Month: February 2019

I think the move hs finally reached the top of the hill. Soon, we will be going over the crest and speeding down the other side. There will be far less work and more coasting. Last weekend and yesterday were the hardest pedaling so far. If you have ever biked uphill, it’s the part where you have lost all momentum and are standing on the pedals, pumping like hell. As I said, it was difficult.

Today is better. I have three things to do. Visit a client in Dixon which I am going to cancel I think, have a 2nd client in office who is only coming in to pay me and it’s big money, and head to the furniture store to place my order for the new house. And pay them, of course. The balance of my workday is tax returns. I am hoping it won’t be like yesterday which was overlong and I had to talk to two clients I do not like. Who are, yay!, ex-clients. That’s where a former customer leaves (with my help and blessings) and goes to another accountant and makes him miserable. And we, me and employees, never talk to them again. To summarize, a customer no one here likes goes away. Win win, baby!

It’s 7 am Tuesday morning and I am sitting here watching the rain. It started at 1pm yesterday and has not stopped. The old man next door has started to build a very large wooden boat. I’m not sure why. The roads are flooded in various spots, Emily called from hwy 49 to tell me where the high water is. I guess she hit a deep spot on the road, having not noticed. That’s always a thrill. But, I must say, I am already sick of the rain. This year is crazy in terms of volume. I am water logged and not real happy about it. And I have to jump in in a few and go down the hill. Shoukdn’ The water here, which is uphill from the valley, roll down into the cities below and fill them up? Flooding up here does not seem possible, but there is water everywhere. A lot of it.

I am going to go clean up and get ready. It’s 720, time for big boy work.

Off to work, post clean up dress up. The drive is nasty because it is still raining like hell. Sposed to go another 36 hours. Straight. There has been not one let up in the rain and not going to be till it quits midday tomorrow. Man is it wet.

Well, thought is was getting out of my first appointment. No. It’s now a 10 o’clock. And I have an add on one in Vacaville at 1130. I have got to say, I am going to drive a couple hundred miles today between Vacaville, Dixon and Woodland.

Made first appointment with my client who is our Dixon real estate broker. She has her own company here in Dixon. I have to prep her Corp and personal. Last night I thought I had accidentally packed her paperwork in the move. Turns out I hadn’t and all was where it should be. I had told her of my dilemna , so she was reallly pleased to find I was just confused. We discussed her estimated taxes paid which turned out to be quite an ordeal. But it’s straight. After that we just had a nice conversation between friends of 25 years. We said goodbyes and she gave me a bottle of champagne for the new home.

Off to the coffee place around the corner. Love the place. Actually crowded today, had to wait for my drink. But worth it.

Drive to downtown Vacaville. Another real estate agent client. The rain is really coming down in buckets. And I’m not liking it.

I got a nice parking spot. Still got soaked on my way to her office. She was in fine form and having a great day. Fun fact, I prepare her return, her daughters and her granddaughters. Tres generaciones. Amazing. And they all like me. I spent about 30 minutes with her, a few for work and a few more for yakking.

Next off to Woodland. The rain is unrelenting and I hate it. Driving is a pain. Took 10 minutes more than usual to get there. I hate the rain, just so you know.

I need to go to Woodland to pay for my furniture I ordered last week. It’s expensive, $18k, but will have new matching stuff for first time ever.

Finally arrived, and I got parking 8 feet from the door in downtown Woodland. I did not get soaked. Well, the folks who own this place are friendly and having a good time. I would say always. We had a blast sitting and finalizing the order. I pulled one piece and added something else (a surprise for Emily) and dropped my cost significantly. These folks have a large discount for paying in cash. I like discounts. And cash. I can hardly wait till it arrives. 8 weeks.

Time for the office. On the way to Sacramento, in the GD rain, I got a call from the money bags client. He ain’t making it. But, he will be in tomorrow, mostly because we are closing out a deal and he likes to get paid. And he can pay me. I like both.

The rest of the day was completely devoted to tax returns and phone calls. I managed to get a few done.

Tonight, I left early. Taco Tuesday was waiting at home and I only only got four hours sleep last night. I need food and rest. And the solution is tmright in front of me.

Got home and we had our dinner. I forget how good it is. We ate from an Auburn carniceria last week. Best in town they say. These folks don’t know best. I think you need farm workers.

