Mosh Glass

It’s Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018. Yikes. It’s the first official workday of the new year. I just received my first work text moments ago. It’s the dawn before the storm.

Years ago I loved this time of year. The work just piled in and I was up to my ears in it. It was what I had worked for all my adult life, a successful work life, a successful practice. Now, I see the error of my ways. What you wish for and work hard to obtain will most likely come true.

Growing up and throughout my school years, everyone seemed pointed at a goal. It always centered on making a good living. Everyone had dreams akin to that. I do not denigrate dreams, I now believe we should try to get our kids to aim at happiness and fulfillment as the goal and let what we do for a living fall into second place. Perhaps third. Why? Because work success does not lead to happiness. It can lead to a lot of money and assets but neither makes you happy. What money buys does not lead to mental stability. All you have and all you acquire must be taken care of. It’s just more work to do. In my job I see it every day. I help people attain their financial and job related goals. None of them gets happier or more contented. Many attain riches and those are the few who really understand what I speak of.

I don’t have the answers. For instance, I would love to sell my accounting practice and do something else. Anything else. But, my employees are scared. My wife, who is very supportive of my crazy thought, is worried. I can tell. Everyone wants a safety net for themselves and those around them. I think a leap of faith is all you need. I believe if I make a decision and move in that direction, I will be happier. Make a choice, then work like hell to make it the correct choice. And this time, don’t focus on the money.

I went to work out before I went out to work. Today is lower body. That means I will be in pain all day and unable to walk down stairs. I definitely am aware I worked out. It hurts just to sit here and eat dinner. Yikes. I hope it translates into fitness.

I got home about 11 and cleaned up. The locksmith, Bob, called and was on his way. So though I was ready to leave for work, I didn’t. I waited for Bob. He did show up timely, with his able assistant, daughter Emily. They are changing all the house entry door locks. Tenant is leaving and we ar moving so it seems a good time for it. I have known Bob forever. About 22 years. I have known his daughter a little longer. She was a friend of my daughter. I do like being able to do business with friends. I will miss that nice I move. I may actually have to make new friends. That’s scary.

My Emily got home from her appointment about about the time I was leaving. Had to finally get going.

Drive was the usual not much. Slow pace, steady and no problems.

Everyone was in. By everyone I mean 3 out of 5. But I did talk to one of the no shows. So all back to normal. No more holidays or good times. Sucks.

Spent my day talking to clients and doing the usual administrative work. I need a new line of work. Maybe street cleaning. That would be nice. No phone, no one to see, only paperwork is cleaning it up. I am getting jealous.

Still trying to finish client Franks tax plan. I need only obtain an EIN for the trust and we can fund. Then everyone gets paid. Of course, the IRS system for online EINs is backed up from here to Cleveland. So, I can’t finish. It is completely f…ed up. Where is the Justice?

I did manage to get the monthly billings done. So I will get paid. That’s the only good part of my job, and it’s not that good.

Off to home by 6. Tonight is Tuesday which means Taco Tuesday!! I got to the Carniceria by 645. Sad news, they were out of damn near everything. I was told no three times before they had something. Then I just asked what do you have? And that was my choice. Amazing. They did provide a lame excuse for being out of everything. Dinner was still very good.

Time for bad TV. Watching Ellen’s Game Show. Premise is inane. But people like Ellen so they like the show I think. Oh well.

Just got a call from Chris Parker, my cousin. Late night call from relatives are not known to be good news. And it’s not. My dad’s cousin Jake Compton died. I knew Jake, he was an interesting guy. Had plenty of quirks. Liked driving a truck, but only stick shift. Was a hoarder, of sorts. He saved every newspaper he received. He never cleaned his bathroom. He had diabetes and macular degeneration. He was my dads last cousin. My dad is probably the last of his generation in his family. I am not sure I would want to be last. But you aren’t given a choice. Not sure how my dad is going to be. Probably quite sanguine about it, I am sure. He liked his cousin, they have known each other 80 years, but if not related they may have not been friends. It doesn’t matter now.

