Month: September 2017

It really is saturday. But today I am driving two of my dogs to the vet. In Sunnyvale which is 2+ hours away. I have been talking about the dog problems for quite awhile and today we seek treatment. But, I drive gen down, drop them off, wait four hours, and pick them up. I have to hang out in Sunnyvale because it is such a long drive. I can’t pop home and wait. Too far away. So my Saturday is spent already. Marika said she was coming home and going with me. She is not here. I have the strong suspicion she is still in bed. It was a nice offer. I gotta go get ready and get moving.

Great. Emily got in the shower in front of me. I just lost 15 mins in an already long day. She might have asked me. Of course she is not feeling well so I’m not getting mad. I get shower done quick. She does not. I need a better day. And these pancakes are awful when consumed cold. Awful. With warm coffee. And I don’t want to get up and nuke them. Too lazy. Just listening for the shower to go off.

Off to Sunnyvale with he two dogs. Trip was fast, an hour and a half. Very nice and not common at all. Got the dogs leashed, headed in, Latte dumps a load of pee in the doorway. Of course, inappropriate urination is why she is here. We waited ten mins and the tech came out and got them. The vet is going to call me before the exam.

I decided to take my car to the car wash up at he corner. They do a lousy job for $20 but they are convenient. They take a long time as well.

There she is. At least they knock off all the dirt. Some improvement. No tip from me. There dry off is bad too.

As usual, the front is not clean. Bugs are tough I guess. You may ask why I even come here. Because it is 100 ft from the vet. Convenience wins.

I have been sitting in this parking lot for the last 45 mins. . I have nothing to do here so I thought I might go car shopping while sitting here twiddling my thumbs. Found two very nice S2000s. Where are they? Sacramento. Crazy. Also, while sitting here I realized the vet has not called. She was supposed to call before the exam scheduled for 11am. Well, at 1215 I called her. Maybe she is unaware I have to sit and wait for her since I’m two hours from home. Don’t know but I do know I want to get the hell outta here quick as a wink. Maybe by 5 at this rate. Anyway, vet and I discussed histories and current symptoms on both dogs. She is going to do annual maintenance in them as well. Sounds like taking my car to the shop.

So I have four hours to kill. Maybe a movie? I don’t like shopping. Maybe a couple car lots except the damn salesmen are all over me. I am gonna drive around. Find a restroom first, then will see what pops up next.

Found my restroom at an incredibly busy chick fil A. Very busy. The lot was full. Though I got lucky. Went inside and noted every table was full. Who likes chick fil A this much? People from Sunnyvale I guess. Left there and toodled down El Camino Real toward, and then into, Santa Clara. There is nothing worth seeing or doing here.
Stopped at Dicks Sporting Goods. That might kill 30 minutes. Look what I found. . I think it could hold two bodies.

Got to the patio store. . I think calling it a world is pushing it.
Now I just need a black one and I am ready.

Vet called. Time to go!! So got to the vets. They put me in a room and vet came in to discuss all the dog problems, drugs they need and anything else. Then a tech came in, about 15 mins ago and took the vet to talk to another customer. I thought this would be quick. No. She showed up immediately after I wrote that line. Explained all meds and I hopped on the freeway. The dogs went to sleep right away. The traffic sucked all the way to Concord. Then it sailed.

About 30 miles from home I texted Emily and offered to pick up Thai. Her favorite. She gave a thumbs up. The Rose Garden in Vacaville is her favorite and I would be driving right by it. So I stopped and got Thai.

We had dinner when I got home. Their food is very good. Unfortunately, I like a Thai ice coffee with my Thai food and I didn’t get one. I am disappointed. Next time I will have two.

I decided at 7pm to get the lawn mowed. It is Saturday. No problem. Though the last quarter hour was in the dark. No matter, it looked great from where I was sitting. Isn’t that the point? And now Sunday is free. Emily has to go to work. I want to go look at a house in Auburn.

So we are off to bed early so we can be early rise, right? I hope not, have not slept well all week. Waking at 430 and lying awake two hours. I am sure most of you understand. Anyway, bedtime

So I woke up this morning, as usual. Running things through my head. What was going on, etc., what with it being Thursday and all. Got my schedule straight.

Emily got up before me, as usual. I finally got up and went into the bathroom. First thing, take meds. I have a pill calendar to help me. So I look for my Thursday pills. One is missing. I think on this awhile, then I ask Emily the obvious, “what day is it”? Turns out it’s Friday. Who knew? Not me. If I took memory pills it could help, like ginkgo. I would have to remember of course.

So got up as I said. Dogs, for a change , are all locked in the kennel downstairs. Peaceful sleep for them and us. Put them out. Taffy is in serious pain and carries her right rear leg, she no longer puts it down. Good thing she sees the Dr tomorrow.

