Steve Matthews and Boyd. We shot a ten under par 62, but lost out to the winners at 58. The team wasn't strong, but Boyd kept us in the match all day and we even managed two eagles on the front side, both on the par 5s. Our undoing were the par threes, where we parred each of them. Finally, we bogeyed the 17th hole of the day (Number 8 as we started on number 10), which was dumb, but it didn't hurt us as we were already out of the tournament. I had a good time, but it was expensive. It cost $65 a man to play, plus green fees and then we had to provide a scorer as well for another team. We paid Mel's son $32 to do the job. Jean Paulo was thrilled and at fifteen, it was his first paid job. The guys in front of us used Jean Paulo and they were supposed to let him ride in the cart. Somehow they talked him into hanging off the back of the cart and we saw him hanging on for dear life as they careened across the course.
Darla and I have bought a pass for Folsom Lake and we spent Sunday at the lake. We left straight from church and stopped at the local grocery store for sandwiches while I dashed into the Taco Bell to change into my swim suit. We got to the lake about 11:00AM and it was mostly deserted. One of the local Granite Bay churches has their worship service at the beach and they were there around the corner on the point. The lifeguards were just coming on and we set up our towel, chairs, umbrella and ice chest a short distance from the first lifeguard tower. We noticed that a horse had visited the beach early and had deposited an offering a ways down from our blanket. We were far enough from the offending nugget to have it not interfere with our enjoyment of the beach. As the day wore on, the little equine prize kept us from having neighbors too close as they would see the deposit and move on. Finally a couple with a small child set up camp within spitting distance of the roadie and Darla felt compelled to mention it to them. The wife looked at Darla and said, "yeah, we saw it." She seemed unconcerned, so we went back to our books. Several minutes later, their friends joined them and the woman took one look at the horse puck and began yelling, "Why are you sitting next to a turd? I'm not setting up by a turd. Did you see the turd? Bubba, it's a great big TURD!" Bubba turned out to be her brother and a more fitting name could not have been applied to this large, okefied man. His sister was also of a rather large frame. She ranted awhile longer about the TURD and finally grabbed her daughter's beach pail and shovel and scooped up the offending fecal matter and sent it flying up the beach. Why she didn't put it in the trash can is beyond me. Darla and I were howling with laughter by now and she walked by and muttered something about why a woman had to pick up the turd rather than the men. I told her, "yeah, that's a bunch of crap." She wasn't amused.
We returned hom in the late afternoon after spending an hour at Alicia's fixing her sprinklers, which were alternately geysers or completely buried in the lawn. I had to locate three heads that were overgrown in the grass and when I showed Alicia, her comment was, "I didn't know I had sprinklers on that side of the lawn." I need to work with David to make sure that I get him to trim back the grass around the sprinkler heads. I installed 8 more solar lights along the walkway at the front of the house and I'm pleased with the result. The solar landscape lights are amber in color and let off less light than their wired brethren. It is a nice soft light that marks the brick and cement walkway leading to our front door.
Our pastor, Rick, spoke on the subject of War and Pacifism yesterday and how the Bible teaches us about this subject. It was enlightening and somewhat controversial, but I agreed with him when he said that War is preferable to the the advance of evil in society. The Iraq War is not popular, but it is much less brutal in terms of loss of life than any other war we've been involved in based on the size of our population and the loss of life as a percentage of same. We hate to lose even one life to a war, but I think we are doing the right thing. We need to defeat the enemy and get out of that country.
Well, not much news to report. The blog will be a day late next week as I'll be in Almanor. Stay well, keep your sunscreen on (SPF 30 or higher) and keep your nose in the Bible. It is the instruction manual for life. Ciao.
Darla and I had a nice, relaxing weekend, although it didn't start out that way. I forgot my wallet at work on Friday night and didn't realize it until I stopped for gas on my way home. What a bonehead move as work is a good half hour away from home. I called Darla and told her that I'd pick her up and take her to dinner. She was enthused until I mentioned that I had left my wallet at work and we'd eat in Rancho Cordova. The boys were just home from their vacation with their Dad and they were leaving again for a week at a Christian Camp in Viola in So Cal. They had wash to do and would see us about 8:30 PM. Darla and I drove all the way back to my work to pick up my wallet and then I took her to Samarai Sushi for dinner. Neither of us are overly keen on sushi, but they have a nice menu of cooked Japanese food and we settled on the shrimp tempura for Darla and I had the teriyaki chicken with tempura. It was good and Darla was a good sport given my boneheadedness.
