Mosh Glass

Ah, yes, Monday. Blissful and kind, Monday. Beautiful day of the week.

This morning, like all others, had the normal drone of a weekday. I hear the animals, looking for food. The shower let’s us know someone needs to go to work. Extra noise with another person. The kitchen sounds are a rush as well. Drip coffee, microwave food reheat. All rushing noisily to push us into the day.

Emily out early, scraping through the door loaded down. Our houseguest not seen at all, but can hear the shower and other bathroom noise. I am moving silently through all except for the noise in my head screaming.

Finally, all quiet or gone. Same thing. Into the car with the noisy clutch that squeals and squeaks when it moves.

Now in the gym, which assaults you with clangs and grunts as you walk in but quiets down in short minutes to a low hum with no definition as you clang and grunt on your own and your noise takes up all room. Soon the pain of the movements pushes out all sound. All that’s left is the noise of moving, inside your head.

Driving again, same noises but muted by the exhaustion which pulls your hearing away from the car.

Home and back to the morning noise of the shower and dressing. But quieter because no one is here.

Driving bing to work. The traffic is silent, no matter how many cats. The meditative nature of driving can remove all excess noise from outside your head. Or, blast away other noise with the radio.

The office is like the library. All day. No noise whatsoever. A morgue with live corpses, working. Quietly. Hours pass with head down working on very unimportant and silent tasks. Cursing the work breaks the spell with sudden noise which is gone immediately.

Goodbye they leave one by one. A few minutes without the noise of their breathing. I leave to join the silent race home. Quiet not quiet enough.

Stop. The store is an assault of noise that can not be stopped. Bright lights make it noisier still. The sound of people rushing to buy food and go home. They hate the noise too.

Home. Not quiet anymore. Happy voices and noises. Not trying to quiet all but letting the sounds wash over me and take them in. Assaultively loud meal with all, compares to silence of the day. This loudness comforts.

Bed. Peace. Loudest mind of the day. Screaming between my ears. Lay down and wait for it to stop.

I would like to give a shout out to Dave Yancey whom I met yesterday in Old Town. When we were running around up there yesterday, I saw a mid thirties car parked across the street and crossed the street to take a look. While looking at it, owner Dave showed up. And had to tell me all about it.

So it turns out, car is a 1935 Auburn Coupe. Only 4 left of the 1900 or so made. The car top is made of wood, that’s crazy. This car won the Pebble Beach Concourse in 1983. No longer in concourse shape, Dave drives her everyday. Owned the car 7 years and put 20k miles on it so far.

He is driving it all over the country next year starting in Auburn, CA and driving through the other 35 Auburn’s in the US. Ending in Auburn, IN. They will be in Auburn, Maine in 14 months and I hope my in-laws can make it. I think he has created an adventure.

This is a last hurrah for Dave, he is only a few years younger than his car. I think it’s a very cool way to spend 18 months.

Ok, so that all occurred yesterday. And I do have a today as well. Which happens to be Mother’s Day.

This morning I made breakfast for Emily. Corned beef hash with eggs and jalapeño bacon. Very good stuff though the bacon was a little salty. And a high protein breakfast too which is so good for you. I guess.

I did get Emily a gift. I know it may sound crazy but I have her a leaf blower. I have been told many times to not ever buy tools or appliances for your wife. Well, that’s wrong. My wife likes gifts like that. She had been discussing a leaf blower for a few weeks and I did not want to buy one. One more thing to maintain and repair. No thank you. Then I thought, why not a cordless battery operated one? Yes, it’s brilliant. Turned out to be cheap as well. No maintenance. Works like a charm. So there you go – Mother’s Day.

Our missing child did text me and ask me to buy her mom flowers and a card. And sign it for her. Just like your kid, hey dad do all the work so I don’t look like an ungrateful child. Please. So I did. Of course Emily knew. And it wasn’t flowers, it was a bejeweled license plate frame. Much better.

So, Mother’s Day over. Except for the phone calls. We went out for a couple hours to run errands. I can not remember anything except the grocers, picked of dinner. Lamb loin chops, etc. Errands always seem important but are never memorable.

We got home and did a little work around the house. Finished cleaning other bedroom for our guest arriving tonight. Misc chores. Nothing that thrills. Watched some bad Sunday TV and sat around.

Eventually it became late enough to fix dinner. I bbq’d the lamb chops, Emily broiled a veg combo of asparagus, mushrooms and tomatoes. Garlic and a little cheese on top. That was a hit. Spuds on the side. I am not a huge fan of potatoes. I opened a bottle of wine too. Funny aside, Emily had tried to give this bottle to the garbage man on a huge waste day. Turns out this bottle, a gift, was an extra special bottle. I caught it, as did the giver that reminded her how special it was. She had actually set it out for our garbage man. Close call. We drank it. And it was quite nice.

Randy, our guest showed up about 830. We saved him a plate. No starving here. He had been driving most of day. Tired like us. We caught up on the shizzle for a few minutes and then he went to bed. Emily and I did same. It’s late now.

Well, it’s finally Saturday. I am hoping to get some work done here on the Ponderosa. But Emily reminded me we are going to walk through Old Town. Oh yeah.

So we got up late. I made coffee and breakfast, as is my want. Nothing special. Emily of course has to watch TV because that’s what she does. I hate TV.

We sat, ate and watched TV. Until Emily claimed she was waiting for me to shower and was not watching TV. As if I was. Christ. I took a shower. I get to go first on weekends so I don’t have to squeege our the shower for a change.

