A beautiful fruit basket!

Dear Family and Friends,

What a wonderful surprise, it was delivered yesterday. It has cheese, chocolates, mixed nuts, jams, apples and in a very nice basket. Thank you very much Don and Lori, what a nice boost to the spirits. It was such a shock and then so much fun when opened.

Its been that kind of week, good things happening along with the rain, cold and overcast. This morning Ken called to say he was sending over his heating and AC guy to look at the furnace. Rob came with his magic wand, it must have been magic for as soon as he arrived the furnace lit and has kept the house warm all day long, even tonight it continues to blow warm, now explain that one, I have turned it on nearly every day for weeks and it only blows cold, Rob shows up and wala, it puts out heat. Just in time to make the house warmer for when Keanna comes to visit. Thanks Rob. Now do I think it will never fail again, my confidence level is very low at this point. I think Rob will need to be back probably sooner than later to find out what is really wrong with it.

I'm just back from the grief recovery group which is professionally led by a very facilitator. I arrived late since I got caught in traffic Sacramento. My Elk Grove appraisal was over and I thought I had enough time to run up, have dinner with my brother and then drive back home for the session which starts at 7. Well it was 7:45 when I arrived, still worth it though, met some very nice people who have been through a lot.

Things are definitely busier these days, the number of emails from clients needing my attention is growing every day and I'm set to be in Rio Vista at 10:30 in the morning, then San Ramon for the driveby and then home to write it up. The temptation is to skip walking due to business pressures but I do not intend to go down that path, one day missed becomes two and then its a week and I like what is happening to my body due to the exercise program. Time to find some balance in my life which includes my own health.

This afternoon I got a call from my doctor's office, I missed the call as I was already on the phone. Then my mind began to run, wonder if the x rays showed a spot or a problem so I called Jim on his cell. He just wanted to let me know that the results of the pulmonary test were in and the report was one of the best he had ever seen. How good the Lord is, giving me healthy lungs in spite of the way I have treated my body for the past year or even more. The cardiologist's office person called today to set an appointment of February 8 to meet with the doctor and from there decide what or if I need further tests. It is interesting to keep all the appointments for appraisals, doctor appointments, tests in order. Thank goodness for my Daytimer, my book that holds everything.

This afternoon as I drove to Elk Grove, a small area that is located south of Sacramento, the weather got worse and worse. When I arrived I had to pull out the heavy ski jacket, zip it up to keep dry and warm. The home was lovely, it had been a model and my heart went out to the owners who were hoping for one value and the comps suggested a value of over $100,000 less. Down nearly half from what they payed a few years ago. The majority of the transactions in the entire area are foreclosures, very few sales and mostly forced ones at that. It is heart breaking yet we know in time the values will return.

I am personally doing pretty well. Mostly I do not allow myself long periods of contemplation, I just smile having thought of a good moment or a funny moment from our past and then move on. I am impressed that our kids are doing pretty well with their lives too. They do have moments of pain and suffering but they function well with their jobs and lives. Little guy Timothy is sleeping some nights all the way through now. He is eating some food now which he seems to enjoy. It appears that he is teething and feeling the pain that goes with it. Keanna has been a bit ill but seems to be better now. She is coming for a sleep over tomorrow night so her room needs to be cleaned up a bit by her pappa so it will be ready for her.

I had a chance to talk at length with Sylvia tonight as I fought traffic through Sacramento. She too is doing pretty well, staying busy and working through the new ways to live. She has a saying, life is not fair but life is good. That sort of sums up both our approaches to living each day alone.

When I got home this evening I said a quiet prayer of thanks for travel safety on a very nasty day.

Take care my friends,

love

tim