Back to bad TV. More Ellen game show. Life, if you can call it that, goes on. At least bedtime will save me. 35 minutes from now.

That was a slow 35 mins I will never get back. Bedtime

Emily got up this morning and went to yoga. I gave some serious thought to working out and then I didn’t. Maybe Tuesday to Friday. I would think it crowded at the gym wih the new year resolution crowd. I already workout 3 or 4 days a week. No resolution (excuse) needed. Or should I say no special resolution like “this year I’m gonna…” whatever. If you want to start something that’s good for you, start now. Immediately. Why wait for the calendar? People are funny but not in a humorous fashion.

My new year resolution, number one, take a shower and get dressed. Wait, let’s go crazy, I will shave too. The excitement and anticipation are palpable. Don’t you agree? Well, off the pot and on to the day.

Just got a call from Marika. She lost her iPhone while out last night. In answer to your question, yes she was drunk. On New Year’s Eve. Rather pedestrian I think. I used the find friends app to get a location. She thinks its in the Uber. Wait, she just called, in the couch cushions. Amazing. So much like me. I lost my phone once. Turned up in a different pocket. Of the pants I was wearing. And I was sober.

Btw, I forgot to shave. Another New Years resolution blown. In record time, I must say.

Emily came home about midday. We went to Vacaville for some minor items we need. Then Emily decided we should get lunch. For some unknown and strange reason she picked Chili’s. Now, twenty years ago, when Chili’s was actually a decent place to eat, we went there quite often. It was also Michaels favorite restaurant. It was fun and lively. They had pictures all over the wall and cool props decorating the dining room. And the food was good. Fast forward to today. After a decline the place is no longer lively or fun. I had to wait 30 minutes for lunch after I sat down. They are understaffed. The food was ok and priced ok. They have also stripped the inside of the restaurant so it is almost completely free of any decoration at all. I read in the business pages it’s going down. I know why. Please don’t make me go back. It’s too sad.

After eating we headed home. Not much to do here. I finished all my chores yesterday. Remember the leaves. I am trying hard to forget. It’s working. So instead I went through the monthly bills and also reconciled our joint checking. I know, the excitement is electric! Hey, I’m not always the bon vivant you are used too. Sometimes you have to do the boring things. So sorry. I am now semi watching the news. So is Emily
She is watching through her eyelids. The news is pointless and boring, like every other day. Emily likes to watch it.

I am on to the laundry next. Even though it’s Monday, it’s really more of a Sunday in spirit. Do laundry is our Sunday chore. Fortunately very little laundry to do. But the damn bath mats are soaked and no matter how many time I do a spin only cycle, there are still wet. After the third spin they went to the dryer. Now do clothes which are easier. I hope.

I went back to watching lousy TV. Emily suggested we make nachos for dinner. So I went into the kitchen to see what we had. Turns out, a lot. I had carnitas which Michael had made and beans from last week. A jar of jalapeños and several packages of shredded cheese. Found olives in the pantry and had a large bag of corn chips. Off to the races and into the oven. We also had leftover mole enchiladas as a side dish. Dinner almost made itself. Of course it needed help from me. I did say almost.

Dinner was fantastic as I am sure you suspect. A fine meal had by all. Both of us ate too much which is a sure sign it was good. The chips were not crunchy enough for me, but I blame the cook.

After dinner was more bad TV and laundry. Our life is thrilling! I expect it to be like this the rest of the evening until nine when two episodes of Last Man Standing come on. Then its laundry and good TV. It’s getting closer all the time.

Well, half hour into good TV and its finally bedtime.

Today is the beginning of the end. The New Years weekend. Day one, Saturday. Emily went to work out. I made coffee and breakfast for me. Then had the pleasure of two newspapers to read. I missed yesterdays.

