Jessie and Keanna in one day!

Dear Family and Friends,
So its getting on toward time to head to bed.  It happens every day and I'm so very glad to sleep.

This day has been a day of attention to work.  I've responded to requests for adjustments, correcting typos and rebutting questions about an appraisal where the loan has closed and the people are living in the home.  Plus I've been able to get some work as as well.  Both Steve and Jessie have been writing on reports helping the process and that makes a huge difference.

Tomorrow is going to be important.  First I drive to Benicia to review someone elses appraisal, then I drive to Walnut Creek to do an appraisal of a home that is for sale.  I'll use my electronic key to gain entry so that one should go quickly.

Then I'll set out for Hollister where I see my friendly dentist Dr. Clarke.  He will be putting in a crown to replace the temporary I have now residing in my jaw.  I actually look forward to his working on me, he is quick, explains what is happening and I have total confidence in him.

Once I'm through there I'll drive to Milpitas to shoot a photo of a water heater than is now strapped with earthquake straps, then I'll drive to Hayward to see a property and as you might guess by that time I'll be pretty worn out.  I'm asking the Lord to go with me as the day is important and filled to the brim with appointments.

As always I'm thankful for work, for checks, very thankful for family and friends, may God bless us all.  Oh that I could be more like what He wants me to be.

It was so great to pick up Keanna, she is always filled with ideas, energy and plans.  Today she worked very hard on her past homework the entire afternoon.  Her daddy came and picked her up about 3:45 but it was nice to have her for awhile.  Jessie arrived and went right to work logging out files and logging in the checks that have come in, then she took lunch and started writing up a couple reports.  She is making great progress in her knowledge but made an enemy of the new paper shredder.  I think she might have fed it too fast as it was blinking a red light when she left.  Now its fine again.

Well good night all,

Love

Tim

A normal day

Well this morning I planned to see a property in Brentwood but when I called to confirm I was told it was on hold.  It sort of threw the whole day off.  I switched gears and starting writing appraisals, setting up orders and Jessie could not come as she was watching over a friend who got hurt badly.

Finally I put together a deposit and remembered I had not checked the mail, well there was nearly another thousand in the mail so I copied the checks and included it with the deposit.  Now it was really worth going down to the Bank.  And while I was out I could catch lunch at Red Robin and while I was that far I could stop at CostCo for a box of paper and so the day went.

By the time I got home the day had slipped away so I checked emails and here was a condition.  When I checked I found out that the home purchase was completed days ago but they are still asking for me to comment on two more sales in the neighborhood.  It was a highly unusual experience and I'm not through with it yet.

Now its bed time, today Steve kept the girls home from school as they were not quite well yet.  They all got lots of needed rest.  This illness is sort of everywhere and so far I'm thankful to have avoided it.

Tomorrow Keanna will come after school and Jessie will come to help in the office.  Then on Thursday I must head to Hollister for needed dental work.  So I am sort of keeping busy, tomorrow I need to really crank out some work and get appointments made.  Then I'll be back on top again.

Sending love to all, I sure get tired of being alone all the time.  Am I just not cut out to have a new relationship, was my years with Nan the beginning and end of being together?  Questions pop up at time like that.

Tim

A nearly perfect day

Oh it seemed early when the alarm sounded this morning this morning and then to discover that the furnace still refused to work made it even more special.

Jessie had worked on a file on Friday and I decided I would try to complete it this morning.  So after a quick shower in very hot water ( to offset the very cold room) I set to work.  She had done a pretty good job writing as much as she knew.

I had a deadline of 8 am to leave and as the minutes counted down I despaired that I would not be able to complete it.  Still I kept working.  At 8:25 I emailed the report, then jumped in the car and headed out.  At 9:05 I pulled up in front of the home and they of course didn't even remember I was coming.  But it all worked out and soon I was on the road to Martinez to do a driveby appraisal, then it was to Richmond and I was an hour early.  Good thing as the place was a disaster.  A very old home, over 100 years old waiting on its corner for my inspection.  I found a mixture of recent work, very old work, some great spots and some really awful spots.  Very interesting.  I was told by the agent that the quanset hut garage was accidentially shipped to Richmond Virginia before finally being shipped to Richmond California.  Not a small mistake for a huge structure like the steel roofed garage.

Once I was through in Richmond I drove to Dublin and inspected the nicest condo I ever saw.  It was over 2100 sf and totally beautiful.  The owner told me he has lived many places, was in the oil business and lived in Houston several times.  He worked for Shell Oil over the years and spent time in London, Conn. New York and lastly in Arizona where they retired.  But their grandchildren lived here in Lafayette so they moved to be near them.  The owner was right on the edge of being cranky the entire time on the phone and in person.  I later learned he is always cranky, too bad because he has such an interesting life he has lived.

Then it was on to Tracy for the last one of the day, what looked normal on the outside turned out to be less so inside.  The way some people live amazes me and the place was filled with unfinished projects.  Really got me thinking about my own life and place.  While I was at the Tracy property Sean texted me to say the furnace was repaired and i could pay him tomorrow.  He is one of Steve's inner circle of friends and i swear that group can do nearly anything.  He complained that the furnace looked pretty bad inside but its been several years since it has been given any service.  He was right, when I came home it was busy heating the house and doing so in a much quieter way than before.  He is sort of a miracle worked.

This evening I sat down, went on line and ordered a new radio for the bug.  Its radio has died its final death and now I'll have one that plays XM, plays a CD, has a connection to ipod and is bluetooth so when i step into the car my phone will connect and i can answer the phone through the radio and be hands free as i drive plus I'm assuming the radio quits until the phone call is over.  pretty amazing really.  Steve has promised he will help me install it.  Will be nice.  The radio will arrive next week and I got it tax free, free shipping and with a free install kit as well.

This evening I had dinner with a friend in Tracy, what fun to just chat about interesting stuff and share good food.

Now to bed,  love to all, dishwahser is unloaded and reloaded, RO water jug is filled and back in place and I'm sipping a mocha and watching a DVR of Mentalist.  Always good to enjoy.

Love to all,

Tim

And the beat goes on and on

This will be short, I'm beat, been sitting in this chair almost non stop today but have lots of work finished.  It feels very good to have stayed put for most of the day.

This morning I discovered that the furnace was blowing air but it was cold air.  So I have a service guy coming Monday evening to solve its problems I hope.  Well I just took the time to build a fire and its kept the whole house comfortable all day.  Its been beautiful outside but in here it pretty much looks the same rain or shine.

I wrote some big ones today with values hovering around 2.5 million.  Of course they were wonderful homes located in Saratoga and Los Gatos on full acre sites, pools, views, one had a barn, the other a very nice guest studio with Murphy bed.  The big ones just take a lot more thought and research but there finally comes a time when they fit together and sort of make sense.  I hope the lenders see it that way.

Tomorrow it huge, seeing 5 from Antioch, Martinez, Richmond, Dublin and then Tracy.  Lots of fun.

