Keanna was wonderful

Well I'm still smiling remembering Keanna's performances in the Dance Recital today which was help in Pittsburg.  The theater was huge and very comfortable, newly completed as a part of the Pittsburg High School is totally new.

Keanna danced in three different routines and knew her moves, said she was nervous before going out on stage but once she was out there she just loved it, a real performer and it showed.

I sat with Kallie and Steve and the program was very long with many many different dance numbers, some with a stage full of dancers and others with just a few.  Keanna has advanced to the point where she knows how to handle herself on stage and enjoys it very much.  Of course there are months of hard work to prepare for a few minutes on stage.

Afterwards we had a festive meal at UNOs and the food was perfect for all of us.  It was a very special time and the fact that a huge screen was overhead so Steve could watch the last innings of the Giants game didn't hurt, of course when they blew the lead and let Atlanta win, well that was not so nice.

This morning I was enjoying the lake and on a whim just jumped in the green boat, dropped the battery in, hooked it up and went motoring over the water.  The trolling motor is silent, you don't hear a sound but you just glide over the water.  I didn't stay out to long as at this point I have no paddles in case the battery runs down.  I'm taking care of that as soon as I can find someplace that sells them.  I picked up some wood pieces that I can use as a false bottom to the boat as the original teak pieces have weathers and cracked.  I also picked up some bamboo pieces which I can cut and use to stage up the tomatoes that are breaking down with the load of the crop.  I also picked up a device that makes it possible to have full bars of cell service in the house instead of the puny 1 or 2 bars that I have now.  Its so bad that when a client calls I often have a problem with them no hearing me, that's not good for business.

The device cost $199 plus tax but they gave me a $100 refund form to mail in and are going to credit $50 to my next cell phone bill, not bad.  I've found AT&T to be excellent to work with and I'm going to be even more pleased with the better reception in my home.

Well at this point I'm heading to bed.  Tomorrow we go to church, Keanna has been attending a VBS day camp program  at a local church in Brentwood.  Tomorrow is their final day when they get to share their songs, their crafts and fellowship one more time.  I think its great and Keanna has had a excellent week with the well run program.

So I'm saying love to all,


Tim

Another week is in the history books

Good evening,

There have been several high points this week and of course the other kind as well.  For the most part the weather has been kind other than the thunder and lightning storm which pretty well shook me out of bed in the middle of the night.

Jessy is back from Europe and surprised me by working today.  In a few hours she had all the files logged out and in their files, appraisals that were paid for moved to the paid file and logged in the computer, two files written and we had time for lunch at the Sports Bar which was perfect.

I ended up at Kaiser today with the painful eye.  The very lovely eye doctor was so sweet and found no obvious issues but has referred me to the dermatologist for my red cheeks which can lead to drying of the eye.  She was so beautiful, I think I need more eye exams and is just two weeks from delivering a little boy so was very happy about that as well.  Meeting her and knowing that there is not something seriously wrong with my eye was a very good experience.

Jason found out this week that his grades for last school year were very good and that is in the top section of his class, he is busy with an actual case involving people in San Francisco and staying really busy since summer school moves even faster.

Tomorrow Keanna is a part of a dance recital for her school.  We'll go and enjoy her routines which she has been working on very hard.  She loves to dance, to sing and this week has enjoyed a VBS type program held in a local church, there is a small fee but they keep the kiddos all day.  That program culminates in a Sunday program at the church so I'll attend that for Fathers Day.

Life is in a summer routine now, tomatoes are turning red, dog and cats are being lazy, frig is stuffed with food I never seem to get around to eating, I'm sleeping well and there is enough work to keep me busy.

Love to all,

Tim

Forging ahead

Good evening,
Forgive my missing yesterday blog.  Basically nothing happened.  I was busy for the whole day first seeing a nice place in Livermore and then watching kallie swim at her swim meet, moving Keanna about town to dance, then to dinner and then to watch kallie, fun stuff for sure.

