Mosh Glass

We had a tame kickoff to the holiday season. Woke up late, after 8. Had to go back to the other cottage to shower and get ready. No facilities in the converted garage. So we dressed to cross the gap to the other house in order to get undressed and take showers. Emily rudely jumped in first. What a pain.

Since she was hogging the hot water I went to the kitchen and finished the dishes from last night. Btw, no one was awake. Then I put on the coffee, not entirely due to my love of others. Mostly I wanted a cup. Then I put the cinnamon rolls in the oven. Beth made a tray yesterday. Then I went back to the bathroom to try and guilt the wife out of the shower. This is a damn near hundred year old house. The plumbing only so good. So I got a lukewarm shower. Emily claimed she had no hot at all. To which I respond, nicely, bullshit. But I did get a shower.

Got dressed. Time for full on pie, cinnamon rolls and coffee. And then diabetic coma. I am coming down now off my sugar/carb high. It really hurts. I am not sure what I can do to make myself feel normal. Maybe more pie.

Just in case anyone cares, it’s raining cats and dogs here. Started last night and has not stopped. We are driving into the city so not looking forward to rush hour with bad weather.

Hey! Our hard working federal civil servants did not take the day off! I just got a call from an IRS auditor wanting to set an audit appointment. On Black Friday. Wow. I am surprised anyone works today.

So, our day is a little messed up. Mostly because we didn’t get up early enough or move through our morning duties fast enough. We had been planning on all three of us going to Emily’s glass store for their Black Friday sale. Extra cheap, 50% off everything. Then we were all going to the Auto Show in SF. So what happened? We were not ready to leave till 1240. So we did not have enough time to go to both. Solution, Emily drove east to glass store and we went west to the auto show. Oh well. Marika and I got the best part of the deal.

We had a short drive to the city. Still took over two hours. Traffic not so good. Heck, the last 4 miles took over 30 minutes. But in the end we got to the auto show. I do love to walk around and look at the new models, most of which I can afford, and all the super expensive exotics that I can afford or even touch for that matter. We had fun just walking around, asking difficult questions of the car reps and sitting in some of the cars. Having a cocktail. Just a fun outing on a Saturday.

Emily called while we were wandering, though actually done shopping. We decided to meet “halfway” for dinner in Carneros. Fortunately for us, no extra driving. It was on the way home. She had to backtrack. Marika was going back from there and Em and I were headed home. The traffic was great. There wasn’t any. Drove over the limit all the way there.

Dinner was very good, as were the pre dinner cocktails. We even had dessert which is really something we never do. It feels like the end of the weekend though it’s only Friday.

Emily and I got home by 1030. Marika by 10, she called to let us know. She is a good girl. We got the car in and animals out for their usual. Sat down and rested and watched a little murder porn (20/20). I hate that crap. Emily loves it. So we watch. She is next to me now, asleep in her chair. I think ready for bed.

I am going to lock up around her. And go to bed.

First major holiday of the holiday season is today. I am sure you must know, unless you live in a cave, today is Thanksgiving. A day where we feel we have an excuse to eat a lot of rich food, drink alcohol, have double dessert and sit around watching football. As I said, today we think we have a valid excuse. What about every other day of the year? I note most people consume like this with no valid excuse the rest of the year. But today is the special day for excused gluttony. I don’t understand. I do participate, though. I eat like a little piggie today. Especially the desserts. I guess I stand alone. The way it should be.

Last night we had the worlds scariest thunder and torrential rains. Lost power. The thunder exploded, not an overstatement, exploded. The windows were shaking to the point of breaking. The cataclysmic portion of the storm lasted no more than 30 minutes but as is true with many disasters, it felt longer.

At about 2 am Emily woke up, and realized Marika was not home yet. And Emily, became Mom quickly, hunted her down and made me go pick her up and bring her home. I say, she is 23, and an adult. Let her figure it out. I also say, this is what she does when she is not at home so let it go. Not happening. I got dressed and drove the 50 min round trip to get her. Home by 3 am. Marikas evening had consisted of hanging in a local bar in Dixon with 30 or so friends. Big party. Then off to Denny’s for late night food. Which is where I got her at 230. And, shockingly, she was drunk. Same sort of thing I used to do at 23.