We sat around listening to music and blogging or whatever Em is doing for and hour or so. Very relaxing after a day in the car in the rain. I feel better. But, we are going to bed. Early. That would be now.

Hey, it’s historic! The first time I am blogging four days in one. I was too busy to blog anything. And on Friday night I had technical difficulties while attempting to blog the day. So today you all are beneficiaries

So it’s friday. I am going skiing, first time this year. It’s late February, it’s been snowing like hell all season, and I have been up to the snow once. First, I’d rather not drive during storms. The roads are a mess, you gotta go super slow, chains are a must, it just sucks. I like to go the day after. That’s when roads are clean and dry. I have not been timing it so well this season. And I have been super busy with our house move and of course there is work. All conspires to ruin my ski season.

So last Wednesday my friend Bob called and wanted to go skiing on Friday. He lives up in Incline Village so he is always ready to go. After long discussion ww decided on Squaw as the best mid point. Plus our friend Buck has a boot shop at Squaw and that’s nice. We can get a visit in as well. Bob had invited along a couple others too, his adult son Chris and a friend of Chris’s. All three of us are coming up from the valley. For me, about two hours, for them about 2 1/2.

So late Thursday night Bob cancelled. Said he had work. Likely story. Big problem, Bob had set up free skis and boots for Chris’s friend Nelson and we felt compelled to go there. I personally wanted to go short drive to Sugar Bowl and cut two hours out of my RT. But, when traveling with others you gotta go with the flow.

I texted with Chris Thursday night, now I am driving the two of them. No problem. I wanted to leave at 6, they wanted to leave at 730. Lazy pricks. They don’t like getting up so early. Wieners.

Friday am they arrive somewhat timely, just after 7. We got loaded up in my car. Chris loudly complaining the whole time about having to go to Squaw when he has comp tix for Sugar Bowl. And we gotta go to Squaw for Nelson. Whatever.

Easy ride up to Squaw. There was a big traffic jam from 80 to Squaw. Upon arrival I can see the completely full parking lots and understand the traffic.

We got to Bucks (Olympic Bootworks) and said hi. They outfitted Nelson and best of all Buck had a complete ticket for me. Yay Buck! Squaw is up to $180 per day so a comp is sweet.

I have to admit, I am way out of ski shape. Today was painful to my body. Even my feet were killing me, especially my big toes. These boots are custom fit, by Buck, and have been a godsend. So pain in the feet, and legs is super bad. Also, I had forgotten my poles and had to borrow a pair from Buck. All he had was a pair of janky ass adjustable poles, one of which kept collapsing on me and at one point became two piece. Not fun. Or funny.

We skied most of the day that was left after a long ride up. Probably four hours. This is why I recommend leaving for the mountains early in the morning. I enjoyed my day at Swuaw as did everyone else. Nelson I’m not so sure about, this was his first time on skis, having been a boarder forever. I did not try to ski with him today.

At 4 or so we headed down the hill. I made contact with Emily. All is good. We are going out to dinner later. Turns out Chris used to live in Auburn and he recommended a few places. We are going to an Italian place in Newcastle.

The drive home had traffic but not bad. I was able to make good time, much better than this morning. Mostly drove in quiet since my seat mates were using ear buds. I like quiet and peace in the car.

Chris was on a tear to get home. He had a daddy daughter dance to go to. And he was late because he skied. And his 10 year old daughter was aware of it. He is gonna get bitch slapped by a 10 year old. He and Nelson left.

I told Emiky we were going out for Italian food in Newcastle. I called for a reservation. We had a few minutes to kill so I did a few things around the house, not much. And then we were off to dinner.

It’s a short drive to Newcastle, not even ten minutes so we got there fast. Took five minutes to find our place even though the nav system put us on top of it. Turns out Chris was correct, it was excellent. Though I found it too pricey for me. We had a bottle of wine in addition to the great food. We even had dessert.

We headed hone directly after dinner. These days both of us are exhausted. Today is no exception. Got home and went to bed.

Saturday was a big day. We drove Dixon for a visit with Rachel, our esthetician/stylist. Turns out her boyfriend/baby daddy just dumped her and moved out. So she was in tears half the time. Not so good. We spent most of the appointment consoling her. Not fun. One good thing, a trip to my fave cafe for coffee.

