Month: October 2017

Today, Monday, pre Halloween, will be a reasonably normal day. I can only hope. Usual get the day started things: up at 630 ish, dogs out, feed cats, dogs in, feed dogs (someday no pets and sleep late), make coffee for two, make breakfast for Em, and make her lunch. Normal. Now I sit here at the kitchen table finished with said breakfast and drinking coffee. Normal work day. After doing this for thirty years you don’t question your need for retirement. Or vacation (Maine, camping, Belize, all this year). Still waiting for the retirement gravy train to arrive in my station.

So is today normal? No. My friend Cissie arrives from Tacoma today for a visit. Her daughter is Trisha of catch a feral cat fame. Trisha lives in the apartment above the garage with a dog and six cats. Anyway, Cissie will be coming to see her and see us too. We are friends of long standing. I am picking her up from the Sacramento airport at noon. She will be here for a week.

Also, big news, drumroll please!! According to the USPS, my package from Poland will be delivered today!!! I know, sounds kinda weak. But, let me describe the journey. And, remember, it’s a 6 to 10 day trip. And I also learned something else, you can ship via USPS from Poland. Did not know that? So, I ordered car parts from a Polish company about 60 days ago. I have ordered from them before, great products, nice workmanship and very personal service. Probably a small company, but run well. Anyhow, first attempt at getting my order: shipped and they sent email confirmation giving me a tracking number and all info to receive goods. Also, a link to click when I receive the package. Two weeks later, no package. I email because the tracking number says not shipped. They say, via email, wait awhile. And the kicker, the tracking number is special, you can not track it you have to go to a post office for them to track. Oh boy. I waited two more weeks, went to PO and they tracked it. It’s in Poland. It had been returned for insufficient address. So it turns out my fucking mailman can’t find me. Moron. Well, contacted them again, they had it. We confirmed address and usual and they shipped again. And, it turns out, held the package for 15 days? Why, I never asked. Still like the company, very transparent operations. So back to Bill. After ten days, I receive an email from them asking to confirm delivery. Right. I go to PO again. They tracked it. It delivers today. Only two months. I have not seen it yet, so can’t be sure, but sounds good. When I was a kid I got overseas mail from my Dad. You could check the postmark and two months for delivery was normal. With zero tracking. In those days you just forgot about it and it was a huge surprise when it got there. And the only way to let sender know was a letter. You know, pen and paper, stamp and envelope. But, old school was worry free at least. So, today, I look forward to the mail.

Hey, Trisha the roomie dropped in to get her laundry. She states out loud she will be moving home to Tacoma soon. She thinks soon. I am not so sure, because her folks have to buy a house first. Sounds like the market up there is tight. I hope for the best. Then I can use the apartment for AirBnb. Make better money.

Renee, of big boat fame, just called. She had misplaced one of her cell phones, she has two. It’s a system. So I went out to the truck and she rang her phone. She found it!! In her house. I guess she did not try calling it until she called me. I misplace mine often. Glad I don’t have two or have a system. My dwarf sister has two. Ya, she has a system too.

I believe I have nothing else of any excitement level going today. Maybe hit the bank. Wow.

I got it figured. I did the usual shower, shave, etc. now I am going to the bank. Need to cash Michaels check for Emily. Then, I need a blood test which my Dr requested a month ago. The vampires are in Davis. So, by the time I get all that done it will be time to head to the airport and pick up Cissie. She is due in at twelve and I may even be on time. That would be novel. I need to bring her back to Dixon and drop her off. Then I go to work for the afternoon. Sound good? I have no appointments set so I may get work done and my Polish package should be there! Been forever and I want it.

So Quest Diagnostics does not allow photography inside the blood lab. I guess they are afraid it will end up as evidence in the malpractice lawsuit later. So here are a couple:

My first thought looking at that chair, is death by electrocution. The electric chair. Though blood draws are not fun and do qualify as punishment, they are not capital. I wish I could of shot pictures the procedure but they have their jerk off rules. Oh well. Airport next.

I had to wait at the airport by arrivals for some time. Cop was eyeing me. It’s the sit and get cited zone. You sposed to drop off and pick up only. No waiting. Well, Cissie finally managed to get her luggage and show up. No towing or citation. We had a nice drive back to Dixon, she was chatty as usual. Even though she will be across the driveway, we are not getting together till tomorrow for Taco Tuesday. I am also going to break out my barrel aged cocktail (Manhattan). That will be interesting. It’s been in for 7 days so far. I am looking forward to it.