Though I have the bug back and its running great I'll take the civic tomorrow as the bug radio has failed and that is just a little too much quiet for me to handle all day.

Love to all,

Kallie seems to be better, saw her and Keanna briefly this evening but Kallie will stay in with her daddy tomorrow just to be sure.  Over half the kids in her school are home sick right now, yikes.

Tim

Sabbath took an interesting turn today

Good evening,

Ken and I started the day with a 3 mile walk.  I wore the heart monitor so it would be possible to know exactly what my heart rate was.  It started off in the high 50s and reached 91 at the highest for the entire walk.  I felt great, nothing was sore, I was warm enough and it was really nice to catch up with friend Ken's life.  He is the new head of the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce and will do a great job, he cares about his community, its schools and its general health.  They donate to worthy causes all through the year and sponsor great events.

Once I arrived back home Pooka was very upset, she wanted to know why I didn't take her but I'm not sure she is up to a 3 mile walk, we will work up to that with her.

Breakfast was steel cut oats and a local orange.  I was beginning the trip to Tracy to attend church when Nikki texted me to ask what my day looked like.  Turns out Kallie was even more sick than yesterday so detoured by their home, picked her up and she spent the day at Pappas with a warm fire burning, under a nice blanket, with a water bottle next to her on one side and a box of Kleenex on the other side.  For the first couple hours she really coughed almost constantly and her little nose was running but then gradually as the day passed I think her fever lessened a bit and the coughing was much less often.  Her mommy came about 5 and she was so happy to see her.  As it turned out I was ready for a day without an agenda so being here with Kallie, being able to watch Dwight Nelson preach the sermon and to get to enjoy the music from the Loma Linda Church, it all worked. 

Using Netflix we were able to located some children's programming that helped pass the time.

Tomorrow is a different story, up early and write write write, need to complete about 4 reports tomorrow.

It is very precious time to spend with a child when they don't feel so good, so glad I was here to help, it also saved the day for Nikki and Keanna who spent time with long time friends and that was really great.

So now its bed time. 

Love to all,

Tim

Being in the right place

This morning I picked up the girls again and Kallie appeared to be OK, she was still asleep and went back to sleep while I was there.  Once I had the girls delivered I drove back to pick up my work schedule and eat breakfast.  Shortly later the school called and called was ill.  So I went and picked her up and she spent the day with me.  She was an angel and did a lot of resting up during the day.  Nikki came at lunch time and she liked that, seeing her mom and Steve came to pick her up much earlier than expected and she loved that.  She climbed in his car and went to sleep while he and talked about his classes. 

Jessie came and set up orders, got the board up to speed and to my amazement it is totally filled, I am slammed with work again would you believe.

I tried my hand at making baked potatoes in the microwave again and this time the potato was not so mushy, it is a little potato and I baked it about 3 minutes.  Dinner was tasty.

In the morning Ken has agreed to walk with me again, this is the first time since my heart went bad so I'm delighted.  Hope I can keep up with him.  Plan to wear my monitor to see how the ticker is doing.  I don't have either girl tomorrow for Sabbath School so church is up to me tomorrow.

I'm thankful for many things, for special people and for the fact that winter won't last forever.  Its hard to stay bright when the days are so dull out there.

Love to all,

Tim

Pappa Day Care

Good evening,
Well this day went a bit differently than expected.  I drove over at 6:45 to be there so both Steve and Nikki could leave for their work and appointments.  Kallie was already up and as the morning progressed I noticed she had a deep cough.  When Keanna came down later she did not feel that well so the girls ended up coming to spend the day with me here at the house.  I built a roaring fire to lift the temperature, put a huge comforter down on the cold pergo floor.  They did all kinds of things today, drawing, NetFlex, hot chocolate, each drank two bottles of water, Keanna tried her hand at baking again, still not a great outcome, Nikki suggests I pull down a cookbook for a better result.  Keanna loves to do stuff in the kitchen and its great to watch.

They did very well and this afternoon Kallie was very still for a couple hours as she drifted in and out of sleep as she laid on the couch and watched something on TV.  By evening they were both much better but I wonder if I'm coming down with something this evening, scratchy throat, of course I had the same as I drove to their house this morning.

During the day I was able to write up three reports and handle lots of work related stuff on the phone.

So its off to bed very shortly for me as I need the rest.  I'll pick them up again tomorrow morning and see if I can get them to school.  By afternoon today they were both mentioning how nice it would be to be in school.

Its been a nasty rainy day today, not cold, just wet and overcast.

So wishing you a warm good night.

Love

Tim

Winter at its best

It just happened that today was a designated write up day to be spent inside in the office.  That turned out to be perfect as it was nasty outside, overcast, raining, hazy and chilly.

So this morning I settled in, built a nice hot fire which lifted the interior to a cozy 73 and went to work.  I worked up a local one for a house right here in Discovery Bay, not bad, not great but a good sale.  Then Nikki offered to give me a ride to Brentwood to pick up the bug as the repair work was done.  So we caught Taco Bell, chatted a bit and then she dropped me off.  Since she had to rush back to work I was stuck there.

As I used the business card to pay the large bill it was declined.  I knew what I had in the account and it was much much more than the charges.  So I quickly dialed my bank, oh yes they had a policy that I could not charge more than $1,500 on the card no matter how much money I had.  Well that was great, the first I had heard of it but she promised that she could get a one time extension if I wanted to wait 15 minutes.  Well I didn't want to wait as I had to get back to pick up Keanna from school so I charged $1,500 on that card and the rest on a back up card.  I just love how the bank comes up with this stuff but never tells you ahead of time.

I arrived back at the school to the minute Keanna was released so that worked out.  The VW drives like a new car though it didn't seem that bad before.  They said the struts were totally gone and all the parts were totally worn out, well to be fair they do have 281,000 miles on them.  Now to get a radio working and I'm back on the road in my trusty little bug at 43 mpg.

This evening I've been able to complete another one.  Keanna was able to make NetFlix work through Jessie's computer this afternoon and enjoyed catching up on her show, H2O.

At 4 I went to pick up Kallie, she was in her normal great mood, take no prisoners, shoes off and look out.  We made a hot chocolate using the Keurig which she loves.  Then Nikki came and it was chatting and happy noise for a few minutes.  Suddenly the house was still as they left and I went back to work.

This evening I went to Safeway to get dog food and peanut butter, it cost $85, well to be fair I did find a few more things I needed while I was there.

In the morning I have to be at the kids house at 6:45 since Steve is leaving for an all day class in Appraisal Writing, he also has a Friday class as well.  So I'll help the girls with breakfast and get them to their respective schools hopefully on time.

Love to all and special thanks to Marilyn who also is available to take my text and remind me of what kind of dog food Pooka likes.

Love

Tim

by the way its 9 degrees in Rhode Island where Marilyn lives, oh that seems so cold.

