Busy Week Ahead

 

 

It will be a week to remember. I have our annual Insurance Association golf event at Serrano tomorrow. We are sponsoring the putting contest again this year and I went out and bought two new Oddysey putters for the winners. I am playing in the event and have Gail and one of her retailers as my partners as well as a guy in Gary's office, Jeremy, who will fill in for Gary, who bailed on me at the last minute. I think he's still sore because I had to drop out of an event when Alan was last in town. I have to be at the course at 9 AM tomorrow to set up the signs on the course and to get the putting contest set up and ready. Shawna will run the putting contest again this year and I will have Linda, my new Personal Lines Underwriter, join her.

 

 

.Tuesday I have to be in Walnut Creek in the afternoon to meet with our lawyers to prepare for a deposition that I have on Wednesday morning. I'm staying in downtown Walnut Creek and Darla is joining me. I have the deposition at 10 AM on Wednesday and we should be out of there in 30 minutes. The case is where an insured became ill after ingesting fecal matter from pigeons that were roosting near the air intake for the furnace and became ill. We insure the property management firm and the loss should be paid for by the apartment owner for improper maintenance. We have declined coverage on the claim and they want to deposition me to see if coverage should apply. I'm not a coverage expert, but the duty of care and control of the apartment rests with the property owner. It's a waste of time, but it has to be done.

 

We will drive back Wednesday after lunch and I leave early Thursday morning for Eureka and the  Humboldt County Insurance Agent's golf event. I am playing with my old Assistant Managing Director, Matt. I haven't talked to him since he left, so it should be interesting. We won the event two years ago and are keeping the team intact despite the obvious issues involved. We set up to play after he left and I agreed to pay for one of the agents and myself and Matt would take care of the other. I got a note from the TD this week saying that Matt and Chris hadn't signed up and he could put Jeff and I with another group. Matt screwed up and the guys gave him a ration. They told him that things have gone to Hell since he left BW. Yep.

 

I drive home from Eureka, CA back to Roseville on Friday and have poker that night. Saturday I have a 10:10 tee time in our final NCGA qualifier of the year, the NCGA Net Amateur. I'm tired just writing it. Eureka is about 5 and a half hours from Roseville.

 

I took one of my agents to the River Cats AAA baseball game on Thursday. I had given him the tickets, but he couldn't find anyone to go, so gave three back to me. I invited Darla and her girlfriend to join us. We had a great time and the stands were filled with kids, many of them perfect attenders at their school. It was a nice outing, not too hot, but good weather.

 

After our Memorial Day gig, I was talking to the guys about our pool being a little cloudy this year and subject to algae. Charlie asked me when I'd last changed my filter cartridges and you know what, I still had the original cartridges in the filter. I clean them with a hose about every three months, but they were shot. You can see the picture of the old ones above. I ordered a new set through Amazon. They wanted $350 at the pool store and I found them for $198, no tax, no shipping cost. I also bought a new vacuum for the pool floor and a 35 foot vacuum hose and a 50 pound bucket of shock (hypo chlorite). The damage was another $240, but the good news is that the pool is sparkling again. The PSI on the filter gauge dropped from about 25 to 10 after installing the new cartridges.

 

The palm garden is absolutely thriving this year. You have to trim the old fronds off the palms when the new growth appears in the middle of the stem. You can see a picture above of the corner palm in the yard before and after trimming. If you leave the old fronds on, it will retard the growth until the fronds turn yellow and fall off. The little ten pound palms that I put in ten years ago are huge now and I have to trim them just so I can get around the pool perimeter to brush the pool or vacuum the floor.

 

I was talking to Neil at our party and he told  that we hadn't played golf together since we were in Mexico together. I think he's wrong, but that was a year and a half ago. He set up a tee time on Saturday at Wild Hawk in Elk Grove for 7:40 this past Saturday. We tried to get a couple of guys to join us, but got no takers, so Neil was at my front door at 6:30 AM Saturday morning and we drove out to the course in Elk Grove. He paid for the round and I bought lunch afterward. I played better than normal, shooting an 84 and Neil had an 82. I used to be a 9 handicap and Neil was an 18. We are now both 17. I am working on getting it back down.