Morning as usual. Feed em, feed Em, feed me, make lunch, coffee. Nothing crazy. First paper of the week. The cars section of the paper was interesting today. Two truly boring cars on the cover, paid placement for sure. But, inside in the my ride section was a story of a guys ’65 Pontiac Tempest race car. Really cool full on Trans Am series racer. The best part? He is a retired CPA. He’s my hero.

My 10am has shown up here at the house. We have been shooting the breeze for half an hour now. I gotta get his shit done so I can go to work. He just had an audit and was coming to discuss outcome and whatever the auditor still needs. I took about fifteen minutes to explain it to him. He left.

I went to work. I have another appointment at 12 and need to get there. While on my drive my 12 o’clock texted he was on his way. I texted back, me too. We were both late but me more than him. He has been a client for 25 years so I am sure a case of lateness is not so bad. He brought me a gift bottle of Cazadores Blanco tequila. Gotta love him. But he did not want to crack itbopen and take a drink. Oh well. I had to do 3 tax returns for him, a trust, a partnerships and his individual tax return. So he sat and watched me work for two hours till they were done. Like I said, client for 25 years. He can sit and watch if he wants. Others I kick out and they don’t get to watch. Finally done with all. Next year again with a different bottle. I look forward to it.

Next appointment texted and said do it another day. Good.

I was able to spend the balancenofnhebday doing tax returns. I finished a few and left at about 6 or so. No issues driving home. Emily called and we chatted for a few minutes. She is not feeling well.

Got home and pretty much div d into making dinner. I made open face tri tip sandwiches under the broiler. And wedge salad made with romaine hearts. The salad was truly awesome. A combined effort of the two of us. We are now sitting at the table with the dirty dishes looking through rental listings. The perfect Friday night activity. When you reach 50 there is no pretense that you are going to party on Friday night. And we’re not. May be in bed by 830. Cool.

Make that 9. Headed to bed. About time. Signing off.

I have noted yesterday, and by number of appointments booked that the next tax deadline for business and personal tax returns is getting close. I am also getting the appointment calls where clients ask the same questions they ask me every year like”what do I need to bring in” to which I answer, same as last year. I don’t mind people seem to forget, they have real lives outside this tax crap. I on the other hand live it every day. I feel I can acknowledge, in the grand scheme of things, taxes are really unimportant. Shhh! Don’t tell anyone.

I will need to get moving fast this am because I know I have a 10am appointment. I just forgot to write it down.

Shazam! I don’t have Alzheimer’s! I have a 10am here at the house. I can remember.

While waiting I have been texting a few people. One, a contractor friend about home construction costs. We want to build a house some day. Can’t now, but later after the lease on our rental to be identified has expired, maybe. Good to be prepared. Am also trying to get ahold of my 10am. He is an idiot (no worry, he reads this, and he knows) and I can’t get a text back from him. And to think I gently nudged him with 20 rapid texts just to get a response. What a jerk. And, no morning is complete without, a few texts with my friend Cissie. Just to keep up on things.

It’s 10 to 9, I gotta go shower and get dressed. Not so good when you meet clients in your bathrobe. Doesn’t bother me, but they may see it a little differently.

Well, took client 40 minutes to call me and say let’s do tomorrow. I guess he does not consider it rude to waste my time. Guess I will bill him for waiting like the cement trucks do. Maybe I will dope slap him if he shows up tomorrow. Not the part of the job that I love.

Time to pack lunch and go to work. Not straight to work, I have to drop off some papers at an attorneys office downtown. Drive was uneventful, which is always what I want. Events while driving are probably all bad. Like when the CHP pulled me over on our recent camping trip. Of course, the combined charm of my daughter and me convinced him to issue a warning. Bad event, good outcome. So having said this, I parked illegally and dropped off my paperwork. No ticket. The lord loves me.

Arrived in office at 1115, which is 15 mins late for my 11am appointment. Fortunately client Charly did not mind. Tax appointment so it’s just a go through the paper and kick em out the door thing. My next appointment was 15 mins late at 1215. No problem here. Me late, you late, no complaint. Another tax appointment but for three years worth. But still easy.

I did send more docs to my real estate agent. Boy is there a lot of paper for renting these days. On a little break now then back to tax returns.

Have been making calls and writing emails for two hours. Missed my lunch by an hour. That is bull. Lunch is actually important. I have a lod of work to do and a load of interruptions. Like blogging, that’s an interruption. But I enjoy it so it doesn’t count.

Nose back to grindstone. Finished three tax returns and managed a few more calls. Took a call from a contractor up in Auburn had a nice hour long conversation about cost of building a home. I am a little ahead on this. By at least a year but like I said before I want to be ready when I can. Spoke to a client contractor on the way home. Yes, an illegal Jon hands free call. We discussed costs of building in a different county. I am all over the place.

