Month: December 2017

Today is not working up to be very exciting. Or even interesting for that matter. We did not get up especially early, or really late either. Since Emily is on vacation she has not made many plans. Mostly because rhe days are full up with Christmas.

I got up earlier than Emily. I am planning on working out. Its lower body day. Last time I did this workout it really kicked my ass. I was sore and had trouble sitting and walking for almost a full week. No I am not a weenie.

I did fix Emilys breakfast and coffee before I went to the gym. I still have to help her get her day started.

The gym was as usual quite unoccupied. I think one or two oher people were there when I arrived. There are usually so few people they never get in your way. The place is not big but we do spread out. I went to the back room which has the hard floor. I warm up back there. I have several very painful warmups to do. Its a 40 secs on 20 secs off program. Its so simple and so short yet it is sheer torture. Some of the exercises use very light dumb bells. By the time you are finished with the reps you are dying and cant lift 2 lbs. My coach is a sadist.

The easy part of the workout is the “regular” exercises. Those are the ones I do after the warmup. They are the workout portion and are far easier. Though still quite painful in there own way.

My workout from warmup through stretching usually takes about an hour. Not too short or too long. Makes it easier to do it.

After my workout I went home to clean up. Emily was home, remember its vacay. I had realized while working out that I had a meeting at 11. So I had to rush through my morning to get out of the house as fast as I could. I dont like being late.

So race off to Sacramento and on the drive I get a call from Hal, headed to the meeting too, and he says he will be 15 mins late. Not good. I called our client and let him know. He did not care. Yay.

When I finally arrived at the office, after some traffic delays, I found client Tony and Hal talking without me. Good. I don’t like meetings much anyway. Well, we spent the better part of an hour to convince Tony of the best thing he can do now at year end is to follow our advice. We can save him between 100 and 150k in taxes. I like our plan. Client is kinda weak on planning I think. Clients alwaya want to discuss big plans but usu end up wimping out on the plans. Go figure.

Just for fun, we had a second meeting half an hour after the first ended. And this one was only an hour and a half long. These clients are not weak on planning. We showed them an expensive and extensive plan to save them $1m. Now. They are interested. Will see. Year end is two weeks out. I hope they do it. Especially after all these meetings. The first meeting is best, after that, not much fun. But I like doing these crazy plans. Having so many puzzle pieces to fit together. Trying my hardest to manipulate people to do what is best for them. When you make it all work, the completed project is a thing of beauty. And something to be proud of. And, of course, there is the money. Some of the plans are quite lucrative. But, I stress, I never take my eye off the real goal- helping our client save money and cut out taxes. Our pay flows from that.

After the meetings, nothing much. The usual. Answer notices, write letters, prepare tax returns. Awesome accounting fun.

Tonight is Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. I drove home to my fave Carniceria. Ans the bastards are closed. Sometimes I hate them. So I headed to Alhelis, my backup. They were open. And, I got free taquitos to boot. We had chile verde nachos and split a burrito. The food there is great.

After dinner I headed into Vacaville to pick up a couple gifts. One bday and one Christmas. Same thing for each person. Ha ha. Opportune pricing and placement at the store. Didnt take to long.

Emily stayed home. She has a severe migraine. When I got home she had not moved off the couch. Just sitting there and complaining. I never had a migraine but they look horrible. She is staying up to watch the Voice finale. If not for that she would be in bed already. I dont care who wins. I am going to bed.

Today is Monday. It’s Emily’s first day of vacation. And Marika’s. Not mine. I gotta work. Its nine am and I have already received 3 work calls. People find you wherever you are. They just want to torment me. Gonna get worse soon. I really need to hire one more person, probably a tax preparer. My buddy Dave K is available. He would handle some of the overflow but I am not sure how he would sync with the rest of the crew. I can handle all the returns but I can lose the timeliness that my clients want. The work tends to show up in mass and thats the issue. Its like Friday night at a popular restaurant every day in my office till April 15. You just need a little help. Of course, the big issue is I have to pay Dave and that comes out of my pocket. And I am a cheap bastard. And I like to keep my money. So I can blow it on beer and skittles. Just a few thoughts and bon mots.