What now? Spend 30 mins finishing yesterdays post and start todays. Yikes. Its like my lifes work is typing.

I do have work planned for the holiday. Sweep up the leaves and water the lawn. Also a little laundry.
First load, of many. Oh well. I need to take a shower and get dressed at some point as well.

Well I managed to do just that. And I am now in the yard sweeping leaves off the driveway. Of course, the driveway is very long and covered deep in leaves. Lots of tree detritus and dog poop. Was at it for a few hours but now all clean and done. That only leaves the overlarge lawn covered in a heavy layer of leaves. I rake all this crap and dump it into the back of my truck. The truck serves as my wheelbarrow of sorts. And its a handy size too. Very large. Still a pain in the butt to get it clean.

Emily and I went to Vacaville at this point. She needed to go to the bank. Then Target for some essentials – detergent, milk, etc. We also stopped at the Restoration Hardware outlet to look at furniture. We are thinking ahead to the new house in Auburn. We found a few things we liked but really are not ready for furniture buying yet. We dont even know the room sizes, etc. so we look but dont buy.

After I got home I quickly loaded up all the propane cans Jim loaned me diring the Sheldon Incident. He wanted them back. Go figure. I promised Cindy, Jims wife, to come over and help her figure out how to use her new espresso machine. Right before Christmas, Jim had asked me to find a good espresso machine for her. I did. But she was intimidated by it to the point she refused to take it out of the box. This is where I step in and explain the not so complex apparatus and how to operate it. Cindy is not at all technically capable. Not at all. So I had quite the time with her getting it ready for use. Cindy is a little crazy. But we managed to get the little thing smoking. She was happy when I left. Not happy that I left. Big difference.

I got home and started raking the lawn. In the dark. I was not able to finish. Thats tomorrow. There is plenty of work left. I also had to water the lawn. No rain in the last month. Very dry. I have to get all the leaves off before I can water.

I should mention, once I move to Auburn there is no lawn and leaf dropping trees. Just evergreens. So this exercise in yrd care is one of the last times I will be doing this crap. Are you excited for me?! I am getting closer to thrilled everyday. And with every last task I get a little lift just from knowing its coming to a screeching halt.

Next up dinner. Wait, first lets roast a few pounds of candied pistachios, walnuts and pecans. And make three cakes. Then we send all the nuts and the largest cake to the Tanakas. They are Carlys parents. She is Michaels girlfriend. We work hardest for others.

Ok, next up dinner. For the dogs.

Ok, next up dinner. Ours. We had leftover beef wellington, yorkshire pudding, and I made potato patties. I put the shallot gravy on top of all. We also had a nice salad, I insist on some veggies. All incredible even as leftovers. Still had some of the wine left from last night too.

We are watching TV now, having finished the dishes. Emily is drinking Grand Marnier. I am blogging. Nicely. Watching really bad TV. Horrible. The Match Game. Bad.

We get to have cake next. Emily did leave the smallest cake for us. Its her famous rhubarb cake. And I love rhubarb. My favorite. I am going to cut cake now. Dont miss me.

As advertised, the cake es incroyable!! Emily has outdone herself! Again! Very nice. And btw, the large cake left of the two is going to Marika. So we only get the little one. But thats probably enough. We dont want to be fat.

Its now legal bedtime. And I cant handle another citation. So off to bed for this little one.

I had a meeting this morning at a new clients office. Set for 11am and here in town. Since its at 11, I can still go work out this morning. So, up earlyish and make all the coffees. Breakfast for my bride and myself. And then off to the gymnasium to increase strength and vigor. Or some such crap.

Todays workout is upper body. Which means tomorrow my arms and shoulders will hurt. But not my legs. Its like torture but without visible scars. I like to set up my day so I have time to work out. Which is why the appointment was at 11. Anyhow, I had plenty of time to finish my workout at a decent pace.