 

I got a note from corporate this week informing me that our production in Roseville is flat for the year and the company as a whole is growing 15%. They asked me for a brief explanation and an Action Plan to improve our results going forward. Is no one paying attention in corporate or is it a "what have you done lately" mentality? I explained that we have lost 5 high potential employees under the age of thirty in the last three years to competitors and that included the number 5 producer in the entire company. We will get back on the horse, but unfortunately it takes time to train people and it is hard to replace a  superstar with a person just entering Production for the first time. I added a bunch of Action steps like agency segmentation and focused marketing, etc., but the bottom line is that I am hiring four brand new people and it will take time to get them up and running. There is no magic bullet and we will see how patient they are with me. Fun, eh?

 

Neil and I ran across the Polaris Slingshot three wheel motorcycle pictured above at the golf course. The owner works at the golf course and bought the first Slingshot sold in California. It is a belt drive engine and gets 50 MPG. It doesn't have a hard top and you have to wear a motorcycle helmet when you drive it. The cost is $24,000 which compares with the more mundane Can Am three wheel motorcycles that sell for $27,000. The lines and paint on the body are amazing. We had a back-up on number 10 and ended up visiting with the owner of the vehicle for about ten minutes.

 

Well that is the news that is fit to print today. Darla is on her way home from the Italian Fest in Lodi, CA. I just talked to her and she said she had a GREAT day, so perhaps it will be a great night as well. :-)

 

 I hope everyone is well. Darryl and Cheryl and Randy and Cake are in Hawaii celebrating some 60th birthdays. I wish we were there, I'd love a week at the beach, but soon enough. Looking forward to the trip with Dad and Shirley and all the kids to Nuevo Vallarta in December. Ciao.

 

 



Memorial Day 2015

 

Fun times with good friends today. I was up by 8:30 and fixed Darla a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham with onions and cheese. I then mowed the lawn and made a trip to the hardware store to pick up a new dual light switch for the fan in the living room. When Charlie installed it, he tied in the light and fan to the same switch. We want to have the fan on during the day and not the light, so got the switch changed over. We had Neil and Lil, Steve and Brenda and Charlie and Frieda over. Charlie and Frieda's daughter, Jennifer, is back in town from six month in Europe and joined us as well.

 

The weather was nice, but the pool is just at 78 degrees and not swimmer friendly yet, so we just sat out by the pool and enjoyed the company and the 84 degree day. I fixed a couple of tri tips and we had potato salad, asparagus, Jello salad, macaroni salad, chocolate cake and brownies. It was great.

 

I did wake up this morning to several friends who wished everyone a "Happy Memorial Day". It's a nice sentiment, but those folks miss the purpose and idea behind Memorial Day. There are others, several of whom I know, that post pictures of their family that were in the military thanking them for their service. Again, Veteran's Day is the time to thank those that served. Memorial Day is a day to give honor to and thanks for the brave men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice and died in battle fighting for our freedom.

 

Saturday was our Memorial Day golf tournament at the Roseville Golf Club. I played alternately great and poorly, shooting a 44+43=87, but adding two birdies to my year long Eclectic score, which is now at a 5 under score of 67. My handicap is up to 17.0 and my tournament handicap is 16, up from 15. I did win $20 in skin money on Saturday and likely in the money with my net 72.

 

I did also get my car back this week. I had said there was no way I was paying $2,000 for the repairs. I called the dealer Monday morning and raised heck with them. He told me the cost would be $1400 plus the installation of the Power control module for the steering column, which was $440.  They also rented me a car, but I had to have a Dodge product and the only vehicle on the lot was a Dodge Caravan minivan. Nice. They picked me up at the office and brought me to the rental. I had a golf game Tuesday afternoon and wouldn't be able to pick u my car until Wednesday. The dealer said they'd have it ready Tuesday night and that I could pick it up first thing Wednesday. I was able to get done early Tuesday and back to Enterprise by six. I turned in the van and got a ride over to the dealership. I had the guy wait because I didn't see the car. It turns out is WASN'T READY. I got back to the dealer and got the van back and thought, "Freakin' Typical!!"

