Scorching the World

7/31/15             The end of July Mike and Becky left home at 3:45 am today to come to California. They will be here a few days, then they’re going to Oregon for a Huntzinger family reunion. Consequently, I spent all day cleaning and cooking. The kids cleaned the livingroom, diningroom, and their bedrooms. I was so pleasantly surprised with them! They did so good! Then they played and played. They had so much fun that I was wishing I could video the whole day of play to watch someday after they’ve grown up. So cute! I pre-cooked a bunch of stuff for the meals for the next few days and washed dishes over and over. I got cookies made and bread sticks coming out of the oven right when they drove up. I had planned dinner so it would be ready when Phil got home from work, but it wasn’t done at all. So we gave everyone sandwiches, then went swimming while dinner finished baking. I didn’t get in, but most everybody else had ...

This week flew by. It's fun having the McGills here full time while they are waiting for their new house in Dublin to be dis-occupied. It's a lot of commuting for the parents, but they don't mind too much because it's so relaxing here. The kids love being here and having all the space to play. Tami took kids swimming Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn't go. It was way too hot to be outside at all and I was still tired from Monday swimming. It's hard to miss a swimming opportunity, but I just can't keep up with the yunnins! On Wednesday they went swimming really late - it was about 8pm. It was still light enough bu I opted not to go again.  When they got back, Tami said the next time they go so late, she will force me to go because it was so nice! So I guess I missed something way cool! I spent time working on stuff for Tom, sewing, knitting, and various non-essential things. On Thursday I created menus for the weekend and shopping lists and emailed them to th...

Monday since Tami and Phil were home, they decided to take the boat out again. Phil loves being out on the boat and doesn’t mind all the time it takes to get it ready, hooked up, lowered into the water, and all the reverse after playing. We were out on the lake for about 4 hours. Phil had made a friend/fellow boater a few days ago and they had agreed to meet today to hang out on the water. They have a son who is about 15 and a daughter 12, so they should have got along with the McGill kids really well. Maybe after they get to know each other better, they will. For today, they were all very shy. The friends have a speed boat and a tube that you can ride on behind it. It goes really fast and you have to hold on tight. It takes a few muscles in the shoulders and arms, and Mila was a little sore afterward. But each of the kids were given a turn and they had a lot of fun.     Red (the dog) doesn't like to swim, even though he can. But he really hates being l...

Sunday July 26, 2015 Tom had correlation at 8am, so we left by 7:15. That wasn’t easy after not getting to sleep till after midnight. Why were we up till midnight you ask? Tom was in a conversation with Phil in which they worked out a plan for us to get a house right here in this neighborhood – just down the street. We’ve tried and tried to think of a way to stay in Napa, but housing is so expensive here; it’s really out of our price range. We’re in the process of selling our house, so that will get us completely out of debt and get a start on a new house, and with Tami and Phil’s help we can make an arrangement that will help both them and us. It’s so exciting to think about that I can’t sleep at night. That’s why I didn’t get much sleep last night. Anyway, church was nice. We’ve been gone two Sundays, with our trip to Utah, and it was nice to be back in our own ward. Quite a few people welcomed us back and asked how our trip was. Such nice people. The talks in Sacrament ...

Tom had to go to Chico and other far away places today, so I opted to stay home. We still had 2 extra boys here and Tami and Phil left for work very early. I waited till I heard some signs of life in the livingroom before I went out to see what they might want for breakfast. I made a ton of pancakes and most of them got eaten. We saved leftovers to see if the deer like them as much as they like corn tortillas. Anyway, I got the 5 kids fed (the girl who was visiting Mila and Nina left with Tami early in the morning.) and then started making some breadsticks. When I made the garlic breadsticks yesterday, it occurred to me they might be really good with cinnamon and sugar instead of garlic. The boys decided to walk down to the corner store (a 6 mile walk) to get some snacks and planned to have Tami pick them up there, so they timed their departure so it would work out that way.  When Tami did go by there, she picked them up and took them to the lake to get a jump on the swimming. ...

7/23/15         I decided today to go with Tom while he worked. He was going to San Rafael, and the drive is really, really pretty, passing lots of wineries and vineyards. We left about 9:00 and he had to pull over a couple of times for phone calls that he had to take. There were several work emergencies that cause a bit of stress. What he really needed to do was find a park for someone to work in, but he had to keep stopping to take phone calls about other problems. At 10am, when we were about half way there, he had a conference call, so again he had to pull over and join a group phone call. Finally we made it to the park and made the arrangements necessary. He was hoping to get the flyers put in with the rent envelopes that the office sends out, but they had already gone out. That meant that he needed to pass out flyers before the marketer came to work, and she was suddenly on her way! So I had to help him walk the park of about 400 spaces and ...

This morning Tami left really early and by the time I went out to eat breakfast or something, she was already back. She had gone to Oakland (or somewhere), worked with her client, then returned super early in the morning.  I left around 9am to go to Napa to return a library book on cd, so I stopped at the bakery and got donuts for everybody. I was glad I did because when I got back Marc and his girls were here for breakfast.Tami and Phil started loading the truck with Draven, Nina, and with furniture to go back to Oakland. They left around 10 or so, and Marc and girls left at the same time, leaving Mila and Tom and I all alone. Then  Tom left for work around 2pm and Mila and I were alone. That was a whole lot of going and coming and going! Tom called right after he left and said there were all kinds of fire trucks headed up towards Lake Berryessa. Later Tami called to say she heard there was a big fire up here and wanted to make sure we were ok. We couldn't see or smell an...