Dear Family and Friends,
As this year winds to a close one can't help but think back a bit to memorable moments, like finding ones self at the hospital in ER and discovering that a surgery was going to happen in a few minutes, in the middle of the night who do you call, parents, no both gone, kids, nope sleeping and going to work the next day, friends, needing their rest, no reason to make them come sit on hard chairs and read old magazines so you just resign yourself to the knife and pray, hope and mentally prepare.
I well remembe the next words were someone in recovery calling my name telling me I could wake up, that takes me back to a night long ago when Jason and I were standing at the door of the recovery room and we could hear someone says, Erin, wake up now, saying it over and over again since Erin was not ready to wake up yet. Somethings just stick in your memory forever, others can be triggered.
I remember the year long fight to get the loan on the house adjusted, being told over and over again I didn't make enough to afford my house, the same one I'd been living in for 20 years and making the payments every month. I remember the spring when there was so little work one wondered what was to become of me.
I remember those opportunities when I would get to spend time with the little guys, They never disappoint, they are bright, fiesty, clever, cute and precious to my heart. I appreciate Jason and Jo, Nikki and Steve letting me enjoy the kids. Yes even help for baby sitting so parents can slip out for an evening alone.
This evening I'm writing this while viewing my words on a new 23 inch monitor. Since we don't have the new computer with its Windows 7 up and running yet I've installed it at Nan's desk with my existing computer, wow I can finally really see everything. It is great and with a CostCo 2 year warranty and price tag of $199 I could not resist. Compared to my first color monitor years ago at almost $800 and the size of a small truck. How things change.
For those of you waiting by your mailbox every day waiting for my Christmas card hang in there, I'm about to get them launched, any day now!
God Bless your new year.
Love
tim
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Interesting between week
Dear Family and Friends,
Yes this has been an eventful week between Christmas and New Years Day. Usually there is no work and the time drags. This weeks highlights include being hit by teenage drive in the Civic, Jim installing the new mega power computer with "Windows 7", a program that I'm starting to like a little, having the girls on Thursday which sure woke up this sleepy old house, walking several days with Ken, steps which are the right direction. Reconnecting with a friend and having the motorhome on the road with a young family aboard. You always have them in the back of your mind, be safe, be careful. These renters have communicated very little but seem to be having a good time. They texted me to let me know they will be here tomorrow around noon.
That lets me take the girls to Sabbath School in the morning.
This evening I met Nikki and the girls at Chucky Cheese for salad, pizza, tokens, games and happy kiddos. It was a blast to see how far Kallie has come. She climbs up on that big horse and loves the ride, all for just one token! Yea.
My long time friend Dolly has moved with her husband Ken to Napa from Oregon. Their home sold in a very short time and they are all settled into their place in Napa now, Dolly is anxiously waiting for warm weather. How she loves the sun and being hot. Her daughter Julie lives in Napa part of the year so that will be fun for them to spend time together. Dolly and Howard Vogel taught Nan and I the appraisal business long ago and gave us a second chance on life. We are eternally grateful for their guidance and introduction to the appraising world.
Well I don't know about you but I'm out of gas, totally tired and ready to sleep.
Have a joyful weekend and take special time to tell the one you love how you feel, please do this while you can.
Love to all
Tim
Yes this has been an eventful week between Christmas and New Years Day. Usually there is no work and the time drags. This weeks highlights include being hit by teenage drive in the Civic, Jim installing the new mega power computer with "Windows 7", a program that I'm starting to like a little, having the girls on Thursday which sure woke up this sleepy old house, walking several days with Ken, steps which are the right direction. Reconnecting with a friend and having the motorhome on the road with a young family aboard. You always have them in the back of your mind, be safe, be careful. These renters have communicated very little but seem to be having a good time. They texted me to let me know they will be here tomorrow around noon.
That lets me take the girls to Sabbath School in the morning.