Dropped off Cissie at home. Had some lunch and back into the car. Got to work by two. I checked the mail. I had some but NO Polish mail. Wtf? I was pissed. So hinker d down and went to work. Mailman showed up an hour later with more mail. I think he is Cliff Clavin from Cheers. Idiot. My package was there. After two months. Contents look awesome, armrest and headrests in accenting red leather. Just what every car needs. Am I right?

More work followed. I have also been on hold with my credit card company for an hour. They suck. Open Sky Credit Card sucks. I actually have to talk to someone. God please help me. I would like to go home, it’s six pm, but I have invested so much time in this call. Pray for me.

I don’t feel like working anymore but my desk keeps yelling at me to do something constructive.

Hallelujah!! They answered. Turns out my credit card company is way screwed up. Hey just changed customer service companies, and call centers. Big software upgrade. So what does his mean to me? Well, they erased all my data from my login. Like bank date for payments, auto pay info, recurring pay info and other things. I charged $1000 last month. And the CC company says no payment due. No kidding. I asked the agent and he said “it shows no payment due”. I said look at the charges. There has to be a minimum, he said no payment due. Ok fine. No payment due. I reset my data to pay next month. These people are morons.

I went home after that. Quick drive without incident. Got home and Em’s best friend had parked blocking the driveway. She is better than that. I think. Anyway, she moved her car

I went in and we heated up leftover soup and some rotisserie chicken for dinner. The soup is so good. It man o man does it give me gas.

After dinner I went out to the garage and put the new headrests on. But, armrest did not fit. And by not fit I mean 6”short of fit. Now I have to send it back to Poland. Yikes. I just think this order is cursed. I am going to bed.

Well, only sort of. I have my truck ready to go to Emeryville. Just spoke to Renee and she is almost here. We are heading to her boat slip in Emeryville to trailer her boat. Emeryville is on the San Francisco Bay. We will tow the boat up to Sacramento for the winter. She does not boatbin the cold of winter. Can’t blame her, it can be miserable. Today is a beautiful day and I imagine it’s really nice down in the city too. Should be a fun trip.

Kevin my plumber and Renee n Bob showed up this am at about the same time. I had asked Kevin earlier this week to show up and fix my sink. The plunger plug had stuck in the closed position. So I could not use the drain at all. While he worked, the other three of us went about getting the trailer connected to my rig. The trailer is 35’ long so it’s no small feat getting the truck attached to it. I had to swap out hitches to get better rise on the tongue. But managed. The boat was in Emeryville so half the trip was sans boat. About the time Kevin finished up we got trailer and truck ready. I paid Kevin and we all took off.

First stop, we dropped Bob’s Tahoe at a truck stop on 505 near Hwy 80. Easy to pick up on the way back. I filled my back tank so we would not have to stop all day. And we are off to Emeryville.

One of he first things I notice is that Renee is a very nervous passenger. She uses her “passenger brake” often as well as gripping the door tightly to “steer” the truck. Occasional back seat driver warnings as well, none welcome. What fun! I mentioned it to her and she did acknowledge the issue. The first step toward a cure. The drive was uneventful. As much as towing a 35’ trailer in traffic and windy streets can be. I only had to pay strict attention to everything and everybody the whole drive.

We made Emeryville in about an hour. We parked, walked the half mile to the boat slip. We had to stow the roof awning and a few other things. This is the last use of the boat till spring. Spent about an hour getting her ready. Then Renee drove the boat to the ramp and Bob and I walked.

The boat ramp is quite steep. And drops off into deep water.
I had to use the 4wd to pull her out. The boat is 32’ long and more than a little heavy. The truck was up to the job, at least it outweighs the boat. We headed out soon after loading up. The trip back was slower, duh, and ponderous since we were pulling such a heavy load. And exciting with Renee being slightly unglued at times. Oh well. Took a little more than an hour to get to the truck stop where we parked Bob’s car. Then Bob split off to pick up Emily, cuz we decided to take the boat out one last time when we got back to the river. Renee and I headed off to Discovery Park and their fine boat ramp. Unlike Emeryville, this one is incredibly wide and not in the least steep. Much easier. Boat was in in record time once Bob showed up. We beat them by a few.

