Month: January 2019

I had such a horrible night sleep on Monday night that last night I really fell asleep. And this morning I could not drag myself out of bed. So I got up late. So there, Wednesday!

I do have an 11am appointment to get to on time. Gonna be tough. I weighed in this morning at 156.4. Which is slightly up from last week. Which is more than slightly bad. It’s a hangover from Christmas I think. There is so much treat food leftover I am still eating outside my diet. Can’t last forever.

I managed to get out of the house by 1015. Which is about as late as I can leave and still get in by 11. Drive was quick. About 10 minutes out my 11 appointment called. She was early. Great. I texted back just to reassure her I would be there on time. Which I was. So there.

The new client is a daughter of another client. Sadly, I am old enough for a 2nd generation. She brought her husband who has a business that needs an accountant. But the wife is in charge. So she and I talked about accounting and her husband corralled the kid. In the end, she will be paying me for accounting which is good for everyone but especially me.

Next visitor was an old client I have never met. Strange. I always dealt with his wife. She had a side business and needed help. Now the husband is coming in. Probably because they are getting divorced. The wife is a complete and total bitch. Everyone hates her. By everyone I mean all who work in my office. No one likes her. Actually, they hate her. Her husband is very nice. Crazy. He is just dropping off info really, and checking out our office since he has never been here.

Between the two above appointments, with the one client waiting, I took a quick break to Walkers office to try some fancy tequila. Wednesday is drinking day.

Today is Merissa’s 21st Birthday. She was one of our office “mascots” when she was a brand new baby. Her mother, Cara, has worked for me for over 20 years. So Merissa is more of a daughter. So I brought in a bottle of tequila for her. We cracked it open and had a couple shots. It does seem strange to drink booze with her.

After the last appointment, I worked. Just another day. I did manage to finish a couple tax returns. Not much else going on.

On the way home I stopped at the credit union to make a loan payment on the car. I hate the credit union. For awhile they were after us for late payments. Except we had paid. Turns out they had assigned us a new account number and could not figure out how to apply the payments. Si collections kept calling. Took a month to get it straight. Like I said, I hate them.

Headed to home shortly thereafter. It’s raining and the trip was slowed by idiots. There are plenty around here.

Dinner was great. Emily made chili and cornbread which is a really fantastic combo. And a great salad too. A salad makes it all healthy.

We sat and watched TV for awhile. Had a long discussion about Marikas job prospects, and tried to help her figure out her travel plans. She wants a post college trip and just can’t pull the plug on where to go. Whole lot of talking going on.

I was up early this morning. Not for love of work or anything else. I have a seminar on the new tax act (Trumps tax cut and jobs act) to go to. 8 hours of awesome intellectual stimulation and torture. Not the most fun.

So I’m up. Everyone else is still in bed and not moving. So, I did not feed the dogs, just the cats. Breakfast for me, only. No coffee. They will have coffee when I get there.

Out the door at 734. No stop for coffee. They have coffee there.

Drive was fine even with the inclement weather. Fast trip all the way til the end. As I mentioned yesterday, the conference is at a hotel across the street from my office. So the drive is the same as going to work. I even park at my office because there is no parking at the hotel.

Ok. Would love to tell you all about eight hours of continuing ed, conference style but I can’t. It’s boring for me and I can not imagine torturing anyone else with it. I sat and listened. I made notes. I read along in the manual. At noon we broke for lunch.

As usual I went to the office and took calls and checked emails. Got my messages and checked on wayward employees. You know, the usual.

Back to the conference at 105. And you will never guess what we did! Talked about taxes for four hours. I took notes. I listened. I read along. Same as in am. You were expecting something exciting?

At a quarter to five, it was done. Conference over for another year. Thank god. Tomorrow I can just go to work. No excitement.

At the end of the day I did more email, phone calls, and usual crap. Today is not a day for work.

Ran to Total Wine to pick up a bottle of tequila for Merissa. Today is her 21st birthday. Cara, her Mom, was pregnant when she worked for me. Funny. Merissa has been an office baby her whole life. She is like a pet more than anything else. And now she is an excuse to drink liquor during work. Ok by me.

On the way home I stopped at our favorite carniceria for taco Tuesday. Everybody here loves taco Tuesday.

Home. Nothing going on here. Yes, I am aware the day sounds boring. It was for the most part. We chowed our dinner and it did seem as though everyone was quite hungry. More than most days.

After dinner we played cards. Not just any cards but a super oversized deck Emily had bought. And cardboard cards impossible to shuffle. She has been dying to try them. It’s very much like her.

Now game of hearts is over. Emily won. Marika came in last. I did neither.

