THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111-2496
415 781 5700


S U M M A R Y


DIARY: July 2, 2002 10:10 AM Tuesday; Rod Welch

Visit Steve and Lilly at their new home in Grass Valley.

1...Summary/Objective
.....................Many hands make light work.


..............
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CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Steve & Lilly

0803 -    ..
0804 - Summary/Objective
0805 -
080501 - Follow up ref SDS 10 RO8F, ref SDS 9 0001.
080502 -
080503 - This is the day after Millie's chemotherapy treatment on 020701.
080504 - ref SDS 11 0001
080505 -
080506 - She is feeling pretty well, and wanted to drive up and see Steve and
080507 - Lilly's new home in Grass Valley, per Steve's report on 020602.
080508 - ref SDS 10 RO8F
080509 -
080510 - Called Steve in the morning and got directions and their new address
080511 - to update the contact record.  Planned to arrive about 1200.
080512 -
080513 - After Millie returned from exercise class, we left about 1030.
080514 -
080515 - Driving through Sacramento we called Steve on his cell phone to say we
080516 - would arrive closer to 1230, and offered to pick up sandwiches and
080517 - things for lunch.  Steve suggested calling Lilly to coordinate the
080518 - lunch menu.  He was at the storage facility loading up a trailer for
080519 - another trip moving their things to the new house.
080520 - ..
080521 - Millie called Lilly on her cell phone.  Lilly suggested getting
080522 - coleslaw to go with chicken already prepared for lunch.  We pulled off
080523 - on Madison Avenue just East of Sacramento and past McClellan AFB.
080524 -
080525 - Could not find a delicatessen.  Stopped at one place that said Liquor
080526 - and Deli, but when we went into the store there was no delicatessen.
080527 - At first this might be okay because Steve will likely need a break;
080528 - but finally decided to stick with the plan and get coleslaw.  We asked
080529 - several people for the location of a Safeway-type store, or a
080530 - delicatessen, and wound up going up Madison Avenue several miles
080531 - before finally deciding to turn back empty handed.
080532 -
080533 - This effort wasted about 20 minutes, so we called Lilly to update
080534 - planning for arrival closer to 1300, rather than 1230.
080535 - ..
080536 - We drove on up to Auburn.  Millie became concerned on the way
080537 - that we should have taken Highway 50, rather than 80.  She was looking
080538 - at the map and could not find either Highway 49 or Grass Valley.
080539 - ..
080540 - Turned out she had overlooked Grass Valley because the print was
080541 - too big, classic example of not seeing the forest for the trees.
080542 -
080543 - Millie felt better when we finally reached Highway 49 and took it
080544 - North toward Grass Valley.
080545 -
080546 - There was a Bell Aire market on right, so we stopped and bought some
080547 - coleslaw, potato salad and macaroni salad.  Also got a ham and cheese
080548 - sandwich for variety in the menu to supplement chicken that Lilly is
080549 - planning for lunch.
080550 -
080551 - Drove on to Steve and Lilly's new home, following his directions to
080552 - turn-off onto Wolf Road, about 10 miles from Highway 80.  This is a
080553 - two way turn, but Wolf Road only goes left coming from the southern
080554 - direction (i.e., West).  The road going the other way (East) has a
080555 - different name.
080556 - ..
080557 - The gravel road is about 1 mile, and it is pretty rough.  Going
080558 - slow prevents damage to the car, but would not want to drive it
080559 - everyday, similar to the access road for Broadwater Dam, although that
080560 - was about 7 miles of the stuff, reported on 880820. ref SDS 1 3255
080561 - ..
080562 - When we arrived, Steve had gotten there about the same time with
080563 - a load of furnishings and belongings from storage.  A lot of this was
080564 - from his workshop and was pretty heavy:  things like bolts, big
080565 - wrenches and other equipment and building materials.
080566 -
080567 - The whole family pitched in, with Amanda, Matthew and Emily helping
080568 - Dad and Mom get moved into their new home.
080569 -
080570 - After we got unloaded, Amanda gave us a tour around the house and
080571 - grounds.  This is a big change from their Burlingame house.  There are
080572 - lots of bed rooms, and the basement is a very nice area.
080573 -
080574 - There is a big room over the garage that has access only from a
080575 - stairway outside.  Amanda related discussions the family has already
080576 - had about building a doorway into this room from the main house.  It
080577 - would have to go through the master bedroom, which is not an ideal
080578 - solution, unless room is used for office, but even in that case, there
080579 - would be advantages to having common access rather than through the
080580 - bedroom.  Maybe some thought can be given to designing a hallway
080581 - someway or another.  Looks like an interesting task for Steve's CAD
080582 - skills.
080583 - ..
080584 - It is a beautiful place with several ponds and nice landscaping,
080585 - as indicated by the pictures Steve sent a week ago.
080586 -
080587 -     [On 020705 these grounds are similar to Ron Useldingers place in
080588 -     the Sant Cruz mountains. ref SDS 12 YJ5L
080589 -
080590 - Steve has a dirt bike with large oversized wheels.  Matthew was
080591 - talking about learning to ride, since there are plenty of wide open
080592 - spaces where he can go without using the public streets that require a