Back home at 3am. Straight to bed. I am tired. Well, it is 3am. Marika passed out. The power of alcohol. Emily did not wake up when we got home.

Emily had wanted to get on the road early on Thursday. I woke up at 630 and went to the bathroom. Back to bed, and I told her not to wake me. I will get up on my own. So no early start, thank you.

Out of bed at 8am ish. It took a good two hours to eat, clean up, pack us and pack the car. Very tiring. Marika is moving slow. Not some incredible surprise. We managed to get this all packed and moving. Marika is driving her car since she is going back hone tomorrow night. We are taking the MBZ with both dogs. And the crap. We have a guaranteed fun trip with our stressed out pups. Jax has become completely stressed in his old (15) age and stands in back panting for the two hour trip. The poodle, Latte, was doing the same thing. A version of dueling tongues. Latte lays down and pants. Windows open make no difference. Or water. They are just stressed for no reason. The cat, in Marikas car, is screaming the whole way. She called from her car to share. Not sure which I prefer.

We got to the family house in Bodega Bay by 1pm. Which is very early for a Thanksgiving Day trip. But, today, there was no traffic. By that I mean no traffic. Not slow. Not some. I mean none. It was stress free driving with very few cars on the road with us. We must live right.

We had quite a bit more to unpack than I thought. A lot more. Not sure why. Plenty of food for sure, two suitcases, two dogs, I don’t know. Just took some time.

This is a really quiet day. There is only the six of us. So we sat and ate some cheese, meat and crackers. Some wine was consumed. We watched a little football. The usual holiday deal. I had brought a couple bottles of champagne. Opened the first of those at about 4. The best bottle first. That way the next couple taste better even though they are not so good. The bubbly took us all the way to dinner when we switched guns to Pinot noir.

The turkey dinner was great. Except, for me, I needed salad. And I hate Brussels sprouts and beets which was the only veg choice. I need green beans. And my mother in laws stuffing is nowhere near as good as Emily’s. Just saying. We need our own kitchen so we can make what we like for turkey day.

Since there were only six of us we were able to actually have a conversation that included all of us. Usually large groups cause loss of some to the conversation. My father in law does not join in anymore because he is unable to keep up with what’s going on. But, it was a spirited conversation over a good meal.

Clean up was a breeze. Mary led the way and I just supplied her with scraped dishes to deal with. Again, with only the six of us, the dishwasher was not even full. That kind of night. We are sitting around now, solving the family’s problems, and discussing “things”. Always funny. I am just listening to the talk. And really enjoying it. They are going on and on. Some of this talking is really strange. Could just be the blood alcohol level in these folks.

My favorite part of today is upon us. It’s pie time. This year we have three different types of pie, pumpkin, pecan and lemon meringue. I made the lemon. So it’s fabulous. I also whipped cream for those so inclined. I’m not. But it is always a firm rule with me to have a slice of each. Sometimes a second slice. But each type is given its due on my plate. I don’t play favorites. Funny thing, I was the only person who had any of the pumpkin. I think pumpkin is of primary importance mostly because of the holiday. I would never pass it up. I was thinking of making a pumpkin pie, pie shake. That would be awesome.

So everyone but me had two pieces of pie, pecan and lemon. And I had three, adding in pumpkin. We are now all full to the point of exploding. And laying around. Top button undone, again, so we don’t explode. And just chatting and drinking coffee. So it’s just a regular holiday.

The house here in Bodega has only enough room to sleep two adults and two kids. Since we got here second, we lose. We are going to sleep next door at Mary’s house. She has room for us in the converted garage.

So bedtime. We went next door and there was a plague of flies in the garage room. Gross. We had to leave a light on far away from the bed to try and draw the little buggers away from us. Not sure how that’s going to play out. But. Am too tired to care.

Have I mentioned my cat? Prints? I did yesterday. Pay attention. I just sat down in the front room and less than 10 seconds later, the black cat came running and jumped up onto the chair to rub against me, head bump me and just annoy me with her presence. Why does the cat do this to me?

This morning came early. I was out of bed at 630 and out the door in under 30 mins. Because Marika was up and out even earlier to take her car to the shop. Car has electrical issues.