We now watch bad TV till bed. Which is soon I hope. At least reading in bed takes some of the sting off the conference I tolerated.

I was up early. By 630. But, since I slept so poorly, I went back to bed for another twenty minutes. Then I got up and stayed up. Fortunately, Emily is still home. I fed the cats, only. I fed myself only. I made coffee for all. And then Emily had tea. She is spiteful. The offshoot, I was ready early and out the door. Got to the office at 910.

Today is a shortened work day. I have to be in Auburn at our agents office by 230 to 245 so I will be leaving at 145. I will need to work somewhat efficiently with my time. I need to get at it.

As is usual, I got going and then got interrupted 10 times while attempting to do work. I managed to get through all my emails from last Thursday through this morning. As you may recall, I took last Friday off. So lots of emails. I hate them.

Managed to plow through a lot of work, nothing notable of course. It’s 835 and I have forgotten what I did. My life is spent in utterly mundane office tasks and they are totally forgettable. But it does pay the bills.

I left the office at about 145. Had to stop at the bank and make a deposit. Line was horribly long and slow. Took till past two. So now it’s guaranteed, I will be late.

The trip to Auburn was bullshit. It’s the middle of the damn day, the traffic is thick and people are driving like assholes. Not sure what is going on. It was truly harsh defensive driving all the way to the exit. And, even worse, hwy 49 was crap too. The first six miles was again thick traffic and a bunch of jerk offs driving crazy. And I had to put up with it. Just past Luther Road the traffic broke and I hit the gas. I made it to the house on View Way in record time. That part of the road was a blast. I was 3 minutes late. Close.

Everyone else was there. Emily, agent Kary, and Marika who just tagged along. The house is as impressive as advertised. An immaculate mid century modern home. All is new again. And beautiful. We walked around it for an hour and a half. So what was the take away from our visit? We are not going to put an offer on the Stanley house. Offer was due today at five which was why we rushed up here to see the View Way house. But, having seen this one, we decided that Stanley was not good enough. Tough choice, but it’s true. Our agent told us before we thought of it ourselves. She is right. It’s a bad idea to buy a house you are not committed to. One that you don’t love. Like getting married I guess. Don’t want to end up divorcing a house. But we do love it. It’s a little expensive. We shall see.

The drive home ended about 3 miles from the house. We went out to Pho King for pho. Duh. Have not been there before and for some reason Emily wants pho again for the third time this month. So we stopped for pho. Emily ordered won ton soup. Marika and I got pho. Excellent meal but seemed too expensive to me. The Vietnamese ice coffee was excellent.

The drive home was boring and fast. So that was good. Emily called, her tire light had come on. Y chromosome required. We stopped at a gas station and I aired up her tires while she sat in the car. Like I said, takes a Y chromosome. While there I noticed my tank light was on so I tanked up.

Drove home. No excitement.

We sat around watching TV for a time. Emily fell asleep in her chair. That’s always funny. It’s now time for bed.

Woke up to a pounding storm. Went back to sleep. A little later, the Stupid cat, and I mean stupid, climbed up on the fridge and knocked off a fridge magnet which is now in five pieces. Not just any fridge magnet, one I purchased in Madrid for Marika last summer when we were there. And protected all the way back here. So her stupid goddamn cat could knock it off the fridge and shatter it. I hate the cat. Anyhow, woke me up. I fell back asleep, and the same stupid cat climbed up on my headboard and beat on the blinds. Waking me up. I hate the cat. And the cat did it again twice more but waited each time till I was asleep. Asshole cat.

I have a cat for sale. I will pay good money for you to buy him. He comes with food and toys. All shots.

Sunday morning. Feed animals, feed us, drink coffee, read paper. Duties. Must be done. Soon, shower then shopping. Yes, I will get dressed before shopping. Don’t want anyone to feel inadequate.

Spent some time on a note to our real estate agent. I should share:

We are interested in Stanley (readers, it’s a house we saw yesterday) We could offer I assume full price with terms same as Ellen offer. I have the same cashier checks in hand, $10k, for immediate delivery. 

There does appear to be one serious problem with Stanley as evidenced by the crack and uneven floor? wall? cabinet? So if offer accepted, my engineer needs to be in on day one to inspect that. All other inspections in due course. 

Having said that, we like the Ellen house (reader, house viewed a month ago) more. So, can we offer her (owner) more to entice her? If she needs to stay she can rent back. Not sure how long. Could offer free rent or increased price. Prefer free rent. I know if I offered her one million dollars she would move today. So, just have to find her price between 625, free rent and a cool mill. Right?

House on View Hill (reader, house looked at yesterday). Sounds like a movie. Prob film noir. We want to see it. Could be 3 or 4 days after acceptance? of our offer on Stanley. We could like it. Problem?