 

I called the dealer first thing in the morning and raised Hell. The service guy offered to bring me the car and I told him I still had the rental. He said it was ready and I could come over at any time. I returned the car and caught a ride to the dealer and saw my ride for the first time in 8 days as it was parked out front. I went in and they handed me a bill for $2,190. At that point, I bypassed the service writer and asked for the service manager. I explained the situation and he brought the service writer over who explained that the difference in cost was the labor. I refused to pay the labor as they had the steering wheel apart to put in the clock spring. The manager waived the labor and the cost was $1,840. The car works great and the gas gauge is operable and all is good again in my car world.

 

We went to a college graduation policy for John Parola's daughter, Christine. She graduated high school in 2002 and finally completed her undergraduate degree this year at Sacramento State University. Christina is 30 and has no plans for marriage any time soon, so this party was just like a wedding reception with favors, speeches, food drink and everything. I'm surprised they didn't through the tassel at some point. It was fun and a great accomplishment, but I think John and Camille are hoping for a wedding soon.

 

This is really short and I'm exhausted. ALL of my friends that came over are retired and stayed until almost 9:00 tonight as they don't have work tomorrow. I do. I have a new employee starting tomorrow and we are finally starting to backfill the positions lost. I'm excited to get back to work and meeting our budget. I hope you are all well. Take good care. Until next week...ciao.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chrysler 300 is in the shop!

 

Back from Paradise and a visit with the Westra clan. It was Darla's birthday this weekend as well as her sister Alicia (born on the same date five years apart) and today was David's birthday. We went to church this morning and then met Dave back at the house and drove up to Paradise where we met the gang up at the local Black Bear Diner. Earl was nice enough to treat us to lunch ad we then drove over to Earl and Frances' home in Paradise. Earl has the house absolutely teeming with plants and flowers. In particular, the ferns planted in and around his house are thriving. They are a rich, bright green and so healthy. His farming skills are on full display on his one acre parcel.

 

We relaxed and the boys all played dominoes. I begged off as I was a little tired. Luke, who is 4, played and won twice, Darla's Mom is doing much better after surgery for a knee replacement in April. The swelling has all gone down and although she gets sore after standing for long periods, her pain has reduced dramatically over the last few weeks. Good to see her up and around.

 

I played in the last team NCGA qualifier yesterday and my game is a mess. I have risen to a 17 handicap and can hardly play to it. This qualifier required a 10% reduction and I had to play to my 15 Tournament handicap, so only got 14 for the qualifier. It was two man best ball and Steve and I ham and egged it around the course for a team 63 net. We tied for first with one other team and Steve and I are on our way to San Jose for the qualifier in July. I shot 86 and Steve shot 81, but it was good enough. We have one more qualifier, an individual qualifier, which is the NCGA Net Amateur Championship in June.

 

The car. Wow, I washed the 300 on Sunday night last and the next morning when I left for work there were warning codes up on the dashboard and everything attached to the steering wheel (turn signals, windshield wipers, washer, power controls for the radio and the four flashers) were dead. I was able to limp to work and at lunch checked all of the fuses. I checked each one and they were all intact. When I went to leave that night from work, the car wouldn't start. I called AAA and they had to tow my car to the dealership. It was after hours by then and I dropped my keys in the Night box and Darla picked me up there. I had already set up a 7:30 AM appointment earlier in the day.

 

I got a call the next morning from the dealership and they gave me a $160 estimate (sure!!). They worked on the car and couldn't get it started. They had to keep it overnight and I had a golf game on Wednesday with one of my agents at his country club in a Senior Invitational. The picture of Darla and the brunette at the top of the page is of she and Kelly, Gary's wife. They showed up at dinner at the country club wearing the exact same colors.

