Winter is here

So the rain is falling, the air is damp and the fire burns brightly at my hearth.  Its been a long day, a good day, a safe day and a productive one.
Steve and I inspected a home this morning here in Discovery Bay and then I drove on while he finished up.  My next stop was in Oakland and I grew so sleepy on the way that I found an off ramp and napped for a few minutes.  Then refreshed I drove to a newly updated two unit property in a rough neighborhood.  The home across the street had plastic sheeting covering the entire roof, hard to see how it would hold up to wind or intense winter weather.  The subject property was in great shape and had a parking pad in the front behind the automatic gate that would park 10 cars easy.  The kitchens had granite tile, the carpets were new and the whole property looks ready for new owners.
Once I was through shooting comps in a very rough part of Oakland I then drove to a second property which was located near Lake Merritt.  This one was a field review of someone elses appraisal which I then enhance with new comparables.
When that one was put to bed I drove to Walnut Creek and did a driveby appraisal of a very nice 3,800 sf home with a value of about 1.4 million.  Then I headed home.  It seemed that each assignment yielded more and more rain.  Once in Brentwood there were meds to pick up and then it was time for Weight Watchers.  Although I did not dump any more weight I enjoyed the meeting and picked up lots of hints, for example they keep mentioning a product line called Walden Farms salad dressing. They are free, no points and according to the people who have tried it they say it is great tasting.  Supposedly it is available at Lucky's and someone said Raley's as well.  So I'll be finding some of that stuff to try.
Ken is back and he just called to invite me into the rain in the early hours of the morning for a 3 mile walk.  Yes I know it is good for me and I get 10 points for Weight Watchers but frankly I'd rather sleep in!

The other thing wrong with a blog is the one sidedness of it.  We do not get to have a conversation other than the emails or comments I get back.  I'm curious how you are doing this winter?  Are you staying warm, contented, happy?  What are you reading?  Listening to?

I have a new CD, Sacred Arias with Katherine Jenkins as the artist.  If she sings nearly as good as she looks this will be great to listen to.  She is from Australia and is a stunner, not always what you think of when you think of classical music where many of the singers are nearly as wide as they are tall.  I'll give you a review once I open the CD and play it.  So far it has been enough just to have it on my desk, you know art comes in different mediums!  Visual works too.

So good night, tomorrow Keanna comes to visit and we'll work on the tree a bit.

Love to all and to all a good night,

Tim