Month: November 2018

We slept late this morning since Emily is not working. Yay to not working. This was not your usual morning. I slowly made dog brekkies. I slowly made coffee. Then made our breakfast. See, no lunch so not the same. But close.

We spent the usual morning, shower, shave, etc.

One exciting thing did happen. I was able to empty both cat boxes which is just incredible fun. Once the box is out I get to vacuum where it was. So it’s like double work. Very rewarding and the preface to a wonderful day.

I went off to work. I have two appointments this morning, at 11 and 12 and I would like to be on time. For a change.

I left for work. A slow boring drive broken up by my stop at the regional post office in West Sac. I had to drop off a letter that I wanted to get to the recipient fast. So go to main office. Anyway, the letter is to the owner of the house in Auburn we put an offer on. Turns out there was a second offer. Hence the letter to tell her how much we love her and the house and maybe boost our chances at offer acceptance. We hope.

The trip to the PO was a quick detour on my way to work. I did arrive exactly at 11 which is on time. For a change. I had called the client to tell him I was going to be a little late. So it’s a real win. The appointment was to review his new LLC. Which I did and then helped him to file an election to be taxed as a corporation. Small business Corp. and yes, it makes sense. But, we got that filed and out and him on his way.

My next appointment was with the son of a long time client. He owns a pizza parlor. He was not here for that. His father had sent him to have me take care of an administrative issue. So we had a chat about it and I got the crap done. And he was off. No more appointments today. I don’t have to see anyone else. I think that’s a good thing.

The balance of the day was spent on the usual crappy work tasks I do every day. All the fun stuff. Nothing of note.

I left for home at about 530. Halfway there I called and told Emily I was heading to Verizon to discuss our first bill. I had received a pre bill email and it was bullshit. Over $600 dollars. Not as advertised.

Got to Verizon prior to close, that was nice. Pheng was there and he took it upon himself to help me. He explained why the bill was wrong. Actual bill was $274. That’s better. He said I would be getting a real bill in the mail. I hope it’s more clear on how the billing works. He took in trade one of my extra phones and put $200 onto the bill. Nice. I felt better after talking to him.

Finally to home. Marika was home for the week. Dinner was almost ready. Emily asked for a cocktail. I guess her day off was tough. Don’t understand that. She cleaned house. So I made her a cocktail. That seemed to help quite a bit. Also opened up a bottle of wine. Spanish Tempernillo. Very nice. Bourbon and red wine to improve the day.

Emily made beef stroganoff served over baked potato. Had not tried that before. It was excellent. Dinner was fun with all of us there. Only takes that extra person to change the dynamics. And the wine helped too.

We watched a little TV. And then off to bed. I’m not that tired but the other two are. Not sure why. I guess time off is exhausting.

You would think, with all the complaining yesterday, I would have got an extra comforter for the trailer last night. Well, I didnt so I just froze a little like Friday night. And froze when I got up to use the facilities. I did not sleep well anyhow.

We had a wonderful breakfast this morning. I made potato patties, Michael fried up the bacon he doctored yesterday by smothering it in ground jalapeño, pastries left from day one and the 25% of the pies not eaten last night. Truly, the breakfast of champions. And coffee. Of course. We sort of had a repeat of last night – a huge meal followed by dessert. No wine today. We all gotta drive.

Gerardo was leaving early. So we loaded up all the stuff we brought for him to take down to SoCal. Things like the Chinese screen from early last century. Been in the family about 80 years. Sending it to cousin Victor. Some get well treats for my sister. A birthday gift for my sister who turns 60 on December 11. That’s old. Once we got Gerardo loaded, we ran him out of town.

Once he was gone we got the trailer hooked up to our car. Then loaded all the crap into it. And the dogs. And we were off. We left Michael and Carly but they soon left as well.

Our drive back ended up being really long. No traffic or car accidents. Emily wanted to stop and shop in a couple different stores along the way. With the two added stops we ended up up just short of six hours. We also had a 15 min stop, for god knows what, just outside of Rio Vista.

