APRIL 2024

A month of progress! On May 2, the excavator started removing the driveway. He finished the next day.

Joaquin and his crew showed up a few days later and started filling the hole with road base, then sand and then pavers. Two weeks later our driveway was complete and we are extremely pleased with the outcome. It looks awesome.

The fence guys set the posts during the installation then came back at the end of April to build the gate. All that is left now is for Rog to put wood facing on it.

Meanwhile, the bathroom project also continued. We prepared for Rocklin’s free dump day by tearing out the old bathroom. Tub, sink, cabinet, tile, floor…all pulled out. We picked up Ryan’s truck on Friday afternoon and filled it with the paver discards and much of the old bathroom. Rog and Ryan made one run after Rog’s aikido class and then came back for another load. The following Monday Rog and I made 7 trips to A&A Stepping Stone with all of the leftover pavers. By the end of the day, we had cleared the area. The next day I swept and cleaned and we were back to normal. After the fence company finished the gate, Tess moved back in.

Rog and I picked up the window at Lowe’s and were a bit surprised to see that it was transparent. So we will have to apply an opaque film. Eric helped him get it into the garage and then Rog spent the next 2 weeks building the framework for the window. Everything is tricky with this project.

We found time for a birthday lunch with Ryan and Beth. We went for pizza at their favorite spot. Karissa chose Petroglyph for her special day with us. She chose a small vase and did an amazing job painting it.

Meanwhile, Spring has arrived. Rains have slowed down and the days are hitting the 80’s. Which means a lot of garden trimming, weeding and fertilizing. I planted tomatoes, zucchini and lettuce and Rog helped me apply nematodes in both front and back yards.

March 2024

The driveway project officially started with the delivery of pavers the first week of March. Rog directed traffic while the gal drove the forklift from curbside up to our side yard. All done after a short hour and we will babysit the 7 pallets until the crews are ready. The rains have been heavy and nonstop this month so no further developments on the driveway.

Meanwhile, Rog has spent many hours tackling the bathroom cabinet. Not an easy project! It took him the rest of March to complete it.

Rog found himself commuting to the dermatologist every 2 weeks as he had 5 spots removed, one at a time. It curtailed his martial arts training but I don’t think he minds being restricted from rolling on the mats. He was able to participate in a seminar he had been looking forward to though. On St. Patrick’s Day, we met the Dudas for lunch in Vacaville. It has been years since we have gotten together so we had a lot of catching up to do. Max had a Spring Concert with band and choirs working together. An enjoyable evening!!

Easter came the last day of March. Karissa came by the day before to color eggs. She took the opportunity to interview me for a class project as well. On Easter morning, the Easter bunny had to nix hiding eggs in the backyard which was swampy from all of the rain. Instead, the hunt was held in the front yard. This opened up a whole new set of hiding opportunities and fun was had by all. Ryan and Beth hid a cash egg in the house and had Max and Karissa team up to find it. The prize was worth the effort. We had a huge spread of fillings for breakfast burritos with mimosas.

Between the raindrops I was able to get both front and back yards weeded and trimmed. The firepit has been flooded most of the month. We emptied it with a pump once but it filled right back up. I am definitely ready for warmer drier weather.

February 20234

Rog drove down to Santa Barbara with Jay for the annual Black Belt Meeting at the main dojo. There was a huge storm system barreling down on California which cut their trip short. They drove home after the meeting on Saturday. They avoided the high winds and rain that hit Sunday but they didn’t get home until after 2am. Blooms had quite a few hours without power and Ryan and Beth got stranded in Vegas for an extra day but we all survived the atmospheric river. On his birthday weekend, Max went to a ceremony celebrating a scholarship he won from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

So he had his birthday party a week late. This is a big one as he turns 18. I truly enjoy getting together with this family. We have such a good time together. Max has also decided that he will go to the University of Montana in Missoula. Now his family can prepare for a summer journey in August.

We had a nice visit with a friend from high school, Dick Byce. He is down from the Seattle area visiting his sister in Walnut Vreek so came up for lunch. We get to see him about once a year.

Rog and I celebrated Valentine’s Day at Handel’s of course! Rog has been busy putting together a very intricate cabinet for the new bathroom remodel project. The designer (me!) has some very unusual requests and isn’t really good at communicating her ideas. But it is coming along.

Meanwhile, whenever the rain let up, I was in the backyard trimming and weeding and raking. Rog joined me for a few days to trim the trees. I am trying to finish the back before the pavers come in March and restrict my access to the Recology barrels. By the end of the month, it was looking pretty spiffy. Of course, another storm hit the first few days of March which didn’t help with leaves.

During Karissa’s week-long president’s holiday, we found a sunny day after the snowstorm and visited the sno-park near Boreal. She found a great hill where she was alone and could modify it to her liking. After a couple of hours (and soaked to the skin) we headed to Truckee for lunch at Pies and More where we had a garbage pizza. Great fun!!!

Eric found a camper to put on his truck bed so they are another step closer to the month-long vacation trek they will be taking this summer.

January 2024

NEOS LOG January 2024 We started the New Year with a neighborhood get together across the street. Reminds us of how lucky we are to have such great people around us.

While she was still on winter break, we spent a special day with Karissa. She wanted to get a second piercing on her ears. We went to Claire’s at the Galleria and I had my ears “repierced” as well. Then we had lunch at the Olive Garden.

The first Saturday of the month we had a belated holiday dinner with the Lloyds. Fun to get together with the Elk Grove contingent and catch up on the year’s activities.

Max auditioned for the California Honor Band and was accepted. They had less than a week to learn the 4 compositions and 2 rehearsals. The performance was on Saturday night at Sheldon High in Sacramento. It was an amazing performance. So proud of him!