Got home and Emily is still out for workout and groceries. She called. Close. So I put the tri tip steaks on. They taste great too. I just started the broccoli in oyster sauce cuz Emily is in the driveway. . She brought ice cream home. Diet ice cream. And some real small containers of Haagen dazs. Small makes it diet food.

On that note, I was texting my health coach, and she advised me to eat one MORE small meal each day to speed weight loss. I love you Kelly!

I am ready for dinner it’s already 815. I want to eat. I have eaten. I am a fantastic cook. If I must say so myself. I need seconds on tri tip.

So I am having a text conversation with our veterinarian about two of our dogs, Taffy and Latte. Taffy has always had issues with her anal glands. And it now appears all the figs she eats off the ground are causing a severe problem. The fig tree grows over the dog run, FYI. Symptoms of pain in the back end and lameness in one leg. Latte appears to have a bladder infection. So I think I will head to his office on Saturday for exams. Yay. Sunnyvale. Two hour drive. I pray, because traffic there is the worst in he country. Raj and I have traded services for years which is why I drive that far. I know their schedule is full but I come in through the back door to get the best service. So should work out. Hope dogs work out.

Last text from Raj I have an appointment at 11am Saturday. He also told me to put Taffy on lock down in the kennel. He thinks damaged anterior cruciate ligament. I’m not convinced. Last time we went through God back end pain with Jaxon, it was leptospirosis. Though diagnosed as ligament and hip problems on first diagnosis. We will see.

It’s 6 pm and I am just starting my daily blog post. This should tell you something. I am busy.

I have an audit to go to in Sonoma. The client lives in Sonoma county so the Sonoma office covers that area. It is usually only an hour and a half drive. And the appointment is at 9am.

I got up early, at 6am. Got everything done, except coffee. I asked Emily to go to Starbucks. That saves me a little time. I was in the car by 7am. My nav system said 1.5 hours. I’m good. Drove ten miles to Vacaville to Starbucks and got coffee at he most poorly operated store in the world. They actually lost my drink. Wtf? They made another. Stupid people. Anyhow, back on the road. The nav says 1.5 hours still. Strange. It stayed like that for an hour. Strange. I realized I was going to be late. Very late. Called IRS, the agent was fine with it. She really didn’t care. I arrived 40 minutes late. No free parking anywhere. Had to download an app to pay my meter. I don’t like technology. And onward to the audit. Auditor was a really friendly gal, thorough and professional as well. Not the norm, and I have met a lot of agent in the last 25 years. Her review took about two hours. She left me with some homework for my client. I think this is going very well. Should be a no change audit.

Since I was a mike from my daughters house we got together for lunch. We went to Shari’s for pie shakes. For those of you not familiar, imagine a vanilla milkshake with a piece of pie blended in. I love them.

We both ordered same, key lime pie shake. Bad news. Key lime is seasonal, not available now. The reason we came here was key lime pie shakes. She and I have been talking about them for a month ever since I had one on the trip to Maine. We are extremely disappointed. I probably told Marika 10 times during lunch how upset I was. We thought about leaving. But decided to get different flavor. I got peach. It might be good but how good can something be when you want something else. I fired off a terse email to Shari’s Corp office suggesting a change in status for key lime from seasonal to permanent. I also beat them up ever so slightly on Yelp. And on the survey they had on the receipt. The cashier said I was not alone. Good.

After lunch I went home. It was 230 when I got there which is too late to go into the office. I worked on the computer for 3 hours. Nothing exciting. Made tennor phone calls. It’s time to make dinner. I left tri tip steaks out to defrost.

I did a little searching for rentals and found a great spot in North Vacaville. Emily and I went to look at it this evening. It seemed very good. Up on a hill with a fantastic view, situated outside the city so no neighbors, just right. But as we drove away Emily said she was happy with doing the Auburn area and forgetting all around here. So no more looking in our area I guess.

On the way home I was hoping to stop at the Rose Garden, Emily’s fave Thai place. But she drove some screwy way back to town. No Thai. Instead she stopped at the outlet quick serve food area and we got a couple non descript salads. Not the same. We hotbhe food to go so we got to eat at home which is a plus. It’s more comfortable here.

It’s 835 and I’m ready for bed. Remember, I got up early and actually had to work today. That makes me tired. So, early bedtime. Except Emily has been on he phone for 15 mins. With her bestie Barb. And they can TALK. If you know what I mean and I think you do. So not as early as I thought. And 20 mins later still on the phone. Wth? She will not shut up. I guess I am going to bed without her tonight. Now she has gone up. Phone glued to side of her head. Can you sleep like that?

First day of “fall”, traditionally. Back to work and back to school. I admit, i still don’t like it. Summer should be longer. With more time off. I should have been born European where they take the whole month of August as vacay. And work four day work weeks. We as Americans always diss them on their work ethic. I don’t believe they even notice. And if they did probably don’t care. Too busy relaxing. America is number one in productivity. Because we work more than everyone else. Of course, we aren’t number one in happiness or quality of life. Go figure.