After that we went to the apartment. Today is our last day inside it so we had to clean. We did not try too hard since the place was dirty when we moved in. But still spent 2 hours on it. I would love to detail but it’s just house cleaning.

Next up, storage. We still have two units and the movers are coming tomorrow. We are sorting through each unit and deciding what we are giving away or throwing away or keeping. It’s not fun. And I’m doing this with my wife which has a little tension to it. Either way, we spent a good four hours in the two units. I had to rent a U-Haul for the giveaways cuz I had no other way to move it all. So we fill the U-Haul well. I parked it there overnight because I thought there would be more crap once the movers got stuff out. And there was.

We went hone once the onerous day was done. I cooked nothing for dinner. Same for Em. We ate what little leftovers we could dredge out of the fridge. Then it was peace out.

Ah, Sunday! Again, it was a working Sunday. Emily stayed and worked in the house. I drove to the storage place in Dixon to meet the movers. This is gonna be fun. Just not for me.

I was working with the movers but not to pick stuff up. I was there to decide what went to charity and what went to our Tuff shed. And as it turns out what went to our small rented storage in Auburn. Until I get the garage and yurt built there just is not enough room for all the crap we have. When we finally get the house settled we are going to pull one or two boxes a day out of the shed and decide right then to give away, throw away, or put away. Most will be hitting the dumpster.

I decided to put all the tools in storage. I have a massive amount. From the large table saw to the numerous bar clamps. It’s a high volume.

The movers and I drove straight to the mini storage in Auburn. I picked it cuz it’s near my house. Turned out to be an excellent choice. I have never seen such a luxe storage place in my life. The office looked like the inside of a custom home. Fancy granite counters, nice furniture, an ultra clean restroom. Just beautiful. The property manager was also top notch. I got lucky. It took about an hour to unload the tools and stow them. Now up to the house.

So again, the unload and put away thing was on. Almost all went to our shed. We just are not ready for all this crap. A lot will go to the yurt and garage once built but now, the crap is stored. The process took an easy three hours. It was full dark by the time we got rid of the movers. I had about a three foot tall stack of boxes at the end. Mike the mover wanted them but could not fit them in his truck. He could put them in the U-Haul but he had to turn the in. So we loaded my Fit. He can get them tomorrow.

I cooked a Tri tip for dinner. I had it marinating all day. Had veg and nice salad to go with it. And a couple Old Fashions as an appetizer. Fantastic meal. And then bed.

It’s getting late. I gotta short change all on Monday.

Up early. Duh. All meals fixed. No coffee yet. New grinder is in my office. So maybe tomorrow.

Em off to work. Me off to work shortly thereafter. I had a couple appointments and then taxes all day. One quick trip to the bank. I worked till 10.

To home. It’s raining like hell so I kept it under 70, mostly. Got home and Emily had made me dinner. Consisted of a cooked artichoke. Then I got some leftover Tri tip. That’s the day. Bed time.

I

Again. Again we get up before the crack of dawn. Long before. It’s painful how early we get up. I don’t care how early I get to bed, anything before 630 is too god damn early.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am hitching a ride with Emily to Davis this morning. Why, you ask? Go ahead, ask why. Because our HRV is in the shop at the dealer where we bought it. Turns out windshield had a bad seal and the driver floor filled with water. The electrical was working weirdly, the alarm went off sporadically and the door ajar light stayed on and the locks failed to operate. Turns out the dealer had pulled out the after market alarm and caused some minor damage. Also, the front grill was smashed. No one noticed these things. We did. The dealer fixed all as soon as I brought them to their attention. No push back. Anyway, I got a ride to pick it up.

Let me digress a bit. We left the house, no coffee. Remember the broken grinder? Emiky was all worked up about being on time so she refused to stop at Starbucks. We got down the road a few miles and she was willing to hit the McDonalds for java. Well, the brain sturgeons at McD’s put sugar in my coffee. I hate that. When did I find out? A couple miles down the road. I told Emily I prefer to go in. This is why. So I could not drink the swill. I picked up a cup at the dealership when I got there. It was pretty bad but. It pre sweetened at least. I tossed it. Car looks good. I drove directly to Starbucks on the corner. And I got a cup of coffee I could enjoy. I sat in my car with the heater on, made calls, enjoyed my coffee and came to life. I really miss making my own. New grinder is delivered tomorrow. I tracked the shipment.