Monday. What else? Nothing. No, we are having dinner in Auburn tonight with our friends Dan and Susan. I found a nice place on Yelp, less than a mile from our new place. Caribbean. Sounds great, 4.5 stars. Only one problem, no booze, just beer and wine. I will get over it. Knowing Dan, he will bring his own bottle of extra fine wine. He travels with his own bottles. I am really looking forward to dinner.

Now is the time for morning activities. I stay home too late when Em is home. But gotta get ready.

I went to work. Straight to work. No stops. I need to go to the bank but sis not makenit today. I have plentybto do today. Client Frank showed up and we went through his docu sign for the tax mitigation plan we created for him. Todays tasks got his trust created finally. Related to that plan was the interview, with another company member, to complete due diligence on the plan. We are very close to done and its only been two years.

I had alot of other minor tasks to complete to get me closer to the end of the day. I spoke to my buddy Bob and invited him to dinner in Auburn. He said he would call later. I tried to make a reservation but you need six and I only had four.

I was able to call the county building dept to ask questions on setbacks. They did not answer their phones. I sent an email. I also found, and forwarded, a parcel map to my contractor. Then I finally was able to contact PARC which is a group that polices the American River Canyon to keep development at bay. I was looking for buy in on our project. Spoke to a really nice and helpful guy who reassured me I would be able to build. All this sounds good.

Bob texted back, he wanted a ride ti Auburn. Hes in. I called the restaurant, reaervation for six please, at 7.

I left work and picked up Bob and Renee and we headed up the hill. Emily was trailing and Dan and Susan were coming from Nevada City. The three of us got there about 650. Early. So I got gas. Then we went to eat. Emily was just arriving. We joined up and went in. The reat of our prty was in the bar. Surprise.

We got our table and had a really nice time. The restaurant is called Joe Caribe and serves Caribbean style food. We had a really nice meal, service was great. And not too expensive. Everybody had a great time. Nice to see friends. Dan and Susan had come up to Maine this past summer to stay with us. And Bob and Renee we are able to see more often but itbwas just a nice time.

We all went to look at our property after dinner. Sadly we could not see the view in the dark. No moon. Oh well. Will need a party after house is done. It was fun to see it in the dark for the first time.

We went home after all the excitement. Time for bed. A little TV news before.

Today is supposed to be a day of rest. I have been sleeping so poorly all week I had hoped Sunday would be my savior. Not so lucky.

I have been waking up at 5 to 515 all week and its been miserable. I have not been able to catch up on sleep. Even Saturday was a buat. So all hopes placed on Sunday. We got home late last night and we were exhausted. Emily was not going to yoga Sunday morning. Sounds good. Except my damn dogs. The stupid shits started howling, yes howling at about 7 am. I was sound asleep, now not. Only way to shut them up was to get out of bed and let them out. Which takes five minutes cause we gotta wait for them since we dont have a fenced yard. By the time the little cretins get back in I am awake. I hate them.

Moved on to usual morning rituals. Plus a Sunday paper. Not notable. Except for q cool artist cle in the Food section on how to make a perfect Beef Wellington. We will need to try that.

We got ready and went grocery shopping. Just stuff for the week not any Christmas shopping. Kind of a regular store trip, nothing out of the ordinary. We did buy a boneless pork roast for carnitas or chile verde.

We got home and Emily decided to clean the fridge out before putting away the groceries. So its clean. And she gets to exercise her OCD nature. Win win.

I went out to the pod and brought in our tree. Its plastic and lasts forever. I love it. Its pre lighted and in three pieces and I dont have to buy one every year. Its 15 years old. It drops no needles. Anyhow, I set it up. Its the 17th of December but we got a tree. Feels more like Christmas already. We spent an hour decorating the tree and the living room. Quite festive. Santa ready for sure.

Next up, wrap everything not yet wrapped. Once you have a tree it needs gifts, right? So we wrapped. Alot. I am sure it was two hours worth at least. But the bonus is our tree. Its full of gifts and looks all Christmassy. I love it. Will have to put a picture in a later blog post.

Thats most of my day. After yesterday we need a slow day. We made deied chicken for dinner, which we both love. Emily did a nice job on it. Broiled asparagus on the side. No dessert, our weight cant afford frequent desserts. No matter, dinner was still fantastic. After dinner we watched a little TV. We skipped the annual showing of Sound of Music in favor of some forgettable reruns of old sitcoms. Got reruns of Last Man Standing which is very good.

