Thanks Be To God!

The title comes from a small display that one of the neighbors put in their yard and decorated with pumpkins and autumn colors. I thought it was unique for Thanksgiving. Luckily it didn't have lights or a twirling turkey. The holiday displays get tackier every year.

The boys have come and gone like a 400 lb whirlwind. Wash was done, food was eaten, conversations were had and gallons of milk were consumed. We forgot how quickly a gallon of milk disappears with them in the house. The bottom picture above was taken on Thanksgiving as we were hosted by Alicia's boyfriend, Don, at his home in Folsom. He fixed turkey and all the trimmings and I watched the Cowboys win again. It is a Thanksgiving tradition.

We had the boys over Wednesday night and Darla fixed a turkey. The boys spent Thanksgiving with their dad and had Pot Roast because he doesn't like turkey. We saved our leftovers and hosted the gang on Friday for game day. Everyone arrived about noon and we played Sequence, Rook, 10,000 (a dice game) and the ladies poured over a puzzle. Football was on in the background, but held little interest as it was college ball and none of the BCS top teams were playing. Friday morning I raked leaves and sprayed down the driveway and walks, careful to keep an eye out for my militant senior neighbor who feels it is his place to control the use of water by private citizens in Roseville. I was thinking about that old coot the other day and realized that his clothes and he himself looked a little ratty. Perhaps he has given up bathing and washing his clothes. He's either a good little Democrat or it is the onset of dementia. I then went over to Diamond Oaks and hit a bucket of balls and worked on my putting stroke for an hour.

The practice paid off on Saturday as we played Cherry Island Golf Course a tougher track that seems to invite the hordes of once a year golfers after Thanksgiving. It was foggy in Elverta, yet full sun in Roseville, and we endured a twenty minute delay as the first groups were late getting off due to visibility. We warmed up and watched several of the groups in front of us barely get off the tee and one guy who whiffed three times before he finally hit a worm burner straight right into the driving range fence. There was much muttering among the gathered golfers. To what possible enjoyment is playing a game that you cannot properly play on a course that is clearly over any semblance of ability that you have? There is a county owned pitch and putt course not 1/2 mile down the street that was ripe for these guys' business. I digress. We finally teed off at 9:30 for our 9:08 AM tee time. I managed a birdie on the first hole, but little did I know that we were in for a six hour round of golf. I kept my game and my temper in check on the way to three birdies and a smooth 35 on the front side. The back side finally got to me as we had backups on nearly every hole and I ballooned to a 42 on the back and a 77 for the round, my best score at Cherry Island. It took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to play the front nine and 3 hours and fifteen minutes to play the back. I was remembering my 3 hour and fifteen minute round of 74 in Modesto a month ago with some outright nostalgia. It was brutal and I was thrilled to shoot such a low score under the conditions. The fog lifted and it was sunny and nice from the second hole on, but the human refuse continued to cover the course all afternoon. I like the guys, but hadn't planned to spend the entire period of daylight with them. Boyd shot 75, Darren had a 92 and Bob shot a 102. The top picture is of Bob and his wife, Debbie. We went out to dinner Saturday night and enjoyed getting caught up on their lives.

Jennifer spent Thanksgiving away from Samantha and missed her a lot. She went out to dinner at a friend's house and worked on Saturday. Her shift at the Encore (Steve Wynn's new casino next to the Wynn) ended on Saturday and she'll be back at the City Center project on Monday. Jennifer told me Saturday night that she is trying to arrange to fly to Sacramento for Christmas. Darla and I are thrilled and hope that it happens as we will miss Samantha's first birthday on December 21st. Jennifer's Mom, Diane, will be there. I hope that Jenn and Sam do make it home as I'd like to see Jennifer and spend some time with Samantha.

Darla and I almost overslept this morning, but managed to get up and go to church this morning and it was a great finale to Rick's sermon series on money traps. Today's theme was all about living for today and not storing away for the morrow. He read the Genesis story of the 7 year famine and how God tries to teach us to prepare for the next famine (disaster), but that too many of us are focused on our needs and wants today and don't plan for tomorrow. It is a theme that is close to my heart as I look forward to retirement while trying to help two boys through college now. I don't want to have to work to 67 because I didn't plan well enough. I am working on an emergency fund that would get Darla and I through at least six months if one of us were hurt or laid off. The discussion and sermon are very timely.

Rick also brought us current on the troubles in India. We support a pastor, Ajai Lal, and his wife who plant home based Christian churches in India. You are all aware of the well publicized problems in Mumbai and the takeover of the luxury hotels Taj Mahal and Oberoi, but it is just a small sample of what is happening in India. Teams of terrorists are attacking Christians and bounties are put on the heads of any Christian (50,000 rupies) and Christian pastors (100,000 rupies) and for burning a Christian's home (25,000 rupies) or burning a Christian Church (100,000 rupies). This all started in August and scores of Christians have been forced out of their villages and into the jungle where they are in hiding. ALL Christian churches which had recently come out of hiding have gone back underground. Our church took a collection this morning that will go to the Christian Outreach organizations that are finding these displaced people and offering them food and shelter. It is a sad time in India right now.

I just got an e-mail from NCGA on the handicaps for December and I've dropped to an 8.3. I think I'm officially a golfer.

Well, that's all for now. I have my final board meeting Tuesday night for the Roseville Golf Club and Saturday is our Christmas party. Friday the board plays golf and then Sunday is our final golf tournament of the year. Stay well and pray for India. Ciao.

The Pause before Thanksgiving

A nice weekend is in the books and a short week awaits as we approach Thanksgiving. I have much to give thanks for this year as so many are suffering, being out of work, having homes foreclosed on, fires in Southern California, a slumping financial system in this country. My personal circumstances are nothing to complain about. I'm lucky to have a good family, a fantastic granddaughter, a good job, my health and a solid and secure roof over my head. I give thanks for Samantha's Daddy, John, who has kept us in pictures of Samantha while Jennifer struggles through some personal issues in her life. John is such a good Dad and I direct you to the link for Samantha's blog that shows pictures of a recent Turkey Trot run that John took Samantha on as well as an update on how Samantha is doing. There are some cute pictures on the site of Sam with her new "kicks". She was first place for babies and is now giving kisses. She continues to learn to walk as she totters about between places before landing back on her bum. I really miss her and feel for the pain that she will feel because of the split of her parents. Jennifer is living with a girlfriend and working overtime right now and trying to figure out what direction she wants to take in her life. I just hope and pray that she puts Samantha first in ALL of her decisions because it is about Samantha now and not Jennifer.