This evening I met Nikki and the girls at Chucky Cheese for salad, pizza, tokens, games and happy kiddos. It was a blast to see how far Kallie has come. She climbs up on that big horse and loves the ride, all for just one token! Yea.
My long time friend Dolly has moved with her husband Ken to Napa from Oregon. Their home sold in a very short time and they are all settled into their place in Napa now, Dolly is anxiously waiting for warm weather. How she loves the sun and being hot. Her daughter Julie lives in Napa part of the year so that will be fun for them to spend time together. Dolly and Howard Vogel taught Nan and I the appraisal business long ago and gave us a second chance on life. We are eternally grateful for their guidance and introduction to the appraising world.
Well I don't know about you but I'm out of gas, totally tired and ready to sleep.
Have a joyful weekend and take special time to tell the one you love how you feel, please do this while you can.
Love to all
Tim
Thursday, December 29, 2011
A Mixed Day, kiddos were great, new computer is lousy (so far)
Dear Friends and Family,
What a stressed filled day. It is always great when the girls can come for the day. They arrived with joy
dolls and were ready for the adventure. They played so well together and apart. Keanna was enjoying her ipod and kallie enjoyed her tangle doll, they munched on popcorn, had cuties, jello, pasta, water, soy milk, cookies, carots. They filled the day with noise, laughter, games and little drawings.
Jim who is my great IT guy came with the new computer. It is beautiful as computer boxes go, filled with goodies and huge storage capacity. Some day it might even be enjoyable. But today, well that is not the case. It has Windows 7 the latest operating system and its a big pain in the neck. As of now, this evening, hours later it does nothing I need it to do, it will not work with Outlook Express at all, that is the heart of my ability to communicate with my clients, friends, family, nothing. One of the three printers will not work, one of the orders I needed would not print out, its just a big disaster so far. Now of course I have clients waiting for work to be delivered and I'm stopped cold.
I knew that getting a new computer would do this, learning a new operating system is always challenging so now I have a learning curve on top of work to get out. We were able to move the existing computer to Nan's work area where I removed her computer to make space. We have it working tonight so I can do writing there. It is stripped of some of the needed things I use to write but I can get by until I learn the other one. I could just feel the day slipping away and of course Jim has to be paid for his time so it was not the best of days.
In the middle of the afternoon Keanna went for a play afternoon with her dear friend Summer who lives across the lake. While Kallie was supposed to sleep that did not happen. She washed things in the sink, learned how to open the cookie container, played quietly for hours and when her mom walked in about 5:30 she said no, I'm not done yet. How I love these girls.
So in the morning I'll climb out as early as I can and get as much work completed as i can before leaving for Hercules to do an appraisal. The days are short so I'll skip walking tomorrow and just enjoy the chance to get back to work.
This afternoon after we moved the computers I had to move a HP1000 lazer printer. They are known for having a very hard time getting back to working again after you disconnect them. Jim and I worked for two hours without success in getting the printer to working. I was really in a terrible state without a working printer for that computer. After many tries in desperation I asked the Lord to lend a hand and the next time a message popped upon the screen with 4 steps to take to make the connection work. I wrote them down, did them even though they seemed silly and within minutes it started to connect and print. Wow
Well I'm signing off now, tonight I'm writing this on the laptop in the family room as the fire dies down, the kitty is sleeping next to me on the love seat and Castle is on hold while I write. Life throws us curves and we just have to let the stress go, good idea, hard to impliment.
Love to all
Tim
What a stressed filled day. It is always great when the girls can come for the day. They arrived with joy
dolls and were ready for the adventure. They played so well together and apart. Keanna was enjoying her ipod and kallie enjoyed her tangle doll, they munched on popcorn, had cuties, jello, pasta, water, soy milk, cookies, carots. They filled the day with noise, laughter, games and little drawings.