Wow, a very big day!

Not all days require research for 5 properties, over 200 miles of travel, 12 hours in the field and over 7 million dollars worth of property inspected.

My work reached from seeing 1100 sf to 4,000 sf, from values of $205K to $3 million, from 4,000 sf lot to a full acre and so this very interesting job goes.

I rolled out at 6:30, ate a quick breakfast, took my handfull of pills, did some touch up work on the research and headed out the door.  The first leg of the journey leg through the beautiful Marsh Creek Canyon, through Clayton and to a private lane in Concord.  The agent met me and we enjoyed doing the inspection.  Then after driving all over and locating the comps I turned to Pittsburg but was running late.  The agent had arrived early but was very gracious. The house was basic and located across the street from a new school, is that a positive or a negative?  If you have little children it is very positive, if not maybe not so much.

Then it was a long drive to Saratoga, then to Los Gatos and finally to yet another home in Los Gatos.  The last one was my favorite.  Great family with triplet boys and twin girls, the house was large and everyone had their own space, the kids were well spoken, funny and obviously loved life.  The property had a huge pool, a barn, a monster backyard and a kitchen with 2 dishwashers, the second home of the day with 2 dishwashers, you have 2 dishwashers right?!

By now it was dark and I got to talk to Jason again, he had little Timothy back to the doctor again with more fever and coughing.  Oh my little family needs all of our prayers, they can't catch a break right now with colds, fevers, up all night with coughing and a mom and dad both very busy with their respective tasks, teaching and being taught, wow how I wish I could help them.

Tomorrow is the other kind of day for an appraiser.  I am working in all day, will pick up Keanna at 1:15 from school and will write at least 4 reports tomorrow God willing.

I heard from the auto shop today, my bug is ready and waiting, now just back up with a Brinks truck and dump out all the money!  Yikes auto repair is expensive.  Hope it goes for a very long time now.

Got to talk to my brother for a long time driving home, sure speeds up the trip to chat.  When he comes maybe we will go for an RV trip, time to get it out and make it work again.

Well bed is calling, laundry is completed and life goes on.

Love to all,

Tim

PS, so thankful to arrive in my own garage tonight, thankful to have a home, pets and a bed.

Back in the field

Dear Family and Friends,

My work is certainly interesting.  I'm running a small business with a staff of one, Jessie and one very good helper, Steve.  Steve stays pretty busy with his own business now but I certainly appreciate talking to him and sharing ideas back and forth.

So running a business takes some work just to keep the doors open, supplied, data, planning, scheduling and keeping the books close to balanced.  Then there is the process of doing research so once I arrive at a house I am prepared, I know how large it is, how big the site is, what features they have on site, pool, patio, fencing, location etc.  Then there is perpetual search for the best recent sales that tell me the value of the property I am seeing.

The inspection is the high point in that I get to finally lay eyes on the property, see if its cared for or not, see upgrades, shoot photos of every angle, every room, front, back, sides, street, features, views, problems.  Then there is the actual measuring of the property which means I make my way around the house, over and under rose bushes, through muddy flower beds, across non landscaped rear yards deep in mud.  Then there is the interior inspection, noting features of every room, upgrades, condition etc.  Does the home have AC?  Does it need AC in its climate?  Is there an alarm?  Is that floor real hardwood or a very good vinyl substitute?  Is that granite or corian, what kind of wood in the kitchen cabinets?

So it goes.  Then when back in the car putting the addresses of the comparable sales into the GPS, finding and shooting them without getting the police called on you for intruding into their privacy.  Finally hitting the road to reach the next appointment on time, bathroom stops?  Quick meals!

Today I saw a beautiful home in Pleasanton on the west side of town near the upsloping hills, great house, stunning waterfall from an upsloping part of the site, pool and spa, sports court.  Really enjoyable property, large at over 4,200 sf so measuring took a while.  I shared the back yard for awhile with the non English speaking gardener who was doing excellent work but he kept getting in my photos, oh well.

Then it was time to race to Tracy but of course some had to do a header into the center guard rail of the freeway coming down the Altimont and traffic crawled for a bit.  Not sure how you drive your Dodge directly into the center strip all by yourself, but things happen.

The sun was great today so measuring was a breeze.  The last home was carefully maintained by a Tracy family, they were all there and so it took a little longer but that's OK.  They love their home and want to make sure I get it all!

Then it was time for a quick meal at IHOP, the senior meal with the spinach and mushroom omelet, great meal.

Now I'm home working and laying out tomorrow, very thankful for the chance to do this exciting work.

Sending love to all,

Tim

Calm Sunday

Good evening
I'm feeling conflicted this evening, personally I'm enjoying working with steady orders coming in, payment checks coming in and the heart beating regularly again.  As this is the weekend of the Obama heading into his second term I have a sense of foreboding about my country.  Here is a guy who does not know how to lead, how to inspire, how to bring different points of view to one positive conclusion.  He makes Carter look like a genius, well at least Carter was honest and had values.  With Obama not so much, by far the biggest challenge to America is jobs and his jobs council has not met in a year, it seems pretty clear that as long as his world is good that's all that matters.  Taking a 20 million dollar vacation on our dime, think how far that same money could have gone to reduce the debt.  He really believes that big government is the answer for everything, for everyone, for every problem yet the one thing big government knows to do best is waste, to tax everything no matter what the effect of the tax.

Most everyone who works just got a nasty jolt as they payroll taxes went up, not just those who make over $250,000 but everyone that works, yet the press and Obama are silent on this negative factor for us all.  I sometimes wonder just how bad it will have to get before well meaning people realize that they have bought into a direction that is not good for the country, not good for jobs, not good for business, not good to protect American in the world.  I fear it will be something pretty awful before Americans awake and change the course of government.  How different would be out prospects if Romney were being sworn in.  We would have a proven leader, someone who knows how to lead and to inspire, someone who love American in his heart.  But a few million Americans made the difference, thousands bussed in with no idea what they were voting for, just doing what they were told, many people doing what the union bosses wanted without thinking about the consequences.  So once again we are governed by leaders who have promised the most free stuff, by leaders who lead by the polls, instead of principle.

In my entire 64 years I've never been more disappointed in the political directions, driven by Chicago gangster politics without principles.  I've observed several men become president,  Reagan was inspiring and went on to lead American to defect the Soviet Union and to lead the country into a time of prosperity, even Clinton has a deep love of country and a willingness to compromise, the end welfare as we knew it, to join with republicans to balance the budget.  I personally found Bush to be inspiring, to be a humble and dedicated leader, its interesting to listen to the 5 on Fox and hear Dana Perino who was a spokesman for Bush talk about what life was like then, how decisions were made, about the basic decency of the man.

Not now, we have a man who is in love with himself, his power, his press, no humility, no graciousness, just a thug.  And no end to the spending, in time at this rate all the money collected in taxes will just go to cover the interest on what we owe other nations.  Something has to give or it will be too late.