Emily was too tired to stay up any longer so we headed to bed around 930. She is snoring next to me right now. Why would tonite be any different? I am staying up long enough to finish this. I am hoping I get to sleep in tomorrow morning. Emily is on vacay sonthere is a chance. No alarm. Sounds good. Goodnight.

Those of you with incredibly sharp eyes may have noticed, no post yesterday (Friday). The day did not work out so well so I just skipped it. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I did take Latin in school and my teacher was correct, it is not a dead language and is still important to learn. At least for liberal artists and scientists. Engineers, who knows? Nobody really likes them anyway. But, having said sorry, I will move onward into the abyss. The chasm of truth. Onward christain soldier. To the front!

I want to mention, we ate at the Rice Barn last night. Doesn’t that name sound awful? It is Thai food. The folks that run it have a top 20 Yelp Thai restaurant, also in Vacaville. This one does not have the same menu and they added a wine bar. I would say, a Thai “flavored” wine bar. From the selections I see no real understanding of what wine can add to a meal. But they are trying. And the food was excellent. Not near spicy enough but that can be remedied tableside. The waitress dumped a water pitcher on my phone. The same type phone that I replaced the one I took in the Belizean Ocean over summer. Did not ruin my meal. Phone is ok. So far.

Anyhow, I digress. Did you notice. Digressions are often the best part of my posts I think. Its how my brain works. Someone yells “squirrel!” And I am off running to it. I was having a talk with a client and his wife yesterday and I noticed both he and I were doing this continually. Much to the wifes dismay. My wife understands this. She has alot in common with this woman. God Bless them both. Hey, I digress again! Following my train of thought must be murder.

Ok. Stay focused. Everytime I move off point from now on just scream “squirrel!” and relax.

This morning, oh look honey he is on todays news!, was a living in the country gem. The delta breeze has kicked up. As I have said before, breeze my ass! Gusts hitting 70mph. Blew down the lemon tree. At around 6?am we hear the telltale beep of our house phone. That is telling, after 15 years, we know what it means – the power has gone out. Most people living in town do not understand what this is like. I had a friend once tell me “go take a long hot shower” and you will forget the power outage.” My reply, power out, water pump out, water heater out, stove out, nothing works, asshole. Hey, it does anger me. Power out sucks. And usually, out here, where there are very few homes, the outage affects almost no one. Today, 588 homes out. P G & E does not give two shits for small outages. I once called in to pge and the guy proudly told me “only” six customers were affected. I responded, as you may expect, after saying I am 1 of the 6, with some well placed anger and bad words. He did apologize for disregarding my pain. That time power was out 19 hours. Lovely. They lack proper concern. One operator at pge once told me the company responds first to the areas with thousands of angry calls. This may make good business sense. But I do not like it. Its why I installed a backup generator, currently broken. So, after this history lesson, back to current day. Power came on, beep of phone, at 7 and back to sleep. Beep of phone at 730 and power out. Up at 8 called pge and recording, why use humans?, says we are here to serve 24 hours a day. I punch buttons in response to recording and voice says we are closed. Insert profane epithet here. And here. I called back at 8 when they were “open”. I did ask about conflicting message, and Xavier said both statements were true then he laughed heartily. Then he apologized. I like this guy. Seems if you stay on the phone that eventually someone will answer. So, the recording did not say that but now I know it. Emily has said it several times, I think it all the time – we will not miss the wind when we move. We both hate it in ways hard to describe. The wind in Auburn is less than one tenth of what it is here. Soon.

Ok. I have used up enough valuble time writing. I should go take, at the least, a cat bath and maybe use the human litter box. If you know what I mean.

Our real estate agent came by at about 1045 right after Emily got home from yoga. We discussed what we are going to do to get the house sold. We actually have a buyer but have to keep showing it even after its in contract to sell. So we discussed alot of things.

After she left we locked up and headed to Corte Madera. There is an exceptionally nice mall there and we still have shopping to do. We visited several stores, all are with recognizable names, Sundance, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, etc, you get the idea. We visited all the ones we had discounts and coupons for. We managed a few gifts and even got aomething for ourselves. The place was packed and the parking lot was worse. Everyone loves to shop at stores they recognize.