Emily got ready next. That takes forever. So I had time to clean the kitchen, do dishes, and neaten up the other bedroom.

We have a long term guest arriving tomorrow. Randy, who is my sister in laws brother. He is a PA in training and will be doing a rotation in Grass Valley for six weeks. He had called and requested a free place to stay. Seems fine. Be here tomorrow.

Anyway, the second bedroom is stacked with shit, and clothes. Mostly Marikas clothes and shoes. I don’t know what will eventually happen to it all. Maybe throw away. She may think we will store her shit forever but that would be wrong. For time being though, it sits.

Emily did finally come out of the bathroom ready to go. Took forever. We went to Old Town but stopped at the optician on the way. Eye exam. They put us off for an hour cuz they are busy. Hey, me too. So we went to Old Town. Sadly, we will only have 45 minutes and then come back for exam. And then prob go back to Old Town. Not time saving.

Old Town is about a ten minute drive from the optician. Straight up 49 to High St. no nav needed. Unless you are completely directionless.

We are on a methodical tour of Old Town today. No real decision, we just started on one side of the street and walked up. Went into every place that struck our fancy. For 40 minutes, that is. Then back to optician.

I sat down in the waiting area at the eye dr and Emily went in for her exam. The exam, I had one two weeks ago, is exciting. The dr moves quick and talks quick and really moves it along. You have no chance to be bored. Lots of different machines, flashing lights, etc. Gotta justify the price of the exam. Emily just came out. Her eyes look the same. Yet different.

Now we go sit up front with the sales guy who will convince you to buy polarized or progressive or insurance or something else to make them money. There must be a lot of money in glasses. Fortunately it all came to an end for $300. Pick up on Monday.

Now we can go back to old town and finish our tour. Ten minutes and I parked near where I had been. We picked up our stroll where we had left off. It appears that most of the places here lean toward tourist. The restaurants are for everyone though. I have been to damn near all of them and they are good. Def worth a trip. Our tour today, zero purchases. Win.

Em was hungry, which she mentioned after we drove off. So on the way home I stopped, first time, at Bobo Cafe. It’s a Vietnamese joint on 49 near the brewery that used to be a car dealer. Ya, that place. Scuba store next to it. Right, you got it! The joint was large and absolutely empty. I like viet food. I ordered the ice coffee (big fave!) and pork Pho. Emily got spicy (not) beef with noodles.

So I am used to Pho being tasty. Add veg, and peppers. Some hoisin or sriracha or both. Tasty. Well, one sip of this and I was burned. Spicier than hell. I added my veg and jalapeños. Spicy. The jalapeños were like fire. This never happens. Maybe first time ever.

Halfway through the bowl the owner of the place came by and offered ice water. Emiky comment Ed her on spicy nature of the food and she said she likes it that way. And the jalapeños are fresh so much hotter. Loved it. But, Emily’s was not so impressive. Or good. Lunch was very good as far as I can tell.

When we got home I took the time to wash one of my many cars I had not cleaned last week. Cleaning cars is now a hobby till the new garage is built and carport enclosed. They get dirty. And I get to clean.

After that it was off to run errands. I had a short list. I took Ems car to quick quack, she subscribes, and got a wash. Of course after a drive thru wash I need to dry it and vacuum it. It’s work.

Off to Target for Mother’s Day cards and some ibuprofen. They go together.

Fast stop at hardware for a garden hose. One of ours exploded last week while I was cleaning one of the cars. Type of hose does not allow for repair so I chucked it. But now I have a new hose.

Back home. Not much going on. We decided on leftovers for dinner. Having bbq leg of lamb which will prob be excellent. But last nights Italian food is perfect for tonight. I also through in a portion of the meatballs we made a couple nights ago. Those were awesome. And still are. Above all, this was an easy meal. I tacked on a Mai Tai for the bride. I had a glass of the red we had opened earlier in the week and it actually had improved. So there’s dinner. Fabulous.

And after dinner? Went to bed. We are tired. And tomorrow is Mother’s Day. I did wrap one gift before bed. Marika had asked me to buy something for Em and get a card and sign it for her. The no work Mother’s Day for a kid. Amazing.

I went to bed.

Ok. Sad news to report. Wednesday and Thursday were not blog worthy in any way. Just boring workdays without and deviation from the norm. Sad.

I don’t usually have completely mundane days during the week and never two in a row. Until now. I do on occasion write about the mundanity but I am going to skip it this time.

Today is Friday and I am gonna start with that. Friday was not thrilling but compared to other days this week it is scintillating.

Today I am going skiing. As you may remember, my last ski day did not end to well. That’s because I had gone up there to get by boots fixed. I have a lot of pain in my right heel and needed that fixed. On that day my boot guy Buck was going to adjust the boots. He didn’t. He gave me a new pair of socks and said that was the problem. Sorry Buck, no.

Today I am back to finally get the fix done. Only an hour and 15 min to get there. Buck was not there but one of his minions was. Herschel. Looks a lot like Seth Rogan. Which is not germane to this discussion. Anyhow, Seth, I mean Hersh fixes the boot. He took out the liner, took it into the back ground down the liner and Shazam: fixed. I am now pain free. I am wearing Bucks magic socks too.

When I had arrived at the shop I found out Squaw was closed due to high winds. And they remained closed for two hours. Till at least ten am. So I had a lot of time for them to fix the boots.