And so once again we have to leave the nation and its pathetic leaders in God's hands, nothing surprises our Heavenly Father, He knows what is best but He will allow consequences to take place for our actions.  How sad it makes me to think about what is being done to our little ones, Mia, Kallie, Timothy and Keanna.  Every day the debt that is loaded on their shoulders gets larger and larger.  Only God can help us through the future.

I'm looking forward to an interesting week, Steve is taking two days of classes this week so I'll be waking the children, getting them to school and then helping with picking them up afterwards.  Should be fun.  I get to see a 2.5 million dollar home in Los Gatos and a 1.5 million dollar over there somewhere as well.  It will keep me on my toes.

Love to all,

Tim

Hobbit - my first 3D IMAX movie

Well it seemed I found myself alone and bored this evening, the firewood bin was filled, a new light bulb installed under the canvas cover on the boat, helps to keep it dry inside.  So I checked the local listings on the web, found the Hobbit and drove to Brentwood to see it.  I happened to see it in IMAX size and 3D which I found very enjoyable and easy to watch.  It certainly is exciting and reminded me of when Jason and Nikki first were introduced to reading the books way back when.

Once the movie was over I walked across the street at the Streets of Brentwood, our upscale outdoor mall and found Grazie's still open.  Grazies is a local restaurant that makes some very good food.  I am very fond of their Zucchini soup and when I ordered a bowl this evening I had no idea the bowel was the size of a table plate.  The soup was hot, the decaf came in a mug that must have held a pint and the whole experience was excellent.  As I nearing the end of my meal a person with a badge around his neck came around and carded everyone and gave us each a white wrist band.  I think that's the first time I've ever been carded in my whole life, I don't really get out much.  As I walked out a DJ had set up shop, the tables moved back creating a dance floor.  The music was up a few notches, like very loud and you could feel the beat in your body.  I was amazed that Brentwood has a bit of a night life and I found a few people milling about outside with the music slipping out to the street.

This morning Kallie and Keanna joined me for Sabbath School.  Though wary of going they both enjoyed it a lot.  We had lunch at Strings and the girls ate pretty well and played with their new toys just obtained from an exhaustive search in WalMart.  It is so enjoyable to watch how their minds work and of course how they know how to work me but I'm the winner as I get to see what makes them tick, it also gives their parents some time off to do what they need to do.

It was so beautiful on the back deck this afternoon, the lake looked like dark glass, not a ripple other than when a great Blue Heron or a Canadian Goose would land and stir things up.  Then the sun began to set and the western horizon glowed orange and yellow.  It was a special moment.

I hope your weekend is progressing nicely, that you are getting your batteries charged emotionally and that you have time to spend with those you love and care about.

Sending you all love tonight, I noticed that I've had 40,000 hits on the blog over the past few years.  What fun!

Love

tim

Wow, its Friday already

Its past bed time now and I'm giving up the good fight for the night.

Its been a good work day which culminated in an inspection of a home located on Discovery Bay Blvd.  It backs to deep water and has a double U-dock, two levels of deck for viewing the water and distant Mt. Diablo.  While not totally up to date it is a nice home and I'm sure the buyers will enjoy it every day.

I had spent the day doing conditions, talking with the zoning department of San Jose and writing reports.  What a blessing it is to have work and a lot more is coming in.  And I'm finally feeling very good these days, now to find a way to kick start getting the weight under control.  I think for me the key is using a app called lose it, something that Ron Berenchi introduced me to, I like it but I've not been faithful in reporting what I'm eating and I can tell you no matter what weight control program you are on you must log your food and exercise, there are no short cuts and I've never been willing to do it, what will it take?

I just read my weekly email from Dolly, she writes every Friday to wish me a meaningful Sabbath and I love her comments.  She is a dear lady and has meant a lot to me in my life and in our families lives.

At this point I don't know if I have little girls for Sabbath School in the morning or not, I hope so but I totally understand that they have very busy lives and often enjoy getting some rest once the weekend comes.  I am willing if they are up to it.

When I put gas in today the Civic yielded it best mileage yet, 35.9 mpg.  Now for a 2005 car that is pretty special.  It was mostly freeway driving as I went to my dental appointment and back and then some other freeway driving, pretty good and that was at 70 mph too.  Imagine if I could drive 55!

My tooth is there but no longer has any pain connected with it and for that I'm very thankful.  My little black bug is getting some needed front end parts replaced to the tune of a whole lot of money.  I think I'll get another year or so out of it so I'm investing the funds to keep it going.

So its the weekend and a chance to share love with someone, do it, invest in human beings please.  care for your fellow man or woman.

Love

tim

Long day, winter hangs on, its cold

Good evening
Today I've seen no new properties, just worked on the ones I've already seen and Steve is helping too.

Jessie is feeling better and came back to work today which was great.  She likes the new office manager system and has already figured out some of the tricky parts, leave it to the young, they are good!

I had a good night with no pain that woke me up, the tooth has settled down now and today I've been able to eat some food including a great lunch with Jessie at Red Robin. We were out doing appraisal photos and that gave me a chance to drop the bug off to get an estimate for its repairs, it needs several things done.  Lunch was so good and it was nice to eat with someone instead of always alone.

Today I was able to solve a little financial problem that has bugged me for years.  I have a week at the timeshare called Beach and Ski at the shores of Lake Tahoe.  Its a cute little place and would be a nice hideaway by the lake.  But every year I get sent to collections for the dues but no bills ever come here to pay, so I waste money instead of being able to pay.  I've tried to call them but getting through is impossible.  Nikki brought over a spreadsheet with info about the time shares.  There were phone numbers on it, i used them and reached someone at a place that owns Tahoe Beach and Ski with a different name.  They have been sending the bills to me in an envelope that looks like an add and I've been tossing them because I did not see Beach and Ski name.  So now it is solved and they are considering giving me some break so i can get caught up and be on time and start using my lost weeks.  Oh how I love solved problems.

A few minutes ago I got to talk to Art.  He and his family have been through some rather tough times in the last few weeks and it was just good to hook up and chat again.  Tomorrow he and Connie hit the road for a long delayed winter trip to warm places.

Well its that time, the magic hour when sleep seems more important than anything else.

Love to all,

Tim

An afternoon with Dr. Clarke - dentist!

I'm writing from my office and I feel the evening cooling down outside, my trusty weather station says 37 at the present time. Brrrr.  Soon I'll head into the family room, watch Hawaii 50 and put more wood on the fire.  Today as I was not going to be here for long I didn't build a fire.  I was sorry all day as once the furnace kicked back for the day it got cold, really cold

I worked from 6:30 until 12:40 today jamming out as much work as I could finish.  Then it was time to hit the road.  Having a choice of going through San Jose and down 101 or down 5 I decided on the latter.  5 is a couple miles longer but free of traffic and one can move fast down the road.  True it is boring but I had a very good Jack Ryan book to listen to so the trip went as quickly as 72 mph could take me.