I played poker here at the house Friday night and took my guests for about $100 and didn't feel at all bad as they were trying just as hard to part me from my money. The cards were coming my way Friday night. Saturday was golf and I really felt the week off the weekend before as I struggled to a 42+44=86. Boyd had wanted to play in a Turkey Shoot at Woodcreek, but it is a two man scramble and I wanted to play my own ball and post a score. As it turns out, I'd likely have been happier with the scramble.

Darla's friend and maid of honor, Joni, is living in Roseville now and just dropped off an apple pie. She was in Apple Hill, the orchard area up above Placerville and thought of us as she was baking pies for the holiday. Her Dad is coming in to town from Reno and Joni is fixing the Thanksgiving dinner, but her dad is deathly allergic to her cats and she is bringing the dinner over to the Residence Inn in Roseville and they will have dinner there.

It was great to get back to church today. pastor Rick is in the middle of a sermon series, Money Traps, that examines the issue of money and Christians and how we all fall into the traps of More, more, More and the Debt and unhappiness that follows. We are built with a hole in our hearts and the only thing that can fill that void is a relationship with Jesus. So many try to fill it with possessions that end up possessing them. It was convicting and enlightening.

I took the opportunity on Friday morning while the market was tanking yet again to clean up my portfolio and sell some of the dogs that have been fouling the nest. I bought Fortune Brands, a large conglomerate made up of three basic divisions: home and hardware consisting of brands like Moen faucets, Master Lock and Simonton Windows; Premium spirits like Jim Beam, Courvoisier, Sauza, and Canadian Club; and my favorite Golf with brands like Titleist, FootJoy, Scotty Cameron, Pinnacle and Cobra. The stock has been up around $80 and really overvalued, but I bought in Friday at $31 a share. I also added to my Masco position and bought Pepsi Bottling Group. My portfolio is much stronger today than it was last Thursday. A bonus is that the market turned around Friday afternoon and my positions increased, so me well over $1.00 from when I bought them early in the morning.

Darla and I will spend Thanksgiving with Alicia and her boyfriend, Don, at his house in Folsom. We will then host everyone at our house Friday with the boys home from Cal Poly. I have golf plans on Saturday. Next week is my final board meeting as President of the Roseville Golf Club and we will have pizza Tuesday night as we welcome the new board in. Saturday December 6th is the Christmas party where I will officially turn the gavel over to my VP, Rick. We will play golf with the board on Friday the 5th and the final tournament of the year is on that Sunday. Some busy times ahead.

Well, dinner awaits and there is another football game on. The Cowboys handled the 49ers today and saved me the indignity of listening to the boys crow about their crippled and inept 49ers. Take care and in the words of Pastor Rick, "own your possessions, don't let them own you." Ciao.

Girly, Girly, Who's 70? SHIRLEY!!

Pretty lame heading, but did you know there isn't a word in the English language that rhymes with 70? Count the day lost you don't learn something new (Henry David Thoreau). We had a wonderful, although truncated visit to the land of my birth to help celebrate Shirley's 70th birthday. In her defense, her birthday isn't until December, but Dad and Shirley leave Thursday for a three week overseas cruise and won't be back until mid-December. Dad decided to do the deed now and not make it a surprise as he had all of his kids flying in from all over the United States and didn't want to hide us until Saturday night. As it was, the event was very nice and I'm sure a great memory for Shirley. Dad tried hard to mess things up with a speech about how "well developed" Shirley was and how librarians are normally marmish, but he pulled it off the way he always does, flawlessly. Shirley had several friends and relatives come up and share stories about Shirley from her past and it was great. We got to spend some quality family time with a great dinner that Al and Sherry hosted on Friday night, a nice brunch that Shirley hosted on Saturday and a trip to the White Spot for hamburgers Saturday afternoon. Sherry and Al opened their home to all of the Lyon boys and their wives and it was great to hang out with my brothers. If nothing else, it keeps me humble. I haven't been called "idiot" and "penis" and "damn fool" since the last time I got together with my brothers.

At one point we were talking at the brunch table and my brothers started in on me wearing a dress as a kid and I played along, saying it was only that once. We all had a good laugh until Darla asked me on the plane about when I wore a dress as a kid and why. Darn it, I was told it was a Communion garment and that's my story.

I have now been to Dad and Shirley's country club, Hazelmere twice and have yet to even see a tee box or putting green. I suspected this weekend would be golf-free and snuck out Thursday night to a little 9 hole course in Elk Grove. I met my personal lines underwriter there and we traveled up to Modesto from there. We returned about 4 PM and I was going to hit a bucket of balls and it was $7 for a bucket or $9 to play the course on a twilight rate. I not only played, but finished all nine (albeit the 9th hole in virtual dusk) and shot a 37. The pro asked if I'd played there before and I told him no and he ran out to the tee box and gave me a card for a free 9 holes during the week at his course. I'll take him up on it and see what score I shoot for 18 holes. The course is a par 33.

Darla and I flew into Seattle on Friday morning and Randy and Cake showed up late (their plane was delayed) and we ended up waiting 90 minutes for them to get in. We then drove a Toyota Sienna van from Sea Tac up to Surrey, BC. The amazing thing is when we stopped to fill up the van it only took $27 in gas after the trip to Canada and back.

I talked to Jennifer tonight and she has been pulled off the job at The City Center casino project and is working 7 12-hour days on the Wynne casino expansion. It is supposed to be ready by the middle of December and is running behind. She worked both weekend days and made $600 a day with double time. With the split from John she wants to pack some money away in the bank and pay off some bills. John scored because he got to spend an extra weekend with Samantha.

Well, Darla is waiting on the couch for some TV time together, so I'll call it quits for this week. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. The Cowboys won tonight on Sunday Night Football, so all is right in the world. Ciao.

Better Late than Never

I have been slammed since I got home from Detroit. I am usually pretty consistent (Darla would say OCD) at keeping up my blog, but it got away from me this week. My trip to Detroit was a good one. The company is having a rough year and we are doing better than a lot of offices, but the mood was pretty good among the managers and the future is bright. My office continues to improve, although we are down a bit over last year. The managers that actually lost money this year were the ones looking a bit shopworn by the end of the weekend. We have some exciting new products and innovations that will be rolling out this year. Our company partners are thrilled with our production and our outlook and were happy to be there celebrating with us. The theme this year was a campaign theme, "Campaign for Excellence" and it went over well with the managers. This was my fifth year attending the annual meeting and I'm feeling very comfortable with my place within the hierarchy of the company. We've had a fair amount of turnover in Branch managers and I am probably in the middle in terms of seniority with the company. I received my five year platinum pin this year and it was a nice little token of my time with the company.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton again and the accommodations and food were first cabin. I left for Detroit at 6 AM which helps me transition to the time change as I'm up at 4 AM to make my flight, which is 7 AM Detroit time. I woke up that morning and it dawned on me that we have a President with the middle name Hussein. Who'd have thunk just seven short years past 9-11? I really enjoy Obama's speeches, but they always seem a bit full of air. I hope that he can help rally the country. Our economy is probably the worst it has been since the Great Depression. There is a Democratic majority in Congress, the Senate and in the White House and the one thing we can likely count on is higher taxes and more social services and government intervention in business, medicine, and all other areas of our lives. Four years from now, the Democrats will be run out of Washington and the Republicans will be viewed as the saviors. Some things never change. The one true indicator is that the stock market is not a fan of Barrack Hussein Obama as it has tanked. The averages are down 15% since he was elected in a landslide...well, he had 52% of the vote for President, which with the goofy electoral college somehow corresponds to a mandate. I think the stock market has pretty well given Obama it's mandate as well. Big Business and Wall Street cast a wary eye on Washington.