So, verdict on boots ? They are fixed as best as can be. No pain in my heel anymore. Much easier to ski. Verdict on Squaw? Not so good. Lousy snow conditions, wind blowing like hell, difficult to ski. I ended up leaving at 1130. But, I had to backtrack my way through Squaw because I could not find my phone. First stop at shop I stopped at to buy new googles that morning. Same place I had left my gloves when buying same goggles. Not there. Went to lost and found. No. Checked my car thoroughly. No. Went to Bucks shop. No. Not good. Took off for home. An hour later stopped at Starbucks in Colfax. No. Off to home. Turns out, I never took the phone off the charger. What a maroon I am.

With phone in hand, literally, I went to the office. No traffic, fast trip. Nice for a Friday. Emily called while I was driving. It was 2pm and she was headed home. Very early. No big news, just saying hi as she likes to do. The phone is her friend.

I need to prep payroll, it is Friday, and a few other things. Plus one late day meeting. That’s it.

I managed to finish up my work and head for the hills. Trip up was uneventful. It usually is, I drive at reasonable speeds and keep my distance. Strangely, that seems to help. Who knew?

Got home and relaxed. Sat around a little, went to the can, pet the dog. The usual. Emily said what about dinner? My response, what did you make? Wrong response. WE decided to go out to dinner. I think that’s a better choice. Better for my health.

I spent a few minutes scouring Yelp to try and find a restaurant that we have not been to yet. Emily sadly said no Thai and no Mexican. Which are what I chose. So farther down the list and fewer stars to find something. And I did. An Italian place in old town that I was unaware of.

In Old Town the road was partially closed for a Friday night car show. We did not attend. The crowds were enormous, for Auburn, outside on the sidewalks, but not so many inside the businesses. Lots of cool cars. Shoulda gone for a look.

Turns out, no reservation needed. And it was really full. The appetizers were ok. Cocktails ok. Probably why only four stars. But, entrees were excellent and definitely too much food. We skipped dessert but had coffee which was also superb. I love good coffee. This country is slowly catching on to the need for decent coffee. Thank you.

The restaurant is true to Italian. They did have the four course option. But, we are not going to eat that much. I think it’s worth coming back again to try other parts of the menu.

After we finished up we headed out and walked around a little. We have not walked this part of old town before. The first time we came to Auburn we thought Downtown was it and were a little disappointed. Now that we have “found” Old Town we are a little happier. Tonight all stores are closed. So we must return tomorrow so Emily can find out what’s there. And I will tag along to keep her out of trouble.

It was a little late so we went home. Late enough to go to bed but Emily prefers to sit in front of the TV and fall asleep there. It’s a ritual. She claims she is watching TV though the snores counter that.

After a few minutes of that I turned off the TV. She complained and we went to bed.

Ok. It’s not. But, I have not blogged since Thursday and it’s Sunday and that’s 3 days ago. 3 day weekend.

Friday was a workday. First runner up was an appointment at the IRS with a group manager and auditor in order to close out an audit. It’s pretty much been a fiasco since I discovered the client funded her $250K charitable contribution 8 days late, making it non deductible in the year being audited. The adjustment will cost my client over $80K. Not a good thing. I believe we can push it to the next year when it was funded but it gets complicated. And the group manager is an asshole who will want to audit 2016 if we move the deduction. Things like this really tend to ruin my day.

I still have another appointment to go today. But, I was back in the office earlier than that. And since I got back early, I decided to open my bottle of high proof tequila, which finally arrived, and all of us had a shot or two of tequila for lunch. A nice way to forget the troubles with the IRS.

At one, my final appointment showed up. A physician client and his pharmacist wife. They both recently retired. She always brings food for me. Today I got two kinds of dim sum and some chicken feet. Yummy! I got their taxes done, printed and paid for. A nice end to my day. Except I stayed till 5. Plenty work.

Left for home. Stopped and got some cocktail citrus at the grocers. You never know when that will come in handy. Like tonight when I get home. Most likely.

Hey, what do you know, I had the new high proof tequila and limes. Together on the same bar. I made whiskey sours. Fooled you. Seemed fitting. Then we hung out till we were ready for dinner. Emily suggested she go get nachos from Beach Hut so there you have it. Whiskey sours and nachos. Dinner of champions.

We watched a little more TV after and then went to bed. We have a lot of chores planned for the weekend.

Saturday. Nice day. Emily went out to run errands. I stayed home and did yard work. Weeded. Till 330. That’s a lot of weed. Emily came home some time before that. I left the house to run my errands. I needed to buy better lemons, mine are awful. Also, I am out of cocktail picks. Some garnishes require them you know. A must have. And again I need more limes. Am expecting company. You can see from my list where my head is at. Just so you see I can balance things I picked up asparagus too.

Back home, sadly not cocktail time yet. Close to 430. Still more work to do, this place needs a catch-up all the way around. Mostly it’s the yard work but still putting things away that we moved. And throwing away a few things too. By a little after five we quit. So, I had high proof tequila and limes. I am not thinking whiskey. I made margaritas. They were very good. So we sat around, post work, eating chips and dip and drinking. Fortunately I had taken some chicken out of the freezer this morning and managed to remember to marinate it. So I started the bbq and we sat and finished our drinks and had seconds, mai Tais, and cooked dinner and relaxed. We have a big day planned tomorrow what with chores and more chores and an appointment after we go out to breakfast. We live fast.

