Saturday, April 27, 2024

How I celebrated Father’s Day — My favorite way!

June 25, 2020 by  
Filed under Homeowner

What is your favorite way to celebrate?

My daughter, Lisa, and I enjoyed our annual Father’s Day hike. This year we hiked around the Contra Loma reservoir on Saturday. We had to go early in the morning to beat the heat of the day.

I get so much joy from hiking; being outdoors, seeing all the critters, and surrounded by nature. It is even more special on the trail with Lisa, talking about our lives, catching up on events and connecting in person, after months of not seeing or being with her. I was smiling the whole time, ear to ear.

On Sunday, in memory of my Dad who has been gone now 6 years; Joan, Eldred, and I drove the Delta river route to the small town of Locke. Annually on Father’s Day, Dad and I used to drive up to Al’s Place in Locke, for New York steaks, white bread slathered with peanut butter and jelly, and spaghetti. Yum. To this day they make the best steaks around … my Dad’s favorite meal.

He has been gone 6 years and I still have fond memories of driving to Locke in his full size 1980 Cadillac. On Father’s Day Sundays, the traffic was “trying,” but Dad loved the comfortable ride.

Hope you found a pleasant way to celebrate Father’s Day, too.

Always glad to hear about your celebrations and those special DIY projects. Drop me a line. God bless and protect you all.

See you on the other side of this trying time.

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Are you a hot house flower?

June 10, 2020 by  
Filed under Homeowner

Are you a hot house flower?

I was raised in Hayward, close to the San Francisco Bay. All summer long, temperatures were wonderfully comfortable due to the marine layer that blanketed us in the morning. Now that we live just beyond the marine layer, temperatures in the summer often go above 90 degrees, many days into the 100s.

My Mom always asked,“Are you a hot house flower, do you do well in the heat?” I have fond memories of her, fanning herself with her hand-held, battery operated fan.

These days, I hear her voice in my head, as I keep asking myself that, as spring time changes to summer and the daily temperatures fluctuate from comfortably cool, to hot. Each day a new experience.

During Shelter in Place (SIP) I have spent much time in our uninsulated garage, my man cave. Lately, with the 90-degree heat, It is getting uncomfortable. Even with a fan. Definitely motivation to get to my next project … to insulate the 10 ft. x 20 ft. space of exposed roof rafters. Hopefully, the insulated batting will stop (or reduce) the heat from coming through the roof, so I can enjoy my “man cave,” not to mention my wife’s office above, can stay cooler, too.

In the meantime, I am finishing up two projects my wife has been nudging me to finish … first, is to fix or repair the screens on our sliding door and dining room window, as the mosquitoes are finding their way into the house. The second project is to replace a rotten board on our deck.

Who knew the biggest challenge, besides keeping motivated to do these repairs, would be finding the materials to do them! Many home stores are out of stock in these items.

How about for you? Always glad to hear about your DIY projects. Drop me a line. God bless and protect you all.

See you on the other side of this trying time.

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