 

The golf game went poorly and both Gary and I had a net triple bogey on the first hole. It got better from there, but we put ourselves in such a hole, we were doomed. It was a nice day and we enjoyed the company.

 

I called the dealership when we got off the course and they told me the main computer ( a Power Control Module) in the car had gone bad and they had to bring one in from Oregon. They'd need the car for two more days and the total cost was $1850. I'd already set up a rental car and I was driving a Kia Tuscon SUV. On Thursday I talked to the dealership and asked them to fix my gas gauge as well. That service was $800, but he would do the whole thing for $2250.

 

On Friday, I had one of my employees meet me at the rental car place and then drive me to the dealership. The service employee met me inside and checked with the technician. They hadn't had to install the Power Control Module after all and the new cost was $1600. The cost of the PCM was $1000 installed and the math was getting fuzzy. It turned out that they test drove the car and it was fine. Thirty minutes later the codes were back and all of the things attached to the steering wheel weren't working again.  The tech felt that the steering wheel was likely not balanced when it was reinstalled. They needed it overnight. I ended up walking home as Darla was in Sacramento. She met me in downtown Roseville and drove me the two miles home. I'd walked for about forty minutes in the sun with black jeans and was soaked with perspiration. Bad shape? Yeah.

 

Saturday I had Steve pick me up at the house and drive me to golf. I bought him breakfast. the tech called me after the round and made the decision that I now need a Steering Wheel power module and they had replaced a clock spring mechanism. It would be another $400. I told him to order the part (it will be in on Tuesday). I will have a fun call with the service manager tomorrow as I refuse to pay for the clock spring or installation as they guessed that was what was wrong and blew it. The Steering Wheel power module would have been installed last week and I'd have got out of there for about $1200. I am asking them for a loaner and a significant discount on the work done to date and the removal of the cost for the clock spring. I'm ready to rumble with them tomorrow. This will not be a $2000 deal for them. I guarantee it.

 

Darla had a wonderful birthday and I'm blessed to have her in my life. I wonder how my life would have turned out if we hadn't wound up together and I truly think that I wouldn't be as happy and content as I am now. I took her out to Benihana last night for her birthday. 

 

 

 

Well, that's it and I hope to have my ride back by the time I hit the keyboard next weekend. I hope you are all doing great. Be well. Ciao.

Mother's Day 2015

 

Hard for me to believe that we have been without Alice Lorraine Lyon for over 15 years. I still miss her and think about her often. She is responsible for my sense of humor, my relationships with women and my basic ethics and responsibility. Happy Mother's Day to all of the women in my life!

 

We started our day out at church this morning as is our wont on Sunday and then went over to Ace Hardware, where Darla picked out her list of "Honey Dos" for me. We got a new garbage disposal as our old one finally gave up the ghost. We also got some etching solution for the back splash of the pool and some Thompson's Water Seal for the flagstone surrounding the pool. I spent most of the day out in the sun applying the etching solution and then brushing it with a wire brush. I then applied the water sealant and came in and watched the end of the Player's Championship on television. In between I drained the spa and re-added water from the pool.

 

David came over about 4:30 to visit with his Mom and I asked if he wanted to "help" me with the disposer. I stood by as he took the old one out and installed the new one. I did hand him tools and helped him realize that the drain for the dishwasher line had a plug installed that we had to knock out with a hammer and screwdriver. He had to change out the cord as well. I replaced an Insinkerator brand with another Insinkerator product. The advantage there is that we (he) didn't need to pull the sink drain and reinstall it as the "hanger" is universal for all of the disposers.

 

David is now in the kitchen fixing brauts for dinner using peppers, onions and Marsala wine. Looking forward to it.

