All Your Pillow Are Belong To Us!

Jake left last weekend. And yesterday I drove Rachel down to Paul and Lauren's so Paul could drop them both off at the airport shuttle. They arrived back East safe and sound. Jake had a four hour lay over, so I'm glad his grandparents went with him. Nothing good could come of a 14 year old alone for four hours in an airport.

Anyway - I have next week off. Except for Monday when I have a couple of meetings.

Not sure what I'm gonna do. And I'm looking for ideas. I avoided making plans to keep all options "on the table," as the Bush administration likes to say. And now here I am, vacation started, and nothing to do. I have to make sure all of the weeds are whacked. The annual inspection for fire breaks is July 1. And the local fireworks show is Tuesday at dusk. Other than that, no plans. Oh, except to float in the pool.

I started a list of the top ten cool things about having the house all to myself.

I got stuck on:

1.) I get all the pillows to myself.

And that's all I could come up with. I almost wrote, "Get to leave the toilet seat up," but then I realized that's really not so cool.

The pool is still up...

And I spent some time floating in it today. It's nice. All you see is blue sky, mountains, and trees. I plan on spending some time just floating tomorrow. It's kind of funny, I think, to have a pool like this with a "deep end."

And again...slowly, slowly, slowly, up, up, up, come on, stay up!

So this was on my doorknob today...Yeah. I am really concerned that it will cost more to fill than the pool itself cost. And I feel very badly about all of the water that was wasted when it dumped out last time. I am hoping that some of the wildlife downstream in the culvert enjoyed it at least.

Anyway, Jake's friend Travis was over today. And he's very helpful, so together, the three of us moved the pool carcass and then I spent the hot late afternoon making everything level again. Of course, I thought it was level last time. But I also discovered that I didn't put enough air in to the flotation ring that keeps the water in the pool. I was worried about over filling it and bursting it. But I looked closely at the last round of photos and saw that it was quite soft and wrinkled. So I filled it with more air. And I am optimistic that it will hold this time. I'll let you know.

But if it falls again, I'm done. I'll put in a little patio or something down there. And Jake and Travis had some fun in it, anyway. Those two could have fun in an empty room with a box of rocks.
Maybe if I fill the pool with Viagra?

Man it's been a long day!

That title is sort of a joke. Did anybody get it besides Scott and Kimra?

Hot tub now. Then bed. I've been coding a lot and my eyes hurt.

Monday was Remicaid Day...

And it fell to me to take Jake this time. It was my first time taking him. I've been scheduled to in the past, but a couple of times, work got in the way and another time, I was sick. And they don't want sick people around kids with compromised immune systems.

It starts with rushing around to get out the door. And then a long drive to San Francisco. And my patience is tested every time I get in to Bay Area traffic. But I did OK. Jake and I alternately talked and rocked out. The Trooper stalled a couple of times. It is having trouble with the jacked up speedometer. Jake asked, "So are you ready to let go of this car yet?"

Almost, Jake.Anyway, we got there safe and sound and ten minutes early for the appointment (but an hour late for Mel's). We were greeted by Mary who is the nicest person you could ever have stick a needle in your arm. She treats Jake like family. And he is almost. She even teared up a little when she saw how much Jake has grown since the last time she saw him. He's up to 5'6". And his weight was good. Down a few pounds from last time even though he grew an inch and a half. And his labs were awesome - his SED rate was 13 this time. It was 35 or so last April. Then he gets two Tylenol and a Benedryl.

This next one might gross you out. Sorry. But Jake's a trooper about having his arm strapped to a board. And Mary let's him pick the vein.
He's all smiles.
Later, Dr. Rich came in...
He asked us to start thinking about the future a bit. If Jake's lab work comes in good after the next 8 weeks, he wants us to consider switching to either the medication he's been taking or the Remicaid instead of both. So that's encouraging. We'll see what happens.
And towards the end of the bag, the Benedryl kicks in and Jake gets sleepy. I'm sure having chemicals pumped in to his vein for a few hours also makes him sleepy. Anyway - this explains why he is so down when he gets home and I see him after his treatments.