After our chicken dinner we watched some TV and then went too bed. Like I said, we live fast.

Sunday morning was a break from chores. We went out to breakfast at Katrinas Cafe. Place has great food. And we like it. And we gotta be in town to meet the metal building lady at 1030 anyway.

We enjoyed our meal. Seems the place has sped up food delivery and speed of service since our last visit. Everything was moving like lightning though they really did not try to move us out fast. We could sit as long as we want but every other aspect was kickin.

We were done by 940 and out the door. Since we got out so early we took the car to the car wash and did an Emily job on it. Which means we cleaned like hell after the car went through the wash. She likes a clean car. Really clean.

So after clean car, we drove up 49 to just past Bell Rd where the metal building display is at. No office, just a building with sign on it. Debbie the metal building gal was already there. Emily got to meet her for the first time. We were there to sign the contract and make a down payment. Which we did. Now I have to get concrete foundation in process, go to county and start permit process, and do the site plan. In six weeks we get the metal. And it’s a garage, just like that.

After our trip to town, back home. You will never guess what we will be doing today. Unless you are one who pays attention. Then you know. We had chores. Emily cleaned the inside of the house. I cleaned one car, thoroughly. And I swept the driveway. To which you say so what. And I say, the driveway is a quarter mile long. It’s a lot of sweeping. And we are on a hill. It took awhile.

I finished the driveway. Then hung the garage vacuum. Putting things right little by little. Then went inside and emptied out the dining room of all”move in” crap still there. That was an improvement. And since it was still early, we went out back and weeded for a couple hours. It’s not Sunday it’s funday. Am I right?

All good things end. We came in and sat. No cocktails. Just sat and watched TV. It’s very relaxing after a day of work. As is blogging.

We are making dinner right now. Andouille sausage and grits. It’s gonna be awesome. By the time we are done it will be bedtime. I live right.

Okay. I forgot to publish. So let’s talk about Monday.

Lots of excitement Monday. Well, if you consider the usual hour I spend on morning chores exciting. I don’t. But it’s a job.

I worked out with the trainer for an hour this morning. For anyone that has ever worked with a coach, you know the drill. They make you do painful exercises over and over, correctly of course, until you collapse. And they laugh. Well, not laugh, but do offer encouragement. My workout seems simple but every time I do the exercises I am in pain for the next day or two. Right now it’s Wednesday morning and and I am in serious pain. I worked out Tuesday as well.

Anyway, workouts are about an hour of S&M. Or it seems.

Then back home to get ready for my day. Got to shower and change. No one wants post work out Bill around without cleanup.

My day was empty. No scheduled appointments. I have to finish up the large pain in my ass audit that is going on. The one from Friday. I hate audits like this and I don’t respect the IRS group manager I have to deal with. I need to retire is what I need. I am not enjoying this.

I have a few other audits to clean up and get rid of. One going well, the second not well and the above abysmal outcome. I need to retire. Or give these audits to someone else.

So that was my day. Along with many other mundane tasks I do everyday. No change there.

Emily called on her way home. Not much doin, just usual complaints about job and traffic. I am designated recipient of those complaints.

I left about five. No dramatic events, all the way home.

Same for evening. Three weeks will be summer vacation and all the day to day will be more relaxed and entertaining. Thank god.

Tuesday has something to look forward too. Taco Tuesday. But that’s end of day.

This morning same as yesterday. Only difference, self directed workout. The trainer gave me a written workout to follow on my own. Which I diligently did. Nothing new, simple exercises that if followed to the letter lead to collapse at the end of each set. I think that is the idea. Workout a set till failure. Which is a lot easier than you may think. My workout only took 40 minutes. I’m probably doing something wrong.

I had a 1030 appointment this morning. Back taxes for the client, his mom and dads final tax return. I was 15 minutes late. Oh well. His appointment took two hours. Yikes. Lots to do. Dads final it turns out included two years of a probate estate tax return. Something he was not even aware he needed until I pointed it out. So it goes. It was four tax returns.

I had another appointment after that at 12. First appt ran to 1230 but he waited. This guy was what I would call a Trump Tax Act refugee. He wants to lower his taxes but the new tax act made it impossible. Almost. I worked with him in the creation of a valid business that will probably lose a lot of money and thereby lower his tax expense for the next four years. This process took over an hour. Since the business is not open yet the planning process involved how to best structure the income and expense to give him maximum tax advantage. Basically, he wants to “lose” money. Though he needs the profit potential or the business may not be deemed a business. Which the IRS may see as a problem. Hence the advance planning. Need to follow the rules.

Once he was out I moved on to mundane tasks of the accountant. Not exciting. Not thrilling. Just jobs, day to day, that keep me going.

Emily called later. She had carniceria goodies and was headed home. So I headed up the hill. Again, no excitement in the trip.

Got home and we enjoyed our Taco Tuesday feast to which I added a little tequila for spice on the side.

Some bad TV after dinner and we ended up going to bed by 9. I must be getting old. I like going to bed early. I am old. Of course, I get up at 530 so I have a right.

So, yesterday, was boring. Nothing happened. You know the drill, got up, got ready, went to work, worked, went home, ate and went to bed. Yes, sometimes my days are this thrilling.