 

Darla and I went out Friday night and saw David's new house in mid town. He rents a room from a couple downtown along with another roommate. There is one other room up for rent now. David had a chance to visit with his single roommate last Saturday night as he had a house party to watch the big fight. He is enjoying being out on his own and especially the vibe and nightlife in midtown. We went to dinner at Hook & Ladder, an eclectic restaurant in mid town. I had a burger with arugula and kale and it was delicious. You can see the picture of us at dinner and with the terrorist by the flag. From there we walked a couple of blocks over to R street and the bar district and went to the Shady Lady saloon and listened to a jazz band. Rand and Julie, our friends from church met us there and we had drinks and a few laughs. I got tired about 10:30 and we took David back to his place and headed home.

 

Saturday was the third day of my 54 hole Championship and I laid an egg on Saturday. It was a 5 hour round of golf and we had to wait on every hole. I shot 47+43 for 90, net 76. I'm not sure that I played myself out of the money, but I did myself no favors. I did manage to birdie number 11 and my Eclectic score (year round best on every hole at Diamond) is down to a 70 after five rounds.

 

From there I headed home, cleaned the pool and got a quick shower. Darla came in about 4:50 PM and cleaned up from her event and we were on the road by 5:05 for Old Sacramento and the Rio City Cafe, where we met Jeff and Linda Barnett for dinner before heading over to see the River Cats baseball game. The Cats had both Hunter Pence (rehab) and Travis Ishikawa of the Giants playing for them this weekend, but it didn't help them as they lost 3-2. Pence tried to score from third on an infield play and was thrown out.

 

Jeff shared with Darla about a product called Acarbo, pills that you take before eating foods high in carbohydrates. It breaks the food down and keeps it from turning to sugar. The pills are prescribed by your doctor and supposedly work great. He warned me that I needed to be careful as it would "light Darla up down there". Darla and I just stared at him and he realized what he'd said. "I mean it will cause her to have bad gas, like rotten egg salad." Linda, his wife, told him to knock it off, we were trying to eat. 

 

We had a great time with the Barnetts' and look forward to seeing them again soon. I've enjoyed having the River Cats tickets this year and taking out our agents. I've also used some of the 18 games for employees and their families for weekend games. I have a typist, who is struggling to get by. I called her in on Friday and asked her if she and her kids wanted to go to the game. She said she'd love to but couldn't afford the tickets. When I told her they were a gift from me, she started to tear up. She told me that I didn't know how much that would mean to her kids to go to the game. I think it will probably mean more to her to be able to treat them to the game. I might give her $20 to spend on food and drinks as well. It was pretty touching, I'll say.

 

Pete had helped me put the inversion table in the car and wanted to know how it worked for me. He asked if it was hard on my feet and ankles hanging upside down and I told him it wasn't a problem, I've been hung all my life.

 

I'm writing this on my new laptop computer. Darla needed one for her part time job as a social worker and took my old Lenovo. I got a new Acer laptop that is a nice blue color and a lot lighter than my old one. She got a new iphone and I got a new laptop, not a bad deal.

 

Well, that is it for this week. I play in the Senior 4 ball qualifier next week at the club as well as the Senior Invitational at Serrano Country Club on Wednesday. The Invitational is always a lot of fun with 27 holes of golf, breakfast, lunch and dinner and a lot of prizes. There will be pari-mutual wagering and I'm not sure I should bet on Gary and I, but probably will. Have a great week. Ciao.

 



New Inversion Table

 

Back to the blog after a week of work. I have been interviewing like a fiend and found two great candidates that I hope to hire, one is an Underwriter at Nationwide Insurance and the daughter in law of Ron Floyd, one of my agents and a friend from the golf club. The other is a worker for one of my agencies that was bought out last year. I've known this lady for 10 years and know her work ethic. looking forward to getting staffed back up. I will be a part of a work night on Wednesday night, where about 10 of the employees will work until 9 PM to get renewals caught up for our largest agencies. I will buy pizza and beer/soda for the workers. We are down four employees after this recent purge. I had one of my high caliber employees come in this week and ask to talk to me. I promoted Wendy to a Production position after Matt left. I think my staff has hung around me too long and my sense of humor is rubbing off on them. Wendy came in and was very nervous (this is a tell tale sign and I've seen it with Matt, Anthony and Andy). She told me that she has decided to take on another position. It was an odd way to put it, but I asked her if she was going to Scottish with the rest of the ingrates. She told me no, but that she was 9 weeks pregnant and was going to be a Mom. Wow. I think she cushioned the blow for me and I don't even care that she'll be out for six weeks this Fall, at least she's not leaving.

