Winter 2019

Hi again, typing this from my new I-Pad Pro. It is December 28th, yesterday was birthday #65. I’m officially an old geezer. A lot of changes since my last post. I’m now retired. Management wanted me to manage the parks in addition to the golf course as a “recreation manager”. It would have meant a full-time position giving up my winters down in Borrego and it just wasn’t that important for me.
   We lost Cooper this past summer, it was hard to have him put down, many things were still working but he had stability issues and his quality of life just quickly deteriorated.

Of course we will miss him, Riley naturally was depressed and doing nothing without his buddy. Chris accidentally ran across a cute picture on a Facebook website and after following up, we purchased our next family member, Murphy.

 Chris had a particularly tough summer, she did an amazing job caring for her mom. We were hopeful that we could bring her to Hoodsport to live with us and although we tried, it became clear that she was more comfortable in Vancouver where her friends and medical care was.  We lost grandma this fall. We did get the opportunity to have most of our family up for a weekend with Luella, she enjoyed the chance to visit with everyone. I’m glad that happened. 

Grace started school this year, amazing! 

Travis left Wisconsin and now lives in Spokane, he’s enjoying being closer to family and see’s Jacob from time to time.  

Ben and Matt had great years and love living downtown Seattle. Ben had a very interesting work year from filming two commercials (New York & Los Angeles) to opening up new Reserves in New York & Chicago. We just spent Christmas with them and Matt’s family in Palm Springs.

Almost forgot, I won the club Championship at Lake Cushman, something I never thought would happen. What’s special about that is the championship is gross, no handicap involved. Pretty Cool.

I think that is it, Obviously got more pictures to download, maybe I’ll try to do this more than once a year.

Spring 2019

Hi from Borrego, we are entering our last few weeks down here, in fact Chris will be back this Saturday. A cooler/wetter winter down here, still miles better than home. It’s nice now with temps in the mid 80’s. Played a lot of golf, worked one day to get my golf free at The Springs. Played several times at the resort and was a fill-in Marshall at Rams Hill.

I ran the men’s club (coyotes) this season, it’s a great group and we had a great season.

Riley & Carter are both still with us, they have issues but they enjoy it down here.

One of the tough sacrifices we make coming down is not getting to see Grace. She’s amazing, so smart and just a joy.

 This is a picture from a park on my visit to Spokane on my way down to Borrego.

I did retire from Lake Cushman. Officially on the payroll through the end of the year but was done at the end of September. It’ll be interesting when I get back to Hoodsport to see if I miss work.

 Ben & Matt came down twice, we spent Christmas together at the ole DeAnza house.

Memorial Day

It’s been a while since I’ve Posted anything. Still working at the golf course and it seems the new GM & I are getting along. Weather has been great and Chris is doing a nice job with the flower pots & weeding. I’m beat from the holiday work but I’m excited about driving over to Spokane with Chris to celebrate Gracie’s 4th birthday.

I’m annoyed that I can’t access my photos to the blog page. One of the reasons I haven’t been blogging.

We had a great 5 months in Borrego. We didn’t do to much to the place, we built a privacy fence that turned out great. Played a lot of golf and enjoyed the weather.

Another update, it’s now July 8th, another long but prosperous holiday week is finished. That means only one more holiday (Labor Day) until I head back to Borrego. Will I go down as golf course manager or newly retired guy?

The boys & I are relaxing out back. It’s warm but not too hot. The big surprise this summer is how well the mariners are playing. As of this post they are 23 games over 500, pretty amazing!


We had Marvin paint our exterior doors and the shakes this summer, had the doors painted white after the clear transparent finish has lifted and peeled in the direct sunlight.

Time to catch up on the family...Grace turned 4, we went over for her birthday party and really enjoyed ourselves. Ben & Matt bought a new condo right down in pioneer square, across the parking lot from the “Clink”. We just had Grandma Stanley here for a week. Chris has several “girl trips” planned with Carole this fall including another trip to Italy, she’ll be busy.
The dogs are getting older, Carter just turned 12 but are in good spirits. I’m not sure if they like it here in Hoodsport better than Borrego?

Labor Day Weekend

   Ben and Matt are in Palm Springs with friends this weekend. They don't let any moss grow under their feet! Tomorrow morning is our fantasy draft, I don't know how many years we've been doing this, maybe 5 or 6 years. Travis is the commissioner, I think he enjoys organizing it. It's an all family affair, 10 of us, Jake, Em, her dad Chris, Travis, Dillon, Jeff G., the Bonds & me.

                                                                    

   Greetings from the patio. I'm here with Riley & Carter. Beautiful evening, working the last of my holiday weekends at the golf course. Before I know it, we'll be packing up for Borrego. Lots to do before then. I've got budgets, cart path & parking lot paving projects to complete plus a variety of fall projects. Looks like I'm going back for a 6th year.


   Our dogwood is in full bloom this fall. Didn't bloom much in the spring. It must like hot weather because it's been a very nice summer and we still scheduled to get temps in the 90's next week!
 