About 4pm we left the mall and headed into the City. The big city. Bright lights. Hustle and bustle. You know?

Our destination was Patagonia. No, not South America, the store by Ghirardelli Square. I have been there before, nice store and good experience. I was there over an hour when I went. Marika was with me that time. I returned a 30 year old jacket, no receipt, and got a $250 credit toward a new one. What a policy!

So Emily and I managed to get there and find parking, during the holidays. A coup, of sorts. Around the block several times. Then off to an overpriced parking garage. Or maybe not over priced. I did get to park.

After a quick walk, we were at Patagonia. Michael had sent us a list, of sorts, all at Patagonia. So we wandered through and found most of what we wanted. I spoke to sales guy about one item and he said I ha to order online. So I ordered it from their website. Had to pay priority shipping. Anyhow a few minutes later, I see a sign on the wall “if u dont see what you want, we will ship it to you, with free shipping. Hey, thats bullshit of the sales associate. I figured I would bring it up at checkout. So, at checkout, Emily realizes, out loud, she forgot her 15% off coupon. Sales clerk said he would honor it anyway. Cool. I told him what happened to me and how the other guy did not follow what the sign said. So the clerk gave us 25% off which covered shipping and discount. I like reasonable and nice people.

Well, now adventures in retailand were over. Time to make us happy. I knew, from previous visits to this area that House of Prime Rib was a mile away. I had tried to get reservations but in December they are three months out. So no res. We were a walk in. So I pulled into valet parking at the restaurant and the first thing he says to me is do you have a reservation? No. He says 4 hour wait. But, check with the bartender about bar seating. I waited in the car, Emily went inside, came back in five minutes. 45 minute wait. Gave keys to valet.

Now House of Prime Rib has been in this same location forever like 50 plus years. Same menu too, prime rib and sides. One fish of the day for veggie freaks. The style of the building, dining room and bar just scream old steakhouse. Placebis awesome. We came in and sis a quick circuit through the lounge and actually found the only open table next to the bar. And, btw, we were second on the wait list. We live right. We had a couple of cocktails which they pour with quite the free hand. For instance, you order a vodka martini its about a 5 to 6 oz pour into the jigger. Which is set on your table. Generous. The bartenders are busy as hell. They serve the food and take the orders for bar seating. And make everyones cocktails. At the point we finished our cocktails there were two seats available at the bar. Dinnertime!

We sat down, the bartender puts a large cloth napkin down on the bar as a tablecloth. Nice touch. He gave us one menu, no picture I forgot. Easy to figure. Pick small medium or large cut. Pick two sides. Done. While waiting we ordered wine. They have a very extensive wine list and I found something quite excellent at a good price. I could have ordered a Manhattan but I gotta drive home. We sipped wine and watched the crowd and both being ex bartenders we watched the bar. Turns out our bart nder has a degree in Jazz History. What di you do with that? Teach. He did try substituting but found the four nights at the bar made far more money for him and he had mornings free. He also teaches music. Funny guy. Fine bartender. We overtipped. The meal was superb. Hard to beat prime rib medium rare with horse radish of course. Their yorkshire pudding was great, exactly the way Emily makes it. I got the creamed corn and creamed spinach. Amazingly good. We were stuffed at the end. I ordered the bread pusding dessert, house made, and it was truly great. No BS there. I am an aficionado of bread pudding.

I could probably have sat there for an hour and had another glass of wine and shot the breeze with the bartender but long drive and things to do.

We drove back a different route. We had come down on the 101 because we went to Corte Madera. On the way home, we drove through the City and picked up the Bay Bridge. Faster trip, easier route, except the across town part. Took a little more than an hour to get home.

I tried to finish the blog while lying in bed. But a combonof rich food and strong drink and too much driving did bot help. I kept dropping the phone and nodding off. So I shut down and went beddie bye.

It’s Thursday. Its only 830 and I am almost ready to leave for work. Wow. Usually I get a much layer start toward the office. I am sure I will find a way to waste some time but for now I feel like an early riser.

Just got my first phone call of the day. There goes a half hour. This is how most days go. Get info, create document, make call for someone. Every day. Hey, it’s a living.