 

I will continue the interview process and hope to find three good candidates to come in and help us. We finished April up about 5% from last year, but off budget by about $15,000 in income. The good news is that my payroll is about $325,000 less than it was at this time last year. It is tough and I'm not getting a lot of good vibes on my desire to promote a couple of employees and give them raises. we'll see.

 

My back has continued to be balky and sore and I decided to take the leap and buy an inversion table. My Bowen therapist, Jane, swears by them and the real benefit to me is in decompressing the spine. I had two days of golf this weekend and I'm still stiff and sore, but I hung for about fifteen minutes both days before golfing and felt great. I shot 42+47=89 on Saturday and got tired late. I had a 75 net and was 8 strokes off the lead in the 54 hole event. I played better today and shot 44+42=86 for a net 72 and stand in sixth place in my division with a two day total net of 3 over par. If I don't implode on Saturday, I should finish in the money. I am very pleased with the relief that I am getting from the table and will make sure to put that into my workout regimen during the week. It is a little tough on the feet and ankles as you hang, but Darla and I have it set so that we can't go completely vertical and it is easier on the joints. I can really feel the relaxation as my spine relaxes during the "hang".

 

Darla is modeling the inversion table in the picture above. She wanted a "Teeter" inversion table that is about $400. I didn't want to buy something that might end up being used to hang laundry on, so bought a lower cost table that is highly rated for less than half the price of a Teeter. Darla was upset when she heard that I bought it without her looking at it first and even more so when I told her it was heavy duty PVC pipe holding it together. It is a Body Champ brand and all steel with padded ankle braces and a padded back on the table itself. She is happy with it and I dodged a bullet. She wanted the table, but I think I actual need the table, so it is a win-win.

 

I took Darla out last night for an early birthday dinner and we stopped at the AT&T store and I bought her a new IPhone 6 and case. I was able to go online when we got home and backup all of her settings, apps, contacts and even her old Text Messages and upload all of those to her new phone by using the cloud. I felt like Josh Lyon running the backup and then the download to her new phone and everything showed up on the new phone even her background picture of her boots and all of her photos. She is thrilled and I'm her hero. We went out after shopping and had dinner at a little Italian place in Old Roseville and had a Caprese salad and a pizza with three cheeses, prosciutto, cream sauce, mushrooms and housemade sausage. It was delicious.

 

She was off today to Lodi and a street festival with her Silpada jewelry and did pretty well. She got a text from Tami Tuel that she saw Darla at the Festival, but that Darla was helping a customer and she didn't want to bother her. There is still some animosity between the two of them over how pushy Tami was when Darla's folks were selling their home in Linden. Earl and Frances didn't want to use a novice retailer to sell their farm and Tami wouldn't take No for an answer. Unfortunately, that incident really put a major dent into our friendship and really ended our recurring visits. I wish Tami would have approached Darla because Darla is a very forgiving person, but I think Tami knows that Darla was very disturbed by how pushy she was and their last conversation was basically Darla telling Tami that her parents did NOT want to do business with her and to call us next time when she wanted to visit as friends and not as a pushy salesperson.

 

Well, this is short, but I got home late from golf as I helped with the scoring. Darla and I have a baseball game next Saturday night with Jeff and Linda and will see David on Mother's day in Sacramento and perhaps see his new home. I hope you all are well. Ciao.