080593 - driver's license, still a few years in the future for Mat. Steve
080594 - indicated to Mat that the new provides a lot of opportunity to
080595 - demonstrate responsibility needed to ride the dirt bike.
080596 -
080597 - They also have a big tractor-type lawn mower that looks fun to use.
080598 - Amanda seemed excited about the prospect of using this machine to mow
080599 - huge lawn on the grounds.  Matthew commented that he is looking
080600 - forward to learning to mow the lawn.
080601 - ..
080602 - We did not discuss the scope of yard maintenance that is broader
080603 - than mowing the lawn.  Trimming, weeding and raking are mostly hand
080604 - work that will present challenges for consistent attention beyond the
080605 - initial fun of using the new tractor mower.
080606 -
080607 -     [On 020706 Steve was breaking in the tractor mower and discussing
080608 -     with Mat other aspects of keeping up the yard. ref SDS 13 HA5F
080609 - ..
080610 - We all sat down and had lunch together about 1330 -- split the
080611 - ham and cheese sandwich with Mat.
080612 -
080613 - Lilly talked about the vacation to Mt. Shasta last week.  They went on
080614 - a hike similar to Vernal Falls in Yosemite, except Pam didn't get the
080615 - word on this event and so stayed behind.  I mentioned Pam's call
080616 - yesterday saying that this year the family gathering at Mt Shasta was
080617 - more fun and enjoyable for her than in recent years.  Steve said they
080618 - had a good group; maybe next year Millie can join in.  We joked that
080619 - if the venue is switched from Mt Shasta to their home in Grass Valley
080620 - they might entice Millie to come along.  Steve can rent a backhoe to
080621 - expand the ponds on the property, and voila: we have camping and
080622 - boating at home.  By then, the kids will know the grounds well enough
080623 - to be camp rangers:  giving tours, finding folks that wander off and
080624 - get lost, and issuing fines for leaving debris on the trail, feeding
080625 - the bears and chasing the deer.
080626 - ..
080627 - During lunch suggested that we go ahead and get the heavy
080628 - things, so that Steve has help.  Steve said he doesn't need help with
080629 - the heavy things; he can handle those with the hand truck.  Still, it
080630 - seemed like worrying big heavy objects into the house through doorways
080631 - will be a little difficult with only one person.
080632 -
080633 -     [...below, Lilly and the kids demonstrated they know to help with
080634 -     heavy tasks. ref SDS 0 GY3H
080635 -
080636 -     [On 020706 Ron Jr, Kim and Amy came up to help. ref SDS 13 0001
080637 - ..
080638 - Lilly wanted to try and get everything removed from storage
080639 - today in order to reduce rental fees.  Steve wants to get everything
080640 - on site, but not move in the kitchen appliances until after the
080641 - furniture is moved from Burlingame and is brought in and positioned.
080642 - Since access for carrying things is through the kitchen, he wants to
080643 - keep this clear for moving in the furniture, then bring in the
080644 - appliances.
080645 - ..
080646 - After lunch, with this plan in mind, we drove to the storage
080647 - location about 6 miles South on Highway 49 toward Auburn.  Took about
080648 - an hour or so loading all of the small boxes.  The rental attendant
080649 - came by and talked to Steve about closing by 1900.  Steve closed out
080650 - the account on the basis of returning later this afternoon to complete
080651 - moving everything.
080652 - ..
080653 - It was wonderful seeing Steve work with his son.  Mat is big
080654 - enough now to be effective getting things done.  Steve has a way of
080655 - showing how even difficult tasks can be fun by making it a game to see
080656 - how well things can be accomplished, much like shooting a basketball,
080657 - which Mat likes doing, or lifting in the gym to build muscles. Lifting
080658 - boxes of varying weights and sizes has a similar effect, but requires
080659 - guidance and encouragement for applying the same level of effort to
080660 - useful and needed work that is otherwise readily given to play. Rather
080661 - than demand performance, Steve demonstrates how to do things, and
080662 - provides help, rather than telling Mat to do this and that.  A lot of
080663 - fathers make the mistake thinking the kids are like hired labor that
080664 - is free; whereas, Steve uses these occasions to teach important
080665 - lessons without being demanding, all while making progress on the
080666 - work.
080667 - ..
080668 - Once loaded up, we drove back to the house.  On the way, we
080669 - passed Lilly and Millie coming down Jennifer.  Since this is an access
080670 - road to their place with very light traffic, we stopped in the middle
080671 - of the road and talked for a moment, while sitting in the car.  Lilly
080672 - and Millie were going to the store for household cleaning things.
080673 - Steve suggested picking up some water and Gatorade because exercise
080674 - from lifting and carrying big and heavy things in the heat pulls a lot
080675 - of moisture out of the body.
080676 -
080677 -     [On 020706 Kim got the call to clean the carpets, and did a great
080678 -     job. ref SDS 13 MP8J
080679 - ..
080680 - Back at the house, it took 45 minutes or so to unload with
080681 - Amanda and Emily helping, along with Mat.  By now it was about 1730.
080682 -
080683 - At this time, a co-worker at PG&E, Rusty, rode onto the property in a