We did not go straight home. We first went to the storage place to drop off the trailer. That put Emily in a foul mood. Too bad. It took a little work to get it unhooked and unloaded and stowed. But it’s done

Now finally off to home. We got there and I think the dogs were the happiest animals on earth to be back. They got to pee in there spots and eat there food in the normal place and lie down in their spots. Creatures of habit. We got unloaded and then Emily suggested I go right back out and get something for dinner. It was great to be back on the road again. I drove to restaurant row and picked up soup and salads to go.

Back home, and dinner. Would have preferred leftovers. But it filled me up.

Then we spent the evening with bad TV. I sure missed it. I spent most of my time blogging. But, we also composed a letter to the owner of the home up in Auburn we are trying to buy. Turns out there are two offers and we are one of them. We wrote a letter together to the owner to try and get her to pick us when she gets down to the selection. We want her to see us in the house, not now and not literally, in the future. I don’t really want to bid up the price, I just want her to choose us. Got to mail that letter first thing am.

I have been lying in bed for an hour now. Blogging. I am going to read the Sunday paper and go to sleep

Man was it cold last night. The trailer was not as warm as I wanted. Emily has her personal summer to keep her happy and I just lay next to her and bask in her glow. But my other side froze. Another blanket would have been nice.

Also, there is no toilet in the tear drop. It’s a small camp trailer with some electrical and a nice place to sleep. What does this mean? Well, when you got to go in the middle of the night, you kick open the door, let out all the heat and go do your business in the front yard. Can’t go in the house in the middle of the night.

Back in the trailer. A little cooled off.

Our fake T day started out with a full carbo load breakfast. Emily got cinnamon rolls and coffee cake at our local bakery. Crazy how we start an eatin holiday with a huge amount of food. And we had the champagne I brought. Which is a must at any holiday. But only three bottles.

In honor of fake T day Michael and I took the cars to the detailer. It’s very inexpensive compared to where I live. So when I come down here I go visit.

After cleaning cars, went to grocery store. A few items left for a perfect dinner. Only a few it turns out.

When I got home my cousin Gerardo and I made a lemon meringue pie. Came together very well. One of the best I’ve made.

Next up started getting the phones connected. As I mentioned, we made the big switch from ATT to Verizon. And I brought phones for Michael and Dad. So had to set them up. I couldn’t do it earlier cuz their current phones would have cut out and I wouldn’t be seeing them for a week. Since fake T day was coming I just waited till now to set them up. Strangely, my Dad did not have a conniption when he got his new phone. He really hates change. Really. Michaels phone could not have worked worse. Some stupid message kept coming on the screen which truly angered him. Things like this get him very angry. But it’s now too late for a call to help line. Trip into the Verizon store tomorrow.

Next up, fake turkey day dinner! And crazy as it is, it was exactly like real T day. We ate too much of all the food. I love turkey day food. We ate the entire turkey. All 20 lbs. of it. There were almost no leftovers. Yikes. We ate 75% of the pies. Which is sad because I love pie for days. Love pie. We finally stopped eating when there was no more food and almost no pie. We drank quite a lot of wine. Sadly, we started with a case and three bottles of champagne. Now we have 4 bottles. We were thirsty.

After dinner we watched TV. And just like real T day there was football on today too. It’s Saturday so college football all day. And we watched. Michael and I worked on the phone for awhile too. To no avail. Tomorrow. I went to my trailer.

So, some good news from the fires. Unhealthy air. It means Emily gets the day off today. I don’t. But get a rise and slow morning. For her. I have to go to work and get shit done quick and leave for home. Then pack and leave for Visalia. Will be a busy morning. I have got to get this day in gear.

Managed to get moving and left her for the day. Went to work and did everyone’s payroll. Got a cal, client wanted to come pay me. In an hour. I decided to wait around for that. I have learned, when money is offered you take it. And say thank you. In between payroll and money I made a few calls and tried to finish some things. Emily called, she wanted me to pick up the trailer from storage on the way home.

Left work early, went to Total Wine for a couple bottles of champagne. Hey, it’s fake Thanksgiving!! Then to the bank to deposit the money I just got. Then off to the Dixon storage unit to get the trailer. And, good news, it’s so early in the day that there is no traffic. So I get a fast trip to the trailer.