Need to go to PO to ship a couple parcels. Will handle on the way to work. One of them is my car armrest which I am having covered in contrasting colored leather. Will match boot and headrests. The company is in Poland, of all places. But they do nice work. My other shipment is going to Georgia which, like Poland, is an exotic, far away land. And both locales have people who look and talk funny.

So on the way out of town I had to stop and buy boxes and bubble wrap. 12$. Then to PO and spend 35$ to ship. So it cost me 12$ to ship the gift to Georgia. The gift cost 7$. That just feels wrong.

Headed off to work and was late for an appointment. Oops. In my office. Reminds me of yesterday when I got here and had an appointment from the moment I got there till 5 hours later. Today I ended up with back to back appointments to start the day. Lovely. But it is new money so what the hell.

I did manage to finish the financial statement for our big tax mitigation deal. That deal is almost done, so close I can taste it. We could get paid within a week or two. Its been close to two years in this deal. What a pain.

As always I filled all the gaps in my day with something. As you know, my memory of my work day is erased by the end of the day. Its a blessing.

I went home around 530. Again, an unremarkable drive. Yay!!

I fixed dinner tonight. Not saying much, it was three quarters reheated leftovers and a little frozen food. It was not the best meal but we got full.

After dinner there was a little gift wrapping, as usual. Time of year and all.

I did a little laundry, then we watched TV for an hour or so. Then off to bed.

I woke up at 530 am, an hour earlier than usual. I knew right away I wasn’t going back to sleep. Thoughts started jumping in and out of my head, calisthenics I think. I am worried about Taffy, my dog who is dying. Why worry you say, the vet gave the diagnosis and I should live wih it. Well, I still worry. I might take her to the office today. Just for the extra attention. She has always been a very nervous doggie so I dont know how she will respond but it might help me. Relationships with pets are complicated.

I worked out this morning. I met my coach at nine am. I swear to god that woman knows more ways to create pain than anyone I have ever met. And the warm up exercises are the absolute worst. They seem so innocuous but after a few reps you realize its going to hurt. Now and later. As I sit here on the couch thia evening I am in pain. Waist down. When I got back home this am, I could not walk down the stairs. I hurt. Thank god the lower body workout is only once a week.

Got to work kinda late. I took Taffy with me. Strangely Taffy came to the open car door and climbed in. I figured she wanted to go. When we arrived she was very whiny for attention. That neediness left her after about half an hour. Most of the day she slept. There is a floor mirror in my office. Taffy did bark at the dog in the mirror for a few minutes. She is nuts. And blind.

Had to meet with Hal to go over all at noon to go over all current mutial clients. He was here for 4 hours. Amazing. We made several calls, emails, etc. Went over financial info for one client. I have to prepare a personal financial statement for him for the insurance company. As I write this I can’t figure out how we spent all that time. We were productive but thats quite a meeting.

Managed to get one more thing done prior to leaving. I wrore a response for a client to an IRS notice she received. I called her and we discussed it prior to mailing. That took about an hour.

On the drive home I stopped for pizza. Emily had called and asked me to pick one up. I also got a salad for no other reason than I think I need vegetables. I eat my veggies.

Hit home, let Taffy out. She went around the car, and came up my side and started barking at me. Did I mention she is near blind? She is.

We ate dinner. Emily wathched TV. And I wrapped a few Christmas presents. A nice evening.

Hey, great news, i got to sleep in a real bed last night. No couch cushions on the floor. I am so blessed. A good nights sleep was had by all. Me too.

I have an early appointment at the Dr today. 830. Marika will be here too, we share a Dr and appointment time. So we get to go together. Its fun. When she was little I always took her to her appointments because Mom had to be at work. And I took her to mine because there was nowhere else for her to go. And now we go together. Some things never change. Its a Disney thing. Lion King? Circle of Life? Stay with me.

Since Marika was involved in this, we got there late. Fortunately, our Dr is a late sort and almost always behind in his appointments. As he was today. So we were late and on time at once. Weird.