This evening my left eye which has been increasingly painful is really putting a hold on future work.  It feels like it is scratched but I don't remember it happening.  I've used what drops I have, put a warm cloth over it, rested it but it still is painful, hope the night rest calms it down, if not I'll go to Kaiser tomorrow to see someone.

Got to see my friend Patty tonight, its always a treat to talk to her, she is one of the bravest people I know.  Cares for many grandchildren and great grandchildren in her nice little place here on my court.  I just admire her courage.

Well I've finally landed an appointment with a diabetes expert at Kaiser for a week from Friday.  She is really good and teaches many classes, I hope to get on a more informed basis so I know what I'm doing.

Sending love to all,

Tim

Back hard at it today

Good evening,

Well I'm back after an extended day, extended by a couple poor souls who broke down in the tunnel, I waited an hour to go 2 miles and so was very late for my last appointment in Antioch.  The delays were much worse than usual, no fun but the rest of the day went well.

I left here and stopped at Starbucks only to discover my wallet was at home.  So back home, about 3 miles, found the wallet and found the several thousand dollar deposit it held, drove back and snatched the last multi grain bagel, made the deposit and headed to Vallejo.  Nice travel time and no traffic, pulled up to make a FHA inspection, only took a few minutes as I'd seen the house recently.  Then on to do a field review of someone else's appraisal.

Then it was time to head to Richmond to see one that promised to have an active alarm, those I do not like but when I got there the alarm was off, the house was tiny and everything went smoothly.

had enough time to find Subway for a great lunch.  Then I pulled up in Albany in front of a 4 story townhome, talk about stairs!  The guy was from Ireland and was moving to North Carolina with his wife who was transferred by her job.

Then it was off to Oakland where traffic is always backed up.  The poor lady was terrified of the inspection, had been up for days and nights cleaning the little house.  Hard to know the effect our actions or fear of our actions can make on another person.

I then headed to Costco to get dog food but after Highway 13 was backed up the worst I've ever seen, it took over a hour to move a few miles, I gave up on Costco and the dog is fasting, I'll go tomorrow when I'm out.  After a thousand motions of the clutch I came upon a CHP guy with a cycle standing in the lane, before him was a dead pickup with no driver, that car along with another one that had died out was causing all the mess.  Once I was past the stalled pickup the traffic moved rapidly.

After the last house tonight I was just so thankful to have it all over.

My day started badly, the computer would not open the word spread sheet and I had to have it to complete an appraisal so I had to tell them I would not be getting it done this morning, I called my faithful IT genius Jim and tonight when I got home it was fixed.  Oh thank you Jim.

So now its late, as I listen to the news I wonder where the America I grew up in has gone.  We have such a huge government and most of the workers are no elected, they just get these jobs and settle in, do whatever they political leaning is and we get to live with it.  I think this guy who leaked has performed a service,  we don't need government to record all our calls, our letters, our emails just in case they need to chase us down.  I've never like this current administration, I've never trusted them, I see them as an extension of the Chicago political machine and now they are proving it.  It is very chilling to realize just how much power and control they have over us.  Freedom is a term only now, we actually have very little of it left.

Love to all,

Tim

Almost caught up, what a feeling

So here I sit, its nearly bed time and I'm almost caught up.  I'll write one in the morning and then everything is out that I've seen.  Of course the conditions will come rolling in soon.

Tomorrow I'm out all day, it should be interesting.  I'll be in Richmond area, then Oakland and in Albany too.

This evening I heard strange noises and it was Kallie and her driver, Nikki.  What a nice surprise that was to see them and catch up on their busy lives.  Having family nearby is a great blessing.

Well, I'm heading for sleep and I hope no thunder and lighting tonight.  That was a little too exciting.

Love

Tim

After the heat a great cool day

Good evening
Its been very nice to work in my office with gentle breezes moving through, George the orange kitty coming to run on my leg and appointments made for the week.

After a bit of grocery shopping I'm settling in for the evening, going to try to complete yet one more report and then pack it in.  I have clean sheets on the bed, the room is already cool for the night and garbage is all set out on the street.

So what kind of week are we heading into?  Lets hope a productive, safe and peaceful one.