The day was really without any mishap even minor ones. Kinda nice.

We headed from the ramp downriver to Old Sac. We parked there and walked the 8 blocks to Frank Fats restaurant in downtown. Frank’s has been there longer than any other, owned still by the Fat family, and is nationally recognized. We ate there. They do everything right and it is surprisingly inexpensive. We had a beautiful meal.

After, long walk back to the not. The evening is balmy but not warm. Very nice for late October. The boat ride back no more than ten minutes. Bob and Renee took care of their boat and Emily and I went home.

Thirty minutes later. Fed the dogs and locked down. Ready for bed.

Well, it’s Saturday. Home work day as you know. I have a few things to do: clean house, do laundry, mow lawn (fill gas can first), do dishes, wash two cars and the truck. And in my spare time…right, like there is spare time. Have to hit grocery store and P.O. if open.

So my day is packed with things to do. I was up early and ready. Then had coffee. And read the paper for an hour. And texted with Cissie for thirty minutes. So it’s now ten am. I have to get moving.

I managed to get the lawn mowed. This bothered Trisha greatly in her quest to catch the cats. She does not want me to wash cars either since I guess it’s well known washing cars hinders your ability to catch ferals. Whatever. I wish she would catch them so I can run my life like I usually do. Sooner or later it will happen. I will be gone all day tomorrow so it should be easier for her.

Well, time for cars to be washed. At least I don’t have to wash the truck. I am taking it to Emeryville tomorrow to tow Renee’s boat to its winter home in Sacramento. So I will wash it later. Off to wash the car. Quick car washing. No wax. Vacuum and clean interiors. Gosh I live an exciting life, don’t ya think?

Next, I cleaned all three bathrooms. The thing I really hate is how much hair there is in the bathrooms. It’s gross. When I clean the John, first thing is a good vacuuming. To get all the hair. Then what happens? I’m wiping down the commode and hairs just pop up out of nowhere. I tried vacuuming while I wipe with zero success. I hate it. Either way, the cans are clean. Now I have to take a shower which means I start the process over by dirtying the shower. There is no win. Funny thought, I clean myself every day and I never complain. But I hate to clean the bathroom which is never more than once a week. Emily cleans it way more times than I do. And she is way better at it. And cleaning, this seldom, I still complain. That seems quite backward.

I had a few items to pick up in Vacaville. I decided to take the convertible. Quick evening drive, top down. I cruised to Vacaville and went to Nugget Mkt for the almond milk creamer that Emily and I like. As usual, out of our flavor. It is the best flavor anyhow. I bought two bottles of the runners up instead. I checked the housewares aisle for the wet/dry car wax. No go. Bought my stuff, went to the car, had left my lights on. Makes it way easier to find your car. Drove over the freeway to Target. They had none. Last time I went to buy this stuff everyone was out. I don’t understand why they can’t keep it in stock. This is pretty cool stuff. You just wash your car, rinse it and leave wet. Spray this wax on and dry the car. It’s waxed. Awesome and easy as hell. Next stop Wal Mart. Wally World has a large auto aisle. Lots of stuff. They have bottle upon bottle of potions for your car. Well, they only had two bottles of what I wanted and one was partially smashed. I bought both.

At the register I was telling the clerk about it and how it’s so popular, the whole story. She wrote down the name of the product so she could get some. I gotta learn to keep my trap shut.

I went home. Still cleaning to do. First, feed the dogs. Then laundry, keeping it moving. I vacuumed downstairs. At this point I made dinner. Elk Burger with a side of veggies. Our cauliflower buns had gone bad so I had Romaine lettuce as a bun. I was really hungry, I can only guess housework uses more energy than you think. After dinner, you guessed it, more housework. Vacuumed the upstairs. Then I cleaned all the window sills. They are gross. Lots of dead bugs and dirt. We live in the country, there is always dirt and bugs. Once finished I kinda shut down the house, dogs to kennel and me to upstairs to bed. Wrong. To do my ironing. Women’s work is never done.

Why do I hate ironing? 1.5 hours for 5 shirts. Says it all. It’s 1125 pm. I can now go to bed. No. Go change the laundry and then go to bed. I will save you the drama of that. Good night.