Upon arriving the doctor quickly began his work.  Dr. Clarke does not waste time, he knows what needs to be done and he works quickly and with confidence.  For some reason I don't gag when in his chair.  He did some grinding on what is left of the rear mollar and then put some soft stuff in and told me to bite down for 2 minutes.  His very nice assistant counted off the seconds and soon the 2 minutes was up and I could resume life for a bit.  In a few minutes he was back with a temporary which he inserted into the tooth and told me to bite down again for 2 minutes.  I did and we were done for today.  He had asked me if I had any pain over the past week with the tooth missing its filing.  I had not experienced pain but I knew something was not right for that tooth.  Now this evening I'm wondering if I should have let him go ahead and do the root canal as I'm having some pretty heavy duty pain.  I called Sylvia and she suggested extra strength Tylenol, which is not a blood thinner so I have two of them under my belt along with a bottle of water.  The pain is less now and I'm going to head to the family room to watch the fire and relax. 

For dinner tonight I made half a can of soup which went down well and what chewing I did was done on the other side of my mouth.  I guess by tomorrow the temporary filling will be set and I can resume sort of normal eating.  I'm going to stay away from nuts until I get the new crown which will be on the 31st of this month.  Dr. Clarke was very decent when billing for the work and I really appreciate that as well.

I've been working since I came home but my heart is not really in it at the moment.

Sending love to all and thankful for a safe 4 hour trip.

Tim

A Solid Day of Work

Dear Readers,
Well I'm finally home in the work chair once again.  Its been a long tense day with all appointments met, inspections completed and all comparables shot.

It started at 6 this morning when I could not believe just how cold the room was when I jumped up.  Even with the windows closed it was still chilly.

Steel cut oats were back on the menu this morning and tasted great as I enjoyed some of the most recent Castle TV show.  As I mention that show I hear a lot of feed back from others that enjoy it too.

Once I had completed a report that was needed today I headed to Stockton over the infamous levee road, a road that is always in need of repairs as it is built on Peet dust and dirt which is always failing.  Arriving about 7 minutes late I found a nice one story home in perfect condition.  Once that was over I had 1 hour to reach Dublin so I did a quick stop at Starbucks drive through and then hit the road.  One hour later I was pulling up at the Dublin condo.  What a beauty with its gleaming stainless steel kitchen appliances and granite counters, its hardwood cabinets and floors it was a perfect little place.

Once the Dublin job was completed I had enough time to stop at Fuddruckers and get a vege burger and salad.  The trip to Tracy was effortless, even over the Altamont which can be a challenge at times with trucks and traffic.

The 23rd Street house was an oldie but had been updated and was OK.  The next Tracy home was much more than OK.  It was beautiful, purchased just 2 years ago from foreclosure and filthy, weeds were overgrown and carpets were filthy, now its shines with new hardwood floors, new carpeting, a huge pool and pond with fountain, Astro turf and covered patio, just a great place.

Once that one was over and the sun was setting I made my way to Olive Garden for soup and salad, yes salad again and a chance to catch up a bit with a friend.

Now I'm home and enjoying the warmth of my home, great music from XM on the computer and I'm contemplating going to bed.  These days I tend to get tired by this time of evening.  Soon I'll be at the gym at this time of evening to workout and stay away from the kitchen.

Well saying good evening to all,

Love

Tim

Better days are here

Dear Family and Friends,
I'm enjoying winter in spite of it being so cold even during the afternoon, its great to experience a bit of a season for a change.

I climbed out to a chilly room and descended quickly to the work room, with a hot steaming cup of decaf in hand I stirred the fire which came alive and set to work.  Having forgotten to start steel cup oats I had regular cereal and a piece of toast, some berries and enjoyed it all very much.

I worked through the morning creating appraisal reports and preparing for the 3 pm appointment in nearby Brentwood.  That appointment went well and I hurried as it was cold outside.  While I was working a text came in followed by a phone call, would I accept a rush appraisal for Brentwood?  Well yes I would and I took the contact info and the address.  I had just enough daylight left to inspect the huge house before darkness set in.  I carry a electronic lockbox device which openes the blue lock boxes that are attached to many listings, inside the blue box is the key and my device opens the box and I get the key.  Its a great way to fly.

When I reached home I decided on potato soup and a slice of toast with tomato slices.  Tasted good and while I ate I enjoyed the Mentalist, a show that I find interesting in a waste land of laugh tracks and stupidity, perhaps its the age difference but a lot of shows seem vulgar, silly, trivial and a waste.  So I let the younger crowd enjoy them and I keep moving to shows like Castle, Mentalist, CSI, Bluebloods, Suits etc.  NCIS is a favorite and also Hawaii 5 O.

It has been a very good day and I have a good sized deposit to make tomorrow, nice to not have to worry all the time about having enough to pay things.  As you know faithful reader there were many months of near despair as the funds just were not coming in.  I'm deeply thankful for God's blessings in all ways.

Love

tim

Dolly

This afternoon was one of those rare occasions when just being a part of this human race makes sense.

Bart and Julie, Dolly's son and daughter threw her a lunch today in Napa that turned out so well.  It was just great to be there.  Dolly looks wonderful for being 80 and has a quick wit, great humor and a heart of love for everyone.  Her devotion to her Lord is strong and very deep.  This afternoon family, long time friends and newer friends came together at 1 pm to celebrate this special day for her.  she looked great, was full of charm and wit and enjoyed the accolades of us all.

Bart who is a recording musician shared some music and Dolly even joined in one especially nice song.  The food was great both for Vegans and regular folk, the tables were decorated with live flowers and I think everyone enjoyed themselves very much.  I was honored to ask the blessing and in that blessing I thanked God for His love as shown through Dolly over the years.

It was cold but beautiful day and the trip up to Napa and back was a pleasure.

This morning before I left I wrote an appraisal and shipped it out just before leaving.  It was very cold last night and I see it is already 34 tonight so are experiencing some unusually cold weather for California.  Kitties and dog are safely locked inside for the evening, just too cold for older animals out on a night like this.

Jason reported that Timothy is some better but still has a cough as does Jo.  Lets just keep them in our prayers, they do not have an easy life right now and face daily challenges.  I'm so proud of my 4 adult children and their 4 kiddos.

So love to all,

Tim

Regulations and Laws

So today was education day.  Up at 6:30, in the car at 10, picked up Steve and we drove 2 hours to San Rafael.  Our instructed was Dawn, the same one we had teaching a class we recently took in Pleasanton.  Dawn has that rare gift of making very boring information relevant.  She told us straight that this will be one of the toughest years in appraising every as The Dodd Frank financial nightmare begins to be implemented across the country.  Every minute of our time together was interesting, helpful and will effect the way we run our businesses.  Our room was the basic meeting room in a nice hotel, a little too cold, bathrooms were scarce but the information was well worth the $65 we each paid to be there for the 4 hours of classwork toward out license renewal.