The boys did meet us about nine-thirty as it turned out and we got caught up on their travels through the asphalt clogged cities of Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Again, this isn't my idea of a Summer vacation, but I'm glad that Steve could show the kids some of the east coast. I'll show them Florida and the beaches of South Carolina some day. They were up early on Saturday to meet the SUVs at church for their trip to Southern California. They spent yesterday at Disneyland. Not a bad Summer for the guys so far, eh? They will get home on Saturday and leave Sunday for a week with Darla and her family at Lake Almanor. I will be there until Monday when I return to run the office here. Peter will be out next week and Gail starts her month medical leave on Monday as well. Darla would like me to go up some year and spend the whole week in Almanor, but until I get three weeks of vacation, I don't see it happening. The venue is nice, but it's a mountain lake and the water is freezing. Somehow, I prefer the oceans of Puerto Vallarta or Kauai, where the water temperature is 80 degrees.
I played golf on Saturday in the Buick Scramble with Mel, Steve Matthews and Boyd. We shot a ten under par 62, but lost out to the winners at 58. The team wasn't strong, but Boyd kept us in the match all day and we even managed two eagles on the front side, both on the par 5s. Our undoing were the par threes, where we parred each of them. Finally, we bogeyed the 17th hole of the day (Number 8 as we started on number 10), which was dumb, but it didn't hurt us as we were already out of the tournament. I had a good time, but it was expensive. It cost $65 a man to play, plus green fees and then we had to provide a scorer as well for another team. We paid Mel's son $32 to do the job. Jean Paulo was thrilled and at fifteen, it was his first paid job. The guys in front of us used Jean Paulo and they were supposed to let him ride in the cart. Somehow they talked him into hanging off the back of the cart and we saw him hanging on for dear life as they careened across the course.
Darla and I have bought a pass for Folsom Lake and we spent Sunday at the lake. We left straight from church and stopped at the local grocery store for sandwiches while I dashed into the Taco Bell to change into my swim suit. We got to the lake about 11:00AM and it was mostly deserted. One of the local Granite Bay churches has their worship service at the beach and they were there around the corner on the point. The lifeguards were just coming on and we set up our towel, chairs, umbrella and ice chest a short distance from the first lifeguard tower. We noticed that a horse had visited the beach early and had deposited an offering a ways down from our blanket. We were far enough from the offending nugget to have it not interfere with our enjoyment of the beach. As the day wore on, the little equine prize kept us from having neighbors too close as they would see the deposit and move on. Finally a couple with a small child set up camp within spitting distance of the roadie and Darla felt compelled to mention it to them. The wife looked at Darla and said, "yeah, we saw it." She seemed unconcerned, so we went back to our books. Several minutes later, their friends joined them and the woman took one look at the horse puck and began yelling, "Why are you sitting next to a turd? I'm not setting up by a turd. Did you see the turd? Bubba, it's a great big TURD!" Bubba turned out to be her brother and a more fitting name could not have been applied to this large, okefied man. His sister was also of a rather large frame. She ranted awhile longer about the TURD and finally grabbed her daughter's beach pail and shovel and scooped up the offending fecal matter and sent it flying up the beach. Why she didn't put it in the trash can is beyond me. Darla and I were howling with laughter by now and she walked by and muttered something about why a woman had to pick up the turd rather than the men. I told her, "yeah, that's a bunch of crap." She wasn't amused.
We returned hom in the late afternoon after spending an hour at Alicia's fixing her sprinklers, which were alternately geysers or completely buried in the lawn. I had to locate three heads that were overgrown in the grass and when I showed Alicia, her comment was, "I didn't know I had sprinklers on that side of the lawn." I need to work with David to make sure that I get him to trim back the grass around the sprinkler heads. I installed 8 more solar lights along the walkway at the front of the house and I'm pleased with the result. The solar landscape lights are amber in color and let off less light than their wired brethren. It is a nice soft light that marks the brick and cement walkway leading to our front door.
Our pastor, Rick, spoke on the subject of War and Pacifism yesterday and how the Bible teaches us about this subject. It was enlightening and somewhat controversial, but I agreed with him when he said that War is preferable to the the advance of evil in society. The Iraq War is not popular, but it is much less brutal in terms of loss of life than any other war we've been involved in based on the size of our population and the loss of life as a percentage of same. We hate to lose even one life to a war, but I think we are doing the right thing. We need to defeat the enemy and get out of that country.