Today is going to be busy. Not like yesterday, fortunately, but lots to do. I have a meeting here at he house at 8am. After that I drive to Berkeley to pick up furniture, come home, unload and go to work. And do regular work. A lot of driving, but no meetings that suck the life out of me.

I was right, I am here in the office and its 645pm and still nose to the grindstone.

The appointment this morning was with a hardware store owner. He does not really like how his current CPAs handle his accounting. He showed me his records. Told me a long sordid tale of the other accountant. And then, I told him how we do things. He was very happy. I do things as he wishes the old guys did. But they are hopelessly old school and unwilling to live in this century. Good for me, this guy is not a new client yet but I can’t see how it’s not going to be a done deal very soon. I wish all sales calls were like this. He also will set up my store house account again and I get hardware at cost. Hurray for me. Can you say win win!

Off to Berkeley a little later than I wanted, 930. Uneventful trip, truck ran great, traffic was very light. Got there in under an hour. Got loaded and tied down in 15 mins and back on the road. Return trip was exactly the same only I drove slower. Perfect.

When I got home, I could not unload the mirror, too heavy for one. Roomie Trisha was outside looking for the feral cats, still, as she was when I left. She really wants those cats.

I went to work and arrived by 1 pm. I had one short meeting waiting for me, Hal, same guy from yesterday. Only a half hour needed.

After that the whole day was eaten up with administrative work, payroll and phone calls. I did a little paid work as well. Not much. It’s 7pm and I need to get home. Roomie Trisha wants the animal trap to get the ferals. And she is anxious to start. I am off.

Got home around 745. I can’t seem to find the animal trap anywhere. I know where it was last, out by the almond tree. We had been trying to catch a feral that was peeing all over the porch. We didn’t catch it. But that’s where the trap was last as far as anyone can remember. I asked around. Of course it’s dark here right now, and that isn’t helping. I am going to wait till the am to keep looking. Easier in the light of day. I texted Trisha but no reply. She isn’t so good with text etiquette.

I have time now so I had dinner, same thing as last night, and finished he morning paper. That was interrupted by my early appointment. It was the Cars section, it is Friday, so it was nice to read with no time crunch.

There was laundry to fold, dogs went out a couple times, I looked at a few websites, ordered some dog meds (damn old dog$) that’s about it. Did the dishes. Now going to bed. Big day full of chores tomorrow.

My day started early and never slowed down. It felt like tax season. More on that in a bit.

Emily is heading out for yoga camp this afternoon. It’s like space camp, only for adult women. I got her breakfast and coffee and out the door to work.

I have meetings all day so I did not get to sit around. Got ready for my day and head out. One problem, my car is still being worked on. So no car. And Dennis is picking up the S2000. So I have to drive the truck. Which is almost empty of gas.

So I took the truck. My 9 mpg F350. For a quick 100 mile round trip. I had to go to north Sac for a meeting. A couple, business owners want to do a comprehensive tax plan. My associate Hal and I met them at 11. Long meeting till 1245. We discussed every aspect of our plan and how it would work for them. It is a perfect fit and would work incredibly well. But no one makes big decisions that fast so we left. The place We were at is a truck shop, of sorts. While there I had a problem with my AC diagnosed so I could repair later. It’s nice to have clients who can do nice things like that. For free even.

We left. I asked Hal to go ahead to my office for our next meeting. It was at one. I had to get gas. The truck has two tanks. I put in 29 gallons. No problem. Headed off to my office. I was late, I had called the client, but he wasn’t there when I arrived. He got there about 115. This meeting was about the same as the first. Back and forth through his personal scenario, showed him how it would work for him. I know he understood because he mentioned how well it could work for his partner. Which is true, his partner owns several very successful businesses and has lots of taxable income. Anyway, the meeting easily lasted until 345. My how time flies.

After these arduous meetings, Hal decided we needed to discuss all our clients in progress on tax planning and all prospective clients just to keep up with where we are at. 2 hours later, we are done. As I said earlier, this day seemed like tax season. To the point, I spend my days during tax season talking to people – in person, on the phone, by text. I only get work done after 5pm. It sucks. Today was a day exactly like that. Except it was after six when I started to work. I did manage to get one tax return finished. Better than nothing. I left the office at 8.