On our way home anticipating the traffic up Highway 80 we stopped at Outback and had dinner.  It was good and when he finally hit the roads the traffic was light.  Felt good to be able to use the car pool lanes for a change, neither of us every get to use them since we are always working alone.

On the way home I stopped at Safeway for Stripples and $85 later I walked to the car with a few sacks of groceries.

Now its bedtime and in the morning I get to take my two angels to Sabbath School, that is excellent news.

So good night my family and friends, it was a great day with Steve.

Love

Tim

Emotional day

Up at 7 this morning and onto the treadmill, got it to work for 16 minutes and then hit the hot shower.

Breakfast of Steel cut oats and brown sugar, then to work

Steve came by and we got a chance to catch up a bit, then I finished my research for the day before leaving for Santa Cruz at 12.  Steve managed to arrive while I was on one of those very traumatic phone calls to the IRS, our lovely government in action.  I've know I needed to make the call and like usual their system hung up on me 3 times each time after holding for 15 minutes or so.  Finally I got through and it went very smoothly.  They restored my monthly agreement seeming glad to do it, probably my record which shows I never miss a payment helps.  So I just cough up several thousand dollars and mail it to Fresno and then pay $500 a month.  What a relief to have a new agreement, the guy could not have been nicer.

The drive down to Santa Cruz took about 1 hour and 40 minutes.  The homeowner was waiting for me when I arrived. When I opened the door of the car I was hit by a blast of windy and very cold air, it was deceptive as inside the car was warm and comfortable, outside the sun was shining brightly but the weather was COLD.

Once I completed the inspection of this little two story detached home then I went to find a Burger King, I was very hungry and on the edges of low blood sugar.  Lunch was perfect though at 3 pm.  Then it was back to locate the comparables and head to CostCo for fuel.  While I was there I loaded up on Blackberries, very cheap right now, strawberries and raspberries, bananas, some very good bread with lower than normal carbs.  It was a great stop.

On the way home I stopped at Best Buys where a very helpful guy not only located the printer and cartridges I wanted but also did a price check on line and cut the cost a few bucks too.

Now I'm home at last, enjoyed some of the new bread and I'm preparing for bed soon.  Tomorrow Steve and I drive to San Rafael where we will take a 4 hour Regulations and Laws Class for continuing education and tour one of the management companies that sometimes gives us work.

I am pleased to report that Timothy is gradually getting a bit better.  Several visits to very helpful doctors and some new meds seem to be doing the trick.  Would you please keep praying for him.  I even pulled out the big guns today.  I wrote to my very special friend Dolly and asked that she pray for Timothy, Dolly seems to have a private number that gets right through, she knows how to pray.

This afternoon as I was listening to one of the books I enjoy hearing while I drive the story came to the point where the main guy was visiting his wife often in the cancer unit and as the book progressed she became more weak and finally passed away while he was with her.  Tears filled my eyes as I was taken back to my last days with Nan and then to the morning when she slipped away.  While the book was fiction it was a vivid reminder of just how one feels as the gradual loss takes place and then the final moment when it happens.  If you have experienced it you know and if you have not then there is no way you could begin to understand, no reason for you to have to, its a horrible wrenching experience and the book captured it pretty well with its words.  Did I regret listing to the book, not at all, tears are often an excellent release and response to a real moment, a real memory.

So I leave you with my urging request once again, please do not let a day pass, this day pass without telling your loved ones how you feel, don't wait, don't feel embarrassed, just spill out your heart, do it while you can and do it often, its the salve of life, the difference between existing and loving.

Love to all

Tim

WINTER IS HERE

What ever happened to sunny california?

This morning I rolled out of my lovely little nest to be greeting from shivering temperatures, I had left the slide open about a foot, wow it makes a difference.  So I quickly turned on the trusty heater that George and Yvonne brought out to us so many winters ago when our furnace was broken and we were cold.  I love that heater and have used it ever since.  Now it stands on duty in my bathroom dressing area and its the first dial I turn when I get up.  Instantly it begins to drive away the chill.

I had also decided that I would start with the treadmill once again.  So I started it and its seemed fine, then I stepped onto it and within 5 minutes it had dumped me almost off the side.  I had thought it was a slipping drive belt but I discovered that as soon as I asked for a different exercise program it worked well.  I managed 15 minutes today and the world did not seem so cold after that.

I came downstairs to a warm world, both the wood stove and the forced air furnace had joined forces to bring the temperature up to 68, later after some wood was added the temperature climbed to 71 which was nice.

I had my breakfast of Steel Cut Oats and a couple vege sausages on thin bread and a banana.  I was ready to go.  And soon it was time to leave for San Ramon.  I found a very nice home, a great lady with a 9 month old little boy and had a pleasant but chilly experience measuring the home.  Then after the comps were shot I found Starbucks and the day got better.

Back home I picked up Keanna from school where she was anxious to tell me about the mission she, her mom and dad had constructed the night before for a school project.  Keanna kept busy with popcorn, frosting (her desert), Mandarins, water and whatever else she could find.  She enjoys the fire burning keeping the room warm and cheery.  At 4:20 Nikki picked up Keanna and dropped off Kallie for a short visit.  She had fun leading Pooka around and sipping hot chocolate from the Kuerig Machine.  Later I dropped her off, got to see Steve's new office, inspected the new bunny cage and headed back home.  I veered into Subway and they had that wonderful soup.  The meal was great.

Now I'm home and about to call it a day.

I do have a special prayer request this evening, Timothy, Jason and Jo's little kiddo is still sick and not getting better.  Would you join me in praying for this very special little guy and for the rest of the family as well.  Jason found out today that he won an award in his writing class at law school, great news.  He is enjoying the whole experience very much but having Timothy ill presents the whole family with the challenge of who can care for him.  We just need him well.

Sending love to all this evening,

Tim

A day of challenges

Good evening,

I'm just in from a drive over the Sunol grade after seeing property in Milpitas.  Fortunately I had a great book I was listening to so that helped pass the slow times and even slower traffic.  I didn't get to see the kiddos today, Timothy is just starting to feel better and Mia is at the edge of a fever.  Jason was back to Law School and I'm assuming Jo was back teaching her little angels too.

I started the day off with an email that was a shocker.  It was word that an appraisal I had completed weeks ago in Sacramento had been reviewed and the reviewer just tore the appraisal apart.  I happen to believe you can always find something to disagree with when reviewing an appraisal but there was little this reviewer agreed with.  At first you just are in shock, then you start to formulate a response.  I've done this long enough to know you don't roll over, you respond nicely but respond firmly.  As I started to examine what was being said most was just plain wrong and the reviewer was sitting at a desk in Riverside!  Its perfectly legal but highly questionable when done the last day before closing the loan.  So responding took a hour or so and I've not anything back yet from my response.