Once I arrived, I made short work of it. Pulled the trailer out and took out the contents, not anything we need. I pushed it to the car. Which is when I realized I did not have the hitch. Fark. Usually in the back of the car. Today, still in the garage. I called Emily and let her know. I decided to head home and pack all into the MBZ and drive back and pick up the trailer.

Home in fifteen. Took an hour to load up and off to pick up the trailer. Good news, now we have a place to sleep when we get there. In the driveway. Like white trash. I like it.

Hitched up in no time. Rearranged the car by packing more into the trailer. Off to Visalia. The drive was strangely fast. Had a 29 min slowdown around Manteca but otherwise a boring drive.

We finally found, after 40 years of drubmving up and down the valley, a place to stop for dinner. You need to understand, hwy 99 is lined with fast food joints at all off ramps. We don’t eat fast food. We always look, not so diligently, for someplace that is not a national chain to eat. Today we diligently looked. We don’t want to pull off and look around cuz it really slows the trip. And it’s super inefficient. So I tried more diligently to find a place this trip. And now I know why there aren’t many. Seems none have signs on the hiway. They just sit by the side hoping you see them. I saw three. In the rear view mirror. At Chowchilla, all those things ended. I passed Farnesis steak house about 10 seconds before the exit. I made the exit. The new lace had ample parking and it was PACKED. Turns out they have been there 50 years, and look it. But the food was awesome. Service too. It’s like making a new friend. Now I know where to go on my drive to Visalia. Only took forty years to figure it out.

We pulled into Visalia at about 10. Michael and Carly were already there. I enlisted Michael to help unload and set up the trailer. We are sleeping in it as I said. We got Thanksgiving unpacked pretty fast. Setting up the trailer was slower. I think because Michael helped. Once set up I made the bed. I got an extra comforter since it’s so damn cold tonight.

I went in and we had a quick conversation and headed to the trailer. With both dogs. Oh joy. We were tired. Oh yeah, a trailer in the driveway is tough. No bathroom and it’s somewhat rude to pee in someone’s front yard. Not quite like camping. But, still a little like camping. And I did not have to pay for the motel room. Will sleep soundly.

Ahhh. Last nights dinner is sitting in my gut like a hunk of wet newspaper you have to peel off your driveway. I wonder how it will behave when it hits my colon? Nice, perhaps? Or maybe like a bully on the playground? I can hardly wait. I will stay close to the bathroom.

Emily woke with a severe headache. She cancelled her plans for later this evening based on the way she feels now. She blamed it on the wine. I blame it on the drinking of the wine. Perspective. Yesterday I briefly mentioned the wine was awful. Yet, I was being kind. The first bottle, yes we had more than one, was a Moscato. A white. It was like drinking well over sweetened fruit juice. Gag me. Unfortunately, the hostess poured me a full glass. Not even a wine pour. Emily drank hers and while she had her back turned I poured mine into her glass. She was really not looking. With dinner the host brought out a red blend. Sounds nice. Till I read the label which clearly called it a “slightly sweet” red table wine. Not my table. Awful. Sweet grape juice. I made sure to drink very slowly so no one would top off.

Now you can see why Emily May blame the wine. Probably the wine and the sugar combo really. My tummy has the lump in it sine all they served was meat and starch. I don’t carb out ever. As you may know. I will say all the food was good. And prepared well. Just not my style of eating.

So I begin my day at a disadvantage. Jaxon, stupid Cocker, shit all over the room. I again neglected to put him out after breakfast so he could shit all over outside and lord knows the dog does not know or care the difference. Good morning. He is outside whining to come in. Maybe I can let him in and kick him in the head? I can’t. He is Marikas dog. She can kick him in the head.

I finally let stupid inside. The dog, I mean. I swear that shithead should have plug in his ass. Ok, forget the dog. The poodle sleeps through all this. It seems two weeks on yeast infection meds have stopped her peeing in the house wherever and whenever. Knock on wood. She needs to give Jaxon lessons.

