Month: November 2019

It’s finally here. A day with a built in excuse to cook door eight hours and then eat for ten minutes. One thing is true as it was when I was a boy, today is about pie. It’s the only reason I show up. Really true, the pie keeps me coming back. I make pie at Christmas too. Or I would probably skip it. Call it in. Probably why we don’t do anything for the 4th. No pie.

First thing this morning, I mean after tooth brush, and some yogurt, I opened a bottle of fine French champagne for the bride and I to enjoy. Marika loves champagne too. But she is not here. Too bad, so sad, for her. Bubbles were very nice. Don’t get them often enough. But always on Christmas and Thanksgiving. And def first thing in the morning.

This holiday we are not having a crowd. Emily will cook for a crowd, but there is only going to be four of us. Marikas boy-toy, Jutt, will be our fourth. And, I made three pies, so I am one to talk.

About now, Marika returned from Dixon. Poor timing on her part, she will be enlisted to help prepare dinner. Haha. I gave her a glass of champagne which always improves her mood and makes her more compliant.

The next five hours were all thanksgiving prep. You can imagine the work. At 2pm the turkey went in. And we relaxed a bit. Jutt showed at about 3 and we were off to the races. We sat and enjoyed a cocktail. And a small charcuterie. Chatted about things. You know, things. Talked about Jutt’s previous thanksgiving, ours is his second of the day. He had one with his fam earlier today around noon or one.

Our turkey was ready around 5. When the turkey comes out it’s mealtime. I carved up the bird while others brought the rest of the food to the table. See, if you only have one task, you wont have anything else to do.

I probably don’t have to describe eating. The meal is just like everyone else’s in America. At our house the food is fantastic. We have wine, so so this year, and we eat a lot. Shocking. I know we enjoy it. The eating at least, not so much the cleanup. Or the prep. This year every part of the meal we made turned out perfectly, which is worth noting. It often does not happen that way. Some years are a complete bust. This must be a reward for all the practice we have had.

After our meal we did the usual. Unbutton the pants and relax. I made more cocktails for all of us. I had a Kahlua and cream, something I have not had in years. Long time. Emily went the same route and had a drink she used to enjoy long ago. Maybe that’s a thing to get sentimental at holidays, I don’t usually.

Good news. Time to eat pie. It’s been since last Christmas, and I am ready. I whipped some cream, and brought it and all three pies to the table. Personally, I have a piece of everything. They are my faves and I can’t think of a reason not to. I love pie. The lemon was tart with perfect meringue. The pecan was almost like eating a candy bar with gooey filling and nutty crunch. And the pumpkin was exactly what I want it to be. I think everyone else enjoyed them. I really wasn’t paying attention. They can Yelp me if they want. I love pie.

After dinner was the usual. We cleaned up and put away food. Em and I sat and finished watching Home Alone while the other two played dominoes. That’s our day.

it’s close to midnight and all are asleep except me. I will be soon. Emily is snoring like a chainsaw so it may take awhile. Good night.

My Tuesday started out same as always. Feed dog, make coffee, dress for workout, wake the kid and head out.

Most weeks, Monday to Thursday, are like this. Exactly like this. Same tasks at same time. It’s great! Keeps me getting out of bed every day.

Well, kid and I went to workout. And things were different. That’s because my trainer is becoming slightly more sadistic with each passing day. Today is a passing day. She ramped up the workout to insane levels just because she hates me. I guess. It’s Thursday evening and I am still quite sore. And I am working out in the morning.

Ok. I digress. She, trainer Pam, destroyed me. Meanie. After the workout she had something new. She went into how we should run my future workouts. What I wanted from them. Etc. Then she wanted to go over my diet and how I could improve it to get more out of my workouts. I had no idea she actually cared. Probably professional care. But care, nonetheless.

This conversation prompted me to call my diet coach Kelly. She thought I should call the nutritionist to ask what diet changes might improve my workout results. My call elicited a suggestion of more protein in my diet. Which is what the trainer said. So I guess I need more protein to improve my life. Ok.

Back home. Cleaned up and enjoy a day off right? No. Tomorrow is turkey day. We did the last of the shopping. Then I baked pies for 4 plus hours. It’s my duty. Every holiday. Today I made a pumpkin, maple pecan and lemon meringue. And they are perfect. Really perfect. I outdid myself. Man am I good. See what I can do without the extra protein in my life? Man, I will be amazing once I have it.

I finished up the pies and set them in a safe place. We have cats and all.

I don’t want to neglect Emily’s input. She was working too. Just not here. She had a dentist appointment in Vacaville at 11 and then went to her classroom to get it Christmas ready. She got home close to dinner time about when I finished pies.