Today I am mildly busy. I have a meeting with a current client, not about his current business, about his new business. He owns a successful restaurant, very successful I think, andbis opening a bigger, better, fancier one in a cool location with the right combination of food and booze. Looks like a hit from here. He is coming in with his partner to see if we are good enough to be accountants for the new place. People are funny, they always believe they are missing out. Some people spend more money on accountants and lawyers because they think they should. Some want “prestige” or “marquee” professionals. Of course there are always pros out there willing to overcharge in order to make them feel better. I’m not that guy.

After that I have about 90 minutes to work and then a doctor appointment. If time after, back to work for an hour or two then workday is done. Not sure how this will all fall out. The 15th is coming up, corp deadline, and I want to take a quick vacay later this month. I will tell you more about that as we get closer.

I have to check in with Linda and make sure there is nothing to do as well. Lots going on but little direct action needed. She says I need to call three contractors and get closer bids on cost. I managed to get one of the referrals on the phone. We had a nice talk and he thought it could be done for $250 per sq ft. Still pricey.

Got to work. Everyone but me was late to the meeting which I find shocking. Meeting went off anyhow, we lined up what he wanted and what we could provide. I just finished reviewing our proposal to him. Will send it to him tomorrow and off we go. I hope.

I did some work, not much, after the meeting. Usual paperwork BS. I do a lot of moving paper around. I produce nothing. Just a service provider.

Off to the doctor for my one o’clock. I will spare everyone the details. Did the doctor stuff, he says I am doing well. Hurray for me.

After the meeting I drove down the block to a shopping center to meet a client from the East Bay. He drive in to drop off all his paperwork for his audit. Which is tomorrow at 9 am. I told the doofus, a month and a half ago, don’t bring it last minute. I won’t have time to do anything with it. Of course I got promised that would not happen. Obviously it happened. I would like to kill him. Or maybe beat him near to death. But I won’t. I will charge him double for all I have to go through. Hey, out there, deliver the goods early. Save your accountant and you time and money. Please.

Drove back to office. Still have lots to do with the 9/15 deadline coming up. Had some online tasks as well. The taxes are really starting to pile in with the deadline coming.

Today is taco Tuesday so it’s off to the carniceria after work with an interim trip to the grocery store for sundries. Dinner Tuesday is always the bomb.

Picked up Rx and ziploc baggies. Usual carnitas and chile verde. No chips. They discontinued the chile verde con nopales which really annoys me. It is better than all, a true gourmands delight. Which makes me a gourmand. But you could probably tell by looking. So no more I guess. Dinner was great. Emily made me split the chile verde with her. I guess too much carnitas for her.

She was unloading he dishwasher and realized the dishes were still dirty. Our Bosch dishwasher has a soap holder which sometimes does not open. Hence the dirty dishes. I hate to think I need a repairman for something so mundane. But, Emily put it quite well, she said we’re almost out of here. Good attitude.

It’s garbage night so I went around be the entire house emptying all trash receptacles and then dumped the litter box. So while wheeling out the cans an incredibly large and friendly and wet dog came up to me outnon the driveway. And followed me all around. . That’s him through the slider. He followed me up on the porch and refuses to leave. Now I know people think you should take care of strays. I do. I have found homes for several stray dogs. And my home is the home for two stray cats. No more. They all have to live somewhere else. And I’m not going to feed him.

I found a Monday paper out on the driveway. I forgot, I get papers on the holidays. May be a day old but I’m gonna breeze through it just for giggles.

The paper had no news. Of course it was the Labor Day issue and birthing happened. Just a little news and entertainment and not much else.

I am going to bed now.

Ahhh, Labor Day. As a school age kid I hated this day. I hated going to school, it really cut into my day. I do feel sometimes my life would have been the same without school. But, that ship has sailed. Anyway, nowadays kids go back to school throughout August and Labor Day has lost its pre eminent position as most hated holiday. When you have been in class since August 8, why hate September 4th? I think it’s too bad for kids the way we have taken a longer summer away from them. I longed for summer. We had three!! months of pure no school bliss. It was fabulous. Sitting around all day with nothing to do, right after getting up late. Every day a Saturday. It’s practice for retirement. But you have to wait a lifetime to get back there. School and work are overrated.

Today is the usual. Can’t do without coffee, feeding and showers. But, this is a working holiday. Usually Sunday is iur clean house day. But, as you know we spent the day in the city for the game. So now we switch, laundry, ironing and bed making to today. Then go to movies. I think going to movies is a traditional Labor Day activity. Our family did not go camping on Labor Day, we were always smart enough to stay off the roads. I think we can get all this done quick.