Having said all this, Kary Smiley (reader, our agent) must tell us what is proper and prudent at this juncture. How to proceed. You are the Kit Carson of Auburn real estate. Without the Indians. Or guns. Fortunately. In a nutshell, we need guidance. 

End of note to Kary.

See, I do write things other than my blog. But, as you can see, we have several properties in play and I wanted everyone to know what is up. All the action will begin tomorrow, I think, when the owners of the Stanley house review all offers at 5pm. I can’t say I am excited, it takes a lot of work to find a house we think is worthy. Much more difficult than buying a used car although they both have similarities. Inspections, guessing about prior maintenance, figuring a price. I think we will have a talk later with our agent. Pressure all on her.

Emily wants to go to the movies. It is a cold rainy day and that’s a fun activity without being outside. Unfortunately, all movies currently at our local place are fair to middling on Rotten Tomatoes. So the $30 ticket price is even less attractive.

I would prefer to go to the grocers and get ready for the weeks eats. Do the usual. Not a fun activity for a rainy day. But who cares. Gotta be done.

So no movie. Good. Waste of money based on what’s out. We went to the grocery store instead. Which tuned out four times as much cost wise and far less entertaining. Too bad. A trip to Winco can often be extremely entertaining. If you have ever seen Wal Mart customer pictures on the internet you know what I mean. Something funny. The gal online in front of us had a Louis Vuitton bag. The one behind us had her WIC card. You see all kinds.

The rain was the best part of the trip. Even with umbrellas and jackets we still got soaked. Inside of the car got drenched as well. It’s coming down in buckets today. Very wet.

Our agent called us while we were shopping. She got the the text, reproduced above. We had a quick talk and she is calling later. We finished up our shopping trip. Just a note, it did not cost much. Have not been going to store much since all moved out. Amazing how cheap it is.

We went home. The rain is probably worse now than when we left for the store. The heavens have opened up.

The groceries got unloaded quickly, and dryly. But it is cold, even in the garage. We got all put away. Emily decided it would help to have a freezer inventory so we don’t waste food. I had suggested this 25 years ago and she rejected it. But, now it’s “her” idea. So it’s a good one. Whatever.

We sat and relaxed after handling the groceries. Then my friend Kary called. She was ready to talk. About our future. In Auburn.

We had a long and informative discussion. First, she wants us to see the house on View Way. Top o’ the Hill. She spent 10 minutes describing the attributes of the home. And it sounds very nice. It’s over the high end of where we want to be price-wise, but it sounds amazing. And I do mean amazing. And a little expensive. Kary has us scheduled to see it at 3pm tomorrow. Which gives us enough time to submit an offer on the other place, Stanley, by 5pm deadline. Which we will if we don’t like View Way house. Got that? It’s not that tough. The takeaway? Go to Auburn and arrive at Kary’s office by 230 to 245. After that, it’s all her.

But, now, soup is ready. It’s dinnertime. That’s a good thing. Wow, the soup is awesome. I might even say incredible. Emily can’t remember when she made it. I took it out of the freezer today, that I know. We adulterated it a bit, Emily can’t leave well enough alone, adding green beans and corn. Whatever, the outcome was great and perfect for a cold and rainy winter day. Hot soup is the bomb.

We are sitting after dinner. Marika is coming home tonight. On her way as we speak. She did not want to join us for dinner. She seems to think the soup will not fit into her diet. Though I think that untrue, she has her opinion. Maybe she thinks it’s too much sodium. I just don’t know. Anyway, she’s headed home.

Hey, kid just got home. She decided soup was a good idea. Since it was the only hot food available I think she made an exception for her diet. She has admitted it is good.

Another sad thing, Marika switched the TV channel to the Golden Globe awards. I have been watching it for ten minutes. It’s awful. The two hosts are awful. And for some strange reason Marika must watch it. Don’t bother watching this.

I am ready for bed. Especially if I have to watch this crap for much longer. And it continues. I need to make my bed. So I can sleep in it.

So I made the bed. It’s late enough now that I can get in it and go to sleep. And thereby avoid all this great award show has to offer. Not much. Off to bed soon.

6:35 Saturday night. Another Saturday night and I ain’t got nobody. Except Emily. And the dogs. And the cats. So it’s Saturday but I got somebody. Don’t feel sorry for me. Unless feeling sorry for me means you send me money. Then, feel sorry.