080684 - small, open, four wheeled and off-road vehicle, to visit, giving new
080685 - meaning to the common phrase: "welcome wagon."
080686 -
080687 - Rusty happens to live in the neighborhood and so this was an occasion
080688 - for Steve to hear about the people and the area.  Steve had mentioned
080689 - earlier today that he is already involved with the home owners
080690 - association.
080691 -
080692 - Rusty offered to be helpful getting acclimated to folks and procedures
080693 - in Steve's new assignment at the PG&E office in Auburn.  He said Steve
080694 - has some big shoes to fill taking the place of the person who moved to
080695 - another office that opened the slot for Steve in the Auburn office. It
080696 - was interesting and certainly educational for the kids to see their
080697 - Dad using well honed "people" skills talking and listening, giving of
080698 - his time to foster good working relations (reviewed previously on
080699 - 010114 and described as a form of "knowledge management," ref SDS 2
080700 - EK3I), even though he was very anxious to go get the next load from
080701 - storage in order to complete this phase of the move today before the
080702 - storage facility closed, per above. ref SDS 0 IF7H  There was a
080703 - feeling that Steve brings pretty "big shoes" of his own, and this will
080704 - play out in the months and years ahead, as he makes his mark in the
080705 - lives of new people and a new team.
080706 - ..
080707 - After getting the scoop on schools and background in the area,
080708 - Rusty finally said good bye, and so at about 1800, we headed back to
080709 - the storage facility.  We passed Lilly and Millie again on Jennifer
080710 - coming back from their trip to the store.  Steve stopped and Lilly
080711 - gave him some water and other things to drink, per above. ref SDS 0
080712 - LZQ0
080713 - ..
080714 - We got to the storage facility about 1820.
080715 -
080716 - Steve had figured this part of the job well.
080717 -
080718 - There were mostly large, heavy items that remained to be loaded.  Steve
080719 - handled this with ease and expertise using the wheeled hand-truck, as
080720 - he had earlier noted during lunch. ref SDS 0 IV66  He is very good at
080721 - arranging the load so that things fit logically and securely to avoid
080722 - damage during transit.
080723 -
080724 - He noticed only a single small blemish on the washer or dryer.  There
080725 - was discussion about a cover story to blame inexperienced help from
080726 - out of town, so that the boss would not direct too much heat toward
080727 - the regular crew.
080728 - ..
080729 - Steve was happy about completing the work today, because this
080730 - will leave all day tomorrow for unpacking and organizing things.  Then
080731 - on Thursday, the 4th, his former neighbor, Mark, is helping move the
080732 - household furniture from storage in Burlingame up to the new house
080733 - here in Grass Valley, per above. ref SDS 0 SR9F  The family will have
080734 - several days to continue organizing everything, getting appliances
080735 - hooked up, and hopefully relax a bit, before Steve reports back to
080736 - work on Monday, 020709.
080737 -
080738 -     [On 020706 this move was made on Friday, 020705, because the
080739 -     storage facility was closed for the 4th of July holiday.
080740 -     ref SDS 13 MP8J
080741 - ..
080742 - We got back to the house about 1914.
080743 -
080744 - Pete had arrived with the dog.  He had driven up in his car, and was
080745 - followed by a family friend, Bob, driving a pickup truck loaded with
080746 - more of Steve and Lilly's things from Burlingame.  Bob is the painter
080747 - who did a wonderful jog painting their former house that helped make
080748 - the sale, reported on 020512. ref SDS 9 QM6N
080749 - ..
080750 - We got started unloading the pickup truck.  Steve decided to
080751 - wait and unload the trailer, which we had just brought from storage,
080752 - until after the pickup truck is unloaded.  Lifting a big flower pot
080753 - weighing maybe 60 pounds, or so, with Lilly and Emily helping, offered
080754 - up the idea that...
080755 -
080756 -
080757 -                     Many hands make light work.
080758 -
080759 -
080760 - Lilly is surprisingly strong in handling heavy objects, but, also in
080761 - managing the household, no doubt a tribute to Peg and Pete, who, like
080762 - Ron Sr. and Millie, passed along sound values to their children during
080763 - their time raising young ones 30 - 40 years ago.  This "can do" spirit
080764 - permeates the rich and warm family life that Steve and Lilly bring to
080765 - all who are privileged to know them.
080766 - ..
080767 - Since Millie has to take medication with her meals, we decided
080768 - to head back.  It has been a long day for her after chemotherapy
080769 - treatment just yesterday. ref SDS 11 0001  Lilly mentioned plans for
080770 - everyone to go out for dinner this evening.  It would have meant
080771 - arriving home close to midnight, and that is too late for Millie to
080772 - take her medicine.
080773 - ..
080774 - We left about 1945, and drove home about 112 miles.  Arrived at
080775 - 2110.
080776 -
080777 - Millie thought this was a great adventure and a productive day.
080778 -
080779 - She was glad to see Steve and Lilly and the kids getting organized for
080780 - their new life up in Grass Valley, and to have had the chance to help
080781 - her youngest accomplish big dreams for a better future.
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