One fun thing, my tequila delivery did not happen. I had ordered some high proof tequila 4 days ago. I got a shipment email from the seller and a tag generated email from Golden State Overnight, the shipper. So the UPS guy was in a day later and we were talking. He laughed and said we would never get our shipment because the truck would break down or they would steal the shipment. Well, the shipment didn’t show, I called the seller, and Golden State had actually lost it. Morons. The re ship was supposed to be delivered today except their driver reported we were closed and he left. Moron. We don’t close. I called their help line and gave them five minutes of pure insulting comments about their driver and them. No profanity. So they had to listen.

See, day was not completely boring.

On Thursday I got up early. I am going skiing at Squaw and they are now opening an hour earlier at 8am. So up early to enjoy more.

I am meeting Buck, my friend the boot fitter to get my ski boots better fitted. I am having tremendous pain in my heel and I need relief.

The trip up to squaw was fast. Race car fast. Because I drove my race car. The drive was a blast mostly because I got to pass a ton of semi trucks going up the hill. At a very high rate of speed. Fun.

I got to Squaw at 750. Managed to get dressed and loaded up and on my way to the lift by 805. Got to top of mountain by 825. Two lifts to get there.

I am meeting Buck at his shop at 9. So, it’s a 20 minute cruise to the bottom. So, I got two quick runs at the top and then all the way down.

Got to Bucks shop, right next to Squaw, by 9. Buck, it turns out, did not. I called him and he was a half hour out. I could go back to ski but as I said it takes a half hour to get to the top so that doesn’t work.

I waited in the parking lot. Made a few calls. Fell asleep. Buck got their by 930. He had hernia surgery two days ago but says he feels great.

We went inside the shop and I had a seat. I have pain in my right heel, on the outside bone and both big toes turned purple my first trip out this year. Buck looked at my feet. Examined my socks. Really. Looked at my boots. Pronounced judgment, all my problems were my socks. I was wearing the wrong socks. That was his professional opinion. Seemed crazy to me that my socks were the entire problem but he is the professional.

So I got my new socks, said my goodbyes and headed back to squaw. Did the suit up and head up the hill process, it was 1130 by then and quite warm. And off I go, finally.

Well, it wasn’t the socks. My heel is in intense pain which makes skiing very difficult. I know Buck is already gone, the shop is closed today after all, and the snow is really warm and melty. I went down the hill, to the car and home. Not a great day of skiing. And my boots are still not ok. I will need one more day.

Trip downhill was quick, no real mid afternoon traffic west on 80. I could have gone 90 the whole way but good sense prevailed and I set cruise on low 70’s. I have to be home by 4 because we are meeting our kitchen designer, Erin, from Modern Mountain, to go over our ideas for the kitchen. I am sure she will suggest a full blowout on the kitchen. It’s the easiest but can get pricey. We are not quite ready for that, money wise. We were thinking just a few tweaks.

Well, as advertised, Erin did have a lot of ideas for the kitchen. And, yes, she did think a blowout would be best. The rest of her time was mostly her talking to Emily and then showing us how we could “lose” a couple walls and a doorway and things like that. Total re do. Happening no time soon unless I hit the lottery. And then I would probably move. To a house with the kitchen I want.

Erin has fantastic ideas for when we are ready to tear the kitchen to the studs. Got other things to do first.

After Erin left, the rest of the evening was the usual. We ran a couple errands and went out to a quick dinner. Burger & Cream, for pastrami sandwiches. They have Ghost Pepper Jack cheese. It’s actually almost spicy.

Back home and we went to bed. Hey, it is too late enough for bedtime.

Hey, my stupid GD blog host emailed me back. The prior chat help moron had attempted several times to reset my password. So that chat idiot escalated my problem. The company, stupid morons that they are, responded by sending the same Email mail that chat lady sent to reset my password. I hate them.

Forget them. They will all die young in fiery explosions and rot in hell.

Today is a big day. First, we are out of coffee. Second, Emily did not need me to make lunch. So, I finished early.

Also, today is my first day in the gym since I pulled a muscle a few months back. I joined the gym on Saturday and made an appointment for an evaluation today at 9am. And, since it was at 9 Emily and I went to get coffee. She left for work. I sat in Starbucks for 90 minutes and drank coffee and waited for 9am to finally roll around. Spent the time catching up on the blog posts and drinking coffee. And for once I got to be one of those people who sit in Starbucks and type on a device. I always wondered what they were doing. Now I know.

At about 840 I left the green coffee palace and went to the gym, a quarter mile down 49. I met Justin, the trainer. He explained the process. He was going to administer some strength and agility tests to see where I am at physically. Whatever.

We went through a bunch of paperwork and he used a scale that feeds electrical pulses through my body to get my weight and BMI. I thought it measured my weight high and BMI low. Again, whatever. I use my scale at home for weight measures. That’s fine with me. Justin seemed proud of his scale, like it’s a competition.

Once this part was done, the tests began. I did planks, squats, lunges, with and without kettle bells, all manner of torturous exercises. Nothing fun.

His evaluation did not really matter to me. I know you think I believe this a time waste. I don’t. It’s important to the gym. All I care about is results. My results. Which are Justin the Trainers results too.