Laundry done, and bathroom cleaned. Not too bad. Spoke to our real estate agent about the usual stuff. Spent some time online looking at new rental listings. Emily is doing a book order for her class. She says we need to go to Target for something we can’t live without. So that’s added to the to do’s. At this rate I’m never going to see a movie today.

We managed to get to Target and go nowhere else while in Vacaville. Well we did get gas. Went home and Emily cleaned the freezer. I cleaned up the figs in the dog run. About 1000 figs. Or maybe a million. Alot of figs.

We cleaned for forty five minutes then jumped in the car and to the movies. It took quite awhile to get there, what with holiday traffic and all. But we got ok seats for Dunkirk. Spoiler alert: the British lose. A historically accurate depiction of the evacuation (British) or retreat (German). Isn’t history fun. Hey, in the end the Brits win so evacuation it is. Anyway, Dunkirk had 400k men and almost all got rescued. The film showed the perspective of a few minor players to demonstrate the bigger overall story. I recommend it. Two thumbs up, from me and Emily.

Came home after, and what do I do? More figs to clean up. I love fig jam. And fig newtons. And poached figs in heavy cream. I hate picking them up. I hate picking them. I hate trimming fig trees. It really is a good with the bad kinda thing.

Finished up and went inside. Doggie dinnertime. Usual time consuming mix of food and meds and different meals. But my little doggies get hungry. From sleeping all day. Must be exhausting.

Going to make our dinner next. Emily found some filets while cleaning out the freezer earlier so tonight’s dinner chose itself. I am putting this down so I can go fix it. This dinner won’t make itself.

So I fancied up a chopped salad with lots of veggies, boiled eggs and a little leftover sirloin. I topped all with some feta cheese. The aforementioned filets needed some spice doctoring, last time I cooked them they were bland, and we also found a small sirloin steak in the freezer as well.

Well, salad was very good. I could have improved it with the addition of craisins but couldn’t find any. Still, add a little more meat and its a meal. The filets were much better than the last time. Actually good. The big surprise was the sirloin which I did not realize was as nice a cut as it was. Very very good. Emily pushed hers aside to eat last. That good.

I have semi cleaned up the dishes. That means all dishwasher items are in the dish washer. Everything else (not much) is in the sink. The broiler was wrapped in foil to save me the joy of having to clean it. I think we are skipping dessert. Btw, Emily got all I left in the sink.

It is only 815 but I can feel the pull of bedtime. Emily is pounding on a school thing, some kind of schedule or other. So maybe a few more minutes.

So still awake. Emily pulled out a huge stack of grading. Huge. Being the incredibly nice and perfect husband that I am, I am staying up with her while she works. Then we can go to bed at same time and she won’t feel abandoned. Boy, if I pat myself on the back any harder I may break my arm.

I did serve dessert. Emily had a small Klondike. I had watermelon. The healthy alternative. Boy does she have a lot of homework to grade. She had a second Klondike.

I am trying to do CPE online. That’s continuing professional education. He damn site keeps telling me I read too fast. I am going through the material quicker than I should. This is complete crap. What norm am I being compared to? Retarded accountants? I read fast with full comprehension and I read like lightning and some idiot that programmed their crap website says no way because he is too stupid to read that quickly. I call BS on them.

No one is yelling at my wife who is moving through her stack swiftly. The world is full of too much BS.

We both finished. Thank god. I was getting tired of all this. Too much for a holiday weekend. Gotta go to bed and start this all over again tomorrow.

It’s Sunday. I will need to read the paper in the car. Because we are going to the Giants game today. We have brunch in triples alley then we get seats right below the “K”s that hang in right field. Should be a blast. It’s also replica cable car day too. Lots going on. We are late getting moving because Emily is slow. She got up before me and started to get ready. When I got up I fed all the animals and made breakfast. And then got ready. Before her.

Linda called about our tour of rental homes yesterday. We are going to pursue the house we both agreed on. There is another one available as of this coming Wednesday and if no lease signed by then I will go check it out.

We got off to sf. Finally. Traffic was fast. Except, as usual, at the toll booths. There is wqs on lockdown. Emily drove even trough she hates driving in the city. Good day to drive there, early on a weekend. Not much in the way of cars on he street. We got to the parking garage in spite of navigation system. Parked fast and got lost on the way out. They have been remodeling and it was confusing. Not to big a slowdown to our progress.

Got to will call out front of stadium. The ticket seller gave lousy instructions on how to get to triples alley. We managed to find entrance on the very back side of the stadium.

We picked up our prizes, root beer lollipops from See’s Candy and a replica cable car. And then of course, brunch.

Brunch includes unlimited bottled beer, wine and mimosas. Which I see plenty of people taking advantage of. The bartender gives as much as you want. Nice.

While eating, Lou Seal came by to say hi.
We are close friends, obviously.

We are waiting for our across field escort to the seats. Now I know how all these years people got out here. May do it again sometime.

