I think I have A bit of a mental and physical hangover today. We had planned out the entire weekend in advance, and had a wildcard as well. But the weekend was full, and e had quite a blast I must admit. And I must, a big part of blogging is laying yourself out for everyone to see. Ewww. Or, lucky you! But, as I was saying, I am tired this morning. I slept very well last night and only woke twice to go to the can. And got right back to sleep. Emily slept well too, which is probably more important. Her sleep makes me feel better too. The over drinking and over eating also kicks my ass the next couple of days. I regularly eat about 1400 calories a day of protein and veggie. And no booze. Mostly. So a bacchanalian meal or two on the same day or weekend is like redlining Grandmas Cadillac sedan. It’s just not used to it. Though I am proud of myself because on Saturday night, before dinner, I did not order the bourbon flight I had been hoping to have. The restaurant we ate at Saturday specializes in rare bourbons. But I ealized after a day of wine tasting it would only extend my pain. And I still have a weekend hangover without that. We are going to go back another time. Without wine all day.
I should mention, or give a quick shout out, to my daughter who now works in the wine industry. She is a wine business major at Sonoma State and this is her first foray into the work world of wine. She is starting at the bottom as a server in the tasting room at Sonoma-Cutrer winery. They specialize in Chardonnays and Pinots I think. And they are damn proud of their wine$. If you know what I mean. I’d like to describe her first day, as related yesterday. 9am she was wine tasting. At 10am more wine tasting. Then some boring stuff which was interesting because she had never done it before (she said it). Then working in the tasting room till 5. They sold five wine club memberships so each of them got a free bottle of wine. After close the employees went out to the lawn and played croquet and drank wine. Did I mention, this is a job and they get paid to do it? Seems a good fit for the girl.
I am going to take the newest car in the stable to the detailers today. I want to see if they have some magic goo that will take the smell of tobacco and deodorizer out of the inside of the car. Actually, the smell seems to reside in the convertible top. Also wax it and shampoo seats and carpet. I think without the nasty smell the car would be perfect.
The car is way fun to ride. Emily and I drove all over Vacaville running errands yesterday with top down. At least until she was overcome by the heat (82!!) and it was too up AC on. I was surprised by how much I could fit in the trunk, not too bad capacity. Half a dead body, maybe more. If needed. And you never know when that may be a need.
Moving on, this is a short week. Emily leaves for Maine on Thursday. Her parents need help. Aging parents are tough. They are all too damn stubborn to get the help they need and you really have to force it on them. They are essentially toddlers. Only they will never become more able. Only less. Preview of coming attractions folks. Anyhow, she will be in the great northeast for a week. I have a week off. Not sure what to do. My sister is going to Belize with friends and husband. She has been trying to get us to go but mom and dad win out and I can’t vacay without my bride. Wouldn’t be prudent. So I guess I can work on the cars for a week. That could be handy.
Today is my brother in laws (see above) birthday and my old neighbor Betty’s birthday too. I already texted Vince (bro n law) but need to call Betty. She lived across the road from us here for ten years. Her dad built the house and lived in it over 50 years. He was a farmer. She, of course, would be the famous farmers daughter. She wins the prize for best neighbor ever. Someone you can truly count on. We love her. We could always count on her to help out. She is the neighbor who would show up with a shotgun if there were trouble. Good neighbor. So she gets birthday greetings.
So, as I was saying, this is a short week. I have to move into that mode of helping Emily get the hell out of town. She will fret over everything and worry about all. I know that does not help her but it’s what she does. There is a big exhale once she walks down the gangway to the airplane. In three days. And counting. And while she is gone all I have to do is keep the place clean. And have clean sheets on the bed when she gets back. And clean towels in the bathroom. That’s all. Easy peasy.
I have to go do my morning duties. So off I go. Duties done. Poorly, but done. I am off to work. No stops required.
When I got to the office I walked through and found someone to give me a ride to the detailers. Cara was the winner. At this point I was given my annual rhubarb pie birthday present.
So instead of leaving we all had pie. Then I went to the detailers.
Once I got in Cara’s car on the way back, I noted perhaps she should have left her car to get cleaned cuz it was dirty.
Client came in to finalize his tax plan and make first payment to the attorney. But then he has to pitch a fit about the fees and boy can he pitch a fit. I had to get the attorney on the line to explain it all again. Which only made him partly happy. But he is coming in tomorrow with the updated engagement letter. And the check. So it will be fine. And we cut his fee $10k. Money talks.
Fortunately no one else came by. So not much to do there. I did have one client I worked with over the phone to get a letter written to the IRS. Usual BS with the IRS claiming someone owes money when they don’t. And I need to convince them to back off. It seems like letters to them are half my business.
The rest of the day is a blur. I am not sure what I did. Kinda sad the way days go by like that. I did spend a lot of time calling the bank about a property up in Auburn. The loan officer spent the day avoiding me as far as I could tell.
At end of day I picked up the car. It is beautiful. Got the carpets and seats shampooed, the inside of the convertible top washed, car waxed and top blacked. It really is new. And, most important of all, the stank is gone. Wow is that a BIG improvement.
I left for home soon after. Damon the loan officer on dad’s loan called me while I was driving. We had to settle on the amount to pay as a down payment. FYI I am negotiating dad’s loan for him. Damon originally spoke of a 20% down. Then he sent paperwork with a 40% down. We talked about it and managed to bring it down closer to 18%. If you don’t pay attention to what people are doing you can easily be taken advantage of.
Got home kinda late. Not much going. I rearranged the garage a bit to better fit the new car. Slid some shelves around. Good news, it fits better.
We got to have left over birthday dinner from last night for dinner tonight. The steak was wonderful and delicious, still.
Spent the balance of the evening watching TV and Emily doing laundry. I have realized that Monday night is a desert wasteland of television. I guess I never watch TV on Mondays. This type of TV is incontrovertible evidence of why I read books. Which I am doing in a few minutes as I lay in bed before dropping off to sleep.