I did receive one set of text messages right before I left. From our garage roomie, Trisha. Seems a family of feral cats has moved in under the house. Two kittens included, an orange and a black one. Trisha wants to keep all of them, upstairs in her apartment. It’s a little over the top. As a semi responsible landlord I can’t allow it. Trisha believes she would be a better cat owner than anyone else, or so she told me. Hard to argue with that, her cats are very well tended. But I can find good homes for them. I have done it many times with the many ferals we have had out here. I even kept two as pets. Marika has already found a nice home for the orange one just based on a picture. Trusha is giving her dog to her mother to make more room for cats. She told me she likes cats better. Me too. Her dog was a rescue and has been hard work for her. I am not sure she got the response from the dog that she wanted. Not for lack of trying.

When I got home I actually saw the kittens. The orange one is very cute. The black one just runs away. There is a mama but it is staying hidden.

I finally got to have dinner. Nice. Got the mail. Boring. Put my repaired cars in the garage. Yay. My evening has been shortened tremendously. I have to get to bed soon because I have an 8am appointment here at the house. After which it’s off to Berkeley. Then back and off to work. Gonna be another long day. But only one scheduled meeting. So I may be able to get some work done.

Tonight I still need to put together some expense info for our audit. The personal home office expenses. I hope it does not take too long. Bedtime awaits.

I did something yesterday that I would say never happens. I left the garbage cans out on the curb for two nights. Such a hillbilly thing to do. Fortunately my hillbilly neighbors were so surprised they brought my cans in for me. I gotta be nicer to them. No mean feat, it’s 100 feet down my driveway to put them away. So kudos to the neighbors, thank you very much. I will do better in the future, promise.

Emily leaves for yoga camp this afternoon so I have 3 days alone in the house. So what fun and amazing things will I be doing. Tomorrow I go to Berkeley to pick up the huge mirror. I have a client meeting tomorrow. And two today as well. I need to mow the lawn Saturday and clean the house. Does this sound like a partying weekend? Yes!! Ok, maybe not. Slow and quiet suits me, though.

Good news, I woke up to find out the Astros had beaten the Dodgers in game two of the WS. Can I get an Amen!!!! I hate LA. This series seems weird to me. As a life long SF Giants fan, I have watched all number of Natl League West games. LA and SF are in that division. The Astros were also in it like forever but switched leagues entirely a couple years ago and are now American League. Weird watching because it feels like, to me, two National League teams from the same division are playing for the championship. That of course is not the case. But it truly feels that way. I can’t shake it. Go Astros!! Beat LA!

Emily has all her luggage and yoga gear here in the kitchen table. I had to move a pile just to sit down. She did not want to leave it in the car while she was at work. I guess it spoils in the heat. It is a short drive home and on the way to yoga so no big deal.

I gotta get ready. Work is calling for me.

Everyone who is anyone knows I don’t go into the office on Wednesday. It’s been that way since about 1997. It was a school district change, on Wednesday’s they decided to let the kids out at noon. Every Wednesday. So I stayed home, worked, picked up the kids, then did any kid centered appointments like the doctor or dentist. Then went home and finished my work day. But, I always stayed home. It’s been a break for me and my employees. I continue still even though the kids are in college. Unfortunately, I now can go in because nothing stops me. Today I have two appointments set. And it still irks me that I am going to the office on a Wednesday. Old habits die hard.

On the way to work I stopped at the UPS store. I had to mail a box of records to the Sonoma IRS office. Client being audited. Same old story. It appears the auditor in this case has accepted all records she has from us with no adjustments proposed. Hurray team Bill. What I am sending should be the same and then client has a no change audit. That would be great. Client will be ecstatic.

After UPS I stopped at the liquor store. No, not for booze. I wanted to buy lottery tickets. I scanned my old tix and guess what? I won $21 !! Wahoo!!! So I spent it on more lottery tickets. It’s what I do. Drove to work.

My first appointment is with an IRS agent. She is auditing me. Us actually, we file jointly. This is a special audit. Known as a statistical audit. They look at every single transaction in my business general ledger. Every single one. It’s how this type of audit works. The usual audits do not involve this level of detail and only take 4 hours. This type is 3 days plus she does more work back in her office. Today was her last visit to my office. Hurray. She will have some numbers for me beginning of next week. It will be negative but not so bad. We have discussed it and she thinks it will be fine. Whatever. She ate up 4 hours of my day today. Time I will never get back.