I got back from Detroit on Saturday night after flying through Denver on my way back to Sacramento. I had time to eat a chicken Philly wrap at the Great Steak Escape in the terminal before boarding my plane and heading home.

It is a small world and that was evident again when I had dinner on Friday night at the awards banquet with our Underwriting Manager in Dallas, Sheila. She mentioned that her daughter was off to college and I enquired where she was attending (to be polite). It turns out that her daughter, Courtney, is a scholarship soccer player at Southeast Oklahoma State University. My nephew and Godson, Chris, is a scholarship football player at Southeast OSU. Better than that, the kids just hung out together on Thursday night at the campus. Courtney lives in Arlington, about ten minutes from Randy's house in Eulis. Small world.

I did manage to get out on the golf course Sunday. We teed off at 11 AM and I played with Bob and Mel at Woodcreek. I shot 40+41=81, Mel shot 82 and Bob shot 76. It was a perfect day on the links. My new Fusion driver is a keeper and I have my Taylor Made R7 on EBay as we speak. I had a new Winn grip installed after I played on Sunday and the pro installed it as I had a beer after the round.

I will miss playing this weekend as I'll be in Surrey visiting Shirley on her birthday celebration. Darla and I will meet Randy and Cake in Seattle and drive across the border with them that afternoon. There is a White Spot hamburger with my name on it waiting in Canada. Darryl and Cheryl arrived yesterday.

Our dog, Buddy, isn't doing well. he is about 14 years old and on his last legs. he toddles around like an old man and his legs can barely support him. He's begun messing in the house and Darla is beside herself. It is likely that we'll have to put him down after the boys come home this Thanksgiving. He really isn't doing well. It's sad.

I had my interview yesterday for the board position with the Sacramento Independent Agents and Brokers and passed with flying colors. I will work with the President and Vice President who both ran the golf tournament over the last two years. The installation luncheon is on December 9th and I will reserve a table for my underwriters and their assistants.

Well, the blog will be late again as we will be in Canada this coming weekend. Jennifer is doing well and Samantha is standing up ad taking four or five steps before plopping back down. Jen said that she said "Kitty" the other night, so she is doing well. John and Jennifer are on speaking terms, but the speech is a bit stilted at the moment. It will get better as time goes on. They are both excellent parents and have Sam's best interests in mind. Take care all. Ciao.

Off to Detroit...Again

I will be on a jet plane come Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM and the country will have a new President to be sworn in once again on Darryl's birthday in 2009. I fly to Phoenix, eat breakfast and change planes to Detroit. On the way back they have changed my flight to United and I will fly to Denver, change planes and arrive back in Sacramento Saturday night at about 8:45 PM. This will be my first year at the Branch manager's meeting as a full Branch manager. The office is doing well in a down market,. Our numbers are off on the bottom line about $100,000, but we actually have about 8% more policies this year than last and my staff has shrunk by three people. How we stay ahead of it is any one's guess. Certainly, the advent of Image right and the paperless system has made us much more efficient, but we still have to set up the policies and type them and I've been making due with one less typist. Service has slipped in terms of the length of time it takes to produce a policy and I finally have a new typist. Bonnie has worked for the Modesto office since I hired her, but she has transferred to my staff and will begin typing policies in the next week.

Darla and I got the new lights put in this weekend and I have to admit they look great. The old ones were polished brass and looked dated. the new ones are antique brass with a silver highlight and just look new and modern. It was a bit of a chore to put the hall light in, but once I figured out how to install that one, the chandelier was a snap. I kept getting the chain too long on the hallway light and it was hanging down into the armoire. I finally cut it back to just two links and it sits just right/ The chandelier is a bit higher than our other one, but that one was always in the way when we were talking at the table and I wanted to install this one higher. The lamps are brighter, so the effect is the same.

I played golf with Bob, Boyd and Darren on Thursday at Lincoln Hills and put my new Callaway FT-3 Fusion driver in play for the first time. My drives were consistently long and in the fairway and I shot (what else?) 44+39=83. I began to get a good feel for the driver on the back nine and hoped to carry that over to the tournament today. Well, finally, it all came together for me. I started with a birdie on number one and shot 37 on the front side. Mind you, I was playing golf with the current two time defending club champion and Boyd, a past two time club champion. I beat them on the front as Boyd had 39 and Jay had 40. I started to stutter on the backside with a bogey-par-bogey-bogey start, but found my gear and put up a string of pars followed by a birdie on 17 before bogeying the number one handicap 18th hole for a 39 on the back and a 76 for the round. Boyd shot 38 on the back and Jay had a a 38 and I beat them both gross. I didn't hang around to see where I finished. I may have had field low gross, but I'm sure I took low gross in my flight. I would have won the trophy for the Past Presidents, but I am not considered a past President until next year. My only regret was that I didn't sign up for skins today as I got there late and didn't have time to stop and get some cash. Both of my birdies were on stroke holes and were net eagles. My handicap dropped back to a 9.7 as of November 1st, but this tournament was played with October handicaps as they changed on Saturday.

I was surprised that we even got a chance to play golf today as we have had a storm that rolled in Thursday night hit our area and we have had over two inches of rain since then. We had almost an inch and a quarter just yesterday. Diamond Oaks generally floods, but the creeks were mostly empty prior to the storm and the course soaked up the water pretty good. The bunkers were wet and had puddles in them and some of the fairways had small puddles in areas, but overall the course was in great shape and the greens were soft. I was pin hunting all day and it served me well.

Samantha ended up with a touch of bronchitis this week and had to stay home from day care on Thursday. Jennifer kept her home on Friday and didn't get to spend Halloween with john, so no new pictures of Sam the Monkey, but I'm sure we'll get more.

The trip to Vancouver for Shirley's birthday celebration will be here before we know it. One of Shirley's grandsons plays competitive hockey and has a big tournament that weekend and will be gone out of the Province. Her son, Cameron, will also be on that trip and won't be able to be there. It would be nice if her daughter-in-law was able to take him, but I think Cam is living vicariously through his son's accomplishments.