So I basically chased her to Davis and picked her up. I looked at the new cars while there as well.The day before T day. Definitely not a holiday. I can tell because I was up at 630 as was Marika. She needed to drop her car at the Honda dealer for the “big” service. Means big dollars. All day thing. She needs her auto lock checked too because the system auto locks when she speeds up and auto locks when she slows down. Annoying more than anything but it seems broken.

We arrived at 715, on time. Which is crazy considering it’s me and Marika. We got the car settled in and I wandered off to get a free cappuccino and look at the new cars. There is a Civic R on the showroom floor. It’s really a race car that is street legal. I wanted to check it out because I am thinking of buying the one. Not this one. It’s blue in color, they call it Aegean Blue. I call it ugly. But I can look at features up close. Guess what? At 715 in the morning no sales guys are around. Which should be no issue except the R is a hot commodity and the damn thing is locked down inside the showroom. And no salesman to unlock it. Too bad.

So we left.

On the drive back we stopped in Dixon. See, Marika has been pining the last month and talking about one thing and one thing only. And today, the day before Thanksgiving, we are going to satisfy her. We stopped at Solano Baking Company and got apple fritters. And a couple old fashion frosted donuts, and a cinnamon roll. Plus a custard filled for Emily. It’s a small goal but we have both been on the same diet for a long time and baked goods are not on the meal plan. Today we went off plan. I would say we each choked down a donut before we cleared the parking lot. Then we showed great restraint by waiting until we got home. Where we waited while I made coffee and fed the dogs. Marika cheated a bit by eating half the cinnamon roll on the sly. But coffee made and I slammed the fritter down. Strangely, Marika was too full to eat all the fritter. At least now. She has all day. It’s a nice morning.

I will be heading to work soon. Marika staying home cuz she has no car. Emily is going to see the doctor, probably has pink eye. She has some shopping to do for turkey day too.

But, right now, we are watching Kelly & Ryan on the telly. And listening to Roomba run around the house. Roomba is really noisy if you are sitting through her clean cycle. I mean, she does work, but I’d rather be outta here.

Show over, I left for work. Emily went Christmas craft shopping and Dr. She is making 4 Advent calendars for our two children and others. The woman is crazy.

I drove to work in the rain! It’s raining for first time in 200 days. This is exciting and it is snowing!! up in the mountains. So when I get back from Hawaii I can go snow skiing. I am hoping for a real dump from this storm.

Work was nothing special. Tough to get anything done when the holiday is here. I did the company payroll, that’s a must mostly cuz I get continual reminders from the employees. I am not sure what else I did today. I have no memory of the work – it’s just that compelling. It is 11pm and we are talking about 12 hours ago. So that’s a decent excuse.

I left a bit early, 430. Too much to do. I have to pick up Emily’s Rx, she has pink eye. Plus her regular Rx. Got to take Marika to to get her car too. And probably pay for the repairs.

I got to the pharmacy. And they had no record of the prescription being called in. And it’s almost six. I called Emily and she called the on call doctor. He said he would call the Rx in right away. We were running out of time so Emily and Marika left home for Davis and the Honda dealer. I waited at the pharmacy for the call. Which never came. Emily came by on her way to Davis and we all decided to leave and go get the car. No call from asshole doctor.

We got to dealer and the service guy had waited for Marika and was just about the last person there. Of course he never called Marika to tell her it was ready. So maybe he felt like he should wait. Anyhow, we picked up the car and Dad picked up the bill. And we were off. All to home.

We had stroganoff on potatoes. Very nice. A new twist on an old recipe. I was forced by my daughter to make cocktails right before dinner. Sort of forced. No one complained.

After dinner Marika went out to downtown Dixon to drink with friends. It’s a monthly get together at a local bar. I have a feeling I will be driving to pick her up later. A friend drove her, so once both are drunk, they both need a ride.

Time to make pie. Emily bought a pumpkin and a pecan at Costco. So only one to make. Just like fake Thanksgiving. I am making a lemon meringue pie.