She made a funny leftover dinner, a sort of sweet potato skins stuffed with leftovers. Turned out great. Which really was a surprise.

Our evening was normal. After finishing dinner, and cleaning the kitchen, we sat and watched the usual bad TV. And went to bed. Marika is away till tomorrow. She likes to avoid all the work that goes with that.

Today is Tuesday and I took a day off yesterday from blogging. I apologize. Monday was not very exciting. I had a tough workout but the rest of the day was lame.

Today I got up at 7. Late. Emily is home on break and it’s real easy to sleep late. So we were late to workout by an hour. Not that it matters. We got to use the workout room between spin and Zumba. That never happens.

Trainer Pam left us a workout from hell. I am not sure what she was thinking. Prob wanted to beat us up. It worked. I am still in pain at 1040am.

Workout was an hour. Kid and I went for coffee after. Still on the decaf prescription so going for coffee is not too exciting. Just brown water.

Got home, cleaned up and ready for the day. I went to work. Again, a nice ride.

The day was not exciting, boring even. Got some things done though not much. Carol brought her new dog to work. It’s a lab/pit mix. Cute as hell. Black and white, also one black ear and one white. Cute. Very sweet disposition. The dog loved me too. Can’t doubt his judgment.

My 2 o’clock appointment, supposed new client, cancelled their appointment. I like cancelled appointments cuz it means I don’t have to work. They are gonna come back next week.

My next appointment did make it. Babar Saghir, got here at three. He had 7 tax returns he needed me to prepare. The four corporate returns were a complete surprise. Sadly he need them done by Monday so I will need to do the work over the holiday weekend. I was thinking of not doing any work. Complete bullshit. But I do want the fees. So I workin over the weekend.

Finished my day with this guy. Called home and we decided to go out for Mexican. The new place in downtown Auburn. I took off planning to meet them there. Had to stop for couple bottles of champagne for Thursday, and I can’t forget , I had to go to the pet store for doggie prescription food. Which is too damn expensive. Which I hate. But for the kid, it’s her dog, I take care of it.

I got to the restaurant long before the girls. Place is new and it was packed. Long lines at the front counter. Hell, long lines to the restroom. Instead of getting in line I grabbed a table and waited for the wife and kid to show up.

Girls arrived about ten minutes after me. Line had receded, we ordered our dinner. Food was great. I had a carne asada plate as did Marika. We ate slow then sat around awhile. Relaxing. I’m not working tomorrow and Em is off for a week. We have time.

When ready to leave I suggested we head into downtown and get a cocktail. From where we were it was under 30 seconds to a couple bars. Off we went to Club Car. Bar was full to overflowing so we left went a 100 ft up the street to Tap and Vine. Lots of room and it’s Tuesday so margaritas are $3.50 $3.50!!! Ya we had those. 2 each. Only $20. Insane!

After our evening out we went home. And went to bed. Not surprising. Got to skip bad TV. It’s a win.

This is the first day of Thanksgiving week. So I figure this qualifies as a holiday as well. And Emily has the week off so its even more holiday.

Today was like Saturday. Walter the electrician came out to finish. He worked all day and did not finish the job. Maybe next week. Morning duties exactly same as Saturday. No house cleaning today, that’s a good difference. Walter did not cut through anymore pipes. I like that. Em and I cleaned the glass house. There is now more room though prob not enough to make it more useful. But it’s cleaner.

Marika left for work at about noon. We continued our cleanup, and I kept an eye on the boys doing the electrical, out back. They need some supervision.

Emily decided we should go advent/stocking shopping. So we loaded up the truck and drove to Beverly. No, Roseville. We spent about an hour at each store we stopped at, except for Cost Plus. Two hours there which included time to search for the prizes they hide in the store. We did not find one. After that off to REI and spent an easy hour there as well. Took a couple calls too while shopping. Spent a was. Nothing exciting, sorry to disappoint.

Next up, Winco! My fave grocery store. We shopped for our Thanksgiving meal. Didn’t take too long and we got everything we need. For under $70.

Went back home. Emily made split pea soup for dinner which is a family fave. We all love it. Emily and I wanted to start eating before Marika got home. But, she called and said she would be home soon. So we waited for her.

Marika got home just past seven. And we served up. All of us were ready for soup. Pea soup is fantastic. Dinner tonight is great. My only question, how do they split all those peas.

Now is the time for bad TV. Then bed. Emily has the day off which means I do too. Not so much to do in the am. I look forward to it.

it’s bedtime now. I have to go. I am falling asleep.