Jim who is my great IT guy came with the new computer. It is beautiful as computer boxes go, filled with goodies and huge storage capacity. Some day it might even be enjoyable. But today, well that is not the case. It has Windows 7 the latest operating system and its a big pain in the neck. As of now, this evening, hours later it does nothing I need it to do, it will not work with Outlook Express at all, that is the heart of my ability to communicate with my clients, friends, family, nothing. One of the three printers will not work, one of the orders I needed would not print out, its just a big disaster so far. Now of course I have clients waiting for work to be delivered and I'm stopped cold.
I knew that getting a new computer would do this, learning a new operating system is always challenging so now I have a learning curve on top of work to get out. We were able to move the existing computer to Nan's work area where I removed her computer to make space. We have it working tonight so I can do writing there. It is stripped of some of the needed things I use to write but I can get by until I learn the other one. I could just feel the day slipping away and of course Jim has to be paid for his time so it was not the best of days.
In the middle of the afternoon Keanna went for a play afternoon with her dear friend Summer who lives across the lake. While Kallie was supposed to sleep that did not happen. She washed things in the sink, learned how to open the cookie container, played quietly for hours and when her mom walked in about 5:30 she said no, I'm not done yet. How I love these girls.
So in the morning I'll climb out as early as I can and get as much work completed as i can before leaving for Hercules to do an appraisal. The days are short so I'll skip walking tomorrow and just enjoy the chance to get back to work.
This afternoon after we moved the computers I had to move a HP1000 lazer printer. They are known for having a very hard time getting back to working again after you disconnect them. Jim and I worked for two hours without success in getting the printer to working. I was really in a terrible state without a working printer for that computer. After many tries in desperation I asked the Lord to lend a hand and the next time a message popped upon the screen with 4 steps to take to make the connection work. I wrote them down, did them even though they seemed silly and within minutes it started to connect and print. Wow
Well I'm signing off now, tonight I'm writing this on the laptop in the family room as the fire dies down, the kitty is sleeping next to me on the love seat and Castle is on hold while I write. Life throws us curves and we just have to let the stress go, good idea, hard to impliment.
Love to all
Tim
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Reconnecting
Dear Family and Friends,
This morning we walked but it seemed lighter and less cold, anyway after a few days the walk seems more manageable. Perhaps even enjoyable?
Then I drove to Hercules where I inspected a home that I had seen several years back, it was rough then, a bank foreclosure sale. Well it certainly has been improved and is really quite appealing, unfortunately the values have not been kind, data shows a decline in value for the entire year for this area. Bummer.
Then I drove to Alameda, I always enjoy working at Alameda, highly diverse older homes for the most part, tree lined streets, little stores and usually nice people. Todays work was a driveby so they will never know I was there but it was a nice little place and the comparables sales were nearby and reasonable. Once through with the work I ask the GPS for lunch and it served up a nearby Subway. Upon entering I felt the temperature, about 80 and I started coughing and hardly could stop before leaving. Lunch was great, they did the garden burger slightly differently and it was great.
Then it was a direct drive home and I set to work. Tomorrow the girls are coming to visit for the day, that will be exciting for sure. Also Jim is coming with the new computer which will be exciting in another way, the thrill and challenges of learning Windows 7, just hope everything will work right as I can't afford to be down for very long, work needs to flow down the wire to clients.
This morning as I drove to Hercules I decided to give a friend I met last fall at a BBQ a call. I sort of thought the friendship had hit a dead end but I was totally wrong. She was very pleased to take the call and was facing some challenging stuff in her life and was glad to have someone to talk to. We talked until I pulled up in front of the house I was to inspection. I'm glad for the reconnection!
This evening Art came to visit. I had a nice fire going and we chatted for awhile. We may walk in the morning provided he makes it over at 7. Hope he does, he is the walking champion, walks all winter in shorts!
Love to all,
Tim
This morning we walked but it seemed lighter and less cold, anyway after a few days the walk seems more manageable. Perhaps even enjoyable?
Then I drove to Hercules where I inspected a home that I had seen several years back, it was rough then, a bank foreclosure sale. Well it certainly has been improved and is really quite appealing, unfortunately the values have not been kind, data shows a decline in value for the entire year for this area. Bummer.