A Great Trip with Randy and Cake

 

A great time was had in the hills of Texas. I didn't even know that Texas had hills until this trip. Randy lives a good two hour drive west from Dallas. The resort is nice, although they are in the process of selling it, so some oft he golf course is not getting top notch maintenance at the moment. The greens are good and the tee boxes seemed very nice. Some of the fairways are a little rough, but overall, the course is very nice. It is rated the fourth toughest course in Texas and I would concur. More on that later.

 

Darla and I were able to get a heck of a deal through Virgin American Airlines. They have just started to fly into Dallas Love Field and are in a spirited battle with Southwest Airlines. They had a deal on their website that if you shared an ad with three friends they would give you a two-for-one voucher. I sent the ad to two of Darla's e-mail addresses and my work e-mail. We were able to get a flight out of SFO for $292 and got the companion fare for free. I was also able to get a Hotwire deal on a rental car where we had a Chrysler 200 for five days for $91.

 

Darla and I left Thursday morning and drove to San Francisco where we parked our car at a Travelodge for $35 for five days. We caught the shuttle from there to the airport. We got there early, checked in and went in to have lunch. Darla thought our gate was 57 and it said Dallas at 11:55.  We sat there talking to those around us and I got up to stretch my legs and noticed that we were at an American Airlines gate and the flight was delayed. We ran over to the Virgin gate at 55 about 11:30 for the 11:45 flight to see that that flight was delayed for 45 minutes as well. It seems to be the norm anymore. We had shared a chicken sandwich for lunch and I was still hungry so got a bowl of clam chowder and enjoyed that with Darla while we waited.

 

We arrived in Dallas at 6:45, about an hour late and took the shuttle to the rental car place. I had hoped not to have to drive in the dark as we were heading into unknown territory on two lane roads. The car place was crowded and it took us about 50 minutes to get through the crowd and get our car. Texas has decided (in their infinite wisdom) to set up toll roads that have no change booth. All toll t=roads in the area are automated and you have to have a toll tag. Now how someone from out of state can navigate the roads is an unknown commodity and apparently one that Texas legislators don't really care about. The rental car company offered me a toll tag for $20 a day. Uh, no thanks. The toll tag would have cost me more than the rental. We steered clear of Toll Roads, but the GPS on the phone and the MapQuest that I printed were not in agreement on the way to go. We tried to figure out if either had a toll road which is a huge PIA. We ended up not taking the toll road when the GPS called for it and it would recalculate and take us the free way. You see there is a Toll Road and then there is a Freeway. It definitely took us longer to get there than it did on the return trip and we went a totally different way. It got dark toward the end of the trip and I had no idea where we were.

 

We finally arrived about 9:45 to find Cake in bed. She had worked that day and hadn't slept well the night before. We stayed up and visited with Randy, Dad & Shirley. We didn't see the dogs until the morning because they were in with Cake.

 

Their house is beautiful and it was designed for them with a media room, a billiards area, a huge kitchen, high ceilings and five bedrooms and four bathrooms. One of the bedrooms on the first floor has been made into an office for Randy and is very nice. The media room upstairs has it's own dishwasher and a sink, microwave and refrigerator. The house has a large balcony on the second floor that flanks the golf course side of the house and they have it decorated with recliners and chaise lounges, tables and plants. Very nice.

 

The weather was fairly typical for late April in Dallas with thunderstorms, tornados, hail, wind and alternating sunshine.  When we golfed on Sunday, we experienced rain, wind, lightening, thunder, clouds and bright, hot sunshine. I could never get used to the weather in Texas and stepping off the plane, it was hot, humid and kind of dank, like being stuck in a room where a dog was just washed. the politics in Texas are more aligned with my thinking, but the weather in Northern California is much nicer. It was 88 degrees here today and down to 55 degrees right now.

 

One of the issues I had to deal with while we were in Texas was a continuing sore back. I pushed it a little too hard while I was there, golfing three times and I could really feel the pain in my hips and the right side of my back. I was able to get in to see Jane at my Bowen Therapy today and she worked out the kinks and although I'm still sore, I feel much better. it usually takes two treatments to fix any serious issue that I end up with.