I can’t say today has been normal. Walter, our electrician, was here by 730. Before my breakfast or paper. He is eager. He is electrifying the workshop out back. Today’s big task is digging a trench from the main panel to the workshop. Should be about 100’ or so. Walter says it will be quick. Knowing Walter, it’s gonna take all day.

Most of the morning was wasted on cleaning house. That involves Emily being in a bad mood. We could probably be more productive if we just cleaned and did not complain but it’s her way.

We are meeting Emily’s sister at 11am for lunch. We are going to Katrinas and meeting her there. I haven’t been there in months so I am looking forward to it.

We did finally finish cleaning, to an extent, Dee called and we headed downhill. She beat us there and had a table ready. Which is a coup considering how busy this place is.

Dee is headed to Disneyland today. She is a Club 33 member there and goes down a couple times a year. An expensive hobby but also exclusive and I am jealous. She will be down there two nights. I wish I was going.

After lunch Dee left. We decided to go to the Mandarin Festival. When we finally found it we realized it was at the fairgrounds and had a gate admission so we skipped it. I can’t see paying my way into an event to spend money on the event. Seems like bullshit.

Onward and upward. We stopped at Grocery Outlet to drop off bottles, anyone remember bottle recycle? They still do it. We shopped the Christmas aisle for a bit but it seemed there was nothing. Did not bother to return the bottles cuz lines were too long. We left. One more stop at the furniture store for a shelf or tall chest of drawers. Funny, this time we found something. Though Emily decided not to order it and think about it for awhile. I was ready to pull the trigger. So maybe Tuesday we will get it. It’s inexplicable.

Back to the house. Checked on the boys digging the ditch. Seems they cut through some existing wiring for the pump. Walter says it will be fixed in 10 mins. Whatever. We are just sitting around. No water, no problem.

Three hours later, the wiring was repaired and we have water. The boys will be back early tomorrow to finish. I say finish in the loosest sense of being done. Walter is not so good with estimates of time and cost. But he does get the job done.

Marika is at work. Close to her last shift, she gave two weeks a week ago. It’s late enough and we are making dinner. Marika called about then and said she was going to be home soon. We held dinner for a few minutes, she did not show, so we ate. And here it’s an hour later and she still hasn’t gotten home. My dinner would have been really cold.

We have been doin it for the last hour. Intensely. So much so that Emily has passed out. Bad TV will do that to you. I will stay up till Marika gets home.

Emily finally woke up. We had ice cream. She added in some vanilla pudding for herself. She is a glutton at times.

I will admit, I am ready for bed. But, we sit here waiting for the kid to come home. It’s a thing. A worrisome and annoying thing. But wait we do.

Ok. It’s a thIng but it’s been another hour. So we are going to bed. We are tired and I can make her a cocktail for breakfast. Goodnight.

Up at usual time. I figure today I can get moving early since Marika is in Reno. I plan on leaving to work out when Emily leaves.

Don’t make plans.

Emily insisted I go down to the mailbox and get the paper. Then walk the garbage can back up on my way. This burned 10 minutes. And I got a call, which I would have missed, 5 more minutes. I did get out of the house finally, 5 minutes early.

I am having my shop wired for electricity. Today I got a call from my electrician in the parking lot of the gym just as I arrived. He was at the electric supply buying wire. He needed me to pay for it. Said the clerk would call. So now I waited at the gym for the call. 15 mins. Finally. Got it paid and finally got to my work out. Late.

Workout was fine. But, I am trying to get out to work early. Not gonna happen.

Back to the house after workout. I received two or three more calls. Work. Those ended up being 45 mins worth of mins bending problems. Jesus. Amazingly, there was a gap so I dashed into the shower. Got dressed. And headed out. Got a call on the way to the car. That lasted 20 minutes. Next I made a call which carried me all the way to the office. I got in late. 1145.

I have a lunch appt at noon. Duh. So I arrived in time to make that but get nothing else done before lunch.

Met new client at about 1205. Lunch went to 130. My day is going away. Back at the office I received 10 more calls. I have some issues I am trying to solve. And everyone calls.

I have a late appointment at 430. So now I am trying to get as many throngs done as I can before they get here. Also have to swap out my cars at the speed shop. Pick up the one that is done and leave my partially finished Fit. A project that won’t end. But I need time at the end of the day to get it done.

I worked on random things till about 406 when I received a call from my 430. They could not make it. Lovely.

Now I had about an hour to kill. I did random things and left for the weekend. Yay.