Good news this morning. I have zero appointments today. And I have received to work related messages. Though I did get some non work texts to pass the time away. I was really getting going on the blog thing, until all those friendly texts took me out of my thought process. But at least I have a friend who still wants to text me. But, I am trying to create a KC here to make up for the last two lame days posted. And they were weak entries, no denying it.

So, looking ahead, I don’t have much of a day in front of me. Just work, at work. No errands before. I do need to meet up with Marika and get the pies for this weekends fake Thanksgiving at Dad’s house. I ordered a couple at a bakery near her. I am also making one on Saturday morning, lemon meringue. Everyone likes lemon. At least in our family. So my trip toward Petaluma is probably a two hour turn around. If lucky. We are meeting halfway, Kelly Rd works. That’s the 12/121 intersection for those confused. Napa, CA. I am sure you drive through it the last time you went wine tasting in Napa.

My drive toward Napa is the high point of my day most likely. Unless Emily pulls a rabbit out of her hat. Which would be totally amazing since she does not wear hats or own a rabbit. So I can look forward to that. I will try and find some other interesting things in my day so stay tuned. Cable channel 8, public access.

Now time to beautify myself. Be ready since the barbarians are at the gate. Some day I am going to let them in rather than beat them back. How bad can they be? Shower time.

Ok so I went to work. This is where the story goes to bland. Because work can be boring. And it is most of the time. Bland. Nothing of any great import happened today. I would have taken notes but forgot that. Had a few texts with sissy of the broken wing. She is unable to travel and won’t make it to fake Thanksgiving but is still coordinating travel for all. So we traded texts. My new consultant Ciara called for our weekly appointment. We discussed deep issues of firm management and marketing. Fun. Had a long conversation with a client who is moving with his four kids to New Hampshire. His soon to be ex wife does not want to be a wife or mommy anymore. That’s sad. We discussed moving across country and I tried to convince him to throw away most of his belongings instead of moving a lot of old furniture and clothing across the country. He is ready to spend $16k just to move his crap across country. I think it’s a mistake.

Spent a good portion of the morning trying to figure out where the office Christmas lunch will be. For the first time I have gotten involved in the process. I always leave it up to the employees. Always. Their party, their pick. But this year they were unable to do shit. So I had to help. Now with an hours work, I have solved the problem. Hurray for me.

Not much else went on. The had to leave early to go to the bank and cash a check. Then off to storage unit to get ice chest. Then home for Yeti ice. Then off to Napa to meet Marika to get the pies for fake Thanksgiving. And into the ice chest. And straight back home. We passed a Texas Roadhouse on the way back and stopped for dinner. Neither of us like the place but Emily has a $50 gift card for TR and I remembered. So tonight we eat here. Got what we expect, steaks were very good, salads were surprisingly good. Emily has a horrendous margarita. They call it legendary. They are out of their minds. But, I scored, got rid of a gift card.

Back home and pies put away. I am going to go pack my bags for the weekend. No special duds needed, after all it is only fake Thanksgiving.

I only have to work a couple hours tomorrow. Two too many but everyone wants to get paid. Me too.

150.4 and 152.4, if you are keeping score. Up three pounds this week after a drop of four last week. No, I can’t figure it out either. All I know is I am allowed a cup of fruit every day now. Not so bad.

Normal morning with normal duties. Fed all beasts, made lunch, made breakfast. Very usual. Not exciting. Got more exciting later in the day, when examined, but sometimes that can not be helped.

Emily left for school. I went into the office and went through my emails. Nothing. I did a search for a few minutes. I am trying to find a wooden case/cover for my new phone. The company that made my last one does not make them for the new XR model. Jerks. I never knew how many wooden phone cases could be had online. I had to stop looking since there were 100’s of sites.

Found nothing so off to shower. Got ready and off. Hey, forgot to put the dogs into their kennel. No issues, fortunately.

Stopped at the post office on the way to work. I had to renew my PO Box recently but never got to it and I got locked out. So I went in and have them the key. That’s free. And I don’t need it anymore anyway. I may get one again before I go. I can use it to register to vote. That means jury duty notices go there but I won’t be living in the county. So no jury duty. They don’t want me anyhow after my last invite to go. I am probably on the blacklist now. I hope.