So we decided on a workout schedule, 3 or 4 hours a week. Justin will supervise for two. He claims I will be happy with my results. And, of course, none of this is free. But the first thing I did was shit all over (figuratively) his binder with schedules and pricing. I have used the same tools myself for sales. He shows “suggested” schedules and pricing, and then compares to less effective cheaper schedules. I told him it was all shit. And asked him to justify what he was suggesting by relating it to my workouts. He gotta work for it. U know? That took him a while. He told me no one had ever questioned him. Yay for me. When he got done, we came to terms on what I want. Then, I said I will pay for a year up front. And I want a discount. They offer same for gym fees. Well, that knocked him for a loop. He had to get his boss. Then they had to get their boss in Roseville to chime in. Turns out, no one ever asked for a discount before. I’m a trailblazer. But they were having tremendous issues getting it straight in their computer. So I said, fix it today, I will be in tomorrow to settle up and work out. And I left.

I had to get home. I was meeting a landscape guy to get another bid on a full property clean out and monthly maintenance. Guy was there waiting when I arrived. Nice guy, was very worried about the cost of the work. I reassured him I still wanted it. Cost is high, just like the last guy. This guy suggested I use goats and encouraged me to get a quote. Which I am. Tomorrow.

After he left, shower and get dressed. Went to work. Bank on the way. Funny thing happened, I was behind a new Jeep Renegade, Trail Hawk, on my drive to the bank. Made me think of Marika and my trip to the Lost Coast. And we had driven a Jeep which was very capable up there on the really crap roads. And I admired the one ahead of me. Anyway, I got to the and the Jeep shot ahead and disappeared in the lot. I turned to the bank and parked, one slot from the Jeep. The gal in the Jeep steps out and starts telling me she has been looking at my car and had really been checking it out. And she thought it was beautiful. And I told her much the same in return. Funny.

Got my check cashed and I was off to work.

Work has little to offer in way of excitement. It is bookkeeper Katrina’s 42nd Birthday today. I was so late I skipped out on ordering lunch for myself. I paid for the rest of the office. It’s tradition. I was able to sign the card at the least.

And I could of had lunch since it did not arrive till 115. No big.

Rest of the day was the usual crapola. Work. No appointments.

We were waiting around for the copier. My longtime, many years, copy machine finally died. No available parts. Sad. Mostly sad because I need to buy another one and they are not free. My copier guy, Frosty (not his real name) has found a used one for me and it’s only $3750. Only. He has promised to deliver today. Sadly by end of day he was not there with the machine. We called him and he was stuck in traffic two hours out. So Cara said she would come back later in the evening and meet him to take delivery and wait while he set up. Yay Cara. An accounting firm does not function without a copy machine.

Anyway, we all left at five with Cara returning later. I went home.

I have dinner and stuff to take care of. Tonight is Tuesday de Taco and I look forward to that all week. Can’t moss it for a copier.

Evening was awesome. Jeopardy and carnitas together. Wow. Where do you get that?

So evening was the usual, bad TV and dinner.

We went to bed at usual time.

I was locked out of my blog by my moronic hosters, Bluehost. I really detest them and the way their site works. It doesn’t. Bluehost is supposed to be the best. Well, if true, the balance of blog hosters must be putrid. I spent an hour on chat “help” with a nice Indian lady trying to get me back in. I truly hate the phrase “that should work”. She typed that many times. At the end of my conversation, she said she would “escalate” my issue. Right. That is how they get rid of the problem and make you go away. I am still waiting for an email from them. Not an auspicious start to my Monday.

Not much doing today. Have three appointments. The usual crapload. That’s an accounting term, you may not understand the jargon. It means a wagon full of manure.

Spent my workday on mundane tasks until each appointment showed up. It’s pure joy, what I do day to day. I’m trapped and I can’t get out! Wait, let’s go with I’ve fallen in an accounting firm and I can’t get up. You probably get the idea. The only appointment I remember is with the last client. Her only “job” is the money her dads company pays her, reported on a 1099, for a job she doesn’t do. So this adult mom is supported by Dad and he deducts it. I’m not judging, I don’t care, I just want that job. For me. She is very funny and one of a kind anyway and I enjoy talking to her. And her Dad, obvs, pays for the tax return. Winner.

Went to the bank next and managed to force through a deposit. Amazing how the gd bank wont take deposits. At times. I hate modern banking. And modern bankers. But, managed to find an acceptable way to get the dollars into clients account.

Back to office. Not much else to do. I have an appointment at the metal building place to see doors and get color samples at about 630. That will be fun. Will be nice to see sizes up close.

Traffic uphill was normal, not so great. But ok. Met Debbie of metal building game at her site on 49. Not really a shop, just three sample buildings with different doors and supports. And a big sign on the front with her phone number. Thousands see it every day. I did.

Well Debbie is a hoot. Just as I said, irreverent as all get out. More fun than the Tuff Shed guy. We had a pleasant conversation and she really highlighted the benefits of a metal building well. Salesmanship. Of course, 25 years back my Dad had a side job selling metal buildings so I was predisposed to them. I told her it was a fine deal and write it up. I would call with the color choice. I can hardly wait. She gave me her samples to take home to share with the Boss and see what we wanted to do.

Tonight’s dinner, for your reading enjoyment, was last nights planned dinner. Ribeye, sweet potato and broccoli. And a nice bottle of wine. It was a lovely meal. And we discussed colors too. We are going with our house color. Grey. Dark grey. It’s gonna look awesome.

After dinner I went back to Debbies place and dropped off the color samples. She needed them for early am appointment. I guess she has other customers besides me. But I must be the most important.

Back home and it’s bedtime. I am still tired from the weeding and ready for bed.