Here is a photo of Dad and Shirley as they dressed up for Halloween for a party they attended. Dad wanted to let Jennifer know that he's still hip or hadn't broken a hip or something. Wild and Crazy stuff. I'll blog more next week. Stay well and Be Happy. Ciao.

Samantha the Monkey

Jennifer sent some pictures of Samantha in her Halloween costume. She is a monkey, but she's not too keen on the mask part. She'll get better as she gets older. Boy, she's a doll. I'd empty the whole dish of candy into her bag if she knocked on my door. Jennifer will spend part of Halloween with John so he can see Samantha and they hope to get some better pictures of her then. Happy Halloween!

Indian Summer...Again

Summer does not want to leave us as this weekend has seen temperatures approaching 90 degrees. I have to be prepared for cold weather as the trip to frigid Detroit, Michigan looms in about ten days. My blood is thin after this week of warm daytime highs. I'm sporting a bit of a sunburn after two days of golf this week and some time spent in the yard cleaning the pool yesterday.

We went to church today expecting to meet Anthony and Erin from work, but they failed to show up. I don't know what happened. I invited them as we had a guest speaker today, Ken Mansfield. Ken was an agnostic who was the American Head of Apple Records and was hired by the Beatles in the '60's to direct their album sales and entry into the US market. Ken was a big deal with Capitol Records, the VP of merchandising, when the Beatles came calling. He recognized the potential of the Beatles after visiting London and helped to create a new division with capitol that co branded smaller record labels like Apple. He immersed himself into the entire phenomenon that was the Beatles and slowly lost himself as his fame grew along with he Beatles. He eventually left Capitol to form his own label and after initial success with Waylon Jennings and James Taylor, his label eventually failed and he found himself not only out of work, but out of options. He was no longer a viable commodity within the corporate circle and finally packed up his things in LA and headed to Nashville. He did bring something with him to Nashville and it was the transcendental spiritualism that found him with a guru. He eventually met a young Christian woman who argued with him about "the way". Ken agreed that Christianity was a way, but not "the way". His girlfriend told him that she could not waste her life with someone who would not live in the Kingdom after life on Earth.

Ken found himself so far out of the industry that he eventually accepted a position with a small amphitheater in Nashville. When Whitney Houston came to the theater in 1987, he was a member of the AV crew and was called out by Whitney to fix some re verb on her mike. When he walked out, he saw three of his former cronies in the corporate world of the recording industry sitting in the front row drinking champagne and they just stared at him. It was the single most humiliating moment of his life and he knelt down that day and gave his life to the Lord. He had to be broke for the Lord to break him.

He went on to tell us of a story of an event that he attended at a mega church in San Diego several years ago and a woman stood during the Q&A portion of the event and told Ken that she was a member of a youth group at her church in 1969 and the youth pastor passed around a hat with a slip of names that he wanted the kids to pray for. The names were those of the Beatles, their spouses, members of the roadies, and the Beatles management. Many of her friends got Paul McCartney and John Lennon and other famous people. She picked out a name she had never heard of and began praying for that person. The name was Ken Mansfield. The woman went on to tell him that she prayed for him daily for seven years and then left home and went to Los Angeles, where she fell away from the church and began "sleeping with the enemy". Ken in the meantime had found Christ and he was proud that day to watch as that woman came forward to rededicate her life. It came full circle. Ken's book is "The Beatles, the Bible and Bodega Bay". He was very convicting and a very powerful speaker. He is, by the way, married to the woman who helped him change his life, the one he met in Nashville. One of Ken's credos is that EGO is not a word, it is an acronym and stands for Edge God Out.

I decided Friday night that the Mustang was getting dirty. I took it into the shop and had new front struts installed to smooth out the ride and the mechanics got some fingerprints and smudges on the hood and it was due a good wash. As I was out spraying off the car, some old man walking in the park started yelling at me. I heard him, but thought he was yelling at some kids playing soccer. He finally got my attention. He was wearing Bermuda shorts and sandals with white socks and told me that I couldn't wash my car, it was "against the law in Roseville." I told him that there was an open hose law and that your garden hose had to have a nozzle on it so it wouldn't run down the street. "You're wrong and you could get fined," he said. I thanked him for his opinion, called him a Democrat and told him to go vote for Barack Hussein Obama and leave me alone. We need to be prepared for government taking over our lives if the Democrats win and it looks more and more likely that they will. God help me.

I went to Modesto on Thursday and Lorraine only had two appointments set up, so I knocked off at three and went over to Creekside Golf Course. I had played Dryden in Modesto, but not Creekside. I joined up with two other guys and proceeded to have my best round of the year, shooting 37+37=74, I was on fire and hitting every green. It was great to see it all come together for one day at least. I wasn't able to carry that over to the tournament on Saturday as I shot 43+40=83 and took fourth in my flight.

Jennifer and John continue in my prayers and especially Samantha, who has just started taking her first steps. Jennifer has moved into an apartment with a girlfriend and has Samantha one week on and one week off. Something happened between the two of them and there is a serious disconnect right now. Pray for some Heavenly guidance for both of them as they navigate the bumpy path of separation. Pray also for Samantha that she stay healthy and content during this period while her Mommy and Daddy try to sort things out.

Our two year-old dishwasher is having problems. Darla asked me to look at it last Sunday because the door was hard to shut. I opened it and the right side dropped about four inches. It turns out that the spot weld for the hinge on the right side worked loose from the tub. It is a GE Profile Dishwasher and cost close to $900. We had GE out on Wednesday and they took one look and said they couldn't fix it. The repairman contacted GE and they in turn got in touch with us and offered to replace the unit with a New GE Profile Dishwasher. The new one retails for $1,200 and should be installed this week. The only thing we are out is the $99 service call fee, which I'm sure I could argue. The point is, though, the dishwasher was out of warranty and GE is stepping up to replace it. The repairman said that he has seen several other spot welds not hold, so this is not an isolated incident.

Darla and I went out to Home Depot last night and bought a new chandelier and a new matching light for our entry hall. I plan to install them next Saturday. They are antique brass fixtures with etched glass holders and globes. Darla has been slowly upgrading our fixtures and appliances and things look good around here.

Well, it looks like the weather is supposed to turn cooler this week and we have a chance of rain by next weekend. I'm supposed to play golf Wednesday with Boyd, Darren and Bob at Lincoln Hills. Darren has a pass for four players with cart that runs out at year end, so we are happy to help him use it up. Perhaps the weather will clear up by Sunday when the club holds the Past President event. I will write more next week. Take care. Ciao.