 

Randy and I hit balls on Friday noon and then we went out after dinner and played four holes and, although my back was aching, I went one over par for the four holes. When we got back to the house, my back was really barking at me. Walking over the uneven ground was hard on me. Saturday the course was packed and we couldn't get on the course. randy and I hit balls again at noon and Chris and his business partner, Tyler, showed up just as we got to the house. we had "beer can" chicken for dinner and it was outstanding. We took off again after dinner, although Randy stayed behind and Chris, Tyler and I took the three club shuffle and played holes five and six twice.

 

We sat after we got back in the media room and watched the Canucks give up a three goal lead to the Flames and lose their first round playoff series 4-2 to Calgary. Vancouver took a 3-0 lead and then a 4-3 lead after Calgary tied it, but couldn't hold. I watched about two hours of hockey on this trip and it is the first two hours I've watched this year (and the last two hours).  

 

We were up early on Sunday and had a nice breakfast casserole that Cake fixed. the guys headed to the course at 9:30 for our 10:40 tee time and we were able to tee off early. Randy had a 7 PM flight to Orlando for a convention, so it was good that we got out early. The course is very difficult and I struggled with both my back and the course and shot a 49 on the front nine. I was able to pull it together on the back and parred 11, 12 and 13 to shoot 42 on the back for 91. I really enjoyed playing with Chris, Randy and Tyler. Chris and Tyler don't play golf much and randy is coming off elbow surgery, so his game is rusty. The course is very tight and has a lot of water, elevation change and hazards. I certainly want another shot at the course when I'm feeling better. Luckily, I was able to get tickets to the Dallas Cowboys-Seattle Seahawks game on November 1st. I plan to fly in on Thursday and work in the Arlington office on Friday and then play golf with Randy on Saturday before we head to the game on Sunday. I have not been to AT&T Stadium, so look forward to seeing a quality game this November.

 

I made hamburgers when we got back to the house and Randy changed for his flight. I was sad to see him leave, but his bosses needed him at the event in Orlando, so off he went.

 

Cake took us into Graham on Monday mid morning and we shopped at a few of the stores in Graham. It is a small Texas town and they had some kitchy stores, including a Western Wear shop that had a little old couple that ran it. I believe it was Mr. welch and he was likely in his early 80's. I told him I really liked his store and asked how long he'd been there. His answer: "About 10:30, we were supposed to be here at 10, but we were running late this morning." His answer was said dead pan and it was hilarious.

 

We also visited a consignment store that used to be a movie theater and the owner invited us to look upstairs at the old projection booth, theater and "colored" section . Fascinating and sad all at the same time.  I bought the gang lunch at a little Texas diner that served Chicken fried chicken. It was delicious. dad and Shirley shared a plate and Darla and cake had salads.

 

we got back home about 2 PM and Darla and I were off to the airport at 3:30. The weather was fine in Graford, but we hit a severe rainstorm in Fort Worth and the windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the onslaught of rain. The traffic slowed to about 50 MPH, but likely should have been at 35. It was a harrowing ride, but typical of Texas weather, the rain moved off in about fifteen minutes and it was sunny and hot right away. 

 

I want to say Thank You to Cake and Randy for a wonderful trip. We had a tremendous bed to sleep in, a great shower and the food and drink were wonderful. I enjoyed the golf, although I wasn't on my game. Cake was very gracious on Monday and was a wonderful host the entire trip. Thank you both. we also really enjoyed the visit with Dad and Shirley. It was a fun long weekend.

 

Darla decided that she needed to smuggle some cacti into the state of California and we now have flowering cactus in the family room. so, in essence, we brought a piece of Texas home with us. I hope you all have a great week and I'll be back a the keyboard on Sunday evening. I have two days of golf this weekend, the start of our 54 hole Individual championship. Darla and I bought an inversion table that arrives tomorrow and I will be hanging like a bat hoping to decompress my spine and be prepared for the tournament. Be well. Ciao.