Got to work around 1130. Had plenty to do. Some taxes and some admin type work. Also had a late appointment with a client who is also late filing. I like the really late filers, the ones well past the deadline. They have a true “fuck it all” attitude which I like. Client Lisa today was just that way. And paid me right when I finished. Also a good trait.

I had to leave on time tonight. By 5 pm. We are going to dinner at Elise and Brandon’s house. Elise and her grandson came to Maine last summer and stayed at our Air bnb. Anyhow, we had dinner at their house. I would describe the evening as disjointed. Emily said it was weird. It may have been both. All things were strange. Food, atmosphere, the way we were served, the wine was truly awful. I must say, they are really nice people. So that was ok.

Now home and in bed. It’s cold and I have an extra blanket. My cat is with me but doing little to keep me warm. Cat may need to hangout at the Korean restaurant to learn how to treat me. I am going to sleep.

I am tired. It’s late. Not much happened. I bought some pies. Going to bed. Goodnight.

Quick morning because we got up late. Supposed to leave at 9 and out of bed at 810. You can imagine the rush. Coffee, breakfast, shower, dressed and gone. Out the door at 930. See, we are slow.

I washed my car last night and parked in the garage. Noted this morning, covered with ash already. Great. Another wash coming.

The air is thick with ash and smoke again today. And we have to breathe it. Probably shortening our lives. On the plus side, it’s a lot like having a snack with each breath.

We are traveling through the Suisun Marsh now. Very eerily desolate with the added smoky air. Landscape looks lunar-like and lifeless. Today no sign of the usual wildlife, mostly sea birds. All I have seen is one bird carcass. Seems like some end of the world scenario. Just lovely.

Just crossed the “Fresh Air” bridge. Seriously. A little funny.

Finally we are at the destination: Corte Madera. There is a large outdoor old style mall. It being Corte Madera, Marin County, next to Tiburon, the mall is upscale. Very. Fortunately, the rich people in this area are cheap. So lots of things on sale! Which suits us. I like cheap. Or cheaper. Or cheapest. Really, I like free.

We met Marika in the parking lot in front of Nordstrom. She is in a fine mood. The whole reason for this shopping trip is getting Marika an outfit for her upcoming interview.

We were at Nordstrom so we started the shopping there. Nordstrom was what I expect. We started in shoes. No surprise there. And Marika bought a pair. I looked at men’s shoes just to stay connected but found nothing.

The mall is not over large but hs plenty f nice places. Actually, it’s a “full price” mall, no discounters. Nordstrom and Macy’s are the only big boxes.

After leaving Nordys we decided to do the loop, shop down the north side and come back on the south side. We did not go in every store, some are pointless. Like the Tesla store. Or Peloton. No need. We stopped at Sundance (Emily’s fave) and waited for Emily to look at all. I wasn’t interested. Marika wasn’t interested. Then off to Pottery Barn, Lucky, North Face, Anthropologie, Restoration Hardware, and on. We did stop at Apple, Emily got a new i8 yesterday and having battery issues. So she spoke to the genius at Apple who told her give it back to Verizon. The battery was working that poorly. They make a bad one once in awhile.

Stopped at Tommy Bahama. I just received a fifty dollar credit from them so best to go check and see if they have anything. They didn’t as far as I was concerned. Emily came up with a few things that I said no to. I don’t spend the card just cuz I have it. I need to like what I get.

Marika suggested lunch next. Mom suggested Boudin (which is what Marika has told me she would say). Marika and I navigated through the menu and both got soup. Emily has the Asian chicken salad. We all concluded this Boudin was not near as good as the one by us in Vacaville. Too bad.

After lunch back to Nordy to use the restroom. Then off to Tommy again mostly for Emily but pretending it’s for me. Emily said now that I had thought about it I might have changed my mind. It actually means buy something and use the gift card. So I did. I have a new Tommy shirt 👕. To go with the other 50 Tommy shirts in my closet. Yes, true. But I do look fantastic in Tommy. Well, I look fantastic all the time.