After our adventures in medical science I went to work out and Marika headed back to Santa Rosa. I have not been able to work out since last Thursday. I cant keep my body a temple of the Gods unless I am allowed time to work on it. I have to workout tomorrow too. I am meeting my coach at 9 tomorrow. Question: if my body is a temple, shouldn’t I have worshipers? Just a thought. Seriously, I need to keep at it for my own sanity. And beauty. Marika says I am so pretty. And she should know, after all we are related.

After workout I went home and got ready for work. This order of things still seems kinda backward. But if I waited to work out until after work I am pretty sure I would not go as often. Too many easy excuses not to go after work. Managed to get everything done and ready at hone in under an hour. Had one stop at the store and off to the office. I had another stop but forgot. Par for the course.

Work was the usual level of humor and pathos. Lovely. Boring. Mundane. Exciting. You can get it all. Though I have been told it is not very exciting ti watch an accountant work. Told by many. But, at least, I have to ask. No one volunteers that.

I got three referrals today. I spoke to all three and converted one to an appointment. Sometimes referrals dont lead to a job. I had plenty of work ti so today otherwise. Finished a couple tax returns and a letter. Many phone calls. People are starting to think about the year end. I am expecting most people will show up having had a good year. The economy is being good to alot of people.
They will all be whining and not in the mood for paying. No matter what, its amazing how much money people don’t have. I will be in the business of saving lives, not literally. Again.

Emily called around five twenty. She did not make it to yoga. That means I have to leave early and pick up taco Tuesday. When she goes to yoga she does not get home till 715. And I can stay at work later because of it. So I up and left the office. Traffic was nothing. Amazingly.

I got to the carniceria and it wasnt even busy. Three customers. So it only took 20 minutes. Service is bad. I ran into Melinda and her son Ricky. That kid is huge, bigger than me. Of course I remember him small, which is what every old guy says. She brought me up to date on her life. Hers is bad exciting, I dont want that. She handles it well and hasnt lost her sense of humor.

We finished our food shortly after I got home. It doesnt take long when u know what youre doing. After that I emptied the dishwasher and cleared up dinner. We have been watching the Voice for the last hour. Emily loves The Voice and I hate to see her miss it. I really dont get the attraction but I like to see her engaged and happy. I’d rather watch Last Man Standing. I know wht you’re saying, you really don’t get the attraction. I do. And my beautiful wife does suggest switching to my favorite show even when hers is on. She is nice to me.

At the appointed hour we switched off the downstairs and went to bed. And, watched the same shows from there. Its a habit. But unlike smoking, its healthy.

Woke up in Visalia. Like a bad dream where a long time prisoner is released but every morning he wakes he is back in prison. That’s Visalia. I hate it with a passion. But, my father insists on living there. I think he should sell his house and move to someplace comfortable and civilized. But he stays in that crap hole. So I visit.

As I mentioned last night, I did not get a bed. I pulled three couch cushions and rhrew a blanket on it. No worries about being cold, dad has taken to settingnthe heater at 80. Kinda hot, you know? I also got two pillows. Actually, I was comfortable. Slept well.

Anyway, got up about 730. VincenT was leaving. I guess he does not like us that much. Dad and I had leftover meatloaf for breakfast. And coffee. We read the paper and watched some TV. Watching TV is one of my dads favorites activities now. He is not physically capable of much else.

I sat around and chatted for till about 1130. Then I left for home. A quick 4 hour drive home through the absolute bleakest part of the state. Lovely. Its really a quite miserable drive. I hate it so.

Instead of goung directly home when I got back, i drove to Vacaville to run a couple errands. Which, it turns out, I should have done later. Once I got home I found out I had to go back to Vacaville for another errand. See, should have waited till I got home.

I got home about 530. Finally. No one else was there yet. I managed to get unpacked. But poorly, left quite a few things in the car. Like some stocking stuffers and a few things my dad sent home with me.

I had stopped at my favorite meat market in Visalia. I got a couple of bone in rib eyes. So I seasoned those nicely. Then I prepared some veggies and three salads. My turn to make dinner or at least Inam taking a turn.

Emily got home about 630. Marika is expected at about 730. I will start the bbq at about 7. Dinner will be fab though not quite to the level of Saturday. And no prize. Which I would win if there was.

When all were together we had a really great dinner. The steak was phenomenal and I grilled it perfectly. Salads were good. But they are not meat.