So there you have it. That's what his Remicaid treatments are all about. The treatments have kept him healthy and out of the emergency room for a few years now. It really is a miracle drug. Funny I don't see this one advertised on TV like so many other "miracle" drugs.

And then...

...down down down.

Only a whole lot faster.

Sunday night, I went out and fed the fish. And I heard sort of a little splash...splash...sploosh... and then a low rumbling whooooosh that got louder and louder and I looked around in the dark wondering what it could be and then realized...Holy crap! That's the pool draining.

And I sort of froze. The power of that much water was more than I could anything about. And I thought, "I wonder why that happened. Did we not tamp the ground enough? Was it too low on the back end?" And I checked and saw that the water was running off in to the culvert. And I went to bed.

I went out Monday morning to survey the damage. And there wasn't much. The down side of the pool was still firm. There was definitely some earth missing, and a Malibu light as well. But the ground was still firm and intact, and flat as far as I could tell. I'll know for sure when I find the time to move the pool carcass on to the grass and recheck everything.

Here's what I think happened- It was 95 or so degrees when we filled the flotation ring with air. By 10:00 that night, the air had cooled considerably, and of course, Boyle's law tells us what happens to pressure when temperature decreases. Thanks, Mr. Treu, you were right, someday that would be important.

Slowly, slowly, slowly, up, up, up...

This project has been going on for a while now. And it is finally coming together. If I had a cigar, I'd say it like Hannibal. But I don't, so I won't.

If Lauren and Paul were to renew their vows this August...



...They'd need to do it in their swimming costumes...





Rachel has always wanted a pool. I mean, we have the community pool, and the lake, of course, but sometimes when it's 97 degrees out, you just want to cool off RIGHT NOW!!!

And aside from the cost, we have leach lines from our septic, so we can't have a real pool. But Laurie has one of these and loves it. And they were on sale. And Rachel got one. And we've been working on setting it up for a couple of weeks now.

Flat ground is critical. And you'd probably be amazed at how not flat the ground you think is flat really is. Especially over 18 ft. We rented a roto-tiller from Hardester's to help. And I hit the sprinkler system. Of course. Just like with the Bobcat. But it was actually a blessing in disguise as I was able to disable the sprinkler that would have just watered the side of the pool.

Rachel and I put it together today. And it's been filling for about 4 hours now. Probably 3 more to go. I am not looking forward to next month's water bill. When it comes, I am going to go jump in the pool.

What cracks me up is how this addition to the Hotel Yorba compliments our lifestyle. I've come to realize that we live with one foot firmly planted in the wine country and the other in Hickville. So now, to go with our $5,000 spa, we have a $200 above ground pool.

I bet you that the roto-tiller rental and water bill will be more than the pool itself. But whatever- It will be fun. And I'm confident we'll get our money's worth even if it only lasts one season.

Better go check on it.

A day early Father's Day...

We went to Paul and Lauren's in Tomales yesterday for a day early Father's Day celebration.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, then you already know what it's like when Paul is on the grill. It's course after course after course. I woke up still full this morning. Everything was good, but I have to say my favorite course was the Teryaki Tri-tip.


Not much to say other than it was a long day of mellow fun. Just hanging out and eating and talking about this and that was a wonderful way to pass the time. The weather was great for us. It's usually foggy when they schedule a barbecue, but it burned off and got really warm.

Anyway, here's some pictures...

I guess you start with Michael since he's the oldest Dad and the Dad that made this all possible by having to beautiful daughters...

And then Jake who's the reason I'm a Dad...


Dolores...
Jake loves that he is taller than Mom now.

Although he is not yet a father, he is something of a father figure - Jeff came...

The ladies...
As you can see, Michael is doing well...

Pete came to pick up Jake.


There is this massive cow in the field all by herself and we've dubbed her Cowzilla. Rachel decided Cowzilla might like a cracker.



It was a testament to Rachel's fearlessness and tenacity, but Cowzilla didn't want a cracker.

Later, Rachel, Lauren, Paul, and I went to the William Tell for a pint. So now I can say I've done that.