I had so hoped that Dana would be visiting by now but I'm not sure she is going to make it, my kids and their kids love for her to visit as she is a very special person and we all love her.

I have a photo of Kallie from yesterday, setting was 107 degrees, she had already done her thing and was resting up before going to swim again.  She is rapidly growing up, she is 5 now and loving every minute of it.

Love to all,

Tim

Family Rest Day

Imagine my surprise when I woke to a back ache, what was happening, I mentally scanned the prior day, no unusual lifting, no reason for such pain but then I looked at the clock, I had failed to set the alarm for 7 as I had planned and it was after 9 and I was just waking up, well there went my plans.

So I quickly got up, showered, checked in with Lois, she was hanging in in spite of losing her precious little kitty last night, I asked if I could join her for breakfast at McDonalds and I did that.

By the time I reached Los Medonas College campus where the huge swim meet was under way it was over 100 degrees, hundreds of families had little shade devices set up with towels on the concrete and chair set in a circle, no matter what it was hot and the kids seemed to take it all in stride.  Kallie had already did the first part of her day and did well swimming,   She was resting up for the next round which took place after 12.  I had taken the ipad so she played for awhile and I eventually left with Keanna to meet the cousins at Cheese Factory for lunch.  It was a good meeting point for both of us and our lunch was good once we had a chance to be seated, seems a lot of other people also enjoy the same place.  It was fun to get to chat with Julie, Jo's mom who is visiting until the 12th and watch the kids interact.

We followed them back to their home in San Jose and then to the complex pool, all four kids had fun, Jason, Mia, Timothy and Keanna.  They play so nicely together. 

We headed home about 6:30 and it was still about 90 degrees.  We arrived to find Kallie and the neighbor kids swimming in their pool and Steve and Nikki were chilling, I mean really chilling as they have an excellent system, zoned to put the cooling right where you want it in the house. 

I found myself very energized by the day and when I pulled in I headed out to trim a Butterfly bush that was out of control, reaching for the sky with purple flowers 3 feet high.  So using this little device that trims I waded in, wow there were lots of branches that needed trimming, soon the yard was filed high with cut branches.  The next step was to stuff them in the green trash can as it was getting really dark.  Then I found the gas trimmer Jason is allowing me to hold for him and it started on the first pull, I tell you that does not always happen.  So as it was really dark I turned the porch light on and trimmed the yard, this time the line did not break or fail and it went smoothly, then the lawn mower started on its first pull and I mowed the tiny front yard.  I was not done though.

My black car was covered with bug splatters that happened as I drove home from Lodi on Wednesday evening.  The window was covered and smeared from my vain attempts to clean it with the fluid that the car squirts.  The first hose I pulled out to soak the car broke at the wall, not good.  So I tried another hose from the other side of the house and it would not reach where the car was parked, so I moved the car not wanted to be put off the task at hand.

Now the car could be reached by a stream of water but the normal bucket I use was not anywhere I could find.  I remember now its on the back porch, oh well I found a big salad bowel, put some dove in and mixed it around and I was in business.

Then there was a new sponge I had purchased at one of the Dollar Tree trips but where was it?  So I looked in all the normal places and it was not there, finally I located it on the counter in the kitchen by the toaster oven?? Why, not sure.

Now having located the tools I headed out to the car, applied a heavy layer of soapy water and enjoyed the cooling effects of the leaking hose, the cool water and the total darkness which now enveloped the entire process.  Once I was completed and many bugs were gone I drove around the neighborhood to air dry the car and you know it looks good, real good, well that is until the light of day.

Now I'm doing loads of wash and enjoying the positive effects of having the AC on to ward off the heat which is still out there.  I see the evening is cooling off well, the nifty weather station says it is 75 outside, do I believe?  Not really.

So that is the report from me to you.  Got to see all the little people and their parents, I always love that, the car is doing great, since the recent repair it seems to be getting about 44+ mpg and you know I love that!

I hope your day was enjoyable in spite of the heat, the rumor is that we will be cool tomorrow, I hope so.

Love to all

Tim