Then there were other smaller issues raised some of which I was able to deal with and some are still to be dealt with.

At 1:15 I left for Milpitas wanting to be there on time.  As I left the mail had arrived and hundreds of dollars was waiting.  It felt very nice and along with the good deposit I was already ready to make I felt blessed.

I've not been able to get the fire to burn, I think I need to pull everything out and start over and I've not taken the time to do so yet.  Perhaps a bit later in the evening.

Sending my best to each of you as you face life and its challenges.

Love

tim

Good evening

This time of year is slower than others but the orders are starting to come in.

Tomorrow I'll be back outside seeing properties.  In the afternoon I'm in Milpitas and hope to see the kiddos for a minute.  But today was a dark day in that Jason had to miss his first day of classes, Timothy was ill and Jo had to be at an in service training session.  Its tough when little ones become ill and mom and day both have to be places.  I'm praying for Timothy tonight, that he will quickly recover.

Have you looked at the flu map for the country, I saw it first thing this morning on the Drudge report, the map of where the flu is being reported covered nearly the whole country, wow its serious.

Today I've been working with the tech people connected to some new software I purchased.  I'm trying to get the office manager program to work from two different computers, after a lengthy helping session my computer is working but the second one on Nan's old desk, now Jessies desk is not yet speaking to the server. I know we'll solve the issues but just not yet.

Well at this point I'm bowing out and heading to bed.  I'm tired and it has been a very good day.

Love to each and every one of you,

Tim

Laid back Sunday

Dear Family and Friends,

Rolled out at 8 this morning, had a quick breakfast of steel cut oats and poached eggs and hit the road.  It was a cold rainy morning with gloom hanging over every mile.  But the subject property turned out to be a nice surprise.  Located on a flag lot, that is a lot which has a long driveway to a lot that opens out behind other properties.  This one has a view from nearly every side and was custom constructed many years ago.  The owner was outside carrying away Christmas wrappings and packages to the trash and his little 5 year old grand daughters was everywhere, cute as a little bug and totally curious about life.

Once I was through with the house and shot the comps I headed home, the sun was peeking through here and there but there was still some rain as well.  Once home I unloaded the car and wrapped myself in a blanket and took a nap, it was hard to wake up and several times I just stuggled down and went back to sleep again.  Finally I headed upstairs, changed my clothes to work ones and went outside, found the wheel barrow and started moving wood.  I made several trips and filled the wood carrier on the back porch, just steps from the slider to the family room where the wood stove is.  Then it was out front where I put away my wonderful snow globe in its seasonable box, took down the Christmas lights and put away my other feeble Christmas decorations.  Then I rolled the garage cans out for tomorrow morning pickup and came back into the warm house.  I made dinner, built a nice new fire and watched several episodes of the Good Wife, a program I find enjoyable. 

Now its time to crash, I'm tired and getting more and more anxious about finding a motivation to get moving again with long walks, get back to the gym and eat better.

I enjoyed having conversations with Jason and with my brother Jerry, it is snowing where Jerry lives in Weed and Jason and Jo are busy trying to seal up their apartments so smoke from both sides does not leak in, can you imagine, smoke seems to come right through the walls, how awful.

So I'm sending love to all and my special prayers for those are experiencing really sad times.  This life we live right now tends to be filled with trouble and grief.

Oh Lord give us your peace and your presence even when bad things happen.

Tim

Lunch with the Ahns

Good evening to friends and family,

Its cold around here, now I know its not cold like places like Rhode Island or Weed California but for California its cold.  I rolled out at 7 this morning and if the alarm was not so awful sounding I would have rolled over and snuggled in. But it is located across the room and sounds awful so I had to get up and once up I just stayed up.  The shower was hot, the morning was crisp, poached eggs for breakfast and then the word that the girls were taking the day off so I drove to church myself, enjoyed a good sermon and then had lunch.

I had the high privilege of having lunch with the Ahn family.  It was great to just catch up, Sylvia just home from Japan and Michael and family, Sylvia's mom, a happy group to be sure.  It seemed the food tasted better than usual, that is what happens when you are with people you love.

Once I reached home I stoked the fire into an active flame and enjoyed some resting time, I had a chance to catch up with neighbors, Gary is just home from Australia where he visited Monica who is now married to a vice president for Owens Glass. Monica used to work for our little company many years ago.  Gary had a great trip and enjoyed spending time with the little ones.

Now I'm enjoying a nice evening watching a Borne movie on Direct TV, great story and the fire is dying down., A grilled cheese sandwich and soup was for dinner.

Tomorrow morning I'm in Richmond at 10 for an inspection. Then its back home to crank out reports and get totally caught up.

I'm so thankful that my heart is working correctly again,  I desperately need to get back into the routine of walking the three miles a day.  My body needs water and exercise and I'm shorting it on both.

This has been a good day and lunch with the Ahns was its high point.  These are very special people, all of them and its just enjoyable to spend time with them.

Well now for sure its time to head to bed.  Sending love to all,

Tim

Life moves forward

Just wait until you are 64,  I never thought I would be this old.  I can remember being a teenager and dreaming of finishing college, being married, having little ones and having a job of course.  In my day there were no options, you simply had to find a job, there was no safety net or home you could go back to, once you were launched you moved forward, never even thought of not having a job,  So far in my life time I've done plumbing, ditch digging, printing, driving, painting, delivery, furniture factory worker, sheet rocker, door to door sales, Spudnut route, sold my second album door to door while at Andrews University, youth pastor, senior pastor, appraiser, baby sitter.  I learned something from every job I have done over the years.

I've learned the customer is not always right, sometimes he or she is downright dishonest, that because a company has pretty stationary and a nice building does not mean they will pay their bills, that the bigger talker the less reliable a person is, that there are good people both in and out of the church, that love does not depend on making lots of money but travel certainly works out better when you have money.

This week has been interesting, always feels strange when there is a holiday in the midst of the week, like this does not feel like Friday night to me but I'm not complaining at all.

Just spoke to Nikki and discovered they were eating at Red Robin at the same time I was, they had been ice skating and decided to eat, I finished up my work and decided to celebrate by having a Gardenburger, no one does it better than Red Robin.

Not sure about if the girls are coming to Sabbath School in the morning or not.  As they grow up they have lots of alternative things to do, its a challenge.

So good night my friends and family,

Keep warm

Love

tim

Long Drive with little results today

Good evening
This morning I drove to Kaiser and was there at 8:30 only to be told my appointment was a phone appointment.  The reluctant girl at the desk checked with my Doctor and he pulled me into a side office and we spoke for a few minutes.  It was helpful and I'm going to move forward with a diabetes expert at Kaiser to try to figure out how to deal with blood sugars and my life style which is somewhat chaotic to say the least.  Then I went to the lap and had a blood draw, he added an extra test and from that my triglycerides are high but my basics are looking pretty good, the cholesterol was 115 which is not bad.