This morning, at 630am, the alarm fired off. Yes, on purpose. We have set up some house appointments for today up in Auburn. First appointment is at 830. So up at 630, leave at 730, arrive at 830 in Auburn. Good plan. First problem. Emily up at 655. And she gets ready soooooo sloooooow. No mind. I did my thing and fed animals and made breakfast for all. Some would say fed animals covers the people. I would say that. I think Emily might be offended. Doesn’t really matter.

I was ready to go, fed, washed, dressed and packed car before 730. Emily was right behind me at 755. Or so. We are gonna be late

Went to get coffee. I did not make any to save time. That was a silly thought. When I got there, I realized I left my phone. So drive back home. Emily called our agent while on the way. She seemed to imply I was the reason for being late. I yelled out to the phone so she knew the truth. I am sure Emily was kidding. Maybe. Agent told us to slow down, first showing cancelled. Don’t need to be there till 10.

Well, I got my phone and we left for Auburn. The day was forecast to be windy and rainy. I expected a tough Dorchester. Well, no wind and no rain and a quick drive to Auburn. I did not need a quick trip. Since I had too much time.

We arrived at 930 and pretty much went right out. We were able to see the first property early. As nice as this home was, and it was, I reject it based on price. It was Emily’s second look, my first. I think they were hoping I would give a thumbs up. I liked the place and it was very nice with not too many things needing extra work. But price was about $150k out of my price range.

Off to the next one. Our agent went to host an open house. This second house of the day is a second look for Emily and first look for me. Well, this one is tough. It’s an open house and there are about eight cars in the driveway when we get there. It was crowded as hell. Tough to look at when people are on top of each other. But look I did. I know Emily and Kary, our agent, spent 45 minutes looking and are quite happy. I need to honor that. Both have good judgment.

So to describe it, beautiful kitchen, beautiful master bedroom, beautiful master bathroom. Master closet may be only 80% of space needed. Small problem. Weird hallway which is a problem but I believe Emily has created a very nice solve. She is a designer. The house has a brand new detached two car garage. Sadly, I want a four size garage. Or three and a workshop. There is space for a yurt. That’s important. And I could use the yurt as a workshop. Or as a air bnb room. Don’t know. But a major addition of garages is a must.

We have discovered what might be a problem. There are some signs in the house of settling and a couple spots where the walls are cracking. Perhaps the floor is sagging under the fridge. Small issues.

We may put in an offer, I don’t know yet. Emily seems like she would really like to. Will discuss with Kary tomorrow. She always has good ideas.

After this, we drive around and do “drive-by’s” of various properties we can’t get into. We went by at least six different houses. You can get an idea of condition from the curb appeal as well as getting a good look at the neighborhood at the same time.

Most of the drive-bys yielded very little of importance. Only one house hooked us well enough to want to see the inside. So, the house on View Circle shall be viewed. This Thursday. Or Friday.

Now, we really still want to buy the house on Ellen Dr which I have spoken about before. Seller did pull it off the market but only to find another house to buy. But she is still close to selling and her house is our top choice.

These are our choices, currently.

We left for home after our extensive tour of the Auburn vicinity. The rain and the wind picked up on our drive home. The weather finally got up to the forecast. The drive was a little slower on the way home versus coming up. Well duh, it’s raining.

We got home about 430 or so. An easy nine hours since we left. We are both tired. We have both nothing else planned so we are sitting around watching TV. About 630, Emily made dinner. By made diner, I mean she pulled all the cheese and meats from our charcuterie out of the fridge and piled them on the coffee table. We ate while watching TV. It’s a BIG Saturday night! Dinner was excellent. Eaten with our hands. Emily made dessert too. Brownies, from day before yesterday, and low carb ice cream (frozen non-dairy dessert) yum!!

We returned to bad TV. Well, the rain just knocked out the cable. So I guess I will go read. I like books best. Read in bed. Even better.

Wow, were we up to early today, 630! Am! Earlier than any day since Christmas season started. And it isn’t for work. Our daughter decided we should go wine tasting today. At 10am. In Healdsburg. That’s a two hour drive from our house to the winery. So, up very early. Nowadays you don’t show up, offhand, for a wine tasting. They are scheduled. I would have scheduled later, say, after lunch. This wine for breakfast time is nuts.

The traffic did not exist this morning. That was a nice change from the norm. Only 45 minute drive to Petaluma to meet Marika. Wow. And Marika has coffee waiting for us!!! Fantastic. We were at her house for a couple minutes and jumped in the car. Off to Jordan Winery in Healdsburg.

The traffic, again, did not exist. Fast drive. We made it almost on time. 1001. Not so bad.

I can’t remember the last time I was this far north on the 101. Maybe when Marika and I went to the Lost Coast a couple of years ago. Not sure. One thing I remember, it’s really cold up here. Today is no exception, it’s really cold.