Drove to work. I have been up over two hours, yet it is still too GD early to be out of bed.

Ahhh, work. A place of joy and rapture. For others. Place of pain and torture for me. Got there before 9 (said it was early) and have no appointments till the yoga instructor at 11. Then 3 more appointments in quick succession. I spent the pre appt time on tax returns and the usual interruptions to my day. Nothing to see here, shows over.

I had the usual entertaining appointments with clients. Today’s were all friendly and nice. A couple had a touch of weird but that’s ok. Nice time had by all. Finished off a few to returns while I spoke to them.

Got a late delivery from FedEx. A new jacket, dark blue leather lines with Rea shearling wool. Very warm and stylish. Like me. I decided to swap out and wear the warm one.

Managed a few more work tasks and headed for the door. Emily wanted me to stop and pick up dinner on the way home. She also found a new way home and wanted me to go that way. Sadly, I followed her directions.

Heavy traffic on the way home slowed me down quite a bit. 40 minutes became an hour 20. And following my lovely brides directions added twenty more. A bit infuriating. In not mad at her, I am mad at me for listening.

I did finally get to the grocers. Got some ready made food, rotisserie chicken and bag salad. It’s late, no one wants to make a meal.

Home at last it’s close to 8. We ate right away. Spent very little time warming by the fire. I loaded the car for my ski trip tomorrow. First day of the season. Been so busy and it’s been storming so much that I have not had an opportunity to go before this.

I’m in bed now. It’s 10. I have done enough damage for today.

It’s 940 pm and I am finally in bed. I have been up since 4am. An easy 18 hour day, no problem. This morning it was not too hard getting up. I managed 7 hours sleep. Easy peasy.

The 50 mile plus trip to the airport only took 45 minutes. Marika made it earlier than needed. She is headed to Hawaii for a break while the rest of us freeze our butts off at home.

Well, after such an early start, I got to work very early. First thing, spent some time cleaning my desk. Went through my open tax files to organize them. Did some admin crap like make up the deposit and answer emails.

Tried to get some paid work done too. At 10 my first appointment started. One every hour till 2 pm. Appointments are nothing special. I go over their paperwork and ask questions. They ask questions. That’s it. Simple stuff.

At 230 I left to meet Emily at her work. We went from there to our old rental in Vacaville. We had to pick up two chairs we are having reupholstered. One went into my car and the other to Emily’s.

We drove next to Woodland. There is a furniture store there, on Main st, that sells furniture (duh) and reupholsters. We have been in there twice in the last ten days looking for things for the new place. Today we finally got down to picking out what we want. More than I thought it turns out. We need quite a few things. A large dresser, two nightstands, hall entry cabinet, credenza to hold TV and a coffee table. Not too much. When we moved out of the farm we got rid of everything and are throwing away even more from storage. So new furniture is a must.

When we were finally done I was ready for dinner. I wanted to go have a cocktail and dinner at a pub half a block up the street. Emiky wanted to drive home immediately and pick up bad fast food (is ther good?) in Auburn and take home. She won out cuz she whines. We went home. I picked up Papa Murphys, purveyor of poor pizza. And that’s our evening. Thrilling, isn’t it.

Tomorrow we are riding together because I have to pick up the HRV from the shop in Davis. It’s been in for a few days. All free repairs. Some warranty and some they owed me since I just bought it.

So I will be up in seven hours. Early to bed and early to rise, suck shit. But. Ow, bedtime.

It’s first work day since move. At least for Emily. The tough thing, timing her departure. It’s usually an hour and 20 to Vacaville. So she figured leave by 630. After all, Dixon is 10 miles short of Vacaville so that ought to work. Whatever.

I got up at 530 too. Why? Well I am in charge of coffee. And, strangely, my coffee grinder, obtained in ‘94 used, broke the day before we left Vacaville. 24 years of continuous use and it breaks. I could get it fixed but why? It’s super old. So today I drove in to Auburn and went to Starbucks and got coffee for my bride and her daughter. And me.

It took quite awhile for the round trip to coffee. And the reward, not so great. But I am a star, for a moment, for doing so.

Emiky took off at 630 for work. Tomorrow it will be earlier. I was awake so I did a few worthless things. Unpacking and etc. Marika got up a little later. I spent most of the early morning screwing off and doing jack. Whatever.