I wrapped a few more gifts after dinner then watched a little TV. I may have to wrap a few more before bed. Dont want them to build up.

I am going to bed. Mostly because Emily is too.

Ok. Its Sunday, night, and I am writing about Sunday. I am catching up finally. We really slept poorly last night. I am sure its too much rich food and wine. Definitely too much wine. Does not lead to a pleasant wake up. And does not help wih sleeping either. It is self inflicted so I don’t expect any sympathy.

Today I am driving to Visalia to visit my Dad. My brother in law VincenT is going to be here as well. I hope to atop at my favorite meat market and get steaks for dinner. Nice place wih great selection of cuts. Its like a candy store, only its meat.

Emily is spending her day in the glass house doing projects for Christmas. Shebhas alot of projects. She finished up something for my sister for Christmas just in time for me to take it with me. VincenT will be delivering to LA.

I wrapped a few gifts for whoever before I left. I managed to get on the road by noon. Why it takes so damn long to get on the road is truly beyond my understanding. I had wanted to go early but it just would not workout.

The drive to Visalia fromDixon isnusually around four hours. Its 220 miles through the most god awful boring and depressing part of California. The Central Valley. There is not one good place there, nothinf worth seeing, no place worth stopping, no food thats notable. Nothing. And the weather is awful. Don’t move there. Oh, I hate it.

So I drove. And drove. Syopped once for gas. Made it to Visalia in 3.5 hours. Not bad. Had to go to the meat market for staeks. I called Dad to check in and tell him what I was doing. He is going out to dinner. And VincenT is goung to make Iranian Chicken for dinner. I want steak. Ok, so no steak and no dad. I went to See’s Candy to get peanut brittle which I know Dad loves. The mall was insane. To say there was no parking was not strong enough. I could not find a space. And I had to pee. Uh oh. I drove and drove and about a half mile from See’s I found a space. What a pain. I ran into Penneys and used the can. Then walked the half mile to the candy store. Strangly, no one was in it. The clerk told me I just missed the crowd. I told her I did not miss them at all. I got four bixes of brittle and headed for the car. Managed to get to Dads by 4ish.

Dad was getting readybfor his dinner. I had to buxkle his pants for him, the nerves in his hand are shot and render it useless. He cant button his pants because his hand is completely numb.

Any how we visited briefly and he and Mimi rwn off to the Chan’s for dinner.

VincenT and I sat around chatting for awhile and he made dinner. Mostly it was like chicken curry on rice. It was good but I had wanted steak all day and it was chicken.

Dad came home about 730. We had a chance to visit and eat peanut brittle. He was really tires and went to bed around 8.

I was up a couple more hours. Chatting with Vinnie and watching non cable TV. Which is awful.

I decided to go to bed. Which is when I realized there was no bed for me. Dad took his bed. Mimi sleeps in the old spare room. Vince took the back room cuz he got there first. Which leaves me on the floor on couch cushions with a blanket. This kinda sucks. Winning yesterdays writing contest makes me a little happy and this crap with the bed balances that to a little sad. My father and mother (while alive) never had a comfortable house. Crazy people.

I am going to bed or to cushion. Hard to say.

Hi. It’s Sunday now and I am writing about Saturday. I gotta get caught up here. We do have alot planned for today. First and foremost, is another advent gift. I received a container of peanut butter cookies. So, guess what I had for breakfast? Thats right, the cookies. The oerfect accompaniment to coffee and newspaper. Its the weekend, I get a weak paper.

We are leaving at around 10 to go to Auburn to meet our contractor, George, for the first time. I have spoken to him several times on the phone. Not a total stranger and recommended by someone I trust.

But, right now, I am in the front room wrapping Christmas gifts. I need to wrap my dads, his live in’s, my sister and bro in laws gifts because I am headed down to Visalia to see Dad. And Vince the bro in law is visiting so I can do the hand off. I have to wrap about 20 or so things. Includes sissie’s birthday gifts, her day is tomorrow. 59. Ouch. She is still short.

So, I wrapped gifts till 10 am. Emily got done, to an extent, with her glass house work. Truly, she is never really done. Always a project in motion.