Forgot to mention, See’s Candy, the sponsor of this , has a table full of candy for us too. Unlimited. That’s nice though my fave, peanut brittle, was not there.

Here’s a few shots from the centerfield perspective, on the field.

You are very seldom allowed to get on the field let alone walk on it. I will be walking across it. Right where Hunter Pence walks. We are like brothers. Sort of.

Here are a few more shots.

We are in top of the sixth. Madbum just gave up his third solo homer of the game. First two were back to back. Other than that, his line looks very good. Giants are now down 3-2 and they had to work harder for their runs. That never bodes well for the rest of the game. The temp here is 81 which is unheard of for SF. Of course, yesterday was 104. Breaking records everywhere. Our seats moved into the shade last inning and it has become more bearable. I think the last time we were here we bought three blankets. And hot chocolate. It was a regular freezing day at the ballpark. Much as I complain about how hot it is here, I like it way better than the norm.

So it’s been all Cards for the last three innings we just put in our third pitcher. He managed to get the last out of the inning. With bases loaded. It’s 7-2 Cards. Yuck. We are up again. And Pence strikes out. Like I said, all Cards

I just lost the 50/50 raffle too. Can this day please get a little better? Please?

Well game over. And the fat guy hanging over on me from the next seat has left. About time. 9 innings ofnthat is gross. Like being in an airplane aeated next to an obnoxious loser.

We hung out about ten minutes and walked back to parking garage. Then we hung out in the car for ten minutes waiting for traffic to dissipate. Well, it worked. We left and we were on the 80 in under ten minutes.

We are at The Dead Fish in Crockett. Marika is going to meet us here. She is on the 37 and on her way. Should be here soon.

We had the calamari while waiting for the kid to get here.

I ordered a cocktail, a margarita. I prefer a back bar margarita which is usually made with all the good stuff. Made fresh. Well here the waiter only allowed me to choose the tequila. Which is weird. And the drink was lousy. So I sent it back. That’s twice in two weeks. I am on a roll. I ordered a Mule instead. It’s better but not great. Emily thinks the Dead Fish is slipping a little.

Salads arrived and were better than advertised, see they can do things right. Seriously, the Dead Fish has fantastic food. But I realize now, cocktails are not that good.

I have been here so many times that this time I actually ordered the chicken just to be different. I know, order chicken in a fish house I must be stupid. I am, but that’s not why. I just wanted something I had not tried yet. Marika joined in, chicken for two is on the menu. Emily had to order seafood pasta. Odd woman out. It will probably be the best dish.

Emily’s was good but not the best. The kettle baked chicken was very good. And different. It was enough to keep us from ordering dessert. We were all stuffed.

So we all headed out across the Al Zampa bridge, headed for home. Marika tailed us to the 37 offramp. We continued on 80, of course, and got home about 8. Emilynis not feeling well and has been complaining about having a migraine most of the day. Hard to say what caused it but I know they are really unpleasant. I have n ve had one so can’t speak from experience. I am also glad I don’t get migraines because watching her have one is painful enough.

I fed the dogs, an hour and a half past dinner time. They, as usual, acted as if they have never been fed. Believe me, they have.

Now all seems settled in the house. And it’s quiet. Time for bed.

I am tired of the current heat wave. Last couple weeks the daily temps have exceeded 110. Which is insane. San Francisco was 104 yesterday. Santa Rosa was hotter than Dixon which has never happened in my memory. Just crazy. So what do you do on a hot day? You head out to look at prospective rental properties so you get to be outside all day. Today was most convenient day of the week and we really need to find a place to rent. Seems as though our house could sell at any time. Who knows? But we want to be ready.

So we are up and going early, coffee and breakfast. Read the paper which had nothing in it today. And we are in the car going to pick up agent Linda. She tracks down the rentals for us and negotiates the lease for us. She is a doll. Or maybe an angel. Or both.

Linda has joined us. We met her at the Starbucks in West Sacramento. As always, she is dressed to kill. Hey, great thing, Linda is sitting up front monopolizing the conversation with my wife. That’s great, I can’t talk that much. So I am saved, in a sense.

We are twenty minutes out of Auburn and fifteen from Newcastle. There are four rentals in Auburn and two in Newcastle for us to see. Four hour time budget we believe. That would be good

The front seat has been a conversation about yoga and working out. And types of working out and all these different types of exercise they participate in. How they feel after or during and do they need to treat themselves with ice after. A very animated conversation. Which does not include me. Again, that’s a good thing. I don’t mind and I believe I would add nothing to the discussion. Nothing of value. So here I sit in the back seat looking at the other cars and making up things about the other drivers. I think I saw a sociopath in a very late model Ford Bronco. Sociopaths ride in old Broncos. At least that’s who I saw. Could be he was a teacher. Or both. My opinion is the only one that hits the blog. An ambulance just went by, driving about 80. No lights. Do they ever get speeding tickets? Probably not. Couple hipsters s in an old Toyota 4 Runner. Roof off, of course, because that looks cooler. Wanna Bees.