I managed to get out of the house by 11. I have a ton of work to do. Many tax returns.

Work was work. Carol was in all day. Cara out all day to care for her dog. Katrina in half day. Me in all day, plus. No surprise there.

I managed to finish, and re-finish a corporate return, the shirt year final return for same and a couple individual returns. Not too bad. I still have lots to do and complete. Still trying to get other things done. Hate the fucking job. The usual mid February tax season feeling. Dear God help me.

It is almost impossible to remember the crap I did. At one point I stared at the ceiling for 45 minutes. Mental health break, I guess. Spoke to Emily a few times. She was on the road longer than usual so had time for calls. Spoke to Marika about tonight, it is taco Tuesday. We had to find someplace in the new town for Mexican food. Which we did. There is exactly one Carniceria in Auburn. So we chose that. Marika went to pick up food and I drove home.

My drive was slower than I wanted but ok. Marika called and said she would tell me about the food place when I got home. Sounds bad

I continued my drive, drove right past the famous El Charro where we got dinner. Drove on home.

Turns out, if you don’t get to El Charro by 5 there is no guarantee of choice of meat. You need to call ahead and reserve. The cost, 2 combos and a burrito, all good though not great , over $27. In Dixon at Lupitas, that would be excellent and $20. Of course, there are a half dozen carnicerias there and several more in Vacaville. The quality of our Hispanics in Solano county FAR exceeds that of Placer county. No surprise there.

So actually, we were stuck with cachete and asada for meats. Both excellent. We did not tell Emily about the cachete. We said to was shredded beef. The beans only ok. The burrito was very good and had the cabeza meat in it. Shhhh!

After dinner we sat around. Emiky is doing schoolwork and I am blogging and Marika is doing I don’t know.

We are going to bed in a few. I have to be up at 4 with Marika to go to the airport. She is going to Hawaii for fun again. Says she is not seeing that boy again. Sure, I believe that. I expect she will enjoy herself. But it starts at 4 am.

Today is Presidents’ Day. A lame ass holiday that has lost its meaning. More evidence of people being afraid to offend anyone. As a kid we had Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays. Celebrated on their birthdays. Nixon made them both a Friday holiday, as if they were born on a floating date. Then our fearless leaders got rid of the birthday concept and the holiday is now (nameless) Presidents weekend. This is not progress.

In spite of my rant, this is the current state of affairs. So I have a holiday. In my office we celebrate it by going to work. So today I went to work immediately after breakfast. Although, not before I went to town for coffee ( note to self, get a new coffee grinder)for everyone.

Everyone else stayed home to unpack more. Glad I went to work.

I arrived just in time for my first appointment. After which I had an appointment every hour on the hour till the last one left at 4pm. Talking for hours and hours is miserably tiring. But it’s what I do. For the last couple hours I managed some work. And the last thing I did was go online to quickly order a coffee grinder. Ya, quick. I had already found a place so went to the site, placed the order, hit the button, and credit card rejected. I tried again, must have made a mistake. Had same outcome. Called the bank. Found someone alive there. That person transferred me to fraud dept. They went through therebusual bullshit to ID me. Asked me too many questions and then determined my purchase wasn’t fraud. Morons. I hate them. Back to website and my charge went through.

Now I left for home. Got a call on the way home, Emily told me to go to Taco Tree and pickup dinner. Ok. No problem. It took about 35 minutes to get to TT. The place is a dump. A worn out looking fast food joint I think. I ordered anyway.

Back home in five. Brought the food in. We ate with gusto. Food was food though their salsa was really bad. Don’t really care. It was very cheap too.

Not much after dinner. Em has to be up by 530 so we all went to bed.

We had gone to bed early so woke up early. At about 715. Emily woke first, I woke quickly thereafter when she screamed “it’s snowing”!! And it was. About 6” on the ground and still going.

We had a problem. We just woke up in strange new house and could not find anything. I got up buck naked and went to look out the windows. That didn’t last long, it’s cold. I came back and rummaged a pair of underwear from the dirty clothes and grabbed one of Emily’s sweaters. Found my camera and went to watch the snowfall.

I managed quite a few great pictures. The snow hit to about six inches deep. Seemed like a lot. No, I did not run out and make snow angels. Or have a snowball fight. Did that when I was 10. Managed to text all the snow pictures to the family. A great way to brag without bragging. Our first morning at the new house and it was snowing. Once in a lifetime.

