Remember me? I used to blog here.

Hello kids,
Let me share the latest news from Tahoe:
SNOW ON MOUNTAINS MAKES LARGE PILE OUTSIDE HOUSE
The amount of snow we've had this year is, we are assured by the locals, way more than usual.  This has made a huge pile of snow that we've had to dig through several times.  SO MUCH FUN!  Since we've gone up there every weekend for a month, we've dug in the snow for at least a couple of hours each time.  Last week, Sharon dug a huge pile away from the windows (both of them) so we could have light in the house.

And now the latest from inside the house - the ugly fireplace is NO MORE.  Looky here!

After all of that fun, there was electrical stuff to be installed above the fireplace and inside on the right there (done), and a whole lot of plumbing work to be finished up in the kitchen.  When that was all getting done, our (awesome) friend Andrew labored away on finishing up some upstairs demolition, and installing some itchy insulation.  YAY ANDREW!

The snow (yes, even more snow on April 22) started falling when the kitchen plumbing was getting done and we had to get all finished up and get on with the driving home.  Each time the drive seems a little shorter and more zen-like.  Even so, it's still kind of a long way.

Next week, sheetrock and some gas plumbing (this time, done by other$).  Shortly after that, we'll be getting a brand new, and stunning, gas fireplace.

Summer rentals, here we come!

Hi Mom!

I called my mom today for the first time in a long time, way more than a year.  Though she's not geriatric, she lives in an assisted living setting because she had a major stroke several years back.  I'm happy to report that she's doing well, and that she was delighted to hear from her long lost son.  We shared the news that each other had missed out on, and she was (naturally) astounded at how the kids had grown up.

She tells me she's reading now; it wasn't possible for quite a while after the stroke, and that she gets in lots of time for her art and for spiritual reading.

We reminded each other that we loved each other.  It was great just to talk to her again.


And yes Pam, I am a punctuation perfectionist.  :-)

The news of the moment...

Facebook has made a mockery of my blogging fortitude.  My pithy outlet has become posting quips to my friends' updates.  Sheesh.  I come here to my spiritual center, The Flaming Scroll Of Doom™ to redeem myself.

Most importantly, I have a cold.  I spent the bulk of the day sleeping.  It's an exciting life I lead.  After snoozing til three, I felt the cold hand of death lifting from my mortal body and I got up and had breakfast.  Charlie Sheen only wishes his existence was so interesting.

Last night I had the time of my life doing a backup and restore on the iPhone.  Actually, since it's Apple, they call it a reset that you then optionally restore at the end of the process.  It was needlessly confusing.  The process allowed Mr Phone to recognize the SSL certificate needed for the new email system at work.  I know, too exciting!

Would you believe that the dog wants to get walked?  I know, the glamor.

And then there were none

Long ago (really long) I had three very close friends.  We saw each other daily more or less.  We worked together on rebuilding a theater, we ate together, hung out together, and shared a few million laughs.  To this day, we are friends.  We may not see each other often enough, but when we do it's always comfortable.

As a youth, I new their fathers in addition to my friends.  Each was his own man, with his own foibles and personality, just like my dad.  Each of them shared traits that at the time I didn't see, but now in the long view I can see them clearly.

They loved their sons, and they were dedicated to their sons becoming men, not just bigger boys.  Each of them in their own way ensured that we knew that we weren't as smart as we thought we were.  None of them did this with a heavy hand, they used their wit and with gentle reminders of the facts that we, as big boys, ignorantly overlooked.

Each of these men became somewhere between acquaintances and friends of mine when I was finally an adult.  I worked for my father many times, and he taught me so much about working with my hands that I can't even begin to catalog all of them. One of them graced my home as an occasional guest for some 30 odd years.  I acted onstage with another one, who had been my drama teacher so many years ago.  I went to work for one a few times in one of the most arcane jobs I've ever held - assistant pipe-organ technician.

None of them were young when I first met them, and one by one they have left us to fend for ourselves.

First, Dave's father Allen passed away.  His son took over his business for a time, and now breeds show dogs and still works in the theater that I acted in under the tutelage of one of the other men.