Well, not much news to report. The blog will be a day late next week as I'll be in Almanor. Stay well, keep your sunscreen on (SPF 30 or higher) and keep your nose in the Bible. It is the instruction manual for life. Ciao.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
4th of July begets the 5th of July
Happy Tuesday. You have to revel in three day weekends, especially when the vacation hangover is still in place and I'm fighting to get my work focus back. We just closed June and although I had a down month (vacations will eat into your production), the branch made money and I receved a congratulatory call from the Underwriting VP on Friday. The Modesto office is ramping up and Gail had a solid month here in Sacramento.
I was listening to a national radio show yesterday on the way back from Folsom Lake and heard a sports announcer say that the Toronto Blue Jays did not have a game on July 4th and that was because Canadians do not have a 4th of July. Somehow, I thought we were all on the same calendar, but apparently not. Do Canadians have a July 32nd for skipping July 4th? Interesting bit of trivia or simply an act of a bufoon?
Darla and I had a nice long weekend. The boys are still on the east coast with their Dad, I believe somewhere in Washington, DC and Darla and I had to make do with just each other. We started the weekend by going out to Folsom Lake Friday night and enjoying a picnic on the beach. I let the staff go at 3 PM as it was DEAD and most of the companies and agents closed down at noon. I stayed until 4:30 and then met Darla at a parking lot close to the beach entrance. We parked my Mustang, bought some sandwiches and Darla brought drinks from home. We sat in the 100 degree heat, reading books and looking out over the lake and contemplating the free three days ahead. It was a nice start to a good holiday weekend.
I played golf in the Firecracker tournament on Saturday. We played a modified Stableford scoring system with positive points for Pars, birdies and eagles and negative points for double bogey or higher. I shot a 41+45=86 and scored 19 points. I was in the first group off and left right away as Darla and I were off to spend the night in Paradise at Darla's parent's new home. I'm guessing that my 19 points will place me in the middle of the pack. I hadn't played golf in three weeks and was rusty. My short game suffered the most, although my putter was hot. I rolled in three putts of over fifty feet, all of them for par and all on the front side. I easily could have shot 90 if not for a smoking putter.
Darla's parents new home is nothing short of spectacular. It sits in a former Apple orchard in Paradise and is part of a group of custom homes all with at least one acre of land. Their home is a single story home with the garage below the main floor and loads of storage. There are two rooms below the main living area, both used as storage. One is perfect for a root cellar and the other houses the air conditioner unit, the water heater and all of the controls for the sprinklers. They also have a water softener. The back yard is immense and has room for the fifth wheel and a separate two car garage at the rear of the property that is being used as a shop. The garage has water and is plumbed for a toilet. If they finish the construction and add the toilet, Earl could live out there. That building looks fairly new and I'd guess is only a couple of years old.
We went up to help them paint the house and joined Alicia and Darla's brother, Steve, a the house on Saturday night. Earl kept telling me he had a "special" job for me. I'm not much for painting and couldn't really sink my teeth into spending a beautiful July 4th weekend inside painting walls. Earl read me like a book and turned me loose on the nine sprinkler zones over the acre of property. Most of the sprinkler system is drip line and the former owner had used her hoe to dig up weeds and destroyed a good portion of the sprinkler lines in the process. I spent most of the day repairing the broken lines between trips to the hardware store. The rest of the gang were inside painting up a storm and I was completely in my element out in the fresh air digging in the dirt. I ended up changing out two of the sprinkler control valves and moving several of the sprinkler heads to get better coverage. The main lawn has oscillating sprinkler heads and Earl and I moved a couple of the heads to get better coverage. He still has work to do on the sprinkler system, but when we left most of the ground was covered by sprinklers and they could leave the home without fear of dying plants.
Their home is three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths with room for four cars under cover. The home has a formal dining room, a living room and a family room, a hot stove fireplace, a garbage disposal and an inside atrium off of the living room. The home is beautiful and surrounded by a lanai off the living room and master bedroom that looks down on the property. They have a dry creekbed that runs along the side of the property that will have water during the winter months. The property is large and will keep Earl busy during his retirement I'm sure.