Home after and got cleaned up. Got a couple calls from Walker, he is meeting me at the clients. He seems anxious, Im not. I took a little too long getting ready and ended up a few minutes late to my appointment. No one cared, except for Walker.

So off to appointment. The new client has not signed any agreements or contracts. But, he has said many times that I am the new accountant. Today we sat with the head of accounting and a couple of her minions. We ran through the POS system, inventory, A/R, payroll, and financials. The obvious problem, none of it is integrated. They need an accountant to pull it all together. Integration can be overrated and will require a talented person on site to keep it all running smoothly. We are going to partially integrate different areas and simplify how it all is put together. And get paid for it too.

I still had errands to run after our meeting. I have been carrying around two 5 gal propane tanks that I bought during our recent holiday propane crisis. I did not get a chance to use them because those bastards at Sheldon took down our propane system. But at least I was able to return the propane tanks for full price. I still hate Sheldon Gas.

I visited my friend and client Jim Haughn. Had paperwork to drop off. Turns out Cindy Haughn, Jims wife, is aftaid of her new espresso machine. This is the one I travelled to Berkeley to pick out for Jim. Not sure why she is so afraid but she wants me to come over and help her make an espresso. I think it should be easy but not everyone is that way. Obviously. I may drop by tomorrow.

Off to work after going to Jims. The drive was long and boring and I kept nodding off while I went. It is mid day, and too warm and really boring. The drive was not even good mental therapy which can happen.

Walker was in the office when I arrived. He was there to cover the phones. Everyone else took Friday off to get a four day weekend. We worked on the proposal for the hardware store we were at this morning. It takes too much work to hammer out a list of what we do and then a how much it costs to do, with it. But we managed. I made Walker do it, then I reviewed what he wrote. Easy peasy. Now done and we can send to the client. This is an A list client so we want to get it done right. And well. And efficiently.

Walker left after that. He wants a long weekend too. I have plenty of work to do whether or not anyone else is here.

I called the lawyer on client Franks deal. The trust we need to finish is itself not finished yet. I am getting tired of not having it done.

I left work about 6pm. I took the opportunity to go to REI to exchange a gift I received. Emily bought me an overnight bag which I thought too big. The “luggage” department had been decimated by crazy shoppers. But, I was able to find a nicely sized bag to exchange it for. I had no receipt. And it turns out REI is not one of those nice no receipt stores. The gal behind the counter told me I needed proof of purchase. So I said, you think I stole it. She says no, I say exchange it. Fortuately, they have a computer record of the purchase under my REI member number. So, I announced loudly, I did not steal it. I hope I was her favorite customer that day.

Headed home for dinner. Tonight we are having Beef Wellington. Which has a story behind it. Many, many years ago (like 47) my mom asked what I wanted for my birthday dinner. I announced, Beef Wellington. Much to my amazement, and moms skill, she made it. And did a great job. It became somewhat of a tradition for many years until mom tired out.

Return to present day. About two weeks ago 12/17 there was a spread in the food section of the Chronicle on Beef Wellington. And I confidently said, we should make that. Next trip to store, Emily purchased supplies for such. We put it off through the holidays and other nights out. Last night, was the night. Turns out, its a hell of alot of work. Recipe suggested a two day prep. Emily said that makes sense but she was into it already. It did take several hours and she had to skip her workout, but its done. God Bless Emily. Please everyone say a prayer for my Mother who did this several times for her son. Women are amazing in what they do and put up with.

Finished Wellie on the cutting board and my dinner plate, which is even better. I opened a really nice bottle if wine to go along, dont want to ruin. Paired very well.
Thats a 2016 vintage, still available, I think, but previous years are sold out. This is a notable meal and I hope a “new” tradition at the holidays in our house. It does bring back many nice memories of my teen years. My Mom was nice. I had no idea, but what teen ever paid attention?