At speed shop I swapped out cars, talked to the boss, discussed what was left to do on the Fit. Only a few things. Might have it back before Thanksgiving.

Home at top speed. Got only as far as Home Depot to meet the electrician. I have to be there to pay for the supplies. I do nothing else. My electrician, Walter, will be at the house tomorrow morning to work on the shop wiring. It’s a big job. He will be here at 7.

Em called about now. She does not want to go out to dinner. I stopped on my way home and picked up nachos. At home we threw together leftover chicken and salad to go with the nachos. I made a couple old fashions and we have dinner.

Bad TV is called for after dinner. Especially in a Friday. Emily is asleep on the couch next to me. I am blogging and not watching the crap on TV. Very soon I am going to bed.

it’s Wednesday hence the title above. Not known as the most exciting of weekdays. Today same.

Usual crap this morn. Except, Marika again decided against going to work out. What the hell is wrong with her?

Workout was strong. I’m still alive. Went home. Got everything ready like lunch, etc. Marika drove me to Dixon to pick up the Mercedes which has been in the body shop. First, I have appts for haircut, and etc. and grabbed some coffee. While doing that Marika went to visit a friend. I called her when I was done. Then she drove me to get the car. Also got new tires on the thing too. A big day.

I got to the office before one and Marika went home. I worked about 4 hours and was done. No excitement, one visitor and a couple phone calls. left for home at about 6. Spoke to Emily, nothing exciting, but need to touch base. She likes to have a quick hello at days end.

Marika had dinner ready when I got home. Baked chicken and veg. Very nice. Dinner made for you is always very nice. Meal was great. Opened a bottle of Rose as well. Mid week drinking. Winner!

we baked up some microwave German choc cake for dessert. Just the thing to end the day. Follow with bad TV and we are ready for bed.

Up at 530 as usual. Another lousy night sleep even with the use of Melatonin. Dog out and fed cats fed. Emily fed plus coffee. Em lunch. Once she left I fed me.

Ready for workout. I woke Marika. She said no. Then 30 secs later she was up and ready to go. Weird.

Went to gym. Had an awesome workout. The trainer is trying to up her game and I am giving her game back. So there. I asked Marika to join us but partway thru she quit. She is in a mood.

On the way home we stopped for a few vital supplies at the grocers. I forgot to get myself a cup of decaf. It does not pick me up at all but it is hot and brown like real coffee. I miss real coffee.

At home, I showered and got ready for my day. Packed up food. Did the dishes. Marika was getting ready at same time.

I should mention, the speed shop still has my S2000. So today I drove my Fit to the speed shop so it could be worked on and took the S2000 for the day. At the end of my day I couldn’t switch out for the Fit since they were not done. So I drove home in the S2000. Met Emily on the freeway and headed home. She wanted to race but I beat her home. Not much of a race.

I pulled off the freeway in front of her, made the light at the end of the ramp, she missed it, and that was it. I beat her home by 5 minutes. One light, all the difference.

Evening was the usual. Dinner, TV and bed. Amazing.

People, in general, give Monday a bad rep. Why? Because Monday’s deserve it. Things are bad on Monday. All things. Things go wrong on Monday’s. All things. This morning I woke at 440am and did not fall back asleep. I attempted normalcy in my morning routine in order to regain a little control. Got everything done. Had my breakfast while waiting for the kid to get up so we could work out. After waiting on her and two attempts to move her out of bed she decided to not go. You know, tell me before I’m ten minutes late. I zipped off to the gym. Well, the auto lock on the front door we use for 24/7 access was busted. No access. An employee on site contacted the owners and “only 15 mins” they will be there. 40 mins later, I am rescheduling my workout because it took too long for them to unlock and it ate up my time. What day is it?

I drove home. Why home, don’t I need groceries? Yes. But I forgot my wallet. Nothing goes right.

And, I took a fall where Emily decided to put the rug in the hallway. Right at the steps. Just enough to catch my shoe. I should go back to bed.

Instead of bed I showered, dressed and made my lunch. I have to take Emily’s car to the body shop. The garage door on our Vacaville house came down on the tailgate moments before we vacated. Yay. Finally getting a repair. Marika is driving down with me and gonna give me a ride to the office. Emily will give me a ride home.

There was no traffic at all on the drive. Quite peaceful and very fast. Unfortunately I was driving the Mercedes which I don’t really like. Got to Dixon in an hour. Which is crazy fast. I went to the shop, Marika stopped at Starbucks to use the restroom.