We drove straight to the Jordan Winery. I not only have never been here, I have never heard of the winery. Sorry. Guess their marketing sucks.

The winery has a huge French Chateau as it’s main building. That’s where they do the tastings and make the wine. They built the chateau in the mid 70’s because they liked France. Weird why things happen the way they do.

Our tasting was scheduled for 10am. No walk ins at this place. We met in the formal library, very few books, for our first taste. We had a 14 and 16 Chardonnay. Neither was very remarkable. Our host talked about the wine, the vineyard, the owners, the winemaker and on and on. She likes her own voice.

They moved us into the more formal dining room. They had us set up to taste three more wines with a bread and cheese plate. And the food was fabulous. Very good. The three different Cabernets were not so good. The 2014 tasted like dirty water. Not good. Our host gave another long speech. Good for her. Again, food was great and the table was beautiful full linens and all. Just need better wine.

We left Jordan. Drove back to Healdsburg and on a whim stopped at Simi winery. I am familiar with their wine. Really great news, they gave us each a glass of bubbly to start off. It was ok. Not great. And I know great. Oh, I should mention, since Marika works in the industry, we get free tastings and discounts on wine and merchandise. So all wine here was free as well. All the wine here was also better than the last winery. And not anywhere near as fancy. Emily shopped their merchandise, I sat by the fire and fell asleep.

Next up we decided to walk through Healdsburg. But, once we got there, Emily decided we should have lunch. There were many choices and we picked a Tapas joint off the main drag. Not too bad, but like the rest of Healdsburg, it was expensive. 4 dishes for $56. We did enjoy it.

After lunch, we went on our self directed tour of downtown Healdsburg. The usual kind of thing, up one side of the street and down the opposite side. We bought nothing, just looked around. We did stop for coffee at one point. Not to bad. We had a nice time.

In order to miss traffic, which is awful in 101, we left for Petaluma and Marikas house. I fell asleep in the car. So the drive was perfect.

Got to Petaluma and had to use the boys room. Emily was ready to go home immediately. Sorry, when nature calls I must respond. Didn’t take too long, I know what I’m doing.

I went back out, Emily was waiting in the car. Marika was sitting with her, keeping her company. We made our goodbyes and drove away. Marika went for a walk. She is good for exercise.

Again, staying with a theme, the traffic was very light all the way home. I live right. Must be all the clean living. No laughing, it’s true-ish.

Home. Watered the dogs. Sat down and relaxed. Watched the news. I hate the news. A complete waste of time most days. By the time the news is over, you have forgotten what they talked about. The news is a waste. But it did use up time. Enough time to get us to the dinner hour which helps.

We went out for Pho tonight. There is a great place near our house which is handy. Tonight was the second time this week we went there. Nothing special, just good food, cheap.

Back home we watched TV for awhile, maybe an hour. No news. And off to bed. Tomorrow, we have to be up early to be in Auburn by 830 to see four houses. Bedtime.

The longer I live the more I think I am living the same years over and over again. Right now, being so close to the holidays just past, I feel that emotion stronger than ever. Funny thing, you can’t go back in time. Maybe that is why I feel I am reliving the time. I do not know.

Not much going today. I’m up and getting ready, and will be leaving for work soon. A few errands to run and lots of work to do. I think the day will be head down and forgotten by the time I drive home. If lucky, something memorable good will occur. We will see.

Just checked my schedule. Had an appointment, that cancelled yesterday. One call late in the day that I wish would cancel. The call is like a mental health professional calling to discuss my work life and performance but not comfortably. Sounds fun, right? It’s not. And I pay for it.

I got out early like yesterday. Or kinda early. Again, with someone home I can just leave. Nice

First stop is the bank. I need cash. Why? Well, Emily looked at two houses yesterday and one is a full on yes in her mind. The other she would like to buy but it’s pricey. I am thinking we will be making an offer soon. So, I need cash. Down payment money. Hypothetically I have cash in my safe deposit. It’s hypothetical because keeping cash in a safe deposit is not exactly legal. So, I got cash out of the “bank”.

Next stop was another bank to deposit cash in my Dad’s account. Lots of cash going around. Nothing nefarious, I owe dad money.

Left dads bank and went to mine. Had to deposit some cash. Surprise. Dropped by bank managers office and asked how much cash I can put in to my account. After all, my last account was closed by the bank. No repeats, please. She told me my business checking can only have $5000 per month deposited. That is a problem. I have substantially more. Turns out, I can deposit to a personal savings account and it’s totally unlimited. Does any of this make sense? So I opened a personal savings account and now I will deposit cash willy nilly. Starting tomorrow. I got a house to buy.