We really could not follow up this fantastic dinner with dessert. Michael headed out for a friends birthday party. Em and I watched TV. We did make a large dent in the jar of toffee my dentist gave me. Also quite good. By ten, off to bed. I was so tired I could not finish yesterdays post till this morning. Here you go.

Again, shout out to the new Beef Wellington queen, Emily!!

Thursday, what a day. Nothing planned so will have to wait and see what falls out. Probably my teeth.

Had very little going on. Usual morning rituals. I had he honornof making coffe and breakfast for my lovely bride. Coffee for the kid. Coffee for me. Normal day. Have not made breakfast for Emily in a week.

I decided we should fo somewhere special for dinner. I had suggested Bull Valley Roadhouse which we all love. Turns out no reservations available. Switched to guns,
And made a reservation at Trader Vics in Emeryville. For all four if us. Call d Marika and she came too tirns out she had to go to Oakland that evening anyhow. So we will neet later.

Ran off to workout early. Had to move quick cuz I had an appointment with miss Rachel early. She is pregnant, 5 months, but looks like she isnt. Lucky girl. Nice to chat with her. I wish she still lived out at Casa Vivier. I miss her and her dog Miles. She only has one dog. Our current roomie Trisha has 8 cats and 2 dogs. A bit much.

So got my necessary’s done. Came home and cleaned up. Had to meet client Frank again to get two more note copies for capitalization of the LLC. Signed note assignment. Signed assignment of rights. Big day and Frank is that much closer to done. I checked in with attorney and trust shoukd be complete by tomorrow. Longbhaul, started two years ago. Will be finished before year end. Will be nice being done.

The rest of the day was usual work and crap. Tomorrow the office will be empty except for me. Lovely. I get to answer all the phone calls. I did get to make several calls while at work. Maybe ten or so to client Franks attorney and office. A few to clients. Normal day. Staff whined to get their payroll a day early. They are like having extra children who only complain. No good parts ever.

I had to leave the office early because we were going out to dinner. Depending on traffic, Emeryville is an hour from Dixon. Bad traffic and it can be two or three. So I was out the door by five and off. As it turns out, I hit home by 6 andnleft by 615. And light traffic. We got there early. And Marika was already there! Shocking.

We took full advantage of the menu, appetizers, cocktails, entrees, dessert and coffee. We all had different things so we tried all sorts of food. The Trader is a Tiki bar so the food tends toward that type. But he did invent the Mai Tai so drinks are always awesome and food is fin as well as delicious. We stuffed ourselves.

Marika left to pickup her roommate Taryn from the airport. And we headed home. I fell asleep on the way. As did Michael.

Thats what 2 drinks do to you.

No traffic again so got home fast. Got all together, put dogs away, and to bed.

Its difficult to get any work done during the week between Christmas and New Years. People dont show up for work, clients are not in the office, no one wants to do what work needs to be done. Perhaps we should all take the entire week off every year. I am ready for it if the world can take the idea seriously.

We all, three of us, had doctor appts this morning. Emily has a sore thumb and she finally wants to find out why. I suspect it’s arthritis, after all, we aint getting any younger. Michael and I each had dentist appointments at Dr Teds. We dont have sore thumbs but do need attention given to our teeth.

I hate going to the dentist. Its pinful, its uncomfortable, you have no control, and you lie on your back completely vulnerable. Doesnt that sound like fun? We had no problems, we have great teeth in this family. Funny thing, I was offered a jar of Ted’s Treats by the dentists wife on my way out of his office. Turns out Dr Ted makes and bottles his own toffee. Which, by the way, is awesome. The funny part, its full of sugar and nuts which are bad for your teeth. So he is either driving business or giving up and moving to the dark side. I dont care which, I get the toffee. I have known Dr Ted for 33 years so Im pretty sure he has my best interests at heart.

Unfortunately I had to go to work after the dentist. Michael and I stopped at Starbucks on the way home to drop him off. We made it ten minutes before we ate and drank. Even though the dentist said wait 30 mins before I eat. Whatever. I dropped off the kid so he could do whatever he does while on vacation. Then off to work for me.