Auditor left at 3pm. I spent the next two and a half hours cleaning up. I managed to get one tax return done. My desk is really looking fantastic. Quite clean. I am proud of myself for finally getting this done.

I spoke to my mechanic Dennis. I left my car in my driveway this am and he came out and picked it up. I needed the brakes inspected. Turns out an inspection is. It enough. I need a four wheel brake job. I don’t know how much it costs. Dennis charges $50 per hour plus parts at cost. It is usually very low priced and he is an excellent mechanic. He was here yesterday and put the new battery in the truck. Tomorrow he is picking up the 02 Honda and inspecting it front to back. Marika has only owned it a couple months but I want her to have a safe and sound car. I think it needs brakes as well. I guess I should have him get the tractor running too. I want to put it on Craig’s List and get rid of it. Less clutter and a little more money.

So I left work at about 530. Nothing special on the drive home. Smooth. Too much traffic for a Wednesday. I got to within sight of the causeway by 545 and the traffic cinched down something fierce. Again, too much traffic. I finally got through it and onto the causeway and could not figure out why the slowdown. Made it home by 630.

Emily was home, she did not do to yoga. She has an entire yoga weekend. She is leaving tomorrow afternoon and then back on Sunday. Sounds like a mini vacation. Her sister Dee bought it for her. Dee cancelled last minute because her husband needed surgery for an infected hand from a dog bite. Nasty stuff. Another friend of Emily’s, Barb, will be going in Dee’s place. Just to round it out, Marika is going to. Fun weekend for the girls. It would bore me senseless. I am close to senseless anyway so that is not saying much.

We had some homemade soup for dinner. Along with a nice salad upon which I put some barbecued steak. I must tell you, I made a very good salad.

We sat around for awhile chatting after dinner. Now Emily has gone upstairs to pack for her weekend. I am sitting here blogging, obviously, having reached the point where I am writing in the present. Not much left of the day, just do the dishes and go to bed. Goodnight.

I am going to Berkeley in a few minutes. Last Sunday, as you may remember, Em and I went to The Wooden Duck which is in Berkeley (at least till doors close for ever). We perused the going out of business inventory and purchased two mirrors. One of which is at least 8 feet tall and 3.5 feet wide. Needless to say, but saying it needlessly, I needed delivery or a truck. We were driving Emily’s car. No fit, no way. Like putting my sister in a normal chair without a booster. I inquired about delivery, cost 175 to 268, yes, dollars. The delivery company is not going out of business. And at those prices they must make too much money to go. I decided to pick up the mirror. I go today, into the wilderness known as Berkeley. I shall take my liberal left wing wacko to English dictionary. Could be handy. No Make America Great Again bumper stickers on my truck. Maybe lie, a sticker that says runs on veggie oil would help. Don’t want the nuts throwing tofu at me. I hate tofu. It’s a texture thing. Actually, the store is right on the 101 on a frontage road, industrial area, so not many worries. I won’t be the only guy cruising through lefty land in a pickup. I don’t want to pick on Berkeley too much. They are way out in left field. Way. Out. But, who is to say they aren’t at the front of a huge wave moving in that direction? Then they are leaders and not extremists. It’s a fine line between wacko and extremist.

Shower time then on the road. Dressed and ready. Realized today would be a good day to get my brakes done on my car. I won’t be using it. So I called my mechanic Dennis and he said leave the car in the driveway, keys in it. He picks up when needed.

Headed to the truck. Battery was dead as hell. Great. Every vehicle or tractor with a battery, goes dead out here. All the damn time. I got the charger, I have a big one because I use it so much. Got the extension cord. Popped the hood. Hello.

Yep. That’s a possum. He has taken up residence and built a nest under the hood of my truck. Little bastard hissed at me. Then he actually nestled in and went back to sleep. No big. I found my pellet gun, big enough for the job, and no pellets. So I hooked up the battery and started the charger. Gotta get moving. He hung out 20 minutes. I got the garden hose and gave the little rat a wash down. He left, rather abruptly. Leaving nest behind. That’s the other photo. I hate possums.