Today is a semi good day. I am going skiing. As is my habit, I packed up last night so I will be ready to leave quickly tomorrow. It’s really important to be on the lift immediately this late in the season. The snow gets slushy very early in the day late in April. And slushy snow is sticky and slow. So I like to start first thing and get whatever frozen snow nature has to offer.

Living in Auburn is a real boon to my skiing. It’s only an hour plus a few closer than Dixon, prior home, but that hour is huge. One must remember I gain two hours since it’s a round trip. I used to leave the farm about 530 to 6 am on a ski day. Now I can leave at 7 to 730. Sweet.

I got Emily out of the house and on her way. All chores done. Did a few things around the house and took off. Today I am going to Squaw Valley, the only hill still open this season. They are always last closed. Has something to do with all others being on Forest Service leases which expire on 4/21. I don’t know the particulars.

The drive to Squaw is about 80 miles. About an hour and a half on dry pavement and little traffic. Today was one of those days and I arrived at Buck’s shop at about 840. Turns out the shop is closed Tues and Weds. I called Bob to see where he was and he was still 30 out. So I drove to the Squaw parking lot, geared up and went to the lift.

I got on the snow a little after 9. Already getting soft. And slow. No matter, lift to the top, and down. Had a great time. Managed three runs before Bob showed up. He wanted to ride some other runs I had not tried yet.

A few minutes later we met up with Buck and two friends of his. Then we proceeded to ride all of the mountain, at least the mountain that was open. Had a blast.

I have an appointment in my office at 3 so I left by noon. The trip back was very fast, again had dry roads and no traffic.

I arrived in time for my appointment, lasted about an hour, and he made another appointment for tomorrow. He has about twenty tax returns for me to do. They stretch back to 2015 and are for their company and 3 shareholders. Last time I prepared taxes for them it was the same deal, lots of returns stretching back a few years. People are funny.

No more work appointments for the day. I stayed till five and headed uphill. I have to meet a property clean out guy and get an idea of an estimate for whacking all my weeds. Like a wise guy. Also gonna find a maintenance guy to keep it nice on a monthly basis. Which it needs.

So finished out my Thursday and got home right on time. Met Mike Rohrs who was already there, in my driveway. We walked the property and he had several good ideas. Like what I just said, clean out then get a maintenance guy. Brilliant. He charges $1400 per day to clean out. No, not a typo. I can bring in goats I said, those are $700 per acre. About the same price. So this will cost me. We are not gonna start for two or three weeks. That way the summer will take over and nothing will grow back. And I can hold my money for a little while longer.

My evening was boring. Emily is at yoga camp, and will be till Sunday. I fed the animals and had dinner. Did some chores. Went to bed. When Em is gone, no bad TV. I don’t want the noise.

Friday morning. It’s a little easier getting going when I don’t make coffee, or Em’s breakfast and lunch. I don’t mind doing it, it’s just a way quicker morning when I am alone.

So I got out earlier than usual and to work sooner than usual. Not that it does me any good since I seem to never get more done with more hours. I had five appointments today, the first was a phone call. I had to speak with a clients financial advisor who also reviews his tax returns. Always a joy to have your work questioned by someone who is trying to justify his own job by finding at least one thing wrong with my job. Really pointless.

Next two appointments cancelled. Or should I say one cancelled late and the other was a no show. Both are ok by me. I worked till about 430. I have to meet an insurance guy by 530 at home. Needs to inspect the inside of the house for some reason or another that I don’t understand, or want to.

So I had to race home really considering it was late on a Friday traffic. And the traffic was the usual crap. I got to the house at 528 and the guy was leaving. I reminded him what 530 meant. And he was an asshole. Lovely. He came in, took 8 pictures and left.

I made a cocktail and my dinner. No, cocktails were not dinner. But there are enough carbs to satisfy a strong hunger. Still, I had an elk burger on a cauliflower bun with a side of asparagus. Very nice.

After dinner I planned out what I needed for the big yard work weekend. After giving much thought, I added a very small rake and a larger rake to my list. I cruised the yard to get an idea of where I would start and then went in for the evening festivities.

I tried to watch a little TV, unsuccessfully. I just don’t care much for most TV. I can handle about an hour a day before I lose interest. I always think of what my Grandmother used to say, if you don’t watch you don’t miss anything. So true.

I went to bed. Tried to read but was too tired and went to sleep.

Up at 611 Saturday morning. One of those mornings where you just wake up and are awake and know it. So I got out of bed.

Put the dog out and fed the cats. It’s Saturday so we let the cats outside to play all day. They can then be in by six for dinner. After years of rural living, and over 10 dead cats, we are careful. The nighttime makes the cat happy until it doesn’t. So they spend the night inside. On weekdays we get home too late to let them run around outside before it gets dark and dangerous. Back on the farm our cats were 100% inside cats for prior noted reasons. Here, far isolated from most daytime dangers and loose dogs, they can go out.

Dog in. Fed dog. He is not an outside animal. He is completely deaf and has very poor eyesight. He follows his nose. If he got farther than 25 feet from the house we would never see him again. Inside dog. 15 years old, all he can do well is sleep and eat. Takes five different Rx’s. Special food. Eats well. Poops himself. Has to wear a diaper if left alone. But he is the baby and we take care of him. Our last dog. No more after him.

I got myself fed, showered and clothed. I could go out naked to Home Depot but then all the guys would no longer feel like real men. I can’t have that on my conscience. I am a giver.

Got my rakes and whatever else. And back to home. From nine am to about 6 pm I weeded. By hand. And the mosquitoes were out. What fun. Bug spray is on my Saturday eve/Sunday morn list.