Not much doung at work today. I had an 11 appt. But client Frank came in at 1130. We are trying very hard to get his tax plan done before year end. And thats getting very close. We spent some time going through his notes receivable. We are contributing the notes to an LLC to capitalize his new LLC. I need to get them in order and send them to the attorney.

After that i spent most of my day on emails and phone calls. I did have a little more to do on Franks plan too. I think we will be done on time. Maybe tomorrow if all goes as planned. I spoke to Sheldon Gas about their bullshit move turning off my gas on Christmas Eve. Nice going assholes.

Late in the day, near 5 o’clock, I got a call from my buddy Bob. He was travelling back from Rutherford, through the Berryessa Gap to Winters. He and Renee, his fiancé travelling with him, were stopping in Winters and having dinner at the Buckhorn. That’s a steakhouse. And they invited us to go with them.

So I called Emily and told her and she and Michael headed to Winters. I had a forty minite drive, theirs was 10. By the time I got there they had finished cocktails and nachos. I ordered a Manhattan, happy hour price, and sliders, also happy hour price. The food and drinks are cheap as hell at Buckhorn during this time of happiness. I need to stay away.

We had a really nice time and a nice meal. We stayed out too late. So it was perfect. Though, we were unable to solve any of the worlds problems. My expectations run very high.

We got home and fed the dogs. Michael headedbto his room to entertain himself. I hope in a good way. Emily and I did some laundry. Then we watched Last Man Standing for an hour.

Oh yeah, we have gas and its on. Heater works. Stove works. Emily spoke to Jill at the gas co and gave her a ration of crap. Emily let her know how their actions undermined our holiday. And we are now ex customers. They are not the Sheldon Gas Co I have known. Service is crap. There are plenty of competing gas companies to call.

Now its the News for an hour. Then I hope to go to bed. I slept very poorly last night. Tonight is good sleep. Right?

Today is the day after. Perfect day for a hangover. So I worked out, very hard. Thought I was in a hurry. Turns out, no. I was planning on going to work. Marika said stay home and hang out. So I did. Work wont work itself. True, but the employees work. Ha. I did make several phone calls. Phone wont call itself. But now I can find my phone with a key fob. Lost it today, pressed fob, was in my other pocket. Funny.

So we sat around for awhile. We hung out. Ate some lunch. Made a few more calls. Watched some football. Sat around some more. Michael did a little homework online. I am so glad I am no longer in school. Emily and I took Michaels car to the body shop. They did some work on it a couple years ago and the paint is cracking. So Darren at Superior said he would re do it on warranty. Next time Michael is in town. Which we hope is soon. We don’t see him that often. After that we went to the bank. And they had drive through open only. Who cares, that worked.

Marika napped while we were gone. She is tired. Very tired.

We got home and I helped Emily wash Michaels car. An xmas present. I washed mine after. Not a present. It is beautiful. Very.

It was close to six when we finished with the cars. Marika was packing up, she has work tomorrow am. Too bad she cant stay. Growing up sucks because you get a job and it really cuts into your time. For some reason we all put work aheadbof everything else. Its backward. So Narika packedbher car. I suggested we all go to dinner on her way out of town. Everyone thought that a fine idea. After much discussion we ended up at Pho Lee Hoa Phat. We got Pho. Thats easier. So we chowed at Pho while her cat and dog sat in the car. Haha. Leisurely dinner. Nice to see everyone together, more like Christmas, with no one too busy to just sit. Nice time.

We left the Pho joint. And, Marika w nt home. Sad face. Michael will be with us a few more days. Happy face. Maybe we can go do something fun. Or boring. But done together.

The theee of us went home. Watched more football. Did sone laundry and…wait for it…went to bed.