Darla and I stayed over Saturday night on an air mattress and sleeping bags and drove home Sunday night after working all day. The home includes a jacuzzi in the master bathroom that Darla and I put through it's paces before bed. Earl and Frances are staying in the fifth wheel for right now. They are redecorating, adding paint, carpet, window coverings and some furniture prior to their move in August. The current carpet is a peach colored monstrosity and they are replacing ALL of it. The home itself is painted an almost peachlike color on the wood sided exterior and they plan on painting the exterior a more natural wood stain.
Darla and I spent the day yesterday relaxing at Folsom Lake on the beach. We bought a State parks pass for this year at $120. It is $7 per entry and the pass is good at all state parks. The lake up near Darla's parent's new home is a state park and we will get in there without paying additional entry as well. The pass is hung from the rear view mirror and David and Destanie can use the pass as well in his car. We had a very rainy winter and Folsom Lake is as full as it has been in ten years. The lake is at 94% capacity and there is very little beach left. Last year we had to drive down onto the old beach and another 300 yards down to the water. We sat yesterday under the shade of an umbrella and on our blanket reading and soaking up some sun between trips to the water to cool off. We watched the park police write up our closest neighbors on the beach for alcohol consumption. They had two gallon jugs of strawberry margaritas and the guy claimed he didn't know they had liquor in them. Usually the police just give a verbal warning and make them pour out the alcohol, but this guy bought himself a ticket for lying to the officer. We had a silent giggle over that. The group next door left shortly after their hootch was poured on the beach. Some people cannot enjoy themselves without drinking and the lake is one place that restricts alcohol. It is truly a family friendly destination as the rowdys stay away in droves. Nice.
Well, I have some pictures to add to the blog from our trip and will do that now. I hope all are well and looking to the Lord for direction in your lives. Remember, God does allow U-turns. Ciao.
I was listening to a national radio show yesterday on the way back from Folsom Lake and heard a sports announcer say that the Toronto Blue Jays did not have a game on July 4th and that was because Canadians do not have a 4th of July. Somehow, I thought we were all on the same calendar, but apparently not. Do Canadians have a July 32nd for skipping July 4th? Interesting bit of trivia or simply an act of a bufoon?
Darla and I had a nice long weekend. The boys are still on the east coast with their Dad, I believe somewhere in Washington, DC and Darla and I had to make do with just each other. We started the weekend by going out to Folsom Lake Friday night and enjoying a picnic on the beach. I let the staff go at 3 PM as it was DEAD and most of the companies and agents closed down at noon. I stayed until 4:30 and then met Darla at a parking lot close to the beach entrance. We parked my Mustang, bought some sandwiches and Darla brought drinks from home. We sat in the 100 degree heat, reading books and looking out over the lake and contemplating the free three days ahead. It was a nice start to a good holiday weekend.
I played golf in the Firecracker tournament on Saturday. We played a modified Stableford scoring system with positive points for Pars, birdies and eagles and negative points for double bogey or higher. I shot a 41+45=86 and scored 19 points. I was in the first group off and left right away as Darla and I were off to spend the night in Paradise at Darla's parent's new home. I'm guessing that my 19 points will place me in the middle of the pack. I hadn't played golf in three weeks and was rusty. My short game suffered the most, although my putter was hot. I rolled in three putts of over fifty feet, all of them for par and all on the front side. I easily could have shot 90 if not for a smoking putter.
Darla's parents new home is nothing short of spectacular. It sits in a former Apple orchard in Paradise and is part of a group of custom homes all with at least one acre of land. Their home is a single story home with the garage below the main floor and loads of storage. There are two rooms below the main living area, both used as storage. One is perfect for a root cellar and the other houses the air conditioner unit, the water heater and all of the controls for the sprinklers. They also have a water softener. The back yard is immense and has room for the fifth wheel and a separate two car garage at the rear of the property that is being used as a shop. The garage has water and is plumbed for a toilet. If they finish the construction and add the toilet, Earl could live out there. That building looks fairly new and I'd guess is only a couple of years old.