After Kaiser I drove home and worked a bit, called and found out how to download a new software program I purchased in September.  Now its working but there is so much to learn about making it work well.

At 1 pm I left for Hollister where Dr. Clark practices dentistry.  I arrived on time at 3 and he quickly took a look.  Bad news, a molar next to the last one had a broken side and will need a crown, ouch, that is about $1,000 bucks plus there may need to be a root canal and that is another $1,000 if needed, even more ouch.  What I love about Dr. Clark is he does his own work, he makes the crown in his own lab, he does the root canal if one is needed and he is very fair in what he charges me.  He was so pressed for time today that he could not little other than an xray.  So one hour later I was driving the two hour trip back home.  I return on the 16th for an afternoon of joy and bliss, NOT!

I came home to more orders and a chance at working with the new software, gradually I'm getting the hang of it, now Jessie will have to learn how it works too and we need to get it working in both of our computers, another important step.

So in some ways I've accomplished little today but I did get a chance to listen to 4 hours of a great book that Lois loaded for me, its probably a chick book but I'm really enjoying it, not sure what that says about me but I'm still enjoying it. 

These days I'm not even listening to much news, just makes me so angry, can you imagine, we are going broke as a country, borrowing over 50 cents on the dollar from china and suddenly federal workers are given a raise, taxes are raised $40 for every $1 dollar of savings, that the deal reached means we go more in debt, not less and our president spends another 7 million on a vacation to Hawaii, give me the days when George Bush just went to his ranch so secret service people could be home with their families for Christmas and the cost was minimal.

If I ran my own personal budget the way the federal government does I would be borrowing thousands of dollars every month to pay my bills going deeper and deeper in debt with no hope of recovery, it would be immoral if I did it but our government can do it, deeper and deeper all the time and the press does not even mention what is going on, no one seems to care and if they do they are labeled alarmists or out of touch.

Jason often says that the pendulum swings both ways for political parties, well I'm sure going to enjoy it when it starts swinging to reason and responsibility instead of pretending there is no tomorrow and just spending and spending.

Well I've enjoyed my day and been able to accomplish a bit of work but now its time to settle in and really start to accomplish things.  I'm feeling great and I'm refreshed, thank you Lord for a wonderful season with the family and for enough resources so I could make some of their dreams become reality.

Love to all,

Tim

Easing into the new year

Good evening,

Just back from driving to Steve and Nikki's to pick up a file, Steve had just finished helping with an appraisal for a Livermore property, had emailed the appraisal to me but I needed the hard file to go with it.  I was shocked as to how cold it was when I walked to the garage and the car.  It is very cold, about 37 right now but it feels colder.  Once again I have a fire burning which has the house at about 70.

This afternoon Keanna called and asked if she could come over.  She was finishing up an overnight visit to Summer, her friend who lives across the lake from me.  So she came over and with her Nook in hand started reading.  Munching popcorn and nestled in her little sleeping bag she read and enjoy some programs on TV.  At about 4:15 Nikki came to pick her up. 

This afternoon Jessie came back to work.  With her normal rapid style she had the files put away, logged out and the ones that had been paid for were moved to their 5 year home in the garage.  Then she started on writing an appraisal.  Everyone she does gets a little better.

This morning I inspected a home in Pittsburg that was sort of rough, paint and trim needed attention, back fence was falling down, back yard was a foot deep in weeds but the sellers were sweet people and the inspection went very well.  Then I headed back avoiding stopping at Starbucks, came home and worked.  I've written up an appraisal for a Blackhawk home with a value over 1.5 million dollars.  Appraisals like that take a lot more work, the stakes are higher, less room to be wrong. 

Now its bed time once again and with clean sheets it will be nice to snuggle down and find the warmth that will come.

In the morning I'm to see my Kaiser doctor at 8:30, then I'll do the lab for blood thinner, then I'll drive back home to work and about 1 will leave for my dentist.  I fear I've lost a crown and a filling, something is not right but I can't really tell what is happening, I just know it often hurts.  I hope for the best but my dentist is so great that I have confidence it will be OK.  Its quite a drive to get there and back but to me he is worth it with reasonable prices, excellent care and such a great individual.

So sending love to all,

Tim

Back to work

Dear Family and Friends,

Just back from dinner at the The Old Spaghetti Factory in Stockton,  with Nikki, Steve and Kallie, it was great food, fun conversations and an enjoyable evening.

Around here it is cold, right now its 39 outside and its promising to drop even colder during the night.  I finally let the fire go out this afternoon as it was warm enough for awhile.

This morning I called to make an appointment for a property where the owners had ask me to wait to the new year.  The owner said, can you come over now!  Well that sounded good.  What a perfect little house, new kitchen, new paint, perfect landscaping, garage was so clean you could eat there, it was fun to see such a nice place as the first one of the year.

I worked this afternoon in the office completing a property I saw in San Jose, then one that I saw here in Discovery Bay for a divorce so its been a productive day.  It is sort of hard to go back to working in a quiet house all day after having children around, spending time doing things other than work, getting in touch with life again.

I have quietly resolved that I'm going to try to get better control over the work load so I can take weekend time off and visit family and places, get the motorhome out and travel a bit.  Life needs to be more than just work in spite of the financial rewards that come when one works hard.

I'm looking forward to seeing Jerry, my brother soon.  We've been talking about visiting with each other and intend to make it happen this winter.  He is enduring some very cold weather, snow, ice and very cold temperatures.  He lives near Mt. Shasta and some days they don't see temps much above freezing all day.  Somehow the wood stove becomes a bit more important under those circumstances.

Well I'm heading to bed now, I see a place at 9 in the morning in nearby Pittsburg and then I'm back to work in the office to finally get caught up.

Jason shared with me when we talked as he was driving to Disneyland that his long time friend and fellow teacher has passed to his rest yesterday afternoon.  I am so saddened knowing what the family and especially his wonderful wife are going through in these terrible days.  Such loss, such grief, such total shock, oh that I could make it easier for them but its not that way, they must make decisions, find coping methods, go through each day though it feels like the world is unreal.  One wonders if he or she will ever laugh again, be happy again, be OK again.  Its just a terrible time to pass through and there are no short cuts.  Faith helps but faith does not take away the hurt, the loss, the devastation.  Close friends who are distant just enough to think clearly are vital right now.  Oh my heart aches for every member of the family.  One wonders why God allows such terrible things to happen, I've not heard any decent answers yet in the last 5 years for my loss of Nan.  So many silly words get spoken, there are no answers other than we live in a dangerous and evil world controlled by one who hates us, hurts us and is our enemy.  Someday soon he will be destroyed but until then we cry, we suffer and we struggle to cope.

So my thoughts, my prayers are with the family.  These are talented giving people dedicated to the cause of preparing young people for life and they have been struck a blow that will be felt for a very long time in so many lives.

God you know us all, you know how much we need your love, your peace, your direction, grant us your presence in our very hearts.

Love

tim