SURPRISES

I came to find out this week how deceptive both my wife and my staff can be. The annual Big I Day Insurance Convention was held at the Sacramento Convention Center on Tuesday. Our office hosted a booth as we do every year and had our brochures and goodies there for the agents to pick up and visit with us. I sent some of my staff there Tuesday morning to man the booth and I showed up with a few other underwriters for the lunch and we worked the booth in the afternoon. The secretary of the Insurance Brokers and Agents had called me on the Friday before and offered to give my office an assigned table at the event. The tables are for 12 and you generally have to buy 12 tickets to get a table. I was a little surprised as we only had eight tickets, but accepted the offer. When the time came for the group to give out the Associate member of the Year Award, the speaker began introducing the winner by saying, "This member likes three sports 'Golf, Golf and Golf'. He enjoys vacationing in Hawaii and Mexico where he likes to play Golf." I thought, "Wow, this guy is a man among men. I'd like him." The speaker went on to say, "He has two sons that attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo University and a daughter in Las Vegas, Nevada and the apple of his eye is his granddaughter, Samantha Paige who is 9 months old." It dawned on me at that point and I looked up to see my entire staff grinning at me like my pants were on backwards. it was a complete surprise and I walked up to the podium to accept the award in front of 1500 of my closest friends. It was a very nice honor and they continue to insist that the call I took earlier in the week asking me to join the board of directors of the Association was just a coincidence. Yeah, sure. We happened to have one of the Managers from Detroit in town for the conference and ended up going to dinner with the gentleman who won the Agent of the Year award that night. Darla was in the crowd seated at the back of the room with the father and wife of the agent winner. She took some pictures, but was at the very back of the room and you can't see anything on her film. Again, it was a nice honor and I look forward to working with the group next year. I've got a feeling that I will be asked to chair the annual golf tournament next year, which will be no problem.

The weather is very nice this weekend, in the mid eighties yesterday and should hit 78 degrees today, perfect Fall weather. I played golf Monday in the Pro-President NCPGA event at Del Paso Country Club. I shot an 80 and my pro, Scott, shot 75. We ended up in a tie for 66 and our undoing was a double-bogey 5 on a par three on the backside where both Scott and I had 5. We ended up one stroke out of the money, with the winning team at 58 splitting $1,300. I got a nice PGA golf shirt and some good memories. It was nice to shoot good golf in such an important event. I played yesterday with the guys and shot 82 at Woodcreek after starting one under after four holes. I won $11 on my two birdies and was happy. I played with Darren, a friend who had played most of the Summer with us, but dropped out about two months ago. He had borrowed my power washer and returned it yesterday with a dozen balls and a bottle of 2006 Ponte Merlot from the Temecula Valley here in California. He called it interest for the time he held onto my power washer.

I ended up using the power washer with some CLR and power washing the tile and river rock on the pool. It didn't do a perfect job. I need to get some ScaleAway and use a wire brush to clean up the area around the waterfalls, which get kind of heavy with buildup.

Jennifer and John have split up at least temporarily in Vegas. They are working through some issues and I hope for Samantha's sake that they end up back together. John is a very gentle soul and a great father. They are both excellent parents, but hopefully their decision not to marry doesn't cost them both their family. Samantha is doing great. John sent us a video of Sam pushing her toy box around. It is on wheels and she would get behind it and push until she hit a wall and then walk around the box and start pushing from the other side. She is so incredibly cute and smart and it is only a matter of time before she is walking. Her one year birthday comes up in December.

This is a bit short this week, but I have chores to do, so I will bid you adieu for now. Ciao.

Windy Weekend

Downed fences, branches, tree limbs, leaves and a pool full of dirt, leaves, roof tiles, dust and assorted other debris is all that is left of the wind that blew in on Thursday and slowly diminished today. We had sustained winds of 15-25 MPH with gusts up to 50 MPH in certain areas. Our fence being new withstood the onslaught, but living across from a park with 100s of trees left me picking up a mess of leaves and branches yesterday and today. The pool is slowly being cleared up as the equipment makes its way around the sides and bottom of the pool. I spent about an hour skimming and cleaning the pool today and then trimmed the bushes around the pool and cleaned up the front yard. The place looks good, but the whole town has had a good blow this weekend. Darla and I went to church today and one of the metal sheds that the church uses to store various odds and ends had blown up off it's foundation and was lying twisted and broken next to its pad. The only good that came from this is that many of our neighbor's tacky Halloween trimmings of ghosts and goblins and stuffed scarecrows didn't survive the weather.

The economy is a real concern as the stock market continues it's slide into obscurity and home ownership is threatened even further by dropping house prices pushing many so far upside down in their homes that they can't see the bottom from below the surface where they now reside. Luckily Darla and I bought our home in 1999 so we are still sitting on equity in our home, but it has shrunk to minuscule proportions. Many are losing millions in the stock market and retirees are being sorely tested and the soon to retire see that date pushed further back from their original goals. I am a buyer in this market and have closed out the cash position in my IRA and 401 Ks with new purchases of blue chip, battered stocks this last week. There are some bargains in the stock market, unfortunately that includes many positions that I hold and have held for years. I got out of financial stocks about six months ago, but I'm testing the waters again with some financial index mutual funds. it is hard to call a bottom in this market, but with oil dropping and home prices beginning to bottom out, we are close.

So what do you do in troubled times? Well, go golfing, of course. I played Yocha-de-he in the Capay Valley at Cache Creek Indian Casino on Saturday. The wind was whipping and we all struggled on the 6907 yard course. I managed to keep calamity at bay and shot 47+42=89, which is high, but I beat two of the pros from our course, one who shot 90 and the other 92. Scott, our head pro managed his game beautifully in the wind and shot 76. Boyd (a 6 handicap) shot 85 and my 89 was tied for 4th low gross in the tournament. Scott placed me with Rick, Neil and Tim, who all shot well over 100. I would be very happy to go back on a less windy day and have a shot at the course. The set-up is gorgeous, with the first tee sitting on a hill with a view of the valley below and the fairway 120 feet below us. You get a good look at most of the course layout from the first tee and it is breathtaking. I struggled on the front nine as I was trying to steer the ball and play a low cut. I decided to play my normal set up on the back and just swing easy (The old credo "when it's breezy, swing easy" is true). If the wind was in my face or blowing left to right, I'd aim the ball on the left side and let my normal fade play a bit wider.

We had a ball and I even managed to win $60 on a dime machine playing poker when I hit four deuces before we teed off. I bought Boyd breakfast as he drove up from Roseville.