I had a few problems. I did not have pie weights. Necessary when baking a pie shell. That caused a few issues. Like an extra thick bottom crust when the crust settled to bottom of pie pan. The filling tastes great and the meringue is perfect. Both a plus.

Now I sit and watch TV. Bad TV. Emily is sewing the advents. I am falling asleep. Just waiting for her to quit.

As I sit here this morning, taking a day off, I am sitting in the front room. Trying to type but having only little luck. My stupid cat, is next to me beating it’s body and head against my arm and side and jarring my typing hand. She obviously loves me. She likes me. Sleeps next to me. If I sit down inside my house she jumps up and bugs me. Not sitting, but hitting and ramming into me and bumping. You get the idea. It’s blog fodder but still a major annoyance.

We, Emily, Marika and I, are going to Berkeley today for some holiday retail happiness. If that actually exists. I will at least do some advent shopping for Emily. If I feel like it. Berkeley has two blocks worth of shopping, but enough for 3 or 4 hours. One of the stores has free booze. I will go there.

Marika has to get up extra early this morning. Because she has a haircut at 8. Much too early. Tomorrow she is dropping off her car at the shop at 715. AM. Does not remind me of fun. But her car has some wild electrical issues and needs new spark plugs. I want her to have it fixed if only because it makes her so mad that it’s broke. I don’t like to hear the yelling. Not at me, but at the car while I am talking to her.

Looks like we might be out to Berkeley by 930. But that is most definitely subject to change. Emily never leaves on schedule, and Marika does not care. That leaves me waiting for the two of them to get moving. And waiting.

Wow!! Stop the presses! I just learned something from morning TV. You can move the cursor on your phone to anywhere in a text or document by holding down the space bar and dragging it!!!!! It has already changed my life!! Wow. Who knew? You can spin the cursor in circles!! I am getting light headed. Paper bag. Breathe deep. I will be ok. What a day!

3 hours later we have been shopping in Berkeley, store to store. I have shown my new trick to two people so far. They were amazed. One extremely so. I said life changing and I meant it.

The shopping is the usual. Not much going. I am looking for advent without much luck. Have noted a few things which I will pick up on a last minute “walk thru” of 4th street. By myself so no one sees what I buy. I am buying advent for Emily and she is with me. Makes buying a surprise a difficult move.

Really, this has been head down, look look look, move on. Next shelf, next store, next. It’s just turbo shopping. No big. Currently having a light lunch. So far delicious. Realize at this hour we will be in traffic when we leave. So it will be a slow return. We are going to the movies on the way back. It’s a full day.

We are off on the road to the movies. Surprisingly light traffic through town and 15 miles east. And then, driving normal freeway speed. 75 mph. Normal. So we are getting, not going to be, but getting there swiftly. This is better traffic than Sacramento. Thank you lord.

While driving, I should say riding, I called our real estate agent, Kary. I needed an update on our quest to take Auburn by storm. Well, we got some good news. We are now the only people left with an offer on the house we want. The other two dropped out. Normally that means we get it. But, it’s contingent on our seller getting another house she has made an offer on. We should know tomorrow. So everyone out there say a prayer for us. Thank you.

As is her habit, Emily called everyone she knows (or so it seems) while we were driving home. It’s something she does. She likes to call home when she is headed home. A strange habit. Often she is still on the phone when she pulls into the driveway. I have often said she calls to give me time to get the girlfriend out the door befor e the wife gets home. Very thoughtful of her.

As I mentioned, we are going to the movies tonight. On our way home from shopping. We kinda ran out of time so we drove direct to Lupitas for taco Tuesday and ate in the car while driving back to the movies in Vacaville. Kinda crazy really but Marika wanted to go there and not one of our other fine choices closer to the theater. She misses Lupitas.

Movies. I would say don’t bother with the latest Harry Potter movie. It was disjointed and quite boring in many places. Also obvious there will be a sequel or two since there was no satisfying ending. I will skip the next one.

Finally got home by 930. A 12 hour shopping day. I am tired. Marika went out to join friends in a neighboring town for some kind of trivia night. That could be fun. I am way too tired for that. Emily is in bed snoring loudly already. I am up next when I finish this. Which is now. Tomorrow is a big day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back in the trailer. A little cooled off.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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