First house smells like pot. Big house with pool and lots of space. Out of date house in need of lots of work. Need a fantastic landlord to do all the work I want.

Next house smaller, lower rent and beautiful. I vote for it. It’s way out in the forest, 15 mins off the freeway. That’s a negative. No work needed. Emily, though, does not like the entry. Onward.

Third house looks a lot like the one I live in now. But not as nice. And way too much rent. Crazy too much. Goodbye.

Four. No one home to show. Guess we don’t like it.

Fifth. Same as the fourth. I guess they really don’t want to rent it. But take a look at the pond.. That’s just a pond. About 75′ long and 20 wide. Green water and little tiny fish. And a number of small frogs. It’s about ten feet from the back door. Only thing, wtf? In what universe do I blow my wad on a useless big pond?

Productive day either way. We got a feel for what is out there.

We do both agree on the number two house. Agreement is good.

We drove back to West Sacramento and dropped off Linda. She is a huge help within these house things.

We drove home. Emily and I cleaned the house a little bit. She took off for school to get a little work done. She wants to be out of the way when our house lookers come by at five.

The lookers are here for a second look. Last time they missed a look at the upstairs apartment. Slightly different mix of people looking this time. No husband, but plus a dad. So different questions and different looks. They really seem to like our house. That’s a surprise after a year of lookers who don’t like it. We will see.

Emily finally got home at 610. About time. Now we can start our weekend.

We face timed Marika and are trying to talk to her while drinking cocktails.

Btw I do recommend this. Drink straight or on ice. Or maybe fancy up a margarita. Very, very smooth tequila. I made Emily a whiskey sour. I had a little sip of the tequila and a glass of red wine. Perfect end of day drinks I must say. We need to make dinner, it’s 720 and all we have had to eat is the cocktails. Garnishes are not a salad.

Marika has been texting and complaining about the heat. She is in Santa Rosa where it is usually very cool. Today it is over 100. I say get used to it we have it every day.

We had the leftover calzone, from yesterday, for dinner. Still enough left for another lunch. So we can get three meals out of one calzone. Marika sent us a picture of the turkey pastrami wrap she made. With bell pepper and hummus. She said it was delish.

We are back to looking at houses online. It’s an obsession I think. It is tough to be satisfied with what you have and you feel compelled to keep looking. So we keep looking. I would like to be done with it.

Off to bed, it’s late. Just a note, Emily woke me at 115am. She had a dream that Marika and I were robbing banks. She may be crazy. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I took a pill. That works. Unless I rob banks while I sleepwalk.

As usual, in California, in summertime there are fires. Forest fires. Seems as though where we live we are always on the receiving end of really bad air from said fires. Today is the perfect example. There is a haze out there that is blotting out the sun. The temperature is running about 70 now. Supposed to hit 110 but that is hard to believe. Emily says, on the way to he car, maybe I need a sweater. It was cool. Weird weather.

So no coffee visitors today. Guests all gone. I look forward to morning coffee, like on weekends, when someone else is here to share it. Too many years spent serving people, now I kinda miss it.

I have to go to the bank this morning. And a trip to downtown Sacramento later in the day. Otherwise not much. It being Labor Day weekend, all employees will be gone by 3 and I will be alone. I hope all my clients go to then no phone calls to answer. I dislike answering the phone. Someone wants something now. I need to retire.

Here I am thinking about work, while I should be drinking coffee and reading the paper. It’s Friday and I have the newspaper. Well, just read through he paper. All sections. I must admit, not one of the new’s better days. I can’t remember anything I just read because there really was nothing of import, nothing memorable. It’s kind of sad. It’s not time to blame the publisher, there is just a dearth of news between yesterday and today I think.

Just got a robo call from some organization talking about term limits in congress. The call starts and the recorded voice asks how I am doing. That’s so genuine, don’t you think. I had to talk back to the recording because they infuriated me. The gist of the call, we need to term limit congress. Does anyone out there realize we have term limits? They are called elections. Vote for someone else in two years and limit the other guys term. No special work required. I always answer my phone at home. But every single day between 830 and 9 I get one or two calls of this type. Sometimes live, sometimes robot. Always annoying. I do relish my opportunity to annoy back when it is presented. Sometimes I get to talk to these fools for a few minutes and waste their time. Fun.

Off to the bank early. Made my deposit and off to work. Peaceful easy drive to work, no issues.

I worked most of the day on my peer review reports. Took all day with interruptions to get the stuff done. Had it out to FedEx by 530. Cutoff was 6 which I did not know. Came back tonhe office in order to get my billings done. I have to be timely with them. My billings are automated. But each month the amounts vary. I have a four day window to make changes before the prior months batch is sent. This has happened in the past and it leads to upset clients. And since my window was over a 3 day weekend I finished before then.