It is Daniel's 19th birthday today and Darla is feeling his absence a bit more keenly. She napped and when she woke up, she said, "Whew I was tired, labor makes me tired." I looked at her strangely, but remembered it was her son's birthday today. David got in a bike accident last week and dislocated his shoulder. He was riding back to his apartment and the chain slipped on his bike and he went over the handlebars and landed on his shoulder. He is sore and has to take the bus now because he can't ride until the separation heals. Daniel's girlfriend had her apartment broken into and she and all of her roommates lost their laptops. They were so freaked out, they moved from that apartment to another because they didn't feel safe.

Randy and Cake are in Vegas this week and I'm not sure if they got together with Jennifer yet. Hopefully they will be able to see little Samantha and perhaps have dinner with Jennifer.

I will play in the Pro-President tournament tomorrow with Scott our head pro. The NCPGA tournament is being held at Del Paso Country, the oldest and most prestigious of the local country clubs. It was shut down two years ago for 11 months and completely redesigned. I played it in it's old configuration and look forward to giving it a go in it's new design/ Scott's game is definitely on. I was waiting to hit my third shot on one of the par fives on Saturday and Scott's drive came rolling in behind us. He must have hit it 345 yards downwind.

Work continues at a frenetic pace. Our October is shaping up to be quite good and I held my meeting with the Modesto staff. I'll be a fixture in their office for awhile as we try to steady the bumps in the office and get back on track.

Well, that's it for this week. I hope all are well. Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians and to all the Americans, God bless in these trying political times. An actual quote from Barrack Hussein Obama: "This is the greatest country in the world. Vote for me and Joe Biden and help us change it." A quote from the great John Wayne: "Life is hard. It's even harder if you're stupid". Think about it. Ciao.

Awesome trip to Oregon

Yep, it was an absolutely perfect trip to Bandon. The town of Bandon is named after Bandon, Ireland and is a perfect venue for a links golf course. The term "links" refers to a merging of the land and the ocean and the many "links-style" courses popping up in places like Colorado and Arizona are a complete misnomer. The courses include many moguls and short cut fairways that run up and onto a green allowing you to virtually putt the ball from 60 yards off the green. The uniqueness of Bandon is in the fact that there are 3 championship courses located within the resort that can be played. We played all three courses, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We left for Bandon on Sunday afternoon, finally meeting up with the RV at about 2:30 in the afternoon. One of the guys, a single Dad was running late as he was coming back from another golf trip to Las Vegas and his plane was late. We picked him up at his house about 3:00 PM and were off to Bandon. The motor home was large and spacious with a big kitchen area and living area as well as a large bedroom. We watched football on the way and the reception slowly got worse the farther we got away from Sacramento. With Dallas having lost a winnable game, the reception was just fine for me. We stopped in Yreka for gas and dinner (a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken and beer). We stopped again in Ashland for a driver change and pressed on to Bandon, arriving about midnight. Boyd and I shared a hotel room at the Bandon Inn that night, two of the guys hooked up with friends (caddies) who live in Bandon and the other three stayed the night in the motor home. Boyd had a heck of a time sleeping as I am out as soon as my head hits the pillow and my snoring kept him awake until about 2 AM. He took a book and sat in the bathroom to read and get himself tired enough to sleep and could still hear me even with the fan on.

We awoke about 8 AM and after showering walked into the little fishing village of Bandon, known for their fishing, cranberry farming and now golf. The gang called about 8:40 and wanted to come to the room to shower and we said for $10 a man, we'd have no problem (J/K). We got over to the resort about 10:00 AM for our 11:20 tee time. The resort is absolutey immaculate with Scottish style architecture and a great shuttle system that will take you between the courses, the driving range and the various restaurants on the site. We played Bandon Trails, the newest of the three courses, with a fourth under construction and expected to be completed in 2010. Bandon Trails is probably the hardest of the three courses and the least picturesque. It is located in the hills above the other two ocean courses and is very narrow, hilly and covered in moguls. The caddies would often point out the spot to hit the ball and we'd comply, getting comments like"perfect shot" from the caddies only to find our ball hit the side of a mogul and shot dead right or left into a trap. I shot 88 on Monday and felt like I was just hanging on. Boyd shot 83 and the best score was a 78 by Harry.

Tuesday we played Bandon Dunes, the oldest and most famous of the three courses, It is a little more open and though rated higher than Bandon Trails on slope, plays much more fair. I shot 40+41=81 to beat Harry, who had an 87. Boyd shot 79.

Wednesday we played Pacific Dunes, the prettiest course of the three with about ten holes that are on the water or open to views of the ocean. I struggled a little bit with "lip-outs" on at least 4 holes and had an 84 for the day.

The trip overall was great. The weather each day was in the low 70's with morning coastal fog burning off by about 11 AM. Perfect conditions for golf. Boyd was in bed by 9 PM on Monday night and wanted to fall asleep before me. I ended up going to sleep about 9:30 as well. The food at the resort was inexpensive and very good, but one of our party had a bad experience on Tuesday night. We met at McKee's Tap Room for dinner. Boyd and I had the fish and chips ($15), which were excellent, but John ordered the special of New York steak and fried oysters for $40. The steak was about an inch thick and curling up on both ends. The oysters looked under-cooked with the batter falling off the shellfish. He took two bites and sent it back, asking instead for the meatloaf special. Meanwhile we all ate our dinners. His dinner took over twenty minutes and we filled his head with visions of the kitchen staff rolling his meat on the floor and doing other unmentionables to the sauce and John looked a little green. He finally called the waitress over and canceled his dinner order. When the bill came, he had a $40 charge for the steak and was outraged. He called over the manager who bent over backwards to make him happy, finally sending two orders of potstickers to the Bunker Bar, where we gathered to play bar dice and drink some adult libations. We ended up hooking up with our caddy friends (who used to belong to the Roseville Golf Club) and playing Texas Hold'em. Randy texted me from Toronto as I was playing dice.

We also met the caddies and a few of their brethren and played a ten man game of "stymie" golf on the par three course after our round on Tuesday. The idea is to win the hole outright with a birdie, but the rules are that all balls remain on the green and the furthest from the hole goes first. It is a distinct disadvantage to be closest to the hole as each player will block the hole with his ball. We played ten holes before finally getting a winner who won $90. It was interesting. Boyd won on hole 9, but couldn't validate his win by at least tying on the next hole.

It was a great trip and we got home Wednesday night about 1:45 AM. I had to work the next day, but Darla woke up and was chatty. We ended up talking until I finally told her at 2:30 that I had to get some sleep. Darla had repainted the living room from the yellow that she had painted it several years ago to a chocolate brown on two walls and maroon on two walls. It looks good and I could smell the paint when I walked into the house. I'll be off to the Manager's meeting in Detroit in early November and I suspect the office will probably get a new coat of paint. I picked an Ice Blue color for it several years ago and Darla has never been very thrilled with it. She is definitely a color person.