Since I was up, I went to town for coffee for all of us. Also to the hardware store for the usual life support items. Mostly things I have which are packed away. Love buying twice.

Today we have one chore. We need to return the U-Haul truck to Vacaville. An hour and 20, one way. Lovely. We want to get an early start on that since the truck needs to be back by 1230 in order to not get charged an extra day. I don’t need that.

Emiky drive the GLK and I drove the truck. No incidents, just a nice drive. Emily’s folks are coming today to help unpack so we put the pedal to the metal and got there. I left the truck outside the closed gates. Left the key in the ignition. Yes, this is on the U-Haul website for returning after hours. Yes, it’s crazy. Like screaming “free trucks” to the world. Not my issue.

We drove back. Stopped at Ikea for some cheap Swedish crap we can’t live without. Did you know IKEA is Swedish for wal mart? True story.

Whike at IKEA the in-laws drove by. So they got to the house before we did. Plus we stopped at a bbq joint and picked up lunch for us five. Marika was there too.

We enjoyed a nice meal of smoked meat and sides. Very nice. And we had a full afternoon ahead of us to unpack. By we, I meant the four of them. I went to work.

At work it was taxes straight through for a few hours. I can’t report too much, nothing happened

Back home. Everything changed. The four of them, 80 % Em and mom, 20% Marika, and dad stands around, had unpacked and put away a large swath of moving detritus. Amazing work.

I got home in the evening just in time for dinner. I did not unpack a thing. So sad. We had a very nice meal. Everyone is still wiped out fro the move.

Bedtime next.

Friday. Last work day of the week. Only we move tomorrow. Also, by “tomorrow” I mean we have been moving shit all week and now, Saturday is the Big Move day. Abbreviate that BM. So, what does that make Friday LM? No. It’s the second busiest move day of the week. The oh shit, we still have a lot to do day of the week. Friday is a holiday, Presidents Weekend I think.

Woke early, lots to do. I packed and moved and packed and moved till 3 pm. Then went to work. Got in maybe 2 1/2 hours of work there. Then, since I drove the U-Haul to work, I drove it up to Auburn to unload. Emily and Marika has been unloading the car while I was at the office. Took about 45 minutes in the big beast to get there plus 10 gallons fuel. Joy. Dark when I arrived.

So the truck is a 15’ box truck. I had 91 boxes or various weights and sizes to unload. By myself. Took a vigorous hour and a quarter to get the boxes off and distributed. In the rain and forty degree weather. It was a nice workout. By nice I mean awful. And not fun. And lonely. Though no one there to distract or divert me. Which is why it was fast.

At the end, I locked up. And, best of all, got in the cab of the truck a took a sauna. Again, that means heater on high, fan on high and me not high. I tried to get down the hill to Vacaville in time for dinner with the ladies but even though I exceeded the speed limit and the truck was empty, I missed that by ten minutes. They got me take out Pho.

All home. I ate my dinner. Very nice when it was so cold and I was so tired. I managed to relax. After dinner Marika went back to Petaluma. Then Emily and I continued the odyssey of packing till 1am. Why? Because we love it!! Ok. No we don’t. We are still set on freak out mode. The movers will be here at 6am. So we packed and packed. By one it was just a good as it gets and go to bed. I was kinda tired. Emily’s stress has lowered.

Saturday, 530am. We up. Emiky quick clean and dress. Me too. Back into full pack out mode. Movers early. We moved cars to fit the truck in. The movers started there thing. I put Emily,and two cats, into her car, and she went to Auburn. Where she decided to stay. I on the other hand stayed here. To “help” the movers. By help, I mean I lift nothing and answer all their questions and stay out of their way. Help. They charge more if I get involved.

It’s about 10am. We are actively packing and moving. No excitement. Lost a few things which is not lost. It’s packed. Think the last scene of Indiana Jones. Somewhere I may never find it. I can deal. I took time to read the paper, a reward for hard work. The guys are going non stop. I say 11 to 1130 we are out of here.

An hour later ands it’s difficult to see any progress. There is too much stuff. I am not sure when it will end. And I have nothing to do now but sit in a drafty house with four guys working. Let’s just say, the magic is gone.