Our yard is full of boulders, big ones. Kitchen and moss covered. Beautiful. But, there has been near constant rain since January and the weeds are freaking insane over our five acres. Today, I am weeding the “back yard” area we have that can be seen from the house. An area the landscape guy says is difficult to weed whack. And I want weed gone, not whacked. So this is a hand weed. Yikes. Lots of up and down and move around. In the full sun. What fun. And mosquitoes. And, btw, normally bugs leave me the hell alone (professional courtesy?) and bite other people. Pisses off my wife and son, human pin cushions that they are.

So, I was saying, this is a hand weed job. Not difficult, just insanely continuous hour by hour. I may have had near a third done by the end of the day. Maybe. Fortunately?, I still have Sunday. Yay.

At six I went in and showered to get comfortable. Had some wine. That helped. Made a burger with a side of broccoli. Yum. And relaxed. Ran some more errands for Rx and groceries and BUG spray.

Got home and made a momentous phone call. Yes, momentous. It will affect my life, while I live here, for the next thirty years. Wow. What a call. As I have mentioned in prior posts, if you are paying attention, I need to build a garage and a workshop. I had received a bid from Tuff Shed for $25k for two buildings. Today, Saturday, this evening, I called the number on the carport sign out on 49. I drive by the sign 2x a day minimum. So, I call, and get the owners personal cell phone. Which I like, cuz it’s the owner and just like me she posts her number for all to see.

So I spoke to Debbie for about half an hour. I like her. Does not hold back at all or rein in what she says. Just like me, no filters. We got along well. At the end of the conversation, she gave me a verbal quote of $11k for a 3 car garage. Winner winner!! Chicken dinner!! The shop? About $2500, no quote yet. I said write that fucker up. I will send money. Half the Tuff Shed price and their price was good. I feel richer all of a sudden.

Had some more wine. Did a few things around the house. Went to bed.

Sunday I woke up with a thoroughly sore body. And stiff hands. Not great. Got dressed, fed animals, and did what would make me feel best. I went out and started weeding again. I am only working till maybe 130 which is when Emily leaves yoga camp for home. I gotta do some housework before she gets back like towels, sheets and change beds. Nothing dramatic but at least she can see I wasn’t sitting around while she was sitting around all weekend. I win.

I got maybe got 40% of the “yard” front and back weeded. Save rest for next week. I have more landscapers visiting to give bids to but I will still probably have to do this part by hand anyhow.

So I did quit at 130. And did the bed changing laundry thing. Had something to eat. Stalked Emily’s progress on find friends every few minutes. I love that app. Have it on my daughters phone too. Track her from 2500 miles. Haha.

Emily ended up getting home late afternoon. We got her unloaded and unpacked and put away. I showed her my fine weeding job. She can’t do things like that. 10 minutes into a job like weeding I start to hear complaints about her back and her hands and blah blah blah. Which is why I always tell her not to help. I don’t want to hear. Fine by me, I have same complaints too I just don’t verbalize them much. Got to get done, unpleasantness is part of the job, just get finished. Emily is better at other jobs. Jobs she puts up with. No big.

About six I told her we were going out to dinner because I was tired and did not want to fix dinner even though I had it prepped and ready. Still requires cooking.

Off to Old Town and dinner at Club Car. About the only dinner place open in Auburn on a Sunday. And I like it too.

I was tired and sore. So, we both had two cocktails. My first Manhattan was excellent, her margarita disappointed. I had a bbq chicken salad and Emily had I can’t remember. Mine was great. Sunday dinner out is a nice treat. We do usually stay in and fix our own but the combination of factors forced us to go out. That’s my story.

It was getting late when we got home. End of a long weekend. We went to bed almost immediately upon getting home. I don’t blame me for that. Emily wanted to watch TV but fell asleep instantly in the living room. Off to bed, better choice.

It may actually be Tuesday but I feel like it’s Monday. Had to drag myself out of bed at 545. Emily jumped up at 530 probably remembering her drive time fiasco from yesterday (real Monday). I, on the other hand, don’t have any hurry in me today and am dragging. Hence the Monday feel. Spent thirty minutes texting with friend Cissie, have a couple errands before work, not much doing. I need to get some motivation.

Tuesday was boring. I need a new job. I have been thinking, sommelier. Seems perfect. Centered on booze and not wine, though. I like booze best and it’s become so popular again. I just bought a bottle of high proof tequila online a moment ago. I did not know it even existed. Can’t wait.

So today was as expected. Boring and work centric. I need a fun centric day. Tomorrow I am going skiing with my friend Bob. Known him thirty years. Don’t have many of those. Got to keep him alive. He had a stroke awhile back. Came out ok. Whatever. Tomorrow we ski.

Tonight is taco Tuesday, which we all know is the meal highlight of the week. Emily picked up ribs with nopales for me and I don’t know what for herself. I was not paying attention.

I packed up the car after dinner so I won’t have to race around in the morning. Like an idiot.

Walked down to the mailbox and finally met my neighbors, driving in. Seem like nice folks. They own a copier service company. Those guys make bank, if my services is any indication. They do have to keep the machines running. But if they are really good, they never have to fix anything. Anyway, turns out they have 3 cockers and I had mine with me on the walk. Something in common.

We did watch a little TV and drink some wine during our evening. Then off to bed with dreams of sugar plum skiing tomorrow.