Well, its Christmas. I still love this day the same as when I was a kid. All the build up and I never have a let down. Its alot of work to do everything, food, gifts, parties, but I still think its great. Fortunately, my immediate family feels the same way. I have watched others and they seem to fall off the Christmas bandwagon over the years. Fine for others, but I want to keep all my traditions intact. Forever.

After not sleeping last night, and kids coming home so late (early?) only Emily had the energy to getbout of bed. I woke up early and could not get back to sleep. But, I still did not want to get up.

Eventually we both got moving. By moving I mean we sat up in bed and opened our stockings. A word here about stockings in this family. Every Christmas we adults randomly choose another adult relative to do a atocking for. We figured, long ago when we set this up, that it would be easier for each of us to only do one. Plus we do our kids, if we want. And in our family, I also do a stocking for Emily and she does one for me. So when I say we opened stockings I meant plural. Now the kids got in at 4 am so neither was awake and doing the Christmas thing. So when we finished we had time to shower and dress. And go downstairs and get breakfast going.

So, what I have described here used up the entire morning. We sat down to eat breakfast at 1130. Crazy. But, kids had opened their stockings at least. By noon we were ready for opening the gifts Santa brought us.

I took fewer pictures than I thought. But I did get a picture of everyone who was there. Thats most important. We all had fun, drank too much champagne as usual, opened gifts which were all perfect, and had a Christmas to remember.

I am not sure what we will remember most about this Christmas. I am sure the lack of propane and having to use every other means available to cook with will top the list. Or maybe we will remember it as the last one in this house. We have two offers coming in on the house and will probably be moving within a couple months. Or maybe we will remember it as Taffy’s last Christmas, as I wrote about recently. I dont know. I have had almost 60 Christmases and I can only remember parts of some. Others are completely gone to memory. I wish I had paid better attention. This blog does help that. If only I can record the best parts.

After gifts, we kinda just sat around and chatted. Post bacchanalian thing I guess. We had lunch, slowly. There was some football on TV. I did not watch. About 430 we started seriously considering making dinner. Michael took the prime rib to a friends house, also close neighbor, to hopefully get it cooked better than our okie kitchen could do. Tough to go back and forth and cook like that. But we managed. I made another lemon meringue pie, the one Dee made yesterday was not so good. But with our current shitty facilities it is not easy to bake. My pie was better but only by degrees. Emily made very good Yorkshire pudding even though the oven she used is older than her, lacks a thermostat, and is plugged in on the porch. Some things make no sense. Dinner was excellent.

We again sat around for awhile. Then of course we did all the dishes. There is alot of kitchen time if you want great holiday meals. We just need to figure out how to cook on paper pots and pans. I ran the dishwasher twice today. Yikes. And its almost full again.

Well, to top it all off we had dessert. Aforementioned lemon pie and Emilys famous chocolate cookie wafer cake with whipped cream frosting. Pecan pie available, no takers. As a kid, holiday desserts were my favorite. Probably why I like to make pies every holiday. As an adult, I still love them but dont want to get fat. So i cant eat double helpings. It sucks.

After dessert, everyone was ready for bed. Even the two who party all night. I am still not sleeping well but hope to eventually get back to a better sleep pattern. I am even lying here blogging because I am not tired yet. At midnight. I really hate that. But, its still Christmas for another ten minutes. And I want to enjoy it. It only comes by once a year.

What a day. In some ways quite awful and in others an adventure.

Remember yesterday? I mentioned we were out of propane? Well, we tried to get our tank refilled. But its Sunday. And a holiday. So everyone, that I could get ahold of, said go away and come back on Tuesday. No propane.

My own company, Sheldon Oil, refused to help us. Go Sheldon! Fuckers. Ive been a customer 15 years. Never nissed any payments. And they diss me.

So I call my friend Jim. He sells propane but only if you bring in your tanks. But, he helped me Okie rig a 10 gal tank onto my propane system so I could have heat and cooking. Handy on Christmas or today when I have 10 guests coming over. But we got it hooked up. Like I said, the Okie way. Worked but screwy.

