Tuesday Morning

What a great weekend we had! Sweetie and I took the trailer over to Sonoma County on Friday afternoon to attend a camping weekend sponsored by the northern California chapter of Rainbow RV. We attended last year and had a great time. We met a nice couple. also from Sacramento, and have met with them a couple of times here in Sacramento.

This year, we had a fun time, too. We met several couples from here in Sacramento, and we may get together with them sometime. The evening started with a potluck on Friday night. I made several things, including a blackberry pie, after we arrived at the campground. It must have been good- everything I made was completely gone.

On Saturday, we drove into the town of Petaluma. It is such a nice little town. We have been through there many times on our way over to the coast, but this was the first time we had actually driven and walked around the town. Great shops, great old buildings, and beautiful weather.

From there, we drove up to Healdsburg to do some wine tasting. We bought a half-case at Rosenblum Cellars. We like that place and it is a great excuse to go up to Healdsburg. Here again, such a beautiful little town.

We wandered back to the trailer and had a nice dinner and just rested. I talked with some nice guys that evening and we chatted with others as we were getting the trailer ready to come home.

We got home on Sunday in good order and had pizza for dinner. Yesterday was work and choir rehearsal. I have a sectional rehearsal tonight. Rats! No gym tonight. I have not been in a whole week now due to helping Sweetie at school and our trip. Perhaps tomorrow night.

Well, time to get ready for work.

Have a great day!!
-Tim

Defeated

I am feeling a bit defeated at the moment. I was "volunteered" to help Sweetie with a function at his school last night. Now, over the years, I have been a great volunteer to the many events he has put together. Always wanting to support him (as I should) I have lent my help whenever asked.

Thanks to a few difficult circumstances completely beyond my control, there were a few mix-ups (although I know exactly what I did) that have caused a few questions. It involves money, and as a former banker, and unbelievably accurate, I really got my feelings hurt when Sweetie inferred that I had not lived up to his expectations. He did not question my accuracy or honesty, but he implied that I "should have known the way he does things" and should have adjusted accordingly. I agree that I have learned to read him to great detail, but last night posed a whole new set of circumstances that were completely new to me. I will certainly know better next time. It may work out that I will politely pass on the next invitation to help out. Once burnt, twice cautious! I guess I am over it now. Thanks for listening!!

In so many ways, I am completely blessed to have a partner like Sweetie. We have a wonderful life together, we want for nearly nothing, we are each other's best friend, and we are working on our 20th year together. I have no reason to complain about anything. But, I am in a bit of a depression beacuse I always try to be the best I can possibly be to him. When I do things that disappoint, it really gets to me. Especially when I really feel that I did nothing wrong and reacted to the circumstances at hand calmly and logically. At least to me!!

All else is great. It was a busy weekend. I did a great deal of yard work, raking leaves, weeding, mowing, and trimming. It was just so terrible that the wind came up in the afternoon on Saturday and blew down a whole new crop of leaves. You wouldn't think that I had done a thing! That evening, we had our best friends and their little daughter over for dinner. I cooked. We attended two plays over the weekend, and I did two loads of laundry. I worked my fanny off!!

I will look forward to this weekend. We are going camping with a GLBT camping group over in Sonoma County. We will be near the town f Petaluma, not far from the Russian River. It will be so great to get away!

Well, I need to get a few things done tonight. We go to get the trailer after work tomorrow night. Camping, here we come!!

Regards,
-Tim

Chilly Morning

It is a chilly morning here in NorCal, about 52F. For here, at this time of year, pretty cool. We had a bit of rain yesterday and again last night. The rains have started early this year. Good news for us after one of the driest years on record.

I had a pleasant surprise at work yesterday. It was Boss' Day. I had not heard a thing about this, although in past years, I have both received attention on Boss' Day as well as having celebrated my own bosses on that day. It was a complete surprise yesterday when my staff announced that they were taking me to lunch. We went to a Mexican taqueria in South Sacramento, a few miles south of downtown where we work. It was a very nice gesture indeed!

I didn't worry about eating too much, since last night was gym night. I did a solid two-hour workout, complete with my 3.25 mile run to start things off. I feel pretty darn good this morning.

It is going to be a fairly routine day at the office today. I have one meeting scheduled to talk over a pending issue with one of our staff attorneys. Should be no big deal.

I get an evening at home tonight- no rehearsals, no chores, no gym tonight. I will probably will stop for a haircut on the way home. I wear my hair very short and it has been about five weeks since the last. I find that with my hair getting more gray by the day, wearing it short helps hide that fact. I was blonde in my younger years and most people mistake the gray hair for highlights when it is cut really short. Joke's on them. I have never colored my hair at all.

Well, off to the showers to get ready for the day.

Take care.

-Tim

Tuesday Morning

It turned out to be a great weekend. I got my two gym visits in, did some cooking, a few chores, and I baked a really good apple pie. One of our friends came over for dinner Saturday night, and as is usual around here in early October, we were able to have dinner on the patio. What a beautiful evening! Sunday was more of the same. Sweetie and I ate leftovers, but again, after a high of about 77 degrees, we had dinner outside. It was spectacular weather!