So Mike the mover came up with a great idea. I was going to drive the truck up to Auburn once it was full. With the dogs in the cab. Mike said, hey why doesn’t Carl drive your truck? You drive your car with the dogs. Mike is a smart guy. I took off for Auburn with the dogs in my car.

Got there midday. Not much going on. Emily was hard at work unpacking all the boxes I had brought last night. I unpacked my car and then got to work on the boxes. Not long after the movers showed up with the two trucks. Then commenced several hours worth of them saying “where does this go”. But by early evening we had both trucks unloaded and boxes distributed.

Movers left. We made a date for next weekend for them to empty our storage unit and move the contents up here.

So about now, somewhere after six, I owned a bottle of champagne. Emiky and I toasted our good fortune. We were exhausted from the long week moving. The bubbly went straight to our heads. So we had another glass.

About this time we got a call from Kary, our real estate agent. She knew we were moving in. She offered to bring dinner. We enthusiastically concurred with her idea. We love her.

She came about an hour later. Brought us a wind chime as a housewarming gift. Food and presents. Did I mention we love her? We had a grand old time sitting around eating and drinking champagne. It was above the best. Kary left by 840. We were in bed by 845. Asleep immediately.

It’s been raining most of the day. Just what you want when you are moving to a new home. It’s 1030 and it’s a workday but I have spent 6 hours of my day on the adventure in moving. And it’s tax season. I hate moving.

Day began the usual way with animal feeding, people feeding and coffee. No lunch made for the mrs. we don’t have the food required. And a lot of our kitchen is packed up. Emily can go out for once.

This morning the HRV was still having issues. Last night the alarm went off three separate times this morning there was a large amount of water in the drivers side door well. And the doors would not unlock or lock with the key fob. The regular key did work. Also, the door open alarm and indicator kept going off even though no door was open. There is a ghost in the machine. So I drove it to the Honda dealer, it’s under warranty. They are going to report back today I hope. I need the car for the move.

I ubered home from Honda. Next up, get a U-Haul. This should be easy. I looked up closest U-Haul place and called for an Uber. 10 minutes later I was there, took 10 minutes to do paperwork and I was off to the house with a U-Haul truck.

I spent 90 minutes putting all the boxes from the house into the back of the truck. Too much work. I then filled the Fir with all the boxes of breakables which consist of liquor, wine, cocktail glasses and wine glasses. A car load of bad choices. We have a lot of alcohol.

Once both full, I locked up the truck and drove the fit to the storage in Dixon. There I hitched up the tear drop trailer, which was full of more boxes, to the Fit. We are driving up to our new place tonight to drop off the trailer and my car. We have five cars so it’s a bit of a fire drill getting all there.

Had to get the car jack out in order to connect the trailer. No one there to help so had to use tools. It was a knuckle busting pain in the ass. Good times.

I hauled off to work. Managed to get there by 330. Great, I can get 2 hours work in before I go up the hill. I had one client visit to finalize his 4 returns. I went thru the paperwork on a few more. Checked the mail. Usual.

Emily called. She said the truck wouldn’t start, she was pissed and angry. Fun. So we decided she would leave the truck and drive her car up the hill. Between u and me, I doubt there is anything wrong with the truck. When I get home later it will start, I just feel it.

I worked for about another half hour then I got in the Fir and drove to Auburn. Emily was about 15 minutes ahead of me. And it’s raining. No matter. I arrived at new humble abode and we dive into the work. Managed to get all lights on and crank up the heater. Then we unloaded the car and trailer. We did not empty any boxes. All we did was put boxes where the contents would end up. Took an hour.

It was late, almost 9. We left in search of food. Sadly, it seems all establishments close at 9. We drove several miles toward hwy 80 with no luck. Finally, very near the hey we found Burger & Cream open (till 10) and had a nice Valentines dinner there. We are both very tired so we ate and got moving.

The drive seemed like forever. Probably an hour 10 but felt longer. We got home, watered the dogs, and went to bed.

I have been remiss. I apologize to you and your family, unreservedly, for any and all slights. Both real and imagined. Is that overdone? I missed posting Tuesday in my regular and timely manner.

But I have decent excuses. First and foremost, it’s tax season. That eats a few hours. Second, I am buying a house and pushing on all to get it closed in time to move in over the 4 day holiday weekend. And I am proactive on both. I don’t wait for the agent, the lender or title to do things when they see fit. I keep on all of them and push them to move faster and go higher than they thought possible in order to achieve what I want. Yes, I am annoying, but only when required. If you let these folks do as they want you will wait forever. I haven’t got all day.