Finally, I went to the office. No one had missed me. I like that. I had a nice work day. Nothing important happened. I spent plenty of time resetting my auto pays to my new checking account. Amazing how much time that sucks up.

I got accounting therapy call at 330 as scheduled. She always leaves me with work to do. Which I don’t like. We went through what I did not finish from the last call. My homework. Oh well. I am trying to get it done, for the sake of my practice. Though the process is kind of painful and unpleasant.

Finished up my work day doing same ol sh..stuff. Got loaded up. Got to the car and had to go back for the crap I forgot. Had to walk to building front door since all the doors are locked down after five. They do it to piss off tenants, I think.

On the road. Got home in about an hour since there was zero traffic. A great evening for a drive.

Got home. House smelled great. Turns out Emily has gone out of her way to make a great dinner. Thats nice of her. Chicken, her potato cheese mushroom thing (yummy) Brussels sprouts (not so sure) and brownies. Sound good? It was.

Now we here. Sated. Watching good tv. Emily is snoring. She is not watching anything. I think I will drag her off to bed very soon. She isn’t walking there

It’s weigh in day, 155.6lbs. I may have gained 2 or 3 lbs over the holidays. That does not seem so bad. Though I do feel my weight and condition are never quite good enough. It’s a personal problem.

Got up at seven this morning. It’s a new year thing. You know, resolutions and all. Gonna be better this year. Blah, blah. I may need to go lie down till the feeling goes away.

I was going to get going early but Emily is still on vacay and she eats up my time. Not in a bad way, there is a limited amount of time and one more person , so time just gets used. For instance, she got in the shower before me. There’s 10 minutes.

Also, I have an appointment with the esthetician, Rachel, at 10. Today, 9 would have been better. Oh well.

Since Emily and Marika are both home I can run out the door without doing all the chores to get out. That’s a positive. With them home I have to do little tasks for Emily in order to get out. That’s a negative.

I had to make appointments in Auburn for Emily to see two properties. She keeps saying she does not have contact info. I say she does not WANT contact info. She likes Bill doing all that. Well, I set up two showings for her in Auburn at 11 and 12. Cross your fingers.

Drive to work boring. One stop at Haughn’s to drop off some kind of packet Someone in the office handed me the large envelope and I delivered. Had a nice talk with Jim about all in the world worth discussing. Took about 30 minutes. The worlds problems can be solved quickly when you know what you are doing.

Drive to work was quite boring. Like every good drive to work.

I forgot to go the bank on the way in. Have to do that later.

Work, after a four day absence, is still just work. Same as it has been for the last 25 years. I didn’t even have any messages. I love that.

Jumped right into work. Had to spend an lot of time putting payment info into various websites and companies I do business with. Why? Wel, my last business checking account was shut down by the bank. And today I got my new debit card for my new business checking account. With new card and new number, I set to work contacting vendors and setting up auto pay. There are at least 50 auto pays. It takes some time. I got maybe 15 done. Then, for Rea excitement, I went to the bank and made a deposit. I know, you are thinking something so thrilling as I describe should be illegal. Yet it’s not.

I spent some time on a clients wire transfer mess. That was fun. Keeps me off the mean streets.

Called Emily and discussed the two properties she saw today. Loved both. Jesus. Now I have to go see both. So, on my way home I called our agent, Kary. She filled me in on what the two places were like with out the emotion Emily brings. I need her jaded point of view for my own sanity. But, according to her, both homes are just great for very different reasons. So after hearing about the homes and all benefits of each, I made an appointment for Saturday morning to go see both of them plus two more. Fun never ends.

On way home I stopped at the carniceria to make everyone happy it was taco Wednesday. We missed on New Years and I made it up tonight. Of course, it was the bomb.

Now we sit and watch TV. Emily and I put together some low carb ice cream sandwiches. For a little later when they set up. Looking forward to it.

Then bedtime.

It is January 1st. That is the traditional greeting amongst those who know me. I am sure it’s the same for all of you.

The traditional celebration for new year is going to another town and looking at houses for sale. I am sure it’s the same for all of you.

Well, we slept the hell in today. Usually up by 630, today I got up at 830. All others up at 930. I am sure it’s the same for you.

The plan for the day is to head to Auburn and look at houses. To live in. As a home. I am sure it’s the same for you.

Since Emily is slow as hell getting ready, we got it by 1145. On the road. Remarkably, there was very light traffic which I thought strange. It is a national holiday. And everyone up the hill wants to go down the hill. So traffic, right? Not today. Took only an hour to get to Auburn.

As is our habit, we met our agent Kary at her office. She is the only agent I have ever seen working on Sunday. Probably an atheist.