We went up to help them paint the house and joined Alicia and Darla's brother, Steve, a the house on Saturday night. Earl kept telling me he had a "special" job for me. I'm not much for painting and couldn't really sink my teeth into spending a beautiful July 4th weekend inside painting walls. Earl read me like a book and turned me loose on the nine sprinkler zones over the acre of property. Most of the sprinkler system is drip line and the former owner had used her hoe to dig up weeds and destroyed a good portion of the sprinkler lines in the process. I spent most of the day repairing the broken lines between trips to the hardware store. The rest of the gang were inside painting up a storm and I was completely in my element out in the fresh air digging in the dirt. I ended up changing out two of the sprinkler control valves and moving several of the sprinkler heads to get better coverage. The main lawn has oscillating sprinkler heads and Earl and I moved a couple of the heads to get better coverage. He still has work to do on the sprinkler system, but when we left most of the ground was covered by sprinklers and they could leave the home without fear of dying plants.
Their home is three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths with room for four cars under cover. The home has a formal dining room, a living room and a family room, a hot stove fireplace, a garbage disposal and an inside atrium off of the living room. The home is beautiful and surrounded by a lanai off the living room and master bedroom that looks down on the property. They have a dry creekbed that runs along the side of the property that will have water during the winter months. The property is large and will keep Earl busy during his retirement I'm sure.
Darla and I stayed over Saturday night on an air mattress and sleeping bags and drove home Sunday night after working all day. The home includes a jacuzzi in the master bathroom that Darla and I put through it's paces before bed. Earl and Frances are staying in the fifth wheel for right now. They are redecorating, adding paint, carpet, window coverings and some furniture prior to their move in August. The current carpet is a peach colored monstrosity and they are replacing ALL of it. The home itself is painted an almost peachlike color on the wood sided exterior and they plan on painting the exterior a more natural wood stain.
Darla and I spent the day yesterday relaxing at Folsom Lake on the beach. We bought a State parks pass for this year at $120. It is $7 per entry and the pass is good at all state parks. The lake up near Darla's parent's new home is a state park and we will get in there without paying additional entry as well. The pass is hung from the rear view mirror and David and Destanie can use the pass as well in his car. We had a very rainy winter and Folsom Lake is as full as it has been in ten years. The lake is at 94% capacity and there is very little beach left. Last year we had to drive down onto the old beach and another 300 yards down to the water. We sat yesterday under the shade of an umbrella and on our blanket reading and soaking up some sun between trips to the water to cool off. We watched the park police write up our closest neighbors on the beach for alcohol consumption. They had two gallon jugs of strawberry margaritas and the guy claimed he didn't know they had liquor in them. Usually the police just give a verbal warning and make them pour out the alcohol, but this guy bought himself a ticket for lying to the officer. We had a silent giggle over that. The group next door left shortly after their hootch was poured on the beach. Some people cannot enjoy themselves without drinking and the lake is one place that restricts alcohol. It is truly a family friendly destination as the rowdys stay away in droves. Nice.
Well, I have some pictures to add to the blog from our trip and will do that now. I hope all are well and looking to the Lord for direction in your lives. Remember, God does allow U-turns. Ciao.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Back to the Grind..Oy Vey!
There is no getting around it. Vacation is over and the reality of bills and college and responsibility trump the sweet memories of ukeleles, mango fruit juice and the sound of pounding surf.
Some random thoughts regarding our vacation. Darla forgot to renew her license in the days leading up to David's graduation and our vacation and was pulled out of line at the security checkpoint in SF and subjected to intense screening by the TSA. Her carryons were hand searched and she was frisked before being allowed to move to our gate. The line in San Francisco was long and she actually moved through screening faster than we did. The odd thing is, she somehow had a pocket knife in one of the zippered compartments of her purse that was missed in the intense screening. Makes you feel really safe on domestic flights in the US, eh? We attended a small church in Hanalei last Sunday. The church is pastored by a former bad boy who turned his life over to Christ. He's a bit of a beach bum with longer hair, but a true perspective on the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ. The church had about 13 attenders and we brought the total up to 17 on Father's Day. They even gifted me with a bag of Reeses peanut butter cups when we left. It was good music and a real laid back, beach feeling which added to our vacation and was a blessing to us. I had to drive everywhere on the island as I wasn't about to pay the surcharge for an 18 year old driver and Darla was sans a valid driver's license. Darla did not face the added security on the flight out of Lihue in Kauai as they simply looked at her expired license and waived her through. Things are certainly more laid back on the islands. I'll put the Hawaii trip away in my box of memories. I will add a few pictures to the blog when I finally get around to it.