Well, Tuesday was very busy at times and very boring at most.

I was up and out of the hotel by 8. Btw, the in tool coffee was truly awful even by in room coffee standards. Brown, hot and not drinkable. Dumped it.

The signing is at a Starbucks about a mile up the street. Can’t do it at signers house cause of spouse issues. Ever been married? Ya, that. Got here about 8 for signing at 10. Early but I’m out of town so what is there to do. I bought a large ice coffee and a newspaper. I read the hell out of the paper and sipped coffee. For almost two hours till signer showed up. A few minutes later, notary showed up. Done in fifteen minutes.

Had a few words with the two of them, grabbed the signed docs and headed north on the 5 to Visalia. I would regale you with anecdotes, stories, bon mots, etc about the drive but, let’s face it, it was dull and colorless. Stopped for fuel in Grapevine. Took a leak. Off again to Visalia. Took 4 hours. Not bad since the drive started in LA.

Visalia is a horrible place. It’s dead but doesn’t know it. But, 100K people call it home. Sad. I was thirty minutes early for the signing. But, I was ready. I had the signed docs from the am, just waiting for second signatures. This signing was like the first, quick and email easy. Once signed I gathered all the docs together and went to FedEx. Dropped them in priority overnight and my workday was done. What to do? Oh yeah, go home.

I left Visalia at a high rate of speed. I really hate the place. I am headed home. Roads were clear as was the rain. No slow going, I was pushing 85 all the way. Only one gas stop. No delays. I made Vacaville by 930.

This all qualifies as a long day. I went to bed quickly after getting home.

Wednesday, was slower. But, I am still trying to insure a quick close to the home purchase. So, upon arising, I immediately called title to make sure docs had arrived. Tracking had them coming at 930.

So I ran through the usual morning chores feed, feed, lunch, coffee. Usual. Got all done. Got all ready. Spent a half an hour dealing with the flooded garage, and left for work. Called title at 930. She was waiting on finding. So I called lender to see what there was a delay. These promised done by noon.

Got to work. My 12 was a no show. I spent that time making callbacks. Then started working on tax returns. Called lender. They had just funded. Called title, told her to verify funding of loan, while I was on hold, it funded. Asked how long till it records? 130. I cheerfully said I would call back

Back to work, more taxes. Till 130. Called title. Deed has recorded. The eagle has landed. I called Emily and shared the news. She was strangely calm. We are finally done. Now we, and a bank, own a house. I can now move on to other things. Like moving. I can stop thinking about all the fun things I have been put through in the last 90 days. I can cancel my daily Zillow mail. This is good.

Client and wife came in at 4 for appointment. Wait, they came in at 435 for a 4 appointment. They blamed traffic and the huge rainstorm. Likely excuse. I finished off their two tax returns in 30 minutes but they stayed and asked all sorts of questions for another hour.

They did finally leave at six when I told them I had another appointment coming in. But, he did not come till 630. Why is the last one of the day so late? Seems very rude.

I have to drive up to Auburn tonight. So I want to be done. I made a deal to pay $15k to seller outside escrow at close. We closed. Have to go tonight. Need this last client to be quick. Well, he wasn’t. I had all his info reviewed and in the file in 15 minutes for prep tomorrow. But, he had questions. Pointless, stupid, questions. Time consuming questions. He had bought a Tesla and spent 15 minutes telling me why it was the greatest cat in the world. I could not get rid of him. He finally left after 730. I shut down and jumped in the car.

Auburn is not that far away. I had my cashier check. I drove fast. 60 mph even. Did I forget to mention? It’s raining buckets, the roads are not safe. I drove 55 mostly. Used the time wisely making phone calls. In the rain. In the car.

Got to Auburn, went to agents office, slipped the envelope through the mail slot. Off to the car. Drive back home. Only 70 miles. I feel like I have been driving for days. But, with that check, we are done.

I got to Vacaville by 905. Emily has told me to grab food. All restaurants I drove by were closed. Nothing. I went home. Emily was ready for bed. Me too but I had to find food. All pantry’s are packed. I managed to find something to eat in fridge. Instant microwave breakfast. Yummy.

After that I went to bed. It’s late. I blogged for a while.