Lots of medical appointments this month; dentist, oncologist, ECHO, labs, cardiologists,and physicals. All good. We had Terry Hawkinson over for dinner. Actually, she brought the main dish while I made the bread, salad and dessert. She has her hands full with Lloyd’s deteriorating condition and it is good to have her relax for a bit. At the end of the month, Max’s Jazz Club had a fund raiser. An evening of jazz and dessert. The group did a super job and we had an entertaining evening.

The projects for the month included finishing the books for the grandkids, planning and buying for the bathroom project, and finally getting out into the yard for winter cleanup and trimming the grapevines. Karissa spent an afternoon making macaroons with her Aunt Beth. The macaroon fairy dropped a platefull of them at our frot door.

This coming birthday is a big one for Max…the big 18. Karissa is pulling out all the stops to make it special for him. She came over to get Pops’ help on a wood project she is making for him. And she came the day before his birthday to make him a batch of peanut butter cookies.

We ended the month with major rain and flooding. At least we aren’t in Anchorage…Petg reports 100 inches of snow so far and more coming. And temps well below zero.

December 2023

This was an interesting month. It started with Sue’s surgery. I went into Sutter Roseville for a small wedge resection for removal of a precancerous lesion and ended up in surgery for 4 hours for a complete lobectomy of the upper left lung for cancer. The doc kept me in the hospital for 5 days waiting for the drainage to stop. Glad to be home, it took a while to get my strength back and be able to get back to my usual routine. By the end of the month, I was keeping up with my daily chores. In January, I’ll get back to the treadmill at the gym and help Rog clean up the massive amount of leaves that have accumulated. It looks like they got all of the cancer and all of the lymph nodes were clean, so no chemo or radiation. Just regular CAT scan follow ups.

The month still had its share of holiday events. The weekend before surgery, Rog and I joined the 49er LIons Club for their annual Christmas brunch. Nice to see a lot of old friends we haven’t seen for a long time.

The Blooms had their Solstice bonfire on the 22nd. By this time, I was pretty well recuperated and was able to contribute the homemade sun bread. The weather was almost perfect and the food excellent.

The next day, we headed back to the Blooms for the holiday gift exchange. A fun afternoon!

We spent the rest of the weekend doing lots of prep work for the holiday dinner on Monday. On Chrstmas, we had a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict at Beth and Ryan’s for a gift exchange. Then home to get the turkey on the grill and the roast in the oven. At 1pm, guests arrived. My oldest brother and his wife joined us as well as my oldest sister and her husband. We had an early 3pm dinner so that they could get on the road early. What a great day!

We ended the month with a celebration potluck at the Aikido dojo. They had a practice and then we shared some great food and conversation. I had dressed for the bonfire, but we stayed in the dojo. Nice to be able to be out and about again. Welcome to 2024!!!

November 2023

Well we hung in there for a long time, but COVID finally caught up with the both of us. I was scheduled for surgery November 8 but Rog came down with a cold right after his aikido test. And a few days after that, I came down with it. When they called with pre-surgery instructions, they asked me to take a COVID test. Sure enough, it came out positive. Surgery was canceled for the second time and rescheduled for December 4. The “cold” lasted a few days and then lingered on with a cough. I felt yucky for a while, but it actually wasn’t too bad. Rog’s aikido class had a potluck dinner so he came home after Friday night’s weapons class and picked me up for it. What a great group of people. I met all of the folks I have heard so much about all these years. Michelle and Karissa included me in a “girl’s night out” to see Rocklin Theater put on Beauty and the Beast. As usual, a superb performance. We followed it up with an ice cream at Handel’s.

We had our usual Thanksgiving … started with the Macy’s Parade, then the Purina Dog Show. Ryan had brought over a HUGE turkey on Tuesday and I gave it a brine rub. Rog stuffed it, then smoked it and cooked it on the Weber, Karissa came over a little early and set the table. She had made adorable pilgrim place cards. Everyone else got here about 3. Ryan had smoked cheeses and Beth set up a tray of appetizer goodies. The turkey was so big it took an extra half hour to cook but the wait was worth it. Michelle made veggies and dessert, Ryan mashed potatoes, and I contributed the jello salad. A feast to be sure! The Blooms did the after meal cleanup which helped tremendously.

The next day, Ryan and Beth picked us up at noon and we headed to Bodega Bay for the Family Weekend. Took us 3 ½ hours to get there, but well worth it. The house was gorgeous. Great views of the bay, especially at sunrise. Blooms made us enchiladas on Friday night, with Karissa making a cinnamon crumb cake for dessert. We played a long game of “Laugh You’re Out”. Some images that will take a long time to forget! But a lot of laughing.

On Saturday, Rog joined the Blooms for a hike to the beach through the dunes. It was quite a trek for him. Only 15 minutes one way but lots of hills and loose sand. Before lunch, we did the family picture. Then the Blooms took a road trip north and Ryan and Beth headed out to shop and then have lunch at Spud Point. When everyone got back, Karissa got in her session in the hot tub. We also enjoyed watching a couple of deer that munched for hours in the patio garden 10 feet from the window. Beth made a shrimp and crab alfredo for dinner with ice cream for dessert. The evening games were a version of “Guys vs Gals” and then “Heads Up”. We made egg mcmuffins for breakfasts, leftovers for lunch. We left about 8:30 Sunday morning and were home before noon. What a fun weekend. What a special weekend.

The rest of the month was spent on my list of “to do before surgery”... We did 2 full yard leaf pickup jobs, made the Christmas snowflakes and poem, trimmed dead plants and got the yards in order and the house is decorated for Christmas. Weather has definitely turned and fall has arrived.