    Even though I didn't get to Jake & Em's much I miss them being so far away. They really seem to be liking it in E. WA and Jake seems to be in his element as a sales rep. I am heading to Spokane in a couple of weeks to see Gracie and of course, the new digs. Looking forward to some time off, haven't taken any time since coming back to work.

    Chris & Carole are in Italy, they've been there several times. Probably revisiting their favorite places. Think they are taking a cooking class.

    Only five weeks to go before we leave, right in the middle of our paving project. Things seems to be going real good. Budgets pretty much done, inventory complete and we got the greens artifice. Just got to get through the clubhouse opening and most of the heavy lifting is done.

Always like to include photos but I can't get them to load.

Summer Time in Hoodsport

Start to another summer, very wet spring has given way to some really nice warm summer days. Some big changes are coming. Jake got promoted to a large sales territory in Eastern Washington. Just this week he & Em bought a home in the Liberty Lake area of Spokane.

We also celebrated Gracie's 3rd birthday on June 3rd at the children's museum in Everett. A very fun day with family & friends.

Chris & I have been busy at our work and in our spare time working out in the yard. Never enough time!

Some sad news, Chris found out that her mom has cancer, its early in the discovery process, we don't know much at this time. We all should have a good idea about her condition later this summer.

We are excited for Jake & Em but it is hard to imagine Grace so far away. I think our summers will now include a week in Spokane. The home the kids bought has a full apartment downstairs, perfect for a visit.

Ben & Matt are great and doing very well. They've come over a couple of times around Mother's Day & Father's Day. They cooked wonderful meals, we had Carole over both times, Merle & Donna joined us in June. Ben, once again amazes us managing to do so well at Starbucks & paint as well. I'm attaching a beautiful painting he did as a project for Howard. Several employees painted pictures to be given as gifts to the board of directors @ Starbucks. Ben had the privilege to do a painting for former New York senator and NBA Knick great, Bill Bradley. Unbelievable!!! They also processed their white wine also called Fate, it is very good, enjoyed by all!

Time to go home

Our first extended time down here in Borrego is quickly coming to an end. I'm down to my last week, maybe the same for Chris & Carole. An unusual season down here with record amounts of rainfall and now record heat. All in all, it's been a pleasant stay, we enjoy our place, it's low maintenance but we are both ready to go home. We didn't do much to the place, had Rosie convert our path to the golf course to cement. We bought a new golf cart and a tough shed to store it in. Now we can lock things up when we leave.

It will be nice to get home and see the family, Ben & Matt came down for 3 days after Christmas, we had fun with them and Matt's folks in Palm Springs. We did a lot of Facetiming with Jake, Em & of course Grace, can't wait to see them again. Looks like we'll get a chance to see Travis in May. Dillon is graduating and we are going back to help them celebrate.


Still managing the golf course, I've worked on a good plan to have this extended time off, saving them money and giving me more time down here. Played plenty of golf including shooting a 73 at Rams Hill, a personal best for me. I don't plan on playing as much back home, concentrating on work and the yard but we'll see.

Carter & Riley enjoyed their time here, I was concerned how they would react to losing their back yard at home but between visits to the dog park and walks down to the green belt, they seemed happy with that. I have noticed Riley hasn't been limping around. Perhaps the warmer weather helps.

I'll have to add some photos when I get back home, can't access some of the ones I'd like to include.

Happy Halloween!

I'm so bad about entering posts. It's Halloween and another summer is in the books. Highlight of the summer is how Grace changes weekly and how amazingly well she communicates. She loves to hop and dance, clap her hands and spin in circles, such a delight. We can't see her as much as we'd like but we can visit regularly on facebook. Grandma & I took Grace to the zoo and had a blast.

Chris & Carole just got back from 2 weeks in Italy. Don't need to add that they had a great time.

Ben has really been traveling a ton this year. He just got back from Amsterdam, he also went to Milan, WA D.C. New York and of course, down to Napa for a quick review of their new wine they are bottling. Matt is also doing great, he just went to D.C. To take an exam to become a judge, amazing!
Riley and Carter are both doing good, they enjoyed our stay in Borrego and we are getting ready for an even longer stay starting this November.

Travis is really doing good, Dillon & Bailey present their unique challenges but he's always positive. He is enjoying his new job and received a very nice promotion.

Didn't do much in the yard, reseeded the front yard this fall but it's been so wet, I won't know how well it takes until I get back from Borrego.

The truck is in the shop getting repaired from being run off the road. Lucky I didn't get hurt.

Came home from Borrego to find out we were burglarized. Thieves took various items. Took all my SWP rings, watches and collectibles that can't be replaced. Most items were covered by insurance, we were lucky they didn't do much property damage. We've got a better plan in place for this winter.

It's been an interesting year at work. The committee that formed last year is a pain in my rear. We've had a good year financially, yet the committee has recommended to close down the golf course Nov-Jan. It's disappointing but I now have another couple months off to spend in Borrego.

I'll close with another picture of my little girl, As excited as Chris & I are to spend more time down south, we will miss our kids during the holidays.
This picture of Grace came from a recent visit. Jake & I were watching the "Hawks", Grace was watching Curious George on dad's I-phone.