She has already mapped out where we are going. I already know what we are doing. Looking at homes. Duh.

We were off pretty quickly. We take her car so we can sit and discuss as we go. So our first stop was not so great. I could have stayed in the car. The house was strange, kinda weird and definitely not a place I wanted to be in very long. It was a flip, and they quit at a point they ran out of money. The backyard was a complete pile of crap. We both said no to the dress. I am sure it would be the same for you. Because you have fine judgment.

On to next house. Unavailable for living it turns out. Or at least living in. Turns out, the seller, a bank (watch out!) forgot to disclose it was sliding off its foundation. And all flooring had been torn out. And half a dozen 2×2 holes dug into the floor. And the concrete foundation was spreading. As I said, unavailable for living in. Next!!

We did a couple drive bys and those ended up being don’t get out of the car at all ever visitations. Some places are just plain awful.

Next! This one was nice. A little plain. Turns out, the hillside has slid down the hill and taken out the pool house. And pool. And it seemed quite questionable. To all of us. So it’s now a drive by.

Our last house got us out of the car. Go figure. We inspected the whole place, top to bottom. Front to back. Very nice and it could work. But after 39 minutes, two problems remain. First, close enough to Hwy 80 that you can clearly hear it all day. I presume all night. Second, very small two car garage with no room for another or even a small outbuilding. At least not conveniently. So, it’s a no.

Back to the office. We got some good news. There is another prospect for another day, on Stanley . Looks very good. We did a drive by. Not allowed in today. Funny thing, the house on Ellen we put an offer in, remember that? Offer accepted and will go if owner finds one. The owner of that house is looking at same one on Stanley. This is good news. If she takes Stanley, we get hers. Or, we could take Stanley. Works well either way. Fingers crossed.

We said our goodbyes and hit the hiway. Strangest thing happened, on a major national holiday, on a major national freeway, there was zero traffic. And we made the drive home in under an hour. Fastest time ever. I hope it’s an omen. A good one.

A good omen was my daughter got dinner started while we were out housing around. That’s a good omen. She marinated a Tri tip and we made salad and Emily concocted a mushroom, cheese potato thing which was really wonderful. She is always good for an off menu item.

I made everyone an Aperol Spritz aka double espresso to Frenchmen, and we sat and watched the news. And concurrently finished the dinner sides and watched the Tri tip grill. It was kinda busy. Had to make a second round of spritzes to keep everyone properly hydrated and keep them all going.

Dinner was excellent. If I forgot to mention , I added a few wood chips to the grill, so the Tri tip was smoky and good. And the side of Emily’s was wonderful. And all was very pleasant. A nice new year dinner.

Now we sit and watch bad tv. Which is kind of traditional. Or we watch news, which is bad. So fun.

I am going to bed.

I was up at about 7 this am. We are planning on heading out for a hike on this last day of 2018. It’s gonna be awesome. But, if it is so awesome, why am I the only one awake and up moving around? It’s because the other two get up and going like they were related. SLOW. I got up, made coffee, fed 2 dogs, fed three cats, and assorted other duties (like dishes). At 730 I took a shower, no one up. Out at 740 shaved and dressed. At 750 my lovely bride spoke to me. From bed. I went to kitchen and poured coffee, made breakfast and ate. By 8, Marika was up and then Emily quickly thereafter. She probably did not want to be last. They are obviously related to one another. I am going to the bank to do my errand. I am sure they will not be ready even after I return.

So I got yelled at by Emily from the bathroom. She did not want me to go to the bank. She was going to be ready “right away” and we would all go together. Which did happen, fifteen minutes later. Or “right away” as she said.

So all ready we drive to the bank. Together. Until we got there and I went in by myself. Never mind. Got my money moved. All that counts.

Off to the coast! Down 80 to 37 to 101 south in the direction of SF. We are going!! Gonna hike through above Muir Beach!! There was a sign board on the side of 101 we noticed while driving. It said, Muir Woods full. Stinson Beach closes. I asked Marika how the federal government shutdown was affecting our outing. Turns out she was not aware of the shutdown. And unaware that many parks are run by the feds as well. And she is in charge. Uh oh. She got in-line right away and with a few choice curse words, we went to Muir Beach.

Got there, and all signs say parking full or beach closed. So what to do? We got there. Parking lot was empty, and closed. So we parked illegally, right under a sign that said $99 fine for illegal parking. Fuck the government. There is a clown in charge anyway and he is ruining my day.