Then I drove to Alameda, I always enjoy working at Alameda, highly diverse older homes for the most part, tree lined streets, little stores and usually nice people. Todays work was a driveby so they will never know I was there but it was a nice little place and the comparables sales were nearby and reasonable. Once through with the work I ask the GPS for lunch and it served up a nearby Subway. Upon entering I felt the temperature, about 80 and I started coughing and hardly could stop before leaving. Lunch was great, they did the garden burger slightly differently and it was great.
Then it was a direct drive home and I set to work. Tomorrow the girls are coming to visit for the day, that will be exciting for sure. Also Jim is coming with the new computer which will be exciting in another way, the thrill and challenges of learning Windows 7, just hope everything will work right as I can't afford to be down for very long, work needs to flow down the wire to clients.
This morning as I drove to Hercules I decided to give a friend I met last fall at a BBQ a call. I sort of thought the friendship had hit a dead end but I was totally wrong. She was very pleased to take the call and was facing some challenging stuff in her life and was glad to have someone to talk to. We talked until I pulled up in front of the house I was to inspection. I'm glad for the reconnection!
This evening Art came to visit. I had a nice fire going and we chatted for awhile. We may walk in the morning provided he makes it over at 7. Hope he does, he is the walking champion, walks all winter in shorts!
Love to all,
Tim
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Just your typical boring day between Christmas and New Years Day
Walked 3 miles, froze
Worked in the office and fired up my second Magic Jack Plus system today, now I'm saving $65 a month in phone bills.
Wrote appraisal and finally got it out the door.
Received great news from Bob and Carrol, her cancer numbers are down 50%, wonderful!
Caught up on DVR Bones espisodes
Heading to bed now.
love
tim
Worked in the office and fired up my second Magic Jack Plus system today, now I'm saving $65 a month in phone bills.
Wrote appraisal and finally got it out the door.
Received great news from Bob and Carrol, her cancer numbers are down 50%, wonderful!
Caught up on DVR Bones espisodes
Heading to bed now.
love
tim
Monday, December 26, 2011
Crash
Well not all days are equal. I was just cruising alone, ready to climb over Kirker Pass to have an early dinner with the girls and suddenly a blue Mustang crashed into the right passenger door of the Civic, I was pushed enough that the car started to go sideways but then it went straight and I was fine. I turned left onto a side street and they followed me. Out came a very young teen boy from the drivers side and a very angry mother from the other side. She was yelling, he was in shock and they both told me how sorry they were. We traded the numbers, names and details, I shot a couple photos and then I was back on the road with a redesigned door.
I've called Geico but the little lizard was out, just a nice lady who after 15 minutes of on line voice tree and recordings came on the line to speak to me. She took awhile but by the time I got home I had a claim number emailed to me. I didn't really need this but then whoever really needs an accident.
Earlier in the day as I was coming from Fremont to Concord over the Sunol grade traffic ground to a stop and for 10 minutes it was stop and go, then all 4 lanes had to merge into the left, fast lane and there was a BMW on its top, not sure how that happened but it proves my day could have been worse.
Today I inspected two homes, both sort of beat up and not very desirable, bank owned and bank neglected I think. Both sold thousands under what anything else has sold for in the neighborhood and that sets up a new set of problems, homes selling below market have to be explained from every angle, why why why!
This morning Ken and I walked and I enjoyed having new tennis shoes, the ones that Nikki and Steve got me for Christmas, not that I'm retiring the ones Roger and Carol provided a few years ago, I just have two sets now, a real luxury.
I'm including a couple photos for your interest, one is proof that the No Wood Stove ban has been lifted. I have a wonderful fire burning in the family room. Since the dogs have left my kitties are enjoying roaming freely in the house. They demand hours of petting and attention. Its fun.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Ouch!