Now we are headed home. Currently in the wasteland I was speaking of earlier. An hour from home. Just got through a one hour traffic jam. Cruising. Got off 37 and another major slowdown. Shit. 5 miles an hour for 15 mins. What was it? Three cars pulled over, no accident. People are truly very stupid. Very. Stupid.

Got home at a bit past 530. We had thought 4. We need to stop thinking. So, now work. Unpack and sort through the meager haul from today. I put out the garbage since Tuesday is G day. Fed the worthless animals. Like the one next to me currently occupying the small space left on the chair. Then we made dinner for ourselves. I grabbed a bottle of wine from my case. I ordered a mixed case for a flat $150 from the Bounty Hunter. The $150 is a great bargain, 10 reds and 2 whites and so far all excellent. They guarantee you will love them. Then we made meatballs with devalued eggs, fried potato patties and green beans. Dinner was excellent.

We are relaxing here after dinner and dinner dishes. Watched Jeopardy, teen version, and got all answers. Then Wheel. Boring. Now another competitive singing show. They have these shoes because there is a shortage of professional singers and they need help finding more. Right. I think the rest of the evening will be mediocre TV until bedtime. When it works you stay with it.

We sort of slept in today. I woke at about 230 and couldn’t sleep. Again. But an hour or so of rustling around and I slept for awhile. Then woke then slept through to 730 when some dumbass texted me and woke both of us. Like I said, sorta. Oh well. I should remind this person that tomorrow is a holiday and we may want to sleep in. So be patient.

Today is laundry and cleaning day. Yesterday was our day on the town and we have to clean the apartment once in awhile. Though I see Emily is complaining she does not feel well. That means “we” might not have the energy to go hog wild in cleaning. I really do not care either way. If I gotta clean, I clean. If not, then not. I already started laundry and cleaned the bathroom completely. Not the floor though. We do all floors on the same day. This place is tiny so nothing is a large job.

Once we are done I can’t say I have anything planned. Nowhere to go, nothing to do, I want to be sedated. Per Joey Ramone. I am sure we can figure something out, like advent shopping. I hate early Christmas but advent starts in three weeks. So now, for that, is not early. Nothing next on agenda after that. I would usually wash my car but the wind is blowing a million miles an hour and that’s painful and somewhat pointless.

I managed a little online pie shopping for fake thanksgiving this weekend. We are heading to Dads to have a pre thanksgiving celebration. He is having his own with friends on real T day. Em and I are going to Bodega with the senior Clarks. I am sure Marika and her roomie will join us there. Not sure what Michael is doing. He does not share.
But all are heading to Visalia except Marika. She has work. I talked the broken wing wonder into going to even though she is injured. Will see how that goes. Spoke to her late today, she is still on for it.

The day did not get more exciting. Sorry. We render up going shopping for groceries and some advent shopping. Hey! Got a report! Any one familiar with Cost Plus/World Market? During the Christmas season they hide golden bells throughout their stores and if you find one you get a gift certificate. I had never heard this. So today I found this out because Emily was searching around, I asked what she was looking for. And she told me. So I went off and started to search. And found one. Cuz I’m amazing. I rang the bell. Emily saw me. I cashed it in. Emily was still looking so I went back out to the sales floor. And a minute later I found another one. I said amazing. I guess people look for these all the time. I am ready to go back and do it again. I got a knack.

We went to about five different stores for advent and a couple for groceries. I don’t think we got much but we had a good time. Especially at Cost Plus.

We went home and unloaded our haul. Emily then went to do glass projects for our Christmas and for the kids in her class. I went outside to wash my car. It’s covered by ash from the recent fires. It needs a bath.

It’s now about 6 and we are watching Sixty Minutes, not bad TV.

Dinner is leftovers. Mine from Thursday Emily’s from yesterday. I also fried up some potato patties. My diet now allows one extra cup of any vegetable. I choose potato. It was awesome. Have not eaten potatoes in months.

After dinner watched bad TV. America’s Funniest Videos and the like. Just awful. We went to bed early. Going to Corte Madera to go shopping tomorrow.