Emily put out quite a bit of harrumphing over the parking. Shut up, please. Doing it anyway. So we all got ready and took off. Onto to the readily available trails above Muir Beach. There are quite a few scofflaws wandering down, and up, the trails. We hiked out about two or three miles up the hills and down. Over hill, over dale and on the dusty trails. Had a blast. Marika got to use some of the excess energy she has. Emily got to complain about all sorts of things. And I got a hike. No, not fair, but it is what it is.

We wandered around for a couple hours. Up the he top of many hills and down the coast to see much coastline (duh) and a few coves and no whales. But islands. Nice day. Great view under clear, sunny skies. Oh yeah, it was damn cold. Lots of cold, biting, wind which overcame our sweating and heat from hiking and our jackets. Yes, I was surprised by that too.

We turned around when we were ready to turn around and headed back. Up the hill, and over and down. To the (illegal) parking lot. As usual, the hike back seemed longer. It was colder.

Funny. From the top of the hill, where we were on the trip back, we saw a cop car, lights blaring, doing who knows what down near where we parked. Emily did get a bit upset. She likens to worry. She enjoys being upset. She wants to say I told you so because I willingly parked illegally. So we hurried on down the hill. By hurried I mean walked as gas t as we could. Which could be called slow. And probably is. But haters are going man hate.

We got to the flat bottom. Cause that’s how it is at the bottom. Flat. We hurried to the car with Emily murteringbiur car would be towed, or tagged. We jumped in and drove. Emily still worried we would be tagged. For what? We drove, down the road, toward the cop. Who, it turns out, does not care. She just wanted to move the folks who parked in front of the gate to the parking lot. It’s a fire road. And god knows, parking lots can burn. Right? Stupid. We left. And others drove down the road to park illegally.

We headed in the opposite numeric direction – 101/37/80. A nice day for a drive. On the way Emily decided we should stop for lunch. Neither Marika not I prob would have but Emily is crazy. Stopping on the 101 in Marin County is dangerous. The area is very expensive. So lunch there is also very overpriced. And that’s what we got. We ate at a Mexican place that was a little to upscale to be Mexican. Small portions at high price. Sounds good, right? No, not good. We enjoyed an over priced semi Mexican lunch. Yay.

Back in the car. Btw, no real traffic today. That’s a win, isn’t it? So we had an easy cruise across 37 to 80. A few miles down 80 and we stopped to get food for dinner. Marika has decided on a charcuterie plate for dinner. So we picked up a half dozen types of cheese a few of meat, some olives and nuts and jam. And we good. Another 30 minutes down the lane and we got home. I was ready to relax. No. Emily wanted to clean house, a little. I didn’t. I wanted to sit on my chubby butt. So did Marika. Who can blame us. So, in response, I decided to go to the store for mint leaves for the Mai Tais I am making. That’s a very important task.

Marika ran out too. Can’t blame her. She had to get out.

She and I went to the hardware store and nursery. I figured get the plant and I enjoy having mint forever. Problem. Damn hardware store was closed. In spite of online site saying they were open. Liars. Gotta Yelp that.

So instead we went to the grocery store. Which had, mint with root ball attached so they can be planted. Winnnnnn!!! I’m gonna plant it tomorrow.

At home, Emily some woth cleaning. Thank god. I don’t have to help. I made Mai Tais, with mint. They are awesome and have nothing to do with work. We are al enjoying them. And watching really bad tv. What a New Years.

About 30 mins later we decided to get the food going. Being charcuterie, all we had to do was get the platters and put out our cheese, meats and all other goodies. And set them on the coffee table and eat. Extra tasty cheesy meaty goodness. Yum. And a bottle of champagne to make it all better. Did I forget to mention we have champagne? We have champagne. Goes well with charcuterie.

We enjoyed cheese and meat. Until we were all stuffed. My gut hurts. I am full. Seems so are they. A few minutes of sitting here stuffed, and wiping champagne, Emily went for a littler dessert. Cookies. Then some doughnuts we had in the fridge. Donuts go well with cheese and meat. We are now even more stuffed. Not throwing up. Yet.

We are now in the full and watching bad tv state. It’s 910 and I am ready for bed. Forget New Year’s Eve. I need sleep.

OK. We cleaned up the food mess. By we, I mean us and not Emily. She is lazy. She never reads this. So Marika and I cleaned up. Then Marika decided we needed more bubbly. So I have another glass. I know full well that Emily and I will be asleep before midnight. No surprise there. I am always asleep before midnight. Today is just another day.

We have pepped up a bit. A bit, not a lot. Finally found something on TV worth watching. But that’s only for another 30 minutes. Then whatever.

Emily now asleep. I woke her and she is going to bed. So I am going to bed. An hour shy of midnight. And two hours past regular bedtime. And we are tired from our hike. So to anyone out there, Happy New Year!!! Early.