What a great day!

Dear Family and Friends,
This has been one of those special days, like Thanksgiving or Christmas. I started the day with a walk with Ken around Willow Lake. Then I went to work on reducing overhead again. This time it was a data company called Real Quest, a branch of North American. My average monthly expense with them is about $400, sometimes even more if we are actually doing any work. We've never had a choice, if you want their data and it is considered the best available, you pay dearly for it. I had called them yesterday but the rep failed to call me back so I called back today remaining nice but firm. I again requested to speak with the rep but he was on a call, later in the day he did call and we discussed options. He said they had just decided on a new program only for appraisers, a flat $150 fee per month which allows access to data for the entire state of California, not just a county or two like before. That is a significant reduction and I accepted. He emailed me the new contract which I will sign and fax back in the morning. I just praise God for Roxanna's visit early this week in which we discussed specific things that could be done to improve my situation and she strongly encouraged me to step out of my normal mode, to think, to consider, to worry and then to do nothing, she said, why don't you just move forward, make a list of things you need to tackle and then begin to do them. Since that time I've made changes that will reduce what I have to pay out each month allowing me to give more attention to getting current with the IRS and the State as well. As you know I've discussed mopping the floor for weeks, this morning I finally grabbed the bottle of Mop and Glow and actually read the instructions, just drip a puddle on the floor and then mop with clean water. Wow it really worked. I have the living room tile, the dining room tile, the family and kitchen pergo like floors all mopped and shiny. Yes I did vacuum first and found a whole lot of cat and dog hair, stickers, bread do dads that close the package, feathers etc. I've done so many loads of laundry, discovered the pillow I was about to pitch could be washed, the label has this stupid idea of washing two pillows as the same time, well stupid until the washer almost took off in the spin cycle so then I found and added a second pillow, now I have two clean pillows and saved some money too. The kitchen counters, the Jenn-Air top, the microwave oven are clean for a change. The back deck has no doggy gifts left. This feels good.
Well all the cleaning was for a very good reason, besides the unsanitary level of living here I had guests coming and basic pride said, do you want these people you love and respect to just feel sorry for poor Tim, look he can't quite get it together enough to keep the house clean or get busy and fix the situation. But I had special guests before the special guests even arrived. Nikki called to say we could do lunch at Aladino's, a local pizza place. She wanted to drop off the girls and she would go get the lunches. Great plan, the house was clean! So the girls came and sat on the love seat right beside the little baby carrier with Kallie sleeping in it while Nikki went to get the lunch. Then we ate some really delicious food and Nikki said they could stay until Jerry, Donna and Ruth arrived from Weed. Nikki took the baby upstairs to eat and rest and soon the door bell sounded, they had arrived. After a few minutes of chit chat the ladies went up and started looking through the rows of clothes and piles of clothes on the bed. I supplied 36 gallon plastic bags and before they finished at around 6 pm they had filled about 6 of the bags. What a wonderful thing it was to see so many of the things Nan loved go to such great people. Donna and Ruth worked steadily all afternoon sorting and considering. The sacks were unbelievable heavy and we used the stair chair to bring them down. Then Ruth and Jerry carried the bags to the truck and loaded them in, no small feat. With the hard work done we decided on Olive Garden in Tracy for dinner and feasted on salad, diet bread!, great entrees and iced tea. Keanna was an outstanding helper all day long and continued to be on her very best behavior all through dinner. Kallie was good too, she stayed asleep the whole time.
All to soon it came time to say good bye and they left for their 5 hour journey back to Weed, about 300 miles to the north. They were pulling Jerry's little fishing boat so the trip will be even longer, can't pull it too fast or it becomes airborne.
After days of no business calls my cell phone began to ring soon after they all arrived and by evening I have two new orders, once again Praise the Lord for that. And to add to the mix, both are located nearby, a relo in Brentwood and an FHA in Oakley.
So tonight the dogs and I are very thankful that today the house was alive with laughter and joy, that good things happened and that family was once again joined together. I'm learning that I can only take so long of time being alone until I need to mix it up with someone. I'm still considering joining the local health club as I could work out several nights a week there, swim and play some racquet ball. My main reluctance comes from the fact that I've belonged to clubs in the past and after a few weeks stopped using them yet had to continue to pay the monthly fees. I don't want to be in that position again, hence the time of consideration before taking the leap.
The photos I've included are, Keanna doing dressup in outfits she keeps here at the house, Kallie and me in a happy moment and Nikki, Kallie, Ruth, Donna and Jerry as we left Olive Garden tonight. Note how slim Jerry is becoming, retirement is working well for him!

So another step forward in the recovery process took place today, a gradual sharing of the clothes, a step that must take place eventually. I thank all who helped today.

Love to all,

tim