So I now have a change of plans. No Berkeley today. Need a charge or a new battery. Berkeley later this week maybe Friday. What a pain. Plus cost of a new battery. I am going to work instead. Joy. Dennis says he will come take care of the truck battery. At least something gets done.

I got to work early. Of course. But considering how the day went, early to work is a surprise. I have only one appointment today at 4pm. The rest of the day is work. Which is awesome. I started out doing my monthly bank recons. There are seven I need to get done. With all the usual interruptions it takes a couple hours. After that just sfinished me more admin work I don’t enjoy. I am still trying to get my desk clean from last deadline. Boy did I ever crap where I sleep, so to speak. I have got to try and keep it clean in the future. Cleaner. It’s funny, here at the end of the day, it is so difficult to remember what I did during the day. No matter. Remember or not, I did it.

Last gasp was an appointment, like the tenth one, with a couple who are retiring and closing their company. We have met a lot of times. A lot. Many. Today I really had nothing to say. I did say, stick a fork in it. I think they got the idea. They are done.

Headed home about 510. Got home at 615. Yikes. Took too long. Received a text as I pulled into the garage. From Emily. She says go pick up taco Tuesday. Ok. Now back into town to the Carniceria. Emily was at an event for 2.5 hours and did not realize I was already home. I picked up the usual. We never get tacos on taco Tuesday. I like combos, which is beans, rice and choice of meat. Favorite meat is Chile verde con nopales. They did not have any. Carnitas instead.

Emily got home at the same time I did. She was weighed down by bags of I don’t know what she picked up at the event. I was carrying food and work sundries. We were both hungry so we ate our dinner first. Then fed the dogs.

I need to go outside and find where Dennis may have stuck the cord and charger. I left the charger out attached to the truck and charging when I went to work this am. Not sure where he may have put it. I also have to put out the garbage, it’s Tuesday after all.

Garbage out. Found the charger. All is good. Time for bed.

OK. So maybe that title is a little misleading. I blog everyday and I put a pithy, and timely title on every post. Well, I try very hard to at least. Today I was stumped. Or maybe lazy. I know the importance of a title, it makes your English teacher happy and gets you a better grade. Other than that, it has no real import. So the title above could be misleading, to some. I think most will realize I am not in Yugoslavia. And, btw, I have no current intention to go.

Today is a day like any other. Sounds ominous. It isn’t. It’s actually a little boring. I have zero planned at work. No appointments coming in. I would like to do personal stuff all day. I have plenty of chores. But, I can find things to do at work, just don’t want to do them. This is how deadlines affect me. This past 15th has caused me to lose interest in work as well. Oh well.

Client Jim just called. I need to drop by his tire shop on the way out of town today. He has some paperwork for me to review. And I will. We can discuss my recent mishaps with the cars. As you remember, last week two repairs, one of which required a new tire. This is why I need friends in the business.

Got all ready to go, put dogs in kennel, packed food, filled my ginormous water bottle and I’m off. First went to Jim’s. He needed help on several pension issues. He was not sure which option of seven offered to accept. We went through each one by one. We made comparisons of each. It really gets down to who dies first, him or his wife. Tough question but they are set up on first to die. I think he made the best choice. Then we discussed some other issues not so pressing. About an hours worth. He was willing to trade the tire for my time and advice. Everybody happy.

Straight to work, no stops. Except for gas in West Sacramento. Not thrilling but it is easier to get gas when there is no traffic around.

Work held its usual incredibly exciting moments. Perhaps even riveting. No, it didn’t. I’m joking. I was able to clean up my desk quite a bit. It was very cluttered from the deadline. It’s flatter at least and I will finish cleaning very soon.

I spent a large part of the day on the phone trying to set up tax planning appointments. I am trying to help people set up large tax plans that can flatten out large incomes. These are a little complex but incredibly effective plans. But, also not fit for everyone. It takes a certain combination of high income, cash flow and willingness to do it. I have a few clients who fit that. I have been working on another for the last 18 months. Sometimes they take awhile.

That was my day. I was so busy I only emptied half my ginormous water bottle by the time it was time to go home. Better drink the rest in the car.