Got to the shop and parked. Made a call and answered som text messages. Went inside and Darren was there. That helps cuz I deal with him direct via text and skip the service manager. And Darren never does any paperwork which screws up the office. But we all managed to get it done. Two days. Done. Then it’s off to the tire shop for new rubber. Car is having a midlife crisis.

Marika showed up about now and we headed out. Had to stop at Starbucks, again to use the facilities. The trip to the office was fast and clean same as earlier. Just a great traffic day.

Marika dropped me at the office around noon. She went off to Sacramento to meet her friend Bella. Bella needs help packing. She is moving to Alaska where her husband is stationed. Gonna be there awhile too. Then they were headed out to test drive cars. Bella needs a Subaru for Alaska. Sure.

Meanwhile, back at the office… I was working. Had a client come by for a consultation at one and he stayed till three. Not ok. After that, just worked on a few things. Did not accomplish much. My three o’clock did not show up. Which was nice. Emily dropped by at about 430. She is my ride home.

Traffic good, but it’s the day. We were texting with Marika on the drive. She had intended on fixing us dinner but is still out with Bella. Also, she does not feel good. So we proceeded on as if no dinner worry. I had Emily stop at the Thai place for dinner. Thai Garden, one place we had never been to. And now we have it is a fine Thai restaurant and perhaps a little on the high price side. Bad news, I was thinking I was going to have Thai ice coffee but realized, right before ordering, I am in the no coffee diet. Crap. The yellow curry I had was very good.

On the way home Emily announced her Rx was ready so we headed that way. I had a couple things to get too.

We are now home. Sitting and watching the usual bad TV. And it’s bad. Some singing competition show. I really don’t care. With luck, we will be in bed soon.

Boy am I glad we are going home. After last night I don’t want to hang around my relatives that much. They tire me.

I slept very poorly last night. Woke up at 230 and just stayed awake. God I hate that. At home I have a large jar of melatonin for these occurrences. Here I got zip. Always fun to listen to your wife snore her brains out for hours while you stare at the ceiling.

We got out of bed at about 730. I feel like poop. Do not look good either. I think a good nights sleep might help.

Jax was his usual self on the hotel lawn. He wandered for five minutes without doing anything. I think he prefers to shit inside. I know I do. Maybe he will go at Dads house.

On our way to Dads we picked up Starbucks for us. Nothing for the rest. I gifted that yesterday not today. The dickheads at Starbucks screwed up my order. Morons. How tough is it to make coffee? I will save it and take it in later on my way out. And watch them to be sure they get it right. I hate them.

Got to the house. No breakfast. I had pumpkin pie. My Dad ate the very last piece of lemon. Which is fine. He is a selfish old buzzard and thinks he can do whatever he wants when he is home. I’d slap him but that’s elder abuse.

There was some creme brûlée left but my son, sister and bro in law were eating out of the container. Double dipping. So I licked my finger and stuck it in. Join the fun, right? And I get yelled at. Weird.

We loaded up the car as did all others. Got the dog crapped. Kissed all goodbye. And we are off. 5 minutes later, Starbucks. Same imbecile served me again. I could tell he remembered. Jerk off. Back on the road with hot coffee. Emily driving, I drove down.

The drive was smooth, and fast. We checked in with the others who left same time as us and all reported same. We had one stop 5 miles out for gas. And home. Finally. Actually, well under four hours. Used to be longer when we lived in Dixon.

Unloading was quick since we only had two days worth and left all food there. Came in said hi to the cats. Started the laundry. Put away all the crap. Emily got a bug up her bootie and decided to mop and partially clean the house. Yes she is crazy. I did some cleaning. Put away the power cords we used for the generator. Put away the generator after getting it ready for storage. Just did odds and ends.

We finally sat down. Watch a little of the news. 60 minutes. I put a pot of soup on. Emily had made it last Thursday. It’s heating up now. We are sitting in front of TV. Marika just got home from work so we get a dose of what’s wrong with the Annex. A lot it seems. I don’t think Marika missed us while we were gone.

The soup is awesome. With sweet potato biscuits which are also very good. I am not sure what’s in them (ya, sweet potato) but I like them. Probably won’t eat them again cuz of high calories and carbs.

Tonight’s dinner was the antidote to last night. We had nice, quiet, calm conversation which we could all join in. Very unlike last night. I enjoyed being able to hear and speak without fear of reprisal.

Now it’s that point at the end of the weekend/evening where we really slow down and sit. Or if lucky go to bed. I’m sitting.

I returned to the front room after sitting. The ladies were watching bad TV which is an evening tradition. All I really want to do is go to bed. If I just get up and leave the room it might push Emily to go to bed. That’s what I’m doing.