The office did well in September, beating our budget and we celebrated on Friday with a taco bar from Rubio's Mexican restaurant. It was very well done with chips, rice, guacamole, black beans, refried beans, salsa, lettuce, steak, chicken and soft flour and corn tortillas. The cost was about $10 a person and the food was excellent. We had a huge amount of leftvers and I brought a tupperware of chicken home as Darla was gone on Friday night at a conference in San Francisco with her Silpada jewelry business. We actually had burritos last night that Darla made up using the last of the meat.

I did play golf Saturday at Diamond Oaks and had my best round in while with a 40+38=78, winning $9.00 in skin money from my friends. My game feels really smooth right now and we are off to Yocha-de-he on Saturday with four of the pros from Diamond and 16 golfers. Yocha-de-hee is on an Indian casino in the Capay Valley outside Woodland. The course is a Troon course designed by Brad Bell and should be a challenge. We will stay on afterward and play some games of luck at the casino before driving home.

Well, this was all golf and more golf, but so is my life at the moment. I hope all are well. Ciao.

Off to Oregon

We will leave at about 2:30 this afternoon and will be traveling in a 42' Fleetwood motor home. There are seven of us heading to Bandon, Oregon for three days of golf. This is one of the golf venues on my Bucket List and I'm thrilled to be able to make the trip. The weather looks like Oregon. Nice Monday, showers Tuesday and a chance of rain on Wednesday. Temperatures in the low sixties, some early morning fog and overcast.

Our weekend here in Roseville was mid nineties and Indian Summer conditions. I played golf yesterday and had a horrible start with bogeys and double bogeys. I was 8 over after eight holes before birdieing the 9th hole for 44. I went par-double-par-double on the back for 12 over before pulling off four straight pars and finishing with an unexpected birdie on the 467 yard par four 18th. I shot 83.

The boys are doing well in San Luis Obispo with the start of the Cal Poly school year. David is loving finally being at his only college choice and he is in one Architecture class that meets three days a week and is a five hour long class. The professor gives each of his students a key to the classroom so they can come and go as they please as they work on projects. David jokes that if he'd known that, he wouldn't have needed an apartment.

Work has been a bit of a struggle lately. I just completed the 2009 budgets for both offices that report to me, but we have problems in Modesto that are going to require more of my time down there. I am committing to being in that office one day a week for the foreseeable future. It affects my production and my oversight of the Sacramento Branch, but it is needed at this time. I need to have a closer hand in the day to day operations of the Modesto satellite office.

Our trip this afternoon will be about nine hours, so we will get in to Bandon about midnight tonight after stopping for dinner. Our tee time tomorrow is 11 AM, so we are in no hurry. It should be a great trip and I will take plenty of pictures and come back with some stories from our adventure. I hope you are all well. Ciao.

Country Club Living

I have to admit that I could get used to living like I did this week during the Invitational at Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills. My partner was very gracious in inviting me, but a bit frustrating in his execution. Whereas my enjoyment was in the competition and in the golf, he was more enamored with the party. Gary is a salesman first middle and last. He enjoys people and enjoys being the life of the party.

Wednesday afternoon was check-in and the horse race qualifier. Each 2-man team that enters is assigned to a hole with five other teams and they play a three hole qualifier. On each hole, two teams are eliminated and if there is a tie for last, there is a chip-off. It is alternate shot. Our third shot was hit a little firm (by me) and I hit the green and it bounced over into the hazard. Gary approached me as I was ready to chip and said, "the rough is nasty here, give it a little extra". The ball was playable, but Gary lost his head and took two practice swings in the hazard and then almost chipped in for a four. We were penalized two shots and that was added to our 5 for a seven. There were two teams that were worse than five, one with a 7 and one with a 6. We were eliminated on his penalty after I'd paid $50 to get us into the qualifier.

Thursday was a morning round and it was alternate shot. Gary put me in some positions I'd never been in before and we shot 10 shots over our quota as a team. Gary did Patron' shots at 8:30 in the morning at one of the bars on the course and was a basket case after that. They took 50% of that overage and reduced our team quota from 52 to 47 on Friday. Friday was an afternoon round and individual play where both balls count. We shot 1-over our quota at 48 and were back in the tournament at 9 over. I deftly steered Gary away from the bars and wouldn't let him do shots with one of the bartenders. I shot 79 and Gary shot 84. Saturday was a morning round and Gary again was back to Patron' shots and Bloody Marys and a flask of Crown Royal in the cart. I shot 88 and Gary had a 92 and we shot 15 shots under our quota to finish in dead last in our flight and Gary lost about $200 in bets to his cronies. He likes to party and I couldn't get him to focus.

The tee gifts were incredible as was the food served at the event. The gifts were a dozen Titleist Pro V1s, a wind jacket, a golf shirt, a pair of designer sunglasses, a beautiful flask, a golf repair kit with the tournament logo, a golf hat with the logo and a golf towel. Awesome. The food was Prime Rib Wednesday night, Filet Mignon Thursday, oysters-crab-abalone-lobster and shrimp Friday, and pan seared ahi tuna-lamb chops-rib eye Saturday night.

It is halftime of the Dallas game, so I'll finish this up later.

8:45PM

Darla and Gary's wife, Kelly, joined us on Saturday night. I showed up expecting to collect $150 for closest to the pin as a friend had played the hole in the next to last group and my 8'4" was still leading, but alas, someone aced me out in the last group. We ended up winning $40 for worst score in our flight on Saturday.



I will be in the office early tomorrow to do payroll and then I'm off to Serrano again to play in a fundraiser for the local high school that Gail in my office bought a $1000 foursome and invited two of our agents to join us. It starts with breakfast, we play mid-day , have cocktails during a silent auction, then finish with dinner and prizes.



I say I COULD get used to playing at a country club, but with dues of about $450 a month I would be married to the course. I'm still looking to play the field and there are too many golf courses out there on my Bucket List of courses to play before I die or get too old to be competitive. Speaking of which I leave for Bandon, Oregon and three days of golf at the world famous Bandon Dunes Resort. Here is a website page of Bandon: http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/this_is.cfm

Here also is a picture of one of the holes on Pacific Dunes, one of the three courses that we will play. Hopefully the weather is good. The trip is expensive, with golf rates at $210 and the resort at $320 a night (luckily I will have a roommate and he'd be advised to bring earplugs). Boyd Robertson is going with me to Bandon and we will enjoy that dream together. Boyd joined me at Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines, so we have been making some golfing memories together.

Darla has said she'd like to take a walk. I watched Dallas beat Green Bay and then tried calling Jennifer, but she gets up so early, she was probably already in bed. I will try to write in the blog next Saturday, knowing that I will be traveling to Bandon on Sunday.