I've called Geico but the little lizard was out, just a nice lady who after 15 minutes of on line voice tree and recordings came on the line to speak to me. She took awhile but by the time I got home I had a claim number emailed to me. I didn't really need this but then whoever really needs an accident.
Earlier in the day as I was coming from Fremont to Concord over the Sunol grade traffic ground to a stop and for 10 minutes it was stop and go, then all 4 lanes had to merge into the left, fast lane and there was a BMW on its top, not sure how that happened but it proves my day could have been worse.
Today I inspected two homes, both sort of beat up and not very desirable, bank owned and bank neglected I think. Both sold thousands under what anything else has sold for in the neighborhood and that sets up a new set of problems, homes selling below market have to be explained from every angle, why why why!
This morning Ken and I walked and I enjoyed having new tennis shoes, the ones that Nikki and Steve got me for Christmas, not that I'm retiring the ones Roger and Carol provided a few years ago, I just have two sets now, a real luxury.
I'm including a couple photos for your interest, one is proof that the No Wood Stove ban has been lifted. I have a wonderful fire burning in the family room. Since the dogs have left my kitties are enjoying roaming freely in the house. They demand hours of petting and attention. Its fun.
Sending love to all,
Tim
Oak doing its thing!
Hardly damaged!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas continues
Due to going to bed rather late last night I didn't wake up too early but when I did I jumped up and put on the light jacket Jason and Jo gave me, just right to ward off the chill. I drove to Nikki and STeves where I quietly hooked up jumper cables between the van and beetle. The battery was so dead the car would not start. After coaxing and running the engine of the van a little higher it finally started, but being a diesel it clattered something terrible. So as quickly as I could I got it out of there and came back home to shower. Then it was back for a delicious breakfast prepared by chef Steve, everything was perfect. Then it was gifts and it was a wonderful time. I think the girls got just what they wanted. Of course what 8 year old girls want and what 3 year old girls want is a bit different. Keanna is thrilled with her gifts, a sewing machine!, an ipod! and many American Girl assessories and at least one American Girl. Kallie is sporting a new bike which she loves and was riding around the house until the home filled with wrapping paper and opened gifts. The kids did a super job of selecting gifts, very thoughtful.
I scored with new jeans, new walking shoes and new loafers, wow that is like a year of shopping for me, I was thrilled. The best gift this morning for me was a coffee mug with the girls picture baked on. It is perfect.
This afternoon I rested some, visited with Ray and then waded into the files that were piled everywhere in the two offices. Without Marilyn here to make it happen by magic I just had to do it the old fashion way, hard work but three boxes of files are moved to the garage storage that Tom and John built many years ago. That clears up a lot of space inside, its wonderful.
Tomorrow I'm back seeing properties again and starting to write reports. I'm very grateful to have work during this inbetween week, its highly unusual to have anything to do. My hand is getting better but of course I've overworked it today, opening presents is such taxing work.
I've heard nothing from my motorhome rental people, that is highly unusual, by now I've ususally had several calls with questions. I just hope they are OK and having a good time.
Good night, Merry Christmas
Love to all
Tim
I scored with new jeans, new walking shoes and new loafers, wow that is like a year of shopping for me, I was thrilled. The best gift this morning for me was a coffee mug with the girls picture baked on. It is perfect.
This afternoon I rested some, visited with Ray and then waded into the files that were piled everywhere in the two offices. Without Marilyn here to make it happen by magic I just had to do it the old fashion way, hard work but three boxes of files are moved to the garage storage that Tom and John built many years ago. That clears up a lot of space inside, its wonderful.
Tomorrow I'm back seeing properties again and starting to write reports. I'm very grateful to have work during this inbetween week, its highly unusual to have anything to do. My hand is getting better but of course I've overworked it today, opening presents is such taxing work.
I've heard nothing from my motorhome rental people, that is highly unusual, by now I've ususally had several calls with questions. I just hope they are OK and having a good time.
Good night, Merry Christmas
Love to all
Tim
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