Then my father passed away.  That left a pretty big hole in my life, as you might imagine.  No longer could I share what I had done with the man that had taught me so much.

Then Bill's father passed away.  His memorial gathered about 750 friends, family, and former students - some of them famous, others just passionate about how much they had learned.  A few months before he died I shared a stage with him as he portrayed Thurston Howell III. It was moving.

This last week, My friend Fred, Julian's dad passed away.  He had delighted us with stories of his youth, impressed us with his skills as a jeweler, and been one of the most jolly fellow I've ever known.

I knew these good men for a good long time.  Each of them was a great man each in his own way.  They weren't rich and powerful, but they had a big effect on me and I'll miss each and every one of them for a long time to come.

All that and a jigsaw puzzle

Wow.  This has been the best Christmas season in some time for me.  Not for the gifts - all wonderful - but for the emotions of the season, and for the good fortune I have been enjoying.

(On that gift subject, who'd a thunk I could get so excited about a shaver?  But really, it's awesome!)

Our fixer upper home away from home is Officially Ours now and I can't wait to get up there and dig into getting it ready for the vacation rental market.  It should, by my estimation, be a great rental.  It's roomy enough for eight, the furniture and decoration will all be new, the appliances and kitchen will be new, the location is outstanding, we'll have a compressor so you can blow up your inflatable boat, it's about 1000 feet to walk to get to the lake, there are great restaurants nearby for breakfast lunch and dinner, we'll have enough room for a deck to relax on.  Importantly, we've been renters up there for years and we know what a renter needs and wants.  We'll have it.  We already have two families that want to rent, and with about ten more the property will begin to pay for itself.

All of my children are here in the house for the season.  Let's just stipulate that I love them a lot.  You know all those families you hear about where the people can't stand each other - we don't have that here.  We get a little irritable from time to time, but for the most part you can just feel the love when you're here.  It is a priceless gift.

I'd like to talk about someone who is more dear to me than my children, or my friends, or even my half dozen hammers of all sorts.  I'd like to reflect on a very special woman; someone who has made possible everything that I talked about here (yeah, the whole blog, all six years or so of it).  Without her I would be a lonely fellow who was very good at building things.  I would have little if any art in my life, I would not be immersed in the pastimes that have brought me so many friends that I need a computer to keep them all organized, I would not have a cabin in Lake Tahoe, nor would I know how to make it the getaway destination that will pay for itself.  I would not have my three beautiful children, whose love buoys me day after day.  I would not have learned to be the father that I am, nor would I have had the opportunity to read stories to kids over and over again.

She helps me fill up my life with more than just work, having shown me repeatedly that there is more to life than toil and that there is joy in even the smallest bits of life.  She has led me back to health when I've been away from it, and wakened me from delusions that made me a fool.  She has taken the myriad pieces that make up our life and patiently assembled them into a cohesive picture; it's her vision that drives our family.  Our house is a home, a happy welcoming passionate and casual home, and it's my great pleasure to give her all the credit for that.

Thank you, Sharon.  Thank you.

Merry Christmas Gentle Readers

Just when you thought I'd given up, I go and write another post. I know, right?

So let's talk about Christmas shall we.  Personally (and this should not come as a surprise) I doubt the whole Christ story.  Nonetheless we celebrate Christmas, and we even call it that and properly capitalize it.  This will be my fiftieth one so I'm getting better at it, bit by bit.

We got the tree selection process down to a science.  We tried all the Christmas tree farm shtick, and the tree lot folderal where the selection takes hours and you have to get just the most perfect tree ever.  Everyone has to agree, and it takes the whole day and night...  NO MORE!  We went to Home Desperate and opened one tree (of the last dozen they had) and it was just as good as any of the other ones.  We took that lil tree home and it's perfeck.

And we kind of all got some gifts for each other.  There's plenty of wrappings that we'll get to clear off in the morning.  It should be fun.

Bert and Ernie are on the TV (It's a Wonderful Life).  NBC has seen fit to sell a lot of commercial time.  Thanks guys.

All of my kids are here. :-)  Even though they are grown ups (well 2/3 of them) they're here and that's just delightful.

Hawaii Five O

I'm fifty now.  Suddenly I feel all wise and stuff.

Happy now?