Now it's Sunday. And it's Father's Day. I want to wish my Dad a happy Father's Day and hope he's enjoying it. Maybe next year we'll spend it together. Thanks for all you did for me that helped me along in this world.

I was feeling bad and a little guilty...

...about the delay between posts. But then I saw that Glenn is still Mr. April. And he may be Mr. October before he posts again. And that made me feel a little better. But I'm worried that he might just be waiting for the Yankees to creep up on the Red Sox and let me have it.

I've got lots to go back and cover, and I'll try to get to that. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But I will try to keep posts more frequent moving forward.

I was grump today. No, crabby. Crumpy? Work is a bit of a drag. Nothing really challenging or exciting going on there. I know I promised to stop bitching about it, but it's bringing me down today. Hopefully it will pick up soon.

And there's thousands of these little bugs eating my lawn to death. They may or may not be spider mites. It sucks.

And I am still an inch from level for getting our pool up and filled.

I got a new instrument cluster for the Trooper and hopefully it will be good as used again tomorrow. Then we can take the Jetta in.

Rachel's not feeling well and is already talking about calling in sick to work tomorrow. Maybe I'll do the same - take a mental health day or something.

Did I mention that some of my dearest friends are soon to be nearer to me once again? The Tresnits are moving to Portland and the McAfees are moving back to the Bay Area. Hooray for that. I'll see them more often. Then again, Madden's been back for a month or so now and I still haven't seen him yet.

And I'm still crumpy.

So, you know what. I'm just gonna git-er-done. My wrestling coach, Mr. (Jim) Naugle taught one of the most valuable lessons in life. After a really hard drill, he would make us do more - like we did 15 minutes of scrimmaging and then he'd say, "Let's go, on your backs, 30-20 (that's 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups). Do 'em now while your tired." Also, he never made us run. "If you want to win, you'll run on your time."

Anyway - here's a quick run down on some things...

I turned 39...



...on Mother's Day...



...and then Michael got a pace maker. I wanted Rachel to get a close up of the scar, but he wasn't allowed to lift his arm to get his shirt off...


...and then last weekend, we went to help Laurie put her new gazebo together...





...and then I tried to fix her jacked up computer. Unfortunately, she needs a new hard drive as hers is destined to fail soon. Did you buy one yet, Sis? Let me know and I'll try to make some time to come down and fix it. Or maybe have you bring it here where I have my tools and fix-it resources...


...and then we went to see Pirates and I sat briefly with the Simpsons.


And the movie theater had ice cream again (finally), so it was OK that I couldn't get a Blizzard at the DQ in the Food Court. And just thinking about that day makes me happy.

But I'm still Crumpy.

Anyway, I should do a long post on each of those pictures. Especially important things like Michael getting a pace maker. But I may not get to that and wanted to at least get the pictures up. He's doing better now. Everything is groovy according to the doctors. And I'll see him this weekend for our Father's Day gathering at the Elliots' house on Saturday. And Laurie's gazebo is still standing. And I am still 39.

Hot tub, then sleep, then maybe a sick day tomorrow.

Oh wait! Just one more. This one's for Laurie and Glenn...


It was painful every time I put it on. Once it's on, it isn't so bad. Unless you stumble across a mirror. Anyway - it serves as proof of my dedication to my son.

Jake's 8th Grade Graduation...

We went to Jake's 8th grade graduation ceremonies tonight. It was HOT HOT HOT!

But we survived. Packed gymnasium. Well run ceremony. And it's over now.

In the Fall, it all starts for real with High School. My mind keeps flashing to some pictures I have on Jake's first day of school. With his Winnie The Pooh backpack, reaching up to grab Rachel's hand. If I ever get my scanner hooked up, I'll get that picture up here.

Anyway, I don't know why I keep flashing to that. Maybe it's because it all feels like this...

Like it's all a blur and he just keeps growing up and it keeps getting faster and faster.



Anyway, here's Jake and some of his buddies.


And here we are, so proud of him...

Apologies to the family for the crummy pictures. I'm still learning. I brought the wrong lens and my SpeedLite wouldn't fire, so the gym pics all came out blurry. But now I've got four years to get the kinks worked out.