Darla and I really enjoyed church today. We had Josh McDowell as a guest speaker. He is a world renowned Christian author, who became a Christian after being a wild agnostic in College and finally seeing the light. We bought his book, "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict". He wrote it in the first eleven years of his life as a Christian and researched the validity of the Bible and the claims of the Christian faith. I'm looking forward to reading it. Josh works with teenagers and is a huge proponent of a strong father relationship in a child's life. He says that children will not follow our lead as parents unless we model our values and have a good relationship with them. Jen and John, if you want Samantha to grow up and go in the right direction: find a church, get her involved as she gets older in youth activities and be involved parents in her spiritual growth as well as her physical growth. Enough preaching. I hope you are all well and I'll write more next weekend. Ciao.

Bachelor Weelend

Yep. The wife was out of town. Darla went down to San Luis Obispo to get both of the boys set up in their apartments. It is RUSH week this week on campus and classes will start on Monday September 22nd. I was in SF on Tuesday and the boys were staying in the city with their Dad at the Fairmont in Nob Hill. My lunch was cancelled as the VP from one of my carriers had to fly out to LA and left me high and dry. I met the boys and Daniel's girlfriend, Becky, in Chinatown and we had a nice lunch at the R&G Lounge.

David had a weird experience as they were walking to the restaurant from Nob Hill. They passed the corner of Kearney and Clay about a block from the restaurant and one of the "street people" jumped up from the corner and shoved a lighter into David's side. David thought it was a knife and shoved the guy back away from him. One of the shop owner's came out and talked to David and asked him to call the police. Apparently this mental moron had been doing this all morning. He'd done it to a Mexican guy and that guy clocked him and dropped him on the sidewalk. The guy was deranged as he was muttering to himself and walking around barefoot. David said his adrenaline was flying as he thought he was in a fight.

We ate well, family style, and enjoyed visiting. I said goodbye to Daniel who was catching a ride with Becky back to the college. David came back home and left on Friday with Darla and Alicia. David has an off campus apartment that has three bedrooms and he is supposed to have roommates, but so far, it is just him. The college added more on campus housing this year and right now there is a glut. So, David has a 1100 square foot apartment by himself. The drawback is he has to pay the cable, food, etc. by himself right now.

I played golf on Wednesday with Gary Anderson at Serrano Country Club where we will play in the Claim Jumper Invitational on Thursday-Friday and Saturday of this next week. I shot 83 there and followed that up with an 83 Saturday at Diamond Oaks and then an 84 today at Diamond. Same game, different days.

I was supposed to play poker on Friday night, but Steve ended up having to go to the hospital with chest pains brought on by stress. He has had a heart attack before and it took three nitroglycerin tablets and some other pills to settle his system down. They let him out Thursday, but poker was cancelled. I made up for the loss of the poker night by going to the Thunder Valley Casino on Saturday night. I took $60 and playing nickles ended up leaving with $225 after being up over $300 at one point. It was a good "time spender" and I made $165. Not too shabby.

Work is going well. One of my employees did not return from her maternity leave, so I am filling a position now and we really need typing help. my typing unit went from two typists to one in the cutback and my service has dropped from 20 days on policies to almost 50 days. It is horrible and I've got the San Francisco office helping out with their typing pool right now. I'm looking at adding someone in my Modesto office and having their onsite employee go to work for Sacramento. She can type.

Darla is on her way home and called me from Lodi. I have some meat on the grill, some dinner rolls ready to brown, the baked potatoes cleaned and poked with a fork in preparation for the microwave, and some corn also ready to be heated in the micro. Dinner is a little late tonight, but I offered to cook if she could get home early enough. She managed to do it.

I may add more later, but the Sunday night game is coming out of halftime and I should really cook from nearer the barbecue. Ciao.

Sunday Night 9:05 PM


















Obviously, Darla made it home and told me to add these pictures to the blog (Whose Blog is this, anyway?) She had a great time with the boys and her sister. They went to Pismo Beach today before driving home. David got moved in and they locked the other two bedrooms, so his space doesn't seem so big. David also, in his haste to leave town forgot his television here in his room. It is a flat screen TV with a DVD player and he packed up and left without it. His Dad is going down in the next couple of weeks, so he can take it then. That's it. I'll blog next week. Ciao.

UH...More Pictures of Samantha

This will be a relatively quick entry as time has slid away from me this evening and I promised Darla I would meet her on the couch to watch some TV and relax tonight at nine.

I played golf this morning in our Club Championship, got home at 2:30 PM and sat on the pool with a book for about two hours and then came in and watched the Dallas Cowboy game on TIVO. Jennifer called in the middle of my pool time and wanted to talk about the Cowboy game and Darla wouldn't let her talk to me. I just got off the phone with her a few minutes ago. Things are going well for them in Vegas. Darla taught Samantha to clap while we were there and now she claps during her TV shows and when one of her favorite songs comes on. The kids go to bed early as Jen is up at 4:15 and out the door after 4:30. John leaves at a little after 5:00, so Samantha is usually up at 4:30 and gets her breakfast and is off to daycare. Jenn picks her up by 3:00 PM and then they start the whole process over again. Sam is in bed by 8:00 PM and Jen and John go to bed at 9:00 PM. Jennifer's Mom, Diane, will be in Vegas this coming weekend and will see Jenn and Samantha.

My golf today was just as normal as ever. The match was very good, close and exciting and I lost on the 18th hole when my opponent sunk a twisting thirty foot downhill putt and I missed my 15 footer to tie. I shot 84 and he shot 82. My practice round on Saturday was an 83 and I'm kind of stuck in a rut. My handicap is 11, I missed the Rose Cup team and I didn't even win one match in the Club Championship, so my golf year is a bogey as my goals were not met. I'm going to slow down a bit on golf soon, but play Wednesday, next Saturday in the consolation matches, and then three days the following week in the Sarrono Invitational with one of my agents here in town. Then, I'm off to Bandon Dunes, Oregon for three days at the end of September and will return to play the new Troon course, Yocha-Dee-Hee on October 11th. I'm getting tired just writing it.

I will be in SF on Tuesday as our CEO is coming in to town and asked me and the VP who works out of my office to come in. They are all having lunch with one of the brokerage markets that I do not represent, so I've been allowed to skip the lunch. David and Daniel will be in town staying with their Dad at the Fairmont while he is at a seminar. They are free for lunch, so I will take them to one of the SF restaurants (The Tadich grill or Bob's Steakhouse). I should take them to Clown Alley, the hamburger restaurant that Dad took us kids to 40 years ago. It's still there across from the red light district on Broadway. We'll see.

Well, Darla awaits. The boys are off to Cal Poly next weekend to start school and Darla is going down to see them off. I'll be batching it over the weekend. Sounds like a good time for Poker and Golf. (It always sounds like a good time for poker and Golf, though). Ciao.