We left for Auburn about 10 after. Made a stop for Emily to get a bucket o diet coke at McDonalds and off. We got to the lot very swiftly, well under an hour. Our contractor was there and he was talking to a couple neighbors. Since the only neighbors on the road own the 12,000 sf home at the end of the road, I figured it was them. What kind of person builds a mansion that size? Yes, an asshole. Carl was quite unpleasant, indirectly, in many ways. He went on a rant about how difficult it had been to get his behemoth built with the county and friends of the river, etc. he really was not pleasant. He also clearly stated he thought our property unbuildable and why hadn’t we checked with him before we did anything. Large ego. Thats why he was not wearing a hat. His wife Joan was there as well. She is a balance for him. She was quiet and friendly. Welcome to the hood.

Carl and Joan left. We spent the next hour discussing various aspects of our future construction with George. We both like George. Thats a good sign. This full process is probably a year long. We also concluded that the county will never allow us to put up a yurt. George explained that clear as a bell. I am disappointed but we are moving forward. Emily and I have not lost sight of the goal. We wont be living on the property during construction and may need temporary housing to boot since our house is for sale.

We returned home a little after 230. We will be wrapping Christmas gifts till we leave at 4. If not mentioned before, we are going to a wine dinner in Napa tonight. Our neighbors and friends, Barb and Kirk, are going with us.

Emily is a wine club member at Goose Cross Winery in Yountville. We were at a tasting last summer and she decided we should go to this event. Here we are.

We picked up our friends around 415. We made it to the winery by 530 after a leisurely drive. No real traffic. And we are 30 mins early. But, they had some wine for us to drink, surprise. While we were sitting in the greeting area, other guests arriving, the host passed out some little cards for us to record what we are thankful for. They were going to judge the best responses, with winner taking home the nicest bottle they had. Ahh, a competition, and writing to boot. I thought for a couple minutes and decided topical humor was the best approach. Here is my card, I wrote on the back as well.
May not be my best work, I am never satisfied, but ok. Barb really got into the competition factor. I love a competitive game and this was a good one. No rules, write what you want, as much as you want. She was even trash talking. That Barb.

The dinner will be served in the winery/barrel room/wine room whatever you call it.
This dinner is fancy. With well thought out wine pairings. The menu:

The venue:

As fancy as it can get for a wine room. I can say, the entire meal was superb. I got full and kept eating. Good thing there was only five courses. This is what last meals are made of.

We sat for awhile after the meal was done. None of us were able to move anyway. Kept drinking wine and they kept pouring it as well. A fine time was had by all. People were just sitting around in post orgiastic feast, groaning. Like I said, it was good.

So, we got to the part of the evening where the host had a few words to say. Our host, Nick, is a Brit. Has a nice sense of humor, some would say he is funny. Not me. As a matter of fact I compared him to Steve who went to Belize with me a couple months ago. Not funny. Anyway, he got up and said a few words. Then he started into the cards. Remember the cards for what we are thankful for? He had about 50 to 60 entries. He said it was difficult to pick just one blah blah then he got down to it “and the winner is..is Bill Vivier here?” Yep. I won. Take that Barb and your attitude. Ha. So Nick read a few lines of my entry, I got some applause and a very good expensive bottle of wine. Yay Bill. I spoke to Nick afterward, he did not vote for mine. Hence his noted lack of humor. Prick. Several of the other voters (employees) came up over the balance of the evening to tell me how much they appreciated my humor. I have fans. Go figure. When Barb asked earlier if I thought blogging would help me in this contest, lets go with hell yes. And, btw, I am really going to enjoy this wine. And Barb is coming to drink some as well. Which is nice of me. And she is already very upset she lost. Its sad. We love her.

Well, the rest of the evening was short. We went back over to the serving room for wine, coffee and truffles. A nice end to the event. I got a few more congrats while there which is enough to over-inflate my ego a bit. Got to show off my swag bag, the only one in the place of course, when you got the swag, you get to brag. Which is a rhyme, Barb please take note. I rhymed. Love you.

We drove home. I drove. I am least likely to get pulled over. I counted the evenings consumed wine glasses and time. I am good. We had a short trip and really just talked about how nice it was. They did put on a dinner that was a step above everything else. Just fantastic. We are all glad we went.

We got home after midnite. We went straight to bed.