4:20am ame way too early on Monday morning. I would have loved to have slept in, at least for an extra hour or so, but duty called. Not a bad day at work. I had choir rehearsal last night. Since I get home around 10:00pm on rehearsal nights, I get only about 5 and a half hours of sleep. I got up with no problem this morning at 4:20am, but I always feel a little sluggish just before time to get to the light rail train. This is also my regular gym night. I always have to wait to see how tired I am to see if I end up going. I probably will go.

I had better start to get ready for work. I hope everyone has a great day!

-Tim

Saturday Morning Update

Got my two hours in at the gym this morning. What a great workout! It is becoming very quiet at the gym now that schools are back in session and the weather is turning cooler. This is great for me- no crowds or chatty people to deal with. I really like to just get there, get my workout in, and get out. I will probably go back again tomorrow for another two hours.

It is turning out to be a beautiful day. After I got to the gym, the fog formed, and it was very damp, cool, and thick. This is not unusual for here in the central valley. Later in the winter, we have what is called tule fog. This forms from the cool temperatures and high moisture in the air from all of the marshlands that surround the city. Sacramento is a major migration stop for migrating birds traveling on the great Pacific flyway between Central Americal and Canada. It is really interesting, but the wetlands that are prime bird sanctuaries, help to allow fog to form here all winter long.

With the fog having burnt off, it is warming up fast. It is about 11:15am, and the temperature is 62F and rising. It will be in the mid 70s by afternoon.

I will be taking a break from yard work today. I will do a little work on the pool, and I bought some apples this morning to make an apple pie. Dinner is already in the crock pot, so I am all set for tonight. Sweetie should be a happy camper!

Here is a little view of our backyard. This photo was taken earlier in the summer. It is not looking quite so good now. Many of the plants are starting to wane for this year. Soon, I will be doing some major pruning. The work never stops, and I swear, the yard is getting bigger every year!!

Have a great day!

-Tim

Disappointment

Good Morning! On what will be a beautiful Saturday here in northern California, it is with great disappointment that I read that the Governator vetoed the gay marriage bill that was pending from the legislature. I thought that with some of the recent gains on the subject nationally, that perhaps he would sign the bill, or let it become law without signature.

We have a domestic partnership bill in this state, but I can see that it falls far short of the full protection that same-sex couples deserve and need. Sweetie are not registered. It is something that perhaps we should do, or should have done years ago, but one of the very annoying elements is with tax filing. We would be required to file jointly for state tax returns, but separately for federal returns. What I would prefer is that we could be married, and be able to file both returns separately, as hetero couple can. Sweetie has a fairly complicated return. He is a professor, and does many side activities that really complicate his returns. He has been audited several times in the past few years- something I want no part of. My returns are very simple, and I would prefer to keep it that way.

If registered, we would be able to protect our assets. A recent court ruling here upheld the provision that property can pass on death without tax reassessment. That is particularly important since our home has more than doubled in value since we bought it nine years ago. We have since bought property up near Mt. Shasta. It has increased in value as well.

We will have to do something soon to protect ourselves. It is becoming more clear to us as we age.

Enough about that. I must get going and get ready to go to the gym. I try to arrive there at 7:00am on Saturdays- right at opening time. I'll be doing some cooking today, but I may take a break from yard work. Not much growth this week. Let's hear it for fall!!

Have a great day, all!!

-Tim

Early Morning

It is 5:00am, and I am up, reading a bit, then getting ready to get to work. It should be a nice day here in the west. We had some rain here yesterday. A bit odd for this time of year. We really needed it though. Last year was a very dry year. I think we had about half of ou normal rainfall. There is a chance of a few more drops tomorrow. What happened to our Indian summer?????

Sweetie made a reservation for us to take our trailer over to the coast in Mendocino County over Thanksgiving. We will be gone for the first time since we moved into this house nine years ago. We have always hosted a "homeless" Thanksgiving dinner for people in our choir and friends who had no place to go on the holiday. Sweetie and I did the whole nine yards- turkey stuffing, and all the fixins! It has been fun, although a lot of work. This year, most of our regulars have found places to go, so we decided to leave on Thanksgiving morning and spend three days over on the coast. I know we will have a great time.

We will also be going to Petaluma in Marin County on October 26th. We belong to Rainbow RV club, and there is a Halloween camping event there. We went over to Point Reyes last year. We had a nice time and met some friends from here in Sacramento. I hope we have a great time this year, too.

I have a meeting with upper management in the Department today to push a regulation development project forward. I have been working on this for quite some time now, and things have not been moving very much. Perhaps today's meeting will help move things forward.

The gym was great last night. I am a bit tired this morning, but I am going to try to get back to the gym tonight. I didn't get to go on Tuesday night, my regular night, because Sweetie got home late. I just can't go too late in the evening. I like to be there for two hours to do my regular routine, and I have to get to bed early since I get up before 4:30am each work morning. Makes for a long day, but I feel better and look pretty damn good for an old fart!!

Have a great day!
-Tim