New Tags

I’m bona-fide now!  Granted, I actually got these tags in, uh, November, but just now actually got them on the bike.  (Not one, but TWO bolts must be removed in order to replace the plate.  And me without a working cordless screwdriver.  My arm is still sore.)

My new Cali tag

My new Cali tag

When Is A Vacation Not A Vacation

Well I’ve had a few days off, which was nice I suppose.  I didn’t really do anything of note, just needed to burn a couple of vacation days.  About all I really managed to accomplish was leaving a large dent in the couch in front of the TV.  Saturday was effectively our only day of entertainment, when we drove to Auburn to visit Knee Deep Brewing.  I’m a big fan of their beers, and I’d heard the brewery was a fun destination, so we decided to make the trip.  It was a solid hour drive, and I’ll admit we were a little disappointed to get there and find it was all indoors.  Maybe we should have researched that one a little better.  I’d heard they had cornhole boards (which they did,) and food trucks, (also true,) and from that info I somehow derived it was an outdoor venue.  Oh well, what can ya’ do.  We made an afternoon of it, then traveled back to Folsom and met some friends at Lockdown Brewing.  I must say, I’m not a huge proponent of that place, but at least they had outdoor seating.

And…  That was my weekend.  I played a few good rounds of fetch up in the park with Teagan.  Cooked a few moderately successful meals.  Went to the gym once.  Maybe I’ll turn things around today (my last day off) with a hugely exciting day.  Yeah, that’s pretty likely;  Too bad it will be too late to make this update though.

Enjoying a Hopparillo 3x IPA at Knee Deep Brewery

Enjoying a Hopparillo 3x IPA at Knee Deep Brewery

Let The Training Begin

One of my friends who is old enough to know better has filled my mind with naive thoughts of taking a hike this coming Fall.  With that in mind, I decided to start some light (very light) training.  Luckily there are numerous trails within walking distance of our front door.  The weather was quite nice Monday so Teagan and I kicked things off with a 3.5 mile hike down a nearby path.  (Or, rather, UP and down.)  Can’t beat the views!  This path is about 1/4 mile from our house.  You can barely see the Sierra Nevada range on the horizon.

Taking a hike with Teagan

Taking a hike with Teagan

New Digs

Fine weekend indeed.  The Martins flew in Friday night and we spent the weekend catching up with them.  Not a whole lot of catching up to be done, as we just saw them two weeks ago.  We had a good time though, always nice to have visitors.  The weather cooperated too, and we were able to get in a copious amount of patio time.

Saturday the flow of the afternoon was interrupted a bit when we had to meet with our Realtor and finalize the purchase of a house.  Remarkably, after last week’s little setback, things came together and we ended up with a better deal than the original, at least in my mind.  It’s the same exact house we wanted, but I like the lot much better.  It’s right by the entrance to the subdivision, and closer to the clubhouse pool;  Definitely a short walk, no drive required.  The lot is quite a bit larger too, and the best part is (for Teagan and her loathing of dogs on the other side of fences) we will only have one neighbor.  The only bad thing I can come up with at all is that we got stuck with the fire hydrant.  Eh, no big deal.  We lucked into this spot because the construction trailer is currently sitting on the lot, and they didn’t want to sell it because people will be hounding them to hurry up and get started.  Hey, another bonus for us, as we’re in a lease until later this Fall, take all the time you want!  We headed home and celebrated our purchase with a grilled tri-tip roast.  It came out much better than my last try, I’m getting the hang of them.  (Sorry Aushermans, you got shorted.)

Our new trailer

Our new trailer

Sunday we took the Martins out for short tour of a few nearby wineries.  The weather started a bit on the unpleasant side (relatively speaking) but it warmed up quickly and the clouds burned off.  We kept the tour short;  Just went to Too Good and Belle Piazza.  After that it was back to the house to sit on the patio, where Donette treated us to a fine dinner of Rotel dip.  We had a grand time;  Who’s coming next?

A Moderately Entertaining Weekend

After last weekend, I feel a little content-challenged.  Errrr….  Friday I went to happy hour.  I’m still not entirely sure you can call it “happy hour” if you’re all by yourself, but the general idea was there.  I went to Ruff Haus, my place as of late.  Nothing particularly singular about it that stands out really.  It’s on my way home and it’s rarely crowded.  Works for me.  This week I branched out from my usual Chicago Dog and went with the Sonoran.  Holy smokes was it good.  Bacon, pinto beans, and cheese, mmmm.  I’d say it displaced the Chicago as my favorite.

Saturday we hooked up with our Realtor and went house-hunting.  He’s been rather patient with us I think;  We’re having a tough time finding something.  We looked at several more Saturday but they didn’t quite do it for us either.  We went home to do some fancy cipherin’, and finally concluded we could just buy the house we’ve been wanting for quite some time.  Other than the mildly exorbitant price tag, it had everything we are looking for.  Whew.  We called our Realtor back, let him in on the big news, and agreed to meet there Sunday to take care of the paperwork.  Quite relieved to have THAT out of the way, we took ourselves out for a little celebration dinner at Chicago Fire Pizza.  That’s probably one of our favorite places we’ve found to eat here so far.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned it, but it’s a bad sign for the new hometown when your favorite restaurant is a pizza joint.  Oh well.  It IS good.

Sunday we got up early and hit the gym.  Got home, cleaned up, and then got a cheery phone call that, while we were out celebrating our new home decision, somebody else was buying it.  You gotta be kidding me.  That thing has been sitting there for at least two months, the thought didn’t even cross our mind.  Then for a little added insult I got to waste 45 minutes listening to this @)*(&^ agent (not ours, the one selling) try and convince me that the one across the street was the same thing.  Yeah, I guess maybe it is, except for the fact that IT’S DIFFERENT!!  Knucklehead.  I don’t like the way it looks, I don’t like the yard, I don’t like the direction it faces…  Eh, but you sold mine so yeah I’ll just take that one.  Idiot.  What can ya’ do.  Think long, you think wrong.  There’ll be another.  Oh, wait, no there won’t, it’s full.  #$)*(&^*.  Least I got an awesome pizza dinner out of it.

** EDIT:  Said agent just sent me an email that he is trying to get us another lot.  Doni already blames the last “issue” on bad karma due to my negativity, so now I have to take back all the aforementioned bad things about him.  He’s now the greatest person ever, definitely the best real-estate agent ever.  Yeah.