The office was almost deserted today. Cara left at 11, she is camping in Tahoe till Tuesday. Carol came in at 1230 and stayed till 3. I got the last Orr of the day. Not many phone calls. Thank god.

I managed to make it downtown, park illegally, deliver a package and leave without a ticket. Awesome.

As usual a very quiet ride home. I saw no crazies in the other cars. And traffic was very light on the way home. Everyone is probably headed up the hill for camping or whatever. Last weekend of summer and all.

Emily and I are out to dinner at Napoli. in Vacaville. We saw Charlene Tenbrink there though she did not recognize us. Her husband Gene built our house, and they lived in it twenty years. Napoli is Italian food. Emily ordered a calzone. I am having a salad with chicken.

I am sure I will eat all my salad. That calzone, which is huge, will be going home for tomorrow. The calzones and pizza are really good here. And not to pricey which I also like.

After dinner Emily took me out for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We don’t go out for ice cream very often. I got a scoop of strawberry she got pistachio and a scoop of something else. Sorry I don’t remember what.

We got home by 915, not too late. Emily is claiming it’s cold outside. Right. Only about 80. No wind. Freezing. I am going to bed now. Gotta get ready for our big day tomorrow looking for a place to rent. We are going to be moving soon, I hope. Driving up to Newcastle and Auburn. Supposed to be 107 up the hill tomorrow. Perfect day to drive around and look at houses.

It’s not really a cake day. But it would be nice. I like cake. I have to go to the bakery this am to pick up a cake for Emily’s class. One of many duties.

I made a latte for Cissie. Really good, was her opinion. Thank god, I did not use sour cream. I am sitting here with Cissie and Trisha discussing the day and all. Nothing big happening today, guess I have to make something happen. Btw Cissie is a major suck up. Just sayin. She admitted as much.

I left for Sams Club, where the bakery is at, at about 915. It is not that hot yet but supposed to get well over 100. Easy trip, plenary of parking no problem. A really weird thing happened, I asked for the cake at the bakery and they brought it out immediately with no problems. I almost fell over. Usually, and I do this pickup cake thing a few times a year, they can’t find the cakes or they are wrong in some other way. I have waited as long as 45 mins. I don’t have much faith in Sams Club employees, or Wal Mart, and they continually reinforce my opinion of them. But today was their day.

My checkout, not so good. As usual, only one lane open. I got into the line and found the people behind me were shopping for a school as well. I only had to wait 15 mins to get checked out. Then I waited at the exit for a few more. That’s because the real exit was closed and I had to exit out the entrance. And it was another nightmare. This is why I go to Costco.

Drove straight to Tremont Elementary and dropped off the cake in the office. This cake was for teachers and not kids. No problems delivering here.

Off to work. Had a meeting with Hal at 11 and arrived at 1045. Hal was in and we had to discuss mutual cases we are working on. We have to get them done in order to get paid so it helps to keep up on each other. Managed to get each of us in motion on various aspects of our cases.

No more appointments today. I had lunch, a fine bowl of diet mashed potatoes. Actually, dehydrated potatoes have been around forever. These are not so bad. If you compare to the real thing, then they suck.

I spoke to real estate agent Linda and we firmed up our trip to Auburn on Saturday. We will meet in West Sacramento and head up the hill early. I am looking forward to it and do hope one of these places is right for us.

Cissie texted later in the day. She is going to make dinner for all of us. Yay Cissie!! We discussed the specifics and we should be eating by 730. I hope.

I got home an hour and ten minutes ago. And I can’t remember the drive at all. Seems wild but but that’s how uneventful it was. No stops on the way, no accidents, just driving. If I could blog while I drive I might find something interesting. Like making up lives for the other drivers you see on the road. And then take their picture surreptitiously. Can you see the problem here? Doing this while driving might be an issue.

Back to dinner. Chopped salad and kebabs: chicken, shrimp and beef. I made cocktails for the drinkers. Also chips and salsa. I would like dinner. The kebabs are taking forever to cook. I am gonna pull the shrimp off and let the chicken cook. I hate the Weber BBQ, it is impossible to control the temperature on the damn thing. Does not even have a built in thermometer which would really help.

Why is this cat here always?

Dinner is ready.

Took forever but it turned out so well. Cissie and Trisha left befor dessert. I sent some rhubarb cake home with Trisha so she would have dessert. Cissie leaves tomorrow and has to go Texas to see her mother. She has lots of flying to do. I hope her mom is doing well.

Looks like tomorrow for dishes. The washer is full and now the sink is too. I don’t mind leaving them till morning but I think Emily will want to wash them now. Wrong. She says I can wash them tomorrow. Well, not exactly, she said we will wash them tomorrow. But she goes to work early. I understand who will be washing.