I am going into some serious withdrawal pangs from golf. I haven't played since June 11th and will finally tee it up again on Saturday in our Firecracker tournament prior to the 4th of July. We had to go to Sonora on Saturday to wish Darla's sister-in-law, Kristin, and her niece, Shae, a fond farewell as they are moving to the big island of Hawaii in Hilo to look for work. Darla's brother, Steve, will retire from his bread job in September and join his family in Hawaii. Why? Who knows, a middle age crisis or a true calling to live in Hawaii. I don't know. We will be able to visit them on our next trip to Hawaii, when we can take a week in our condo and then a week at their place on the big island. Kristin just graduated from college and will look for work in the social services field in Hawaii. I was invited to play golf by Mark Konrad on Saturday, but his tee time was 9 am and I had to leave about 1:30 for Sonora. I grudgingly passed on the opportunity.
Darla's parents, Earl and Frances, have sold the family farm in Linden and will move to a new home on one acre in Paradise, California (outside Chico) in August. They take possesion of the new home this coming weekend and will be up painting the house. We are excited for them as this will force Earl to finally retire. He retired from his construction job a few years ago, but the orchard continued to demand alot of his time and energy. This is a huge step in his life and Earl is going kicking and screaming. I think he knows in his heart that this is the right move, but a farmer is a farmer and most never really retire. The land is in their blood and it's one reason that they bought a home with some acreage. I can't see Earl happy in the middle of suburbia. Currently, his closest neighbor is about 5 acres away from his home and he likes it that way. Darla and I may venture up to the new homestead this weekend as they will be working on the home. We'll pack up some grilling meat of some kind on July 4th and head up to see them. Their new home is close to Lake Oroville and on the way up to Lake Almanor. Earl and Frances had thought about buying a home in Almanor, but when they realized that the region gets some serious snowfall in the winter decided to take a second look and settled on Paradise. The town has a reputation as a retirement area. I do have an agent in the area and will stop in and see them once they are moved in.
Both Darla and the boys have had a hard time with the move and will miss the farm. The boys have spent a great deal of time there the past year helping Earl with some construction and on the farm itself. Darla lived there during her high school years and Daniel lived there when he came home from the hospital as Darla and her ex were separated at the time. We hope to make it up to the farm for a barbecue and swim party before they move.
Work was actually pretty well handled between Anthony on the new business side and Connie on the renewals and endorsements. I have about 28 applications on my desk, which really isn't bad. The problem is that I have some reports to do from a management perspective which interrupts my ability to handle the load. Both Pete and Audra have started with us (our new underwriter and AR person). I will take Audra to lunch today to welcome her. She handles my set-ups of new business and I have to spend a little time getting her on the same page as me. Dinda taught her how to handle the desk and made my set ups a secondary priority. I have to impress upon her that income pays her salary and anything we can do to streamline the revenue flow, the better it is for her.
Gail will be taking off most of July between vacation and some elective surgery. I need to get Peter up to speed, but also need to get him into a licensing class and off to Scottsdale to meet our number one company and the underwriters there. Emery Jensen was our boss at Republic Western and runs the Western region for Scottsdale, so will take good care of Pete.
I haven't heard from Jennifer in awhile. She called to wish me a Happy Father's Day, but her message got cut off. "Jenn, call your Dad!" I want to talk to you about your trip home and just get caught up on what's going on in your life.
The boys are off to Philadelphia, Washington and New York. David called last night and said he was just finishing a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. His luggage didn't make it on the plane and they were still waiting for that to show up. It sounds like they are having a good time with their Dad, which is good.
It was great to be back in church yesterday. The new executive pastor gave the message and he talked about Fear being the "darkroom where negatives are developed". I liked that and found it so appropriate to life in general. I hope that you are all well and looking to the light of the Lord, who casts out the darkness and the darkrooms in each of our lives. Be well. Ciao.
Some random thoughts regarding our vacation. Darla forgot to renew her license in the days leading up to David's graduation and our vacation and was pulled out of line at the security checkpoint in SF and subjected to intense screening by the TSA. Her carryons were hand searched and she was frisked before being allowed to move to our gate. The line in San Francisco was long and she actually moved through screening faster than we did. The odd thing is, she somehow had a pocket knife in one of the zippered compartments of her purse that was missed in the intense screening. Makes you feel really safe on domestic flights in the US, eh? We attended a small church in Hanalei last Sunday. The church is pastored by a former bad boy who turned his life over to Christ. He's a bit of a beach bum with longer hair, but a true perspective on the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ. The church had about 13 attenders and we brought the total up to 17 on Father's Day. They even gifted me with a bag of Reeses peanut butter cups when we left. It was good music and a real laid back, beach feeling which added to our vacation and was a blessing to us. I had to drive everywhere on the island as I wasn't about to pay the surcharge for an 18 year old driver and Darla was sans a valid driver's license. Darla did not face the added security on the flight out of Lihue in Kauai as they simply looked at her expired license and waived her through. Things are certainly more laid back on the islands. I'll put the Hawaii trip away in my box of memories. I will add a few pictures to the blog when I finally get around to it.