Saturday morning. Tried like hell to stay in bed. But wife and animals woke me strongly so I got out of bed.

Made coffee. Made breakfast. Got an email from Marika, my stupid sister had broken her arm. She broke the humerus which is funny only was a 45 degree break, an inch from ball, clean through, not compound.

A little background. Every Friday evening for the last 20 years, my sister gets together with her female neighbors and drinks herself silly. Usually at hone. Good idea. Well, last night they went out for cocktails. Had some. Switched bars. Walking only. A few more drinks at new place. Walk to new place for more, on the way my sissy tripped and fell and caught herself with her arm on the concrete. Snap.

There you go. No one is giving her sympathy. And I was the first to use the humerus pun with her. Do I get a point for that?

We are supposed to have a pre thanksgiving dinner next weekend at dads. Now she is using her arm as an excuse to fag out on that. My god, it’s just an arm. And not even her drinking arm. I called all and I believe it’s back on. Her injury be damned.

It does make for an exciting day. Out of the ordinary.

We got ready for our day. And went to the Verizon store. Needed to get Emily’s phone on the new network. Which again took two hours. Turns out she has a special model i7. Only works on ATT. So we had to buy another phone. Then I mentioned my son’s phone is a 7. And had to call him. His is also a special7 and I have to buy a new phone for him too. Good thing I am made of money. I did get $600 trade value on the two phones. I think that’s a good thing. Emily also saw some POS home device she had to have. So now we are testing it. For $200. This is a good reason I don’t take her to the store with me. She is expensive.

Soon, dear god make it so, we will be headed to Petaluma to look at furniture. That will be fun I think. Marika saw a chair I need to have. Have been looking at it a couple years. She found it for $500 less. Regular price. Not on sale. That’s a buy signal. So in a few we will be on the way.

Turns out that’s exactly what happened. We were outta town in a few headed to Petaluma. And the traffic was non existent so we got there really quick. Some things in life work out. We first went to the furniture store Marika had mentioned. They had the chair I wanted. A very cool design. I saw it first at Resoration Hardware. Too rxpensive. That’s why when Marika found it so cheap I jumped. I bought it today. It’s for the new house. And the new me as well. Well worth the trip today.

Petaluma was a kick. Funny, I have been here many times but I guess never shopped it. The prices were reasonable and the product was as I would expect, unique and eclectic. Though it’s the prices that really surprised me. Far lower than I may have wished. That is weird.

We shopped everything we could find for about 3 hours. When I had initially purchased the chair I had sent Marika a picture of the chair to let her know I had bought it. So after that she kept texting me from work and finally at end of her day she said she would meet up.

We ended up going to an Italian place, Volpi’s, for dinner. Marika joined us about twenty minutes later. Vilpi’s is an old style Italian dinner house that’s been there about a million years. Nothing special really but it’s the type of place I enjoy. Lots of Italian specialties and a full bar (ladies welcome) which makes me happy. Any place that puts true bar first is a winner in my book.

While waiting I had an excellent barrel aged manhattan and Emily had a not very good old fashioned. Can’t always win. We also had a basket of bread.

As I mentioned, Marika joined us about twenty minutes later. No cocktail. She and I did order Cabernet, ok not great. Emily was driving. I had lamb shank and polenta, two awesome things together. Emily ravioli, very good. Marika same as me. We had a great time in a cool old joint with nice food and pleasant surroundings. and since Em and I arrived at 5 pm, it was not late.

After dinner we all took off. Marika to drive 3 minutes to her place. We got home at 8. A ok. Dogs were glad to see us. Cats were cats. Now is time for TV and another excellent old fashioned courtesy of yours truly. And it was, I did get a sip.

So now we watch truly horrible TV. Saturday night is a TV wasteland. All bad all night. I can see why TV is losing to all other forms of entertainment.

It’s getting real close to bedtime. And I don’t mind. I’m getting really tired. Time to turn off this fine infotainment. The music piece of SNL is in and it’s such shit I find it easy to depth charge this crap. Bedtime.