So what happened? About two hours later, Sheldon shows up to give us fuel. Nice, right? And the driver sees our set up and decides to take all the equipment and leave us with zero propane. So no heat. And no cooking. Assholes.

We had to go to Wal Mart and purchase two space heaters, two electric cook tops and an electric countertop oven. All because Sheldon Oil are fucking assholes.

So anyhow, our friends and family showed up about 4 ish. My sis and bro in law, nephew and girlfriend, amongst others. We had a good spread. But with all the problems with propane we were unable to get very far on the cooking. We continued the struggle and managed to have a nice meal by 730. My sister in law made a lemon pie. It was really bad. Sorry Dee. I actually remade a lemon pie on Christmas. And I have to say, she was in a strange kitchen and no prep done. So I dont blame her. Though mine was way better. We still had fun and the meal was ok. But, it is cold in here without heat.

Would have been great if we had access to another oven close by. Unused. But that isnt happening. No nice people to help us.

After everyone left, Emily and I wrapped Some gifts and went to bed. Michael went to a friends house, they have a party every Christmas Eve for all friends. Marika stayed up so she could give her brother a ride home from the party.

I was unable to sleep and had to take a pill to knock me out.

Marika went to pick up Michael at 130am. They got home at 4am. Nice. Wish I was still young and strong. My children are crazy. I never sleep well when they are out screwing around.

Plus I have to listen to them come home so gently at 4 am. “Trying” to be quiet. Stop trying.

What a day. Gonna be busy as hell. We are trying to get to the winery Marika works at and wa home before our guests arrive for a nice party we are hosting tonight. Emily had an idea to surprise Marika and go as well as show Michael how it looked.

Anyway, up early and Emily went to yoga. I had to run to the hardware store for locks and bungees. I need to lock down the dog run since Kona was able to get out of it on her own. We were gone and came back to find her wandering. Not good. So lock down it is.

Got home , put up the dog modifications and cleaned up for the trip to Windsor. Also, Darrell was here to fix the siding on the house and garage. I had to pay him before we left since he’d be gone when we returned. So basically just trusted him to do it all and disappear. Im sure it will be fine.

We left at about 1015 to pickup Emily in Vacaville at yoga. Faster to do it on the way. We drove first to downtown Napa. I had an order of wine and spirits to pick up from the Bounty Hunter. Some gifts, some not. Then off to Somoma-Cutrer winery. Took about two hours or so to get there.

First blush, place is dead. As can be seen from the empty parking lot. You can also see we brought Kona with us. Michael was worried about her. We were the only party here for awhile. We had time for a nice visit with the staff. We had some snacks, tastes a few wines, and relaxed. Good news, Marika got to go home early so w all left together. A nice surprise.

We drove back home. Everyone fell asleep. I fell asleep too but I did not take a picture of myself.

We are having friends over for fondue and wine tasting. I am going to open the bottle I won at the wine dinner earlier this month. Barb will be here tonight, she was at that dinner and I promised to share.

Fondue is alot of fun. We had a hot oil pot for the meat and also a cheese fondue. Fondue requires a lot of work just to feed yourself. It’s difficult to even get enough. And we had alot of forks in the pots. During dinner I opened two nice bottles of red, one the prize. We had a great time.

After dinner we had wine tasting, my second of the day. Just for fun and also a fantastic way to start an argument. No one came to blows. The wine tasting slid into whisky tasting which was probably a mistake but oh well. Some of the group went to play games in the family room. I drank whisky. Everyone was pretty drunk. Good time had by all.

I do not remember too much after the wine tasting. I did end up in bed. My bed. I think Michael ended up sownstaira on the couch. He fell asleep sitting up.

By the way, we ran out of propane tonight. Which is a story for tomorrow which is Christmas eve.