I am going into some serious withdrawal pangs from golf. I haven't played since June 11th and will finally tee it up again on Saturday in our Firecracker tournament prior to the 4th of July. We had to go to Sonora on Saturday to wish Darla's sister-in-law, Kristin, and her niece, Shae, a fond farewell as they are moving to the big island of Hawaii in Hilo to look for work. Darla's brother, Steve, will retire from his bread job in September and join his family in Hawaii. Why? Who knows, a middle age crisis or a true calling to live in Hawaii. I don't know. We will be able to visit them on our next trip to Hawaii, when we can take a week in our condo and then a week at their place on the big island. Kristin just graduated from college and will look for work in the social services field in Hawaii. I was invited to play golf by Mark Konrad on Saturday, but his tee time was 9 am and I had to leave about 1:30 for Sonora. I grudgingly passed on the opportunity.
Darla's parents, Earl and Frances, have sold the family farm in Linden and will move to a new home on one acre in Paradise, California (outside Chico) in August. They take possesion of the new home this coming weekend and will be up painting the house. We are excited for them as this will force Earl to finally retire. He retired from his construction job a few years ago, but the orchard continued to demand alot of his time and energy. This is a huge step in his life and Earl is going kicking and screaming. I think he knows in his heart that this is the right move, but a farmer is a farmer and most never really retire. The land is in their blood and it's one reason that they bought a home with some acreage. I can't see Earl happy in the middle of suburbia. Currently, his closest neighbor is about 5 acres away from his home and he likes it that way. Darla and I may venture up to the new homestead this weekend as they will be working on the home. We'll pack up some grilling meat of some kind on July 4th and head up to see them. Their new home is close to Lake Oroville and on the way up to Lake Almanor. Earl and Frances had thought about buying a home in Almanor, but when they realized that the region gets some serious snowfall in the winter decided to take a second look and settled on Paradise. The town has a reputation as a retirement area. I do have an agent in the area and will stop in and see them once they are moved in.
Both Darla and the boys have had a hard time with the move and will miss the farm. The boys have spent a great deal of time there the past year helping Earl with some construction and on the farm itself. Darla lived there during her high school years and Daniel lived there when he came home from the hospital as Darla and her ex were separated at the time. We hope to make it up to the farm for a barbecue and swim party before they move.
Work was actually pretty well handled between Anthony on the new business side and Connie on the renewals and endorsements. I have about 28 applications on my desk, which really isn't bad. The problem is that I have some reports to do from a management perspective which interrupts my ability to handle the load. Both Pete and Audra have started with us (our new underwriter and AR person). I will take Audra to lunch today to welcome her. She handles my set-ups of new business and I have to spend a little time getting her on the same page as me. Dinda taught her how to handle the desk and made my set ups a secondary priority. I have to impress upon her that income pays her salary and anything we can do to streamline the revenue flow, the better it is for her.
Gail will be taking off most of July between vacation and some elective surgery. I need to get Peter up to speed, but also need to get him into a licensing class and off to Scottsdale to meet our number one company and the underwriters there. Emery Jensen was our boss at Republic Western and runs the Western region for Scottsdale, so will take good care of Pete.
I haven't heard from Jennifer in awhile. She called to wish me a Happy Father's Day, but her message got cut off. "Jenn, call your Dad!" I want to talk to you about your trip home and just get caught up on what's going on in your life.
The boys are off to Philadelphia, Washington and New York. David called last night and said he was just finishing a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. His luggage didn't make it on the plane and they were still waiting for that to show up. It sounds like they are having a good time with their Dad, which is good.
It was great to be back in church yesterday. The new executive pastor gave the message and he talked about Fear being the "darkroom where negatives are developed". I liked that and found it so appropriate to life in general. I hope that you are all well and looking to the light of the Lord, who casts out the darkness and the darkrooms in each of our lives. Be well. Ciao.