Drive home with very light traffic and no excitement at all. Fast and steady. When I got home I found that Emily had already fed the dogs and started dinner. We are having sausage soup, something she makes once in a while. It’s a family favorite. Spicy sausage, vegetables, beans and spinach. It’s always quite spicy, great if your head is stuffed up or you have a cold. It really hit the spot. My sister says I shouldn’t talk about food in the blog. Of course, she is a moron. Talking about it won’t make you fatter Doriene. I love telling people how lucky I am to be fed so well. I eat three times a day, it’s a hobby I have kept up on for over 50 years (my sister over 60) so it’s near and dear. So I talk about where I go to eat, what I ate when I got there, and what I eat at home.

After dinner we just sat around and did not much. Emily watched The Voice, her favorite show I think. We are going up to bed very soon. It is the bewitching hour.

I have guests coming at ten to view my house. Since I got up at 830, this screws up my day ever so little. I have an hour and a half to make coffee, breakfast, eat and drink, take a shower and be presentable. And it’s Sunday so I would like to read the paper. Slowly. Something has gotta give.

Well, the newspaper gave way. I did not have it done by 10. Oh well.

Agent was Karen Duncan. She is Brett Leber’s sister, Stephanie Leber’s (friend of Michael) aunt, Linda Thomas ex partner. Yes, I know her. Her clients are the Walker’s, son Steven was in Emily’s class years ago, mom is local bank president, dad works for SID. Ya, I’m familiar. Did I mention Dixon is a small town? We had a nice tour, took plenty of time, they seem to like it. Not sure why they would want it considering condition and age and the fact they are loaded$$$$. Who knows?

Once they were finally gone, I read the paper. Now it’s Sunday? No, then I washed my car. Our roomie Trisha drove up then so I offered to help her wash her car. We washed her car. That thing has not been washed in weeks. Filthy. Packed with leaves in all crevices. Tree sap making a semi permanent home on the paint job. Dirty. She does not care. Or for that matter, care for her car. Even she thinks that weird since she is completely OCD and it seems car care is the perfect place to be OCD. But I’m no doctor.

Emily got home from yoga and Target about now. She helped find a Mac charger for Trisha to use. I had already looked for twenty minutes with no luck. Trisha had dropped hers in a bucket of dirty fish tank water. Basically sewage.

We are leaving in a few to go to Auburn. Emily wants to look at the property again. Emily wants to look and see where we can stick the yurt we are planning on living in for the next few months while a house is built. We will be renting the house once it’s done. Right now we are renting the dirt. Sounds weird.

Ok, we are now on our way to Berkeley. I know, I said Auburn. Emily came up with something else. The Wooden Duck, a favorite furniture store of ours, is going out of business. Everything half off. We went to Berkeley. Short, fast trip. The store was very picked over, the sale has been going for a long time. We managed to find two mirrors at great prices. One is so large I have to drive back with my truck to get it. No free delivery here, that cost $200. See why I’m doing it myself?

We left there and Emily wanted to drive out down 4th street instead of the fast and easy way we came in. Lots of traffic on 4th and plenty of morons driving poorly. I thought of my sister. But down toward the end of the shopping district we ran across a new furniture store. Most of their inventory is made from reclaimed teak. Nice stuff, not too expensive, and it turns out the owner also applies his skills to cabinets and interiors of houses. He also makes tiny houses. All of these things apply to our new house. He had tons of samples and pictures of his work. He even had brochures. So we got all his info and headed home.

Trip home was quick. We got to try our new Fastrak thing on the toll bridge. I feel so 21st century. Strangely we stopped nowhere else on our drive. And now we don’t stop for the toll either.

Finally home and Emily went to school to work. I went to the pharmacy to pick up the dogs Rx. His pills cost $116!!! WTH? I think this dog Costa to much. All the dogs are old and he is being kept alive expensive drugs. When I was a kid, when dogs got to a certain point, they got the needle. Not anymore. Ain’t medical science fantastic? Good thing I like the dog.

Went to the hardware store and picked up some NiCad batteries. The owner of the store stopped me with an accounting question. Turns out his question was am I accepting more clients? I always say yes to that. Mo money. I hope it works out.

Went home and hung out doing very little. Some laundry, etc. Emily came home. We made dinner. Nice Sunday dinner, BBQ tri tip, salad, asparagus and even dessert. See Sunday isn’t all work. We are now watching bad TV. I’m not, I’m blogging. Emily is. We are going to bed very soon. Like now.